A former U student and one of the best female lawyers in the United States is returning to her alma mater this week.
California litigator Kelli Sager, College of Law class of 1985, will serve as the 2001 2002 distinguished alumna-in residence March 14 and 15.
Law school Dean Scott Matheson described Sager as “an alumna of great accomplishment,” noting “we’re extremely proud of her.”
The law school invited Sager to be the distinguished alumna last year, months before the National Law Journal named her one of the top 50 female litigators in the United States.
“I was very excited about it,” she said. “It’s very flattering for them to have chosen me. I have a great deal of fondness for the education I got at the U.”
Sager’s focus is media law. She’s represented clients in television, radio, motion pictures and publications.
Her most prominent legal work was her participation in the O.J. Simpson criminal trial. She helped get cameras in the courtroom so the trial could be broadcast.
“That was a very fast-paced and exciting year,” she said. “It was really the first time that people took a long look at the criminal justice system.”
It’s a good thing to have cameras in the courtroom, she continued, because the U.S. judicial system depends on the public believing that it works.
“If you don’t get to see what happens, people may mistrust the way it’s operating,” she said. “It’s a challenge for those of us who are in the courts to make the [legal] system something people are proud to watch on television.”
Sager began her interest in media as an undergraduate studying journalism. She was also the editor of the Utah Law Review, the U’s legal publication.
During the two days she’s here, she’ll meet with students and faculty, attend and participate in two classes and address 75 students admitted to begin law school at the U next fall.
She said she’ll discuss how she approached law school, what she does as a practicing lawyer now, and answer questions. Sager is no stranger to students, as she teaches a class on the First Amendment at the University of Southern California.
Sager is the law school’s second annual distinguished alumna-in-residence. The program began last year with Tom Green, one of the vice presidents for Dell Computers.
“The experience in hosting him and having him attend classes was so well-received and so successful, we’ve decided this is an extremely valuable program for the school,” Matheson said. “We think students, faculty and alums will benefit from spending some time with her while she’s here. We think this is a really great program for us.”