Let the Record Show: Biden Visits �鶹��Ƶ Law SF in '89�� - �鶹��Ƶ Law San Francisco (Formerly �鶹��Ƶ Hastings)

Then-Sen. Joe Biden speaks to students and faculty at Snodgrass Hall in 1989, discussing global and national issues. “The world is changing utterly. …. There is a worldwide opportunity for great change and to reshape the diplomatic map,” he said.

In January 1989, a Delaware senator visited the campus of �鶹��Ƶ Law San Francisco, then �鶹��Ƶ Hastings, just as Kamala Harris ’89 was starting her final semester of law school.��

Few could have predicted that the senator, Joseph R. Biden, would choose a third-year �鶹��Ƶ Law SF student as his running mate more than 30 years later, setting the stage for Harris’ historic vice presidency and run for the White House in 2024.��

Biden was 46 years old when he spoke to a packed crowd of law students and faculty members in the Louis B. Mayer Lounge of Snodgrass Hall, now the site of �鶹��Ƶ Law SF’s new 198 McAllister St. building. His Jan. 10 visit was recounted in a Hastings Law News article��written by James P. Ballantine ’90, then editor of the College’s student newspaper.��

The future president shared stories from his own law school days, joking about his less-than-stellar grades. He told the audience: “I was elected to the United States Senate four years after graduating from law school… which should give some hope for C students … It is hard to believe that I was writing the very same laws which I never understood when I was in law school.”��

During his visit, Biden addressed significant global issues, including the collapse of the Soviet Union and the “barbaric system” of apartheid in South Africa. He also discussed the role of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chaired, and its importance in the Supreme Court nomination process.��

Biden engaged in an extended Q&A session with �鶹��Ƶ Law SF students, responding “at great length to numerous questions, staying well beyond his scheduled time to leave,” according to the Hastings Law News report.

He also noted that he would “definitely run for president, but not in 1992.”

Biden’s 1989 visit demonstrates how the College consistently attracts influential leaders to engage with and inspire the next generation of legal professionals. His discussion of global and national issues underscores the critical role of legal education in shaping the future. And his visit highlights �鶹��Ƶ Law SF’s ongoing impact in fostering dialogue and preparing students to address the world’s most pressing challenges.

Let the Record Show is an occasional series that showcases people, moments, and milestones from �鶹��Ƶ Law San Francisco’s past.