Clinics also help students develop compassion by viewing the world through the eyes of clients who, in many cases, have little power or privilege, she said. “I want students to leave saying, ‘Really? These are the choices we’ve made with regard to the people who have the least?’ I want them to leave questioning, ‘Is this right? Is this really what we want our society to be like?’ And if it’s not I want them to be thinking, ‘What can I do to contribute to change?’” Wettach also encouraged and empowered clients to advocate for themselves by crafting resources to help parents and students know their rights and better understand both administrative processes and how to partner with student attorneys and private lawyers. She authored numerous book-length resources for parents and students, including the Parents’ Guide to Special Education in North Carolina that she regards as one of her most significant contributions to the field and her own legacy. “Over the years, as I learned more and more, I saw the need for a resource targeted at parents and their advocates who were encountering special education because a child they loved was struggling in school,” Wettach said. “My goal was to pour as much as I could of what I had learned into a comprehensible guide. In a way, I saw it as my gift to parents and other professionals who are dedicated to educating and advocating for children with educational disabilities, many of whom had brought their issues to the Children’s Law Clinic, not only facilitating my learning but facilitating my students’ learning.” At Duke Law, Wettach also will be remembered for continually striving to improve the quality of clinical teaching and supervision by participating in national conferences and sharing best practices. “From the beginning Jane has been a leader in our program,” said Foster, noting that Wettach provided guidance in launching his own clinic in 2002 when they were sharing office space. “She is really committed to being a great teacher and making sure that all of us are improving our teaching practice. Whatever success I have had is in large part due to the foundation that she helped lay for me.” While her in-person retirement sendoff was postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic, an e-card signed by students, faculty, and alumni was filled with messages praising her tirelessness, compassion, quick wit, dedication to improving the education system, and style of teaching both in the classroom and by example. Many cited her as a role model. “Professor Wettach has been a wonderful mentor to me and I could not be more grateful,” said Amanda Ng ’20. “She shared her belief that a passionate, clear-sighted, and well-respected lawyer can never want for opportunities to make a difference. “Her legacy is one of integrity and hard work, showing those of us fortunate to learn from her that it is possible to lead a joyful, righteous, and client-centered life in the law. She serves as an inspiration and reminder to all of us who care about public service that a lawyer’s career is long — and an advocate’s work is never done.” d — Jeannie Naujeck
WEISTART BLURB
John Weistart ’68 Scholar of contracts and commercial law and sports law pioneer lauded on retirement as “font of decency”
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rofessor John Weistart ’68 has retired after 47 years on the faculty. A scholar of contracts, commercial law, and sports law who has taught Contracts to generations of first-year students, Weistart is known for his innovations in teaching. He directed the award-winning Contracts Video Project, which produced The Contracts Experience, the first complete set of multimedia course materials to be used in law schools. Weistart pioneered the now-developed field of sports law, having co-authored the seminal 1979 work, The Law of Sports. And in 1986, he served as the executive Producer of Fair Game, a PBS show on issues of corruption and commercialization in college sports. Weistart, who was honored with an honorary doctorate by his undergraduate alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan University, in 1981, was lauded by his Duke Law colleagues and students, via Zoom, during his last class in April. Professor Paul Haagen called him a “font of decency.” “He has consistently, forcefully, and gently reminded us to call on the better angels of our natures as we make decisions about how to shape and support the next generation of lawyers, the future of the law, and the way we live our lives,” Haagen said. The next issue of Duke Law Magazine will feature a look back at Weistart’s career. d
Duke Law Magazine • Summer 2020
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