This student-selected award for Public Interest Professor of the Year is given to the faculty member or  administrator who has most supported and inspired a  significant portion of the public interest law student community and was this year conferred upon  Jim Tierney for bringing an unmatched energy, humor, and knowledge to the classroom. Jim Tierney represents one of Columbia Law School's greatest assets. Jim's passion has been instrumental in creating the National State Attorneys General Program at Columbia, which reminds us that government service is manifestly a form of public service. In the classroom, Jim not only illuminates difficult legal issues, he inspires his students to pursue careers in the public sector. For his tireless commitment to his students, to the office of the State Attorney General, and to the protection of local communities, the students of Columbia Law School honor Professor Jim Tierney with the 2006 Public Interest Professor of the Year Award.

Also of note:

• On April 6, 2006 Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch paid visit to Professor Tierney's Advanced Attorney General Seminar at Columbia Law School to share with the class his experience prosecuting white collar crime.
• The Columbia Journal of Environmental Law Symposium Issue is now online!  For proceedings from the September 2004 conference on "The Role of State Attorneys General in National Environmental Policy" and other past conferences, click here.
• On February 10, 2006, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper visited Columbia Law School to discuss his recently filed environmental litigation against the Tennessee Valley Authority (T.V.A.). General Cooper and his Chief of Staff met with interested students and with NAGP Director and Former Maine Attorney General James Tierney.