When I attended Penn Law from 1983-1986, it was a very different place. Biddle Law Library was located in what is now called Silverman Hall, and man, were those stacks dark and dusty!  It was nothing like the open and airy Biddle of today. 1L classes were held in the basement of what is now Gittis Hall, with its sleek, modern classrooms.  My classrooms were right out of 1972, with huge fluorescent lights that looked like flying saucers with not a window in sight. 1Ls had just 2 elective choices in their second semester – family law and income security, which was another name for poverty law.  Now there are 13!  And there were only two choices of clinics: a civil law clinic and a business clinic. Now there are 9 plus externships.

But while the building is bigger (and a lot nicer) and the learning choices have expanded, what has not changed at Penn Law is the outstanding quality of the legal education and the faculty who provide it.  Throughout my career, I am constantly reminded of the tools that the law school gave me and what a privilege it is to be part of the community here. 

I’ve been asked tonight to reflect on my career and talk about how I’ve been able to succeed in the field of telecommunications, media and technology policy.  So, I guess I’m at that point of my career where I’ve accomplished enough to impart wisdom to the next generation of lawyers…. or maybe I’m just really old. 

So tonight, I’d like to talk about three qualities that have allowed me to have a successful career: Flexibility, Humility, and Connectivity. 

More at Benton.org.