2012 BYU Law School Annual Report
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byu Law School 2012 annual report table of contents Message from the Dean 3 Faculty 5 Students 11 Intellectual Atmosphere 17 Building Projects 20 Howard W. Hunter Library in the Digital Age 21 Alumni and Friends 22 2 message from the dean Every seven years a law school must be reaccredited by the American Bar Association. Our turn came this winter. Although it would be hard to describe reaccreditation as satisfying—in fact, talking about accreditation is surely a risky way to start any message that one hopes will actually be read—the process did give us a chance to reflect on the Law School’s continued, steady progress. We are no longer a young law school with aspirations; we have become a mature law school that occupies a significant place in American legal education. A measure of byu Law School’s strength is the placement of our graduates with the most discerning of employers: federal judges and justices of state supreme courts. This year 19 byu law students have accepted these prestigious clerkships. Still—and if you read the news it is no surprise—we are challenged by what is among the toughest legal markets our graduates have ever faced. I am fully convinced that our graduates will continue to be successful. The analytical and leadership skills they possess, along with their work ethic and integrity, have not gone out of style, and those with such traits inevitably rise over time. Nevertheless, we are hard at work trying to create more current opportunities for our students. We are increasing our skills offerings; our externship program continues to provide students extraor- dinary experience and training all over the world; and we have instituted a public service fellowship, which provides a stipend to 10 recent graduates who work part-time in public interest and public service positions. The Law School faculty and administration genuinely appreciate all of your efforts to help our graduates find employment. Our gratitude to the university and the board of trustees also continues as we witness the financial struggles of other law schools and the increased debt burden that affects so many law school graduates. On top of the board’s generous tuition policy, which serves as a powerful symbol that the value of education goes far beyond what it can produce in the marketplace, generous alumni and friends have stepped forward to endow additional scholarships and scholarship funds. One of our goals is to seek even more scholarship support. Not only does such support give us the resources to attract talented students, but it also, by relieving them of debt, opens up a wider range of career choices for our students. As you will see from this 2012 annual report, even in times of adversity byu Law School is thriving. Our new faculty members have added strength to an already outstanding faculty who are speaking and publishing all over the world. We continue to attract capable and talented students in an increasingly competitive market— applications have declined approximately 25 percent nationally over the last two years but only 2 percent at byu Law School. And the Law School is alive with ideas, debates, conferences, speeches, symposia, and events. The claim with which I began this message—that we are no longer a young law school—is at once true and false. In what may well be an apocryphal story, President Nixon, on meeting Chinese Premier Chou En-Lai, is reported to have asked Chou his view on the French Revolution. Chou is said to have replied, “It is too soon to tell.” Chou’s reply is a useful reminder of the long view, particularly during these challenging times for legal education. And in taking the long view, I am confident that even greater heights are ahead for the J. Reuben Clark Law School. james r. rasband Dean and Hugh W. Colton Professor of Law 3 david dominguez 4 faculty Our faculty’s focus has always been on students and those efforts have brought inspiring results. Our grad- uates work in each of the fifty states and across the world, leavening their communi- ties with service and professional excellence. from the dean from gordon smith for example: service and innovation David Dominguez established attorney with the National Labor In March 2012, he was hon- the attention of scholars in “Entrepreneurs on Horseback,” the community lawyering class Relations Board. During this time, ored with the Raymond S. Uno many disciplines. Legal scholars describes law and entrepreneur- to motivate law students to use he also worked at uc Berkeley Award for the Advancement of are relative newcomers to the ship as a distinctive field of study. their skills for the betterment as a part-time undergraduate Minorities in the Legal Profession field, but the importance of law This paper is read in many law of the community, advocat- instructor teaching legal analysis from the Utah State Bar. This to entrepreneurial activity is and entrepreneurship courses. ing what he terms “Samaritan and multicultural negotiation award honors those whose apparent, both at the level of In addition to producing his justice.” As part of the class, and as an assistant to the under- professionalism, public service, policy and at the street level, in own scholarship about law and Professor Dominguez and his stu- graduate provost. and personal dedication have which lawyers counsel clients in entrepreneurship, Professor dents travel to the Slate Canyon In 1989, Professor Dominguez significantly enhanced the admin- practices relating to innovation. Smith has actively encouraged Youth Detention Facility where joined the byu Law School faculty, istration of justice, the delivery of Professor Smith is a pioneer in the development of the field by they not only help acquaint teens where, in addition to community legal services, and the improve- this field, starting with his work founding an annual academic and their parents with the deten- lawyering, his subjects include ment of the profession. on venture capital contracting in conference called the Law and tion hearing process but also legal problem solving for equal the 1990s and continuing with Entrepreneurship Retreat, which offer help to the parole officers justice, criminal law, legal nego- Gordon Smith, associate dean his more recent work on law and brings together law professors and detention staff. tiation and settlement, labor law, for faculty and curriculum at the economic development. from around the country to Professor Dominguez grew individual employment rights, Law School, has changed the Law schools throughout discuss works in progress. As up in South Central Los Angeles. and public policy negotiation. legal landscape for scholarship the United States now offer the field develops, the range He attended Yale University He writes in the fields of work- and classes on law and entrepre- courses on law and entrepreneur- of subjects it covers is expand- as an undergraduate and the place law, public interest, law neurship. ship. Professor Smith’s paper ing. But at the core remains a University of California, Berkeley school instructional innovation, Entrepreneurship is an (coauthored with Professor simple but provocative question: for law school. After graduat- and the role of the legal actor in important social and economic Darian Ibrahim of the University How does the legal system deal ing, he practiced law as a trial achieving social justice. phenomenon that has attracted of Wisconsin Law School), titled with novelty? 5 shima baradaran faculty and student scholarship Cheryl Preston encourages stu- raphy. Along with a team of law dent scholarship by coauthoring students, she has joined with with students. She and and her a nonprofit organization, cp80 student coauthors have published Foundation, to create solutions three papers; three more are in that combine traditional legisla- the works. The opportunity to tion with Internet architecture work with Professor Preston and and consumer choice. She drafts receive name credit on publica- proposed legislative language tions has been a boon for these and writes about online pornog- students. raphy issues from constitu- Professor Preston joined the tional, international, and feminist byu faculty in 1989, following 10 theory perspectives. years in private practice after Professor Preston publishes graduation from byu Law School. on the relationship of law and She served as a law clerk to the popular culture images, law and Honorable Monroe G. McKay, religion, and feminist legal theory. United States Court of Appeals She produced an educational for the Tenth Circuit. dvd entitled Fashioning Women in She is a nationally recognized Law. Her dvd won the presti- scholar on Internet regulation and gious Chris Award at the 2003 a strong advocate for children in Columbus International Film + the fight against online pornog- Video Festival. 6 stephanie barclay more on faculty and student collaboration: professor shima baradaran and student stephanie barclay Professor Baradaran: “One of writer and has impressive analyti- some recommendations and it was exciting and interesting to byu Law School’s greatest assets cal skills that she was able to de- case studies to our analysis and talk with Professor Baradaran as is its students. Students at byu velop further in the process of our fleshing out the writing. Professor we weighed the pros and cons are bright, engaged, motivated, collaboration. She has become an Baradaran offered helpful feed- of the various offers. We both and interested in making a expert on legal issues surround- back and input throughout the felt really happy when we ended positive impact in the world. In ing child labor and fair trade, and process, and at the end she did up publishing with Columbia’s conjunction with several other I hope this experience helps her an overall polishing edit. Human Rights Journal. The learn- departments at byu, I made a in future professional pursuits.” From there we began the ing process continued for me presentation on fair trade and exciting stage of submitting the as we worked with Columbia’s how it can help reduce interna- Stephanie Barclay, ‘11: “I was article for publication.