People in Law: Professor Appleman

For many first year law students of Willamette's class of 2010, the week of legal education begins with Professor Appleman's Criminal Law class. At either 8 or 9:10AM on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Willamette students dive into theories of criminal law and elements of a crime. Class with Professor Appleman marks the beginning of the long haul to Friday afternoon. The importance of criminal law in our week is matched by the importance of criminal law in Professor Appleman's legal career thus far. Here is her story:

Professor Laura Appleman received both her B.A. and her M.A. of English at the University of Pennsylvania before attending Yale Law School. After graduating from Yale in 1998, she clerked for A. Wallace Tashima,, a judge on the 9th Circuit. In 2000, she moved back to her hometown of New York and worked for 5 years as a Public Appellate Defender for the Center of Appellate Litigation. According to her Willamette profile "she briefed and argued approximately 50 appeals in front of the New York appellate courts, including the New York Court of Appeals." She considers arguing these appeals to be her biggest career achievement thus far.

Appleman decided to enter teaching the law in order to "explore the substantive values underlying criminal procedure and sentencing, as well as to encourage students to enter the practice of criminal law." She thinks law graduates should consider entering criminal law because, "the practice of criminal law not only allows you to rectify wrongs and further justice, it also is one of the most exciting areas in which to work--no endless document review." She says the biggest lesson she's learned from teaching was that "Understanding theory is the first step in understanding the workings of the criminal justice system." She has made mistakes while teaching and has seen students make plenty of mistakes as well. The biggest mistakes? She said her biggest mistake was letting students think emails at any time of the day would get an immediate response because the volume she receives doesn't make that possible; students obsess over the details of the material rather than taking a step back to look at the big picture. She thinks her reputation as a professor is as a sarcastic one.

Now for some non-legal information: Professor Appleman drives a 2006 Acura RSX. Outside of the law she likes to read, travel, go the theater, visit used bookstores and go antiquing. She also enjoys herding cats (Ross's note: thats why they have her teach a 1L class). Her movie choices include 1940's noir and historical fiction (as long as its accurate). Favorite books? "Yeats’ Collected Poems, The Riverside Shakespeare, Austen’s Persuasion, Annie Dillard’s An American Childhood, A.S. Byatt’s Possession, Pascal’s Pensees". What? No Jeremy Bentham?

I chose Professor Appleman to approach first about an interview because she's all over the blogosphere. She writes at the Legal Ethics Forum. (her posts here) She's also mentioned at Abovethelaw.com and wrote this piece: Paris Hilton, Communicable Diseases and Prison Conditions.

Last but certainly not least, the moment I told everyone they would enjoy, Professor Laura Appleman's favorite YouTube video (for the time being):

OLD LAWYER FIGHT