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HARVARD LEGAL AID BUREAU
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02138

May 29, 1976

To Whom It May Concern:

I served as President of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau from February 1975 to February 1976. At the beginning of my term of office, Steve Fagan was hired as a supervising attorney. His duties were to include the supervision of approximately 20 students engaged in legal services casework, each responsible for 6 to 8 active cases.

Our expectation was that Steve would spend twenty hours per week at the Bureau, in addition to the time spent teaching a seminar and supervising students enrolled in the clinical course at Harvard Law School. In fact, Steve has spent considerably more time working with students than we could possibly have anticipated. He has become an important part of the Bureau's day-to-day operations and an invaluable asset to our student members and our clients.

Steve has given unstintingly of his time. He has always been available for telephone consultations, weekend meetings, and to accompany students to court appearances. He shows a genuine interest in teaching and in serving our clients, so much so that he has taken on responsibilities in complex cases beyond those of his regularly assigned students.

Part of my job as President was to oversee the quality of supervision at the Bureau and to try and assure that students were satisfied with the kind of guidance they were receiving. I can honestly say that I never heard any negative feedback from Steve's students. They have noted his ability to establish rapport, his skill at developing strategy and assessing alternative options, and his ability to ask challenging questions designed to bring out both the strengths and weaknesses in a student's analysis.

Steve brings a wealth of practical knowledge derived from his extensive experience as a practicing attorney to bear on student casework. In my opinion, it is this ability to convey a sense of the day-to-day process of lawyering which has been most responsible for Steve's success at the Bureau. It is precisely this kind of pragmatic training which is often missing in traditional classroom work at law school.

As a role model, Steve sets the highest standards of ethics and commitment to the client. As a person who is very much a part of the life of the Bureau, he has become a friend to many of us, as well as a fine teacher and a competent attorney.

Sincerely,

(signature)

Carol