On July 31. Albert Sacks will walk out of his office on the second floor of Griswold Hall at the Law School. It will be about 7 p.m., his usual departure time. He will tell a couple of jokes to his secretaries and assistants. to whom he has grown so close, and then he will leave. It will seem like an ordinary evening. but it won't be.

At the end of July. Sacks will resign after ten years as dean of the Law School. He is quitting to give another person an opportunity to inject new ideas into the school. He will return after a year-long sabbatical to teach again at the Law School. but when he returns, things will be different--for the school and especially for Sacks.

The job of dean is often thankless: the only glamour is in the title. While most professors publich articles and acquire expertise in important areas of the legal profession, the dean must devote his time almost exclusively to administrative duties. He is ultimately responsible: if something goes wrong. it is his fault.

But in this job where thank yous are hardearned. Sacks is liberally praised by his associates.

"He has been a superb dean. He is careful and deliberative, has a good relationship with the faculty. and has always been willing to discuss problems at great length," S.M. Bernardi, professor of Law and associate dean of the Law School, says.

Mary D. Upton, dean of students, echoes those sentiments: "He is terrific. He is very thoughtful and always cares about the quality of life at the Law School."

And Daniel Herschman, a third-year law student, says. "He has run a professional operation. He is really committed to the job and worked very hard at it."

Several things stand out about Sacks--his ability to talk at great length on almost any subject, his occasional absent-mindedness, and his genuine concern for people--but it is impossible to talk about him without talking about Harvard Law School. In the years he has spent at the Law School, as professor, as associate dean, and finally as dean, Sacks work has become his life. He has few hobbies and outside interests. As Sadelle R. Sacks, his wife says. "There is very little else you can do when you are dean." And Bernardi says. "Harvard Law School has really been the primary focus of his life."

As dean. Sacks says his primary accomplishment was to supervise the transition of the Law School from an institution focusing strictly on formal legal training to one that is much more open both to the liberal arts and to professional clinical training.

"What we have done is to break down the distance both to the University as a whole and the profession of law." Sacks says.

When he took office in 1971, the idea of clinical education where a student learns by practicing law either in the classroom or in an actual courtroom situation was unheard of. Now, there are established programs for this kind of training, including the Introduction to Trial Advocacy Program and the Legal Services Institute.

The institute is a key component of the clinical education program. Founded in 1979, the institute serves the dual purpose of educating students and providing legal services for the poor. Third-year students have the option of spending a year there taking courses and defending clients.

Sacks says the institute could be a prototype for legal studies similar to the function the hospital internship serves for medical schools.

Sacks is quick to disclaim personal credit for the institute and the advances in clinical education, claiming they have been gradual changes over the years, but Gary Bellow, professor of Law and head of the institute, says Sacks worked hard to establish the program and get faculty approval for it. "It wouldn't be here without him." Bellow adds.

"The clinical program is the Law School looking out to the profession." Sacks says, but the Law School has also made advances in opening up towards the University. Sacks has supported a greater focus on history, philosophy and social theory in the curriculum.