<p>Michael J. Goldberg is Emeritus Professor of Law at Widener University School of Law. He received an A.B., magna cum laude, from Cornell University in 1971, his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1975, and an LL.M. degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1977. While in law school, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the <em>Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review</em>.  </p>
<p> Following law school, Professor Goldberg clerked for a United States District Court judge in Rhode Island, and then practiced public interest law in three different settings: at the Institute for Public Representation at the Georgetown University Law Center, at the Northwest Labor and Employment Law Office, in Seattle, Washington, and then as General Counsel of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, in Washington, D.C.  </p>
<p> Professor Goldberg began his teaching career at Rutgers-Camden in 1981. He also taught at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Washington schools of law before joining the Widener faculty in 1989, when he became a charter member of the Harrisburg campus faculty. He relocated to the Wilmington campus in the fall of 1996. </p>
<p><br /> He served in the Law School's administration from 1993-96, 2000-2004, and 2005-06, first as Dean of Faculty for both campuses, then as Associate Dean of the Harrisburg campus, Vice Dean of the Delaware campus, and during the 2005-06 academic year, as Acting Dean of the Law School. </p>
<p>Professor Goldberg teaches civil procedure, administrative law, legislation, and several courses in the labor and employment law area. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on labor law, labor history, and employment discrimination, and is a member of the Labor and Employment Law section of the ABA and the Labor and Employment Relations Association. He also serves on the boards of the Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center and the Association for Union Democracy, and he frequently provides pro bono legal assistance to that organization and to rank and file reformers in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Longshoreman's Association, and other unions.</p>
<h5>Why do lawyers matter?</h5>
<p>Lawyers matter because our government is a government of laws, and lawyers play an essential role in keeping it that way.&nbsp; Individuals whose rights are violated by abuses of power depend on lawyers to hold government officials accountable and to keep our government a government of laws.</p>
<h5>How do I &ldquo;give back&rdquo;?</h5>
<p>In my pro bono work on behalf of union reformers, and in much of my charitable giving, I try to &ldquo;give back&rdquo; by assisting organizations that share my values of a more equitable and democratic society that serves the needs of all those participating in it.</p>