Adine Kernberg Varah ’95 likens being a deputy city attorney in San Francisco’s City Attorney’s office with “being a general practice doctor for one patient with a variety of issues.” She counsels a diverse range of parties, from the San Francisco Public Library to the arts commission’s street-artist program to the city hall building manager. She deals with everything from museum exhibition contracts and space-licensing agreements to trademark issues and the protection of public murals. She credits Columbia Law School with preparing her for her current role.
“Columbia has a great set of courses relating to law and the arts,” says Ms. Varah, an artist herself who illustrated Professor Jane Ginsburg’s book Legal Methods: Cases and Materials. Through the Law School’s Joseph Solomon Internship Fund, Ms. Varah also had the opportunity to work for the Museum of Modern Art’s office of general counsel. The Kernochan Center’s summer internship program places students at organizations such as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and at the National Audubon Society.
