University of Pennsylvania Law School issued the following announcement on May 16.
Six members of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School faculty have received teaching awards for the 2021–22 academic year.
Six members of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School faculty have received teaching awards for the 2021–22 academic year.
Elizabeth Pollman, Professor of Law, is awarded the Harvey Levin Memorial teaching award; Jill E. Fisch, Saul A. Fox Distinguished Professor of Business Law, is awarded the LLM teaching award; Mitch Berman, Leon Melzer Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, is awarded the A. Leo Levin Award for Excellence in an Introductory Course; Sophia Z. Lee, Professor of Law and History, is awarded the Robert A. Gorman Award for Excellence in Teaching; Rebecca E. Clayton, Adjunct Professor of Law, is awarded the Adjunct Teaching Award; and Lou S. Rulli, Practice Professor of Law, receives the Experiential Teaching Award.
Elizabeth Pollman: Harvey Levin Memorial Teaching Award
Selected by vote of the JD class of 2022, Pollman is the recipient of the Harvey Levin Memorial Teaching Award.
Pollman is an expert in business law. She teaches and writes in the areas of corporate law and governance, as well as startups, venture capital, and entrepreneurship.
What the students say:
- Pollman is one of the most engaging professors I’ve had at the Law School. She cares so much about this subject matter and was able to share her knowledge, past experience, and professional network throughout the class.
- Not only is she brilliant and an expert in corporate law, but Prof. Pollman is kind and respectful toward students. Her positive attitude was so refreshing and made me look forward to coming to class every week.
- Pollman is one of the kindest professors I met and, although she teaches multiple courses a semester, she always took time to get to know students and to answer questions in person in class or office hours and by email.
Selected by vote of the LLM class of 2022, Fisch receives the LLM Teaching Award.
Fisch is an internationally known scholar whose work focuses on the intersection of business and law, including the role of regulation and litigation in addressing limitations in the disciplinary power of the capital markets.
What the students say:
- Fisch does an excellent job stimulating interest in her courses. She has an interactive and encouraging lecture style that keeps students interested, and she inspires us to think of the policy impacts and to fully examine both sides of every issue.
- Her knowledge of the subject is impressive and it makes any student confident that they are having access to the best source of education available. She’s a masterful teacher.
- Fisch is a very impressive lecturer, and I’m always scrambling to write down exactly what she says because it’s brilliant, especially when I’m just trying to understand the case or issue at hand.
Berman receives the A. Leo Levin Award for Excellence in an Introductory Course for the Constitutional Law course he taught this spring.
Berman writes and teaches in American constitutional law and theory, philosophy of criminal law, general jurisprudence, and philosophy of sport.
What the students say:
- Berman is a very humorous and engaging professor. He challenges students with the Socratic method at every turn both inside and outside of class. He does a good job of keeping things interesting and encouraging people to think for themselves.
- Berman teaches you not just about constitutional law but how to approach an opinion, how to dissect concurrences and dissents effectively, and how to understand judges’ thinking and modalities.
- I think Professor Berman is a genius. This course changed how I read cases for the better.
Lee receives the Robert A. Gorman Award for Excellence in Teaching for her outstanding teaching of Administrative Law in two large sections.
Lee is a legal historian whose scholarship synthesizes constitutional and administrative law.
What the students say:
- Lee is a great professor who effectively weaves together teaching the doctrine and posing questions for students to consider related to policy and constitutional or statutory interpretation. She keeps the class engaged while also teaching an incredible amount of content.
- Some of the best parts of the class were when Professor Lee pushed us to share our views on the materials we just covered. More than any other professor I’ve ever had, Prof. Lee has the striking ability to both affirm students’ views and ensure they feel heard, while simultaneously pushing back on their opinion to ensure students understand the weakness in their arguments.
- Lee is the most accessible and respectful professor I’ve had at Penn and one of the best instructors I’ve had in my educational career. No matter the approach –– via email, during class, in office hours –– she is consistently respectful and kind to her students. Although the class was challenging, I never once felt nervous to speak in class or to her privately.
Clayton receives the Adjunct Teaching Award for her work teaching the Intellectual Property & Corporate Lawyering and ML: Entrepreneurship Law courses.
Clayton is an experienced and accomplished corporate attorney, with significant expertise in corporate and financial law, corporate governance, intellectual property, privacy, and nonprofit organizations. She has taught a variety of courses well at the Law School for many years, first teaching our students in 2004.
What the students say:
- Clayton is thoughtful, strategic, knowledgeable, and forward thinking.
- Clayton was always prepared and found creative ways to spark conversation no matter the experience level of classmates in terms entrepreneurial or overall business experience.
- “Intellectual Property & Corporate Lawyering” is a course that does a really good job at teaching by doing. I feel like by the end of the course, the exercises had given me a really good idea of what the mindset of a corporate lawyer is.
Rulli receives the Experiential Teaching Award for his work teaching and leading the Civil Practice Clinic and Legislative Clinic.
Rulli possesses expertise in public interest law, legislation, litigation, and clinical legal education and has written and lectured extensively on access to justice for the poor.
What the students say:
- Rulli is a thoughtful teacher that has made a huge difference in my law school experience. I have absolutely no doubt that the things I learned in this class will serve me well throughout my future career as an attorney –– and even shape its trajectory.
- Rulli was extremely enthusiastic to teach us about the legislative process, legislative drafting, and more. His energy permeated through the classroom and made learning that more enjoyable.
- I’ve taken two clinics with Prof. Rulli and both times he was kind, enthusiastic to teach the class new materials and provided me wonderful tools that I will use throughout my legal career.
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