FALL 2015
THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF LAW
LEARNING BY DOING
“Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruff led under all circumstances.” —THOMAS JEFFERSON
UPCOMING ALUMNI EVENTS January 13
Miami Reception with Professor A. E. Dick Howard ’61 Offices of Greenberg Traurig
February 17
Atlanta Luncheon Four Seasons Hotel
February 17
Birmingham Reception Summit Club
March 2
Dallas Luncheon Belo Mansion
March 2 Houston Reception Four Seasons Hotel March 16
New York City Luncheon Yale Club
March 30
Northern Virginia Reception Ritz Carlton, Tysons Corner
April 13
Williamsburg Reception Home of Sharon and Chuck Owlett
May 13–15
Law Alumni Weekend Charlottesville
June 2
Richmond Reception McGuireWoods
June 8
Washington, D.C. Mayflower Hotel
FOR LATEST ON ALUMNI EVENTS: www.law.virginia.edu/alumni
FROM THE DEAN PAUL G. MAHONEY …
Theory and Practice
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hat should law schools teach? The question is as old as law schools themselves. Thomas Jefferson wanted his Law School to train citizen lawyers capable of self-government. To that end, his plan for the curriculum included not just the complexities of doctrine, pleading, and procedure, but broad training in political philosophy and government similar to what Jefferson himself had received under George Wythe’s tutelage. The curriculum took a more practical turn beginning in the 1840s under Professor John Barbee Minor. Minor created a two-year program in which the first year was devoted to topics that “form an essential part of a liberal professional education” while the second focused on “the study of the theory and practice of Law, as a profession.” The combination of theory and practice has characterized the Law School’s curriculum ever since. In recent years, the profession has pushed law schools to offer more “experiential learning” such as clinics and simulation-based courses. The American Bar Association now requires that a student earn six credits in skills courses in order to graduate. Both New York and California are considering additional requirements in order to sit for their bar exams. The possibility that there may be multiple and conflicting state-level requirements presents a challenge for national law schools like Virginia as well as for the ABA. We have long had a system in which holding a degree from an accredited law school enables a graduate to sit for the bar in any state; that system may be coming to an end. Putting aside the administrative challenges, how much should law schools focus on experiential learning? At Virginia, our approach has been enabling. We recognize that our graduates go on to careers in large, small, and medium-sized firms; in litigation, transactional, tax, and other practice areas; in government agencies and nonprofits; in finance, management, and academia. Our goal has been to make it possible for each student to assemble a program of training that works for him or her.
As part of the menu, we offer an extraordinarily wide range of clinical programs. We are fortunate, thanks to our alumni, to have the resources to make these deep and meaningful learning experiences, whether the student is representing a child with special educational needs, arguing a case before a federal appellate court, or shaping environmental regulation through the notice and comment process. We also offer a vibrant externship program to give students who may want to practice in government agencies or nonprofits a look at what that practice entails. But clinics and externships, attractive as they are for many students, are not the best option for every student. That is why our approach has not been merely on experiential learning, narrowly defined, but on contextual learning. We try to ensure that every single graduate understands the practical settings in which particular legal questions arise and can see them not as abstractions but as problems to be solved for a client as part of that client’s pursuit of a broader set of goals. That was the animating concept behind the Principles and Practice courses that Bob Scott designed. They put practitioners in the classroom with members of our faculty to teach substantive law in context. It was also the motivation behind the Law and Business Program that John Jeffries inaugurated as well as the Law and Public Service Program that we introduced during my deanship. The Law School’s curriculum must stay abreast of developments within legal practice while providing essential training in the methods and style of legal reasoning so that every graduate of the Law School, regardless of career path, will be able to say that the education provided here contributed substantially to his or her success. I hope you enjoy reading about how we try to achieve that objective today.
FEATURE STORIES
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Clinics Turn Doctrine and Policy Into Practice 26 DEPARTMENTS 1
FROM THE DEAN
Theory and Practice 5
LAW SCHOOL NEWS 46
FACULTY NEWS & BRIEFS 55
CLASS NOTES 77
IN MEMORIAM 79
IN PRINT
Theory vs. Practice: A False Dichotomy? 32
Partnership Power: UVA Law + LAJC 34
Externship Program Puts Students in Offices 36
Getting it Right: Legal Research and Writing 38
Labs and Courtrooms: Improving Forensics Analysis 40
Supreme Court Litigation Clinic Wins Big 42
Clinical Offerings Engage Students
83
TO THE EDITOR 84
CLOSING REMARKS
Learning by Doing in Los Angeles
On the cover: Members of the jury, a.k.a. Appellate Litigation Clinic Students
FALL 2015 VOL. 39, NO. 2 | EDITOR CULLEN COUCH ASSOCIATE EDITOR DENISE FORSTER CONTRIBUTING WRITER REBECCA BARNS DESIGN ROSEBERRIES PHOTOGRAPHY IAN BRADSHAW, TOM COGILL, TOM DALY, COLE GEDDY, ROBERT LLWELLYN, KIMBERLY REICH, ERIC WILLIAMSON
LAW SCHOOL NEWS
NEW PILA PLAN | Mary Wood
CHANGE IN VIRGINIA
Funding Guarantee for Summer Public Service Jobs
Improved Lawyering Behind State’s Vanishing Death Penalty
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office in the late 1990s,” said Assistant Dean he Law School will guarantee fundfor Public Service Annie Kim ’99, director ing for qualifying students working in of the Public Service Center. “The program public service jobs over the summer under has flourished since then to become one a new plan for Public Interest Law Associaof the best of its kind. I’m so pleased that tion (PILA) grants. funding will be accessible to every stuFirst- and second-years who meet the dent who wants to dedicate a summer to requirements—including volunteering a public service.” minimum number of pro bono and public PILA grants began as Student-Funded service hours while in law school—will Fellowships under the Student Bar Assoreceive grants of $3,750 and $6,500 before ciation in 1982, when funding was provided taxes, respectively, to work for public-sector to six students. By 1996 the Law School employers. Foundation began matching funds raised “This is an important step in the evoby students. lution of a program that has encouraged In recent years the school has funded many students to pursue public service, not every student who qualified for a grant, but only during the summer, but after graduit was not guaranteed. Submitted applicaation,” Dean Paul G. Mahoney said. “We tions were ranked by the PILA board, which could not have taken it without the support also conducted interviews of applicants. of our alumni.” PILA president and third-year Reedy Starting this year, the student-run PILA Swanson said he expected the new process will work closely with the Mortimer Caplin would be easier for Public Service Center applicants. to administer the grant “We’re thrilled to be application process, grants amounting to more able to take much of the and the Public Service than $1.2 million were given to uncertainty out of this Center will handle the students working in public service jobs process,” Swanson said. disbursement of grants. over the summer from 2013 to 2015. “Students can focus on Most funding for the finding a job without g r ant s c ome s f rom having to worry about whether they’ll alumni donations through the Law School have financial support when they do.” Foundation. In the past three years alone, PILA typically raises funds through its 292 grants worth more than $1.2 million fall auction, used textbook sale, and other have been given to students. efforts that will continue, Swanson said. “PILA grants have a long and proud Students who receive grants donate back tradition at the Law School. I remember 20 hours of service to PILA the following vividly receiving my grant check as a school year. 1L student to work at a public defender’s “We depend on the support of grantees to pay it forward to the next generation of Innocence Project Clinic participants. Clockwise from left, Angelique Ciliberti, Ashley Clinton, James Billard, students,” Swanson said. n Laura Franks, instructor Jennifer Givens, and private
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investigator Lisa Inlow.
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irginia has the highest rate of executions of any death penalty state and has executed the third-highest number of prisoners since the 1970s. Yet there are now two or fewer trials a year in Virginia at which a judge or jury considers imposing the death penalty. A new study of death penalty trials in the state by Professor Brandon Garrett found that over one-half of the capital trials in Virginia in the past decade now result in a life sentence (11 of 21 cases from 2005 to the present at which there was a capital sentencing hearing resulting in a life sentence). There have been no new death sentences in Virginia since 2011. Garrett, the author of Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong, said the reason for the sudden decline may be that attorneys are getting better at fighting for their clients’ lives. In 2004, Virginia’s legislature created regional capital defense resource centers to handle capital cases, especially death penalty investigations and trials. The change came in the wake of a Virginia commission report on indigent defense in the state, which was found lacking. “The impact of improved lawyering is striking, particularly in the cases that the regional offices handled, but also across the board,” Garrett said. “The study suggests that it does not take the ‘best of the best’ or some kind of ‘dream team’ to effectively represent a capital defendant. But it does take a team, a team of specialist capital defense lawyers and investigators, preferably working in an
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 5
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
considered by a judge or jury, as well as a large collection of pre-2005 capital trials. At the guilt phase, problems persist, Garrett said. Many trials from the past decade involved contested facts regarding guilt, including undocumented confession statements and eyewitness evidence, a problem that Garrett has tracked. “Mo s t Vi r g i n i a agencies still do not require recording of interrogations or use best practices for lineups,” he said. Many cases continue to involve confessions to police (seven of 20 cases, few of which were entirely recorded interrogations), informants (12 of 20 cases had informants of one kind or another), or eyewitness identifications (seven of 20 cases). The study suggests that it does not take the In the last decade, only seven counties im‘best of the best’ or some kind of ‘dream team’ posed death sentences in Virginia, and nine of the to effectively represent a capital defendant. 11 death sentences were imposed in some of the But it does take a team …” largest jurisdictions. In decades past, however, a broad range of counties, including some From 1996 to 2004 the sentencing phase of the smallest in the state, imposed large was typically cursory, averaging less than numbers of death sentences. two days. In capital trials since 2005 the “Smaller jurisdictions clearly lost their average was twice that—four days for sentaste for capital trials first, but now almost tencing. Still more striking was the increase the entire commonwealth has followed during that time period in the numbers of their lead,” Garrett said. defense witnesses called and the more exCapital murder continues to be regularly tensive use of expert witnesses, particularly charged and still serves a role in plea-barto develop mental health evidence. gaining in Virginia, but few counties still The sentencing hearings in cases impose death sentences. handled by regional capital defenders “The ‘new’ Virginia death penalty is were still more robust. At sentencing, the almost never imposed, and when it is, a bulk of the witnesses and experts are now death sentence is so freakish that it raises called by the defense, as compared to the the constitutional concerns with arbitrari1990s, when, Garrett said, “sentencing was ness under the Eighth Amendment that an afterthought, and the defense presented U.S. Supreme Court justices have long almost no sentencing cases at all once expressed,” Garrett said. “Virginia may be the jury found the defendant guilty of a bellwether for the future of the American capital murder.” death penalty.” n For the study, Garrett obtained a complete collection of transcripts from Virginia cases dated 2005 to 2015 at which death was office, that understand the very different way that a death penalty case must be litigated from its inception.” Garrett said the effects of better lawyering can be seen in how the sentencing phase, at which the judge or jury decided whether to impose the death penalty, has changed in recent years.
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TAX JUSTICE | Eric Williamson
Professor Scores Victory for Taxpayers with Influential Supreme Court Amicus
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rofessor Ruth Mason, an expert in comparative taxation, facilitated a victory for tax justice in the U.S. when her amicus brief, co-authored with Michael S. Knoll of the University of Pennsylvania, helped persuade the Supreme Court in its decision last term in Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne. The case involved a Maryland couple, Brian and Karen Wynne, who challenged being taxed by the state for income earned outside the state—income they had already paid taxes on elsewhere. Mason and Knoll’s analysis showed that the case wasn’t about double taxation, however, but about tax discrimination. The Court ruled Maryland’s tax scheme discriminated against interstate commerce. “The reason that they found the tax to be discriminatory was due to economic analysis, which we and another amicus brief provided,” Mason said. “This case implicated everything I’ve been working on in my academic research for the last 10 years.” Mason and Knoll filed their amicus in September 2014, and although their arguments were only touched upon briefly in October’s [2014] oral arguments, the Court cited their brief four times in its decision, and also quoted Mason’s 2008 article, “Made in America for European Tax: The Internal Consistency Test.” “Once the decision came out, it was clear the majority relied on our arguments,” she said. The Court based its decision in the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The clause gives the federal government the express power to regulate commerce among
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You cannot ignore any one component. This
in-state commerce? If the answer is yes, then the challenged is really important because the state can bury tax rule discriminates in violation of the discrimination—obscure it—in just one component.” dormant Commerce Clause.” Mason said that one of the advantages the states, and the Court has interpreted of the internal consistency test is that it enthe clause to have a dormant aspect that ables the court to consider all components restricts states from implementing laws of a state’s tax system: taxes on inbound, that discriminate against interstate comoutbound and domestic sources. merce. The recent decision builds on the “Wynne made it clear that when you’re so-called internal consistency test that the doing a tax discrimination inquiry you court developed in the 1980s for state tax have to look at all three components of the discrimination cases. The test identifies system,” she said. “You cannot ignore any instances where the taxing scheme disone component. This is really important criminates against interstate commerce in because the state can bury discrimination— comparison to in-state commerce. obscure it—in just one component.” “The Supreme Court in Wynne clarified Maryland now may owe as much as that the internal consistency test applies in $200 million in refunds and interest to the any kind of tax discrimination case, which is Wynnes and other affected residents—and a helpful clarification,” Mason said. “There the financial implications may be even was genuine confusion before about which higher for the estimated thousands of state cases internal consistency applied to.” and local governments who must reconcile She said the concept of internal consissimilar tax laws. tency is simple when broken down: “The “The Court did not specify how Court hypothetically assumes that all states Maryland had to correct its discrimination,” implement the challenged state’s tax rule. Mason said. “For example, the Court didn’t And then the Court asks, in this hypothetisay that Maryland had to credit the taxes of cally harmonized situation, does interstate other states, but crediting other states’ taxes commerce bear a higher tax burden than
is the easiest way for Maryland or any other state or locality to bring its tax in line with the internal consistency test.” Mason said the principle of internal consistency could be useful to courts outside of the U.S. as well. Her “Made in America” paper, which the Court cited, discusses possible applications for the European Union. “One of the things I’ve been arguing since 2008 is that the European Court of Justice should use the internal consistency test because it really simplifies these inquiries about whether the state discriminates,” she said. Mason, the Hunton & Williams Professor of Law, joined the tax faculty in 2013, having previously taught at the University of Connecticut School of Law. The amicus brief was the first Mason ever filed. She said it was a rare opportunity to participate in a tax discrimination case at the Supreme Court level. “The Supreme Court doesn’t often grant cert in tax discrimination cases,” she said. “It’s really nice to see the theory get translated into practice and to have an impact.” Mason is writing a follow-up paper with Knoll, provisionally entitled “Legal and Economic Misconceptions in Comptroller v. Wynne,” and will incorporate the case into her January term course, Tax Discrimination. n
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BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE EVIDENCE | Eric Williamson
As Congress Considers Sentencing Reform, What Is the Role of Risk?
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key problems for making risk assessment an effective ongoing practice. Monahan said Congress is proposing several pieces of legislation in response to the country’s growing incarceration problem. “One thing those bills all have in common is use of risk assessment in sentencing,” he said. Last year the Bureau of Justice Statistics The fiscal and human toll of mass incarceration is reported that one in 35 adults in the United difficult to justify, particularly in an era when crime States was under some form of correctional rates are at historic lows.” supervision. “The fiscal and human toll of mass incarceration is difficult In the forthcoming article “Risk to justify, particularly in an era when crime Assessment in Criminal Sentencing,” to be rates are at historic lows,” Monahan said. published next year in the Annual Review But as jurisprudence has begun to shift of Clinical Psychology, Monahan and cofrom a just deserts approach to a risk assessauthor Jennifer L. Skeem of the University ment approach, he said, how judges weigh of California, Berkeley examine jurisprurisk is becoming increasingly important. dential theories on risk assessment, which “What we have tried to do in the paper attempt to determine the risk of recidivism is to clarify issues that are presented when and the defendant’s overall threat to society. one bases criminal sentencing in part not The authors also review how risk is defined just on people’s moral responsibility for and used in the judicial process, and address s congressional leaders propose reforms to harsh criminal sentencing laws that many believe have contributed to prison overcrowding nationwide, Professor John Monahan, an expert in violence risk assessment and how courts use behavioral science evidence, is taking a closer look at risk’s role in the sentencing process.
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committing crime in the past, but also in part on people’s empirical likelihood of committing more crime in the future,” he said. Monahan said he relied upon his more than 40 years of studying risk assessment of violence within the context of the mental health system to make comparisons for the paper. He and his colleague found that current problems with the assessment process include conflating risk with blame, focusing on clinical rather than group-based risk assessment, failing to distinguish risk assessment from risk reduction, and ignoring the potential for risk assessment in sentencing to affect racial and economic disparities in imprisonment. In many instances, judges have been reluctant to look at demographics as they determine risk, Monahan said. “[But] age is clearly associated with criminal recidivism, and gender is also a risk factor,” he said. “It’s not unusual to use gender as a risk factor in civil commitment to the mental health system, and the existence of gender differences in various diseases is common.” In fact, he said, “Not to use gender as a risk factor in health care would be simple malpractice.” But Monahan said that caution has to be taken when looking at statistics, too. “If using risk assessment in sentencing results in increasing racial disparity in imprisonment rates—which is an open empirical question—this would obviously be a great concern,” he said. “Former Attorney General Eric Holder stated shortly before he left office that his major reservation in risk assessment for sentencing was that it could exacerbate existing disparities in imprisonment, and he is certainly right to be concerned about it.” Monahan, a psychologist, is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and serves on the National Research Council. He was the founding president of the American Psychological Association’s Division of Psychology and Law, and has been a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He twice directed research networks for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. n
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
WIPO ASSEMBLY AGREEMENT | Eric Williamson
Protecting Indigenous IP Rights on an International Stage
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he possibility of an international legal instrument to protect indigenous IP rights remains alive thanks to the efforts of Professor Margo Bagley and international delegates who worked down to the wire at recent World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly talks. The assembly, held in Geneva, ended with a minutes-to-spare agreement to extend the work of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore for another two years. The work of the WIPO committee is considered essential for nations hoping to forge an international legal instrument to fill gaps in the current global IP system relating to these three categories of subject matter. “It was hard-fought, but that is what we’ve been working towards all year—getting IGC negotiations restarted,” Bagley said. At the assembly, Bagley continued her role as a special adviser to Mozambique and the Africa Group, and also served as a resource for other diplomats and governmental representatives who had questions regarding the intricacies of international IP law. Bagley is the Hardy Cross Dillard Professor of Law and Joseph C. Carter, Jr. Research Professor, an expert
bioactivity, and only 1 percent of microorin international and comparative patent ganisms, she said, a lot of room still exists law issues, and co-author of the casebook for the development of highly useful—and International Patent Law and Policy. highly profitable—pharmaceuticals. She said it’s important that indigenous groups and local communities have protection for their It was actually very helpful that we had countries traditional knowledge and folklore, and from different world regions willing to work that patent regimes facilitate, not hinder, together …” the proper acquisition of and sharing of ben“If biodiversity-rich provider countries efits from genetic resources used to develop feel they’re being taken advantage of, then patentable inventions. they may make it harder to obtain access “There currently is an imbalance in the to their genetic resources,” she said. “So we traditional IP system, which values and rewant researchers to have access to these gewards certain kinds of creativity and effort, netic resources to study them and to be able but not others,” she said. “The WIPO IGC to identify and develop new cures and other is working to ameliorate that imbalance.” products beneficial for society globally.” WIPO is the global forum for intellecBut the push for protections isn’t all tual property services, policy, information, about money. Some intellectual property has and cooperation. They are a self-funding deeper meaning to rights holders. agency of the United Nations, with 188 member states. The development of new drugs has been Margo Bagley, center, with Martin Girsberger, left, head of the a driver behind the push for international Sustainable Development and International Cooperation Unit of legal efforts to protect genetic resources. the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property and Georges Bauer, academic assistant to the unit. Girsberger served as With only 15 percent of plants around the head of the Swiss delegation to the World Intellectual Property world believed to have been examined for Organization General Assembly.
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“There may be sacred rituals or artwork that are not widely known outside of a particular group or community—they’re not necessarily secret, but they’re not widely known—that a treaty could provide protection for and perhaps enable the creators to better control,” Bagley said. She gave as an example a carpet company that lifted designs from aboriginal artwork in Australia. “This was such a violation for the artists because they are the keepers of the community knowledge that enabled them to develop the paintings,” she said. “While they were able to get some relief using copyright law, this created several additional problems—for example, the fact that the protection has a time limit. For things that are sacred, a community would not want to have a time limit on its ability to control certain uses. Because as long as that community exists, this artwork is going to be sacred to its members.” Bagley, who helped draft assembly proposals for both the Africa Group and a diverse coalition of countries that included Switzerland, Norway, Kenya, New Zealand, Mozambique, and the Holy See, said the talks could be tense when groups disagreed, but that cooperation ultimately won out. “I was dashing back and forth between groups,” she said. “It was actually very helpful that we had countries from different world regions willing to work together on these issues. There was a lot more crossregional cooperation at these meetings, and that is something that has been sorely lacking, in the IGC in particular.” Bagley said it is fortunate for the future of WIPO and the broader IP system that the cliffhanger had a positive ending. “If we had gone another year without substantive talks in the IGC, I’m not sure what it would have taken to get them restarted,” she said. “Moreover, the failure to renew IGC talks would have threatened progress on the entire normative agenda at WIPO.” WIPO will reconvene the committee for several meetings in 2016–17, with the objective of deciding at the end of 2017 whether to continue committee-level talks or schedule a diplomatic conference for adoption of one or more IGC treaties. n
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CLERKSHIPS | Mary Wood
UVA Law Sets School Records Again in Clerkship Placement
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ore than 100 UVA Law graduates are clerking in the 2015–16 court term, including four at the U.S. Supreme Court and a school record 62 in U.S. district courts. This year marks the third time since 2011 that the number of alumni clerkships has topped 100. This year’s success follows a recordsetting term in 2014, Director of Clerkships Ruth Payne ’02 said. That term featured school records in the number of graduates at U.S. courts of appeal (35 clerkships), and the total number of clerkships (105; this year’s tally so far is 103). The school’s graduates have a history of performing well at elite clerkship placement. UVA is fourth in contributing clerks to the Supreme Court from 2005–15, after Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. According to ABA data, Virginia is fifth among law schools in the number of alumni earning federal appellate clerkships for the classes of 2012–14. “Our students make great clerks—our judges are happy and come back for more,”
Payne said. “Every year about 75 percent of our hires are from judges who’ve hired our graduates before.” And the number of judges who hire UVA Law alumni is growing. At least 58 judges appointed by President Barack Obama have hired graduates. Payne attributed some of the success to faculty who are dedicated to helping students achieve the best possible outcome. “Our faculty both are very generous about helping students, and also are wellconnected,” she said. Many alumni who clerk also advise Payne and students seeking clerkships, which helps create a cycle of success, she said. (Payne herself clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III ’72 on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and completed a one-year Bristow Fellowship with the U.S. Office of the Solicitor From left, Virginia graduates Andrew Kilberg ‘14, Galen Bascom ‘13, Ben Tyson ‘14, and Jonathan Urick ‘13 are clerking for the Supreme Court during the 2015 term.
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
UVA Law Clerkships 2014 Term
2 U.S. Supreme Court 35 U.S. Courts of Appeal 51 U.S. District Courts
and other Federal Courts
17 State Courts
105 GRADUATES
2015 Term
4 U.S. Supreme Court 24 U.S. Courts of Appeal 62 U.S. District Courts
and other Federal Courts
13 State Courts
103 GRADUATES
General.) And of course, many judges hold degrees from UVA Law—160, according to Payne’s records. Clerkships are considered a prestigious stepping stone to a successful career in law. Graduates who clerk before starting work at a firm typically receive sizable bonuses and join as a second-year associate. “Employers really want you to clerk,” Payne said, and many government employers hire from the clerk pool. The hiring process for firms runs in parallel with the clerkship application and interviewing process, so that graduates finishing a clerkship can immediately start at a firm without another job search. Some graduates clerk for two years with different judges before launching their career. Professor Micah Schwartzman ’05, chair of the Clerkships Committee, said faculty are “strongly committed” to the school’s clerkships program. Professor Micah Schwartzman ’05, chair of the clerkships committee, said faculty are “strongly committed” to the school’s clerkships program. “Clerking is a great way to start your legal career, both in terms of gaining valuable experience and in opening doors to future career paths,” Schwartzman said. “Because our students get so much out of their clerkships, we want to do everything we can to support them.” n
CLERKSHIPS | Kimberly Reich
Nicole Frazer ’15 to Clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Scalia
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Law Review and a member of the Supreme icole Frazer ’15 will clerk for U.S. Court Litigation Clinic, Virginia Law Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Women, the Federalist Society and the Law during the 2016-17 term. Christian Fellowship. “I am thrilled to have been given such a She also served as a research assistant to significant opportunity this early on in my Professor A. E. Dick Howard ’61, himself a legal career,” Frazer said. “When you have former Supreme Court law clerk (for Justice an opportunity like this, you realize how Hugo L. Black). many different people have invested in you “Nicole was uncommonly helpful to and helped you get where you are. It was incredibly exciting to share the good news with family and friends, but it was When you have an opportunity like this, you also immensely rewarding to tell the professors realize how many different people have invested who have invested in me and paved the way for this in you and helped you get where you are.” accomplishment. “I’ve had so many fanme as I shaped a law review article on how tastic professors here, as well as UVA Law the Supreme Court has changed since the alumni and past clerks, who helped me days of Earl Warren,” Howard said. “She through the entire process. I’m enormously is blessed with a first-class mind, a flair grateful for that,” she added. for research and analysis, and an impresFrazer is currently clerking for a sive talent for presenting her findings. Her year with Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. scholarship would do justice to a seasoned Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in scholar. Justice Scalia will quickly discover Columbus, Ohio. what a good decision he has made in bringAt the Law School, Frazer was an aring her on board.” n ticles development editor for the Virginia
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Nicole Frazer ’15
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Clerkships for the 2015–16 Term All are members of the Class of 2015 unless otherwise noted.
Evan Adams ’14 The Hon. Carolyn Chiechi U.S. Tax Court Ben Aiken ’14 The Hon. Randolph D. Moss U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Ryan Baasch The Hon. Karen LeCraft Henderson U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Michael Baker ’14 The Hon. D. Brooks Smith U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Andrew Bank The Hon. Deborah Chasanow U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland Kathryn Barber The Hon. Leonie M. Brinkema U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Peter Benson The Hon. Stephanie D. Thacker U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Craig Bergman ’12 The Hon. Alison J. Nathan U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Sarah Brigham The Hon. Stuart L. Peim N.J. Superior Court Matthew Brooker The Hon. J. Harvie Wilkinson III ’72 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Audrey Brown ’10 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Ryan Comer The Hon. Norman K. Moon ’62, LL.M. ’88 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
Nicole Frazer The Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Joel Johnson The Hon. T. S. Ellis III U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Adam Crews The Hon. T. S. Ellis III U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Alexandra Gabriel Staff Clerkship Virginia Beach Circuit Court
Hilary Johnson The Hon. Thomas L. Gowen U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Andrew Gann The Hon. Norman K. Moon ’62, LL.M. ’88 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
Cagle Juhan ’12 The Hon. Norman Moon ’62, LL.M. ’88 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
J. Todd Garcia The Hon. Virginia Emerson Hopkins ’77 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Allen R. Kathir ’14 The Hon. Beth Labson Freeman U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Aaron Gober-Sims ’14 The Hon. Solomon Oliver, Jr. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
Hunter Kendrick ’14 The Hon. David Hale U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
Scott Goodwin ’06 The Hon. Kent A. Jordan U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Rachel Kinkaid The Hon. Raymond M. Kethledge U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Kieran Hartley ’14 The Hon. Eduardo Rodriguez U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Christopher Knight The Hon. Gershwin Drain U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Cara Henis Judges Rosemary Betts Beauregard and Kenneth S. Clark, Jr. Court of Common Pleas in Georgetown, Delaware
Leigh Kobrinski ’10 The Hon. Adalberto Jordan U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Sarah Daley The Hon. Keith Starrett U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Jamie Deal The Hon. Rebecca Beach Smith U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Ariel Dean The Hon. Solomon Oliver, Jr. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Diana Dickinson ’14 The Hon. Howard D. McKibben U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada Megan Durkee The Hon. Arenda Wright Allen U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Mark Earley The Hon. Henry E. Hudson U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Caitlin Eberhardt The Hon. Michael D. Wilson Hawaii Supreme Court Rory Erickson-Kulas The Hon. Michael Mosman U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Sarah Buckley ’14 The Hon. Judith W. Rogers LL.M. ’88 U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Ronald Fisher ’14 The Hon. Michelle T. Friedland U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Katie Clifford The Hon. Donald M. Middlebrooks LL.M. ’04 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Francesca Fitch ’14 The Hon. Liam O’Grady U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
12 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
Carl Hennies ’13 The Hon. Henry F. Floyd U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Genevieve Hoffman The Hon. Jay Scott Bybee U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Sejal Jhaveri The Hon. John A. Gibney, Jr. ’76 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Thomas Johnson The Hon. Eldon E. Fallon U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Emily Kveselis ’14 The Hon. Julia Smith Gibbons ’75 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Michael Landman The Hon. Stephen Underhill U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut W. Andrew Lanius The Hon. Edith H. Jones U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Hayden Lawson The Hon. Amos L. Mazzant U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
Justin Lollman ’14 The Hon. Gregory Kent Frizzel U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
Mario Peia The Hon. Legrome D. Davis U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Nicholas Roberge The Hon. Guy Humphrey U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Samuel Strongin The Hon. Leo Sorokin U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Trevor Lovell The Hon. Roger L. Gregory U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Nick Peterson ’14 The Hon. Eugene E. Siler, Jr. ’63, LL.M. ’95 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Kathleen Robeson The Hon. Stephen C. St. John ’77 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Sean Suber ’14 The Hon. Thomas Vanaskie U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Jason Lynch ’12 The Hon. Rosemary Collyer U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Bryan Podzius The Hon. Kevin R. Huennekens U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Jon Sabol ’11 The Hon. Virginia M. Kendall U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Kaitlin Venables The Hon. Thomas A. Varlan U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
Brian Mammarella The Hon. John W. Noble Delaware Court of Chancery
K. Ross Powell The Hon. Robert G. Doumar ’53, LL.M. ’88 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Franklin Sacha The Hon. Ed Carnes U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Jessica Wagner The Hon. Jerry E. Smith U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Archith Ramkumar ’13 The Hon. Dennis Jacobs U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Charles Shin ’13 The Hon. Lee Solomon New Jersey Supreme Court
David Martin The Hon. James L. Robart U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington Robert (Charlie) Merritt III The Hon. Thomas Johnston U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Heather Milligan The Hon. Thomas C. Wheeler U.S. Court of Federal Claims Sinead O’Doherty ’08 The Hon. Patrick Auld U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina Amanda Oakes ’14 The Hon. Jeffrey Alker Meyer U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut Lide Paterno The Hon. Paul V. Niemeyer U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Nick Reaves The Hon. D. Brooks Smith U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Heidi Siegmund The Hon. Robert Payne U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Brett Rector The Hon. Michael F. Urbanski ’81 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
Matthew Skanchy The Hon. Robert G. Doumar ’53, LL.M. ’88 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Rhett D. Ricard The Hon. Henry M. Herlong U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
Allison Smith The Hon. Rebecca Beach Smith U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Kevin Richards ’14 The Hon. Alan D. Lourie U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Jessica Sommer ’12 The Hon. Elizabeth Harris Colorado Court of Appeals
Catharine Richmond ’14 The Hon. Elwood Lui California Court of Appeal
Taylor Steffan The Hon. Patrick E. Higginbotham U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Dan Wallmuth The Hon. John Anderson U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Porter Wells The Hon. Josiah Dennis Coleman Mississippi Supreme Court Christopher White The Hon. James Cacheris U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Sam Whitt ’12 The Hon. Leonard P. Stark U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware Jack Zugay The Hon. David Guaderrama U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas Ryan Zumwalt The Hon. Daniel P. Jordan III ’93 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
Caroline Courtney Stewart The Hon. James O. Browning ’81 U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 13
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
COMMENCEMENT | Mary Wood
Core Values Matter, DeMaurice Smith ’89 Tells Class of 2015
T
he Class of 2015 should uphold core values, including having courage and helping others, NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith ’89 told graduates at commencement on May 17. “Know that the personal and core values that you want to believe matter, actually do matter,” Smith said. Those values include treating colleagues well, no matter how they treat you, he added. “Your greatest victories will always be those that include the successes of others.” Smith leads the union responsible for protecting the interests of NFL players, a position to which he was twice unanimously elected by a board of active player representatives. He is a former assistant U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., and was counsel to then-Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. After his government service ended and before his current role, Smith worked as a partner in the law firms Latham & Watkins and Patton Boggs. In a speech peppered with humor and heart, Smith said that he started to speculate at his selection as the commencement speaker, as surely other alumni were better qualified. To realize that might be the case “was even a little … deflating,” he said slyly, referring to then-current Deflategate woes in the NFL. Though he didn’t take courses in antitrust, labor law, or sports law— all areas he focuses on in his current role—Smith said he gained a strong sense of camaraderie with classmates and gained “authentic friendships.” “I owe a tremendous debt to this law school because it gave me the start that today it gives each of you,” he said. “I look for opportunities to give back, because the Law School—as we are fond of saying—took a chance on me.” He encouraged the class to help others the way he was helped.
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“‘Self-made’ is a myth, and therefore we have a duty to reach back, pull up and provide a foundation so that hard work can actually make dreams a reality,” he said. “It does obligate each and every one of us to make the same investment for someone else.” He also encouraged students to be courageous in applying their newfound skills. He pointed to his successful negotiation of a historic 10-year collective bargaining agreement in 2011 with the league and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, following a 132-day lockout. The players’ goals weren’t about money, he said, but about “a desire to realize a vision that our players are more than fungible commodities.” The resulting agreement resulted in less rough contact for players in practice, broader access to better pensions and better access to health care, he said.
“History proves that the only thing that makes a vision for a better tomorrow a reality is courage,” he said. “Courage still, and will always, matter.” He challenged graduates to find “good fights” to tackle. “Ours is a profession that is designed to arm advocates with the ability to bring fairness to every contest, and it is grounded in a belief that justice is a right that can be achieved by any person,” he said. The students in the Class of 2015 who were once strangers are now classmates and friends, Smith said. “The years that will come after today will bring you both joy and pain, but the real benefit of living through both of them is that it will sear into you that which is truly important and truly worth living for, every day.” In total, the Law School conferred 406 degrees: 367 J.D.s, 40 LL.M.s, and one S.J.D.
Fast Facts About the Class of 2015 The class volunteered representation
17,563 pro bono hours to assist those who cannot afford legal
103 graduates met the Pro Bono Challenge by each contributing 75 hours or more of pro bono service
$23,000
Graduates led an effort to raise more than through the softball invitational for a local nonprofit and students working in public service positions over the summer Through Public Interest Law Association fundraising, the class made it possible for other students to work in public service During their three years,
10 student-run academic journals published a total of 37 issues
Two graduates were featured on the Peabody-award-winning podcast “Serial” Several graduates worked on Supreme Court cases (Elonis and Henderson) and argued before federal and state courts across the country. For photos, audio, and video see: bit.ly/uvalaw_commencement2015
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
2015 GRADUATION AWARDS Margaret G. Hyde Award: Joel S. Johnson To the graduate whose scholarship, character, personality, activities in the affairs of the school, and promise of efficiency have entitled him or her to special recognition.
Herbert Kramer/Herbert Bangel Community Service Award: Megan Margaret Durkee To the graduate who has contributed the most to the community.
James C. Slaughter Honor Award: Sejal Parimal Jhaveri To an outstanding member of the graduating class.
Mortimer Caplin Public Service Award: Sejal Parimal Jhaveri To a graduate entering a career in the public service sector who demonstrates the qualities of leadership, integrity, and service to others.
Thomas Marshall Miller Prize: Jessica Leigh Wagner To an outstanding and deserving member of the graduating class. Z Society Shannon Award: Samuel Matthew Strongin To the graduate with the highest academic record after five semesters. Law School Alumni Association Best Note Award: John Franklin Sacha Jr. To the member of the graduating class who wrote the best note in a current issue of a Law School publication. Robert E. Goldsten Award for Distinction in the Classroom: Colin McGovern Downes To the graduate who has contributed the most to classroom education by his or her outstanding recitation and discussion.
“You are trained to be leaders, and you will be, in your careers, in your communities, and in some cases, in elected or appointed government service,” Dean Paul Mahoney said. “Your law school is proud of you and confident of your future.” Alex Matthews, the outgoing president of the Student Bar Association and the president of the graduating class, announced the class gift: 297 graduates—82 percent— pledged to support the Law School with financial donations over the next four years. Matthews also thanked the family members, friends, and others who supported the students through law school. “Without your support, guidance, and tolerance, the many accomplishments of this year’s class would not have been possible.” n
Roger and Madeleine Traynor Prize: Lide Evans Paterno and Evan Thomas To two graduates who have produced outstanding written work.
Edwin S. Cohen Tax Prize: Jasmine Nancy Hay and Stephen N. Shashy To the graduate(s) who has demonstrated superior scholarship in the tax area. Earle K. Shawe Labor Relations Award: Emily Elizabeth Batt To the graduate who shows the greatest promise in the field of labor relations. John M. Olin Prize in Law and Economics: Megan Elizabeth Colville To a graduate or graduates who have produced outstanding written work in the field of law and economics. Eppa Hunton IV Memorial Book Award: Brett W. Rector To a graduate who demonstrates unusual aptitude in courses in the field of litigation, and who shows a keen awareness and understanding of the lawyer’s ethical and professional responsibility. Virginia Trial Lawyers Trial Advocacy Award: Sarah Alexandra Smith To a graduate who shows particular promise in the field of trial advocacy. Virginia State Bar Family Law Book Award: Katie R. Packer To the graduate who has demonstrated the most promise and potential for the practice of family law.
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 15
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
WELCOME | Eric Williamson, Mary Wood, & Kimberly Reich
New to the Faculty LEGAL HISTORIAN J. GORDON HYLTON ’77
F
or J. Gordon Hylton ’77, joining the faculty is both a homecoming and history repeating itself. A legal historian, Hylton has been a visiting professor for more than a decade. He now formally joins UVA from Marquette Law School, where he had been on the faculty since 1995. In addition to his J.D., Hylton holds an M.A. from the University, and earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in the History of American Civilization. After law school, he clerked for Justice Albertis S. Harrison ’28 and Chief Justice Lawrence I’Anson of the Virginia Supreme Court and later worked for a year at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, but the bulk of his career has been spent in academia. “I had pretty much decided by the time I finished law school that I wanted to be an academic,” he said. His research interests focus on the history of the legal profession, the history of civil rights, and the legal history of American sports.
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This year Hylton is teaching staple law classes such as Property (he is co-author of the textbook Property Law and the Public Interest: Cases and Materials, now in its fourth edition), as well as his own unique course: African-American Lawyers from the Civil War to Present. His research on the history of African-American lawyers, particularly in Virginia, has been an ongoing scholarly interest that has resulted in a book manuscript Hylton says he hopes to send to publishers later this year. For Law alumni, Hylton may have already made his biggest contribution to school history. As a student he co-founded (with Fred Vogel ’77) the North Grounds Softball League, which has since become famous for hosting its annual charity tournament among law schools. “I don’t think any of us thought the league would still be here even the next year, let alone 40 years later,” he said.
“
FAMILY LAW, JURISPRUDENCE EXPERT GREGG STRAUSS
G
regg Strauss, a family law, jurisprudence, and philosophy expert who is offering fresh insight into questions about marriage, joined the Law School as an associate professor of law. Strauss recently served as a visiting assistant professor at Duke Law School. At UVA he is teaching Torts and Family Law. Strauss holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and a J.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a B.A. in philosophy from Emory University. He clerked for Judges William M. Conley and Barbara B. Crabb of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin for two years after law school. Much of Strauss’ recent scholarship has revolved around defining a theory behind marriage, including why the state is involved in licensing marriages at all. “Why not just get out of that business altogether? It would certainly seem to make things easier: You would avoid the problems
I had pretty much decided by the time I finished law school that
I wanted to be an academic.”
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
of the state deciding who gets to count their relationship as a marriage, you would avoid religious objections to being required to license same-sex marriages,” he said. In “Why the State Cannot ‘Abolish Marriage,’” Strauss argues that the law could discard the title “marriage,” but cannot extricate itself from it. Run-of-themill contract and tort standards, Strauss said, apply differently to different relationships—strangers, clients, employees—and the same is true for spouses. Even without an official status of “marriage,” judges would still need to classify relationships and articulate marriage-like doctrines. Understanding why the law involves itself in our relationships, Strauss argues, is necessary to unravel current marriage controversies. In particular, he’s using these ideas to examine polygamy in light of the extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples. Strauss said his interest in jurisprudence drives him to understand the “deep philosophical underpinnings” of certain areas of law, such as torts and family law. He said he believes the contours of marriage and divorce law reflect underlying moral obligations between spouses.
“
The system certainly remains in dire need of prosecutors and
defenders who are smart, fair, and committed to their responsibilities under the Constitution.”
LITIGATION VETERAN JENNIFER GIVENS
L
itigation veteran Jennifer Givens has joined the Innocence Project Clinic as legal director. In her new role, Givens works with students as they investigate and litigate wrongful convictions of inmates in Virginia. She co-teaches the classroom portion of the clinic with Director of Investigation Deirdre Enright ’92, investigates cases and file pleadings, and helps evaluate which cases the clinic will take. Because some of the cases may go to court, Givens’ role will include litigation and related efforts in those situations. “This is an area of law that I feel very passionately about, so I feel fortunate to be able to do this critically important work,” Givens said. Most recently, Givens worked in Philadelphia as an assistant federal defender with the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal
Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She also previously handled death penalty appeals at the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center in Richmond and in Charlottesville. Her career successes include securing a grant of clemency for a severely mentally ill client and winning a life sentence for an intellectually disabled client, both of whom had been sentenced to death in Virginia. “The same types of issues are generally at play in all of these cases,” she said. “We’ll re-examine cases in the hopes of determining what went wrong at trial.” “There are only a handful of lawyers in the whole country who can claim the necessary legal expertise that Professor Givens can, having devoted her entire legal career to the post-conviction defense of both state death row clients in Virginia and federal death row clients while working in Pennsylvania,” Enright said. “She is a necessary asset to both of our clinics—the Innocence Project Clinic and the student volunteer group, the Virginia Innocence Project Pro Bono Clinic—and of course, to all our clients.” Givens said she is looking forward to helping foster student interest in criminal post-conviction work. “The criminal justice system remains in desperate need of talented and devoted lawyers,” Givens said. “And the system certainly remains in dire need of prosecutors and defenders who are smart, fair, and committed to their responsibilities under the Constitution. Exposing the law students to cases from the clinic will encourage them to put their talents to good use in that respect.” n
From left, Gordon Hylton ’77, Gregg Strauss, and Jennifer Givens.
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 17
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
BLSA LEADERSHIP | Kimberly Reich
Students Selected to Leadership Positions in National Association
F
our Law students are serving in leadership positions for the National Black Law Students Association during the 2015–16 term. Through serving on the national board, Josephine Biemkpa ’16, Charis Redmond ’17, Renee Manson ’16, and Danielle Stokes ’16 support operations for one of the nation’s largest student-run organizations, which represents thousands of minority law students and aims to “increase the number of culturally responsible black and minority attorneys who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community,” according to NBLSA’s mission statement. “It’s incredibly exciting to see our student leaders tapped for these national roles because they now have the opportunity to shape a number of important dialogues taking place around the country,” said Professor Anne Coughlin, who is a member of the school’s BLSA chapter advisory council, along with Senior Director of Law Firm Recruiting Patrice Hayden ’02 and Professor A. Benjamin Spencer. “But the development comes as no surprise to those of us who have worked closely with BLSA over the years. Our BLSA
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leaders are among the best of the best, and the national organization is fortunate to have them on board.” Biemkpa, the association’s national director of membership, chairs NBLSA’s membership committee and works with regional liaisons to assist current chapters and members, while also creating new chapters, reactivating inactive chapters, and compiling membership statistics and data. There are currently more than 200 chapters nationwide on the law and pre-law levels. “I am really excited to be working with a diverse group of like-minded individuals around the country and abroad on the pre-law, law school and alumni levels,” Biemkpa said. Biemkpa is a Howard University alumna. Manson is the national director of NBLSA’s Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition. She oversees the national moot court competition, which includes six regional competitions and the final held each year during the national convention. She will determine the problem, set the rules, and seek accreditation for the competitions. Manson holds degrees from the University of California, Riverside, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Redmond, a graduate of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., is NBLSA’s programming specialist and the current president of UVA Law’s BLSA chapter. She is responsible for developing and evaluating the effectiveness of existing NBLSA programs. As part of her role, she will help plan activities for the 48th Annual NBLSA Convention, slated for March 9–13 in Baltimore. In the past, the convention has featured events centered on topics like mentoring, social media, and ethics. Stokes, a graduate of the University of Richmond, will assist in organizing the NBLSA moot court competition as the national moot court specialist. Working with the moot court director and the regional directors, she will solicit sponsors and program participants. The women said their roles at NBLSA draw from the strengths of the Law School’s BLSA chapter. Redmond pointed to community, academic achievement, career development, and community service as constant touchstones for BLSA, which has been active since 1970. “Our chapter is a safe space for everyone who identifies with our mission, regardless of color,” she said. “We try to create a supportive, family-like atmosphere that embraces diversity and leads others to do the same.” The Virginia Law chapter sponsors an annual international service trip, during From left: Renee Manson ’16, Charis Redmond ’17, and Josephine Biemkpa ’16. Right, Danielle Stokes ’16.
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
which students provide pro bono services in partnership with legal aid organizations abroad. They also host a biannual diversity reception to help kick-start the career-search season for first-years. The event gives BLSA members and students from other organizations the opportunity to network with attendees from partner firms. “BLSA is one of the most vibrant and vital student organizations on our Law Grounds. Their academic and professional programs always are first rate, and they consistently enrich our community by coming up with innovative ways of supporting everyone who studies and works here,” said Coughlin. n
ADVISING | Kimberly Reich & Eric Williamson
School Bolsters Career Counseling Services
U
VA Law recently welcomed new career counselors to strengthen advising services for students and alumni. Lauren Ventre ’12 and Marit Spekman ’09 are the new directors of career services,
and Lawton Tufts is the director of public service and alumni advising. Ventre began with Career Services last year as associate director, having previously managed the On-Grounds Interviewing program for the University’s undergraduate Career Services—a role that involved coordinating the logistics of more than 6,500 interviews annually for more than 3,000 students and recruiters. She also worked with a team that was responsible for maintaining and developing relationships with employers interested in recruiting University students. Spekman comes from the New York office of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where she was an associate for six years and served as a member of the firm’s Professional Personnel/Legal Recruiting and Professional Development committees. Both earned law and bachelor’s degrees from UVA. Spekman and Ventre advise students and alumni on private-sector positions, helping them evaluate practice areas, firms, and legal markets and develop strategies to compete effectively for the positions they target. They assist students as they create resumes and cover letters and work with them to prepare effectively for interviews. They also are working on a range of office initiatives, including developing online resources and programming for students and assisting with employer relations.
As a member of the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center team, Tufts will counsel both current students interested in pursuing careers in public service and alumni who are considering transitioning to positions within the public sector. Prior to joining UVA Law, Tufts practiced law in Lexington, Va., where he litigated criminal and family law cases at a small firm and served as a guardian ad litem for children. More recently, he worked as an assistant public defender for the Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Defender’s Office, a role in which he represented hundreds of indigent defendants in misdemeanor and felony trials, while also assisting in hiring and supervising interns for the office. In his new position, Tufts will counsel current students to best position themselves for their long-term career goals, including helping them navigate the public service sector, customize their resume, participate in mock interviews, or connect with recent alumni. Tufts says he plans to expand the Public Service Center’s mentorship program, which links students with alumni working in public interest roles who have similar interests. “I’m excited to get to know our students and alumni and be able to forge lasting connections between the students, alumni, and the Law School,” Tufts said. n
From left, Lauren Ventre ’12, Marit Spekman ’09, and Lawton Tufts.
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 19
LAW SCHOOL NEWS …
A SAMPLE OF THE AUDIO AND VIDEO OFFERINGS FOUND ONLINE, ON YOUTUBE, IN ITUNES, AND ON SOUNDCLOUD
Seen and Heard at www.law.virginia.edu/news FEDERALISM, LAW AND THE ECONOMY Barry Cushman ’86 of Notre Dame Law School, Stephanie Hunter McMahon of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Logan Everett Sawyer ’00 of the University of Georgia College of Law, and Victoria Saker Woeste of the American Bar Foundation discuss their work and celebrate the legacy of University of Virginia legal historian Charles McCurdy during the panel “Federalism, Law and the Economy,” moderated by Sarah Milov of the UVA Department of History.
ADJUDICATING RIGHTS AND INTERESTS IN A CHANGING NATION J. Herbie DiFonzo ’77 of Hofstra Law School, Richard F. Hamm of State University of New York at Albany Department of History, Reuel E. Schiller ’93 of University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and Patricia Hagler Minter of Western Kentucky University Department of History discuss their work and celebrate the legacy of University of Virginia legal historian Charles McCurdy during the panel, “Adjudicating Rights and Interests in a Changing Nation,” moderated by Claudrena Harold of the UVA Corcoran Department of History.
20 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
EPA OFFICIAL ON WATER QUALITY, WATER RIGHTS Michael Shapiro, deputy assistant administrator for water with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, delivers the keynote address for the Virginia Environmental Law Journal Symposium, “Water Rights in the Eastern United States.” Shapiro’s office is responsible for federal programs to restore and protect the nation’s waterways and ensure safe drinking water.
BACK FROM THE BRINK Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who specializes in rule of law theory, speaks on building the rule of law.
AFTER OBERGEFELL: WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT? Professors Douglas Laycock and Kim FordeMazrui discuss the implications of Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case holding that same-sex couples have a right to marry under the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
LAW SCHOOL NEWS … VIRGINIA ENVIRONMENTAL LAW JOURNAL SYMPOSIUM
WATER RIGHTS IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES Current Issues in Law and Policy 9 a.m. BREAKFAST
Co-sponsored by the Virginia Environmental Law Forum
9:45 a.m. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS JONATHAN CANNON University of Virginia School of Law
10 a.m. THE TRI-STATE WATER WAR WILLIAM ANDREEN University of Alabama School of Law FRANK CHITWOOD Coosa Riverkeeper GIL ROGERS Southern Environmental Law Center TODD SILLIMAN Dentons US
Noon KEYNOTE ADDRESS AND LUNCH MICHAEL SHAPIRO Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water, Environmental Protection Agency
1:15 p.m. CURRENT ISSUES IN RIPARIAN LAW NOAH HALL Wayne State University School of Law JEROME C. MUYS JR. Sullivan and Worcester GEORGE SOMERVILLE Troutman Sanders
FRIDAY, OCT. 30, 2015 Caplin Pavilion
FIREARMS, MENTAL ILLNESS, AND THE LAW
ADVANCING JUSTICE THROUGH STORYTELLING
Jeffrey Swanson, professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, delivers the 16th annual P. Browning Hoffman Memorial Lecture, with an introduction by Professor Richard Bonnie ’69. Swanson’s research is focused on building evidence for policies and laws to prevent firearm violence and to improve outcomes for adults with serious mental illnesses in the community.
Corban Addison ’04 is the author of three international best-selling novels, A Walk Across the Sun, The Garden of Burning Sand, and The Tears of Dark Water. An attorney, activist, and world traveler, Addison brings attention to human rights crises around the world through the art of novel writing.
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND CYBER SECURITY Eneken Tikk-Ringas, senior fellow for cyber security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, talks about the development of international law in the context of cyber security. These developments include proposals for a new treaty, different interpretations of existing norms and the evolution of new norms. Tikk-Ringas is introduced by Tom Dukes ’94, deputy coordinator for cyber issues at the U.S. Department of State and UVA Law lecturer who co-teaches Cyber Law and Policy.
SUPREME COURT ROUNDUP Professors A. E. Dick Howard ’61, Kerry Abrams, Frederick Schauer, and Risa Goluboff discuss key cases from the recent U.S. Supreme Court term and look ahead to the coming year.
ALUMNI Q&A: GOV. LUIS FORTUÑO ’85 Luis Fortuño ’85, former governor of Puerto Rico and now a partner at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C., welcomed the Class of 2018 during orientation. Here’s a Q&A with Fortuño in advance of his visit.
THE ROLE OF THE LEGAL COUNSEL TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF Brig. Gen. Richard Gross ’93, a member of the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff. His talk was given as part of the National Security Law Institute, sponsored by the Center for National Security Law.
THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT Professor Molly Shadel, a former attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Intelligence Policy and Review, explains the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), including how it can and cannot be used. Shadel, a senior fellow with the Center for National Security Law, spoke as part of the 2015 National Security Law Institute.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT Professor John Norton Moore, director of the Center for National Security Law, leads a class on the history of the international law of conflict management at the National Security Law Institute.
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 21
22 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
PEDAGOGY VS. PRACTICE
Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, the legal profession has had to retool its business model. Clients expect effective and efficient counsel, with little or no charge for the training and mentoring of young lawyers. Firms and legal employers continue to absorb these costs, but not without consequence. New associates have less time to prove themselves. They need to contribute immediately—as researchers, analysts, strategists, and team members. It behooves them to be prepared for this moment, and it is a natural opportunity for law schools. The rise of clinical programs, including and especially at Virginia, helps serve the practice by serving students. “The world of legal practice is experiencing major changes involving globalization and outsourcing of legal work,” says Professor Rich Balnave, the Law School’s director of clinical programs. “Previously, legions of law school graduates would staff the litigation departments in the largest law firms and do things like document review and other sorts of work that are now outsourced.”
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 23
LEARNING BY DOING
These changes have forced a re-examination of legal education and licensure. After extensive study, the American Bar Association increased its practice credit requirement from one to six, beginning with classes entering the 2016–2017 academic year. In addition, California currently has before it a proposal to require 15 practice credits in order to sit for the bar exam. Virginia has been far ahead of the new ABA requirement for at least two decades, offering enough seats in clinical courses to students who want the intensity of a practicum. Now the question has broadened into how legal education should address skills development across disciplines and for more students. Clinics clearly are one way, but there are other offerings, such as externships and simulations, which are highly immersive and closely supervised. “I think they collectively respond to this cry for increased attention to the need for some practice-oriented education,” says Balnave. The issue has also hatched what Balnave calls the “regrettable catchphrase, a ‘practice-ready’ graduate, as though someone could leave law school with a sufficient range of skills and knowledge to handle whatever matters come in their office. That’s not possible, or at least not wise. It may be feasible in a very narrow range of areas of the law, but it would be at the expense of other sorts of work.”
EARLY YEARS
Litigation and Housing Law Clinic participant Daniel Williams.
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When Balnave joined the Law School in 1984 to run the new Family Law Clinic, the only other clinical course was the Criminal Defense Clinic. Appointed the Law School’s director of clinical programs in 2011, Balnave now manages 19 clinical programs covering a wide array of public and private law subject areas. Balnave is the first to say it was Professor Kent Sinclair, hired in 1983 by Dean Richard Merrill (1980–1988) and still the school’s director of advocacy and lawyer training, who drove the growth of clinical education. In turn, Sinclair credits Balnave’s guidance over the last 30 years for improving and expanding Virginia’s clinical programs. “Rich’s diplomacy and insight was invaluable to the Law School community as our clinical programs grew, and we are fortunate that he now serves as the director of the programs overall.” The first clinic involved criminal defense work in the General District and Circuit Courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia. “It set a model that we have used in many clinics since,” says Sinclair, “one that combines class sessions in the study of lawyering skills, the substantive law involved with the practice, and then
LEARNING BY DOING
real-world engagement that representing clients, under professional supervision, can provide.” With clinical offerings, the student work does not compete for business with local law firms. In fact, avoiding cases that would divert paid work from the private bar actually expands the availability of legal services to clients who otherwise could not obtain professional representation.
STRIKING A BALANCE
A turning point in the program came under Robert Scott’s deanship (1991–2001). At one of his early meetings with faculty, Scott noted their concern that second- and third-year students seemed less interested in class after the firstyear experience. The curriculum at the time featured many large classes with fewer seminars and just the two clinics. Scott wanted to create a curriculum with more variety in class size, instruction, and practical training. “He believed that different students wanted different things,” recalls Balnave. “Students were losing interest sitting in large class after large class, taking notes in a lecture-style format, so he wanted to add a number of clinics. He recognized that if we brought
real-world issues into the Law School, our students might feel more engaged.” He was right. During Scott’s term, Virginia expanded the curriculum, adding courses and 11 clinics. Scott also introduced the Principles and Practice Program, teaming a member of the faculty with a prominent practitioner. The practitioner brought to the classroom current issues in fresh cases (either active or recently concluded), and the professor selected readings and developed a syllabus to complement the material. Together they taught the students to appreciate the clients’ interests and be problem-solvers. Michael Lincoln ’91, the co-founder of the first East coast office for Cooley LLP and its Washington, D.C.-based corporate partner who focuses on venture capital, has been teaching a Principles and Practice Course on emerging growth companies and start-up financing for 17 years. He has invited to class guests such as Nigel Morris, the co-founder of Capital One; Peter Barris, the managing partner of venture capital firm NEA; and Ted Leonsis, former AOL executive and now the owner of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards. “It has been a very gratifying experience,” Lincoln says. “I think the primary benefit to students is the opportunity to be exposed to a perspective beyond
Appellate Litigation Clinic student Andrew Selman addresses the jury, a.k.a. other clinic students. Front row, from left, Samuel Cowan and Sean Johnson; back row, from left, Brian Remondino, Jude Halawi, Hardev Chhokar, Travis Andrews, and Dana Wallace.
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LEARNING BY DOING
theory and hypotheticals. I bring a guest every week for a part of the class so students are exposed to the technology ecosystem—entrepreneurs, bankers, venture capitalists, and others. Over the course of a semester, students get meaningful exposure to the intersection of law and business in a more interesting, story-telling format. “It is also gratifying so see so many of my students go on to achieve success in business. A year does not go by when I am working on a transaction or jumping on a conference call when someone re-introduces himself or herself as a former student of mine.” Scott also wanted a different credit structure for the program. The clinics were credit heavy, and he felt many students would rather spend fewer credits to test their interest in an area of practice. The lower credit load appealed to more students and widened the reach of the program. “One of the goals pursued by Dean Scott and Dean Jeffries was to make certain, as the Law School’s range of offerings increased, that there was always a spectrum of intensities available for student choice,” says Sinclair. “In-court client representation is, for many students, all-consuming because of the direct impact the work has on the lives of individual clients. The Law School has also blended its range of direct client-representation experiences, with a number of simulation-based—yet deeply practice oriented—classes.”
CONCRETE CASES, REAL CLIENTS
Dean John Jeffries ’73 (2001– 2008) continued to seed the clinical program, adding nine more clinics during his tenure and five full-time clinical faculty. The extra faculty gave the Law School the indicia of what most law schools would call an in-house clinical operation, with other “externals” taught exclusively by adjunct faculty. In 2006, Daniel Ortiz, the Michael J. and Jane R. Horvitz Distinguished Professor of Law, became intrigued by the idea of starting the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, which achieved immediate success followed by sustained acclaim. “We started the clinic in order to give our talented third-years a unique experience at the apex of the legal profession,” says Ortiz. “They’re forced to use all the book knowledge they’ve gained over two years, to apply it in concrete cases with real clients on usually close legal questions, and to go up against some of the best lawyers in the country, like the Solicitor General’s office. Often they’re doing things that only senior associates or junior partners are entrusted with at law firms, and they get from the clinic directors, whose names have to go on the briefs, immediate and extremely close supervision of their research and writing. What’s not to like?”
THEORY VS. PRACTICE: A FALSE DICHOTOMY?
BY RICHARD BALNAVE DIRECTOR OF CLINICAL PROGRAMS
T
he bar and the academy do not fully appreciate what each can contribute to the education of law students. The academy sometimes undervalues the intellectual challenge of practicing law. Lawyers are constantly making judgments in order to serve their clients well. This is true whether a client is large or small. It might involve a complex commercial transaction or it might focus on how to question a particular witness. As lawyers progress in their careers, they encounter more challenging issues and develop their judgment-making skills. In contrast to a new lawyer, an experienced lawyer forming a judgment is likely to identify more factors to weigh, think more broadly about potential consequences, and see
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effects farther into the future. Clients value the enhanced judgment-making abilities of experienced lawyers. Similarly, the bar undervalues scholarship. Practicing lawyers sometimes comment that law review articles are too theoretical or seem unrelated to the real world. Caught up in the immediacy of their clients’ needs, the world of scholarship can seem distant and unhelpful to the practicing lawyer. This perspective fails to see the value of scholarly articles, which can resemble a thoughtful discussion that takes place over time and at a different level than standard legal argument. Articles often address how an area of law should develop to meet future challenges while remaining faithful to the
law’s underlying principles and values. They can illuminate tensions among competing values that the law aims to advance. Scholarly works are considered by those engaged in fundamental law reform efforts, such as the development of model or uniform laws, or the development of Restatements of the Law. And occasionally courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, cite scholarly articles that have helped make sense of challenging legal questions facing our society. Law students benefit educationally by studying scholarly analysis of legal issues. Their education is also enriched by beginning the career-long process of developing good judgment in client-related situations, whether in simulation courses or clinical courses.
LEARNING BY DOING
“The Pro Bono Program provides law students with an introduction to their professional obligation to do pro bono before they even begin their legal careers. We designed it to instill an ethic of service in aspiring young lawyers through hands-on legal experiences.”
As successive deans were devising curricular innovations and Sinclair was implementing them, the Law School began its relationship with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, a grantmaking nonprofit in Jacksonville, Florida, to develop a variety of pro bono clinics. Assistant Dean for Pro Bono and Public Interest Kimberly Emery ’91 was in charge of the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center when it began in 1996, and she worked with the Law School Foundation to submit proposals to the Fund. “The Pro Bono Program provides law students with an introduction to their professional obligation to do pro bono before they even begin their legal careers,” says Emery. “We designed it to instill an ethic of service in aspiring young lawyers through hands-on legal experiences. While pro bono is a critical component of access to justice and to addressing the unmet need for legal services, pro bono also offers students the opportunity to develop legal skills and build a professional network.” These are Virginia’s goals for students drawn to public interest law as well as those eager for learn-by-doing clinical work. When Paul Mahoney became dean in 2008, he strengthened the clinical offerings by also engaging more faculty to lead them. This combined expertise and availability, the very things that define quality by and among the partners of a high-functioning law firm. Students would perform alongside their professors, and on cases that mattered to the faculty’s research and scholarship. To that end, Mahoney expanded the Appellate Litigation Clinic to an in-house clinic taught
by a full-time member of the faculty, and approved the Family Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic and the new Consumer Law Clinic in conjunction with the Legal Aid Justice Center. “Today, the Law School offers many times more clinical courses—and includes a much broader range of civil and criminal topics for client representation work—than would have been available 20 years ago,” says Sinclair, “and many of our full-time faculty have been deeply involved in the design and oversight of these classes.”
THE CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
What is a clinic and how does it differ from other forms of teaching? And is learning to “think like a lawyer” about theory, practice, or both? In a traditional course students learn about the law and the values or interests it promotes from casebooks, articles, lectures, and classroom discussion. They learn how to unpack issues and solve problems only after internalizing the rules of procedure and methods of analysis that form the foundation of a legal education. Critics allege that the appellate opinions in casebooks rely on an edited record, one selected by the court from conflicting facts to support a particular decision. The result is an incomplete picture of what happened, what the court heard, and what arguments failed in order for others to prevail.
Left, Housing Clinic student Teresa Hepler. Right, Consumer Law Clinic participants clockwise from left, instructor Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Ryan Pavel, Ben Belair, Kevin Kraft (unseen), and Daniel Cohen.
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LEARNING BY DOING
Kim Emery ’91 and Rich Balnave
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“It’s looking backwards in time,” says Balnave, “and that’s quite a different view than the lawyer who’s dealing with all of the potential facts in front of them, and an unpredictable future on how the case will unfold since it can go off the rails in so many different ways.” Clinics also allow students to approach cases and clients from that perspective. They don’t focus on the law. In fact, a clinic is an inefficient way to learn the principles behind the law. A criminal defense clinic, for example, may only touch upon a fraction of the evidentiary issues that would be taught in a basic evidence course. What clinics show students is how people and relationships affect a case, from the underlying action to the claims, charges, and defenses that are pressed in litigation and prosecution. “It’s the human element,” says retired Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Edward Hogshire ’70, who taught with Balnave. “The thrill you get serving a real client, the appreciation they have for your efforts, the professional satisfaction you get from doing a good job protecting their interests. A big piece of that is why you wanted to be a lawyer to begin with. You want to be able to serve people facing dire consequences and try to alleviate them. Some cases really challenge the students, and some are less interesting, but they grow in all of them because it is something they have never done before. It’s the first
time they experienced the attorney-client relationship. It made them feel like lawyers for the first time.” Clinic students can reflect on their experiences and the different judgments they have to make in representing a client; how to frame the pleadings most advantageously for their client; whether to cross examine and, if so, how to structure the line of questioning; and how to counsel a client who tends to make self-defeating decisions. Students also learn how to identify case management options, explain them to the client, and consider them relative to the client’s goals. Even when the facts are repetitive and the applicable law is the same, each client idealizes a unique outcome. Further, despite being served by the clinic, not every client wants to litigate all the way to the Supreme Court. Many clients want discretion, not publicity. Resources are mostly free but not limitless. The students must weigh these parameters in the course of their representation and direct their efforts—and advise their clients—accordingly. The next time they confront them will be as members of the bar or counsel of record. Risk and fear are natural, so learning to control those emotions is part of the clinical experience. “Ted Hogshire used to say to me when we were co-teaching that there’s just something in your gut when it’s a person,” recalls Balnave. “Even if it’s just a misdemeanor, your client could go to jail. You’ve got to do this and do it right.”
LEARNING BY DOING
Most students require live action to build confidence and poise in the courtroom. They can possess superior interpersonal skills, but there is no substitute for trial and oral argument. “It is just amazing to watch,” says Balnave. “They all have the smarts, and they’re always scared, which is a very appropriate feeling for one’s first time in court.” Balnave remembers a case in Nelson County with a student who was arguing her first case. She was well prepared and Balnave thought she was doing a fine job, but the judge sensed her worry. Toward the end of the trial, the judge started writing a note, and as the parties were leaving he called her to the bench. The judge gave her the note—a glowing review of the work she had done and how ably she had performed in court. “He thought it was something she needed and he wanted to let her know,” says Balnave. “It’s very common for judges to compliment our students and tell them the job they’ve done in court is often better than half the lawyers they see. Our students put in a huge amount of time preparing and like what they’re doing. That kind of professional encouragement makes it all worthwhile.”
SIMULATIONS
Clinic cases are sometimes subject to fate. A story changes, a new witness emerges, or opposing counsel seeks an unexpected continuance. The school semester system isn’t designed to track a docket or trial calendar, so opportunities for students to appear in open court don’t always materialize. Simulations, on the other hand, can be planned and executed to near equal effect. They are fundamentally different than clinics. The professor can put forward a dense and complicated simulation that will conclude in a 13-week semester. Simulations are predictable in ways cases are not, yet they are as dynamic and engrossing. “The beauty of the simulation is you can guarantee a trial, a series of motions, and the student gets a detailed look at the federal system of procedure and adjudication,” says Hogshire. “The students get a comprehensive look at how to try a case from A to Z. Evidence, procedure, strategy—it’s all there, and that’s why they are popular.” In one of their criminal practice simulations, Balnave and Hogshire pulled out all the stops. First,
Innocence Project Clinic participants. Clockwise from front left, Ashley Clinton, James Billard (unseen), Laura Franks, teachers Deirdre Enright and Jennifer Givens, private investigator Lisa Inlow, and Angelique Ciliberti. Nicholas Cummins is seated behind Enright.
“Some cases really challenge the students, and some are less interesting, but they grow in all of them because it is something they have never done before. It’s the first time they experienced the attorney-client relationship.”
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LEARNING BY DOING
“There is a huge intellectual challenge to those who strive to be very good lawyers. That’s why we ask our alumni to teach courses. They are experts in their fields who bring into the Law School the intellectually challenging parts of the real world for our students to see and grapple with.”
Family Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic participants, left, psychology graduate student Matthew Domiteaux and mediator and trainer Judy Morton.
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they asked Jeffries and two of his colleagues, the late Bill Stuntz ’84, and Stephen Salzburg, for a serious criminal procedure challenge that hadn’t been decided by the United States Supreme Court but was likely to arrive there. Balnave and Hogshire then buried the issues in the fact pattern of a drug-dealing conspiracy. The students would uncover the issues in their research and brief and argue them to faculty. The simulated trials were held on Saturdays before sitting federal judges. Balnave hired two dozen actors to play the roles of the parties and potential witnesses. The prosecutors were told an arrest was made and that there was going to be a bond hearing at the federal courthouse. They would have to talk to their “federal agent” and find out what happened. They would ask Balnave to “investigate” and he would give those results to the actors to play out, produce photographs and taped conversations, and provide other information discovered pursuant to the investigation. Students wanted to surveil a particular location in town. Balnave took pictures of it. When Balnave and Hogshire thought the students were entitled to some information because they were following a good lead, they yielded something useful they had prepared, such as a tapped phone call. Another case involved a person trying to smuggle a knife through the magnetometer at the Charlottesville Airport. The actors walked through the events at the airport so they could try to remember their experience as any witness would on the stand when being examined. They sat in a Charlottesville restaurant and
formed a “conspiracy,” and then had to remember what was said and who was there. The Family Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic that Balnave currently teaches with Emery focuses on mediation as an alternative way to resolving custody and visitation disputes. While traditional family law is adversarial, mediation is meant to decrease conflict between parents and to help them reach their own solutions. Before they get real mediations, the students work through a videotaped exercise where actors play the roles of a mother and a father in a custody dispute. They may reach impasse, or one may be forceful and the other withdrawn. Balnave and Emery review the tape with the students to identify those moments they found especially challenging, what was going through their minds, what issues had to be resolved, and what they decided to do. “Then we ask are there other ways that they could have handled it, because frequently the students are very self-critical,” says Balnave. “We’ll take the time to explore two or three other ways it might have been approached and see whether their choice was really so off base.” “Students learn how to practice, not as attorneys advocating for a client, but as neutral facilitators,” says Emery. “The skills, emphasized in the clinic, including active listening, creative problem-solving and paraphrasing, are useful in many different substantive law areas. Several graduates, including one prosecutor, have contacted us to let us know how the skills they learned in the clinic are useful in their current litigation practices.”
LEARNING BY DOING
PRACTICE AND THEORY: A HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP
According to Balnave, evaluating any teaching methodology presumes an educational goal. If the goal is to learn about patent law, then the student should take a course in patent law. But if the goal is to understand how to turn a person’s thought or invention or design into protectable intellectual property, then a clinical program would be a better choice. From that perspective, Balnave believes that teaching practice skills works in harmony with teaching intellectual skills. “We teach practice skills critical to being a good lawyer in our first year curriculum,” he argues, “skills like analytical thinking, being able to distinguish, being able to compare, being able to extrapolate from one set of facts and one set of reasons to take on a new but slightly different kind of set of facts, learning how to frame the arguments persuasively. All of these cognitive skills are one of the two central goals I think of a firstyear curriculum. “Part of it is learning about the law itself, but part of it is helping people learn how to think like a lawyer, a critical skill that comes in many different varieties. It happens in a clinical course but it also happens in traditional courses.” Balnave thinks the bar and the academy underestimate how difficult it is to practice law at a
high level. “There is a huge intellectual challenge to those who strive to be very good lawyers. That’s why we ask our alumni to teach courses. They are experts in their fields who bring into the Law School the intellectually challenging parts of the real world for our students to see and grapple with.” Clearly, the profession has concluded that it wants law schools to focus more of their attention and resources on preparing students for the practice, not just the knowledge, of law. Virginia continues to provide many opportunities to do that. George Geis, the vice dean and William S. Potter Professor of Law, monitors enrollment in courses to see where student interest leads and builds on those opportunities to offer a practice dimension that satisfies the new ABA accreditation standard. A long list of courses currently offered by the Law School already meets the new professional skills requirement, a combination of clinics, externships, short courses, and simulations. “Our clinical programs present unique opportunities for students to acquire legal skills in a sustained manner,” says Geis, “and they are wildly popular. Students flock to work with our experienced faculty on matters that include appellate litigation, fairness in the criminal justice system, and early-stage corporate strategy and planning. We offer a very wide range of specialized clinics and continually tailor these opportunities according to student interests. “Taken together, our clinics offer a perfect counterbalance to UVA Law’s theoretical curriculum by giving students the chance to gain practical experience and test what different career paths might look like upon graduation.” n
Left, Consumer Law Clinic participants Josh Burk and Daniel Cohen. Right, Litigation and Housing Law Clinic student McKinley Haskin
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Learning by Doing
Partnership Power: UVA Law + LAJC BY MICHELLE KOIDIN JAFFEE
Some of the UVA Law alumni who work at the Legal Aid Justice Center, based in Charlottesville. From left, Kate Duvall ’06, Amy Walters ’09, Erin Trodden ’05, Kim Rolla ’13, Mario Salas ’14, Mary Bauer ’90, and Angela Ciolfi ’03.
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ix days before her first court appearance representing a client, McKinley Haskin stood before two UVA Law instructors who were acting as judge and defendant. Haskin, a 3L, referred to her notes, fumbled a bit and started over. “My client was locked out of her house with no notice whatsoever,” Haskin said, going on to argue that under Virginia law, a landlord is required to provide written notice and go to court to obtain a judgment of possession in order to evict a tenant. It is a rainy Thursday afternoon in October, and Haskin is not in the classroom. Rather, she is discussing her case at Charlottesville’s Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC), where this academic year 36 UVA Law students are getting hands-on training under the guidance of LAJC attorneys. The partnership between the Law School and the LAJC goes back many years and only continues to grow, yielding ever-more robust clinical offerings: The two institutions now co-host a total of five specialty clinics in the areas of consumer law, housing, child advocacy, employment, and health law. Students in the clinics take the lead on actual cases, determining whether to take a case, interviewing witnesses, and representing clients in court in highstakes matters such as that of Haskin’s client, a home health-care worker and mother of two teenagers who suddenly became homeless. “Students get real-life experience and really make a big difference in an individual’s life,” says Kim Rolla ’13, a former UVA Law Powell Fellow who joined the LAJC as a staff attorney and teaches in the housing and consumer clinics. For the LAJC—the majority of whose attorneys are
UVA Law alumni—the clinics provide the manpower to greatly increase its caseload capacity. “There are lots of cases we take that we couldn’t take without the students,” says Mary Bauer ’90, executive director of the Charlottesville LAJC. The clinics’ cases are all real. “We never give the students assignments that are made up,” Bauer says. “They’re working on stuff we need.” The outcomes are real, too: The Consumer Law Clinic, now in its second year, already has served 34 clients, recovering $10,845, saving two homes from foreclosure, and cleansing seven credit reports. The housing clinic, meanwhile, spurred an effort last year by Rolla and then third-year Meryem Dede ’15 to help change publichousing eviction policies in Charlottesville, yielding a 91 percent drop in evictions from 2011 to 2014. Clinic students develop a wide array of skills, from conducting research to drafting affidavits to making arguments. “Recently, we filed a large, pretty important Fair Housing Act case against the city of Richmond that involved 34 plaintiffs, and the students are helping us to work on that,” Bauer adds. Students who meet the prerequisites for the clinics attend lectures but spend the majority of their time working on cases. “There are things in the practice of law that you can only learn by doing,” says Erin Trodden ’05, managing attorney of LAJC’s Charlottesville office. “Some of these things don’t come naturally to people. How to conduct an examination or cross-examination—it’s not a natural conversation.” Clinic students have the opportunity to practice such skills, guided by long-time attorneys in the field, including retired Arlington, Va., prosecutor
LEARNING BY DOING
Dick Trodden (Erin’s father), who volunteers in the housing clinic. The students dive in immediately: On the first day of the yearlong, for-credit clinics, they begin assessing cases through group discussions. “We don’t ever just send them off on their own without consulting with us,” says Brenda Castañeda ’06, legal director of LAJC’s Civil Advocacy Program. “We want them to feel supported, and we’re always here to answer questions.” A supervising attorney always accompanies a student in court, and only students who have earned Third-Year Practice Certification may represent clients in the courtroom. Students also must inform clients that they are in school and not licensed attorneys. “None of the clients I worked with ever expressed or showed any concern about working with a student, and the LAJC advisers really gave us a lot of control over the contact with the clients,” says Calvin Funk ’15, who participated in last year’s consumer clinic and since has joined Morrison & Foerster in Washington, D.C. “It gave us a lot of responsibility in working with the clients, which I think was very valuable for us.” The clients, meanwhile, “are so grateful for the help they get because they’re in these hard situations where they’re really at a loss for what to do,” Funk says.
McKinley Haskin’s client is one example. A 47-year-old home health-care worker whose hours had recently been cut back, she turned to the LAJC after her landlord changed the locks on her duplex, with all her belongings inside. She and her children had to go live with a friend. The woman acknowledged she had failed to pay rent for three months but said she never received written notice nor was taken to court to be evicted. Haskin pursued the case and readied a tenant’s petition to present in a county General District Court. In the days leading up to the hearing, she felt nervous, to be sure. But getting over beginners’ jitters is just one of the many benefits of the clinic. “It allows us,” says Haskin, “to get valuable, practical experience that we can take to our jobs when we graduate.” For the LAJC, the clinics are a means toward fulfilling its mission. “We are methodical and committed to looking at this and saying, ‘Is this working for clients? Are we providing better services for clients?’” Bauer says. “And the answer is: Yes. “The people in need in Charlottesville and beyond get a much higher level of service than they would in other places in the nation because of that relationship.” n
LAJC AND UVA LAW
A look at the five clinics that are partnerships between UVA Law School and Charlottesville’s Legal Aid Justice Center:
Child Advocacy Clinic: This clinic provides representation for lowincome children in cases involving the juvenile justice system, denial of legally mandated educational opportunities, immigration, foster care, mental health, and developmental disabilities law. Taught by Angela Ciolfi ’03, legal director of JustChildren, a program of the LAJC; Amy Walters ’09, clinic supervisor with LAJC; and Kate Duvall ’06 and Mario Salas ’14, attorneys with JustChildren.
Consumer Law Clinic: Students help represent clients with debt-collection and other debt-related cases. This clinic offers students experience in drafting court documents, negotiating, and presenting arguments in court. Taught by Angela Ciolfi ’03; Brenda Castañeda ’06, legal director of LAJC’s Civil Advocacy Program; Kim Rolla ’13, an attorney with LAJC’s Civil Advocacy Program; and Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, legal director of LAJC’s Immigrant Advocacy Program.
Employment Law Clinic: In this clinic, students handle matters such as unpaid wage cases, unemployment compensation claims, and employment discrimination charges. This clinic refines trial advocacy skills and offers opportunities to interview clients, draft complaints and discovery requests, draft and argue motions, and conduct trials. Taught by LAJC managing attorney Erin Trodden ’05; Mary Frances Charlton, attorney and Affordable Care Act Coordinator; and Pat LevyLavelle ’05, attorney with LAJC’s Civil Advocacy Program.
Health Law Clinic: This clinic handles matters such as mental health care in prisons, disability benefits claims, and access to health or rehabilitative services. Students help represent elderly and mentally ill clients in negotiations, administrative hearings, and court proceedings. Taught by Amy Walters ’09 and Mary Frances Charlton.
Litigation and Housing Law Clinic: Students appear and argue in local courts as part of this clinic, which develops trial skills and teaches basic substantive housing law. This clinic handles matters such as evictions, rent escrow cases, grievance hearings, and abatement of substandard building conditions. Taught by Brenda Castañeda ‘06, Kim Rolla ‘13, UVA Law Lecturer Dick Trodden, and recently retired LAJC attorney John Conover ’78.
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LEARNING BY DOING
Learning by Doing
Externship Program Puts Students in Offices
Left photo, from left, Appellate Litigation Clinic students Ricardo Camposanto, Joshua Robbins, and Kyrie Graziosi. Right photo, from left, John Conover, Brenda Castaneda, and Dick Trodden teach the Litigation and Housing Law Clinic.
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hile still a law student, Sam Shirazi ’15 was interested in taking on public service work for the federal government. He fulfilled that goal with a semester-long externship at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. “I also wanted exposure to financial regulatory work after taking Banking and Financial Institutions Law during my second-year. Being able to spend that semester at the SEC in the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis really gave me a feel for what it was like to work there.” Shirazi says his fall externship was a more rewarding experience than a summer internship because there were fewer interns at the agency and he had more ownership over the work as a third-year student. “I was also able to apply what I learned in my externship when I came back for my last semester and took Administrative Law.” In its third year, the Law School’s Externship Program is a strategic way for students to apply the legal theory they’ve learned to the actual practice of law— while still in school. Students earn academic credit while working in the public sector, year- or semester-long positions under the supervision of a lawyer. The Externship Program includes three options: full-time externships that can be undertaken anywhere in the world under the supervision of a faculty member; the UVA Law in D.C. program; and part-time externships closer to the Law School, traditionally in Charlottesville, Richmond, or D.C. “There are externship possibilities almost everywhere,” said Director of Externships A. Sprightley Ryan. “It’s getting credit for working, in a framework that fosters academic reflection. I would have loved to have done that in law school,” Ryan said. “You’re not only getting solid training, you’re also getting to know people who practice in that area of law. It’s a terrific
opportunity to learn not only about the substance of an area but also how lawyers in that area approach their work.” This fall, 13 third-year students are working full-time in Washington, D.C., and taking an evening seminar as part of the UVA Law in DC program. They’re at diverse agencies, from the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, to the Administrative Conference of the United States, to the Department of Defense General Counsel, to the White House Office of Personnel. Four are working full-time in other locations around the country, including the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the Justice System Integrity Division of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. Nine students have part-time externships and work 10 hours a week, in offices such as the National Women’s Law Center, UVA’s Office of University Counsel, and the Lynchburg Public Defender’s Office. “There is a strong academic component to all three types of externships,” Ryan said. The externships supplement students’ academic learning and help them grow as professionals, explore specific areas of legal practice, learn to work under supervision, receive feedback, develop interpersonal and professional skills, and define their career goals. “We think it’s important for the students to develop as professionals,” Ryan said, “and the academic part of their externship work allows them to step back and reflect on their experience and think about what kind of lawyers they want to be.” One of the measures of the program’s success is that government agencies and non-profits far and wide contact Ryan for potential externs. “I am inundated with requests from potential externship hosts eager to have UVA Law students.”
LEARNING BY DOING
“It’s getting credit for working, in a framework that fosters academic reflection. I would have loved to have done that in law school.”
In Their Own Words As deputy chief counsel in the Arlington Office of the Chief Counsel, Department of Homeland Security, David J. Kelly has supervised several UVA Law students in the Externship Program. “Through the UVA Law in D.C. Program, I have been fortunate to supervise multiple UVA externs at the Arlington office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). I am impressed with the school’s ability to provide motivated students eager to take on real-world challenges. “The UVA externs assist assistant chief counsels representing ICE in removal proceedings before the Department of Justice’s Executive Office of Immigration Review. “The UVA course component of the Externship Program adds another dimension to the experience. The entire office has benefited from the enthusiasm the UVA externs have brought to the office.”
As senior counsel for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Mary Rouvelas ’96 supervised an extern in the fall of 2014. “She was dedicated and hardworking; the Externship Program appeals to students who want ‘real life’ work experience and I think it provides just that. “Students can do a great job on substantive research but also can be better on the details—we filed a brief in a [Washington] D.C. Circuit en banc proceeding that had much better citations for having a current [law journal] articles editor reviewing it before submission.” “I will be posting for a UVA Law extern for next fall,” she added.
Emily Ponder ’14 found the externship experience to be incredibly valuable. “I spent the fall of my third year in New York City at the Legal Aid Society. The externship program gave me the opportunity to explore a new area of law— public defense—that I hadn’t been able to experience during my two summers. “Being able to work full-time gave me the opportunity to work very closely with my supervising attorneys, handle a lot of substantive projects, and spend a lot of time in court and with clients—all in the city I where I eventually wanted to practice. “The skills and relationships I developed during this semester were fundamental to shaping my professional goals and in building my resume to eventually land a public interest job in New York. I’m now working as a civil defense attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, and I still draw on my experiences gained during my externship and communicate with my old supervisors all the time.” n
From left, Sam Shirazi, Mary Rouvelas, and Emily Ponder
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 35
LEARNING BY DOING
Learning by Doing
Getting it Right: Legal Research and Writing ach summer, UVA Law students show up at a wide variety of offices ready to spend a few months learning on the job. They work at firms and government offices, in judges’ chambers, and public defender offices. And the vast majority of them are asked to do one thing: write. A summer internship is a great opportunity to learn how to work as an attorney. The ideal internship would involve interesting, substantive work. The goal is for students’ supervisors to realize early on that UVA Law students are not only intelligent and likeable, but also immediately useful. Once that realization kicks in, they invite the student to do more than just background research. The summer job becomes a better, more enriching experience.
has for many years sponsored a prize for the best memos written in each of the first-year class sections. Stephen McNabb, partner-in-charge of the Washington, D.C. office, explains, “The most important service a law school can provide to future employers is to prepare its students to research and write effectively. We have long been impressed with the commitment of the Law School and its professors to legal research and writing.” The course prepares students to hit the ground running. Summer experiences build to post-graduation job offers and long-term career options. In a competitive job market, proving value is key. A UVA Law graduate working at a Richmond law firm put it simply: If a summer intern or new associate turns in a weak piece of writing, he doesn’t give that person any more work.
“Most of the impressions that an attorney projects—both internally and to clients—are conveyed through his or her written work product.”
Writing is often the key that opens the door. The Law School’s Legal Research and Writing Program prepares students to produce professional work that says “lawyer,” not “intern.” Through a series of increasingly difficult writing assignments, students learn how to organize legal analysis and present a polished piece of writing. The program, taught by Ruthie Buck ’85, Joe Fore ’11, and Sarah Ware, engages students with both neutral analysis and advocacy. In the fall, students research and write neutral memoranda evaluating a fictional client’s legal problem. In the spring, students write an appellate brief and argue their case before a three-judge panel. The assignments expose students to an array of emerging and challenging areas of the law. Recent topics have included the reach of a district court’s equitable powers under the RICO Act, the impacts of the Endangered Species Act on alternative energy projects, and the availability of the innocent owner defense in a federal civil forfeiture action. In recognition of the importance of UVA’s Legal Research and Writing program, Norton Rose Fulbright
36 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
Because of their communications skills, UVA students often find themselves invited into the most interesting work. Ralph “Chet” Otis ’17 interned for a district court judge this past summer and was asked, along with interns from several other top law schools, to write bench memos. They were given two weeks to complete their memos. Otis needed only one week to complete his first one. He then experienced the thrill of having his words appear in the judge’s opinion. He credits UVA’s Legal Research and Writing Program for giving him the tools to turn out a solid work product so quickly. Indeed, Otis estimates he wrote 13–14 bench memos over the course of his internship. In addition to instruction and feedback from the Legal Research and Writing faculty, students receive detailed comments on multiple drafts from student teaching assistants. UVA’s tradition of student collegiality is reflected in the Dillard Fellow program, which pairs up each new student with a 2L or 3L teaching assistant. Connor Crews ’16 found great value in the relationship. “The program provided me with access to an experienced student colleague who analyzed my work in a low-pressure environment
and taught me that accepting criticism is critical to developing as an attorney.” Crews went on to serve as a Dillard Fellow himself, helping the next class learn to write with logical rigor and clarity. The program also helps students learn how to talk about their analysis. The spring oral arguments program is a highlight for both students and alumni. More than 100 alumni return to act as judges for what is, for many of our students, a first attempt at oral advocacy. The judges’ questions and feedback help students build confidence in their oral advocacy skills. That skill set helps in a variety of settings. Gretchen Nygaard ’11 started her career at a prestigious law firm in Washington, D.C. “During one of my first annual reviews, many of my reviewing partners commented that not only did I write clearly, but I effectively communicated about my written work product. The UVA program taught me both to write and to speak with clarity about my research and writing.” She is now working at the Department of Justice. Bracewell & Giuliani has been a long-time sponsor of prizes for the best advocates in the spring
semester, providing awards for top briefs and best oral arguments. Bracewell’s Chairman, Patrick Oxford, summed up the importance of the program: “It has been our firm’s 100% experience that a new associate who has achieved with proper instruction a high level of legal writing skills is far ahead in the game. Although interpersonal skills are important as well, most of the impressions that an attorney projects—both internally and to clients—are conveyed through his or her written work product.” UVA Law students engage in a wide range of work, and the skills they learn in the Legal Research and Writing Program are highly adaptable to an array of practice areas and, indeed, careers beyond traditional law practice. Buck, who has been a co-director of the program for 25 years, has heard many stories of how students put their skills to good use over the summer. “Every fall, students return from their summer positions and say, ‘I knew how to do the job. Thanks.’” n
From left, Ruthie Buck, Joe Fore, and Sarah Ware
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 37
LEARNING BY DOING
Learning by Doing
Labs and Courtrooms: Improving Forensics Analysis BY ERIC WILLIAMSON
he Law School and the University are partners in the recently formed Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensics Evidence, established by the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology as a Science Center of Excellence. The center, which is based at Iowa State University and is coordinated locally by the UVA Department of Statistics, will focus on the statistical analysis of pattern and digital evidence. Professor Brandon Garrett is
38 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
helping to coordinate the Law School’s efforts as a principal investigator. “The overarching goal of the center is to pursue research that can add statistical and scientific rigor to the benefit of forensics work,” Garrett said. “Our focus at the Law School is to study how forensics get used in the laboratory and in the courtroom.” The Law School will conduct much of its research in association with the UVA Institute of Law, Psychiatry &
LEARNING BY DOING
The center also plans educational opportunities for legal practitioners. Last month, Garrett and contributors debuted the Forensics Forum blog, www.forensicsforum.net, which facilitates discussion on news, issues, and trends in forensics. Garrett said the blog is just the beginning in terms of promoting a dialogue. “We plan to offer training here at the Law School, to bring in leading forensics experts and to add forensics courses to the curriculum,” he said. Garrett and Professor John Monahan taught a forensic science seminar for Law students last year, and they are planning future courses.
From left, Allison Thornton ’17, Brandon Garrett, and Stephanie Boutsicaris ’17
“Our focus at the Law School is to study how forensics get used in the laboratory and in the courtroom.”
Public Policy. Daniel Murrie, also a principal investigator who serves as the institute director of psychology and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences, is leading center-funded efforts to work with crime labs. The goal is to better understand how the scientists approach their work and to test out improvements to lab procedures. Garrett said a second major goal is to study how forensic evidence is understood by lawyers, judges and jurors. “Even when the statistical basis for forensics is improved, there’s the question of whether jurors properly understand the statistics and whether lawyers and judges appreciate their meaning,” he said. To that end, he and Professor Greg Mitchell plan to build on their research regarding how jurors understand presentations of forensic evidence. In research they published in 2013, they found use of language, methodology and error acknowledgement were essential to how mock jurors evaluated hypothetical fingerprint evidence.
Second-year students and inaugural forensics fellows Allison Thornton and Stephanie Boutsicaris, who work as research assistants for the center, have contributed much of the blog’s content and will be involved in future research and programming. Thornton said she has already gained new insights from the fellowship opportunity. “A large portion of my studies have focused on criminal law, and serving as a forensic fellow has given me the opportunity to explore the scientific and technical aspects of forensic evidence in criminal law,” Thornton said. “This fellowship has also allowed me stay up to date with the technological developments related to forensics and the use of that technology in criminal proceedings.” Other UVA partners include the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Nursing, the Quantitative Collaborative and the Data Science Institute. UVA and Iowa State collaborate with higher education affiliates Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, Irvine. Karen Kafadar, professor and chair of the UVA Department of Statistics, directs UVA’s overall role in the center’s research. She said the presence of a top law school at UVA may have made a difference in landing the project. “I actually think it was the fact we have such a strong law school that was a really attractive part of the proposal,” Kafadar said. “It’s very exciting for the whole center to be collaborating with various stakeholders, not just statisticians. It’s that collaboration we hope will lead to a very successful endeavor.” n
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 39
ARTHUR LIEN
LEARNING BY DOING
Learning by Doing
Supreme Court Litigation Clinic Wins Big BY THEODORE ANDERSON
Reprinted with permission from Virginia Alumni Magazine
This courtroom sketch shows Daniel Ortiz arguing Henderson v. United States in front of the Supreme Court.
40 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
he Law School played a key role in two decisions handed down by the nation’s high court in its most recent term. Each year, as part of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, some of the best third-year students prepare and submit requests to the Court to review lower-court rulings. The clinic files up to five certiorari requests— known informally as cert petitions—each court term. The justices receive about 7,000 cert petitions annually; they accept about 70. If the Supreme Court agrees to hear one of the clinic’s cases, students work on every phase of trial preparation, from conducting research and writing briefs to doing mock examinations of the clinic instructor who will argue before the justices. In the Court’s most recent term, the clinic litigated two cases: Henderson v. United States and Elonis v. United States. Representing Henderson and Elonis
before the justices, members of the clinic won both cases. Since its inception in 2006, the clinic has won eight cases and lost three. In another case, in which there were two issues at stake, it won one ruling and lost the other. Henderson centered on the right of convicted felons—who are prohibited from possessing firearms— to request that the government transfer their weapons to an independent third party. In May, the Court struck down the government’s prohibition on such transfers by a 9-0 vote. Elonis focused on the free-speech rights of a man who had been convicted of making threats against his former wife on Facebook. He claimed that the posts were a form of therapeutic venting rather than a “true threat,” which is the legal standard for conviction. In June, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction
LEARNING BY DOING
TRACK RECORD by an 8-1 vote, although it left open the definition of a true threat. Daniel Ortiz, the Michael J. and Jane R. Horvitz Distinguished Professor of Law, argued the Henderson case before the justices. Ortiz founded the clinic and remains its co-director. “The cases we get tend to be criminal procedure and criminal law cases, where you’re going up against the Office of the U.S. Solicitor General, which is often called the best law firm in the country,” he says. “So we are particularly happy when we win one of these cases.” In choosing which projects to pursue, the clinic’s instructors and students weigh several factors, including the educational value of a case and its chances of being heard by the court. They selected Henderson and Elonis in part because the lower courts were deeply divided in their rulings. The Supreme Court tends to prefer such cases, which offer the justices an opportunity to settle contentious legal disputes and clarify the law. “Both cases also asked pretty fundamental questions,” Ortiz says. “Henderson asked what it means to ‘possess’ something, which is critical to property and criminal law, and Elonis asked what mental state was required to convict someone of a ‘word’ crime.” Taking part in the clinic provides “a sort of capstone experience” for third-year students, Ortiz says. “It takes things they’ve been learning and uses them at what you might think of as the apex of the profession. The level they’re doing it at, and the lawyers they’re doing it against, make the experience a very special one. We have third-year law students going up against some of the most experienced lawyers in the country.”
8
CASES WON
3
CASES LOST
1
SPLIT DECISION
11
CLINIC STUDENTS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO CLERK FOR THE COURT:
Winn Allen ’08 Galen Bascom ’13 Andrew Bentz ’12 Donald Burke ’08 Nicole Frazer ’15 Mark Hiller ’09
Andrew Kilberg ’14 Brinton Lucas ’11 Matt Nicholson ’09 John Moran ’10 Jonathan Urick ’13
The number of students in the clinic has ranged from 12 to 17, selected from a pool of 30 to 45 applicants. The clinic has five instructors who advise the students, supervise their work, and argue cases before the court. Students and instructors often work with the litigant’s legal representation in preparing a case, though that relationship varies. The Supreme Court accepts roughly the same number of cases each year, but the competition to have one accepted is increasing, Ortiz says, as law schools and firms seek the prestige of arguing cases before the Court. The clinic, nearing its 10th anniversary, seems well positioned to remain competitive. Its five instructors all appeared on a 2014 Reuters list of the 75 lawyers who appear most frequently before the Court. “A lot of it is trying to understand what the other side is going to say before you say anything,” Ortiz says. “That determines how you actually make the argument. You have to think five moves ahead. That’s not something you would get in many places in law school.” n
A mix of counsel, professors, and students on the steps of the Supreme Court after the Elonis argument in December. From left, Ronald Levine, Julie Wolf ’15, Abraham Rein, Lide Paterno ’15, John Elwood, Peter Benson ’15, Toby Heytens ’00, Daniel Ortiz, Nick Reaves ’15, Trevor Lovell ’15, and Mark Stancil ’99.
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 41
LEARNING BY DOING
Learning by Doing
Clinical Offerings Engage Students
T The Appellate Litigation Clinic in action. Clockwise from left, Professor Stephen Braga, student judges (named on page 34), members of the jury (named on page 25), Andrew Selman at the podium, and Kaitlyn Tongalson at the desk.
42 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
oday’s UVA Law students enjoy an array of clinics and courses that offer a wide range of practical training options. Virginia’s 19 clinics, many of which offer contact with clients, build experience with real-world problems. Students also advance their skills through courses in public speaking, trial advocacy, and professional responsibility, as well as extracurricular moot court and mock trial competitions. Under the supervision of an attorney, students perform the lawyer functions associated with their cases, including client and witness interviews, factual development, legal research, preparation of pleadings, and negotiation. Students with third-year practice certification may also be responsible for courtroom advocacy. Here are additional UVA Law clinic offerings not mentioned in other stories in this issue.
LEARNING BY DOING
and, in a number of cases, personally present oral argument on the issues to the appellate court.
CRIMINAL DEFENSE CLINIC
APPELLATE LITIGATION CLINIC
The clinic offers hands-on practice of appellate litigation through actual cases before various federal circuit and/or state courts of appeals. Students handle primary responsibility for work on at least one appellate case during the course of the year. Students also work together as a small law firm to provide secondary-level assistance to each other. Clinic students identify the issues to be raised on appeal through factual analysis and legal research, prepare opening and reply briefs persuasively advocating for the client’s position on those issues,
Students gain first-hand, experience-based study of the processes, techniques, strategies, and responsibilities of legal representation at the trial level. Each student represents defendants in actual criminal cases pending in the local courts under the direct supervision of a local criminal defense attorney. The students themselves—not their supervising attorneys—perform all of the lawyering functions associated with their cases, including interviewing, investigation, research, plea negotiation, and courtroom advocacy.
ENTREPRENEURIAL LAW CLINIC
The clinic provides instruction and practical training on advising startup companies and drafting basic corporate documentation. Students work with entrepreneurs starting new companies, such as Darden Business School students who have been accepted
to participate in the Darden Business Incubator. The students take the lead role in working with the entrepreneurs, including conducting interviews, performing research, providing a legal plan for the business, identifying documents to be drafted and drafting documents.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND CONSERVATION CLINIC
Students represent environmental nonprofits, citizens’ groups, and other community organizations seeking to protect and restore the environment. The clinic works closely with lawyers at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a preeminent environmental public interest law firm headquartered in Charlottesville. Students participate in a range of activities on environmental matters. They comment on administrative rules, participate in permitting proceedings, advocate before state administrative agencies and boards, and contribute to Kim Rolla ’13 of the Legal Aid Justice Center teaching the Consumer Law Clinic.
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 43
LEARNING BY DOING
factual investigations and litigation. The clinic explores the limits of the law in protecting natural resources and examines cooperative and innovative ways of protecting and restoring the environment.
Focuses on mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method to resolve conflicts involving families and children. Students serve not as attorneys representing clients, but as mediators assisting the parties to develop mutually agreeable resolutions to their disputes. After completing mediation training, students co-mediate cases with court-certified family mediators associated with the Mediation Center of Charlottesville. Most of the disputes being mediated involve child custody and visitation, although some also include child and spousal support issues.
Conducted in conjunction with the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression and the Washington, D.C. office of Baker Hostetler, the clinic offers students the opportunity to gain practical legal experience involving timely free speech and press issues. Students conduct legal research, meet with clients and co-counsel, and draft legal memoranda and briefs. Assignments involve both appellate-level and trial-level litigation, but more frequently the former, including the U.S. Supreme Court. The clinic, a partnership with the Legal Aid Justice Center, is more than free counsel for qualifying clients, but also a community service providing an orientation to basic rights and available services to walk-ins and the wider community. For example, the clinic not only is taking some of the new “Dreamer” cases of undocumented youth, but coordinating a community outreach effort.
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Clients come from diverse backgrounds and frequently have unusual factual scenarios that bring them to the doors of Legal Aid. Women victims of violence are a priority with the clinic and can qualify for asylum and other special remedies such as through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and U visa petitions.
INNOCENCE PROJECT
Students investigate and litigate wrongful convictions of inmates throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Some of the cases have forensic evidence (usually DNA) that could be tested, and some are non-DNA cases. Although the clinic has a mandatory classroom component, most time is devoted to casework—interviewing potential clients and witnesses, general investigation, reviewing case files, collecting records, searching court files, and drafting pleadings. Students likely visit inmates at correctional centers, and conduct investigation in a wide variety of socioeconomic settings accompanied by a clinic professor, private investigator or, in some instances, another student.
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CLINIC
Students gain firsthand experience in human rights advocacy, working in partnership with nongovernmental organizations, human rights practitioners, and law firms in the United States and abroad. Clinic projects are selected to build the knowledge and skills necessary to be an effective human rights lawyer; to integrate the theory and practice of human rights; and to expose students to a range of human rights issues. Students collaborate on two or more projects in small teams, and have direct contact with the partner-clients.
NONPROFIT CLINIC
Students in this clinic advise and work directly with local nonprofit boards on a “legal health checkup” and other matters such as initial formation, establishing tax-exempt status, charitable
solicitation, state/local taxation, contracts and ongoing legal compliance.
PATENT AND LICENSING CLINIC
The clinic involves instruction and practical training in patent drafting as well as the negotiation and drafting of patent and software license agreements. Students participate in class sessions covering these topics and are assigned to one or more significant drafting and counseling projects in one or both of these two areas.
LEARNING BY DOING
The clinic also covers evaluation of inventions and computer software for patentability and commercial value; counseling of UVA faculty inventors regarding patentability, inventorship and the patenting process; preparing, filing and prosecuting provisional U.S. patent applications; dealing with patent examiners; and researching current issues in the fields of intellectual property and technology transfer. Students help resolve disputes with licensees and possible infringers where appropriate.
PROSECUTION CLINIC
This course exposes students to all aspects of the prosecutorial function. Through a combination of classroom lectures and discussions, readings, guest speakers, and a field placement in one of several local participating prosecutors’ offices, students explore a range of practical, ethical, and intellectual issues involved in the discharge of a prosecutor’s duties and responsibilities, including the exercise of discretion in the decision to initiate, prosecute, reduce, or drop charges, and sentencing; interaction between
prosecutors and investigative agencies and law enforcement personnel; dealing with victims and other witnesses; and relationships with defense counsel. Ethical issues addressed may include: exculpatory evidence, duty not to prosecute on less than probable cause, cross-warrant situations, witness recantation and preparation, and improper argument at trial. n From left, Charlottesville Police Officer James Burnett, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joseph Platania, and Prosecution Clinic student Amelia Nemitz
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 45
FACULTY NEWS & BRIEFS
KENNETH ABRAHAM published “Tribute to Judge Guido Calabresi” in the Annual Survey of American Law and “Risk Aversion, Insurance Insurance, and the Limits of Regulation” in the UC Irvine Law Review. Abraham presented “Prosser’s The Fall of the Citadel” at the Symposium on the 100th Anniversary of the Minnesota Law Review at the University of Minnesota Law School in October.
MARGO BAGLEY published “‘Grant Me Justice Against My Adversary’: What Parables Can Teach Us About Organic Seed Growers & Trade Assoc. v. Monsanto,” in Irene Calboli and Srividyha Ragavan, eds., Diversity in Intellectual Property: Identities, Interests, and Intersections (Cambridge University Press, 2015). In May she presented “Towering Wave or Tempest in a Teapot? Synthetic Biology, Access and Benefit Sharing, and Economic Development” at the International IP Scholars Workshop at Duke Law School in Durham, N.C. In June Bagley presented “Cross-Border Protection of Intellectual Property:
46 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
Issues and Opportunities for Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional Cultural Expressions,” at the World Intellectual Property Organization Seminar on IP and GRs/TK/TCEs: Regional and International Dimensions in Geneva, Switzerland. In September she presented “Digital Biopiracy” at the European Policy on Intellectual Property (EPIP) Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Bagley’s forthcoming presentations include “‘Thou Shalt Not Steal’: Morality and Misappropriation in Life Sciences Patenting” at a symposium, Patents on Life: Through the Lenses of Law, Religious Faith, and Social Justice, hosted by the Von Hügel Institute, St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, and the Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, of the University of St. Thomas.
In June
Happens in Nevada? SelfSelecting into Lax Law” in the Review of Financial Studies (2014; with David C. Smith). This fall Barzuza is presenting at the Stanford Law and Economics Workshop, the Texas Law and Economics Workshop, and the George Mason Law and Economics Workshop. In 2014 she presented at the Corporate and Capital Markets Law and Policy and Empirical Law and Economics symposia at Harvard Law School, and was a discussant at the Conference of Empirical Legal Studies and conducted a Law & Economics workshop at UC Berkeley Law School. This year Barzuza was part of a Kirkland & Ellis M&A Round Table, a discussant at the American Law and Economics Association Annual Conference at Columbia Law School, and at a Law & Economics Workshop at Michigan Law School; and a moderator on Conflicts of Interest on Investment Committees at the Jewish Federations of North America Investment Institute.
MICHAL BARZUZA was
elected to the board of the American Law and Economics Association. She published “Board Interlocks and Corporate Governance” in the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law (2015; with Quinn Curtis); “SelfSelection and Heterogeneity in Firms’ Choice of Corporate Law” in Theoretical Inquiries in Law (Symposium 2015); and “What
In the wake of tragic shootings in Virginia and elsewhere,
RICHARD BONNIE ’69 continues to be actively engaged in efforts to reform mental health laws and services in Virginia. He is advising the General Assembly’s Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the 21st
Century and made a presentation to the joint subcommittee at its meetings in Staunton in June. He is also serving on a task force established by the commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, at the direction of the General Assembly, to develop proposals for reducing unnecessary delays in conducting emergency mental health evaluations. Finally, he made a presentation to the General Assembly’s Joint Commission on Health Care in September covering policy issues regarding the psychiatric hospitalization of minors and summarizing trends in involuntary commitment proceedings for adults and juveniles over the past five years. Efforts to improve the mental health services system have become intertwined with intense debates about the desirability of restricting access to firearms as a means of reducing suicides and gun violence. Since the spring of 2013 Bonnie has served as one of the founding leaders of a Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policies, a coalition of experts from public health, mental health, and law. The consortium has issued major reports recommending state and federal action for restricting access to firearms, based on fair procedures and properly tailored criteria, by individuals whose conduct manifests an elevated risk of harm to themselves or others. Articles co-authored by Bonnie describing the consortium’s approach were published in 2015 in the American Journal of Public Health
FACULTY NEWS AND BRIEFS …
and the Journal of Behavioral Sciences and the Law. In June Bonnie presented a paper at the University of Massachusetts Medical School entitled “Reducing Deaths and Injuries while Protecting Constitutional Rights: Searching for Common Ground on Gun Policy.” He also participated in an FBI-sponsored symposium at the Morven Estate in Albemarle County in July on developing best practices for threat assessment and interventions to prevent mass shootings. Bonnie and his research team at the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy are collaborating with Jeffrey Swanson and his research team at Duke University on a study funded by the National Science Foundation to assess the effectiveness of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in reducing suicide and gun-related violence by persons with mental health commitments and other adjudications that disqualify them from purchasing firearms under state and federal law. Bonnie and Swanson also submitted written testimony in June to a U.S. Senate committee considering the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, a proposal to restore the firearm rights of veterans determined by the Veterans Administration to lack the capacity to manage their financial affairs due to mental illness. Finally, Bonnie devoted time during this period to reform of the juvenile justice system and other aspects of law relating to adolescents and young adults. He presented a paper entitled “Reforming Juvenile Justice: A Summary of Recent Reports by the National Academy of Sciences” in June at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center
and another paper at a Temple Law Review Symposium in October on the implications of emerging developmental neuroscience research for law and policy relating to young adulthood. In May he was also appointed by the American Law Institute to serve as a co-reporter for a newly approved Restatement on Children and the Law. He was also elected to membership in the ALI.
In September JON
CANNON participated in a panel discussion of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Michigan v. EPA sponsored by the Administrative Law and Agency Practice section of the D.C. Bar. In October he traveled to China to address the All China Lawyers Association (in Xian) about U.S. environmental law and to speak at the Natural Resources Defense Council regional headquarters (in Wuhan). In November he is holding a faculty workshop on his book, Environment in the Balance, at the University of Michigan Law School.
In October
This summer
ASHLEY DEEKS
KIMBERLY FERZAN sent
participated in the Duke-Yale Foreign Relations Roundtable, where she presented on the role of consent to the use of force in the Obama Administration. In November she is serving as a commentator to the 2015 Frankel Lecture by Harold Koh at the University of Houston, which will address humanitarian intervention. This spring the American Journal of International Law will publish her review of Michael Glennon’s book National Security and Double Government. Deeks also contributed a number of blog posts to Lawfare, including posts on issues related to the use of force by the United States in Somalia and the United Kingdom in Syria; the need for surveillance diplomacy; and the forthcoming Tallinn Manual 2.0 on cyber operations. In March Deeks will present an article on international law and intelligence agencies at the University of North Carolina Law School’s faculty workshop.
to Oxford University Press the completed manuscript of a festschrift for Michael Moore, her mentor, friend, and former professor, which she is co-editing with Stephen Morse (University of Pennsylvania): “Legal, Moral and Metaphysical Truths: The Philosophy of Michael S. Moore.” The volume includes her contribution, “Self-Defense: Tell Me Moore.” Ferzan also completed “Consent and Culpability,” a solicited symposium contribution for the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. In September she attended a workshop at Yale Law School on Douglas Husak’s forthcoming book on ignorance of law, and also presented a paper, “Defending Honor,” at a workshop on two books on just war theory—Helen Frowe’s Defensive Killing and Seth Lazar’s Sparing Civilians—at the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs. In November she is presenting “Defending Honor” at the Harvard Law and Philosophy Colloquium.
MICHAEL DORAN In October
GEORGE COHEN participated in a symposium at Fordham Law School on Lawyering in the Regulatory State. He presented a paper entitled “The Laws of Agency Lawyering.”
presented “The Puzzle of NonQualified Retirement Pay” at the Columbia Tax Policy Colloquium in October and at the Virginia Invitational Tax Conference in November, and will present at the University of Colorado Tax Policy Colloquium in April 2016.
While a visiting fellow this summer at All Souls College, Oxford, BRANDON GARRETT presented a draft paper, “The Decline of the Virginia (and American) Death Penalty,” at Warwick Law School and at the Death Penalty Project in London. He also gave a talk, “Too Big to Jail: The Evolution of
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Corporate Prosecutions in the U.S.,” at the Political Economy of Financial Markets Seminar, St. Antony’s College; and a talk, “Too Big to Jail: How Corporations Are Prosecuted in the U.S.,” in an All Souls Visiting Fellow Seminar. In July he gave a talk, “The Use of Blinded Eyewitness Identification as a Forensic Procedure,” at the International Symposium on Forensic Science Error Management hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Arlington, Va.; and a talk, “The Law and Science of Eyewitness Memory,” at the National Black Prosecutors Association conference in Washington, D.C. In August Garrett presented to an Association of Federal Defense Attorneys Webinar, “Negotiating Effective Non-Prosecution and Deferred Prosecution Agreements.” In September he gave a talk entitled “Too Big to Jail: Theory and Evidence on Corporate Prosecutions,” at a UVA Law alumni reception. Garrett presented a book chapter, “Convicting the Innocent Redux,” and participated in a plenary panel discussion at a conference, Wrongful Convictions and the DNA Revolution: Twenty-Five Years of Freeing the Innocent, at Northeastern University School of Law. In October Garrett spoke on a panel regarding the Virginia Writ of Actual Innocence at the University of Richmond Law School, and presented a paper, “Cumulative Constitutional Harm,” with Kerry Abrams at American University, Washington School of Law. Lee Kovarsky and Garrett have just signed a contract to write a Concepts and Insights Series book, The Death Penalty, for Foundation Press.
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Garrett completed drafts of three book chapters: “Convicting the Innocent Redux” (chapter in Wrongful Convictions and the DNA Revolution, Daniel Medwed, ed., Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2016); “The Constitutional Rights of Corporations in the United States” (chapter in Understanding the Modern Company, Barnali Choudhury, ed., Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2016); and “Individual and Corporate Criminals” (chapter in Research Handbook on Corporate Crime and Financial Misdealing, Jennifer Arlen, ed., Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2016). His recent op-eds include, in August, “Coerced Confessions and Jailhouse Snitches: Why the Death Penalty Is so Flawed” in The Conversation; in June, “Last Words for the Death Penalty” (with Lee Kovarsky) in the Huffington Post; and in March, “Time to Crack Down on Recidivist Banks” in The Conversation. In April, Garrett was elected to the American Law Institute. He is currently assistant reporter on a project regarding policing.
In addition to his vice dean duties,
GEORGE GEIS recently published a book chapter entitled “Shareholder Power in India” in the Research Handbook on Shareholder Power (Edgar Elgar, 2015). He gave a presentation at the University of Chicago Law School, where he also visited as the Charles J. Merriam Scholar during the spring 2015 quarter. His latest article, “Ex-Ante Corporate Governance,” is
forthcoming. It explores the increasing efforts of both shareholders and managers to shape their corporate governance power via tactics that move from ex-post response to ex-ante planning.
This fall
MICHAEL GILBERT received the UVA Student Council Distinguished Teaching Award. He is the first law faculty member to be selected for the honor. Gilbert teaches courses on legislation, law and economics, and election law. The award is given annually to recognize a teacher who makes a positive and lasting impact on the University by developing relationships with students through the creation of an engaging and challenging classroom atmosphere. Recipients of the award are chosen by a selection committee composed of undergraduate and graduate students who consider both quantity and quality of nominating letters, said Shelbey Keegan, co-chair of the Student Council Academic Affairs Committee. “Out of 65 nominations, Professor Gilbert received a whopping total of 30, and each nomination was clearly very sincere and demonstrated to us how deserving he is of the award,” Keegan said. The group praised Gilbert’s ability to relate obscure legal doctrines to students’ cultural touchstones. “In his Law and Economics class he has illustrated the economic reasoning that underlies criminal behavior
by drawing on episodes of ‘The Wire,’ the principle of the tipping point by discussing the changing fashion of Brooklynites, and hidden costs by way of an example having to do with yuppies and diaper disposal,” Joel Johnson ’15 wrote. “His lectures are serious, but they are laced with nerdy asides, selfeffacing jokes, and subtle jabs at the absurdities of life. “The upshot of all this is that students learn the material, and we learn it well. We have a great time learning because we feel as though we’ve made a friend in Professor Gilbert.”
Next February
RISA GOLUBOFF is
publishing a book, Vagrant Nation: Police Power, Constitutional Change, and the Making of the 1960s (Oxford University Press, 2016). She is discussing the book this fall at a number of venues: in September at the Fairfax County Bar Association, in October at the Legal History Workshop of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and at the University of Texas as part of a conference, “The Constitution and Economic Inequality.” There will also be a book panel at the Law School in February. In March, she will discuss the book for the Great Issues series at the UVA Miller Center. Goluboff is also appearing in an online course for teachers on the Federal Judiciary for James Madison’s Montpelier. She is teaching her own sixsession online graduate course for teachers on Constitutional
FACULTY NEWS AND BRIEFS …
History for the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In November the Law School hosted a conference (with the Miller Center and the History Department) to celebrate Charles W. McCurdy and inaugurate the Charles W. McCurdy Fellowship in Legal History. The fellowship is jointly sponsored by the Law School and the Miller Center, and is part of the Miller Center National Fellows Program. In December Goluboff and her husband, Rich Schragger, will co-teach a course at Tel Aviv University on Advanced Topics in U.S. Constitutional Law: Race and Religion, and she will present on her book to their legal history workshop.
In July
of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will be published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Money, Credit and Banking. He continues to work with Michael Gilbert on a paper analyzing the strategic behavior of government agencies and regulated parties when the costs of enforcing the law are uncertain. He presented a paper on Economic Models of Mens Rea in September at Vanderbilt University and again in March at the University of Toronto. In November he will present “Effects of the 2008 Federal Stimulus Payments on State Tax Return Filings” at the National Tax Association Annual Meeting. Hayashi is also organizing the annual junior tax scholars conference, to be held at UC Irvine in June.
Constitutional Law Workshop at the University of Chicago Law School and at the Law and Philosophy Colloquium at Harvard Law School. She was a participant in a symposium on “Advancing a New Jurisprudence for American Self-Government and Democracy,” at Harvard Law School. In addition, she delivered a public lecture on “Political Bribery and Responsive Politics” at the Keller Center for the Study of the First Amendment at the University of Colorado. Lastly, Hellman presented her chair lecture on “Money and Rights,” celebrating her inauguration as the D. Lurton Massee Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. This fall Hellman will deliver a lecture at the University of Vermont in honor of recently deceased professor Alan Wertheimer.
RACHEL HARMON published “Federal Programs and the Real Costs of Policing” in the NYU Law Review. She also presented her paper, “Why Arrest?” at CrimFest 2015 at Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and at the UVA Law summer faculty workshop.
ANDREW HAYASHI’s
paper “Determinants of Mortgage Default and Consumer Credit Use: The Effect of Foreclosure Laws and Foreclosure Delays,” co-authored with Sewin Chan at New York University and Wilbert Van der Klaauw and Andrew Haughwout
DEBORAH HELLMAN published “Unintended Implications,” a commentary on an article by John Mikhail in the Virginia Law Review’s symposium issue on Jurisprudence and (its) History, and “Equal Protection in the Key of Respect” in the Yale Law Journal, part of a symposium issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She also published “Political Participation: A Hybrid Sphere” in the online version of the NYU Law Review. Hellman presented a new paper, “Two Concepts of Discrimination,” forthcoming in the Virginia Law Review, at a
A. E. DICK HOWARD ’61 visited England during the summer, giving lectures in London, Oxford, and Salisbury. Some of the lectures were inspired by 2015’s being the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. At the British Library, Howard gave the annual Robert H. Smith lecture on American Democracy, cosponsored by the Library’s Eccles Center, the American Embassy, and the Benjamin Franklin House. His lecture highlighted the library’s special exhibit, “Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy.” At Salisbury Cathedral, Howard lectured on “Magna Carta’s American Adventure.” The cathedral has one of the four
extant copies of the 1215 Charter. Howard’s lecture concluded a series of eight lectures at Salisbury featuring leading English judges and scholars. In Oxford, Howard presented a paper at a conference, hosted by Oriel College, on how Magna Carta has contributed to the diffusion of constitutionalism around the world. While in Oxford, he also spoke on “Magna Carta’s American Journey” at the Bodleian Library. Howard’s lecture was chosen to inaugurate the library’s new lecture hall, a feature of the Bodleian’s recently renovated Weston Library. The influence of the American constitutional experience on other countries and cultures was the subject of a lecture Howard gave at the American Embassy in London. Organized by American Ambassador Matthew Barzun, the session offered members of the embassy’s staff the opportunity to explore a range of constitutional topics in which culture shapes constitutional attitudes. At Oxford’s Lady Margaret Hall, Howard spoke on the origins of judicial review and constitutional supremacy. His remarks were part of the annual Howarth & Smith Law Lecture, made possible by alumna Suzelle Smith ’83 and her partner, Don Howarth. The American Bar Association held its 2015 meeting in London. Howard organized and moderated the meeting’s concluding plenary session, devoted to assessing the future prospects for global constitutionalism. His panelists included Richard Goldstone, a former justice of South Africa’s Constitutional Court; Lord Igor Judge, former lord chief justice
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of England and Wales; Baroness Patricia Scotland; Diane Wood, chief judge of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; and Sir Robert Worcester, chairman of the Magna Carta 800th anniversary committee. At the request of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s World Service, Howard did an interview on the intersection of the AngloAmerican constitutional tradition with global constitutionalism. The program was broadcast from the Temple Church, the “Mother Church of the Common Law.” BBC told Howard that the broadcast would be heard by 45 million people—a large classroom by anyone’s standards. While in London, Howard made remarks at a reception for alumni and friends of the Law School. The reception took place in the legendary Reform Club, founded in 1836 by members pledged to support the Reform Bill of 1832. Howard published an article, “The Changing Face of the Supreme Court,” in the Virginia Law Review. The article traces changes in the Court since the days of the Warren Court, when Howard clerked for Justice Hugo L. Black. The article looks at the justices, life at the Court, and the Court’s relation to the country. Howard also wrote several articles about Magna Carta and its influence in the modern world. These include “Magna Carta’s American Journey,” in the Temple Church’s publication, Magna Carta: 1215–2015. On this side of the Atlantic, Howard contributed a chapter to Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor, published by the Library of Congress in connection with the library’s display of the Lincoln Cathedral copy of Magna Carta.
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In June
LESLIE KENDRICK ’06 published “Nonsense on Sidewalks: Content Discrimination in McCullen v. Coakley” in the Supreme Court Review. The article addresses the First Amendment implications of a recent case in which the Supreme Court invalidated a picketing buffer zone around a Massachusetts abortion clinic. Kendrick is currently completing a book review of Seana Shiffrin’s Speech Matters: On Lying, Morality, and the Law for the Harvard Law Review. She is also working on an essay on Justice Brandeis’ free speech jurisprudence for a 2016 series of conferences at Brandeis University commemorating the 100th anniversary of Justice Brandeis’ appointment to the Supreme Court. In September Kendrick delivered the keynote address at the 2015 Constitution Day celebration at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tenn. She also participated in an online American Bar Association CLE previewing the 2015 Supreme Court term, and appeared in an ABA Supreme Court Preview at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.
In April
DOUGLAS LAYCOCK lectured on “Religious Liberty and the Culture Wars” at Santa Clara University in California. In May he gave the Plenary Address on “Religious Liberty,
Health Care, and the Culture Wars” at a conference on Law, Religion, and Health in America at the Harvard Law School, and he spoke on “Recent Litigation Involving Religious Liberty Issues” at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in New York City, and again at a conference in Baltimore of the lawyers who represent the various bodies of the United Methodist Church. In June he spoke on “Hobby Lobby, Religious Exemptions and Antidiscrimination Laws” at the National Convention of the American Constitution Society in Washington D.C. In February, he spoke on “Hobby Lobby and Other Recent Religious Liberty Litigation” to the University of Michigan Alumni Club in Richmond.
In July
MICHAEL LIVERMORE published (with several coauthors) “The Measurement of Subjective Value and Its Relation to Contingent Valuation and Environmental Public Goods” in the peerreviewed scientific journal PLOS One. That piece presented the results of a multi-year collaboration with a group of neurologists and economists that examined how the brain processes information about environmental value. Livermore published a follow-up opinion piece, “What Is Nature Worth to You?” with study coauthor Paul Glimcher, a professor at the Center for Neural Science at New York University, that appeared in The New York Times Sunday Review. In May Livermore’s forthcoming article, “A Quantitative
Analysis of Writing Style on the U.S. Supreme Court” (with Keith Carlson and Daniel Rockmore), received considerable media attention, including coverage by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR. That article uses computational tools to examine how writing style has evolved on the Court over time. Livermore continues to work in collaboration with a group of computer scientists at Dartmouth College to apply advanced automated text analysis techniques to the law. Livermore’s article “Political Parties and Presidential Oversight” will appear in the Alabama Law Review this fall. He has two forthcoming book chapters: “Environmental Law and Economics” (with Richard L. Revesz) in the Oxford Handbook of Law and Economics (Francesco Parisi, ed.) and “Setting the Social Cost of Carbon” in Climate Change Law (Daniel Farber and Marjan Peeters, eds.). He is currently working on an article that examines the political consequences of federalism, which he will present at Cornell Law School in the fall.
RUTH MASON co-authored an amicus brief (with Michael Knoll) cited by the U.S. Supreme Court four times in Comptroller of Maryland v. Wynne. Her 2008 article “Made in America for European Taxation: The Internal Consistency Test” was quoted in the same case. She published “Wynne: It’s Not About Double Taxation” (with Michael S. Knoll) in State Tax Notes; and “Comptroller v. Wynne:
FACULTY NEWS AND BRIEFS …
Internal Consistency, a National Marketplace, and Limits on State Sovereignty to Tax” in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online (with Knoll). See related story on page 6.
In October
GREGORY MITCHELL gave a talk on “The Dangers of Closed Minds, and How to Avoid Them” to the Virginia Mediation Network at its fall conference held in Richmond. Mitchell and Dr. Philip Tetlock of the University of Pennsylvania published an entry, Implicit Attitudes, in Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Mitchell is currently working on a book on American courts with David Klein from the Politics department at the University of Virginia.
Last spring, with his former students David Faigman ’86 (professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law) and Christopher Slobogin ’77, LL.M. ’79 (professor at the Vanderbilt Law School), JOHN MONAHAN published “Group to Individual (G2i) Inference in Scientific Expert Testimony” in the University of Chicago Law Review. Another article by the same authors, titled “Gatekeeping Science: Using the Structure of Scientific Research to Distinguish between Admissibility and Weight in Expert Testimony,” is
forthcoming in the Northwestern University Law Review. The eighth edition of his casebook with Professor Emeritus Laurens Walker, Social Science in Law, recently appeared. In addition, Monahan published “The Inclusion of Biological Risk Factors in Violence Risk Assessments” in the Oxford University Press book Bioprediction, Biomarkers, and Bad Behavior: Scientific, Legal, and Ethical Challenges, as well as “Risk Redux: The Resurgence of Risk Assessment in Criminal Sanctioning,” with Jennifer Skeem, in the Federal Sentencing Reporter. A number of Monahan’s articles and chapters—often with coauthors—will be published in the coming months, including “The Individual Risk Assessment of Terrorism” in the Handbook of the Criminology of Terrorism; “Social Science in Law: Continuity and Change” in the Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Law; “Risk Assessment in Criminal Sentencing” in the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology; “Evidence-Based Sentencing: Public Openness and Opposition to Using Gender, Age, and Race as Risk Factors for Recidivism” in Law and Human Behavior; “Psychosis Uncommonly and Inconsistently Precedes Violence Among High-Risk Individuals” in Clinical Psychological Sciences; and “Gun Violence and Stranger Victims in the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study” in Psychiatric Services. Earlier this year Monahan was appointed to the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences of the National Research Council. He was an invited participant at meetings of the United States Sentencing Commission, the Justice Center of the Counsel of State Governments, and the Safety
and Justice Challenge of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
School and a former colleague at the Law School. He has also been working on a cert petition in Mueller v. Mueller for the Supreme Court Litigation clinic.
In August
DOTAN OLIAR presented at Northwestern Law School a draft chapter on the use of copyright registrations in empirical studies as a part of a conference for the Research Handbook on the Economics of Intellectual Property Law (forthcoming 2016); and a draft of a coauthored paper with Bob Brauneis (George Washington Law School) analyzing copyright registrations from 1978–2012 at the IP Scholars Conference at DePaul College of Law, Chicago. The paper is the result of cooperation with the Copyright Office, which provided data for the piece. Oliar and Brauneis presented earlier versions of the work in March at the Intellectual Property Law Speakers Series, University of San Diego School of Law and the St. John’s Intellectual Property Law Colloquium in New York City; in February at the Intellectual Property Colloquium, Loyola Law School in Los Angeles; and in October 2014 at the IP Scholarship Seminar at the University of California Berkeley Law School.
DAN ORTIZ wrote a piece called “Comparative Positive Political Theory and Empirics” with Elizabeth Magill ’95, the dean of Stanford Law
In September the UVA Board of Visitors dedicated a newly renovated building on Rugby Road to ROBERT O’NEIL. The BOV proclamation states: WHEREAS, Robert M. O’Neil was the sixth president of the University of Virginia, from 1985–1990; and WHEREAS, Mr. O’Neil set and achieved significant goals during his presidency, including improving student and faculty representation of African-Americans and faculty representation of women at the University; and WHEREAS, Mr. O’Neil established task forces to study the status of women and minorities at the University, and under his tenure, the Holland Scholarships were launched to encourage increased enrollment of African-American students, and the Women’s Center opened; and WHEREAS, Mr. O’Neil developed four new programs of study at the University, including biomedical ethics, environmental science, women’s studies, and Tibetan studies, and he also established a new degree, a masters of teaching in the Curry School of Education; and
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WHEREAS, after serving as president of the University, Mr. O’Neil became the first director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, strengthening his stature as a leading authority on the First Amendment; and WHEREAS, during his presidency, Mr. O’Neil made a mark that was significant and long-lasting, and he remains a Professor of Law Emeritus and University Professor Emeritus; RESOLVED, the Board of Visitors names the Rugby Road office building O’Neil Hall.
The modern president is often criticized when he wields executive power without seeking congressional approval, but a new book by SAIKRISHNA PRAKASH says that type of autonomy is very much in keeping with how the role of the executive was conceived. “The presidency established by the Constitution was really quite regal in the sense that it was really a quite powerful office,” said Prakash, author of Imperial from the Beginning: The Constitution of the Original Executive. Published by Yale University Press, the book offers the most comprehensive study of the origins of the American presidency to date. “Though the founders were concerned about excessive presidential power, or more precisely excessive executive power, they nonetheless created a very strong institution—stronger than any that existed in America prior to 1787,” Prakash said.
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In 13 chapters, the book traces the origins of Article II of the Constitution, which establishes the presidency, and tries to explain the legal traditions behind each provision and what people of the time period took the provisions to mean. Prakash, who has written extensively on presidential power, drew upon well-known and obscure sources to reconstruct the understood powers, duties and responsibilities of the office. For more on the book and a video interview with Prakash, see bit.ly/imperialpresidency. While other authors have noted the similarity of the presidency to a monarchy, Prakash’s goal was to compile an authoritative source for the rationales behind this view, he said. “The name ‘presidency’ today certainly doesn’t conjure up in our minds a monarchy,” he said. “But one of the interesting things in the book is that a dictionary of the era defined ‘monarch’ with the word ‘president.’ This suggests that ‘president’ had some connection to ‘monarch.’” Prakash’s scholarship extends beyond the presidency to also encompass the separation of powers among the branches, and he teaches courses on constitutional law and foreign relations law, in addition to a class on presidential powers. This spring Prakash gave a talk on the book at Oxford University. He also published “50 States, 50 Attorneys General, and 50 Approaches to the Duty to Defend” in the Yale Law Journal (with Neal Devins); “The
Sweeping Domestic War Powers of Congress” in the Michigan Law Review; and “The Boundless Treaty Power Within a Bounded Constitution” in the Notre Dame Law Review (2015; symposium on Bond v. United States). Earlier this fall, Dean Paul Mahoney announced that Prakash is the recipient of the Roger and Madeleine Traynor Faculty Achievement Award. The award is generally given every other year to a senior faculty member in recognition of his or her scholarly achievement. “Sai’s work focuses on the Constitution’s structural provisions, particularly the separation of powers,” Mahoney said. “He is one of the country’s most influential voices on the original meaning of those provisions.” Mahoney said he appreciated counterintuitive insights in Imperial from the Beginning.
MILDRED ROBINSON wrote a chapter, “It Takes a Federalist Village: A Revitalized Property Tax as the Linchpin for Stable, Effective K–12 Public Education Funding,” in The Enduring Legacy of Rodriguez with Harvard Education Press. The book, edited by Kimberly Jenkins Robinson (University of Richmond School of Law) and Charles J. Ogletree Jr. (Harvard University School of Law), was released in October.
At the biennial conference of the International Association for Legal and
Social Philosophy, FRED SCHAUER gave one talk on the theory of evidence, another on law and coercion, another on legal education as graduate education, and another on the normativity of law. There was also a day-long “author meets critics” session about his book The Force of Law, with commentators from Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, Brazil, and the United States, and a response by Schauer. Schauer published “The Politics and Incentives of First Amendment Coverage,” part of a symposium on free speech theory, in the William & Mary Law Review; “Out of Range: On Patently Uncovered Speech” in the Harvard Law Review Forum; “On the Utility of Religious Toleration” in Criminal Law and Philosophy; and “Legal Fictions Revisited” in (Maksymilian Del Mar & William Twining, eds.,) Legal Fictions in Theory and Practice (Springer, 2015). In October the American Bar Foundation and the University of Chicago Law Review jointly hosted a day-long symposium about The Force of Law and a book on the expressive function of law by Richard McAdams ’85. Commentators were from the Northwestern University, University of Southern California, New York University, University of Michigan, University of Illinois, and Yale Law Schools, with responses from Schauer and McAdams, with all papers and responses to be published in Law and Social Inquiry. Schauer became a co-editor of Jesse Choper et al., Constitutional
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Law, and Steven Shiffrin, et al., The First Amendment, the 12th edition of the former and the 6th edition of the latter, both published in July. In August he presented a paper on “Precedent” at the Latin American Conference on Procedural Law in Cartagena, Colombia; and in September a paper on “Source Formalism in International Law” at a conference on source in international law in Fribourg, Switzerland.
A. BENJAMIN SPENCER has
joined the Wright & Miller Federal Practice & Procedure treatise as an author and will be publishing an update to volume 5A this spring, to be followed by updates and new editions of additional volumes. He also will be publishing an article this winter entitled “Rationalizing Cost Allocation in Civil Discovery” (to be published in the Review of Litigation). Most recently, Spencer published the revised 4th edition of his casebook, Civil Procedure: A Contemporary Approach (West Academic, 2015). Spencer remains active with the state’s two main bar groups. Earlier this year, he was named to the board of governors of the Virginia Bar Association. He also will remain active in the bar this year and next as a member of the Virginia State Bar Council and as a member of its Future of Legal Practice Committee and Bench and Bar Relations Committee.
PAUL STEPHAN ’77 is currently teaching a graduatelevel course, Energy Resources in Emerging Markets, at Melbourne Law School, after which he will teach a graduatelevel course, Doing Business in Emerging Markets, at Sydney Law School. He will then teach a course on international civil litigation at the Peking University School of Transnational Law in Shenzhen, China. In October Stephan taught two courses at Paris II on the common law system.
In September
RIP VERKERKE presented a new paper at the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. In October he participated in an international conference on labor law and policy at Renmin University Law School in Beijing, and gave speeches at both Renmin and Nankai University in Tianjin.
Over the summer
PIERREHUGUES VERDIER presented a chapter on the new generation of financial sanctions against states such as Iran and Russia, and their impact on U.S. and international financial institutions, at workshops at the University of Michigan and Georgetown
University. The chapter is part of a book project on new actors and developments in international financial regulation. He also participated in a workshop at Northwestern University organized by the journal International Organization, to discuss his empirical work with Mila Versteeg on the reception of international law in national legal systems around the world. Verdier also had the privilege of welcoming all new LL.M. and S.J.D. students to the Law School in his capacity as acting director of the Graduate Studies Program.
GEORGE YIN’s major project this past year was to complete a manuscript entitled “Preventing Congressional Violations of Taxpayer Privacy.” The paper asserts that the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee violated the law in 2014 when it voted to disclose the confidential tax information of 51 taxpayers. Because, however, the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution insulated the committee from prosecution for the violation, the paper recommends new restrictions on committee access to the information to prevent a future breach of taxpayer privacy. Yin presented an earlier version of the paper to several faculty and student audiences, including a Tax Law and Public Finance Workshop at Georgetown Law Center, a Tax Policy Colloquium at NYU Law School, a Georgetown faculty workshop, and the Critical Tax Conference held at Northwestern University Law School. The paper will appear in a forthcoming issue
of the Tax Lawyer, published by the Tax Section of the ABA. In late 2014 he delivered the keynote address to the 18th Annual Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (EO) in Los Angeles, co-sponsored by the Loyola (L.A.) Law School and the UCLA School of Law. His topic was “The IRS’s Misuse of Scarce EO Compliance Resources,” and his remarks were published in Tax Notes (2015). During the past year, he published two other pieces relating to the IRS’s controversial administration of the EO tax laws: “Reforming (and Saving) the IRS by Respecting the Public’s Right to Know” in the Virginia Law Review, and a short summary, “Saving the IRS” in Tax Notes (2014). He and his co-author, Karen Burke, also completed the manuscript for the second edition of their casebook, Corporate Taxation, published by Wolters Kluwer. Some of Yin’s other activities included commenting on a paper on partnership taxation at the National Tax Association’s 2015 symposium in Washington, D.C., continuing his consulting work for the IRS’s “Tax Gap” Advisory Group, and commenting on papers at the Law School’s 1st Annual Invitational Tax Conference. Yin was a visiting professor at Georgetown Law Center during the 2014–15 school year and was recently appointed to serve on the board of directors of the Charlottesville Symphony Society, which has responsibility for the performances of the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra. n
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CLASS NOTES We welcome submissions for inclusion in Class Notes. Online, submit them at www.law.virginia.edu/alumni; e-mail them to lawalum@virginia.edu; mail them to UVA Lawyer, University of Virginia School of Law, 580 Massie Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903; or fax them to 434/296-4838. Please send your submissions by March 25 for inclusion in the next issue.
1948 CHARLES S. RUSSELL continues to serve as a senior justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia. Russell served on the court from 1982–1991, then returned as senior justice in 2004.
featured on a Jacksonville, Fla., news program (http://www.news4jax. com/news/unbreakablebond/32954228).
1959 HARWOOD MARTIN traveled
1949 FRANK WARREN SWACKER is senior managing partner and CEO of Lawyer Literary Agency (www.lawyerliteraryagency.com.) The Web-based agency seeks book proposals, primarily from lawyers, to present to publishers of legal texts and fiction. Swacker writes, “An honorable junior partnership interest in the agency is offered to those who submit a proposal that is eventually published.” Swacker, an accomplished international lawyer, is the author of many published law books, murder mysteries, plays, and articles.
1957
to Columbia, S.C., last October for a celebration of the life of William J. Quirk, who for almost 50 years was a professor at the University of South Carolina Law School. Those who spoke included judges, members of the bar, fellow professors, former students, and his daughter, Augusta.
1960
1962 JAMES B. ALLEY, JR. died on September 2. Alley joined Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City after graduation, but found his true calling as a lawyer in Santa Fe, N.M., where he served the interests of every constituency that sought his help. An avid outdoorsman, he was on the board of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center. In the late 1960s, as an attorney for the Upper Pecos Association, he fought an initiative to pave a 26-mile highway across Elk Mountain in the Pecos Wilderness, a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court before the highway proposal was defeated.
RUST E. REID is listed in Texas Super Lawyers 2015 in estate planning and probate and in Best Lawyers 2016 in trusts and estates. He is of counsel with Thompson & Knight in Dallas.
1961
JOHN CORSE and three
ROBERT L. MONTAGUE III
friends who regularly swim together and have won numerous relays in U.S. Masters meets were
serves on the board of Frontier Nursing University, located in Lexington and Wendover, Ky.
JOHN EARLY MCDONALD, JR. died December 31. He graduated from the Law School following two years of active service with the U.S. Army. He was a tax attorney with the IRS regional counsel in Dallas, Tex., before going into private practice with Christian & Barton, Hunton & Williams, and McDonald & Crump. His practice focused on civil litigation, construction law, and complex real estate development transactions.
For two decades he was an officer in what became LandAmerica Financial Group, acting as general claims counsel and senior litigation counsel, participating in lawsuits in U.S. District and state courts throughout the U.S. He served as a committee cochair in the ABA litigation section that developed the first guidelines for litigation management. McDonald served as company commander in the 80th Division Army Reserve and the 49th Armored Division of the Texas National Guard, later transferring to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He graduated from the U.S. Army War College at age 42 and was promoted to colonel. His 30-year military career culminated in his assignment as commander of the 75-attorney 10th Military Law Center primarily assigned to Ft. Bragg, N.C. In 1987 he was awarded the Legion of Merit.
work the ideals of the founder” of Williamson College. Clemens has been a trustee of the college, which provides a full scholarship to all its students, since 2006. The Florida Bar honored
JOSEPH Z. FLEMING for 50 years of practice. He is a shareholder with Greenberg Traurig in Miami, where he concentrates his practice on litigation and employment law. He is recognized as Best Lawyers 2015 Miami Lawyer of the Year for environmental law, as a top lawyer in the South Florida Legal Guide 2015, and in the Legal 500 United States in labor and employment and labor-management relations. Fleming is also listed in Florida Super Lawyers 2015 among the top 100 lawyers in Miami.
1966
1965 RICHARD CLEMENS has been awarded the Isaiah Vansant Williamson Award by Williamson College of the Trades “for exemplifying in life and
GUY O. FARMER II was named in Chambers USA 2015 in labor & employment, Florida Super
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 55
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LAW ALUMNI WEEKEND 2015 1250+ alumni and guests 75+ magic tricks 20+ bats, balls, and gloves
attended
performed for children at Saturday’s BBQ
at Copeley Field for Saturday’s
Alumni and NGSL Softball Game
275+ omelets
made to order at Sunday’s brunch
1200
The 2015 Reunions were a tremendous success, with more than graduates and guests returning to Charlottesville for Law Alumni Weekend in May.
May 13–15
The 2016 reunion weekend is scheduled for for the Classes of 1956, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011. As always, all alumni are invited to attend.
For information on upcoming reunions, see www.law.virginia.edu/reunions, call 1-877-307-0158, or email lawalumnievents@virginia.edu.
56 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
CLASS NOTES …
Lawyers 2015 in employment & labor, and Best Lawyers 2016 in employment law-management, labor law-management, and litigation-labor and employment. He is of counsel with GrayRobinson in Jacksonville, where he is a member of the labor and employment group.
EDGAR F. “HIKE” HEISKELL III has founded Drone Law Strategies, a consulting firm for lawyers wanting to attain proficiency in the emerging legal field involving unmanned aerial systems. Heiskell is a lawyer, aviator, and drone operator who has helped major law firms form and market their drone law practice groups. He is based in Charleston, W.Va.
1967
GENE DAHMEN has been honored with a Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education ScholarMentor Award, presented annually to members of the bar who have shown leadership through long-term service to MCLE, excellence in teaching or writing, and creativity in the suggestion of program and publication ideas. Dahmen is senior counsel with Verrill Dana in Boston,
Mass., where she focuses her practice on family law.
was honored as Ball Park of the Year, beating out several major league stadiums in the process.
1968 GERALD PARSKY has been BILL BROADDUS writes that he’s retired and enjoying the good life on the Northern Neck of Virginia; golfing occasionally with classmate Dirk Metzger; and sailing, gardening, reading, and generally “having more fun than I deserve.”
JOHN W. MERTING is listed in Florida Super Lawyers 2015 in transportation. He was the first in North Florida to be board certified in admiralty and maritime law in 1996, and has been recertified every five years since. He is in private practice in Gulf Breeze, focusing on maritime and personal injury law. Merting recently presented a paper, “Representing Braininjured Clients,” at a maritime law seminar. He has served as a trustee of the nonprofit Community Maritime Park since 2006 and also serves as chairman of its operations and audit committee. The 30-plus acre park is located on Pensacola Bay and its stadium is the home of an AA baseball team. In 2012 the facility
elected to the RAND Corporation board of trustees, where he will serve a five-year term. He is founder and chairman of Aurora Capital Group, an investment firm based in Los Angeles, Calif. The Hon. KENNETH F. RIPPLE has been appointed as an advisor to the American Law Institute’s Third Restatement of the Conflict of Laws. He is professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Law School and has served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since his appointment by President Reagan in 1985.
1970
joined Porter, Wright, Morris, & Arthur in Columbus, Ohio, where he became a partner. For a number of years he was listed among the top 100 lawyers in the U.S. in his field. He excelled in his profession despite suffering from a disabling spinal cord injury in 1976, which left him with chronic pain and other health problems.
FREDRICK R. TULLEY is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in litigation-banking and finance, and litigationbankruptcy. He is a partner with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, La.
KIRK C. SHAW is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in employment lawmanagement, labor law-management, and litigation-labor and employment. He is a partner with Armbrecht Jackson in Mobile, Ala.
J. RANDOLPH SMITH, JR. retired from the Henry County (Virginia) Commonwealth Attorney’s Office as assistant commonwealth attorney on January 31 of this year.
1971 EDWIN M. BARANOWSKI died on July 23 in West Palm Beach, Fla. He practiced law for more than 40 years and focused his practice on intellectual property law. Baranowski began his career at Kenyon & Kenyon in New York City and later
Bar’s legal ethics committee, where he will serve a two-year term. He is senior counsel in Denton’s real estate practice.
1972 GEORGE HOUSE is listed in Chambers USA 2015 in environmental law and Best Lawyers 2016 in environmental law, litigation-environmental, mining law, natural resources law, and water law. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, N.C.
1973 PAUL C. HURDLE has been elected chair of the D.C.
1974 JULIA TAYLOR CANNON died on October 16, 2014. Cannon dedicated her career to her community in Loudoun County, Va., where she served as a lawyer, a prosecutor, and a judge. She was a role model to many people, particularly young women lawyers. Cannon began her career in private practice before becoming Loudoun County Attorney. In 1992 she was appointed to the general district court, and stepped down from the court as chief justice in 2011. She continued to sit on the general district court as a substitute judge after retirement. Cannon was deeply committed to civil rights. In one of the first cases she won, she successfully argued that an anti-loitering
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 57
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ordinance was unconstitutional on behalf of a court-appointed client. In a Loudoun TimesMirror tribute, a young judge recalled taking a recess to consider a decision in a criminal case. Cannon saw him pacing back and forth in chambers and asked him what was going on. When he said he was having trouble deciding whether to convict or find the defendant not guilty, Cannon remarked, without hesitation, “Sounds like reasonable doubt to me.” Her colleague realized then and there she was right. “Judge Cannon was a wonderful person and a great judge,” Attorney General of Virginia Mark Herring said. “Loudoun was fortunate to have her. She was well-respected by those who entered her courtroom and well-liked by those who knew her outside of it.”
JOHN A.C. KEITH is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers 2015 in business litigation. He also earned the distinction of being included among the top 100 Virginia Super Lawyers for 2015. He is a principal with Blankingship & Keith in Fairfax, where he concentrates his practice on business litigation.
and employment. He practices with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, N.C.
PRISCILLA LUNDIN has been appointed to the Lasell College Board of Overseers, an advisory group to the school’s board of trustees and senior management. The coeducational campus school, founded in 1851, is located in Newton, Mass., near downtown Boston. With an emphasis on integrating professional and liberal arts courses with work experience in the private and public sectors, Lasell is on the U.S. News short list of the top ten colleges with the highest rates of undergraduate internship participation.
J. KEITH MORGAN has been named executive vice president and chief legal officer of TIAA-CREF. Based in New York, Morgan will lead TIAA-CREF’s legal and compliance, government relations, and corporate secretary functions. He was most recently the founder and CEO of Morris Lane Capital.
1976 BILL CARY is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in employment law-management, labor law-management, and litigation-labor
58 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
W. JOSEPH OWEN III is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers 2015 in general litigation and Best Lawyers 2016 in
litigation-health care and litigation-insurance. His practice includes civil and commercial litigation, criminal defense, personal injury, real estate, estate planning, corporate, and construction law. He is a founding partner of Owen & Owens in Midlothian.
ANN MARGARET POINTER is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in labor and employment. She is a partner with Fisher & Phillips in Atlanta, Ga., where she represents management in labor and employment matters. Pointer is an adjunct professor at Emory University Law School in Atlanta, where she teaches pretrial litigation.
DONALD J. SHULLER is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in real estate law. He is a partner and member of the finance, energy, and real estate group with Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Syracuse, where he focuses his environmental practice on federal and state regulatory compliance and enforcement matters.
CHANNING D. STROTHER, JR. has been appointed an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration in Johnstown, Pa.
1978 1979 MARK N. DUVALL has been recognized in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers 2015 in environmental law. He is a principal with Beveridge & Diamond, where he co-chairs the chemicals, products, and nanotechnology practice group. “Life is good,” he writes. “My younger son was married in May, my daughter is getting married in October, and my older son is getting married next year. We all should have such happiness.”
MICHAEL P. HAGGERTY is
1977 JULIAN D. BOBBITT, JR. is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in health care law. He is a partner with Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C., where he provides strategic general counsel and regulatory guidance for health care organizations.
intellectual property law and in Delaware Super Lawyers 2015 in business litigation and administrative law. He is a director at Bayard in Wilmington, where he focuses his practice on general business litigation, intellectual property litigation, administrative law, and alternative dispute resolution.
listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in banking and finance law and real estate law. He is a partner and co-head of the finance practice group with Jackson Walker in Dallas, Tex.
PETER S. EVERETT was selected as Best Lawyers 2016 personal injury litigation-plaintiffs lawyer of the year for Washington, D.C. Washingtonian magazine listed him in the top one percent of personal injury lawyers in Washington. He represents clients seriously injured in motor vehicle collisions, especially individuals who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. He also represents victims of violent crimes, including sexual assault. He is a principal with Blankingship & Keith in Fairfax, Va.
BARRY R. KOGUT has been
ANNE L. KLEINDIENST is
recognized in Upstate New York Super Lawyers 2015 and Best Lawyers 2016 in environmental law. He is a member with Bond, Schoeneck & King in
listed in Chambers USA 2015 in health care. She is a shareholder with Polsinelli in Phoenix, Ariz., where she focuses her practice on health care,
RICHARD D. KIRK is listed in Chambers USA 2015 in
CLASS NOTES …
franchise, and corporate and transactional law.
MICHAEL K. KUHN is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in real estate law. He is a partner with Jackson Walker in Houston, Tex., where he focuses his practice on commercial real estate.
& corruption governance at Wells Fargo. Jon and his wife, Doreen, continue to live in Washington, D.C.
1981
ANNUAL GATHERING CLASS OF 1983 FRIENDS. “This year in GEORGE C. HOWELL III has
JOHN W. SINDERS, JR. has returned to Houston, Tex., from Dubai, UAE, and has joined Frank’s International, a company known for tubular and oil and gas services worldwide. He is executive vice president for administration and is in charge of corporate development, strategy, and communications.
RANDALL A. UNDERWOOD is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in financial services regulation law and real estate law. He is with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, N.C.
1980 RICHARD J. POCKER has been elected to a third term on the Nevada State Board of Governors. He is the administrative partner for the Nevada office of the New York-based Boies, Schiller & Flexner. In January, after 33 years of federal government service, including 31 with the U.S. Department of Justice, JON RUSCH retired from public service to become senior vice president and head of anti-bribery
D. FRENCH SLAUGHTER has joined Fox Rothschild as a partner in the taxation and wealth planning department in Washington, D.C. He focuses his practice on federal, state, and local taxation matters, including income tax, franchise tax, gross receipts tax, sales and use tax, and property tax. He was previously a partner with McGuireWoods. PAUL B. TERPAK was selected as Best Lawyers 2016 eminent domain and condemnation law lawyer of the year for Washington, D.C. He has handled hundreds of condemnation cases in the past 30 years, including more than 50 trials before juries and commissioners in every jurisdiction in Northern Virginia. He is a principal with Blankingship & Keith in Fairfax.
BARBARA A. YOUNG is listed in Chambers USA 2015 in corporate/mergers and acquisitions law. She is a partner with Verrill Dana in Westport, Conn.
begun a one-year term as chair of the American Bar Association section of taxation. He is head of Hunton & Williams’ tax and employee benefits practice in New York and Richmond, Va. His work focuses on tax aspects of REITs, REMICs, securitizations, master limited partnerships, private investment funds, and other financial products and transactions. Howell regularly lectures on REITs and REMICs at the Law School. He was recently selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers 2015 and Virginia Super Lawyers 2015 in tax law, and recognized as a leader in the field for national REIT practice in Chambers USA 2015.
1982 MICHAEL D. HANKIN received the inaugural Harbor Hero Award from the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore for his commitment to the health of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and the vitality of its waterfront. Hankin is chair of the Waterfront Partnership’s board and president and CEO of Brown Advisory, an independent investment firm.
Seattle, we toasted Joan Markman, whose life and friendship we continue to celebrate.” Left to right: Dave Mushinski, Elaine Metlin, Alice Hill, Janet Napolitano, Mark Kantor, Kent Alexander, John Youkilis, and Steve Edelson.
1983 JAMES P. COX III was named the Charlottesville lawyer of the year in trusts and estates for 2016 in Best Lawyers. He practices with MichieHamlett.
CHARLES J. JOHNSON is associate director of the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship at the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management. He will also be a clinical associate professor at the Isenberg School and will teach classes on entrepreneurial finance and launching start-ups. Johnson was previously a partner in the private equity group at Choate, Hall & Stewart. JAMES S. RYAN III is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in corporate law and mergers & acquisitions law. He is a partner with Jackson Walker in Dallas, Tex.
MARK DAVIDSON has been named Greensboro, N.C., 2016 lawyer of the year by Best Lawyers for mergers & acquisitions law and was recognized as an industry leader in Best Lawyers 2016 and 2015 in corporate law, mergers & acquisitions law, securities/capital markets law, and tax law. He is listed in Chambers USA 2015 in corporate/mergers & acquisitions law and North Carolina Super Lawyers 2015 for business/corporate law. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard.
DON K. HAYCRAFT is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in admiralty and maritime law and personal injury litigation-defendants. He is a shareholder with Liskow & Lewis in New Orleans, La.
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 59
CLASS NOTES …
Justice = Law + Mercy In her role as supervising attorney with the housing unit at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, MARIA SMITH ’83 advocates for people in disputes that involve basic human needs. Her workload, about two dozen active cases and counting, never ends and was part of the cover story of the July issue of American Lawyer magazine, “The Justice Gap: How Big Law is Failing Legal Aid.” Eviction cases are among her most urgent work. Usually the tenant does not have a lawyer. An eviction judgment can result in a person having just seven days to find a new place to live, setting into motion a downward spiral that’s difficult to escape. An eviction on a tenant’s record reduces her chance of getting safe and affordable housing and could disqualify her for subsidized housing. Smith’s representation can stop such a free fall from happening. Smith has advocated for people who are marginalized since she graduated from the Law School. She worked for the nonprofit Institute for Child Advocacy and The Legal Aid Society before heading to Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Brazil to work alongside people living in violence and economic oppression. In 1998 she returned to The Legal Aid Society. Over the years many of Smith’s clients have told her that because of her representation they avoided homelessness, which meant they could graduate on time, keep their children out of the foster care system, or continue their cancer treatments. “In some ways I wish that all policy makers could be homeless for 24 hours to see how awful it is,” says Smith. “Even things as simple as where to keep birth certificates, tax returns, and receipts for security deposits or utility bills. A person can’t apply for HUD-assisted housing without birth certificates for the entire household. Imagine if someone in the household was born elsewhere.” “At the Law School I sat in the same classroom with some of the most brilliant legal minds in the country. I was impressed that people so intelligent were also so kind. I knew I could not be brilliant, but I could be kind and compassionate, and ultimately that is what mattered most. I still think of Cal Woodard writing on the blackboard, justice = law + mercy.” The article in American Lawyer notes that while profits are up for many law firms, the most generous ones contribute little more than one-tenth of one percent of their gross revenue to organizations that provide basic legal service to the poor. Pro bono work plays a crucial role in legal aid, but nothing is as important as increased funding. “I hope more people will be inspired to support their local legal services program,” Smith says. “Some people buy homes for $10 million. Imagine what a difference a $10 million gift could do for a couple of legal aid programs.” —REBECCA BARNS
60 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
CHRISTOPHER S. KNOPIK received the Joseph P. Milton Professionalism and Civility award from the Florida Chapters American Board of Trial Advocates convention in Fort Lauderdale. He is chief legal officer and general counsel for Laser Spine Institute in Tampa.
ROBERT P. LATHAM is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in commercial litigation, First Amendment law, litigation-First Amendment, litigation-intellectual property, litigation-patent, and sports law. He is a partner with Jackson Walker in Dallas and Houston, Tex.
Greensboro, N.C., 2016 lawyer of the year by Best Lawyers in bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/ insolvency and reorganization law. He is also listed as an industry leader in Best Lawyers 2016 in antitrust law, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency, and reorganization law. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard.
JOHN M. SHEFTALL is listed in Georgia Super Lawyers 2015 in estate planning & probate. He is also listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in litigation-trusts and estates and trusts and estates. He is a partner with Hatcher, Stubbs, Land, Hollis, & Rothschild in Columbus, where he focuses his practice on estate planning and administration and fiduciary litigation. STEVEN W. SLOAN is listed in Texas Super Lawyers 2015 in employment & labor and Best Lawyers 2016 in employment lawmanagement and labor law-management. He is of counsel with Thompson & Knight in Dallas.
GEOFF LEWIS has been named president of RE/ MAX Holdings, Inc. in Denver, Colo. He previously served as executive vice president and chief legal officer. JEFFREY E. OLEYNIK is listed in Chambers USA 2015 in antitrust and litigation: general commercial law and has been named
CRAIG OWEN WHITE has been reappointed to the Trade Advisory Committee on Africa. He was first appointed to the committee in 2013. White is a partner with Hahn Loeser in Cleveland, Ohio, where he co-chairs the food and beverage and government practice groups. He is a member of the board
CLASS NOTES …
of directors of Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc. and of the International Senior Lawyers Project, a provider of pro bono legal services in support of the rule of law and equitable economic development. He is listed in Ohio Super Lawyers 2015 in business/corporate; closely held business; and government/cities/ municipalities.
1984
CATHERINE CURRIN HAMMOND retired from the judiciary after 16 years as a circuit court judge in Henrico, Va. Hammond is now a mediator and arbitrator with Juridical Solutions PLC.
DAVID M. ROSENBERG is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in nonprofit/charities law and tax law. He is a partner with Thompson & Knight in Dallas, Tex.
1985 LAWRENCE J. BRACKEN II received the Justice Ally of the Year Award from the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, Ga., in May. He is a partner with Hunton & Williams in Atlanta and New York City, where he focuses his
practice on litigating and investigating class action, technology, insurance, environmental and commercial matters. He is listed in Chambers USA 2015 for litigation and in Georgia Super Lawyers 2015 for insurance coverage and civil litigation: defense, class action/mass torts.
ANTHONY P. DELLA PIETRA, JR. assumed the role of president and CEO of Citibank Japan Ltd. in June. In late 2014 Citi announced its agreement to sell Citibank Japan’s retail banking business to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation by the end of the year. Following the sale, Citibank Japan will continue to focus on corporate banking, markets, and transaction services businesses. Della Pietra joined Citi in 2004 and since then has served as COO of Citibank Japan and general counsel of Asia Pacific for Citi before assuming his current post.
YUJI IWASAWA (S.J.D. ’97) was elected as an associate of the Institut de Droit International, a prestigious academic society of international law, at its Tallinn session in August. Iwasawa is on the law faculty at the University of Tokyo.
JAMES T. MCDERMOTT was elected chairman of Ball Janik in Portland, Ore., and is head of the litigation practice group. His first novel, Bitter is the Wind, will be published by Cune Press in February.
First in the Nation LINDSAY ROBERTSON ’86 was selected as the Chickasaw Nation Endowed Chair in Native American Law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. This is the first Native American law chair to be held by a permanent faculty member at any law school in the United States. Robertson joined the OU law faculty in 1997 and has been instrumental in the school’s becoming a global leader in the field of indigenous law. Located in the heart of Indian Territory, the school has had the highest average enrollment of American Indian students nationwide in the past decade. “We applaud the choice of Dr. Robertson as the first Chickasaw Nation Native American Law Chair,” said Bill Anoatubby, governor of the Chickasaw Nation. “He is a highly respected scholar who brings an incredible record of achievement to this position. He has been instrumental in helping make the law school a global leader in the field of indigenous law.” “Over the past 18 years, Dr. Robertson has worked tirelessly at OU Law to build one of the most comprehensive Indian Law curricula in the nation,” said OU Law Dean Joseph Harroz. Robertson co-teaches a seminar in international and comparative indigenous peoples law with colleagues in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. He also teaches federal Indian law, constitutional law, and legal history, and has helped OU Law alumni find jobs throughout the U.S., including policy positions in Washington, D.C. He leads the school’s Center for the Study of American Indian Law and Policy and is the founding director of its International Human Rights Law Clinic. Robertson, who earned three post-graduate degrees at UVA, has spoken widely on international and comparative indigenous peoples’ law issues in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. In 2014 he received the inaugural David L. Boren Award for Outstanding Global Engagement and served as an advisor on indigenous peoples’ law to the chair of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. He serves as a justice on the Supreme Court of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Robertson began his teaching career as a lecturer at UVA Law, where from 1991–96 he taught Federal Indian Law with Professor Richard Merrill. “I’ll always be grateful to Professor Merrill for inviting me to co-teach. I wouldn’t be where I am today had it not been for that experience.” —REBECCA BARNS
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JONATHAN D. MOONVES was recognized on The Hollywood Reporter’s 2015 power lawyer list. He is a partner with Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano in Santa Monica, Calif., where he represents entertainers, writers, producers, executives, and production entities.
liability and medical malpractice, and practices federal criminal defense.
Calif., until it relocates to Playa Vista early next year.
TIMOTHY S. GOETTEL is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in corporate law and mergers and acquisitions law. He is a partner with Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C.
CATHERINE NGO was named
1986
ANN PELDO CARGILE was named a power leader in commercial real estate by the Nashville Business Journal and is listed in Chambers USA 2015 and Best Lawyers 2015 in real estate law. She is a partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, where she represents parties in all aspects of commercial real estate, including leasing, finance, and joint ventures. JOHN E. LICHTENSTEIN was elected president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association for 2015–16. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. He is a founding member of LichtensteinFishwick, where he represents victims of catastrophic injury in cases involving product
62 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
president and CEO of Central Pacific Financial Corporation and its subsidiary, Central Pacific Bank. Ngo joined the Hawaii-based CPF in late 2010 as executive vice president and chief administrative officer after working as a founding general partner of Startup Capital Ventures in Silicon Valley. She is currently a venture partner of Startup Capital Ventures and is a trustee of the University of Hawaii Foundation and on the board of The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii.
1987 CRAIG GATARZ joined The Honest Company in 2014 as executive vice president and general counsel. The Honest Company is a leading lifestyle brand founded by Jessica Alba that makes safe, effective, and beautifully designed consumer products that are affordable and responsibly made. Gatarz manages the legal, human resources, compliance, facilities and social goodness departments. Honest is based in Santa Monica,
The Hon. DAVID C. KEESLER has been elected president of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association for 2015–16. FMJA is an association of more than 750 active and retired federal magistrate judges from across the country. Keesler has served as a magistrate judge in Charlotte, N.C., for 12 years.
BOB SAUNDERS is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 for litigation and controversytax, nonprofit/charities law, and tax law. He is with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, N.C. RICHARD R. SPORE III is the managing partner of Bass, Berry & Sims in Memphis, Tenn., where he concentrates his practice on commercial real estate and lending and business and transaction planning. He is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in banking and finance law, closely held companies and family business law, project finance law, and real estate law, and in Chambers USA in real estate law. He was profiled in the February 27th edition of the Memphis Business Journal, highlighting his involvement in Memphis redevelopment projects. V. RANDALL TINSLEY is listed
DAYNA BOWEN MATTHEW is living in Washington, D.C., spending a two-year leave from her faculty position at the University of Colorado Law School to serve in the federal government. During 2015 Dayna worked as a senior advisor to the Office of Civil Rights for the Environmental Protection Agency. As of September she is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Medicine.
in Chambers USA 2015 in environmental law and Best Lawyers 2015 in environmental law and environmental litigation. He was recognized as Best Lawyers’ Greensboro lawyer of the year in litigation-environmental law for 2015. He is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in environmental law and litigation-environmental. He is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, where he focuses his practice on environmental and natural resources law and water rights.
1988
WILLIAM E. BERLIN joined Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman in Washington, D.C., as a shareholder. He focuses his practice on counseling and defending hospitals, health systems, physicians, and other health care providers in federal and state antitrust enforcement agency investigations, as well as litigation involving mergers and acquisitions. He is listed in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers 2015 in antitrust litigation and health care law. Since 2013 he has served as a monitoring trustee in a multi-billion dollar divestiture for the Department of Justice. He was previously in private practice and served as a senior trial attorney for the Department of Justice antitrust division.
JOHN COOPER has been appointed as a governorat-large to the board of governors of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. This summer, at the
CLASS NOTES …
At the Forefront of Legal Reform From the time he first thought about a career, BERT BRANDENBURG ’88 remembers focusing on public service. “At Law School I realized that I loved the intersection of law, politics, and policy,” he says, “and I’ve never looked back.” His first-year summer at a legal aid office showed him how law could be a bridge for people seeking opportunities to improve their lives. He has built on that early experience ever since. This summer Brandenburg became president of Appleseed, a nonprofit network of pro bono resources across the country that works to pass reforms and litigate cases to remove barriers to opportunity. Appleseed sponsors research and advocacy to improve education, decrease poverty, support vulnerable youth, and promote health and safety. Its 17 public interest justice centers in the United States and Mexico are led by experienced advocates who are well respected in local policy and legal matters. They know how to get things done. Brandenburg has traveled an interesting path to his current position. In the 1990s, not long after graduating from law school, he ran the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs and served as chief spokesman for Attorney General Janet Reno. “Any job where you translate the law makes you think about how well it actually serves justice,” he says. “Speaking for the Justice Department makes you acutely aware of just how powerful the law can be, as well as the challenges of doing justice in a large, sprawling society.” Following his years at Justice, Brandenburg served for a decade as executive director of Justice at Stake, a non-partisan campaign of more than 50 organizations working to keep courts fair and impartial. Justice at Stake strives to educate the public and supports reforms that keep politics and special interests out of courtrooms. Looking back, Brandenburg credits the Law School’s openness to course selection with helping him find his niche. “The Law School let me broaden my course choices, including classes outside the program, to better explore policy issues. One favorite was a seminar called Government, Politics, and the Law taught by D.C. super lawyers Weldon Latham and Jim Dyke. It used current case studies to explore how law and politics really work, and I was hooked.” --REBECCA BARNS
American Association for Justice convention in Montreal, he was re-elected chair of a working group that assists injured railroad workers. Cooper is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers 2015 in personal injury law and is a founding partner with Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers in Norfolk.
R. CRAIG JONES reports that he enjoys helping independent schools recruit and hire teachers and school leaders in his position with Southern Teachers Agency in Charlottesville. The agency, founded in 1902, is the oldest independent school placement service in the U.S., and the only one that focuses on private and independent school placements in the South.
The Hon. ERIC C. TAYLOR of the Los Angeles County Superior Court has been elected president of the California Judges Association by the organization’s executive board. He will serve a one-year term. This will be his second term as president, having been elected the first time in 2003.
1989 PAT BROOKS celebrated her 20th anniversary as in-house counsel with Towers Watson in Philadelphia, Pa., in April. She currently handles insurance regulation for TW’s multiple entities worldwide and writes that she has frequent early morning calls—as early as 5 a.m.—with businesses in Asia Pacific. “My son, Steve, his wife, Kim, and two granddogs are doing great.”
STEVEN FOGG has been inducted as a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and is listed among the top 100 lawyers for 2015 in Washington Super Lawyers. Fogg is a partner with Corr Cronin Michelson Baumgardner Fogg & Moore in Seattle.
DOUGLAS F. GANSLER, former attorney general of Maryland and president of the National Association of Attorneys General, is now a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of BuckleySandler. His practice focuses on advising businesses and individuals on federal and state investigations and enforcement actions and litigation matters involving state attorneys general, the Department of Justice, and other state and federal enforcement and regulatory agencies.
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ARTHUR V. LAMBERT joined Fisher & Phillips as partner in Dallas, where he focuses his practice on employment law. He was previously a partner with Constangy, Brooks & Smith. Lambert is listed in Texas Super Lawyers 2015 and Chambers USA 2015 in labor and employment law. STEPHEN H. PRICE, a partner in Burr & Forman’s labor and employment practice, has been named managing partner in the Nashville, Tenn., office, where he will oversee plans for continued expansion.
served as senior VP and senior counsel specializing in corporate governance, proxy voting, contract negotiation, and regulatory analysis. She also served on the board of governors and as chair of the legal and regulatory committee of the Investment Adviser Association, an industry trade group. She writes that after 24 years in the legal field she is taking time off to spend a year or two with her children before they leave for college. In the meantime, she is investigating encore career ideas, including corporate and nonprofit board opportunities. She feels very blessed to have the luxury of some time off to spend with family, including a recent visit to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.
ZANE DAVID MEMEGER
1991 AUDREY TRUNDLE BAUHAN left her part-time position with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in 2014 to return to the full-time practice of law with the legal department at Dominion Resources in Richmond, Va., where she is senior counsel with the corporate finance, securities and mergers and acquisitions group. She lives near Richmond with her husband and two middle school-aged daughters.
CHERYL HESSE retired after 20 years at Capital Research & Management Company, where she
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continues to serve as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and as a member of the attorney general’s advisory committee. For his work on issues related to criminal justice reform, Zane recently received the 2015 Civil Rights Champions Award from the NAACP at its annual convention, which was held this summer in Philadelphia.
WILLIAM SHUTKIN is president and CEO and Richard M. Gray Fellow in Sustainability Practice at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco, Calif. Presidio has placed sustainability
DOUG KENDALL ’92, progressive litigator, author, activist, nonprofit entrepreneur named a “Visionary” by the National Law Journal in 2011—and founding president of Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) since June 2008, passed away in September from complications of colon cancer. He was 51. Following law school Kendall was an associate with Crowell & Moring in Washington, D.C., for several years before leaving to do public interest work at the National Environmental Trust. He left to establish the Community Rights Counsel, a law firm that defended environmental legislation. In 2008 he founded the CAC in response to the fact that conservative voices were dominating debates over the meaning of the text of the Constitution. Through original scholarship and tireless advocacy, he built a foundation for the argument that “the Constitution is, in the most vital respects, a progressive document.”Under his guidance the CAC developed a litigation strategy that involved the organization in numerous cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Kendall played an important role in the defense of the Affordable Care Act through his briefs and through his coordination of the work of others. The CAC put together a tribute to Kendall at bit.ly/dougkendall, with links to obituaries in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more.
directors at Facebook and other major companies; its graduates have founded sustainability-focused companies as well. The school was featured in an April 7th New York Times article, “M.B.A. Programs That Get You Where You Want to Go.” Presidio was recognized as the school to go to “if you want to change the world.”
1992 MATTHEW J. CHOLEWA joined the Hartford-based law firm of Hunt Leibert Jacobson as a partner in its title practice group. His practice concentrates on expert witness work in title and real estate-related litigation; title insurance claims; and title-related litigation, including
quiet title, boundary line disputes, and adverse possession actions; and residential and commercial real estate transactions. He previously had an accomplished career in private practice as underwriting and claims counsel in the title insurance industry. Cholewa was recently elected as chair of the Connecticut Bar Association’s real property section for 2015–16 and is an elected member of the CBA’s House of Delegates, its governing body.
DWIGHT M. FRANCIS is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in commercial litigation. He is a partner with Gardere Wynne Sewell in Dallas, Tex.
VYTAS A. PETRULIS is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in real
estate law. He is a partner with Jackson Walker in Houston, Tex.
THEODORE W. SMALL delivered opening remarks for the American Bar Association’s International Summit on the Legal Needs of Street Youth held in London in June. Small, who is chair of the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty, participated virtually from his home in Deland, Fla., and shared insights from the summit with colleagues and the Law School. The summit was held at Baker & McKenzie’s London office and satellite offices around the world and drew more than 160 experts from 36 countries to plan a global initiative that will provide greater protection
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and services for homeless youth worldwide. Small is in private practice in Deland, where he focuses on business and employment law, contracts, and litigation.
SUSAN EBERLE STAHLFELD is listed among the top 50 women in Washington Super Lawyers 2015 and Best Lawyers 2015 in employment law-management and litigation-labor and employment. She is a partner with Miller Nash Graham & Dunn in Seattle, where she leads the employment law and labor relations practice group.
RHONDA M. TAYLOR is executive vice president and general counsel of the Dollar General Corporation. She has
been in-house with Dollar General since 2000. Taylor serves on the board of directors for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and lives in Nashville with her husband, Kevin Forbes, and their two children, Maddie (16) and Jack (11).
1993
RICHARD GROSS, Brigadier General, U.S. Army, is transitioning from the military this fall after over 30 years of service. For the past several years, Rich has served as principal counsel
to a number of senior military leaders, including serving as chief legal advisor for all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, chief legal advisor for U.S. Central Command, and for the past four years legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Upon his retirement from the military, Rich plans to continue working in national security and international law. Rich and his wife, Vickie, recently celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary and plan to stay in the D.C./Northern Virginia area. Two of their sons, Benjie (21) and Joshua (19), are UVA undergrads; their other son, Nathaniel (19), attends James Madison University.
LOUIS W. UTSCH has joined Crowe & Dunlevy as a director in the taxation practice group in Oklahoma City, Okla., where he focuses his practice on energy tax law and tax consulting.
Foundation. He is listed as a litigation star in Benchmark Litigation 2015, in Best Lawyers 2015 in commercial litigation and litigation-environmental law, and in Chambers USA 2015 in litigation: general commercial. Manuel is a partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Jackson, Miss., where he focuses his practice on commercial and employment litigation.
ROB TYLER has returned to
1994 ZEBULON D. ANDERSON is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in litigation-labor and employment. He is a partner with Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C.
AMELIA A. FOGLEMAN is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in appellate practice, commercial litigation, and litigation-antitrust. She is a shareholder with GableGotwals in Tulsa, Okla. PATRICK J. JOHNSON is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in corporate law and mergers & acquisitions law. He is with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Raleigh, N.C.
the University of Virginia as associate university counsel. He continues to practice intellectual property law and walks around Grounds asking, “Where did that building come from?”
1995 NORMAN S. FLETCHER LL.M. received the Golden Promise Award from the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta in May. He is of counsel with Brinson, Askew, Berry, Seigler, Richardson & Davis in Rome, Ga., where he focuses his practice on litigation, education, mediation/arbitration, and municipality/local government. He served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia from 2001–05.
RICK MITCHELL and Megan
MICHAEL C. WU ’92, fourth from the left, senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Carter’s Inc., and members of the Carter’s leadership team rang the NYSE Closing Bell on May 27 to celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary.
J. WILLIAM MANUEL is a fellow of the American Bar
Poitevint Mitchell ’11 were married on November 22, 2014, in Watercolor, Fla. A number of UVA Law
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alumni attended. Rick and Megan both practice business litigation at Arnall Golden Gregory in Atlanta.
MICHAEL S. NACHMANOFF was selected as a U.S. magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Virginia. The American Bar Association conferred its John Marshall Award upon RANDALL SHEPARD LL.M., the longest-serving chief justice of the Supreme Court of Indiana. Shepard, now retired and serving as a senior judge for the Court of Appeals for Indiana, served for 25 years as chief justice. That service was highlighted by his being the force behind rules of resolution that help citizens avoid litigation, instructions that allow jurors to be more involved in the judicial process, the expansion of translation services in trial courts, a scholarship program for minority law students and a statewide pro bono model. Among Shepard’s numerous honors and activities are his serving as chair of the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, receiving the Dwight D. Opperman Award for Judicial Excellence, being elected president of the Conference of Chief Justices, and chairing the ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education. After non-legal public service positions and service as a local and county judge, Shepard was named
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Indiana’s 99th Supreme Court justice in 1985. He became chief justice two years later. The ABA established the John Marshall Award in 2001 to recognize individuals who have made a positive national impact on the justice system. Past recipients include Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the late former U.S. Sen. Howell Heflin of Alabama and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. The award is named for the fourth chief justice of the United States, who served for 34 years and is credited with establishing the independence of the judiciary and enhancing its moral authority.
The Hon. KARLA N. SMITH was appointed associate judge for the circuit court of Montgomery County, Md., in December 2014 by Governor Martin O’Malley. She served on the District Court of Maryland from August 2012 until her appointment. She represents the Circuit Court on the Montgomery County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, and is chair of the council. Smith was a prosecutor for more than 15 years and tried hundreds of cases in
the district and circuit courts of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, involving serious crimes. Smith was awarded the National Education Association’s Mary Hatwood Futrell Award for 2015 for her involvement in women’s rights that have impacted education and the achievement of equal opportunities for women and girls.
1996
BRAD BARLOW ’96 married Heather Henderson in Destin, Fla., on May 10. They met in Northern Virginia and currently live in Charlottesville. Heather is from Tuscaloosa, Ala., attended the University of Alabama, and worked as an accountant for several years in D.C.
JOHN E. DAVIDSON is in private practice with Davidson & Kitzmann in Charlottesville, along with John Kitzmann ’96, Rob Bell ’95, and Kim Mattingly ’04. He focuses his practice on employment law, white-collar defense, and complex trial and appellate litigation. Davidson is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers for 2015 in employment and labor, general litigation, and appellate law. He has been an adjunct faculty member at the Law School for 16 years, teaching employment law and trial advocacy. Davidson won the 2012 and 2010 short story contests held to coincide with the Virginia Festival of the Book, judged solely by best-selling author John Grisham. He has published his debut novel, Virginia Dawning, a thriller set in a fictional Blue Ridge town in western Virginia (see In Print). “This is not about lawyers,” Davidson says. “Well, ok, there is one lawyer in it, and a judge.
But that’s all!” He and his wife live in Western Albemarle County with their three children.
ARNOLD EVANS has been named SunTrust division president for Central Florida. He previously served as regional president of the Jacksonville market and has been with SunTrust since 2005.
PAUL A. GARRAHAN has been appointed attorneyin-charge of the natural resources section at the Oregon Department of Justice. BENJAMIN T. KING has been elected president of the New Hampshire Association for Justice for 2015–16. King, who practices with Douglas, Leonard & Garvey in Concord, has been listed since 2014 in Super Lawyers for representing employees in employment discrimination cases.
MARK A. KNUEVE is listed in Best Lawyers 2016 in employment law management-labor and employment litigation. He is a partner and member of the labor and employment practice group with Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease in Columbus, Ohio.
JAMIE BASKERVILLE MARTIN is president of McCandlish Holton in Richmond and chairs the firm’s corporate and health care sections. She represents hospitals, physician groups, and others in the health care industry in transactional and regulatory matters. Jamie and Alton ’92 live in Goochland County (between Richmond and Charlottesville) with their three children.
ROB MASRI hosted a reception for Scott Surovell, who is currently a member of Virginia’s House of Delegates and who was running for the Virginia Senate. The
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reception was held on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall at Rob’s firm, Cardagin Networks, Inc., a mobile relationship management company. Scott and Rob were joined by Del. David Toscano ’86 and three other ’96 graduates—Don Long, Jonathan Wren, and Jamie Baskerville Martin.
ERIC MCCLAFFERTY has been named head of the Kelley Drye Warren international trade practice group. His wife, Bonnie, was just named head of the Washington, D.C., office of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. Their son, Ryan, is a second-year at UVA Law, and their son, Brendan, recently graduated from Wake Forest and works at the university’s hospital in Winston-Salem.
companies on employment and workers’ compensation matters, and the defense of tort claims. After serving six years in the Virginia House of Delegates, SCOTT SUROVELL was elected to represent the 36th District in the Senate of Virginia. Scott continues to live in Mt. Vernon with his wife, Erinn Madden, and their four children, Eva, Leia, Mara, and Colin. Surovell still practices law with Surovell Isaacs Petersen & Levy PLC, where he focuses on civil and criminal litigation including personal injury, family law, criminal, and consumer litigation.
1997
ERIC S. EASLEY, his wife, Hilal, and their twoyear-old daughter, Berin, moved to Bucharest, Romania, in September for a diplomatic assignment to the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest. “As hard-working American taxpayers supporting our diplomats abroad,” Eric and his family expect a visit “any time from UVA lawyers with an inkling to visit Romania,” he writes. “We look forward to hosting you. And this is serious. We mean it!”
WALLACE C. “CHUCK” HOLLOWELL III has been named general counsel for Cardinal Innovations Healthcare in Kannapolis, N.C. He previously served as deputy general counsel.
ANDREW BROWN was DILIP PALIATH has been appointed by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to the Baltimore County Judicial Nominating Commission, which is tasked with making judicial appointment recommendations to the governor for the district and circuit courts of Baltimore County. His term will end in 2019. Paliath has been selected as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in Maryland by the National Trial Lawyers Association.
elected chairman of the management committee of Levine, Blaszak, Block & Boothby (“LB3”) in Washington, D.C., where he represents large corporate clients in their strategic sourcing of global telecommunications and IT services and in regulatory matters affecting corporate customers of information technologies. Brown also serves on the board of directors of LB3’s consulting firm, TechCaliber Consulting (“TC2”).
IAN ROSENTHAL co-founded Rosenthal Parks in Mobile, Ala., which has a general litigation practice with a particular focus on commercial litigation, providing guidance to
YOST CONNER married Sam Taylor on January 2 in Washington, D.C. They live in Arlington, Va.
MARK R.A. HORN has been elected president of the Charlotte, N.C. Estate Planning Council. He has served on the board since 2011 and was elected vice president in 2014. He is a member with Moore & Van Allen, where he is a North Carolina State Bar certified specialist in estate planning and probate law and a frequent speaker on tax and estate planning topics. He is listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers 2015 in estate planning and probate law.
YUJI IWASAWA S.J.D. was elected as an associate of the Institut de Droit International, a prestigious academic society of international law, at its Tallinn session in August. Iwasawa is on the law faculty at the University of Tokyo. NEIL RICHARDS is a national trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation and was appointed as an affiliate scholar of the information law centers at Yale and Stanford. He teaches privacy, free speech, and constitutional law at Washington University Law School. He published his first book, Intellectual Privacy, with Oxford University Press (see In Print) this year.
JUSTIN A. SAVAGE joined Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C., as a partner in the litigation group. He previously served nearly a decade in the environment and natural resources division at the U.S. Department of Justice. His practice focuses on complex litigation and investigations concerning environmental and safety matters. “I’m happy to be in a firm with so many alumni,” he writes. JASON M. SNEED was named Charlotte trademark lawyer of the year in Best Lawyers 2016. He founded the trademark, trade dress, and copyright boutique firm SNEED PLLC in 2011. This year the firm hired its fifth and sixth lawyers, including Neal Hayes ’10, who practices in Davidson,
N.C. SNEED PLLC also has an office in Sullivan’s Island, S.C.
LORI D. THOMPSON is a shareholder and office leader with LeClairRyan in Roanoke, Va. She was named Roanoke lawyer of the year in bankruptcy litigation in Best Lawyers 2015. She concluded her term as president of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit organization that represents the interests of low-income Virginians and provides statewide training to legal aid program staff on poverty law issues, and has been appointed by the chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court to the pro bono committee of the Virginia Access to Justice Commission. She has also been elected to serve on the Virginia Bar Association’s board of governors. She lives in Roanoke with her husband, Mark, and their two children.
1998 ADRIENNE PRUDEN ASHBY is in her fourth year of homeschooling her children. In addition, she works as a staff attorney for the Georgia Senior Legal Hotline of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society.
WILLIAM R. BORCHERS was included in the S.A. Scene best San Antonio lawyers list for 2015 in intellectual property and information technology. He is a partner with Jackson Walker.
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CHRISTOPHER D. BREARTON was recognized on The Hollywood Reporter’s 2015 power lawyer list. He is a partner in Latham & Watkins’ entertainment, sports, and media practice and the deputy office managing partner in Century City, Los Angeles, Calif.
J. LANE CROWDER joined Baker Donelson and is of counsel in the financial services transaction group in Chattanooga, Tenn., where she represents banks and other financial institutions in HUD-insured loan transactions for multifamily and senior housing facilities. She previously served as law clerk to the Hon. R. Allan Edgar, U.S. District Court, and the Hon. Shelley D. Rucker, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, both in the Eastern District of Tennessee.
1999
2000
After 16 years with the same firm, ALEXANDER M. BROWN has been elevated to member with Dickinson Wright in Columbus, Ohio. Alex is in the corporate group, where he focuses on advising privately held software and technology companies from start to finish. He writes that his golf game is deteriorating because he no longer gets to play Birdwood every day.
CHRIS CONVERSE is included in D Magazine’s list of best lawyers in Dallas in 2015 in the area of corporate law: general and in Best Lawyers 2016 in corporate law. He is a partner with Gardere Wynne Sewell, where he chairs the securities and corporate governance team and is a member of the private equity industry team.
STEPHANIE L. CHANDLER was included in the S.A. Scene Best San Antonio Lawyers list for 2015 in mergers & acquisitions, and securities & corporate finance. She is a partner with Jackson Walker, where she leads the technology section.
E. PERRY HICKS has joined Hunton & Williams as partner in the lending services practice in Charlotte, N.C. He was previously a partner with Mayer Brown. KRISTINE DUNNE MAHER
The Law School is well represented in McCandlish Holton’s health care practice. From left, Jamie Baskerville Martin ’96, Dominic Madigan ’98, Jeremy Ball ’99, Maggie Krantz ’04, Tom McCandlish ’76, and Jennifer Long Ligon ’10 all practice health care law at the firm.
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is the chair of this year’s Red Mass Committee in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the John Carroll Society, the Red Mass is held each year on the Sunday before the first Monday in October to coincide with the new Supreme Court term. Judges, lawyers, diplomats, government officials, and people of all faiths attend the Mass to invoke God’s blessing and guidance on the administration of justice. This year the Red Mass was celebrated on October 4 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. The
John Carroll Society’s chaplain is Rev. Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi ’74.
PHIL NEISWENDER was named president of the Center for Board Excellence (CBE), the leading provider of compliance and governance solutions. He will also remain a member of CBE’s board of directors, which he joined in 2013. Prior to CBE, Neiswender held roles as chief legal officer and executive vice president for operations & corporate development at UIEvolution; chief operating officer at Garagiste; and general counsel, vice president of legal at BSQUARE Corporation. He also held both legal and business roles at Getty Images and practiced at Graham & James, and Riddell Williams, in Seattle. Neiswender also currently advises several early-stage startups and is on the board of Vinzar. Founded in 2010 by attorneys and technologists, the Center for Board Excellence has built an innovative governance platform for board assessment, directors’ and officers’ questionnaires and other compliance processes.
DAN PASQUARELLO and Scott Fink ’02 partnered to form Pasquarello Fink LLC. The litigation boutique, which is located in Boston’s financial district, focuses on business disputes, employment matters, and real estate and land use litigation. The firm also advises clients on a host of business issues and acts as outside general counsel for privately held companies.
MICHELLE COLLEEN ROBERTS died on August 13. She was senior counsel in the division of investment management at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
2001 TILLMAN J. BRECKENRIDGE joined Bailey & Glasser as a partner in Washington, D.C., where he concentrates his practice on appellate litigation. He is listed in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers and is on Virginia Business magazine’s legal elite list for appellate practice.
ADAM M. GERSHOWITZ is associate dean for research and faculty development at the William & Mary Law School. He has been on the faculty since 2012 and is a nationally known scholar of criminal law and criminal procedure. Gershowitz is the Herbert V. Kelly, Sr., Professor of Teaching Excellence for 2014–16. In May he received the Walter L.
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Williams, Jr. Memorial Teaching Award, given by the class of 2015.
As a federal prosecutor, Andrew led some of the nation’s largest and most complex international fraud and cybercrime investigations and prosecutions of corporate executives, businesses, and others. He was elected to the American Law Institute in April, where he will contribute to new projects on corporate compliance and police investigations among other projects. He was featured in ALI’s summer newsletter, The ALI Reporter, in a Q&A. The following excerpt is from that interview.
LATHROP B. NELSON III has been elected to the board of directors of the Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan government watchdog group that works to promote clean and effective government, fair elections, and informed citizens. He is a partner in the litigation department at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads in Philadelphia, Pa., where he focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, white-collar crime, and government investigations.
USHA R. RODRIGUES has been appointed associate dean for faculty development at the University of Georgia School of Law. Rodrigues joined the school’s faculty in the fall of 2005 and was named the holder of the M.E. Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law in 2014. Currently, she leads courses in contracts and business ethics, and business associations.
ANDREW S. BOUTROS ’01, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago, serving mostly in the financial crimes and special prosecution section, departed the U.S. Attorney’s Office in October after nearly eight years of decorated federal service. Andrew has joined Seyfarth Shaw as a litigation partner and national co-chair of its white collar group, where he will have offices in Chicago and D.C. Before his departure, Andrew was selected in 2015 as the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) national prosecutor of the year. One year earlier, the American Bar Association awarded Andrew the criminal justice section’s Norm Maleng Minister of Justice Award, which is presented to one federal, state, or local
prosecutor in the country a year for exemplifying the principle that the “duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict.” The FLEOA National Prosecutorial Award is presented to the nation’s federal prosecutor who, working with federal law enforcement officers, “secured the conviction of a notorious criminal in the face of formidable obstacles through untiring effort.” The honor stems from Andrew’s extensive work in helping take down the Darknet website “Silk Road” and his successful investigation, prosecution, and conviction of the world’s largest drug trafficker on the site. Silk Road has been described as the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace of its kind on the Internet.
Think back to your days as a student at the University of Virginia School of Law. Who was your favorite professor and why? “UVA Law is chock-full of dynamic professors, who are as caring as they are accomplished. That said, I really enjoyed learning from Professor Jeffrey O’Connell, who until he passed away in 2013, was one of the leading lights of the insurance and tort bars. Having created the theoretical underpinnings for no-fault insurance, Professor O’Connell was able to import the challenges of the real world into the classroom, where we discussed both problems and solutions. In doing so, he offered wonderfully practical insights, while simultaneously maintaining a demanding academic setting. I not only took Professor O’Connell’s advanced torts course, but I later became his research assistant. And, together, we authored a comprehensive article on certain aspects of tort reform that was published by the Notre Dame Law Review—an experience that was both rigorous and educational. All these years later, I am very grateful for the time and energy Professor O’Connell invested in me. I believe I am a better lawyer for having studied under his care.”
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MICHAEL J. SCHWARTZ has been elected partner in the corporate finance group with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York City. He represents U.S. and international issuers, private equity sponsors, REITs, and underwriters in a wide variety of public and private finance transactions.
DAVID STUCKEY is cofounder and executive editor of CEE Legal Matters magazine, the leading publication for and about lawyers across Europe’s emerging markets. He was one of the hosts and organizers of the 2015 General Counsel Summit, held in Budapest in September. The conference, attended by more than 100 senior in-house counsel from across Central and Eastern Europe, was the first of its kind for general counsel and heads of legal in the region.
JASON TRUJILLO and his wife, Lauren, welcomed a son into the world in June. Dominic Augustine joins his big sister, Maria (7). Tom Valente is godfather to both children. Jason continues to serve as the Law School Foundation’s
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chief development officer and resides in Charlottesville.
Dedicated to the Idea of Servant Leadership
2002 In January MARK CROOKS said farewell to 13 years of service as a state and federal prosecutor and joined Maryland’s new governor as deputy legal counsel. Mark now works in Annapolis in the Shaw House (built in 1720), from which he bustles back and forth to the State House and Government House to provide counsel to Governor Larry Hogan and his cabinet.
KENDALL DAY and DANIELLE BAUSSAN live in Washington, D.C., with their toddler, Gavin. In March Kendall was appointed chief of the asset forfeiture and money laundering section in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Danielle is the managing director of energy policy at the Center for American Progress.
SCOTT FINK and Dan Pasquarello ’00 partnered to form Pasquarello Fink LLC. The litigation boutique, located in Boston’s financial district, focuses on business disputes, employment matters, and real estate and land use litigation. The firm also advises clients on a host of business issues and acts as outside general counsel for privately held companies.
This spring HOWARD HOEGE ’02 launched his own consulting firm, 3H3 Leadership, with an ambitious goal—partner with businesses and communities to create a culture of servant leadership, a discipline he believes every leader should possess. “Servant leaders recognize they are part of something bigger than themselves, and they serve that larger purpose,” says Hoege. “For them, job one is empowering and developing people. In that sense, leaders serve those they lead.” Hoege’s own leadership experience is broad and deep. He graduated from West Point in 1994 as first captain of the Corps of Cadets, having gone through training as an Army Ranger, a grueling 72-day-long program he aced, in part, because he and three other soldiers made a pact to support each other. Committing to someone else first, he says, helped each of them succeed. He was a platoon leader at Fort Hood, Tex., before leaving to attend Law School through an Army program. After passing the Virginia Bar he went to the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s School for the officer basic course. Following graduation he joined the 101st Airborne Division and deployed to Iraq during the initial invasion in 2003. By the time Hoege returned to the United States from his 11-month tour of duty, his experience in war had sharpened his interest and ideas regarding public policy and the need for better leadership. “I believe to my core,” he said, “that even though we are more connected than ever before through social media and the like, we are actually increasingly disengaged from one another.” He’s committed to finding ways to inspire and support the instincts in people that value and respect others, including those who are different from them. “To do that you have to stop, connect, and be present and vulnerable.” Servant leadership, Hoege explains, is an effective way to build a culture in an organization that supports ownership of core values and a common mission so members work as an effective team. He works with organizations to create project-based opportunities for rising leaders to practice their skills, and provides coaching to ensure that the organization supports the newly learned leadership skills. Hoege’s clients include the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, The Virginian-Pilot, and the Jefferson Scholars Foundation at UVA, for which he’s designed a year-long leadership development program for second-year scholars. He is also a lecturer at the Batten School where, until recently, he was a full-time dean. —REBECCA BARNS
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RYAN MALONE joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia as an assistant U.S. attorney handling criminal cases. He was previously a member with Ropes & Gray in the government enforcement and appellant and Supreme Court practices. BERND J. HARTMANN LL.M. is dean of the University of Osnabrueck School of Law. With an enrollment of about 1,500 students, the school is internationally recognized, especially for its European legal studies.
DAN NELSON has worked as a white-collar assistant U.S. attorney in Kansas City for the past 11 years. Last year Nelson received the Lon O. Hocker Award, which is presented annually by state and federal judges to the top three Missouri trial attorneys under 40. Nelson married Katherine Baker on October 10. “I would love it if any Lawhoos passing through town would look me up for some outrageously good KC BBQ,” he writes.
clients based on a flat fee monthly retainer or per project billing, with no billing by the hour. Billy continues to focus on intellectual property law in the software, entertainment, manufacturing, health care, hospitality, and technology industries. Cameron Reeves Poynter is the author of the blog www.luckyorangepants.com, and her work has been published on various Web sites. Billy and Cameron live in Norfolk, Va., with their two children, Jack (8) and Will (6).
ANTONY SAYESS was elected chair of the tax section of the New Hampshire State Bar. He continues to serve as chair of the board of trustees of New Hampshire Audubon.
AFI JOHNSON-PARRIS is president of the Greensboro Bar Association for the 2015–16 term. She also presides over the GBA Foundation and the 18th Judicial District Bar, which covers all lawyers in Guilford County as an entity of the North Carolina State Bar. Johnson-Parris is with Ward Black Law in Greensboro, where she practices family law and veterans’ disability law. Johnson-Parris was editor and contributing author for the ABA book Marketing Success: How Did She Do That? Women Lawyers Show You How to Move Beyond Tips to Implementation (see In Print).
ELENA PARENT is serving her
JENNIFER KAUFMAN STILLMAN
first term in the Georgia State Senate, representing a DeKalb County-based district. She previously served in the Georgia House of Representatives in 2011 and 2012. Elena and her husband, Briley Brisendine, and their sons, Brooks (5) and Reid (2), live in Atlanta.
lives in Ridgewood, N.J., with her husband and their two children, Jackson (8) and Charlotte (6). After 12 years working as a trusts and estates associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, she has joined Noble Black ’01 at Douglas Elliman in New York, working as an associate real estate broker in Manhattan.
BILLY POYNTER recently left his partnership at Williams Mullen to join Kaleo Legal with two colleagues, Tina Payne Bingham ’00 and Brian Wainger (College ’91). The firm provides both legal and business consulting services to startups, mid-size growth companies, and Fortune 500
JENNIFER SWIZE was married September 19 to David Montes, a graduate of Stanford Law School. The wedding took place in Washington, D.C., where Jennifer and David reside. They honeymooned in Sicily. Jennifer is a partner in the issues and appeals
practice of Jones Day, and David is chief of staff for U.S. Congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona.
2003 SHERYL KOVAL GARKO has
BECKY BROWN has been an attorney with the Department of Homeland Security since graduation, and for the past eight years has advised Homeland Security investigations special agents on their criminal investigations and policy matters. This fall, Becky was selected to serve as the acting principal director for law enforcement policy for the Department of Homeland Security. In her free time, Becky is usually out and about in Washington, D.C. with her dog, Tazewell, or working on a food-related project. Becky’s cooking blog, My Utensil Crock (www. myutensilcrock.com), has turned into more of a venture than planned; this summer, Becky’s blog led to her first series of cooking classes, designed for the practical professional. The classes were taught at Prequel, a new crowdfunded restaurant pop-up incubator in the heart of downtown D.C.
been named a 2015 top women of law honoree by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and joins an elite group of women who are educators, trailblazers, pioneers, and role models. Garko is a principal with Fish & Richardson in Boston, where she focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation with emphasis on patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and false advertising litigation.
ADAM GREEN is co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (BoldProgressives.org), a national electoral and issue advocacy organization with nearly one million members. This year the PCCC successfully helped move issues like debt-free college, expanding Social Security, and Wall Street reform and criminal accountability to the center of the 2016 presidential conversation.
2004 JEFF BARNES has joined Fisher & Phillips as a partner in Houston, Tex., where he represents employers before state and federal courts and administrative agencies in a variety of labor and employment matters. He
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 71
CLASS NOTES …
has been listed as a rising star in Texas Super Lawyers every year since 2007.
ANN CABELL BASKERVILL writes that she’s honored to serve as commonwealth’s attorney for Dinwiddie County in Virginia. Baskervill has held the position since 2014.
CHRIS RICHARDSON was recognized in Legal500’s GC Powerlist for the Middle East. He serves as the general counsel of Mubadala Petroleum, an international oil and gas company based in Abu Dhabi. Chris, Andi (Nursing ’04), Campbell (9), and William (4) would welcome a visit by any UVA alumni who happen to be passing through the UAE.
EDMUND S. SAUER has been elected chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s appellate practice section for a oneyear term. In conjunction with his leadership role, he presented at the section’s Tennessee Supreme Court Academy CLE on oral argument in October. Sauer is a partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Nashville, concentrating his practice on handling appeals and drafting trial and post-trial motions on a wide range of legal issues.
72 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
2005 CAROLINE GREENE has left the law to launch a coaching business to help well-educated moms find work that matters. Her new book, Matter: How to Find Meaningful Work That’s Right for You and Your Family, was released this fall (see In Print). More information is available at www.carolinegreenecoaching.com.
2006 JENNIFER ATTREP was appointed by the governor, after being recommended by a bipartisan nominating commission, to serve as district court judge in the First Judicial District Court, State of New Mexico. She has a general jurisdiction docket that covers three counties in Northern New Mexico and is running in the 2016 election to retain her seat as judge. See www.keepjudgeattrep.com.
CHAD BELL joined Korein Tillery in Chicago, Ill., where his practice focuses on plaintiffs’ securities, antitrust, and complex civil litigation, including current work on behalf of the National Credit Union Administration against major banks in connection with the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. He and his wife, Susan, live in Chicago, where Susan works as an executive assistant to architect Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects. In September 2014 they
private markets, public company reporting obligations, and general business matters.
welcomed their first son, Ethan Anderson Bell.
ANDREA C. DVORAK, a professional cyclist, participated in the 2015 UCI World Cycling Championships in Richmond, Va., in September. The nine-day event, which is often referred to as the Super Bowl of cycling, features 12 championship races in three different disciplines: a traditional road race, individual time trial, and team time trial. More than 1,000 athletes compete. Andrea’s passion for the sport took off during Law School.
TIFFANY M. GRAVES, executive director of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, was selected as a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Graves is an adjunct professor with the Pro Bono Initiative of the University of Mississippi School of Law.
MATTHEW H. MEYERS was
STEPHEN NG lives in Dunn Loring, Va., with his wife and two daughters. Last December he left Baker Botts after six years to join the office of the general counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where he works in the legal policy group. Stephen is a songwriter, singer, and guitarist for The Restless, which recently released its first EP (therestless.net).
elected partner with Drinker Biddle & Reath in Philadelphia, Pa. He represents both public and private companies in a variety of corporate and securities matters, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, joint ventures, corporate governance, capital-raising transactions in public and
DAVID REED and his wife, Sara, welcomed their first child, Anne Moseley Reed, in February. The Reeds live in Atlanta, Ga., where David is a patent attorney with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. David, Sara, and Annie will visit family in northern Tuscany this fall on Annie’s first overseas trip.
TREVOR MCFADDEN was elected to the partnership of Baker & McKenzie in Washington, D.C., where he is a white-collar litigator. He and his wife, Kelly (Lynch) McFadden ’08, live in Northern Virginia and have two children, Katie (3) and Will (1).
In July, 2006 SECTION B MEMBERS (from left) John Mark Goodman, Jim Pinna, Rhett Kier, and Jason Brege hiked, camped, and fished the Gunnison River in Colorado for their seventh annual fishing trip. “A good time was had by all.”
CLASS NOTES …
MARTIN TOTARO left the partnership of litigation boutique MoloLamken to join the Securities and Exchange Commission’s appellate litigation group.
welcomed baby boy Holden W. Grau on September 15, 2014. Stephanie is a full-time mom and part-time attorney practicing in the field of estate planning.
2007
CHRISTOPHER JACKSON
In July JASON BEATON accepted an appointment as an assistant United States attorney in Gainesville, Fla., after having served in the same capacity in Tallahassee.
has joined the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., as a trial attorney in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. He prosecutes white-collar crime and other federal criminal offenses.
VANESSA KOLBE EISENMANN lives in Milwaukee, Wisc., with her husband, Erik, who is a shareholder at Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, and their two daughters, Cora (4) and Elsa (1). After five years as a federal law clerk, Vanessa has returned to private practice at Biskupic & Jacobs. She concentrates her practice mainly on complex civil litigation and appellate work, including criminal appeals in the Seventh Circuit.
KALEB FROEHLICH has joined the government relations firm Cassidy & Associates, where he focuses on energy, natural resources, and arctic-related policy issues. He previously worked for the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Annie ’06, and their two sons, Graham and Elias. STEPHANIE ULLMAN GRAU, together with her husband, Eric and their daughter, Willow, proudly
JOSH KAPLOWITZ joined the U.S. Department of Interior in April as an attorneyadvisor in the solicitor office’s division of mineral resources. He advises the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management regarding its offshore renewable energy (wind, marine hydrokinetic) program. Kaplowitz lives in Arlington, Va., with his wife, Andrea, who recently started her own landscaping business, and their three children. In January JOHN F. LASALLE was promoted to partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner, where he also serves as the firm’s deputy general counsel. John and his wife, Emera, live in New York City with their two children, Eleanora (4) and Raphael (1).
ALLIX MAGAZINER joined Clean Energy Collective (CEC) as corporate counsel in April. CEC develops community-owned renewable energy solutions for electric utilities and their customers. She lives in
Boulder, Colo., with her husband, Nate Hunt, and son, Townes.
ALEX PATTERSON left Tough Mudder, where he held positions of in-house counsel, chief marketing officer, and VP of brand, to create a new company in the adventure activities space, called Task Force Zero (www.taskforce-zero. com), headquartered in Brooklyn, NYC. TFØ will “turn your weekend into a mission” with one-day and two-day adventure missions comprising activities such as white-water rafting, mixed–martial arts lessons, rock climbing, sky diving, stand-up paddle boarding, CrossFit classes, and more. Participants don’t know the itinerary until they are on the mission itself. “Good luck to everyone on life’s adventures,” Alex writes, “and please connect if you’re in NYC. E-mail me at alex.patterson@taskforcezero.com!” TAYLOR PHILLIPS became an assistant U.S. Attorney in Charlotte, N.C., in February. He joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office after seven years in the litigation and government investigations groups of Bass, Berry & Sims, where he was based in Nashville, Tenn. and Washington, D.C. Taylor and his wife, Meghan, are raising an 18-month-old daughter while trying to explore their relatively new city.
CONNIE CHILTON ’08 married CHARLIE LAPLANTE ’08 on May 9 in Palm Springs, Calif. Cate Dundon, Jeff Albertson, Hamp Nettles, and Tom Wood were in the wedding party and joined many other Law School classmates in attendance. The couple lives in Los Angeles, where Connie is an associate at Sidley Austin and Charlie is senior counsel for Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley.
acquisitions counsel in November 2014. He had previously been with Reed Smith in Chicago, Ill., where he focused his practice on mergers and acquisitions for Hub and other clients. Matt lives in Chicago with his wife, Carrie, and son, Jack.
BEN REEVES is a partner at Snell & Wilmer in Phoenix, Ariz., where he focuses his practice on creditor’s rights litigation, real estate litigation, and receivership law. This year he was appointed by Governor Doug Ducey to the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, a section of the Judicial Nominating Commission, which participates in the process of selecting appellate judges under Arizona’s merit selection system. Ben and his wife, Stacey, expect their fourth child early next year.
JACKIE GHARAPOUR WERNZ MATT PINKHAM joined Hub International Limited (Hub) as mergers and
education law. She and her husband, Matt, welcomed their second child, Cecily Zahra, in August 2014. Big brother Isaiah and the family are doing well.
2008 AMY FITZHENRY lives in Los Angeles, Calif., and is the North American legal counsel for the Movember Foundation, a global men’s health charity. Her first novel, Cold Feet, is out this fall with Berkley/Penguin Random House (see In Print). OM JAHAGIRDAR is associate general counsel at Freddie Mac in Tysons, Va., where he focuses on servicing transactions and credit risk transfers. WALTON H. WALKER III was sworn in as assistant district attorney for Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C. in August.
is a partner at Franczek Radelet in Chicago, Ill., where she practices
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 73
Class notes …
Streamlining Pro Bono Through Technology
2009 Patrick McCann joined
Michael Hollander ’08 is a staff attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, where he represents low-wage workers in a range of employment issues, including wageand-hour violations, ex-offender re-entry work, and unemployment compensation claims. Before entering law school, Hollander was a computer programmer for a software company. He’s now using those skills to modernize pro bono legal services for low-income clients. Hollander created an application called the Expungement Generator that converts an electronic version of a criminal record to an editable and ready-to-file expungement petition. The app cuts the petition drafting time by two-thirds. The Generator is used by Hollander’s office in Community Legal Services and by Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity, a legal services provider that Hollander co-founded. It’s also used by a wide variety of other organizations in the state, including the Philadelphia Barristers, the Montgomery County Public Defender, and legal aid offices. Since the Generator’s release in 2011, more than 10,000 petitions have been prepared and filed using it. “The code for the app is open source and available on GitHub,” says Hollander. “I have consulted with a number of programs around the country about modifying it for their purposes, and I would be happy to talk to anyone else.” He can be contacted at hollander@gmail.com. Hollander’s work was also key to a successful campaign to get Philadelphia courts to forgive older bail judgment debt—some of which was decades old. He met with opposition when he tried to get data from the court, so he developed his own tool to extract the data. Because of this melding of legal and technological work, a September feature in ABA Journal dubbed him a “legal rebel.” Community Legal Services supports Hollander’s inventiveness by giving him space and time to develop his ideas. With growing caseloads of low-income clients and a shortage of attorneys to serve them, he’s finding ways to streamline procedures and enable a hard-pressed system to do more with less.
Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry in Atlanta, Ga., as an associate in the tax practice.
2010
2011
Jessica Childress received the National Bar Association’s 40 Under 40 Nation’s Best Advocates Award at the National Bar Association’s annual convention in Los Angeles, Calif., in July. The award honors lawyers who exemplify a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership, and legal and community involvement. Childress is an associate with Proskauer in Washington, D.C., in the labor and employment group and represents employers in all aspects of employment litigation and counseling.
—Rebecca Barns
Matthew J. Yao is a partner at Woehrle Dahlberg Jones Yao, a general practice
74 UVA Lawyer / FALL 2015
firm with offices in Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Richmond, and Woodbridge, Va. Yao is in Fairfax, where he focuses primarily on juvenile and family law, immigration law, and elder law and estate planning. He is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers and Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers as a rising star for 2015.
Jeffrey R. Chang married Dr. Sarah E. West on September 6 at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York, Pa. The bride is the daughter of Neal S. West ’80. Stephen S. Cohen served as one of the groomsmen. Jeff Cottle moved to London in 2011 to run the compliance program for the world’s largest mining company. He is now a partner in the London office of Steptoe & Johnson. Cottle lives in Surrey with his wife, Lisa, and their four children. He spends about 25 percent of his time stateside working with U.S. clients.
Jacqui Jones joined the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark examining attorney in May. She lives and works in Alexandria, Va. In March she and five fellow classmates traveled to Iceland where they went ice caving, hiking on a glacier, and swimming in the Blue Lagoon. Benjamin C. Lee is a litigation associate in the
CLASS NOTES …
Krieger in Walnut Creek, Calif., where he focuses his practice on water quality, land use, and toxic tort matters. He was previously with Olson Hagel & Fishburn.
JOHNATHAN S. PERKINS is on
JAMES M. MCWEENEY II is an associate in the education law group with Walter| Haverfield in Cleveland, Ohio. He focuses his practice on school law, including First Amendment issues, labor and employment matters, contract disputes, public record compliance, and policy drafting.
the board of trustees of the Eastern Pennsylvania chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding research, finding cures, and getting access to treatments for blood cancer patients. Perkins is a Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor. He is an associate with Montgomery McCracken in Philadelphia, where he focuses his practice on commercial litigation and higher education.
MATTHEW REARDON lives with his wife, Genevieve Aguilar Reardon ’13 in
2011 CLASSMATES standing on the Svínafellsjökull Glacier in Iceland. Front row (from left): Erin Kelly and Jacqui Jones. Back row: Elizabeth Kade, Elizabeth Horner, Elizabeth Krabill McIntyre, and Sally Handmaker
the South End of Boston, Mass. Matt and Eve married in September 2014 in Gloucester, Mass. The ceremony was presided over by classmate Matthew Hanson and attended by many UVA Law alumni. Matt is an associate in Goodwin Procter’s technology
and life sciences group. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, investment transactions, securities law, and general corporate matters. Eve is an associate in Choate Hall & Stewart’s litigation department. Her practice focuses on complex trial and appellate litigation, labor and employment law, and government investigations.
2012 RENA KELLEY has joined Greenberg Traurig in West Palm Beach, Fla., where she focuses her practice on real estate. Rena and her husband, Charles, live in Boynton Beach. Their son, Walter, celebrated his first birthday in September.
MEGAN POITEVINT MITCHELL ’11 and Rick Mitchell ’95 were married on November 22, 2014, in Watercolor, Fla. A number of UVA Law alumni attended. Megan and Rick both practice business litigation at Arnall Golden Gregory in Atlanta, Ga.
BRIAN POLLEY joined Baker & McKenzie in Houston, Tex., in January 2014 and transferred to the firm’s London office in May 2015. His practice focuses
primarily on mergers and acquisitions/private equity transactions and global corporate reorganizations for large multinationals, especially those in the energy industry. He also assists on FCPA, CFIUS and cybersecurity/data breach investigations. Brian maintains connections to the national security community through his pro bono work for the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security. He currently lives in the Southwark neighborhood of London, but will return to Houston in 2016.
ZACH ROWEN is clerking for Judge Jerry Pappert in Philadelphia, Pa., in the district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was previously a litigation associate at Latham & Watkins in New York City.
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 75
CLASS NOTES …
2013
JULIA ABELEV has joined EarthShare Washington as a member of the nonprofit’s board of directors. ESW works with more than 70 environmental organizations, partnering with business and government agencies to encourage employees to give to environmentally focused programs at work through payroll giving programs and volunteering.
LAUREN BINGHAM and CHRISTOPHER HATFIELD were married at Veritas Vineyard & Winery in Afton, Va., on April 18. The Hon. Richard E. Moore ’80 presided over the ceremony, Ricky Shelton served as an usher, and Cindy Kung ’12 played piano at the ceremony. Hatfield is an associate at Trout Cacheris & Janis, a Washington, D.C. litigation firm, and Bingham is working at the Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation. The couple lives in D.C.’s Cleveland Park neighborhood.
ANDREW DUFFIELD GARRAHAN and Emily Jane Wang Garrahan (Commerce ’04, Darden ’10) welcomed a son, Henry Francis, on March 26. Henry joins big brother George. The boys are grandnephews of Paul
76 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
The Bingham-Hatfield wedding, from left: Courtney Marello ’12, Brigitte Eichner ’13, Esther Cantor Allred ’13, Kathryn Young Galla ’13, Scott Galla ’12, Lynn Schlie ’13, Michael Small ’14, Shaun Bockert ’12, Cassandra Maximous ’13, Esther Winne ’13, Matthew Gill ’13, Sarah Pergolizzi ’13, Lauren Bingham ’13, Christopher Hatfield ’13, Rick Cinquegrana ’73, Cindy Kung ’12, Elizabeth Dobbins Moskowitz ’13, Michael Moskowitz ’12, Hon. Richard E. Moore ’80, James Allred ’13, Alexandra Aurisch ’13, Tope Leyimu ’13, Richard Shelton ’13.
Andrew Garrahan ‘96). The family resides in Alexandria, Va.
securities law, and general corporate matters.
GENEVIEVE AGUILAR REARDON lives with her
2014
husband, Matthew Reardon ’11, in the South End of Boston, Mass. Eve and Matt married in September 2014 in Gloucester, Mass. The ceremony was presided over by classmate Matthew Hanson and attended by many UVA Law alumni. Eve is an associate in Choate Hall & Stewart’s litigation department, where her practice focuses on complex trial and appellate litigation, labor and employment law, and government investigations. Matt is an associate in Goodwin Procter’s technology and life sciences group. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, investment transactions,
RONALD J. FISHER began a
2015 KATIE PACKER LENCIONI
clerkship in the chambers of the Hon. Michelle T. Friedland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in July 2014. Previously he was a civil litigator at Shartsis Friese in San Francisco, Calif.
married Michael Lencioni in Palm Beach, Fla., on August 8. Many UVA alumni attended the wedding, including three section J classmates who were bridesmaids. The bride and groom met while serving in Teach For America in Baltimore.
Michael was a teacher in Albemarle County while Katie attended Law School.
MEREDITH C. NEELY joined Hollingsworth in Washington, D.C. She practices in the firm’s complex litigation, pharmaceutical products, and toxic torts and products liability groups.
MARGARET X. “MEI” YANG joined Christian & Barton as an associate in Richmond, Va., where she will focus on corporate, municipal governance, and public finance matters.
The Packer-Lencioni wedding, from left, back row: 2015 classmates Javier Gomez, Susan Foster, Jackie Ryberg, Rachel Wade, Kelsey Bryan, Samuel Strongin, Sejal Jhaveri. Seated, Katie Packer Lencioni, and Michael Lencioni.
IN MEMORIAM
Fitzhugh Elder, Jr. ’41 Staunton, Va. June 5, 2015
H. Richard Chew ’52 Arlington, Va. July 5, 2014
Philip L. Knotts ’61 Hockessin, Del. June 2, 2015
Kenneth E. Updegraft, Jr. ’71 Glenfield, N.Y. January 16, 2015
Howard S. Tuthill ’41 Stamford, Conn. July 8, 2015
C. Flippo Hicks ’52 Gloucester, Va. August 13, 2015
James B. Alley, Jr. ’62 Santa Fe, N.Mex. September 2, 2015
Robert G. Andary ’74 Washington, D.C. March 27, 2015
Robert C. Barclay III ’43 Portsmouth, Va. June 6, 2015
Edward T. Brennan ’53 Savannah, Ga. August 14, 2015
C. Walter Whitmoyer, Jr. ’62 Myerstown, Pa. September 15, 2015
James A. Yano ’77 Columbus, Ohio September 14, 2015
William McC. Blair, Jr. ’47 New York, N.Y. August 29, 2015
Richard Van Emon Hantzmon ’54 Charlottesville, Va. May 13, 2015
William P. Reilly ’63 Fort Myers, Fla. August 17, 2015
Richard B. Schiff ’80 Oakland, Md. September 18, 2015
Robert P. Craig ’48 Winter Haven, Fla. August 21, 2015
George R. Aldhizer, Jr. ’58 Harrisonburg, Va. September 19, 2015
Benjamin H. Woodbridge, Jr. ’63 Fredericksburg, Va. June 4, 2015
Richard D. Shepherd ’80 Troy, Va. July 27, 2015
William E. Mohler ’48 Charleston, W.Va. September 6, 2015
Frederick Jay Jackson ’58 Troutville, Va. March 23, 2015
Edgar P D Humann Guilleminot ’64 Hamilton, Bermuda March 29, 2015
Howard Curtis Martin ’81 Brooksville, Maine April 30, 2015
Lionel E. Z. Cohen ’49 Tulsa, Okla. August 2, 2015
Fred C. Alexander, Jr. ’59 Alexandria, Va. May 9, 2015
Richard E. Minshall ’64 Tulsa, Okla. June 7, 2015
H. Bradford Glassman ’94 Alexandria, Va. July 15, 2015
Robert D. Hursh ’49 Rochester, N.Y. June 28, 2015
Robert G. Sullivan ’59 La Jolla, Calif. June 4, 2015
H. Kendrick Sanders ’65 Clifton, Va. June 25, 2015
Geoffrey S. Bald ’95 Springfield, Va. July 22, 2015
Homer J. Rose ’50 West Lafayette, Ind. September 6, 2015
William A. Waller ’59 Nantucket, Mass. February 27, 2015
Edward R. Baird, Jr. ’66 Norfolk, Va. May 12, 2015
Anthony W. Lineberry ’99 Manakin Sabot, Va. May 24, 2015
Jerrold G. Weinberg ’50 Norfolk, Va. June 12, 2015
John D. Phillips ’60 Castle Rock, Colo. May 3, 2015
Louis B. Frost ’66 Pelham, N.Y. May 6, 2015
Francis Gregory Lastowka ’00 Swarthmore, Pa. April 27, 2015
William Moultrie Guerry ’51 Norfolk, Va. May 27, 2015
Charles S. Bailey ’61 Richmond, Va. February 23, 2015
Jackson W. Tarver ’66 Atlanta, Ga. August 29, 2015
Michelle C. Roberts ’00 Alexandria, Va. August 13, 2015
Charles B. Reeves, Jr. ’51 Baltimore, Md. June 27, 2015
Donald P. Blakeslee ’61 Bronxville, N.Y. July 12, 2015
Edwin M. Baranowski ’71 West Palm Beach, Fla. July 23, 2015
G. Alan Blackburn ’01 Marietta, Ga. May 9, 2015
Wilkes Coleman Robinson ’51 Destin, Fla. May 11, 2015
William Franklin Faison II ’61 Naples, Fla. April 21, 2015
John J. Finley ’71 Hudson, N.Y. July 2, 2015
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 77
IN PRINT
NONFICTION Machiavelli and the Modern State: The Prince, the Discourses on Livy, and the Extended Territorial Republic Alissa M. Ardito ’07 Cambridge University Press
Machiavelli and the Modern State presents a reinterpretation of the history of republican political thought and Niccolo Machiavelli’s place in it. Alissa Ardito gives insights to the meaning of his writings by putting them in their historical context—a period of great political upheaval in Italy. She applies Machiavelli’s political thought to the challenge faced by James Madison and the other Founding Fathers when they set about creating a republic out of 13 sprawling colonies. Readers might think James Madison and Niccolo Machiavelli would have little in common, but as Ardito
explains in Machiavelli and the Modern State, these two men are connected in important ways. Both were visionaries and pragmatists seeking the answer to the same challenge of improving and modernizing republican government. Her work explains why Machiavelli deserves to be recognized as the first modern political theorist to see the possibility of a republic that extends over expansive territory. “A sophisticated contribution to the neverending challenge of interpreting Machiavelli’s seminal ideas,” writes Jack Rakove of Stanford. Alissa Ardito is a visiting fellow at the MacMillan Center at Yale University.
Matter: How to Find Meaningful Work That’s Right for You and Your Family Caroline Greene ’05 Difference Press
When Caroline Greene left her law practice to be a stay-athome mother, she set out to
find meaningful work that was right for her and for her family life. Her story is one of transformation that entertains as well as informs. Motherhood can seem like one endless to-do list, with sleep and dreams left behind. Sometimes the really important things—like building a life that you love—get left off the list altogether. Greene urges mothers not to wait until their children are older, or their husband’s career is established. Finding a life you love should be a priority, and your family will be happier when you are fulfilled in that way. For working mothers who struggle to achieve a balance between their career and home life, or mothers interested in transitioning back into a day job, Matter is a straightforward guide to help women find the path that’s right for them. The author shares insights from her own life and work and includes practical tools to help readers discover what they really want, overcome common obstacles, describe their ideal
job, and make connections that can help make it happen. Caroline Greene is a life coach, www.carolinegreenecoaching. com. This is her first book.
Marketing Success: How Did She Do That? Women Lawyers Show You How to Move Beyond Tips to Implementation Afi S. Johnson-Parris ’02 and Dee A. Schiavelli, Editors American Bar Association
Successful lawyers must include business development and marketing in their practice, and such skills take trial and error to find what works best. Women lawyers in particular may need coaching in how to identify and make the most of their strengths to create a successful law practice. In Marketing Success: How Did She Do That? JohnsonParris takes the best tips on how to do this and carries them forward to show how to apply them successfully. Key topics covered in the book include how to use
UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015 79
IN PRINT …
software, mobile applications, and social media to improve your reach; how to use public speaking to increase your profile, how to network most effectively, and how to turn good prospects into clients. The book features the stories of how 46 successful women lawyers—solo practitioners, small firm lawyers, partners in large firms, as well as women who transitioned to law-related careers—made the most of creative marketing techniques to build their client base. Their anecdotes are informative and inspiring. Afi Johnson-Parris practices family law in Greensboro, N.C.
Sand in My Sandwich and Other Motherhood Messes I’m Learning to Love Sarah Parshall Perry ’99 Revell
Before she married and had children, Sarah Parshall Perry described herself as high-achieving, high-strung, and very, very orderly: taxes complete in January, spice jars organized alphabetically, vacuum tracks in the carpet.
80 UVA LAWYER / FALL 2015
Then came marriage to a wonderful man and the birth of their three children, Noah, Grace, and Jesse. Perry’s carefully planned life turned to chaos. Two of her children are autistic, and have brought challenges she never imagined. Their unpredictable impulses are almost impossible to control, at times leading to embarrassing or even dangerous situations. Perry describes their lives with unflinching honesty and sharp humor. Though driven at times to her wit’s end, she manages to find strength just when she needs it. Throughout the book, she includes passages from the Bible that reflect her faith and sense of purpose. Sand in My Sandwich will be a source of encouragement for all families living with disabilities. This is the author’s second book.
Forging Rivals: Race, Class, Law, and the Collapse of Postwar Liberalism Reuel Schiller ’93 Cambridge University Press
In Forging Rivals, Reuel Schiller examines the conflicts between labor lawyers and civil rights lawyers in San Francisco from the 1940s through the 1970s. He explains how the goal of promoting economic equality and ethnic, racial, and religious pluralism led to a contentious relationship and the end of progressive politics in the last third of the 20th century. Schiller includes five stories from 1945 to 1975 involving conflict between African American civil rights organizations and labor unions. By using this narrative style, he makes the abstract ideas such as conflicts within liberalism and group rights versus individual rights easy to understand. Forging Rivals tells the fascinating story of how labor lawyers and civil rights lawyers started out as allies and ended up as bitter rivals. “Elegantly written, deeply researched, and convincingly argued,” writes Michael Klarman of Harvard
Law School (and formerly UVA Law). Reuel Schiller is a professor of law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, where he teaches American legal history, labor law, and administrative law.
Being Nixon: A Man Divided Evan Thomas ’77 Random House
In Being Nixon, Evan Thomas presents a three-dimensional portrait of our most controversial president. Moving past the cartoon version of “Tricky Dick,” Thomas delivers a balanced picture of the dark and light sides of the strange and brilliant man. His in-depth research included interviews with 35 Nixon aides and review of recently released tapes and archival material. Nixon’s formative experiences growing up, his lifelong battles with enemies real and perceived, his role in the modern Republican party, and landmark policy-making both foreign and domestic are part of this insightful character
IN PRINT …
study and engrossing political biography. “[Thomas] has rendered a new Nixon who, in vital and unexpected ways, is very different from the character about whom, for the past 70 years, so much has been said and written,” notes political historian Michael Beschloss. Evan Thomas was a writer, correspondent, and editor for 33 years at Time and Newsweek and is a frequent commentator on TV and radio. This is his ninth book.
FICTION The Tears of Dark Water Corban Addison ’04 Thomas Nelson
Sometimes a work of fiction provides invaluable insight into the kinds of complex issues involved in international politics. Corban Addison’s extensive firsthand research in Somalia and Washington, D.C., brings authenticity to the setting, the action, and the characters in The Tears of Dark Water.
When a father and son on a sailing trip are accosted by pirates in the Indian Ocean, an experienced U.S. hostage negotiator is called in, with tragic results. The pirates are captured and extradited to stand trial in the U.S. A young pirate named Ismail who is identified as the perpetrator seems to be motivated by more than just anti-American extremism. Ismail is silent about his motivations to protect his sister, Yasmin, who is plotting her own daring escape from a radical Islamist leader named Najiib. Ismail’s American defense lawyer suspects there are complex motives for Ismail, and she sets out on a journey of discovery from the Somali immigrant community in Minneapolis to a refugee camp in Kenya to a village outside Mogadishu. At its core, this novel is about individuals and their relationships, set against an epic tragedy of our time. “A fast-paced thriller that puts its humanitarian moral at the forefront,” says Kirkus Reviews. Corban Addison is an attorney and activist whose novels address modern human rights issues. This is his third book.
Memory Man David Baldacci ’86 Grand Central Publishing
Amos Decker’s pro football career ended soon after it began, when the impact of a helmet-to-helmet collision sent him to the sidelines for good. His injury had a remarkable effect on his brain; he could never forget anything. Years later, the towering athlete became a police detective. One night he came home from a stakeout and walked into a horrific scene. His wife, daughter, and brother-inlaw had all been murdered, each in a different way. He barely survived in the aftermath, no longer able to hang onto his job or his house. Sometimes he took on small jobs as a private investigator just to get by. A year after the murders, when a tragic event takes place in town, he’s called back to help investigate. He also throws himself into finding out what happened to his family on that terrible night. His memory brings everything back in excruciating detail. Why, he wonders, does he see it all in a terrifying shade of blue? He will have to endure all of this to
get to the truth. “It’s big, bold and almost impossible to put down,” says a Washington Post review of Memory Man. “Highly entertaining.” David Baldacci’s novels have been translated into more than 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries.
The Jezebel Remedy Martin Clark ’84 Alfred A. Knopf
Lisa Stone and her husband, Joe, are law partners in rural Henry County, Virginia. Most of their cases are routine domestic disputes and personal injury cases, interspersed with walk-in visits from their most eccentric client, Lettie VanSandt. When Lettie dies in a mysterious fire, the Stones wonder if she could have been cooking meth in her trailer. In time they have reason to suspect that her death might not have been an accident after all. The Stones become involved in settling Lettie’s complicated estate and find themselves in the midst of a corporate conspiracy that threatens their careers. As they work side by side, Lisa wants above anything
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else to keep Joe from knowing one secret that she hoped she could hide from him forever. His discovery of it could change everything. “Not only do the frequent plot twists keep the reader glued to the page, but Clark’s depiction of life in rural Virginia and the depth and sensitivity of his character portrayals make the book memorable for much more than its clever legal machinations,” notes the review in Library Journal. Martin Clark is a Virginia circuit court judge. This is his fourth book.
Virginia Dawning
Legrand resents his arrest and the examination of his sanity and threatens to hogtie Luke’s children and let them rot in a cellar. A cunning criminal suspected in a trail of awful crimes, he manages to escape from jail. He is clearly a dangerous man. Luke and his wife, with two children of their own, soon find their family in the middle of an unspeakable nightmare, face-to-face with evil. Told in first-person narrative that alternates between Luke and Sarah, Virginia Dawning is a fast-paced thriller that draws on themes of faith and love. John Davidson practices law in Charlottesville. This is his first book.
John E. Davidson ’96 JGL Publishing
On a beautiful spring morning in Jameston County, Virginia, Dr. Luke Andrews kisses his wife, Sarah, goodbye and drives into town to evaluate a defendant’s competency before an arraignment and bond hearing. The arrested man, Hiram Legrand, is a rough character accused of kidnapping a child whose whereabouts were still unknown.
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Devil’s Bridge Linda Fairstein ’72 Dutton
In Devil’s Bridge, Linda Fairstein’s 17th novel featuring New York Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cooper, a paralegal takes Cooper’s files
on a sex trafficking case and delivers them to the defendant. There’s a suspicious link between that theft, a couple of shady characters, and Paul Battaglia, the DA. Tension builds to a high pitch when someone kidnaps Alex. Her romantic partner, the smart, appealing NYPD homicide detective, Mike Chapman, takes over in first-person narrative. This is the first time Fairstein’s readers get a deeper look into Chapman’s character and his perspective on Cooper. His search for Cooper takes him to the George Washington Bridge, where danger waits along its lofty expanse. Readers who have come to delight in Fairstein’s delivery of interesting historical details along with a fast-paced thriller will not be disappointed. The author’s own decadeslong career as chief of Manhattan’s sex crimes unit is the inspiration for Alex Cooper’s character.
Cold Feet Amy FitzHenry ’08 Berkley/Penguin Random House
A week before she’s set to marry Sam, a charming, sensible man, Emma Moon takes off with her best friend, Liv, on a road trip in search of her father, who she’d never known. If she could find him, she might find the answers to questions she’d always had about herself. Was she the kind of person meant for marriage? She wanted to believe she was, but worried she might be doomed to repeat her parents’ mistakes. Emma’s relationship with her mother, Caro, is polite but always teetering on the edge of uncomfortable. Caro’s a high-powered lobbyist whose work on Capitol Hill is her life. Everything else comes second, including her daughter’s wedding rehearsal dinner, which she’ll miss because of a Congressional hearing. Emma’s father, Hunter Moon, left home when she was just six months old. Finding him will stir up her emotions in ways she can’t predict, but that’s a risk Emma meets head-on. How will her past shape her future? Will she be happy in a lifelong
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to the editor 14 July, 2015 Dear Editor, Thank you for your focus on the importance of leadership and public service obligations of the citizen-lawyer. It’s precisely what Mr. Jefferson envisioned nearly two centuries ago. marriage with the man she loves? Or will she keep running? Cold Feet explores friendship, family, and commitment with wit and humor. “A heartwarming and uproariously funny debut,” writes one reviewer. Amy FitzHenry practices law in Los Angeles, Calif. This is her first novel.
Michael Henry ’74 Henry and Henry Books
In Michael Henry’s latest novel, former district attorney Willie Mitchell Banks moves from Yaloquena County, deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, to Oxford, with the notion that retirement will bring relaxation and a life of leisure. He’s just settling in when he’s asked to investigate a murder that took place decades ago on the campus of the University of Mississippi in the Grove, a shady tract of towering oaks, elms, and magnolias. The murder was carried out during the 1962 riot that occurred in protest of James Meredith’s enrollment in Ole Miss. The killer of a 22-year-old
Old Wounds to the Heart Ken Oder ’75 SkipJack Publishing
The second Whippoorwill Hollow novel opens in the Shenandoah National Park, on Thanksgiving morning of 1967. The morning mists are still rising in Whippoorwill Hollow when two aging friends find themselves staring at each other: one pointing a gun and the other beaten and chained to a tree. Their love for the same woman has buckled under the weight of a long-held secret— until now.
Out of the blue mountains of Virginia comes a 1960s American tale bound with the regrets people carry to their graves and a tumultuous chance at redemption. Three friends decide if their hearts will lock them into old wounds or lead them to new love. “… masterfully crafted, brimming with the sort of spellbinding wisdom that takes your breath away. Cast from characters who could easily be our friends and family, this story confronts the darker side of human nature with unflinching precision. It reveals that the line dividing right from wrong isn’t always clearly defined, that an undeniable symbiosis exists between joy and heartache,” writes Daniel Wimberley, author of The Pedestal. Ken Oder grew up in White Hall, Va., a farm town of about 50 people at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He and his wife moved to Los Angeles in 1975 and raised their family there while he practiced law and served as an executive until he retired.
With kindest regards Gerald L. Baliles ’67
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student used the riot to cover up the crime, which involved a former Miss Mississippi and a founder of the White Citizens’ Council with ties to the Dixie mafia. Before he knows it, shrewd, wise-cracking Willie Mitchell is knee-deep in the mystery that surrounds the case and following the loose ends that could lead to finally solving it. Murder in the Grove is Michael Henry’s eighth novel. He served as a prosecutor and district attorney before turning to writing full time.
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CLOSING REMARKS
Learning by Doing in Los Angeles Q & A with Susan Akens ’88
After 25 years of “doing deals” and leading the charge at domestic and international entertainment giants, Susan Akens ’88 changed direction in her career. Most recently the executive vice president of business affairs at CBS Studios International, Akens is now executive director of the UCLA School of Law’s Ziffren Center for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law and a member of the full-time faculty. We caught up with Akens to ask about the transition from practice to the classroom, to hear more about her plans for the school’s program, and to ask her opinion on the value of practical experiences in law school.
I would be given a clean slate to create programs, externships, and other offerings to enhance and supplement the already exceptional academic offerings of the law school. The annual listing of the top 100 entertainment lawyers is consistently dominated by UCLA Law alumni and many of them were already on board to help build this program. It is a wonderful challenge and with the unbelievable diversity in what constitutes “entertainment” these days, there are unlimited possibilities.
Q: Had you had much interaction with the school or the program in your years of practice in Los Angeles?
Q: How would you summarize your 25 years of practice in the
A: Interestingly no. I, like most entertainment industry folks, know
entertainment industry in Los Angeles?
and have attended the annual UCLA Entertainment Symposium, but that is where my interaction ended. This is an area where I see a lot of potential for the program to grow. Building a robust interaction between the entertainment industry and the law school is a win-win for both. UCLA School of Law sits in a town with more practitioners in the areas of entertainment, sports, media, etc. than anywhere else in the United States. That affords the students here amazing access for training, mentoring and careers. In the same respect, with the faculty, speakers, research and classes here at the law school, the members of the legal community have an amazing resource in their backyard. This bridge-building is a key area of the vision I spoke about earlier.
A: I have had the great fortune of working in iconic entertainment industry institutions from the entertainment department of O’Melveny & Myers to Paramount Pictures to CBS. That practice has put me in the heart of an amazing transformation in the entertainment industry with the advent of the digital/internet world as well as the globalization of an industry that was once almost solely based in Hollywood. The first deal I did when I started was acquiring the car for a little film called “Driving Miss Daisy.” The last deal I did was a deal of first impression for the Showtime show, “Penny Dreadful,” for first window (i.e. initial) exhibition in France for Netflix’s launch of its OTT (overthe-top) service … a true paradigm change for the television industry.
Q: What captured your interest in the Entertainment, Media and Intellectual Property Law Program at UCLA?
A: I approached Ken Ziffren, one of the true leaders in the practice of entertainment law (also a professor and distinguished alumni of UCLA Law) about teaching . . . something that had for years interested me. As fate would have it, UCLA Law was looking for someone for the position and after an hour or so with Ken I was intrigued about the program and the vision Ken and others have for the program.
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Q: How hard was the decision to make the change? A: I was incredibly flattered to be offered the position, but it was a daunting proposition for me. I loved what I had been doing all these years and I think I was pretty good at it, so it was not an easy decision to step away. That said, it is really exciting to try to utilize the experience and relationships I have gained over the last 25+ years to build hopefully the premier program in this space. The daunting piece comes from starting something new and the responsibility to take to new levels an already amazing offering at UCLA Law.
Q
: UCLA’s program consists of “courses intended to present the fundamental principles and practices of contemporary entertainment law,” and cover copyright protection, transactional doctrines, and media law. How are the practical aspects of these matters covered inside the classroom and out?
A: Well, this is definitely a big area of focus. To date, UCLA Law has invested a tremendous amount of resources in expanding its experiential offering. Assistant Dean Luz Herrera has been on board for a year or so and under her watch UCLA Law has, as relates to my program, a number of clinical and experiential courses (e.g., Patent
Clinic and Trademark Clinic). In addition there are externships at talent agencies, studios, networks and gaming companies to name a few. There are also luncheon seminars focused on training for lawyers in their early years. Also, being in the heart of Hollywood, there are numerous speakers from the industry who speak with our students on a regular basis about the “art” and “business” of entertainment.
Susan Akens ’88, Executive Director, UCLA School of Law’s Ziffren Center for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law
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CLOSING REMARKS …
Q: As the California Bar contemplates increasing the requirement Q: In the ongoing conversations in the field of American legal for practical coursework to 15 credit hours, is it a goal for you to bring clinical offerings or expand the practical coursework at UCLA Law?
education, do you have strong feelings about the need for more practical/clinical experiences for all law students?
A: Absolutely. I am happy to say that in the couple of months I have
A: I can’t speak to all areas of legal practice but I can speak to my
been here we already have expanded the externship program. The new dean, Jennifer Mnookin (former professor of law at UVA), is extremely supportive of growth in this area and I believe very supportive of a practitioner bringing real-world experience to the table in deciding what is truly beneficial practical coursework for the students.
area and yes. Some of the reasons I have discussed earlier, but one area we haven’t mentioned is the role of large law firms. In my day, anyone from a top law school who wanted, could get a job at a major law firm. Like any good boot camp you were whipped into shape. You were trained on drafting and negotiating. You learned through massive repetition the standard documents for your practice area. You got to watch those who had practiced for years negotiate. With different clients you advocated for very diverse positions. All of this was done in an environment designed to train the “right” way to do it. But while learning how to do it the “right way” may still exist in large law firms, the number of students fortunate enough to get jobs in large law firms is much smaller and the financial pressures are such that staffing which is optimal for training may not occur. And yet, young lawyers do need to be trained. Coming directly out of law school into small law firms without the bandwidth to staff deals with lawyers of differing levels or which have a client base that sits predominately on one side of the table, severely limits the training. In addition, for those students who begin their career directly in a company, their interaction may be predominately with non-lawyers and there is little room for the errors of learning. So I firmly believe that the “law school” process needs to play much more of a role in providing that training. If you look at many western countries (e.g., Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany), they all require one or more years of hands-on training prior to being able to sit for their bar. So yes, coming from where I sat as a practitioner, I truly believe successful lawyers require a combination of a strong academic education and hands-on training to develop critical lawyering skills.
Q: Many lawyers talk about the changes in the legal industry. How has the practice changed during your career? Were there times while managing teams where you noticed changing trends in the types of recent law school graduates and their practical abilities?
A:
There are a lot of answers to your questions. Let me address one practical change and that is technology/email and the reliance by lawyers on it. When I started, negotiation occurred largely verbally (in person or over the phone) or through carefully written comment letters. Today comments are often written in an email, perhaps on an iPhone and then sent in a keystroke. Often the original email spawns a litany of clarifying emails by one or more recipients of the first email, or strange responses because the recipient tried to read it on her iPhone and missed part of the text. More efficient … maybe. As someone whose practice for the last decade or so involved varying time zones and little proximity, I definitely know the benefit of email. But nine times out of ten, when difficult issues needed to be addressed or the most movement in a deal was accomplished was when there was direct verbal communication. Yet I continually saw younger lawyers resist leaving their comfort zone of the digital world. This was true equally in the negotiation of documents. While perhaps a great equalizer in the world of drafting such that both sides control the pen, I watched many deals negotiated by dueling agreements with weeks of back and forth with very little progress until someone reluctantly picked up a phone. Circling back to the crux of this conversation, in a world where law students in their personal life communicate with emails/tweets/ texts and the like, there is a real need for them to gain experience in face-to-face negotiation so as to develop those skills. Law schools have always had trial advocacy and moot courts for those with an interest in litigation, but the skills and a comfort with those skills for those in the transactional arena is extremely important in the current digital world.
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Susan Akens ’88 is the executive director of the Ziffren Center for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law at the UCLA School of Law. Previously she was executive vice president of business affairs for CBS Studios International; and prior to that held the same position with Paramount Pictures International Television. After graduating from the Law School she was an associate at O’Melveny & Myers, later becoming special counsel. Akens is very active in community service and was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award by President George Bush. She has served for more than ten years on the board of directors of the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles and resides in Los Angeles with her daughter Katie.
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