Elon Law Annual Report 2012–13

Contents Cover Story

6

INTERVENTIONS

Through the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic, Elon Law students help clients who are fleeing war or who have experienced persecution on account of race, religion, nationality or political opinion.

10

INNOVATIONS

Elon is preparing future lawyers for the changing dynamics of law practice and for influential roles in the profession and in society by incorporating leadership skills development into its program of legal education.

14

INTEGRATIONS

One of the many ways that Elon bridges the study and practice of law is by housing a working court – the North Carolina Business Court – inside the law school.

16

INFLUENCE

Elon Law faculty members are influencing the formation of law and policy at state, national and international levels through their scholarship and professional service.

2 News 18 Student Spotlight 22 Alumni - Class Actions 25 Honoring Donors

LETTER FROM THE DEAN

Friends, As legal education is being challenged to prepare students more readily to move into the world of practice, Elon University School of Law is deliberately and thoughtfully responding to the changing dynamics of the legal profession. In these pages, we explore two major innovations in our program of legal education — our leadership program and our association with the North Carolina Business Court.

Yet, even as we explore innovations, Elon remains committed to the indispensable aspects of a sound legal education – great analytical reasoning and the substantive knowledge lawyers must have to serve their clients and society ably.

In the feature article, you will learn about the great work that Elon students are doing in our Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic. The service they render to vulnerable clients from across the globe and the dedication they exhibit in the cause of justice reflect some of the abiding and historic ideals of our profession. We are proud of the work they do, and we are proud to share some of their achievements with you.

We also highlight activities of members of our faculty, whose work to improve law and social policy spans national and international borders. Their work enriches their teaching, contributes to the advancement of knowledge and models for our students the importance of the lawyer’s role to serve society and the communities where we live and work.

Law schools will continue to teach students the knowledge and skills they must master to become competent lawyers. At the same time, law schools also must help students to develop the character, judgment and values that will ensure that the law remains the profession of service in the cause of justice.

Law schools must confront the challenges of this new era and its uncertain demands. These challenges will require innovation and a commitment to the traditional values of a legal education. Elon Law is proud to be advancing both the traditional aspects of a legal education and innovative programs that will enable future lawyers to meet these constantly emerging challenges.

Elon Law’s impact is increasingly seen in the contributions our alumni are beginning to make. We are proud of their achievements. And, as we continue to develop, we are grateful to all those who support the law school.

We are pleased to share this report with you.

Sincerely, George R. Johnson, Jr. Dean and Professor of Law

Annual report 2012–13 1

NEWS

Leadership Program selected for national award Elon Law’s Leadership Program was recognized with a 2013 American Bar Association E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award in August.

The award honors excellence and innovation in professionalism programs by law schools, bar associations, professionalism commissions and other law-related organizations.

“In honoring your program with the leading national award recognizing excellence in legal professionalism programming, the committee has found the Elon Leadership Program to be worthy of emulation by law schools across the nation,” said Frederic S. Ury, chair of the ABA’s standing committee on professionalism. “Leadership is a precious and essential commodity within the bar and society in these challenging times, and Elon is to be commended for its innovative, impressive and committed approach to cultivating and encouraging leadership qualities among its students.” ■

THE

Leadership PROGRAM AT THE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

ELON LAW

AT L A W . E L O N . E D U / L E A D E R S H I P

Elon establishes JD/MBA program

The inaugural cohort of Business Fellows at Elon Law, from left, Sean Walton L’16, Timothy Prosky L’15, Katherine Lester L’15, Chad Archer L’15, Benjamin McKaig L’16 and Adam Kindley L’15.

The program offered by Elon Law and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business at Elon University enables students to earn JD and MBA degrees in four years, at lower cost, rather than the standard five years required to earn such degrees. Students in the program will benefit from the law school’s innovative approach to legal education, including its nationally recognized attorney mentoring program, as well as the strengths of Elon’s MBA program, ranked the #1 part-time MBA program in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek. ■

Business Fellows program launched

Expanded externship program

The Business Fellows program will provide students with the knowledge and experience needed to become exceptional business attorneys. Integrated across three years, the program includes a scholarship, a core curriculum of business courses, a funded externship in a business setting, recurring business law roundtables with senior business executives and opportunities to counsel businesses through partnerships with small business incubators.

“In a business environment, lawyers serve as key strategic partners in helping a client solve problems and develop creative approaches to achieving their business goals,” said Maureen K. O’Connor, a member of Elon’s Law School Advisory Board and the chief innovation and strategy officer, and former general counsel, of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

“Having a strong understanding of business issues will set a lawyer apart in a competitive legal market.” ■

2 Elon University school of law

Elon Law’s new Semester-in-Practice Externship Program allows students to participate in a full-time, semester-long externship in nonprofit or government offices nationally or internationally. The new In-House Counsel Externship Program enables law students to work in the offices of corporate counsel at for-profit organizations. Both programs enable students to obtain extensive professional legal experience while earning academic credit under the supervision of law school faculty. These programs build on the law school’s existing externship program, which offers students numerous placement opportunities in dozens of nonprofit organizations and state executive, legislative and judicial branch offices in North Carolina and other states and countries. ■

NEWS

Andrew Haile appointed academic dean Andrew J. Haile has been named associate dean of academic affairs at Elon Law. Since joining the law faculty full time in June 2008, Haile has taught business and tax law courses and written about tax policy, state and local tax issues and e-commerce. His research has been published in several law journals and national tax law publications including Cardozo Law Review, Columbia Journal of Tax Law, North Carolina Law Review, Temple Law Review, University of Toledo Law Review and State Tax Notes.

“Andrew Haile will bring great intellect, experience, insight and energy to the academic dean position,” Dean George R. Johnson, Jr. said. “His passion for teaching, scholarship and service, his collegiality and his commitment to student success will be driving forces behind Elon’s continued advancement as a law school of excellence and innovation.”

Prior to joining Elon, Haile was a partner with the law firm of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, where he represented clients in mergers and acquisitions as well as matters involving complex tax planning and tax litigation. He served as judicial clerk to Judge Frank W. Bullock Jr., former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Haile received his law degree from Stanford Law School in 2000, where he was a member of the Stanford Law Review and was awarded the Order of the Coif. He received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Davidson College in 1994, where he was named to the college’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. ■

Antonette Barilla joins Elon Law as director of academic and bar support & assistant professor of law

Andrew J. Haile

Antonette Barilla

Born in Italy and fluent in English, Italian and Spanish, Barilla graduated magna cum laude from California Polytechnic University, Pomona, where she was the recipient of the President’s Scholar Award. She graduated with honors from Western State College of Law, as well as the University of London, where she obtained her Postgraduate Certificate in Law and Development, her Postgraduate Diploma in International Business Law, and her LLM. She is also an alumna of The Hague Academy of International Law. As a part of her law practice, Barilla worked in a private firm specializing in estate planning, contract law, trust/corporate administration, immigration, education and juvenile law with a focus on international contracts and business transactions.

She brings more than 15 years of teaching experience with her to Elon. As a professor at Western State College of Law, Barilla taught courses in international law, international treaties, international busi­ness transactions, legal methods and legal problem solving.

Dedicated to principles of expert learning and best teaching practices in education, Barilla is committed to assisting students in cultivating their learning skills and implementing a results-driven academic and bar support program. ■

Marc Bishop and Ronny Lancaster elected to Law School Advisory Board

Marc D. Bishop

Ronny B. Lancaster

Marc D. Bishop, a partner with the law firm of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP in Greensboro, N.C., and Ronny B. Lancaster, senior vice president for government relations at Assurant Inc. in Washington, D.C., have joined Elon’s Law School Advisory Board.

“We are pleased to welcome these outstanding lawyer-leaders into the Elon community and we look forward to the

many contributions they will make to advance Elon University School of Law,” said Dean George R. Johnson, Jr. Bishop and Lancaster join an esteemed group of legal professionals on the board, including David Gergen, former adviser to four United States presidents, Jim Hunt, former North Carolina governor, three former Chief Justices of the N.C. Supreme Court and a past-president of the ABA. ■

Annual report 2012–13 3

NEWS

Elon Law Review publishes on terrorism’s impact on criminal justice

Anthony Foxx: Polarization is infecting politics United States Secretary of Transportation and U.S. Secretary of Transporformer Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx delivtation Anthony Foxx, center, and law school dean George ered Elon Law’s fall 2012 Joseph M. Bryan R. Johnson, Jr., with LeaderDistinguished Leadership Lecture, saying bipartiship Fellows at Elon Law. sanship and public-private collaboration are key to solving local and national challenges.

“There is an illness of polarization that has gotten deeply into our politics,” Foxx said. “I don’t think you can answer the question of deficit reduction without someone saying, ‘I will accept what you are asking, but only if you are willing to accept some of what we are seeking.’”

Foxx became the youngest mayor in Charlotte’s history when he was elected in 2009. President Obama nominated Foxx to serve as the 17th U.S. Secretary of Transportation in April. The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 100–0 on July 2. ■

Elon hosts trade secrets law works-in-progress workshop Elon Law Professor David Levine coordinated Elon’s 2012 forum on trade secrets and intellectual property law. Richard F. Dole, the Bobby Wayne Young Professor of Consumer Law at the University of Houston Law Center, delivered remarks about his involvement in drafting the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which has been adopted in 46 states and the District of Columbia.

Other contributors included: Eric R. Claeys, professor of law, George Mason University School of Law; John Cross, Grosscurth Professor of Law, Louise D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville; Elizabeth A. Rowe, University of Florida Research Foundation Professor of Law, director of the program in intellectual property law and Feldman Gale Term Professor in Intellectual Property Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law; Sharon K. Sandeen, professor, Hamline University School of Law; and Mark F. Schultz, associate professor of law and director of faculty development, Southern Illinois University School of Law. Susanna Guffey L’13 and Eddie Holder L’13 also presented draft articles developed in their trade secrets law seminar taught by Levine. ■

4 Elon University school of law

Volume 4, Issue 2 of the Elon Law Review examines how the detection, investigation and prosecution of criminal activities has changed since September 11, 2001. The publication includes an article by Keith A. Petty of the Senior Defense Counsel, U.S. Army JAG Corps, who is a former prosecutor at the Guantanamo Bay Military Commission. Petty’s article, “A Different Kind of Criminal? Miranda, Terror Suspects and the Police Safety Exception,” analyzes the timing and national security implications of Miranda warnings given during the arrest process with respect to terrorism suspects.

Tung Yin, a professor of law at Lewis & Clark Law School, contributed the article, “Ten Years of Legal Evolution: The Architecture of U.S. Counterterrorism Law from September 10, 2001 to the Present.”

Yin’s article analyzes how the government’s ability to prosecute suspected terrorists has evolved and been restricted through the U.S. Supreme Court. The publication also includes an essay titled “What Hath 9/11 Wrought?” by Arnold H. Loewy, George R. Killam Jr. chair of criminal law at Texas Tech University School of Law, and notes

by Nathan E. Standley L’11 and Gabriel Zeller L’12.

The next edition of the Elon Law Review, deriving from a 2012 symposium, will examine First Amendment issues resulting from the interplay between religion and government. Participants in the symposium included John Inazu, Washington University School of Law; Alycee Lane, University of California, Santa Barbara; Bruce Ledewitz, Duquesne University School of Law; Robert Luther III, Knicely & Associates, P.C.; Jeremy Mallory, University of Chicago Law School; Aaron Petty, U.S. Department of Justice; Raymond Pierce, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP; Mark Strasser, Capital University Law School; Harry Tepker, University of Oklahoma College of Law; and Russell Weaver, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. ■

NEWS

Engaging global commerce in Southeast Asia Elon Law and MBA students traveled to Vietnam and Singapore in January to explore the dynamics of modern global trade. Part of an International Business course offered jointly by the law school and Elon’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, the course allowed 17 MBA students and six law students to engage lawyers and executives from a variety of law firms and corporations in discussions about the challenges of conducting business internationally.

“Understanding how governmental,

labor and cultural perspectives within Vietnam and Singapore influence business dealings can save valuable time and resources for clients that have business interests within these countries and the greater Asian Pacific region,” said course participant Eddie M. Holder L’13.

In Vietnam, students met with executives at Theodore Alexander, a furniture and accessories design and manufacturing company, Sprinta Co. Ltd., an apparel manufacturing

company, Baker & McKenzie, a global law firm, and GE. In Singapore, the group held meetings with senior leaders at Maxwell Chambers, an integrated dispute resolution complex, the American Chamber of Commerce, Singapore Management University, UPS and CSE Global, an international technologies company.

This was the fourth consecutive year that Elon’s law and MBA programs offered an international business course with a study abroad component. ■

Former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey urges stronger anti-terrorism policies

Former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, third from right, with, from left, N.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Edmunds, Jr., Professor Margaret Kantlehner, Elon preceptor and attorney Robert Cone, Mitchell Baroody L’14 and Katherine Koone L’14.

Speaking at Elon Law in 2013, Mukasey, the 81st Attorney General of the United States, criticized some approaches of the Obama administration regarding intelligence gathering procedures and the prosecution of war criminals.

“Policies pursued in the past by the current administration, and now being pursued, leave us both a lot less capable than we might otherwise be of taking tactical advantage of whatever intelligence we may discover and also less capable than we might be of dealing with the ongoing threat,” Mukasey said. “In fighting Islamism we are handicapped at the strategic level in no small measure by the refusal of those in authority to acknowledge the goals of our adversaries.”

Mukasey served for 18 years as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, including six as chief judge.

The second Jewish U.S. Attorney General, Mukasey is a partner at the international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. ■

Annual report 2012–13 5

Mandigo Vambe, left, a client of the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic, with Joe Baker L’12 who assisted Vambe as a law student at Elon.

INTERVENTIONS Aiding the persecuted through law, spotlight on the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic

M

andigo Vambe arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport and, soon, headed south.

He was seeking a warmer climate—and safety.

In North Carolina, Vambe found both.

When he left his home of Harare, Zimbabwe, in 2011 he knew he may never return, but trusted he was doing the right thing and hoped to one day reunite with his wife and two young children.

With the help of Elon Law’s Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic, Vambe sought political asylum in the United States. As an open and active member of a political party opposed to the Mugabe government, he risked abduction and beatings. His role in organizing an anti-government protest tipped the scale—he was no longer safe. After making efforts to hide and protect his wife and two children, Vambe was forced to flee.

More than 11/2 years later, his application for asylum was granted. The waiting was excruciating.

“But now I have hope. I have hope of seeing my family,” Vambe says. “Not seeing them is the most difficult.

But, no matter how long the night is, the day is sure to come. Everything has an end. No matter how long it takes, it will end.”

MEETING A NEED, BUILDING SKILLS Vambe is one of nearly 500 clients served each year by the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic at Elon. The clinic has served clients from 47 countries since 2011 (see p.8 sidebar for list of client home countries). They may need guidance and legal representation to gain permanent

residency, work permits or become naturalized citizens.

And many desperately seek to be reunited with family, having been separated through war, violence and persecution.

The clinic opened in January 2011, taking on a large and ongoing need in Greensboro and in the region. For more than 30 years, Greensboro has been a top resettlement location through the U.S. State Department. A concentration of refugee and immigrant services and agencies developed over the years, but legal work was limited.

“Elon recognized a compelling need in the community and responded to it by creating an incredibly unique opportunity for engaged learning and practical skills development for Elon law students,” says Heather Scavone, director of the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic and assistant professor of law.

Each semester, eight to 10 law students manage cases, meet with clients, perform intake interviews, analyze cases for legal remedy, gather evidence, draft and file applications and briefs, and maintain client correspondence. Students also observe and participate in hearings before federal administrative agencies and courts. They attend a weekly class and work in the clinic at least 10 hours a week. Many students are eager to do more, adding extra time in the clinic into their schedule of classes and coursework.

“Our goal is to blend the student learning—the pedagogy—with the hands-on experience of doing real and important work,” Scavone says. “We essentially run a full-time law office while developing students’ legal practice skills.”

Annual report 2012–13 7

Home countries of clients served by the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic Afghanistan Albania Angola Bhutan Bosnia-Herzegovina Burma Burundi Central African Republic Cambodia Chad Colombia Republic of Congo Cote d’Ivoire Cuba Democratic Republic of the Congo Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Ghana Honduras Iran Iraq Jamaica Kosovo Laos Latvia Liberia Libya Malaysia Mexico Morocco Nepal Nigeria Pakistan Rwanda Serbia Senegal Somalia Sudan Syria Tanzania Thailand Togo Vietnam Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe

TRUST: A CRUCIAL INGREDIENT Most clients have difficult stories to tell: a mother who escaped across battle lines, forced to leave her baby behind, seeks reunification; an elderly resident, who gained permanent residence in the United States following the Vietnam War, seeks citizenship; an injured refugee seeks a medical waiver to take the citizenship test.

Many times, the legal needs of clients are a family affair.

Students in the clinic find that work with a client often reveals urgent legal needs of that client’s parents, children, nieces or nephews.

“To be an attorney in this setting, the students have to build relationships,” Scavone explains. “Our clients have difficult, often horrific, tragic stories. They are living in an unfamiliar place. Who do they trust?”

The students take time to hear their stories and build trust with each client, listening, advising and walking them through every step of the process.

“I spent 120 hours with my client. I know her story, her kids’ names, the best days of her life and the worst days of her life,” says Leah Shelberg L’13. “It’s a very delicate process. I learned what kind of questions to ask and to listen.

And as I heard the client’s story, I had to know, legally, what was important to the case.”

The people skills students develop and hone through

the clinic reflect the law school’s emphasis on service learning and engaged learning. The clients experience this as respect.

“The clinic was a very welcoming environment,” Vambe says. “Because of my experience, I was scared of authority. It’s hard to trust. The most difficult part of the process is when you talk about something you don’t want to talk about. Joe Baker, my student, was very patient. This is a very professional place. They treat you as a person.”

Felix Ndayisenga, a refugee client from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, agrees: “They have helped my family a lot. The students are patient to learn our story.

Even when it is really too emotional and painful to repeat, they are patient.”

“PRACTICE-READY” GRADUATES Learning how to build a client relationship is just one element of preparing “practice-ready” law school graduates.

“Practice-ready graduates are learning the law but also learning what goes into working in the field—case management and time management, client relationships, interpersonal skills, juggling and prioritizing, adapting and steering,” Scavone says.

“The clinic is invaluable in teaching how to manage

A VOICE FOR HIS PEOPLE Mandigo Vambe is a man with vision. An entrepreneur. An advocate for the disabled.

A family man.

Vambe is also a political asylee.

Harare, Zimbabwe is his home, a home that became too dangerous.

After schooling, Vambe managed his father’s grocery store. When his mother was disabled by a stroke, he saw the many challenges and indignities faced by people with disabilities. Buildings or transportation services have no aided access; employers are unwilling to hire anyone with a disability.

“These individuals were often forgotten by our government and treated very poorly,” Vambe explained. “Their voices are not heard.”

Working out of the store, Vambe created a gathering place for the disabled. He helped them get wheelchairs and learn skills such as beading, crocheting and mending shoes and clothing so that they could earn a living. He trained some to be competitive wheelchair racers.

8 Elon University school of law

In 2000, Vambe and his wife opened their own store, and created a similar community space for the disabled—complete with a wheelchair racing practice area in the back.

Eventually, he and his close-knit community caught the eye of the Mugabe government. Vambe was openly a member of the opposition party. Many of the disabled he knew and worked with had been injured at the hands of government forces.

He was outspoken in his criticism.

A conflagration of events—increased repression of citizens, attacks on and abductions of people who oppose Mugabe and Vambe’s active involvement in organizing a citizen protest in 2011—put his life on the line. He made the wrenching decision to leave while he could. A U.S. travel visa in hand, from his time as an international wheelchair racing coach, Vambe fled.

Living in nearby Winston-Salem, N.C., Vambe sought the help of the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic. Student Joe Baker

L’12 worked closely with him to complete a lengthy affidavit and other documents needed to present a case for asylum in the U.S. It was granted in February 2013.

Soon, Vambe hopes to bring his wife and daughters safely to this country. He has earned several medical certifications and is working in health care. He is also taking courses for Cisco network certification.

Even so, his heart remains in Zimbabwe.

Vambe remains connected to his people and his country through Zimbabwean expatriate communities in the U.S., U.K., South Africa and Australia. They continue to push for human rights and political goals.

“I am so grateful, but if given the chance, I wouldn’t be here indefinitely,” he says. “I would like to go back, if Mugabe is gone and it is safe. I have a vision of having my own business again—a cellular network, a technology company, back in Africa, back in Zimbabwe, if I can.” ■

client expectations, focus questions to get a complete understanding of the case and cope with the emotional aspect of representing clients who are often in dire circumstances,” says Joe Baker L’12.

Through weekly meetings, handled like a partners meeting at a law firm, professors talk through cases with students. They ask questions, discuss ideas and help students work through each case step-by-step.

“The professors make sure you are not just processing paperwork without knowledge of what’s behind it. Their priority is to be sure you understand the law, too,” said Ben Snyder L’12, an immigration attorney in private practice.

“The clinic prepared me to be able to do what I’m doing now. The practical experience set me apart from other applicants.”

Students describe a range of benefits and lessons learned from their semester with the clinic. They gain experience explaining complicated issues and working through interpreters.

They have a deeper understanding of legal and administrative systems. Balancing a workload, managing interruptions and using standard case management software also prepare students for real-world settings.

“I learned to think on my feet, to practice drawing from the knowledge I have in my mind at a moment’s notice,” Snyder says. “This is extremely important and translatable to any field. All attorneys need to do it, and the more you do it, the better you get.”

Elisabeth Linka L’13 plans to do criminal defense work.

“The client relationship piece is valuable even if you don’t do immigration law,” she says.

“Learning to assess the client, manage expectations, deal with different levels of English skill—these all apply to criminal defense as well as understanding immigration law in the purely legal sense.”

Above all, the work students conduct at the clinic goes beyond the practical application of the law. It changes lives.

“I think I will look back on this as an experience that made me more compassionate, interested in understanding and appreciating other peoples’ situations.” Linka says.

“This work is really close to my heart,” said Katlyn Lantz L’13 who worked with Ndayisenga (see sidebar) and other clients. “We are making a difference in people’s lives— even before we graduate.”

Shelberg agrees. “The clinic is a lot of work, but it’s worth it. The first thing my client said to me in English was, ‘I love you.’ That made every second worthwhile.” ■

Felix Ndayisenga, center, a client of the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic, with his mother, wife and son, and Suzanne Haynes L’14, left, and Kate Shimansky L’13, each of whom worked on legal matters for the Ndayisenga family.

HAPPY AND PROUD The day Felix Ndayisenga passed his U.S. citizenship test, he was understandably “happy and proud.”

He’d been working toward that moment—and the chance to take the oath of citizenship one week later—for more than five years.

But that day, Ndayisenga had other reasons to be happy and proud. He was celebrating his two-year wedding anniversary.

He’s a father of a little boy, with a daughter on the way.

Ndayisenga grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the South Kivu Province, a place where his ancestors lived for generations as far back as memory goes.

But the ethnic and political fighting— the country has undergone much turmoil and violence in its history—is devastating his homeland, his tribe and his family. Members of his ethnic group have been attacked, abused, murdered and sent way from their land. Ndayisenga’s father, sister and other relatives were murdered or assaulted. He, too, was to be executed but a former schoolmate told him to run.

Ndayisenga was able to escape to neighboring Kenya, where he worked and waited

for eight years. Finally, he was granted refugee status, giving him permanent, legal U.S. residence and he was sent to Greensboro, N.C. He found his way to Heather Scavone, now with the Humanitarian Law Clinic, who helped him get a work permit.

Later, Ndayisenga brought other refugees to the clinic and served as their translator. Meanwhile, he met his wife. Elon law students helped her with the naturalization process, too. He was able to bring his mother, Marcelline Nyiramagaju, to the country; she was granted asylum in April.

When he became eligible to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, he worked with law student Katlyn Lantz L’13.

“It feels very good to be a U.S. citizen,” Ndayisenga says. “In Congo, I have no rights.

They are murdering us, killing us, kicking us out, saying we are not citizens. I have been in this country for five years and I have rights, I have freedom.

“I can express myself, worship as I want, do what I want. To my family, it means a lot.”

Still, the journey for Ndayisenga and his family is not over. The family is now working with the clinic to bring his young nieces and nephews safely to the United States. ■

Annual report 2012–13 9

INNOVATIONS

Preparing students for the changing dynamics of law practice, spotlight on the Leadership Program Lawyers are leaders.

Lawyers are seen as leaders, because of their knowledge, their credentials and their positions in firms, agencies, companies and communities.

Lawyers act as leaders because of all these things, too.

Lawyer become leaders because of their experience, integrity and ability to influence and work with others to get things done.

While traditional legal education assumes that lawyers will become leaders organically, the faculty at Elon Law is intentional and explicit about the process of developing lawyers into leaders. They don’t put off or ignore the conversation about leadership, the role of lawyers as leaders and what it takes to hone and develop essential skills.

“Most attorneys learn how to lead over time through the school of hard knocks or professional development

10 Elon University school of law

opportunities,” says Faith Rivers James, Professor of Law and Director of Leadership Programs at Elon Law. “In today’s fast-paced, competitive and changing environment, lawyers don’t have the luxury of time to learn these skills. At Elon, our goal is to prepare our students so they have both the knowledge of the law and the capability to lead so they – and their employers, clients and communities – can benefit from these skills earlier on in their careers.”

This dual approach is not simply an add-on class or a marketing tagline. The goal of educating students in both legal doctrine and legal practice is the foundation of the school, but since its inception in 2006 the law school’s curriculum and pedagogy have been designed to graduate future lawyers who have an exceptional capacity to lead.

The law school’s founders understood that the next

generation of lawyers would be working – and leading – in a changing landscape. Intellectual skills are essential, but insufficient.

Elon Law designed its leadership curriculum with the future in mind – and it’s “impressive, because it is thoughtful, well-coordinated and integrated,” says Paula Monopoli, Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and editor of Law and Leadership: Integrating Leadership Studies into the Law School Curriculum.

“Combining legal education and leadership education is so new, and Elon is the leader,” she adds.

INFLUENCE, PERSUADE, ADVOCATE Monopoli argues that leadership education is increasingly needed within law school curricula. “If law schools are going to convince society that we add value, we need to embrace leadership studies,” she insists.

Influence and persuasion is at the heart of the lawyer’s job – making an obvious connection to leadership, according to Monopoli.

“In law school we analyze cases and teach people how to make really good theoretical and doctrinal arguments,” Monopoli explains. “The point of the rigorous analysis is to advocate for a position, persuade people to embrace our ideas and act on them. And that’s exactly what leaders do.”

The ability to influence is a skill that Elon Law students examine and practice. They move from the idea that a leader is the person in charge or with formal authority to the idea that leaders have influence in many ways.

“I was in the military for 20 years before going to law school. My leadership style was really defined,” says Mark York L’12 now an attorney with Carruthers and Roth. “At Elon, I learned how to deal with people in the civilian world differently. Leadership is not about position. It’s knowing how to use influence – or when to step back and not influence.”

Craig Turner L’10 agrees. He, too, had a military career before law school and found one definition of leadership – the ability to influence people and organizations to meet their goals – to be especially valuable.

“When you get to your first job, you don’t have positional authority. To convince a partner, or a client, that a course of action is advisable, all I have is influence. I can fall back on the skills I learned and practiced at Elon,” says Turner, an attorney with Smith Moore Leatherwood.

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH While the particular elements of the leadership program have changed through the years, and continue to be refined, the structure has always been based on an

Law students met with dairy farmers in Guilford County, N.C. to discuss farmland preservation law.

SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS TAKE A TEAM APPROACH WITH NONPROFIT CLIENTS Guilford County, North Carolina – like many places in the U.S. – has wrestled with the economic, legal and environmental implications of growth and development.

The Piedmont Conservation Council (PCC), a non-profit, volunteer organization, needed to understand property and planning law to create a Farmland Plan. They turned to second-year Elon Law students for advice.

As part of the law school’s Public Law and Leadership course, small teams of students collaborate on a legislative, administrative or regulatory project for a nonprofit client. Teams quickly get up to speed on the client and the challenge, research law and precedent, and make recommendations. Adding a touch of competition to the process, several teams work as “firms” and present their work to the client – who then chooses a preferred strategy and counsel. Each team is also observed by an executive coach and receives feedback on group dynamics and leadership issues.

In 2010, two teams researched farmland protection policies and ordinances throughout the United States, providing the PCC a broad view of planning as well as specific options to balance

land preservation policy and individual property rights.

The Council used information from Elon Law students in their presentations to citizens and officials and, as a result, “the Guilford County Farmland Plan was unique to others being developed in North Carolina,” says Julie Elmore, Executive Director of the PCC at the time, and currently a Natural Resource Program Analyst with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“I was impressed with the students’ willingness to help and enjoyed seeing how much pride they took in their work,” Elmore added. “I felt they knew that their research was going to serve Guilford County and it motivated them to go a step beyond what they might have if the work was simply for a grade.”

“Lawyering is problem solving,” says Elon’s Faith Rivers James. “The job is about providing wise counsel to clients, often working with teams and multiple constituencies. By working with the PCC and other non-profits, Elon Law students get hands-on experience with real clients solving real problems – while learning how to work effectively as a team.”

Annual report 2012–13 11

ELON LAW’S LEADERSHIP PROGRAM … “... is definitely something that attracted me to Elon, especially the Leadership Fellows program. That, in combination with legal training, is a big deal.” – Ian Philips L’15 “... is a huge benefit. Graduates will have a leg up on their peers.” – Mark York L’12 “... hones intangible, important skills that don’t show up on the typical legal resume.” – Stephen Shaw L’10 “... prepared me for working as an attorney by providing me with numerous opportunities to work in group settings to achieve a common purpose.” – Chantelle Lytle L’13 “... is teaching young professionals how to navigate uncertain legal markets, be capable of motivating others and good at building effective teams to solve problems.” – David Lambert L’14 “... makes an Elon graduate a valuable asset to an employer right when you walk in the door. If you can demonstrate in the interview what you’ve learned, it can make the difference between getting a job or not.” – Craig Turner L’10 “... teaches students how to adapt to changing situations, while also allowing students to gain practical experience in working with clients.” – Janean Bryant L’15 “... is a huge part of the equation for me. Every law school will teach law, but not every one will help me be a lawyer-leader.” – Brenna Ragghianti L’14 “... gives you a long-term career advantage.” – David Morrow ’07, L’10

12 Elon University school of law

integrated approach. The leadership program is woven into the overall program of legal education at Elon, exploring three levels of leadership: leading self, leading others and leading communities. This framework was developed in collaboration with the Center for Creative Leadership, a top-ranked, global provider of executive education with a legal specialty practice.

For students, their leadership education begins with a required course, Lawyering, Leadership and Professionalism, during the winter term of their first-year. Working with faculty as well as practicing attorneys, they put leadership into the context of succeeding in a law firm and in the profession.

Discussions and experiential activities focus on interpersonal skills, personal values and the role of the lawyer-leader in communities.

In addition, all students participate in the “Leadership Essentials for Lawyers” program led by the Center for Creative Leadership. They create Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to connect what they learned to goals for success in law school and the legal profession. They also receive one-on-on coaching from a pool of executive coaches and practicing attorneys.

First-year students meet and build relationships with experienced lawyers from a broad range of practice settings though Elon’s innovative Preceptor Program. Each year, more than 50 preceptors observe first-year students in law classes and provide feedback, mentor students and expose them to real work experiences. Many of these relationships extend into the second- and third-year and beyond graduation.

In year two, Elon Law students build on their firstyear leadership experiences, again with a combination of class work, coaching and interaction with practicing attorneys. They work directly with clients in the required Public Law and Leadership course [see p.11 sidebar]. Students learn to work together in teams to tackle legal problems for nonprofit organizations.

In-class discussions explore team dynamics and the attributes of effective team leadership. Executive coaches assist students in assessing their individual leadership styles and establishing goals for interpersonal development in the team context.

Third-year law students have the opportunity to participate in the law school’s Capstone Leadership course, applying legal knowledge and leadership skills toward initiatives of their choice that benefit the profession, the community or society more broadly.

Capstone participants draw on the legal knowledge, advocacy skills and leadership competencies they develop in the first two years of law school.

Other initiatives – the Leadership Fellows program, the Conference on Law and Leadership and the Joseph M. Bryan Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series – extend the discussion about the role of lawyers as leaders more deeply into the fabric of the law school, its students and the broader legal community.

HEEDING THE CALL FOR PROFESSIONALISM Elon Law’s investment in leadership education may sound lofty, but the skills and experiences students gain are practical. The school’s leaders, administrators and faculty are driven by the need for students to have a wide array of professional skills in order to land a first job, succeed in a variety of roles and provide value to employers, clients and communities.

Although leadership education in law schools is an emerging practice, it is one that is paying off, according to students and alumni.

“Elon has recognized that in order for graduates to be successful in today’s legal market, students need much more than what a traditional legal education can offer,” says David Lambert L’14. “This was the reason I decided to come to Elon Law. I knew the importance of leadership development from undergraduate school and how these skills were essential to surviving in a volatile marketplace.”

“When we graduate, we need to be career ready,” says Brenna Ragghianti L’14. “The theoretical knowledge is important and we are getting that – but if you can’t put it to use, what good are you? It doesn’t feel good enough to know the law. At Elon, I’m gaining real, practical experience, especially through the Leadership Fellows program, so I am confident I can put what I learn into action.”

Stephen Shaw L’10 routinely draws on lessons learned through Elon’s leadership program in his role as an associate attorney at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in Greensboro, N.C. “Lawyers do a lot of non-legal things to solve client’s problems,” he says. “We’re problem solving, counseling and giving guidance. Managing clients is a composite skill. We have to know how to be efficient and cost effective, and how to have a strong, positive relationship with the client. We have to use our communication and influence skills, and work as a team. Elon Law is a great program and the leadership component is an added value.”

David Morrow ’07, L’10 is a regulatory attorney with BuckleySandler LLP in Washington, D.C., who relies on the “soft-skills” he learned at Elon Law as much as the academics.

“I never had a class in the specific type of law I do now, but I use the skills of working in groups, understanding the work dynamics, dealing with different personalities, networking and building relationships in both bar leadership roles and in the firm,” Morrow says.

“The leadership component is one of the most important things at Elon,” adds Morrow, recently named an ABA Business Law Fellow and the 2013 recipient of the National Bar Association’s Junius W. Williams Young Lawyer of the Year Award. “In practice, I’ve learned that you can be the smartest lawyer out there, the hardest working or the one billing the most hours and it’s not enough. It’s often the relationships, the networking, the soft skills that matter most.” ■

FAITH RIVERS JAMES Professor of Law Director of Leadership Programs

Background: Prior to joining the Elon Law faculty, Rivers James taught at Vermont Law School, the University of South Carolina School of Law and in the master’s in public administration program at the University of South Carolina. She began her career as a legislative attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Akin Gump Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP. She entered public service to serve as Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor to the Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, and later served as Executive Director of the South Carolina Bar Foundation. Rivers James received a bachelor’s degree in government and sociology from Dartmouth College and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School.

Roles at Elon: Directs the school’s leadership programs; teaches Property, Legislation, Nonprofit Organizations, and Lawyering, Leadership, and Professionalism; developed the Public Law and Leadership course.

Message to law students: “Every day is a leadership exercise. Whether you are leading a client, leading a jury or leading in your firm or agency or company, you are influencing, counseling and solving problems. What approach will you take?”

Message to legal professionals and employers: “Elon lawyers come in well versed in the law and they know how to work effectively on their own, in teams and with clients. They are clear-eyed about where they fit, intentional about their choices and their career, aware of strengths and able to mitigate weaknesses. Elon lawyers are ready and poised to meet expectations in their jobs and in their communities.”

JOHN ALEXANDER Distinguished Leadership Coach-in-Residence

Background: Previously, Alexander was President and CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL).

During his tenure, CCL was consistently ranked among the world’s top providers of non-degree executive education. Before joining the CCL staff, he pursued a career in newspaper journalism, during which he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing.

Alexander graduated from Princeton University with Highest Honors and earned an M.A. in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Magdalen College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar.

Roles at Elon: Oversees a team of coaches who work one-on-one with Elon Law students to develop Individual Development Plans; coaches second-year students and teams; directs the Leadership Fellows program.

On the value of developing lawyer-leaders: “To be a successful lawyer today, not only do you have to know the law but also have interpersonal skills – the ability to influence, communicate, build relationships, work and lead within a team setting – all of which require self-awareness. These skills are important in the practice of law and the development of a legal career.”

Elon Law is an exciting place to be because: “I’ve had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of building this program from scratch, to innovate and learn as we go. It’s very exciting to watch the school flourish. I also really enjoy working with the students, especially the Leadership Fellows.”

Other members of the Elon Law faculty who have taught leadership courses or contributed significantly to the development of the Leadership Program at Elon Law include Don Dancer, Leary Davis, Catherine Dunham, Jim Exum, John Flynn, Steve Friedland, Andy Haile, George Johnson, Margaret Kantlehner, David Levine, Bonnie McAlister, Tom Noble, Robert Parrish, Patricia Perkins and Roland Smith.

Annual report 2012–13 13

The Hon. James L. Gale, Special Superior Court Judge for Complex Business Cases, regularly engages Elon Law students in discussions of business law, trial advocacy and courtroom procedure.

INTEGRATIONS Learning through the prism of a working court

E

lon University School of Law is one of only a handful of law schools in the nation to house a working court—the North Carolina Business Court. The court hears cases involving complex commercial and corporate law disputes in the law school’s Robert E. Long Courtroom.

The Honorable James L. Gale, Special Superior Court Judge for Complex Business Cases, presides over Business Court trials in Greensboro. Judge Gale’s chambers are also located in Elon Law’s primary facility, the H. Michael Weaver Building in downtown Greensboro.

The location of the Business Court provides Elon Law students with numerous educational benefits. First, students are exposed to the workings of a unique and well-regarded court. Second, students interact with accomplished attorneys and judges

14 Elon University school of law

who have special knowledge of corporate and commercial law. Third, students engage cutting-edge issues in corporate law and hone trial advocacy skills, both of which are beneficial to their professional and career development.

EXPOSURE TO A UNIQUE AND WELL-REGARDED COURT North Carolina is among the first states, and still part of a minority of states, to include a business court in its judicial system.

Established in 1996, the North Carolina Business Court has quickly become an integral and valued part of the state’s corporate law environment.

“Through its experienced judges and staff, the Business Court manages complicated business disputes more efficiently and delivers

more consistent results than would be possible under the traditional North Carolina system of rotating Superior Court judges who must adjudicate all types of civil and criminal matters and who work without law clerks,” says Reid Phillips, a commercial litigation attorney with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP. “Because the Business Court has written opinions on all matters of substance since it was founded seventeen years ago, North Carolina now has an expanded body of case law on business issues. This is quite valuable to lawyers when advising their business clients.”

Elon Law Professor Tom Molony, whose expertise is in corporate governance, securities regulation and business law, says the Business Court’s existence plays a role in making North Carolina an appealing location for corporations.

“The Business Court gives North Carolina the opportunity to develop a body of case law that gives lawyers and clients a degree of certainty in planning business transactions,” Molony says. “By paying a lot of attention to the statute and by having good judges who are building a body of law, the Court ultimately has the effect of making North Carolina attractive as a place of incorporation.”

Each year, Molony presents the “Business Law Update” to the joint annual meeting of the Business Law, Corporate Counsel and International Law and Practice Sections of the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA), as well as providing “Business Law Developments” articles for the quarterly publication of the Business Law Section of the NCBA. Molony’s work in this area regularly includes analysis of key cases decided by the Business Court, which not only enriches his business law teaching in the classroom but also underscores the value of the Court’s proximity to students.

EXPERIENCE WITH ACCOMPLISHED JUDGES AND LAWYERS More than a dozen Elon Law students have clerked, externed or interned for judges of the North Carolina Business Court, who also hold trials in Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C. These students benefit from hands-on experiences working with accomplished judges and many of the best lawyers in North Carolina and the nation.

“Judge Gale is very purposeful in providing an incredible learning experience for students serving as externs in his chambers,” says Andrew R. Jones L’13, an associate attorney with Rountree Losee LLP in Wilmington, N.C. “For example, at the conclusion of most hearings, Judge Gale takes time to discuss the matters at issue with clerks and externs. These conversations would almost always begin with the same question: ‘So, what did you learn at school today?’ The opportunity to have experiences like that was an invaluable addition to my legal education.”

“As a summer intern for Judge Albert Diaz at the Business Court in Charlotte (now a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit), I had a unique opportunity to learn about the advocacy process for complex business litigants in North Carolina,” says Amy N. Holthouser L’09, an attorney with The McIntosh Law Firm, P.C. in Davidson, N.C. “Not only was I exposed

In addition to housing trial proceedings of the North Carolina Business Court, The Robert E. Long Courtroom serves as a classroom for trial advocacy courses, practice space for Elon’s moot court and mock trial programs, and a location for final rounds of the law school’s annual Billings, Exum & Frye National Moot Court Competition.

to a variety of legal issues and to talented attorneys advocating for their clients, but more importantly, I experienced both of these things through the lens of Judge Diaz. The internship served as a wonderful foundation for the beginning of my own legal career.”

Andrew Haile, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of law at Elon, invites Judge Gale to speak in his classes and has students in his Business Associations class attend hearings of the Business Court.

“I have students read the pleadings and attend the Business Court hearings that involve issues we are studying in Business Associations,” Haile says. “At the end of the hearings, Judge Gale almost invariably will address the students directly about what they’ve just seen. Then he’ll ask the attorneys to talk to the students about what they just did. We are getting the benefit of our students seeing the court in action, witnessing some of the best lawyering in the state and having direct interaction with Judge Gale. Having the Court in the building is an exceptional advantage.”

ENGAGEMENT WITH CORPORATE LAW AND TRIAL ADVOCACY Elon Law students learn a great deal from their involvement with the Business Court, in substantive areas of law, in trial advocacy skills and in overall professionalism.

“My judicial internship with Judge Ben Tennille (who presided over the Business Court in Greensboro prior to retirement in 2011) taught me how to balance opposing arguments and apply the rule of law to form and draft a court opinion,” says Julie Goldfarb L’11, legislative aide for U.S. Representative

Andy Harris (MD). “I was able to use what I had learned in Business Associations taught

by Professor Haile in a practical setting, especially corporate ethics and mergers & acquisitions law. It is incredibly beneficial to have an actual running court such as the N.C. Business Court housed inside of Elon Law. It allows students to witness the judicial process firsthand from voir dire to witness preparation and trial advocacy.”

Mark York, an associate attorney with Carruthers & Roth, P.A., notes the work ethic and high standard of professionalism he observed while an extern at the Business Court.

“When presented with a matter of first impression, Judge Gale takes the time necessary to make the right decision in light of the existing law, the particular facts of the case, the intentions of the parties and the potential impact of his ruling,” York said. “When a judge is willing to stay up until two a.m. during a jury trial to review the proposed jury instructions provided by the parties, you know the judge respects the value of the jury’s time.”

Brooks Pierce attorney Reid Phillips underscores the value of the Business Court for Elon Law students.

“Every practicing trial lawyer wishes he or she could have had in law school what the Elon University School of Law has, a real courtroom and judicial chambers right within the law school,” Phillips says. “The opportunity to see and hear motions argued and trials take place, often with the most accomplished lawyers not only from our state but from around the country as well, is a great gift to learning. Every law student should take advantage of that.” ■

Annual report 2012–13 15

INFLUENCE Members of the Elon Law faculty regularly apply their scholarship and expertise to improve law and policy.

Here are five examples.

16 Elon University school of law

PRESS LAWS IN MYANMAR

LEGAL GUIDANCE FOR CONTRACT FARMING

Elon Law Professor Enrique Armijo traveled to Myanmar (formerly Burma) in 2012 as part of a State Departmentfunded team of experts aiming to help the Myanmar government draft new press laws and other communications-related legislation. Armijo’s work in Myanmar has also included statute drafting, encouraging pro-democracy reforms, interviewing key stakeholders in the Myanmar government and meeting with journalists and other interest groups in the region. His group’s insights were included in several legislative proposals awaiting ratification in the Myanmar Parliament. Armijo’s work in that country is part of his broader engagement in freedom of expression work in Rwanda, Jordan, Yemen and other countries throughout the Middle East and South America.

Elon Law Professor Henry Gabriel, a member of the Governing Council of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, is leading the institute’s working group for the preparation of a legal guide on contract farming. The group is developing an international framework for agricultural contracts to be used by agricultural producers, food processors and distributors in order to achieve more predictable quantities and qualities of produce, at mutually agreed prices.

Such provisions will help to ensure the contract parties’ capacity to build stable, commercially sound and fair relationships.

The provisions also help mitigate the imbalance of economic power between the contracting parties. This project is part of Gabriel’s endeavors for the past two decades to develop uniform commercial laws domestically and globally.

Faculty members are influencing the formation of state, national and international law and policy through scholarship and service

RELIGIOUS RIGHTS OF CORPORATIONS

DISCLOSURE RULES IN FRACKING

Based on his research exploring the free exercise rights of corporations under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Elon Law Professor Scott Gaylord authored amicus briefs for cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third, Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Circuits, challenging the requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that most employers provide health insurance that covers all Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods and sterilization procedures. Gaylord argues such constraints impermissibly discriminate against for-profit corporations that promote religious views and business owners who seek to promote their faith through their businesses. Gaylord’s article on this subject, titled, “For-Profit Corporations, Free Exercise, and the HHS Mandate” is forthcoming in the Washington University Law Review.

In 2013, Elon Law Professor David S. Levine applied his expertise in trade secret law and information policy to inform debates in several states over disclosure requirements for chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracking. Levine coauthored a letter to the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission in April, signed by ten intellectual property law scholars, advocating for regulations that require corporations to disclose trade secret information, like chemical ingredients, used in fracking activity in Alaska. In June, Levine became a member of the N.C. Mining and Energy Commission Protection of Trade Secrets and Proprietary Information Study Group, charged with rulemaking for chemical disclosure requirements for companies fracking in the state. Levine has offered expertise on the same topic in several other states. In addition, Levine co-authored a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management regarding rules for the disclosure of fracking chemicals used on federal land.

PRO BONO REPRESENTATION OF DEATH ROW INMATES Elon Law Professor Patricia Perkins’ research and service interests converge in her nearly decade long pro bono representation of North Carolina death row inmates in civil rights litigation raising constitutional challenges to the manner in which their executions will be carriedout by lethal injection. With expertise in methods of execution and Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, Perkins has authored several briefs for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court arguing both jurisdictional and constitutional issues. During the course of the litigation, which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, North Carolina has revised its lethal injection process including changes in the order of drug administration and the use of a bispectral index monitor.

Annual report 2012–13 17

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Experience through service: making a difference at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Elon Law’s Center for Professional Development works with the United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) to help students earn externships and internships in the Department’s Winston-Salem and Washington, D.C. offices. The Office of Regional Counsel in Winston-Salem provides Elon Law students with valuable experience that contributes to the VA’s important mission. Chris Smith, Assistant Dean for Professional Development at the law school, says he appreciates the strong relationship between Elon and the VA. “The Office of Regional Counsel in Winston-Salem has been a valuable partner in our efforts to expand placement opportunities for students,” Smith said. “We’re glad

Rattray says. “As individuals, and collectively, they have proved to be special folks: bright, mature and engaged – and each one of our externs has, in his or her own way, improved our externship program. We are consistently and delightfully impressed with each student’s authentic desire to make the externship experience for the next student better and more meaningful than their own.”

Monique Smart L’14 reinforces the positive relationship between Elon and the Office of Regional Counsel in Winston-Salem.

“Everyone in the office is so kind and open to teaching you various aspects of the law,” Smart said. “The office handles different areas such as contracts, ethics, employment, torts and collections. The attorneys are more Nicholas Livengood L’15 interned in the VA’s Winston-Salem Office of Regional Counsel in the summer of 2013.

Erin Brady Rega L’12 completed an externship and is now a staff attorney in that office.

that our students and graduates are developing legal careers in a federal legal affairs office that is well-known for its professionalism and dedicated staff.”

From 2010 to 2013, eight students have worked with the VA offices. In addition, two alumni are currently working as attorneys with the VA. Based in Winston-Salem, Daniel C. Rattray is Regional Counsel for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs region covering North Carolina and Virginia.

“Everyone in our office looks forward to working with our externs from Elon Law,”

18 Elon University school of law

than willing to give you a variety of assignments to work on and are always providing feedback so that you can improve.”

Phillip Clontz L’12 who is now a Risk Management and Compliance Officer at Pendleton Financial in Raleigh, N.C., says his time with the VA office in Winston-Salem provided career advantages.

“It was a great opportunity to expand my breadth of knowledge in health care law and government regulation,” Clontz said. “While most of my prior work experiences had been in the corporate realm of the United States

healthcare system, I was able to explicate upon my limited public health experiences in evaluating medical malpractice claims in the VA system. I think this position was a vital stepping stone in elevating me into my current career, and the experience enabled me to acquire skills necessary to be successful in healthcare and government regulation moving forward.”

Nicholas Livengood L’15, who interned in the VA’s Winston-Salem office in 2013, credits his internship for the opportunities it presented to apply leadership skills on a daily basis by interacting with practicing lawyers and handling sensitive client matters.

“My time with VA was extremely beneficial, as it allowed me to handle claims and work with legal issues which I had not seen before,” says Livengood. “The experience taught me the importance of working with clients who are unfamiliar with legal issues in a way that allows both parties to reach an understanding, and ultimately, a successful conclusion.”

Smith says the relationships that are building between Elon and employers like the VA are what excites the law school’s Center for Professional Development team.

“It’s really gratifying to help law students embark on employment experiences that involve strengthening the federal agency servicing American veterans,” Smith says.

“The stories of their work not only to advance the mission of the VA, but also to serve veterans directly in many instances, is part of what makes our work at the Center for Professional Development rewarding on a personal level.”

Rattray agrees.

“I regard our relationship with Elon Law’s Center for Professional Development as one of our office’s most highly valued external partnerships,” Rattray says. “Our Elon externs have provided invaluable assistance in our delivery of legal services to our VA clients and the nation’s veterans. We have also been fortunate enough to hire a recent Elon Law grad, whose externship in our office turned out to be an extended job interview.

I look forward to continuing and enhancing our relationship as we work together to develop future lawyers and, no doubt, leaders in the legal profession.” ■

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Elon Law students take leadership roles in ABA Law Student Division At the spring 2013 meeting of the ABA Fourth Circuit Law Student Division, hosted by Elon Law, David Lambert L’14 was elected governor of the circuit, representing 17 law schools in North and South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Ian Phillips L’15, the incoming vice president of the Student Bar Association, will serve as executive lieutenant governor of the Fourth Circuit division and Brian Park L’14, president of Elon’s tax law interest group, will serve as the lieutenant governor charged with assisting law schools within the Circuit in developing and maintaining Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs. ■

Elon Law students teach at high schools in Street Law course

Pro bono and community service at the heart of the student experience

Elon Law students Tyrone Davis II L’14, left, and Brian Park L’14, with alumna Melodie Menzer L’13, volunteered at a Habitat for Humanity build in Greensboro.

In the 2012–13 academic year, Elon Law students performed more than 15,000 hours of pro bono legal services. Students served through clinics in elder law, immigration law and wills drafting, as well as other service-oriented courses and student-led efforts including the Tax Assistance Program, Wills for Heroes and Innocence Project.

“Through pro bono work we have the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge about our future roles as ‘lawyer-leaders,’ as well as to embrace our potential to serve as ‘community problem solvers’ long before we enter the profession,” said Sherea’ Burnett L’13.

The student-led Pro Bono Board increased awareness among the student body about pro bono opportunities and helped to create additional service projects for students. In October, the board organized Pro Bono Week to demonstrate the impact of pro bono work. The event included Elon Law Ask a Lawyer Day, in which students assisted volunteer attorneys with client counseling for Legal Aid of North Carolina.

In addition to pro bono services, students contribute significantly to the local community through fundraisers, food and clothing drives and volunteer work, supporting local chapters of the American Red Cross, Alzheimer’s research foundations, domestic violence and homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity, Urban Ministries and other organizations.

In August 2012, the Class of 2015 volunteered with local organizations through the law school’s annual Elon Reaches Out community service day. Organizations served included the SPCA of the Triad, Greensboro Urban Ministries and the Interactive Resource Center for homeless services. The event promotes the value of community involvement and volunteerism by Elon Law’s future leaders. ■

For the fifth consecutive year, Elon Law students taught high school students about law and human rights, encouraging teenagers to examine whether laws and legal systems should be changed to better reflect democratic values.

Law students Matthew Andrews, Susan Kasek Brown, Michael Bunch, Bryce C. Coture, Joseph M. Doren, Sally Duncan, Stephen Hegedus, Laura E. Hill, Andrew Marshall, Thomas F. Prendergast, Courtney Roller and Merrill E. Ward participated in teaching Elon’s 2013 Street Law course.

The course was established by Elon Law Professor Steve Friedland during the 2008-09 academic year and is taught

by Larry D. Brown Jr., former assistant district attorney for Alamance County, N.C., and a member of the extended faculty at Elon Law. Elon students have taught the course at several public high schools in Greensboro, including Dudley, Page and Ragsdale high schools and The Academy at Lincoln. ■

2012 Journal of Leadership and the Law published The second edition of the online Journal of Leadership and the Law was published on October 17, 2012. It includes interviews with accomplished lawyers about leadership in the judiciary and immigration law, as well as student insights about the 2012 Conference on Law and Leadership and the value of interdisciplinary work, multilingualism and “receptiveness” to effective leadership in the law.

Conceived by Elon Law’s Leadership Fellows, the Journal of Leadership and the Law is law student produced.

The publication includes video excerpts from an interview with Judge James L. Gale, special superior court judge for complex business cases, N.C. Business Court. In the interview, Gale comments on the importance of integrity and preparedness as a lawyer, the difficulty and necessity of decision-making in high-stakes court cases and the leadership opportunities available at Elon Law. Pamela Boeka L’13, Caroline Johnson L’14, Andrew Realon L’14 and Patrick Ward L’14 wrote articles, notes and reflections for the publication. ■

Annual report 2012–13 19

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Moot Court teams excel in national competitions Since first entering interscholastic competitions in 2008, Elon’s Moot Court program has earned national recognition for oral advocacy and a number of best brief awards. Elon students received the following awards and honors in the 2012–13 academic year:

2012 Intramural Moot Court champions Kaalil Muhammad L’14, left, was named Best Oralist from the Preliminary Rounds at Elon Law’s 2012 intramural moot court competition. Jennifer Bobowski L’14, center, and Patrick Ward L’14, second from left, were the first-runner up team and won the competition’s Best Team Brief award. David Lambert L’14 and Christian Robin L’14, right and second from right, respectively, won the final round of the competition. Robin was named Best Oralist from the Final Round. The final round was judged by the Hon. Robert H. Edmunds Jr., associate justice of the N.C. Supreme Court; the Hon. Ralph A. Walker, retired associate judge of the N.C. Court of Appeals; and the Hon. James L. Gale, special superior court judge for complex business cases, N.C. Business Court.

»» Jennifer Mcrea L’13, Christian Robin L’14 and John Warren L’13, regional semifinalists. ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition, Washington, D.C., March 2013. »» Meg Sparger L’13 and Andy Jones L’13, “Sweet Sixteen.” J. Braxton Craven Jr. Memorial Competition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, February 2013. »» Chantelle Lytle ’13, Jason Senges ’13 and Adam Spivey ’13, quarterfinalists. William B. Spong Moot Court Tournament, William & Mary School of Law, February 2013. »» Will Drath ’13 and Jennifer Meeks Mickle ’13, best petitioner’s brief. Legal Ethics and Professionalism Moot Court Competition, Mercer University School of Law, November 2012. »» Will Drath ’13 and Jennifer Meeks Mickle ’13, quarterfinalists. Legal Ethics and Professionalism Moot Court Competition, Mercer University School of Law, November 2012.

Leadership Fellows join forces to address global and local challenges Elon Law’s Leadership Fellows hosted a second annual Leadership Academy in 2013, welcoming Elon University’s undergraduate Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows to collaborate in the examination of global problems and local solutions.

“The undergraduate Fellows help law students to take a step back and look at leadership in a more holistic sense,” Daniel Watts L’15 said. “This symbiotic dynamic helps law students to ‘disconnect’ from law school for an instant, only to come away with a greater appreciation of the law as the conduit for change in any realm. In turn, the undergraduates are able to see global citizenship in practice, giving the term teeth, instead of broadcasting it as merely an academic mantra.”

Academy participants explored the role of individuals in achieving local and global change and the concept of happiness as a measurement of corporate and government performance.

Shoshanna Silverberg L’15 led a discussion about the challenges and impacts of global food production and Emily Seawell L’15 (pictured above standing) led a discussion on sweatshops and outsourcing in foreign countries. ■

20 Elon University school of law

»» Sarah Boshears ’13 and Grant Buckner ’13, best brief. Leroy R. Hassell Sr. National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition, Regent University School of Law, October 2012. (Boshears and Buckner also placed third with this brief in the 2012–13 Brief-Writing-Award competition of Scribes, The American Society of Legal Writers.) »» Sarah Boshears ’13 and Grant Buckner ’13, quarterfinalists.

Leroy R. Hassell Sr. National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition, Regent University School of Law, October 2012. »» Daniel Harris ’13 and Gwendolyn Lewis ’13, quarterfinalists. Leroy R. Hassell Sr. National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition, Regent University School of Law, October 2012. »» Daniel Harris ’13 and Gwendolyn Lewis ’13, third place brief. Leroy R. Hassell Sr. National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition, Regent University School of Law, October 2012.

The Moot Court Board also hosted the third annual Billings, Exum & Frye National Moot Court Competition. The school’s 2012–13 competitive teams were coached by Senior Associate Dean Alan Woodlief, director of moot court programs, and Professors Jim Exum, Scott Gaylord, Bonnie McAlister and Tom Noble. ■

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Women’s Law Association recognizes Judge Teresa Vincent and Tiffany Atkins L’11 The Women’s Law Association at Elon Law celebrated students, faculty and legal professionals at the fifth annual Women in the Profession Dinner in April 2013. This year’s Outstanding Woman in the Profession honoree was Judge Teresa H. Vincent, district court judge for the 18th district of North Carolina (pictured above, fifth from right). Elected to the bench in 2000, Vincent served as an assistant district attorney for seven years prior to joining the bench.

“We selected Judge Vincent for her tireless efforts to help put an end to domestic violence,” said Mallory Horne L’14, WLA professionalism chair. “She exemplifies what we can all strive to become— community oriented, successful and caring.”

Tiffany Atkins L’11 received the Outstanding Alumna in the Profession award. Atkins is a staff attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina, where she works primarily with domestic violence clients and on family law matters. ■

Kaitlin Shimansky receives Women of Justice Award North Carolina Lawyers Weekly named Kaitlin Shimansky L’13 an inaugural Women of Justice Award honoree in 2012.

The awards recognize women in North Carolina who demonstrate leadership, integrity, service, sacrifice and accomplishment in improving the quality of justice and exemplifying the highest ideals of the legal profession. Shimansky received the Leader of Tomorrow Award at the 2012 Women of Justice Awards reception in Raleigh. Shimansky’s work as president of the Elon Law chapter of the Innocence Project and student in the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic, as well as her interest in serving as a public defender, were featured in a special section of the publication. ■

David Gergen, Jim Hunt and advisory board engage law students at special forum A September luncheon at Elon Law provided students the opportunity to meet and interact with members of Elon’s Law School Advisory Board. Students heard from Board of Advisors Chairman David Gergen and former N.C. Governor James “Jim” Hunt (pictured above, at right and left respectively).

“I hope that, in addition to being good lawyers, you will also be good leaders in our democracy,” Hunt said. “There is a great history in this country of lawyers providing some of the best leadership in America. We need more of that.”

“The importance of Elon hosting events like this, with the Board of Advisors, is student access to the lawyers and leaders that are invested in Elon Law School,” Ernest Lewis L’15 said.

“David Gergen’s speech was a great bonus. To have one of the greatest political minds in America give his time in this way is a real gift. These opportunities are vitally important to our growth as lawyer-leaders.” ■

New Student Bar Association leadership Elon Law students elected to SBA leadership positions, from left, Lauren Kemp, Channing Franklin, Ernest Lewis, Stacy Kroustalis, Nicholas Livengood, Emily Pfeiffer, Ian Phillips, Amber Donta, Caitlin Cutchin and Katie Koone, incoming SBA president.

Annual report 2012–13 21

CLASS ACTIONS

ANNA KSOR BUONYA SPEAKS BEFORE CONGRESS ON VIETNAMESE HUMAN RIGHTS In her role as refugee policy advocate for the Montagnard Human Rights Organization, Anna Ksor Buonya L’10 spoke at a congressional hearing examining Vietnamese government human rights violations. Testifying in April before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, Buonya focused on the religious persecution and human rights violations faced by the Montagnard indigenous people of Vietnam. She urged the U.S. government to negotiate and obtain the release of all Montagnard prisoners before advancing more U.S. government defense and trade treaties in Vietnam.

“Tens of thousands of Montagnards were recruited and trained by U.S. Army Special Forces, and loyally served the United States during the Vietnam War,” Buonya told members of Congress. “On taking over South Vietnam, the communists imprisoned and executed the Montagnard’s political and religious leaders. The Montagnard population was subjected to forced relocations and thousands were condemned to live on some of the country’s poorest cropland. The Montagnard’s ancestral lands are also being deforested for logging and rubber plantations.”

Buonya called for the Vietnamese government’s recognition of Montagnards as indigenous peoples in the context of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and urged the U.S. State Department to consider re-opening its refugee program within Vietnam. Buonya is also general counsel and a refugee policy advocate for The Counsel of Indigenous People of Today’s Vietnam. She spoke before Congress one day before the 17th session of the U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue, held in Hanoi, Vietnam. ■

22 Elon University school of law

JONATHAN C. DUNSMOOR AIDS IN REFORMING PHILADELPHIA’S “STOP-AND-FRISK” POLICY

MELODIE MENZER RECEIVES AWARD FOR LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONALISM

As a Legal Fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, Jonathan C. Dunsmoor L’10 oversees the Bailey v.

City of Philadelphia project which involves teaching law school students and attorney volunteers the fundamentals of Fourth Amendment stop-and-frisk policies based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Terry v. Ohio.

Dunsmoor’s work stems from a 2010 federal class action filed by the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the law firm of Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging that thousands of people each year were being illegally stopped, frisked, searched and detained by the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) as part of its stop-and-frisk policy. In 2011, the parties involved reached a settlement agreement, which included establishing a monitoring system for the review and analysis of future PPD stop-and-frisk data.

The ACLU’s analysis of the data indicated the overall number of PPD stops had decreased by nearly 15 percent.

However, the report also found that of about 215,000 stops and frisks per year, roughly 45 percent, were made without reasonable suspicion, and that AfricanAmericans and Latinos continued to be stopped at higher rates, with 76 percent of the stops and 85 percent of the frisks targeting minorities.

“We have concluded the PPD still is stopping individuals with no reasonable suspicion and we are concerned about the racial disparity of the stops,” said Dunsmoor.

In addition to his Elon Law degree, Dunsmoor holds an LL.M. in Criminal Law with honors from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School. ■

Melodie Menzer L’13 is the 2013 recipient of Elon Law’s highest honor for a graduating student— The David Gergen Award for Leadership and Professionalism.

“She is a leader in that she demonstrates how much of a difference a person can make when they dedicate themselves to the causes that they believe in,” said Elon Law Professor Michael Rich, who presented the award at Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2013 on May 25.

Menzer is a founding member of the Pro Bono Board at Elon Law. She served in leadership positions in Delta Theta Phi and the Tax Law Interest Group while at Elon and acted as a case manager in the Innocence Project.

In addition, she served clients in the law school’s Wills Drafting Clinic and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs.

In the community, Menzer contributed substantial time and effort to initiate and coordinate the Certificate of Relief Program through the Interactive Resource Center for homeless services in Greensboro. The program helps clients receive relief from some of the collateral consequences of criminal convictions, while providing students with valuable in-court experience. In addition, Menzer volunteers to teach GED students, builds homes with Habitat for Humanity and volunteers as an active Big Sister in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. ■

CLASS ACTIONS

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY JURISPRUDENCE REVIEW TO PUBLISH JUDICIAL SELECTION ARTICLE BY JOHN WARREN L’13 John Warren’s article, “Holding the Bench Accountable: Judges Qua Representatives,” examines how justices operating within electoral schemes of judicial selection must maintain the integrity of their adjudication duties in the context of partisan and ideological attacks on their decisions during election cycles.

Warren was inspired to write his article during a class discussion of the U.S. Supreme Court case Chisom v. Roemer in his Judicial Process course, taught by former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice James G. Exum Jr. “John worked hard on his paper; his research was exhaustive; and he synthesized it with his own original ideas extremely well,” Exum said. “In several years of teaching Judicial Process, John’s paper may be the best student paper I have read.”

In addition to thanking Justice Exum for his guidance while researching and writing the article, Warren expressed appreciation for the counsel of Professors Enrique Armijo and Michael Rich.

While attending Elon Law, Warren was the symposium editor of the Elon Law Review. A Note by Warren will appear in that journal in fall 2013, titled “Tale of Two Andersons: Anderson v. South Carolina Election Commission and Anderson v. Celebrezze–An Examination of the Constitutionality of Section 8-131356 of the South Carolina Code of Laws Following the 2012 Primary Ballot Access Controversy.” Additionally, Warren was a two-time regional semifinalist in the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Washington, D.C., while a member of the Moot Court Board at Elon Law. Warren is scheduled to begin a clerkship in August for Judge John W. Kittredge of the S.C. Supreme Court for the 2013–14 term in Columbia, S.C. ■

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS Each year, the Elon Law Alumni Association organizes receptions to build alumni connections throughout the state and nation, including events in Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C.

2009 Jon Aust is an associate attorney

with the Bedard Law Group, P.C. in Duluth, Ga. Jason Aycoth was named partner at Garrett, Walker & Aycoth, PLLC in Greensboro.

He was recently elected both to serve as President of the Criminal Defense Bar in Greensboro and to serve on the N.C. Bar Association Criminal Justice Section Council.

Jason will complete his term as President of the Elon Law Alumni Association in October 2013.

Katie Bobb is the Director of Legal Services for the Gwinnett Sexual Assault and Children’s Advocacy Center in Duluth, Ga. Jennifer Bowden joined R. Steve Bowden and Associates in Greensboro, N.C., as an associate in 2009, where she concentrates in

■

■

■

negotiating, settling and litigating personal injury cases. Chad Hinton, a partner with DeLoatch & Hinton, PLLC in Tarboro, N.C., was elected to the Edgecombe County Board of Elections in July 2013. Members of that body selected Chad to serve as chairman of the board. In addition, Chad was appointed by Governor Pat McCrory to the Board of Trustees of Edgecombe Community College. He was also recognized for outstanding service as President of the Tarboro Rotary Club from June 2012 to June 2013.

Amy Holthouser received the Distinguished Rotarian of the Year award from Rotary District 7680 in May of 2013 for exemplifying “Service Above Self ” in her daily life as a Rotarian and as a member of her community. Amy was

■

■

Annual report 2012–13 23

CLASS ACTIONS

selected to be a part of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce’s 2013–14 Leadership Lake Norman Class, a development program for informed, qualified individuals capable of providing leadership for the Lake Norman region. Amy works for The McIntosh Law Firm in Davidson, N.C. Leslie Lasher ‘06 is an associate attorney with Teague, Campbell, Dennis & Gorham in Raleigh, N.C. Eric Meredith was named a 2012 Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine.

Eric and Mark Jetton L’09 are partners and co-founders of Jetton & Meredith, PLLC in Charlotte, N.C. Steven L. “Luke” Spencer accepted a position with the Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps as Special Victims’ Counsel at Hurlburt Field in Florida. Luke’s duties include representing victims in sexual assault cases in the Air Force. Previously, Spencer was Chief of Military Justice for the 49th Wing at Hollomon Air Force Base, N.M.

■

■

■

of the Year Award, recognizing his contributions to society as a young lawyer, and the NBA’s 2013 President’s Award during its 88th Annual Convention in Miami, Fla. David was named a 2013 “Top 10 Under 10” alumnus of Elon University in April 2013, in recognition of his civic and professional leadership. Nicole Patterson was selected to participate in the threeyear ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law Development Fund Fellowship Program in August of 2013. Nicole is a labor and employee relations specialist at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in Rockville, Md. Richard Webb will present at the Fall Seminar CLE for Judicial District

■

■

22A on the topics of Termination of Parental Rights and Name Changes. Richard is an associate attorney at Jones, Childers, McLurkin & Donaldson, PLLC in Mooresville, N.C.

2011 Jason Burton is an associate attor-

ney with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP in Raleigh, N.C. Samantha Gilman ‘08 is a research consultant for The Lewin Group in Washington, D.C. Jeremy Leonard joined the law firm of Hairston Lane Brannon, P.A. in Raleigh, N.C., as an associate attorney in September of 2011, concentrating in employment and labor law and municipal litigation.

Jeremy has served as lead attorney on several appellate cases before

■

■

Adam Arthur was elected to a

■

■

■

24 Elon University school of law

2012 Collin Cooper was named Associate Editor of The Young Lawyer, a publication of the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the American Bar Association (ABA) in July 2013. In addition, he was selected as an ABA YLD Scholar for 2013–14, an honor bestowed on approximately 16 young attorneys annually.

Heather Dolan is an associate attorney at Sullivan & Snow, PLLC in Jacksonville, N.C. Jim Grant accepted a position as an Assistant Appellate Defender with the North Carolina Office of the Appellate Defender in September of 2013 after previously clerking for Judge Robert N. Hunter on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Jim’s duties will include representing indigent clients in criminal, juvenile delinquency and civil commitment cases in N.C. appellate courts. Andrew E. Hoke works for Sessoms & Rogers, P.A. in Durham, N.C. Pamela Lawrence is an associate attorney with Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo, LLP in Wilmington, N.C. Drew Nelson joined Brinkley Walser PLLC in Lexington, N.C. as an associate attorney in August 2013.

Drew’s practice areas include real estate, corporate, estate planning and elder law. Mathew Schantz accepted the position of Deputy Finance Director for Laura Fjeld, a candidate running for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District in August of 2013.

Benjamin Snyder is an associate at McKinney Perry & Coalter, P.A. in Greensboro, N.C.

■

■

2010 second term as Chairman of the Family Law Section of the Greensboro Bar Association. As Chairman, Adam, with other members of the bar and bench, led a significant revision to the Civil Case Management Rules (Local Rules) of the 18th Judicial District Court. Adam moderated and taught a CLE on the new rules. He continues to serve on the committee concerning Civil District Court local rules. Adam serves as a judge to the Guilford County Teen Court. Ashley Shelton ‘07 is a staff attorney at Clark Construction Group, LLC in Bethesda, Md. Edward Garrett joined Sodoma Law, P.C. in Charlotte, N.C., where he practices family law in North and South Carolina. David Morrow II ’07 was named an American Bar Association Business Law Fellow in June 2013. In July, he received the National Bar Association’s 2013 Junius W. Williams Young Lawyer

the North Carolina Court of Appeals and federal courts in North Carolina. Additionally, Jeremy was hired as an adjunct professor for mock trial and trial advocacy courses at North Carolina State University in the summer of 2013, where he also coaches the undergraduate mock trial team.

■

■

THE FIFTH ANNUAL BARBARA SULLIVAN RACE FOR WOMEN’S HEALTH Each year, the Women’s Law Association (WLA) at Elon Law and the Elon Law Alumni Association coordinate the Barbara Sullivan 5K Race for Women’s Health in conjunction with Elon Law Reunion Weekend.

Named for the mother of Ann Sullivan L’09, who lost her life to a brain tumor, the race raises funds for women’s health issues that affect family members of Elon Law students and alumni.

“The students and alumni of the Women’s Law Association, and all members of the Elon Law community who participated in the race, are gratified to support the work of important women’s health organizations each year through this charitable event,” said Ivy Oakley L’11 who led alumni organizing efforts for the race. “This race is one of the important Elon Law traditions that we are all committed to supporting for years to come.”

■

■

■

HONORING DONORS

Jim Melvin, President of The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, receives a crystal gavel from Elon University President Leo M. Lambert in recognition of Melvin’s crucial support for the establishment of Elon University School of Law.

ELON HONORS THE JOSEPH M. BRYAN FOUNDATION Elon University President Leo M. Lambert led an August 7, 2012 ceremony recognizing The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation’s support for Elon Law totaling more than $8 million. At the event, Lambert presented Jim Melvin, President of The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, with a crystal gavel recognizing the Foundation’s major gifts in support of the law school.

T

he ceremony included an announcement of The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation’s most recent gift to Elon, the title to the 84,000 square foot H. Michael Weaver Building (Elon Law’s primary facility at 201 North Greene Street in downtown Greensboro) valued at more than $2 million.

The transfer of the title of the H. Michael Weaver Building brings the Foundation’s total support for Elon University School of Law to more than $8 million.

“The support of The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation was foundational to the creation of Elon University School of Law and continues to be crucial to the development of the law school as a national model of engaged learning in legal education,” said Lambert.

“Elon is grateful for the enduring vision of

Mr. Bryan, to Jim Melvin for his leadership and to the board of directors of The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation for their unflagging support. Elon University School of Law is exactly where it needs to be in downtown Greensboro, and we are delighted today to be able to call this building home.”

In 2004, Melvin and Lambert spearheaded a campaign to raise start-up funding to locate Elon University School of Law in downtown Greensboro. The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation and several other foundations, corporations and individuals participated in a successful drive to provide the $10 million needed to supplement Elon funding for the launch of the school. In 2008, a $1 million gift from the Bryan Foundation established the Joseph M. Bryan Distinguished Leadership

Lecture Series, bringing national leaders to Greensboro to speak with law students and the broader community.

“Elon Law would not exist without the support provided by a number of North Carolina’s most respected philanthropists and civic leaders, especially Jim Melvin and The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation,” said law school dean George R. Johnson, Jr. “The achievements of Elon Law and the contributions that its students and alumni make to the betterment of the profession and society are linked directly to the generous contributions made by these outstanding individuals and foundations. We want to continue to work to be worthy of the confidence that the Bryan Foundation and the community of Greensboro has reposed in us and

Annual report 2012–13 25

HONORING DONORS

the spirit of Mr. Bryan who continues to emanate his presence in all that happens in this community.”

The August 7 ceremony included the presentation of commemorative pens to members of The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation board of directors by Ellen M. Gregg, a member of the Elon University Law School Advisory Board and Partner, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC.

About the H. Michael Weaver Building

In 2006, the law school’s primary facility at 201 North Greene Street in Greensboro, N.C. was named the H. Michael Weaver Building in honor of the prominent business leader and philanthropist. The naming recognized Weaver’s lifetime of service and generosity to the Greensboro community and to North Carolina. In recognition of their leadership, Melvin and Weaver received honorary doctor of laws degrees from Elon in 2006.

The 84,000 square foot facility underwent a $6 million renovation before the charter class of the law school enrolled in fall 2006.

Classrooms in the Weaver Building provide a full range of cutting-edge technology, enabling faculty members to take innova-

Elon University honored Jim Melvin, President of The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, for philanthropic leadership at an August 7 ceremony at Elon University School of Law in downtown Greensboro.

tive approaches to teaching law.

Wireless internet access is available throughout the building.

The building houses one of three North Carolina Business Courts, making Elon the first law school to house a working court of the state. The court holds session in the Robert E. Long Courtroom on the main floor of the Weaver Building.

In addition, the Weaver Building houses five classrooms, one of which serves as a second courtroom for trial practice, several seminar rooms, a jury room, offices for faculty and staff, office space for the North Carolina Business Court, a commons area for law students, a coffee shop and a law library with an extensive print and electronic collection, a computer lab, study carrels and numerous group study rooms. ■

Elon Law is grateful to those who have created endowed scholarships for well-qualified students.

Three groups of donors, with a student recipient of their named scholarship, are pictured below.

The Joy B. Davis Endowed Scholarship

Jennifer Mickle L’13, center, with Leary Davis, Founding Dean and Professor of Law Emeritus, and Joy Davis.

The Donald and Lucy Dancer Endowed Scholarship

Janison Dillon L’13, center, with Don and Lucy Dancer. Mr. Dancer is a member of the Elon University Law School Advisory Board and Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at Elon Law.

The Banks Arendell Scholarship

George R. Johnson, Jr., Dean of Elon Law, left, and Leo M. Lambert, President of Elon University, right, with several members of The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation Board of Directors, including from left, Dave Altman, Jim Melvin, Shirley Frye, Carole Bruce and Ed Kitchen.

26 Elon University school of law

Kelly Ayre L’13, right, with Helen Ellington, a longtime staff member and donor within the Elon University community, who with her husband Robert Ellington established the Banks Arendell Scholarship in honor of Ms. Ellington’s father, a Raleigh, N.C. attorney who served with distinction from 1924 through the mid-1960s.

HONORING DONORS

Acknowledgements The Elon Law community wishes to express gratitude to the many attorneys, judges and other professionals who volunteer their time and expertise to enrich the educational experience of Elon Law students.

Preceptors

Elon Law’s Preceptor Program connects attorneys with students in a mentoring relationship that emphasizes business and professional dimensions of law. Preceptors invite students to accompany them to observe trials, client interviews, depositions, mediations and other facets of law practice.

Students receive advice and guidance about the profession from the moment they enter law school.

The faculty, students and alumni of Elon Law extend their gratitude to the following lawyers who served as preceptors during the 2012–13 academic year.

Louis C. Allen Brian Baker* Ashley Bennington Jeff Berman Deborah Bowers Rebecca Branz* Bernie Brown* Richard A. Craig Jeffrey M. Davis Camilla DeBoard* Daniel L. Donovan* John A. Duberstein William A. Eagles Justin Enecks*

Justin Ervin* Greg Evans* Richard W. Gabriel Scott C. Gayle Angela Newell Gray Kenneth Gumbiner Fred T. Hamlet Eloise McCain Hassell Lora Howard* Ronnie Ingle Kenneth Keller Thomas Kobrin Doug Koenig Kenneth Kopf

Patricia Kovacevic Erin Leach* Jennifer Adams Ledford Jim Lester Michael T. Marshall Adam Marshall Joseph Milam Larry I. Moore Michael Munro* Janna Nugent Christina Freeman Pearsall Rick Pinto Jeremy Ray* Jenny Reutter*

Eric A. Richardson Sarah H. Roane Lewis Rowell Steve Russell Karen McKeithen Schaede Kerri Sigler* Jenny Sweet* Jonathan Wall John Watson* Robyn R. C. Whitman Enyonam Kpeglo Williams

Center for Professional Development forum participants

Each year, the Center for Professional Development (CPD) at Elon Law organizes forums designed to provide law students with expert insights into the legal profession, networking, career planning and professional development. The Elon Law community is grateful for the time and insights offered by the following attorneys, judges and business professionals who volunteered their time as panelists for CPD forums during the 2012–13 academic year.

Adam Arthur* Afi Johnson-Parris Ashley Bennington Benjamin Klein* Brett Moore* Dan Nash* Grant Sigmon* Lee Hawley Bernard “Bernie” Brown* David Levine** Kelly Brooks Robinson* Rebecca Cage Brian Wise Frankie Jones Paula Wells Justin R. Ervin, III.*

Camilla DeBoard* Jeb Brooks* Polly Sizemore Rachael DiMont* Sonny Haynes Charles T. Hagan III Iain MacSween Laura Deddish Burton Christy Myatt D. Erik Albright Danny Mackey David Maraghy** Vernon E. Inge Elizabeth Bilcheck Jack B. Bayliss Karen M. Schaede

* Elon Law alumnus ** Elon Law faculty member

Tim Peck Jeffrey M. Davis Bryan Starrett Eric Fink** Jonathan Wall Joyce Brafford Patrick Brown Ken Hammer Marvin Genzer Teresa Artis Lawrence Egerton The Hon. Thomas Lambros The Hon. James Exum** The Hon. Robert N. Hunter, Jr. The Hon. William L. Osteen, Jr. The Hon. James Gale

The Hon. Susan E. Bray The Hon. Tanya T. Wallace The Hon. Teresa H. Vincent The Hon. Wanda G. Bryant The Hon. Lucy Inman Alan Woodlief** Patricia Kovacevic Daniel Donovan* Eloise Hassell Benjamin Snyder* Robert Cane Miriam Heard* Georgi Yonuschot Renee Gabriel-Alford Don Dancer** David Wilkerson

2013 Class Gift enhances student lounge and study area

The Class of 2013 selected for its Class Gift the establishment of a significantly-enhanced student lounge area, increasing collaborative space for current and future students.

“We hope our gift will create an inviting space for future law students, conducive to studying and interacting with fellow students,” said the 2013 Class Gift Committee in a statement. The 2013 Class Gift Committee was comprised of: Chris Bell, Susan Brown, Sherea Burnett, Janison Dillon (Chair), Katie Everhart, Colleen Forcina and John Warren. ■

100 percent of faculty and staff make gifts to law school

Every member of the faculty and staff at Elon University School of Law contributed to the Law School Faculty and Staff Campaign for the fourth consecutive year during the 2012–13 academic year. These gifts helped to raise substantial funds for law student scholarships.

Eugenia Leggett, associate dean for development at Elon Law, said the breadth of financial contributions from faculty and staff to the annual fund was evidence of broad support within the institution for the law school’s mission. The total amount contributed by law school faculty and staff to the campaign reached a record level in 2013. ■

Annual report 2012–13 27

HONORING DONORS

The 2012–13

Drive to 25: Alumni step forward and give back Dean George R. Johnson, Jr. and the faculty, staff and students of Elon Law appreciate the support of alumni who contributed to the school’s 2012–13 Drive to 25.

Annual giving to the law school supports student scholarships, and alumni participation is critical. This year’s goal was 25 percent overall alumni participation, thus the theme Drive to 25.

Sarah Lucente L’09, the Elon Law Alumni Association’s campaign chair for the Drive to 25, said this year’s campaign was a great success.

“We were proud to achieve our alumni participation goals this year and we appreciate all the alumni who supported the campaign,” Lucente said.

“Elon Law alumni are excelling professionally, leading in their communities and contributing to an important legacy in legal education and law by supporting Elon’s annual scholarship fund.

Together we did it!”

Eugenia Leggett, associate dean for development, expressed appreciation on behalf of the Elon Law community.

“The generosity of alumni enables students to pursue their legal educations and strengthens the Elon Law legacy,” Leggett said. “A very special thank you to all of the class giving agents and to all alumni donors.”

THANK YOU TO ALL ELON LAW ALUMNI WHO GENEROUSLY GAVE BACK TO HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

28 Elon University school of law

DRIVE TO 25 Honor Roll of Donors

class of 2009

class of 2010

class of 2011

class of 2012

Participation: 34%

Participation: 27%

Participation: 16%

Participation: 22%

SARAH LUCENTE Campaign Chair & Class Agent

JENNY RUETTER & KELLY VALENTE Class Agents

TAMAYA FRANKS & JEN HOVERSTAD Class Agents

MEGAN CONNOLE, BETH KLEIN & JASON SPITZER Class Agents

Michele Callaway Margaret Lewis Max Armfield Jonathan Aust Jason Aycoth Matthew Covington Melanie Crenshaw Michele Cybulski Daniel Donovan Damon Duncan Melissa Duncan Jennifer Fleeman Holly Morris Andrea Harrell Nichelle Harrison Alix Hazel Miriam Heard Chad Hinton Amy Holthouser Mark Jetton Ted Johnson Leslie Lasher Sarah Lucente Steven Lucente Jason McKenna Eric Meredith Erin O’Connell Mital Patel Rebecca Rausch Miranda Reavis Shannon Russell Seema Shah Megan Silver Steven Spencer Ann Sullivan Barron Thompson Ryan Valente

John Albert Ashley Andrews Evan Barr Rebecca Branz Wes Brittain Michael Cowart Rachel Dimont Anna Dunkum Woody Edney Justin R. Ervin III Lora Howard Meghan Howard David Klein Jameson Marks Brack Massey David Morrow Toby Poe Lila Riley Jenny Reutter Stephen Shaw Craig Turner Kelly Valente Mike Vivenzio Jenny Sweet Will Warihay Richard Webb

Tiffany Atkins Bill Aycock Powell Baggett Alexis Baker Adrianne Edmonds Tamaya Franks Kaylan Gaudio Samantha Gilman Jen Hoverstad Brian Hunt Summer Hunt Danny Lyon Ivy Oakley Nathan Standley David Stephens William Vaughn

Jessica Anderson Stuart Bromfield Megan Connole Collin Cooper Andrea Davis Heather Deal Heather Dolan Katherine Gosney Ashley Hansen Andrew Hoke Carrie Johnston Beth Klein Matt Kraus Pamela Lawrence Josh Lopez Janet McIlwain Austin Morris Erin Rega Ben Snyder Johanna Snyder Jason Spitzer Julie Stanton Jim Stanton Justin Wier Mark York

MAKE a DONATION at www.elon.edu/ MakeAGift

Your participation matters.

Donors to the law school are recognized annually in Elon Law’s online and print Honor Roll of Donors. The 2013–14 alumni giving campaign has begun. Alumni are encouraged to contribute to this year’s DRIVE to 25 at elon.edu/MakeaGift. Be sure to designate your gift to “School of Law” and note “DRIVE to 25” in the Additional Comments section. Let’s drive beyond 25!

CONGRATULATIONS Class of 2013

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Elon, NC Permit No. 1

PO Box 398 Elon, NC 27244 Change Service Requested

Elon University School of Law is located at 201 North Greene Street, Greensboro, NC 27401 » law.elon.edu » Email: law@elon.edu » Toll free: 1-888-ELONLAW

Each year, every member of the entering class at Elon Law, including Adam Hunter L’16 below, signs the student-created honor code to uphold the values of Elon University School of Law: honesty, integrity, responsibility and respect.