Eleanor Swift - at Boalt

At Boalt

Swift joined the Boalt faculty in 1979. She served as associate dean at Boalt from 1998 to 2000. She is also chair of the Committee on Professional Development of the Association of American Law Schools and is a past chair of the Evidence Section. From 1992 to 1997, she chaired a special faculty-student committee appointed by Dean Herma Hill Kay to develop a proposal for improving and expanding the clinical curriculum at Boalt. In 1998 she received Boalt's Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction and in 2000 she received UC Berkeley's Distinguished Teaching Award.

The focus of her teaching and research is on the adversary system: the legal rules, practices, and procedures that govern civil and criminal trials. She teaches courses in Civil Procedure, Evidence, and the Legal Profession.

Swift incorporates three perspectives in her classes: theoretical, professional, and ethical. "My aim," she says, "is to introduce students to the practice of law under a system of rules, to develop their ability to critique those rules, and to enable them to experience the ethical dilemmas of lawyers acting in role."

Students consistently point to the effect her teaching has had on their lives. A former student says, "It would be easy for me to say that I went to the Eleanor Swift School of Law. . . .The lasting imprint of her message makes me use my legal education to make the world a slightly better place. I could never thank her enough for her instruction."

Student course evaluations point to the demanding nature of the course: "Evidence is a conceptually difficult course, but her teaching brought out clear thinking," says one student. Says another, "I think this topic is pretty complex and difficult, which makes the instructor and class materials all the more impressive."

One of Professor Swift's most lasting contributions to the Law School's teaching mission is her leadership in the establishment of Boalt's Center for Clinical Education," which brings clients in need of legal advice to Boalt, where students, directed by a faculty member, provide counsel.