Law School Professor Among Most Influential Lawyers

Law School Professor Among Most Influential Lawyers Contact: Jennifer Spencer (212) 636-7604 jspence@law.fordham.edu

Deborah Denno

Deborah W. Denno, J.D., Arthur A. McGivney Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law, has been selected as one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in America by the National Law Journal.

“Debby Denno is absolutely tireless in her work as a teacher, a scholar, and as an advocate,” said William M. Treanor, dean of the Law School. “She is a truly outstanding lawyer and professor with a commitment to making a real difference in her field. This is a well-deserved recognition for an extraordinary professor.”

Denno, who has taught at the Law School since 1991, is one of the nation’s foremost experts on lethal injection and the death penalty. She is frequently consulted by the news media and her work is often cited by the courts. Her 2002 article, “When Legislatures Delegate Death: The Troubling Paradox Behind State Uses of Electrocution and Lethal Injection and What It Says About Us,” published in the Ohio State Law Journal, was an unprecedented examination of the ways in which states carry out lethal injection.

In addition to Denno, Patricia M. Hynes (LAW ’66) was also recognized among the 50 most influential women lawyers. Hynes is a senior counsel at London-based law firm Allen & Overy. She has served as chair of the Legal Aid Society of New York and was instrumental in negotiating arrangements that saved the organization from bankruptcy in 2004. Hynes is a Fordham Law Centennial Founder and is an officer of the Fordham Law Alumni Association.

The National Law Journal, which last published a list of the most influential women in the law in 1998, selected the attorneys based on “demonstrated power to change the legal landscape, shape public affairs, launch industries and do big things.” Lawyers at law firms, law professors, and in-house counsel were considered; judges and non-practicing lawyers were not eligible for the distinction.

Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to more than 15,600 students in its four undergraduate colleges and its six graduate and professional schools. It has residential campuses in the Bronx, Manhattan and Tarrytown, and the Louis J. Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, N.Y.
06/07