Phoebe Haddon Named Influential Legal Educator

UM Carey School of Law’s Dean Phoebe A. Haddon, JD, LLM, was named “one of the most influential people in legal education” by the The National Jurist for the second consecutive year.  Haddon was ranked ninth of the 25 individuals recognized on the list, published in the January 2014 issue. She ranked 12th in the magazine’s 2013 issue.

“I’m honored that The National Jurist has again recognized the UM Carey School of Law for its commitment to excellence in legal education and its promise to provide students, especially those from diverse backgrounds, with the skills to achieve success in our field,” said Haddon. 

The magazine requested nominations from every law school in the nation. Its editors selected 50 candidates and then sent the list to law school deans and others of influence in the legal community, asking them to rate each nominee. 

Haddon has grown increasingly concerned about what she calls “the mismatch” in law today. As she has said in several recent presentations to academic and professional groups, “We have thousands of highly trained but unemployed young lawyers and millions of moderate and lower-income people who need legal counsel. Our challenge is to bring them together.”

An accomplished legal scholar with expertise in constitutional and tort law, Haddon is recognized for securing the largest gift in the law school’s history — the $30 million gift from the W.P. Carey Foundation — one of the top 10 largest gifts to any law school, and one of the largest in the University System of Maryland. 

“I am especially pleased to congratulate Dean Haddon on her consecutive selection as one of the nation’s shining stars in legal education,” said University of Maryland, Baltimore President Jay A. Perman, MD. 

Haddon will resign as dean at the end of the 2013-2014 academic year. After a sabbatical to conduct research on legal education, she will return to the UM Carey School of Law faculty and to teaching.