KU News Release

KU law professor recognized as Kansas City Legal Leader

David Gottlieb

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas law professor has been recognized as a 2009 Legal Leader by a Kansas City legal newspaper.

David Gottlieb, professor of law and associate dean of clinical programs, received the award from the Daily Record for his role as a legal scholar. The award honors faculty or staff at area law schools who demonstrate leadership through their work with the justice system, research or scholarship, or teaching and inspiring others.

Gottlieb will be recognized during a luncheon Friday, March 27, at the Hilton President in Kansas City, Mo.

“In over a decade of teaching at two law schools, I have never encountered a law professor who gave more of himself to the system of justice or was a greater inspiration to students and teachers alike than David Gottlieb,” said Gail Agrawal, dean and professor of law. “Professor Gottlieb has focused his career on service to the justice system as a teacher and a scholar. He has served as a mentor to generations of law students. I am grateful to Professor Gottlieb’s wisdom, his leadership and his many contributions to our school and the community.”

Altogether, 16 people and two law firms were honored in 12 categories designed to celebrate those who have improved the quality of justice in their communities and exemplified the highest ideals of the legal profession. Nine members of the Kansas City legal community selected the award winners from a slate of nominees.

Gottlieb has been a professor at KU’s School of Law since 1979. He teaches criminal procedure, international human rights and refugee and asylum law, among other courses. He studies guideline sentencing and the death penalty and is nationally recognized for his leadership in clinical legal education.

From 1979 to 1999, he led the law school’s signature clinical program, the Paul E. Wilson Defender Project. That program is now led by one of his former students. Under the auspices of the Defender Project, faculty members and students defend the civil rights of prisoners and pursue justice on behalf of those who were wrongly convicted of crimes.

“I have talked with many alumni who credit their student days with the Defender Project under Professor Gottlieb’s instruction for their professional work in public interest law, both full-time and pro bono,” Agrawal said.

Gottlieb was instrumental in creating the law school’s newest clinical program, a medical-legal clinic housed in the Southwest Boulevard Family Health Care Clinic that provides legal services to indigent patients referred by their physicians. He is its director. Both the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association have taken public positions encouraging the development of medical-legal partnerships to meet the full range of patient needs by addressing social determinants of health status and quality of life. Under Gottlieb’s leadership, KU’s School of Law is one of 10 to 12 law schools in the country to create such a program for law students.

Before joining the university, Gottlieb was an appeals attorney with the Legal Aid Society in New York. He earned his law degree in 1974 from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was editor of the law journal.

The awards committee also honored Heather Jones, a 2000 graduate of the law school who took at least one class from Gottlieb during her time at Green Hall. She was named a Rising Legal Leader.

Jones became a shareholder just one year after she joined Seigfreid, Bingham, Levy, Selzer & Gee, where she handles construction law, equipment dealerships and dealer associations and other business-related law. She is heavily involved in the Lawyers Association of Kansas City and is chair of the Liberty (Mo.) Arts Commission.

-30-

The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.