THE MICHIGAN DAILY, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1994 Page 15 Law dean prepares school for changes m 21st century By JAMES M. NASH Daily Staff Reporter Spurred by advances in technol- what left speechless when I think I ogy and the globalization of the have had the good fortune to be able economy, the legal profession is shift- to contribute to the school in this way ing from the days of dusty law books at this time." toatime when law is firmly entrenched Lehman said he plans to return to in professional life. teaching when his tenure as dean is As the recently appointed dean of over. He said his term as dean can the University's Law School, Jeffrey only enhance his teaching. Sean Lehman is in a position to keep "I was a student here in the 1970s up with changes in the field. But and a faculty member in the 1980s Lehman has never been satisfied with and I thought I know this institution in simply keeping up. and out. I did know virtually every- Lehman was picked in May as the one who works here and the functions Law School's 14th dean. At 37, he is of the school, but I didn't know then the youngest head of the school this the way I need to know now as dean of century, a distinction he downplays the school." in his characteristic low-key manner. Lehman has stressed an interdis- "Most people who I've met have ciplinary approach tothe Law School. known that I'm 37 years old, so I Heis afaculty memberoftheInstitute don't think they've been too sur- for Policy Studies, a position that prised," said Lehman, clad in a polo fosters cooperation with the Law shirt, khaki pants and tennis shoes. School. Lehman rocketed to the top of the "I think it is possible that collabo- Law School two years afterbecoming rative ventures between other units of a full professor. He joined the school the University and the Law School in 1987 as an assistant professor. may come even easier in the future "His is a storybook career for a than in the past," he said. "The Law young law school graduate," search School is already a pioneer in build- committee chairTheodore St. Antoine ing bridges with other departments." said of Lehman, who entered the Uni- Such a cooperative approach is versity Law School in 1977. increasingly important as the legal Lehman has high praise for the profession braces for the 21st cen- school ranked No. 8 in the nation by tury, Lehman pointed out. U.S. News & World Report. The field is entering a phase of "I think it is unique in the world in soul-searching as lawyers think of the combination of opportunities that themselves as "public servants and it has to serve students, alumni, the not merely hired guns," the new dean profession and society at large," he said. said. "In all honesty, I am still some- "I believe that law schools can Northern Ireland ( closer to peace, lea Lehman play a vital role in working with the bar and units of universities that work with other students to think about what will be the professional role in the next century," he added. And the next century poses un- precedented changes for the field, Lehman said. For example: The globalization of the economy will require lawyers to fa- miliarize themselves with interna- tional law and business. Technological advances will place more information in the hands of professionals than previously pos- sible. "Over the next 10 years, I believe those changes will revolutionize the way attorneys practice," Lehman said. "More work will be done via net- works that link flexible teams of indi- viduals who are spread across the world and connected via video con- ference." 0 The legal field will continue to redefine itself in terms of professional and ethical responsibility. Lehman rhetorically asked what distinguishes an attorney from a business analyst or provider of other services. The Washington Post BELFAST, Northern Ireland - The British government took its first concrete step yesterday toward ac- cepting the legitimacy of the Irish Republican Army's week-old cease- fire announcement, declaring that there would be a slight reduction in the level of British security in North- ern Ireland. At the same time, Prime Minister John Major, who has been holding out for a statement from the IRA that the cessation of hostilities is "perma- nent," said yesterday that while he was still not fully satisfied, it was "becoming a little clearer that this is not just a temporary" cease-fire. Formal British acceptance of the sincerity of the IRA's promises is crucial to a continuation of a peace process that has been underway pri- vately and publicly for the past year. Major has said he would be pre- pared to start talking about a frame- work for the province's future 90 days after he was satisfied that the IRA had permanently renounced further vio- lence. That 90-day clock would start ticking, he has said, after the IRA or the leader of its political wing, Sinn Fein, declared the truce to be "perma- nent." That word has yet to be uttered. But great significance has been placed by observers here on ajoint statement Tuesday in Dublin in which Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said, "We are all totally and absolutely committed to democratic and peaceful methods of resolving our political problems." There has been no IRA violence since the cease-fire was declared, in spite of the bombing of the Sinn Fein office here in Belfast and the slaying of a Catholic by Protestant extrem- ists. Sir Patrick Mayhew, the British secretary of state for Northern Ire- land, said here yesterday that it was the absence of violence over the past seven days that has led army and police officials to reduce the level of security. Mayhew said a first step would be for British army troops to replace their combat helmets with berets. While this is a small, symbolic step, it is in line with Catholic nationalist urgings that steps be taken to reduce the atmosphere of Belfast as a milita- rized state. ne step ders say Some residents said that security measures at checkpoints have taken on a lower profile as well. Yesterday's developments were part of an elaborate public minuet that began a week ago with the cease-fire announcement. It has featured Major ejecting Ian Paisley, the militant Prot- estant leader in Northern Ireland, from his office following Paisley's refusal to say he believed that Major had made no secret deals with Dublin or Irish republicans here, who favorjoin- ing Catholic-dominated Ireland. On the same day, Irish Prime Min- ister Albert Reynolds staged what was described as a "historic" meeting with Adams, shaking his hand and posing for pictures - the first time an Irish prime minister has been so friendly with a republican leader, not to men- tion one associated with the 25-year violent campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland. Vice President Al Gore got in- volved yesterday, meeting with Reynolds in Shannon, Ireland, and declaring that he believed Reynolds' enthusiastic endorsementofthecease- fire's permanence was a "correct" interpretation. holds its own as the premier vinyl in Michigan. Schoolkid's Records is one of the finest music stores in the country. 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