Letter from Lani Guinier to William W. Greenhalgh RE: E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship
Correspondence
November 21, 1984

1 page
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Legal Department General, Lani Guinier Correspondence. Letter from Lani Guinier to William W. Greenhalgh RE: E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship, 1984. 6f9c3a31-e692-ee11-be37-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/af010939-ba62-4ce0-9fae-4e3cd715f191/letter-from-lani-guinier-to-william-w-greenhalgh-re-e-barrett-prettyman-fellowship. Accessed June 13, 2025.
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Les&IE&renseH, November 21, 1984 Mr. William W. Greenhalgh, Director Legal Internship Program Georgetown University Law Center 500 New Jersey Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C.20001 RE: E- Barrett Prettyman Fellowship Dear Professor Greenhalgh: I write to recormnend Ms. Joan Gibbs for an E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship in Criminal Law- Joan worked for LDF as a 1aw clerk this summer. She worked under my supervision primarily on the appeal of a federal habeas case. Joan is one of the top four or five law 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 Columbia. She is a serious, committed person with a passionate interest in the criminal justice system and a profound appreciation of its limitations. Yet, she avoids -ynicism and constructively channeJ-s her prodigious energies into significant scholarly efforts. Joan is exceptionally talented as a writer. Her writing is clear and lucid, reflecting both her journalist's background and a well-organized, analytical style. Unlike many law students who are either too eager to reach the "right" con- clusion or too impatient to follow through and reason out an issue, Joan has an unusual abitity to develop painstakingly her arguments. As a researcher Joan is extremely thorough without being inefficient. She quickly identifies the significant lines of authority but is not satisfied until she thinks about the relevant implications of each case. Her ability to extra- polate from the reasoning of the cases she reads is extremely sophisticated. When time was short and I was unable to read all the cases she cited, I never hesitated to rely on her analysis and judgrment. Contribulions are deductible lor U.S. ineome tar purposes The NAACp LEGAL 0EFENSE E EDUCATIONAL FUND is nol part ot the National Association lor the Advancement ol colored People although it wai tounoeO oy it and shares its commitmenl to equal righti. LDF has had lor over 25 years a separate Board, proqram, stall, olllce and budget. NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. g9 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y. 10013o(212) 21S.1900 Mr. William lil. Greenhalgh -2- Joan is thoughtful, hard working, and reconmend her without regervation. Novernber 2L, 1984 extremely mature. I I'Glr