legal writing class with Chin. “I remember he walked in briskly, almost with a sense of purpose, and he made a deep impression on me because I had never met or known any lawyers and certainly had not known any Asian American lawyers,” she recounts. “He has a strong physical presence, but he spoke so softly and almost gently—in this tone where you would want to lean in—and introduced himself and talked about his theories on legal writing.” His dedication to his students is
unparalleled, says Michael M. Martin, dean of Fordham University School of Law, who also taught Chin in the late 1970s. Some adjunct professors are busy with other jobs and don’t focus on teaching because there isn’t much pay, he says. However, “there are some people you can just count on, and Denny Chin is one of those people you can count on to be there and do an excellent job.” Matsuoka agrees that Chin is a special
law professor. “He had been [teaching] for a long time and he didn’t take it for granted. Each student was important to him,” she recalls of her days as a student. “Even if you had the highest grade in the class, he would give you substantive comments. So this is a person who has a busy life, is very involved in bar community activities, has a demand- ing, challenging legal career, and he is still going to take the time to make sure you get the feedback you need.” His busy life as a judge directly benefi ts
his students. “His critiques have real cred- ibility in ways that a fulltime professor may not. Even a lot of practicing lawyers don’t see as many briefs as he does,” Martin suggests.
THE LEGAL BALANCING ACT Key to success, Chin advises minority law students, is a stellar fi rst-year law school performance. T ere are intangible benefi ts students should be picking up as well. “It is critical to be smart, to write well, and to be a good lawyer,” says Chin, “but it is also important to meet people, to make contacts, and to be a good, all-around person. T ere must be balance.”
CHIN DOO TEUNG, CHIN’S GRANDFATHER, IN FRONT OF HIS CHINA- TOWN APARTMENT, AND HIS NATURALIZATION PETITION.
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