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Nine months after the last dean of Baltimore School of Law resigned over a dispute with the university president, Baltimore School of Law’s got a new dean. Ronald Weich, former aide to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and a current assistant U.S. Attorney General is joining Baltimore University as the dean of its law school. Though Weich’s distance from the academia and closeness to the Capitol Hill, can raise doubts about his appointment, the choice is rather logical given the popularity of his predecessor Phillip Closius.
Michele Gilman, a UB law professor who chaired the search for the new dean told the media on the unconventional choice, “When you talk about a non-traditional candidate in the abstract, it sounds risky … But when we met Ron in person, those concerns were ameliorated. We’re at a point where we’re ready to think outside the box as an institution. There’s a feeling that someone outside the ivory tower might be better positioned to understand what the legal market needs and wants.”
We think the choice is a good one, and given the tough situation in the job market, the chances of UB law school students getting government positions just went up if the new dean shares his experiences of the corridors of power.
Expectedly, the students are excited: David Muncy, a third-year law student said, “We were excited by his incredible career and the perspective that he brings from outside academia,” Muncy said. “When you’re a professor for long enough, you get disconnected from what’s going on in the legal community. But he has worked in government and private practice, which are the two areas students look to the most for jobs.”
Weich has a career of nearly 30 years in politics, working for the Washington based Zuckerman Spaeder and as a prosecutor in New York.
Though students were upset by the departure of the last dean over dispute with the university president concerning the amount of law school funds being spent on other university projects, the situation has cooled.
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Another third-year law student, Rachel Severance told the media that Weich’s “appointment will be a big step in that (right) direction, because students see him as someone who can transform the school and take it in a positive direction.’
