Dec. 14, 2007 -- More than 200 alumni, friends, and faculty of the USF School of Law gathered at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco Dec. 7 to honor Donald Specter '78 and Michael Hennessey '78 as Alumni of the Year.

 "In this beautiful setting, we pay tribute to two men who speak volumes about the dedication of this law school to the pursuit of justice and to educating minds and hearts to change the world," Dean Jeff Brand said in welcoming guests and introducing the honorees. "What better way to emphasize the inclusiveness of our mission than to come together to honor Mike Henessy, perhaps the most innovative law enforcement officer in the United States, and Don Specter, a courageous and dedicated defender of the simple principle that justice demands due process, and that the humanity of our nation is manifested in the way we treat even those we incarcerate."

"Mike and Don remind us that to polarize their work and to place them in opposite camps is to misunderstand and diminish the noble purpose ofour law school, our profession, and what together we can contribute to the world."

San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey '73 and Donald Specter '78, director of the Prison Law Office, might be considered an odd couple to share Alumni of the Year honors. In truth, their careers are complementary.

"Mike runs the most progressive, humane, and thoughtful sheriff's department in the state," said Specter, while Hennessey praised Specter for "honoring the Constitution and making positive changes for people in custody."

When Specter joined the Prison Law Office in 1980, it was a two-attorney office, handling cases for individual inmates. Today, the nonprofit public interest law firm, located just outside the gates of San Quentin, employs 14 lawyers who lead class action cases that have improved conditions for the nearly 170,000 inmates in the state's prisons and juvenile facilities. "I'm proud of our growth and impact," Specter said, citing as examples successful litigation for improved living conditions and a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to prisons. Currently, the Prison Law Office is litigating two cases seeking to cap California's prison population based on claims that the overcrowded prisons are unable to provide constitutionally adequate medical care (Plata v. Schwarzenegger) and mental health care (Coleman v. Schwarzenegger).

"USF gave us all the opportunity to try new things and to make mistakes without doing any real harm. It let me experiment, to take a sort of 'taste test' approach to finding which area of the law was right for me," Specter said in accepting his award. He also applauded his co-honoree during his acceptance speech: "I bring people to the San Francisco jail to show them how creative and imaginative jail programs can be. If Mike Hennessey ran the state prison system, I wouldn't have a job."

Hennessey began his career as legal counsel to Sheriff Richard Hongisto and, in 1975, founded the San Francisco Jail Project, a legal assistance program for inmates with civil legal problems. During his 27 years as sheriff, Hennessey has pioneered numerous rehabilitation programs for inmates, including RSVP (Resolve to Stop the Violence Project, an in-custody treatment program) and the Five Keys Charter High School. The school is named after what Hennessey sees as the five most important factors for inmates leaving jail: education, employment, recovery, family, and community.

Hennessey is proud of the diversity of his department's staff and the development opportunities they are afforded. Representation of African Americans and Asian Americans has soared, while more than 70 percent of the deputies are women and minorities. "Several people on staff-not just my legal counsels-are law school graduates, including Eileen Hirst who graduated from USF in 1989," Hennessey noted. "The thought process you learn in law school is invaluable. Plus, it instills a reverence for the Constitution that gives you a road map for your work and life."

In accepting his award, Hennessey quoted Albert Einstein: "'The only life worth living is a life lived for others.' USF reinforced that for me," he said.