2018-19 Annual Report
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WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW | ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 WVULAW A Steadfast Commitment to the Legal Profession As the only law school in the Mountain State, the West Virginia University College of Law upholds E. Gordon Gee the highest standards of legal education. It is an President, West Virginia University obligation we are honored to fulfill. Maryanne Reed With this annual report, we proudly share how our Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs work in 2018-19 continued to advance our leadership CONTENTS Sharon Martin in service, teaching, scholarship, and innovation. Vice President, University Relations Our commitment to service in 2018-19 is and Enrollment Management embodied by three initiatives. First, we re-launched the state’s Access to Justice Commission, which ADMINISTRATION works to remove barriers that some West Virginians Gregory W. Bowman Dean, College of Law may encounter with the legal system. Second, we Jessica A. Haught established a Center for Consumer Law and Education that is the first of its kind Associate Dean for Administration on the East Coast. Third, we continued to uphold our long-time commitment to (interim) placing law students in public interest organizations throughout the state. Shine Tu In teaching, we received national recognition for several academic programs, Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development including Trial Advocacy/Litigation Law and Intellectual Property Law. We continued Elaine Waterhouse Wilson to expand our moot court programming to train our students in advocacy and grow Associate Dean for Academic Affairs our national reputation. Our clinics provided more opportunities to prepare students for their careers while helping those in need, including two clients who won their EDITORIAL STAFF case at the Supreme Court of the United States. James H. Jolly Our faculty continued their important work to advance knowledge through Director of Marketing and Communications research. By exploring issues ranging from economic justice and health care robots to securities regulation and withdrawing from NAFTA, our professors are tackling Chelsi Baker Communications Specialist society’s challenges head-on. Kathy Deweese Innovation at WVU Law includes our escalating role in energy and environmental Director-University Content law, such as hosting the nation’s preeminent moot court competition in the field. We also continued to champion the legal profession by honoring lawyers with West ART DIRECTION Virginia ties who are leaders in our state and across the nation. University Relations — Design Sheree Wentz, Senior Designer This is our steadfast commitment to the legal profession and continued excellence. From Law School Hill, EDITORIAL OFFICE WVU College of Law 101 Law School Drive P.O. Box 6130 Morgantown, WV 26506 Phone: 304-293-5301 Fax: 304-293-6891 [email protected] Gregory W. Bowman William J. Maier, Jr. Dean and Professor of Law WVU is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer – Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran.The WVU Board of Governors is the governing body of WVU. The Higher Education Policy Commission in West Virginia is responsible for developing, establishing, and overseeing the implementation of a public policy agenda for the LAW.WVU.EDU state’s four-year colleges and universities. WVU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Many WVU programs hold specialized accreditation. (119444) CONTENTS SECTIONS 2 Service 6 Scholarship 14 Innovation 3 Teaching 8 Publications 16 Development 4 A Culture of Excellence 12 Clinics WVU COLLEGE OF LAW OUR MISSION. Preparing 21st century lawyers and leaders to serve the public, government, and business—both locally and globally—while focusing on justice, ethics, professionalism, and service in a diverse, vibrant, and respectful community. 1 SERVICE Access to Justice Commission Relaunched WVU Law relaunched West Virginia’s Access to Justice The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia founded Commission in 2018-19. the state’s Access to Justice Commission in 2009 and transferred it to the College of Law in 2017. Dan Kimble ’99 was named director and will oversee the Commission’s efforts to remove barriers to justice for The West Virginia State Bar awarded a $75,000 grant low-income and disadvantaged people by working with to support the commission’s work and its transition to courts, the bar, and legal aid organizations. WVU Law. The commission restructured its governance to include law professors, attorneys, government officials, and legal aid providers. Consumer Law Center Established WVU Law and Marshall University established a one-of- literacy information, and it will serve policymakers through its-kind Center for Consumer Law and Education Center in scholarship and research on emerging consumer issues. 2018-19. CCLE awarded its first law student fellowship to Brian CCLE’s mission is to serve as a principal consumer, law, Bowen ’20 and Levi Pellegrin ’19. policy, education and support resource in West Virginia CCLE awarded its first faculty fellowship to law professor and nationally. Jena Martin. It is the only center of its kind on the East Coast and the CCLE hosted its first consumer law symposium in May in only one that is a collaboration between two universities. Charleston, West Virginia. Through outreach efforts, including a website, CCLE will At WVU Law, CCLE is directed by Jonathan Marshall ’07. provide the public with access to consumer and financial Public Interest Fellows Serve Statewide Twenty-five students received fellowships in spring 2019 to They gained valuable experience in children’s advocacy, practice public interest law across the Mountain State. civil rights, consumer law, disability rights, and land use and conservation law. The students worked in full-time, paid positions for 10 weeks serving the poor, the elderly, children, and victims The West Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest of domestic violence, among others. sponsors the paid summer fellowships with money raised, in part, by the Public Interest Advocates, a WVU Law student organization. ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT 2 TEACHING Students Reach Final Rounds of ABA Moot Court Karissa Blackburn ’19 and Stephen Scott ’19 made it to the last rounds of the ABA’s First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition in Miami, Fla., in the spring. Scott competed in the final round against Yale and Duke students before a panel of sitting appellate judges. Blackburn reached the semifinals. They earned one of the four highest brief scores in the competition’s quarterfinal. Four Programs Earn Top National Recognition PreLaw Magazine recognized four WVU Law programs for Trial Advocacy/Litigation earned an A for offering up to 42 excellence in 2018-19. courses in the field and providing a variety of opportunities to develop applicable skills. Only four law schools nationally Environmental/Energy Law received an A for the range of were graded higher than WVU Law. its classes and related opportunities. Just 14 law schools in the nation score higher. Intellectual Property Law earned an A for its breadth of classes and opportunities, including the Entrepreneurship WVU Law earned an A in Public Interest Law for being and Innovation Law Clinic. one of “the best schools for doing good” while preparing law students to help the underrepresented. Writing Center Receives an Accreditation First The Writing Center at WVU Law became the first law collaborative approach to writing consultations and school program in the country to earn International Tutor teaches CRLA best practices used in tutoring writers. Training Program Certification from the College Reading Peer Writing Consultants earn the certification after and Learning Association. completing a 10-hour training program and 25 hours The tutor training program at WVU Law supports the working directly with students. professional development of Peer Writing Consultants. The program was developed by Melanie Stimeling, director The training program emphasizes a learner-centered, of the Writing Center. RAISING THE BAR CLASS OF 2018 EMPLOYMENT DATA Bar Passage Required: 66.3% AREAS OF PRACTICE J.D. Advantage: 7.1% Private Practice**: 54.7% Professional: 4% Government: 3.5% Law School/University Funded: 3% Judicial Clerkship**: 13% Pursuing Degree F/T: 2% Business: 8.3% Unemployed Seeking: 8% Public Interest**: 11.9% Unemployed Not Seeking: 1% Education: 2.3% Other: 3% *10 months after graduation; full-time/long-term; class size: 98; source: ABA data ** Employment rates higher than the national average. A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE George C. Baker Cup Emily Ward ’20 hoisted the Baker Cup in 2019, and Chris Weed ’20 was the runner-up in the in-house moot court competition. The final round was judged by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia: Chief Justice Elizabeth D. Walker, Margaret L. Workman ’69, Tim Armstead ’90, Evan H. Jenkins, and John A. Hutchison ’80. This year’s question concerned a state university’s firing of a professor because of a controversial blog post related to his area of expertise. Baker Lecture: Private Law Oxford University law professor Sandy Steel delivered the annual C. Edwin Baker Lecture for Liberty, Equality and Democracy. He addressed the right to private law. Steel is Lee Shau Kee’s Sir Man Kam Lo Fellow in Law at Wadham College and associate professor of law in the Faculty of Law at Oxford. Fisher Lecture: Intellectual Property Megan Carpenter ’99 addressed intellectual property in a transitional economy for the annual John W. Fisher II Lecture. Carpenter is dean of the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law. The founder and former co-director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property at Texas A&M University, Carpenter has used IP law in underserved communities to help early-stage entrepreneurs and grassroots arts organizations. ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT 4 Ihlenfeld Lecture: Multicultural Judiciary The Honorable Richard A. Robinson ’84 delivered the 2018-19 Ihlenfeld Lecture. Robinson discussed the judiciary in a multicultural world. He is the first African- American Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.