Letter from Guinier to Parker RE: The institute for Public Representation -- The Fellowship Program

Correspondence
December 11, 1984

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Letter from Guinier to Parker RE: The institute for Public Representation -- The Fellowship Program preview

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  • Legal Department General, Lani Guinier Correspondence. Letter from Guinier to Parker RE: The institute for Public Representation -- The Fellowship Program, 1984. 83353d8c-e592-ee11-be37-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/85c11b91-6e9e-4ab7-bc70-ce6221eb452e/letter-from-guinier-to-parker-re-the-institute-for-public-representation-the-fellowship-program. Accessed November 23, 2025.

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    December 11, 1984

Mr. Douglas L. Parker, Director
Institute for Public Representation
600 New Jersey Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 2000I

RE:

Dear

The Institute
Fe lowship P

for Public Representation -- The
ram

r write to recommend Ms. Joan Gibbs for an rnstitutefor Public Representation Fellowship. Joan worked for
LDF as a law clerk this summer. She worked under mysupervision primarily on the appeal of a state prisoner's
habeas case in federal- court.
Joan is one of the top four or five Iaw students with
whom I have worked at LDF. She ranks on a par with,
and in some ways outdistances, 1aw students from Harvard,Yale and corumbia. she i-s a serious, committed personwith a passionate interest in the criminal justicL system
and a profound appreciation of its limitations. yetl sheavoids cynicisrn and constructivery channels her prodigious
energies into significant scholarly and community efforts.
Joan is exceptionally talented as a writer. Her writing iscrear and Iucid, reflecting both her journalist's backgiound
and a well-organized, analytical styIe. Unlike many 1aw
students who are either too eager to reach the,,rigtt,,con-
clusion or too impati-ent to follow through and reaion out
an issue, Joan has an unusual ability to develop painstak-
ingly her arguments.

As a researcher, Joan is extremely thorough without being
inefficient. she guickly identifies the significant lines
of authority, but is not satisfied until she thinks about
the relevant implications of each case. Her ability toextrapolate from the reasoning of the cases she reads is

Contibuti.ons are dedurlible lor U.S. income tar purposes

The NAACp LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATIONAL FUND is not parl ol the National Association lor the Advancement ol Colored People although ii
was lounded by it and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF has ha dlor over 2Syears a separate Board, program, stall. ollice and budget.



!lr. Douglas L. Parker, Director
December 11, 1984

Page Two

extremely sophisticated. When time was short and f was
unable to read aII the cases she cited, I never hesitated to
rely on her analysis and judgrnent, Joan is thoughtful,
hard working, and extremely mature. I recommend her without
reservation.

sie6)eIy,-u
VW
'Lani Guinier

LG/ r

Dru._
Iif,, h ,+\na /^;,/-- {oo

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