USD Magazine Spring 2012

USD MAGAZINE 6 AROUND  THE PARK n a Sunday afternoon last March, sandwiched be- tween a family vacation and a week of meetings in Boston for his law firm, Stephen Ferruolo interviewed with the search com- mittee for the new dean of USD’s School of Law. His expectations were…well, let’s call them realistic. “I said to my wife, ‘This is great. I can meet with the search committee and lay the ground- work for someday being an adjunct at the law school,’” he recalls with a chuckle.

FORWARD MOVEMENT New deans bring an entrepreneurial spirit to USD [ s a v v y ] by Trisha J. Ratledge O

most recently as the founding partner and chair of the San Diego office of international law firm Goodwin Procter LLP. While there is always a learning curve for a new dean, Ferruolo (at right, above) is undaunted, nimbly citing the many new programs and directions under way at the law school, including increasing the fac- ulty and expanding clinics, collabo- rations and outreach efforts. Long- termgoals include advancing the intellectual property program and the LLM in taxation into top posi-

Ferruolo’s unique background as an accomplished scholar, aca- demic and attorney, however, put him at the top of the list to become the 10th dean at the School of Law. He’s certainly got an exceptional résumé. With degrees fromWesleyan, Princeton and Oxford universities — the last as a Rhodes Scholar — Ferruolo taught history on the faculties of Bennington College and Stanford University. One more degree — a JD with honors from Stanford— led to a successful 20-year practice,

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