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113 Harv. L. Rec. 1 (2001)

handle is hein.journals/hlrec113 and id is 1 raw text is: AMERICA'S FIRST LAW SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

The Harvard Law-
ECO RD

35 CENTS                                   VOLUME I 13, No. I                  II RIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 200 1

From Shaw Hall to
City Hall: Recent
Harvard Law grad takes
on the powers that be at
the San Antonio City
Hall.. . More on P. 3
A Living Wage?
Controversy rages over
the Crimson's decision to
hire Cambodians to digi-
tize their archive ...
More on P. 2
Sideshow Bob:
Bungling the Strategic
Plan and selling out to
business? Gurney says 12
years is enough for Dean
Clark ... More on P. 5
New to town? The 1 L
guide to restaurants,
radio stations, cool bars,
the best desserts, playing
hooky and going to
church . . More on P. 6
Not so different: This
year's entering class is a
little less diverse, but like
every year there's still
plenty of talent in the
bunch... More on P. 3
He said, he said: The
dueling restaurant
reviewers take on the do-
it-yourself grill Koreana,
but decide to keep things
civil ... More on P. 12
Cheating on wine: A
beginner's guide to
pretending you know
something about wine -
or at least can fake it
... More on P. 10
Bored? Do you like
guacamole? Salsa? Liza
Brann has an idea for
you, and it doesn't
involve the Hark
More on P. 12
CONTENTS
PROFILE            3
EDITORIAL          4
FORUM               5
CAMBRIDGE GUIDE. 6
FENNO              9
VINO & VERITAS     I0
COMICS             I I
ETC.               12

The brains behind Legally Blonde

m Screenwriters
drew scenes from
life at Stanford Law
by Meredith McKee
Karen McCullah Lutz and
Kirsten Smith, screenwriters of
the HLS fairy tale Legally
Blonde, say they have made a
business out of being hip.
There's some sort of weird
fusion of both our sensibilities
put together that equates hip,
Smith said. And it's not really
manufactured by us, it just sort of
happens when we collaborate.
But Lutz and Smith, who pre-
viously sold the script for 10
Things I Hate About You, want-
ed their latest movie to be more
than just a comedy.
We definitely wanted to have
a 'Don't let other people define
you' message, Lutz told the
RECORD.
Smith added: We wanted to
do  a  female  empowerment
movie, and I think it definitely
comes across as that. And it's
very seductive and .','s fun and
it's candy-colored and gloss, but I
think there's a good message for
girls, and women, and even
boys.
Lutz and Smith were brought
onboard when producer Marc
Platt asked them to turn a book
by the same name into a screen-
play.
Author Amanda Brown, an
attorney, had written the book
Legally Blonde after she grad-
uated from Stanford Law School
as an anthropological study of
the law school species. Not sur-
prisingly, Brown set the story at
her alma mater, not HLS.
Working from Brown's manu-
script, Lutz and Smith concocted
a version of the story for the big
screen. After nervously pitching
the proposed story line to the stu-
dio suits, Lutz and Smith were
given approval to draft a script.
We had come up with a fairly
cohesive outline for it, but it was
clear to Marc Platt, the producer,
who went to law school - he's

TRACY BENM y MGM Slud,
Reese Witherspoon and Linda Cardellini, left, star in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Pictures' comedy Legally Blonde. Below, Robert Luketic directs.

also a lawyer - that he wanted us
to be able to flavor this with the
realities of law school, Smith
explained.
So Lutz and Smith %xent to
Stanford Law School.
We were there during orienta-
tion and the introductory period,
so %% e got a lot of those 'Your life
is going to be hell - wink, wink'

speeches, Smith said. The
problem was that we were there
when, like, everyone's bonding
and getting to know each other.
When we told them that we were
screenwriters just doing research,
they just dropped us like hot
potatoes, because we weren't
Please see BLONDE p. 2

Universities
earn big bucks
as Harvard's
stunt double
by RECORD Staff
Pity the soul who watches a
cinema blockbuster set at
Harvard  Law   School and
believes the campus actually
looks that good.
Law students who watched
this   summer's   Legally
Blonde -noticed more than a
few differences between the
celluloid version of campus
and the real deal. In place of
such seige-mentality mon-
stronsities as the Gropius
Complex and Pound Hall
were red brick facades draped
in fake ivy. Even more sur-
prising, Elle Woods moved
into Wyeth House and no
one gave her the this-build-
ing-is-a-firetrap  speech.
Please we DOUBLE p. 2

LIPP undergoes $250K benefits upgrade
The changes were designed to  the same. When students receive  amount alumni receive, she said
by Mike Wiser    address a range of criticisms  loans, the school calculates how  that the change would affect 80
In late April, just as the mem-  aimed at a program that many  much a student needs and how  percent of participants.
bers of class of 2001 were    students and faculty saw as infe-  much that student's parents are  The definition of which alum-
preparing to head off to their rior to similar programs at NYU  expected to contribute. Under  ni can receive LIPP funding has
new   jobs   and  wondering   and Yale lax  schools. The   the old system loans that were  also changed. Under the old ss-
whether they would ever be debt  changes, which took effect on  part of this imputed parental tem only students in private o
free, Dean Robert Clark '72   July 1, will affect the 200 or so  contribution were treated differ-  public sector law related jobs
announced that the school's Low  alumni in low-income jobs who  ently by LIPP than the need-  were covered. Now any alumni
Income Protection Plan (LIPP)  use contributions from LIPP to  based loans. Dealy said that the  working in a government, non-
would undergo major changes.  help pay off la x school loans,  program xsas confusing and she  profit or academic job  Rill be
The school would redefine     Dean Clark and Lisa Deal\. the  had many philosophical con-  included in the program. Dealy
which jobs were covered by the  Director of LIPP, both said that  versations xith students about  said that under the old system
plan, eliminate the different  the changes x% ill put HLS in the  why they would be responsible  jobs were evaluated on a case
treatment of need-based and   same league as the best loan-for- for the imputed-parental contri-  by-case basis and students were
imputed parental-contribution  giveness programs in the coun-  bution five years after they had  put into a Catch-22 situation o
loans, replace the old salary cap  try.                     graduated. While the change   having to accept a job before
with a salary-debt ratio and    Under the neN program, LIPP  would not have a huge effect on
increase the LIPP contributions,  will treat all financial aid loans  the cost of the program or the  Please see LIPP p. 2

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