Dean Watch: Legal innovator to head Suffolk, first woman to lead Cardozo
Andrew Perlman. Photo courtesy of Suffolk University Law School.
Suffolk University didn’t have to look far to find a new dean for its law school.
Already a law professor there and known for his innovative approach to technology, Andrew Perlman was announced this week as the law school’s new leader. He will take office Aug. 1.
Perlman is the founding director of the law school’s Institute on Law Practice Technology and Innovation and vice chair of the new ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services, a Suffolk University press release notes. As chief reporter of ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20, he helped draft amendments to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct to address the globalization and increased use of technology in law practice.
“Andy Perlman brings top-level leadership to the Suffolk deanship,” ABA President William C. Hubbard told the National Law Journal (sub. req.). “He is both creative and practical. He has a vision for the future of legal services; he executes with clarity and precision; and he will lead Suffolk Law in a way that prepares its graduates to be innovative and highly successful and valued counselors to their clients.”
Melanie Leslie. Photo courtesy of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Meanwhile, Yeshiva University also didn’t have to range far afield to find a new chief for its Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Vice dean Melanie Leslie will take the helm there July 1, becoming the first female dean in the school’s history, the NLJ reports.
A national search was conducted, and “the committee was truly impressed with the candidates and the high level of interest from across the country,” said university provost Selma Botman, who chaired the group, in a Cardozo press release. “At the end of the day, however, there was overwhelming faculty support for Dean Leslie, which was also shared by students who provided input to the committee.”
