Law School News Archives

12/7/2007 - W&L Law Professor Consults in Largest Stock Options Backdating Case
Lyman Johnson, Robert O. Bentley Professor of Law at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, served as an advisor in the nation's largest stock options backdating case, settled Thursday, December 6, 2007.

12/3/2007 - Arif Noorani Wins 2007 Mock Trial to Cap Busy Moot Court Season
The Moot Court Board at the Washington and Lee University School of Law completed its busy fall schedule on Friday, November 30, 2007 as the Mock Trial competition drew to a close.

11/28/2007 - School of Law Takes the United States Constitution to the Community
The Washington and Lee University School of Law has initiated a new community outreach program designed to provide a forum for exploring Constitutional issues currently at play in society and the courts.

11/28/2007 - Professor Tim Jost to Present at Fresh Thinking Project
On Friday, November 30, Washington and Lee University School of Law Professor Tim Jost will present a paper at Stanford University for the Fresh Thinking project along with the leading health law and regulation scholars in the country.

11/15/2007 - Law Center Scholar-in-Residence to Discuss Reportorial Privilege and Restitution during December Events
This December, Eoin O'Dell, Lewis Law Center Scholar-in-Residence at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, will deliver a public lecture on the journalist's privilege and host a scholar's roundtable discussion addressing restitution in North America.

11/14/2007 - Jack Goldsmith to Discuss Limits of Executive Power and the Terror Presidency
Jack Goldsmith, author of The Terror Presidency and Washington and Lee alumnus, will deliver two lectures on Monday, Nov. 26.

11/5/2007 - Law School Tax Clinic to Receive Grant from IRS
The Tax Clinic at the Washington and Lee University School of Law has been awarded a matching grant from the Internal Revenue Service's Low Income Taxpayer grant program. The grant partially will fund the clinic for the 2008 calendar year and may cover as much as 50 percent of the cost of operating the clinic.

11/1/2007 - Paul Gardner Resigns as Director of Law School Advancement
Paul Gardner has announced his resignation as Director of Law School Advancement to become the Associate Dean for Advancement at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

10/29/2007 - Inaugural Dean’s Lecture to Address Freedom of Speech on College Campuses
Please join us on Tuesday, November 27 at 5:00 p.m. in the Millhiser Moot Court Room in Sydney Lewis Hall for the Inaugural Dean's Lecture, to be delivered by Rodney A. Smolla, Dean and Professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

10/27/2007 - Winners of 2007 Davis Moot Court Competition Announced
Arif Noorani '09 was named Best Oralist and the Best Brief Award went to Jessica Berenyi '08 and Anna Ku '08 during the 2007 Davis Moot Court competition.

10/26/2007 - 2007 Phi Alpha Delta Charity Auction Raises over $10,000 for Local Charity
On Thursday, October 25, students at the Washington and Lee School of Law once again showed their generosity, raising over $10,000 during the 2007 Phi Alpha Delta charity auction.

10/22/2007 - Jost Appointed to Institute of Medicine Conflict of Interest Committee
Washington and Lee University Law Professor Timothy S. Jost has been appointed to an Institute of Medicine committee to examine financial conflicts of interest between medical practitioners, researchers, and educators and the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.

10/4/2007 - School of Law to Launch New Clinic to Assist Low-income Taxpayers
Beginning in January 2008, a new clinic serving low-income taxpayers will begin operations at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. Clinic students will help resolve tax controversies with the Internal Revenue Service and provide outreach to individuals who speak English as a second language on their rights and responsibilities as U.S. taxpayers.

10/1/2007 - Mark Drumbl’s New Book Wins Major Book Prize
The International Association of Criminal Law (U.S. National Section) has awarded Washington and Lee Law Professor Mark Drumbl's book Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2007) its Book of the Year Prize for 2007.

9/27/2007 - Law Students to Provide Legal Support in Trials of Khmer Rouge Leadership
The second highest ranking official in the Khmer Rouge regime was recently taken into custody to stand trial for atrocities that occurred during the bloody reign of that totalitarian regime, and soon the country of Cambodia, with the help of students from the Washington and Lee University School of Law, will begin the slow march to justice and reconciliation.

9/26/2007 - School of Law Celebrates International Law Scholars with Portrait Unveiling and Class of 1975 Investiture Lecture
On Wednesday, Oct. 3, the Washington and Lee University School of Law will honor Professor Rick Kirgis and his many contributions to the school and also will recognize Professor Mark Drumbl for his work in international law.

9/26/2007 - Judge Joan Lefkow to Deliver 2007 Tucker Lecture
The Hon. Joan H. Lefkow of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois will deliver the 2007 Tucker Lecture at the Washington and Lee University School of Law on Friday, October 5 beginning at 12:10 p.m. in the Millhiser Moot Court Room.

9/21/2007 - Winners of 2007 Robert J. Grey Jr. Negotiations Competition Announced
The 2007 Robert J. Grey Jr. Negotiations competition at the Washington and Lee University School of Law came to a close Friday evening, with the team of Ben Conley and Joseph Yahr emerging victorious.

9/21/2007 - Washington and Lee University Mourns the Hon. H. Emory Widener ’53, Longest-serving Appeals Court Judge
The Honorable Hiram Emory Widener, Jr., 84, alumnus and adjunct faculty member at the School of Law, died at his home on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at 11:10 a.m. He was born in Abingdon, Virginia on April 30, 1923. He had been the longest-serving active United States Court of Appeals judge in the nation.

9/20/2007 - Religious Freedom Attorney to Speak At School of Law
Prominent religious liberty attorney Kevin Seamus Hasson will speak at the Washington and Lee University School of Law on Monday, September 24 in Classroom A beginning at 2:00 p.m.

9/19/2007 - Law Professor Joshua Fairfield Gives Lecture within Second Life Virtual World
On Monday, September 24, Joshua Fairfield, visiting professor of law at Washington and Lee University, delivered a lecture titled "Anti-Social Contracts in Virtual Worlds," and he didn't even have to leave his office to do it.

9/19/2007 - Associate General Counsel for Johnson and Johnson to Speak at School of Law
Taysen Van Itallie, Associate General Counsel for Johnson and Johnson, will speak at the Washington and Lee School of Law on Tuesday, October 2, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in the Millhiser Moot Court Room.

9/14/2007 - Jose Enrique Alvarez to Deliver 2007 Transnational Law Institute Fall Lecture
The Transnational Law Institute's Fall Lecture will be delivered by Jose Enrique Alvarez, Hamilton Fish Professor of International Law and Diplomacy at Columbia Law School and the President of the American Society of International Law (2006-2007). His lecture is titled 'Making Globalization Responsible' and will take place on Tuesday, September 25, at 12:00 pm in the Millhiser Moot Court Room at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. The lecture is free and open to the public.

9/7/2007 - Phi Alpha Delta Wins Community Service Award for 2006 Auction
The Washington and Lee University School of Law chapter of Phi Alpha Delta (PAD), an international service fraternity, has received the Outstanding Community Service Law School Chapter Award from the PAD Public Service Center for their 2006 charity auction.

9/7/2007 - Dean Rodney Smolla to Present at World Forum on Democracy
Washington and Lee University School of Law Dean Rodney A. Smolla will participate in the World Forum on the Future of Democracy, hosted by the College of William and Mary from September 16 to September 18, 2007.

8/28/2007 - School of Law Welcomes Visiting Faculty Members for Fall 2007
The School of Law is pleased to welcome several visiting faculty members this semester. Among the visitors are an expert in e-Commerce regulation and virtual worlds, the co-founder of the popular online German Law Journal, and two alumni of the law school.

8/14/2007 - Lorri Olan Named Associate Director of Career Planning and Professional Development
Lorriann Theresa Olan has been named Associate Director of Career Planning and Professional Development at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. She begins her position with the School on August 27.

8/9/2007 - Law Professor’s New Book Examines Health Care Crisis in America
In his new book, Health Care at Risk, Washington and Lee law professor and health care expert Tim Jost addresses the health insurance crisis by examining one of the latest developments in health care, the consumer-driven movement.

8/8/2007 - Washington and Lee University Mourns Civil Rights Leader Oliver Hill
Oliver W. Hill, prominent civil rights crusader and attorney, died Sunday, Aug. 5, at his Richmond, Va., home. He was 100. Hill received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University in 2000.

Hill was a close friend of the late Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell '29A, '31L, as well as of current Board of Trustees member Robert J. Grey '76L. Commenting on Hill's life to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Grey said the lawyer possessed a sense of fairness and always rooted for the underdog.

8/3/2007 - School of Law Welcomes New Faculty Members
The Washington and Lee University School of Law is pleased to welcome three professors as new faculty members.

In addition to Rodney Smolla, who was named Dean and Professor of Law in February, Robin Fretwell Wilson and Lawton Cummings will join the permanent faculty this fall.

8/3/2007 - Washington and Lee Law Review Announces Staff Writers
Twenty-four students at Washington and Lee University's School of Law have been named staff writers for the Law Review, completing the staff for the upcoming year's edition, Volume 65. They join an editorial board comprised of 15 third-year students, including Editor-in-Chief Kimberly Herb and Executive Editor Anna Ku.

7/17/2007 - Sarah Nichols Hughes Named Assistant Director for Advancement
Sarah Nichols Hughes has been named the Assistant Director for Advancement at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, beginning August 1. In her new position, Hughes will focus on the School of Law's Annual Fund. She replaces Elizabeth Outland Branner, who recently was promoted to the new position of Associate Director for Advancement.

6/29/2007 - Professor Robert Danforth Named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Robert T. Danforth, Professor of Law and Alumni Faculty Fellow at the Washington and Lee University School of Law has been appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs by Dean Rodney Smolla.

Danforth succeeds Professor Blake Morant, who is departing Washington and Lee to become dean of the law school at Wake Forest University.

6/26/2007 - W&L Law Professor David Bruck Offers Testimony on Federal Death Penalty before Senate Judiciary Subcommittee
Washington and Lee School of Law Professor David Bruck, testified before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday, June 27. The Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights held a hearing discussing oversight of the federal death penalty.

Professor Bruck is director of the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse at the School of Law. He has practiced criminal law since 1976, and since 1980 has specialized in the defense of capital cases at the trial, appellate and post-conviction stages.

6/22/2007 - Professor Louise Halper Named Director of Lewis Law Center
Louise A. Halper, Professor of Law and Law Alumni Association Fellow in Teaching Excellence at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, has been named the next director of the Frances Lewis Law Center.

Established in 1978 with a generous gift from Frances and Sydney Lewis, the Law Center's mandate is to support faculty research and scholarship that advances legal reform.

6/19/2007 - Elizabeth Outland Branner Named Associate Director for Advancement
Elizabeth Outland Branner has been promoted to the new position of Associate Director for Advancement in the Washington and Lee University School of Law, effective July 1. In her new position, Branner will focus on the Law School's major gifts program.

5/29/2007 - Law Professor’s Scholarship Leads to New Legislation Banning Unauthorized Exams
Imagine you're a woman going in for surgery at a well-known teaching hospital. You're confident in your surgeon, and you've signed all the usual consent forms. Unfortunately, what you don't know is that while you're under anesthesia medical students may be performing a pelvic exam without your knowledge or consent.

5/15/2007 - Blake Morant Named Dean of Wake Forest University School of Law
Blake D. Morant, associate dean for academic affairs and Roy L. Steinheimer, Jr. professor of law at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, has been named the new dean of the School of Law at Wake Forest University.

Morant, who joined the faculty of the law school in 1997, will begin his duties as dean at Wake Forest July 1, 2007.

5/14/2007 - School of Law Honors Graduates at 2007 Commencement Ceremony
The Washington and Lee University School of Law celebrated its 152nd commencement on Saturday, May 12 as 124 J.D. degrees and four LL.M degrees were awarded. The graduates will begin their legal careers in 26 different states and one foreign country, Bosnia-Herzogovina. 18 graduates will go on to judicial clerkships, and 56 percent of employed graduates will work for law firms.

5/11/2007 - Law Professor Consults In Largest-Ever Settlement With Corporate Directors
Lyman Johnson, Robert O. Bentley Professor of Law at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, served as a consultant and expert witness to the law firm obtaining what may be the largest settlement payment ever by outside corporate directors following corporate misconduct allegations.

5/2/2007 - Four Law Students Receive Public Service Scholarships
Washington and Lee School of Law students Russell Kruse, Blaine Nicholson, Robert Reed, and Bridget Tainer-Parkins, all members of the class of 2009, have been selected as the 2007 recipients of Virginia Law Foundation Public Service Internship awards that will enable them to work at law-related public service jobs this summer.

4/18/2007 - Law Professor’s New Book Examines International Law and War Crimes
How do you determine an appropriate punishment for a war criminal or a genocidal killer? These questions inform Washington and Lee University School of Law Professor Mark Drumbl's new book, Atrocity, Punishment and International Law, released this April by Cambridge University Press. Drumbl is the Class of 1975 Alumni Professor of Law and director of the school's Transnational Law Institute.

4/17/2007 - Author John Grisham to Deliver Law School Commencement Address
Best-selling author John Grisham will deliver the commencement address during the 2007 School of Law Commencement exercises at Washington and Lee University on Saturday, May 12. Commencement will begin at 11:00 am on the lawn between the Colonnade and Lee Chapel (rain location: Warner Center). The event is open to the public.

4/13/2007 - International Law Students Travel to Europe to See Human Rights Organizations at Work
Washington and Lee University School of Law students taking Professor Speedy Rice's International Law of Human Rights class traveled to Europe this semester to see up close how the legal procedures and mechanisms they have studied are put into practice.

The students visited international courts as well as non-governmental organizations working for human rights across the globe.

4/13/2007 - School of Law Victorious in U.S Supreme Court and Fourth Circuit Arguments
As reported last year, visiting professor of law Sean Donahue and third-year law student Kate Speiker argued separate cases before the United States Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, respectively. Decisions in both cases were released this spring, and clients represented by the Washington and Lee advocates were victorious in both of them.

4/2/2007 - School of Law 25th in Latest US News Rankings
Washington and Lee University's School of Law is ranked the 25th best legal program in the country among ABA-accredited law schools, according to new rankings released Friday (March 30) by U.S. News and World Report. The school was ranked 22nd in last year's report.

3/30/2007 - Service Trip to Gulf Coast Brings Focus to Hurricane Katrina Symposium
More than a year has passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region, and although thousands of volunteers have traveled to the area to provide relief assistance, a tremendous amount of work remains.

18 students from the Washington and Lee University School of Law saw this up close during their spring break when they joined a nationwide relief effort providing legal services and manual labor in New Orleans.

3/13/2007 - Law Symposium Examines Gender-Relevant Legislation In Muslim and Non-Muslim Countries
On March 30 and 31, a distinguished multidisciplinary group of international scholars and activists will convene at the Washington and Lee School of Law to discuss various women's issues at the Gender-Relevant Legislative Change in Muslim and non-Muslim Countries symposium. Louise Halper, symposium director and professor of law at the School fo Law says that many people assume that Muslim women can't speak for themselves. From her travels in the region, she saw a different picture.

3/6/2007 - Law Students Receive Shepherd Poverty Alliance Internships
Four students at the Washington and Lee University School of Law have received summer internships through the Shepherd Poverty Alliance. The Shepherd Alliance joins students from Berea College, Bonner Scholar Schools, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Washington and Lee University in summer work with agencies that seek to benefit impoverished members of society.

The students, Peter Massaro '09L, Crystal Doyle '09L, Yue Liu '09L, and Melanie Busby '08L, will participate in their internships during summer 2007.

2/19/2007 - Alumni Return to Judge Jessup International Law Competition
When Josh Humphries '07L was looking for people to judge the South Central Regional Round of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition at the School of Law on Feb. 16 -18, he wanted the best. So it was only natural to turn to Washington and Lee alumni.

2/19/2007 - Rodney A. Smolla Named Dean of the Washington and Lee School of Law
President Kenneth P. Ruscio announced today the appointment of Rodney A. Smolla as Dean of the Washington and Lee University School of Law. Smolla is currently Dean and George E. Allen Professor of Law at the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. Smolla will succeed Acting Dean Brian C. Murchison on July 1, 2007.

2/7/2007 - National Jurist Names Washington and Lee School of Law to Clinical Honor Roll
The National Jurist has named the Black Lung Legal Clinic at the Washington and Lee School of Law as one of the best clinical programs in the nation.

The Black Lung Clinic joined programs from the University of Chicago Law School, the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and the University of Washington School of Law, among others, on the Clinical Honor Roll announced in the January edition of the magazine.

2/1/2007 - BLSA Sponsors Lectures Series in Celebration of Black History Month
The Black Law Student Association (BLSA) at the Washington and Lee University School of Law has planned a series of lectures during the month of February to celebrate Black History Month.

The series begins on Monday, February 5 at 12:00 p.m. in the Millhiser Moot Court Room with a speech delivered by Robert Grey '76.

1/30/2007 - Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to Hear Arguments at the Washington and Lee University School of Law
On Friday, February 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will hear a day of oral arguments in the Millhiser Moot Court Room at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. A panel of judges from the Court will hear three cases beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. As is customary, the names of the judges will not be released until the morning oral arguments are to take place.

1/29/2007 - Law Students to Assist Local Residents with Tax Returns
Students at the Washington and Lee University School of Law are once again offering free tax help for low- to moderate-income individuals in the Rockbridge County area this year. Beginning February 12 and ending April 2, student volunteers will staff the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) office on Monday evening from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Community Legal Practice Center located near the law school on the Washington and Lee University campus. The office will be closed March 12 and March 19 while students are on break.

1/24/2007 - Transnational Law Institute Offers Lecture on Saddam Hussein Conviction and Execution
The Transnational Law Institute at the Washington and Lee University School of Law will offer an honorary lecture by Prof. M. Cherif Bassiouni titled 'Iraqi High Tribunal: Saddam Hussein Conviction and Execution'. The lecture, followed by questions, will be held in Lewis Hall Room A from 10:30 to noon on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

Bassiouni is one of the world's leaders in the field of international criminal law and war crimes trials.

1/16/2007 - Emeritus Board Member Pamela J. White Appointed to Baltimore Circuit Court
Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. has announced the appointment of Pamela J. White 77L, former member of the Board of Trustees, as a Circuit Court Judge in Baltimore City.

White, who was appointed to fill the seat of a retiring judge, will serve until November 2008, when she will stand for election to a 15-year term.

1/3/2007 - Washington and Lee University to Celebrate the Life of the Mind during Science, Society, and the Arts
Preparations are in full swing as the Washington and Lee University community prepares for the second Science, Society, and the Arts (SSA) research conference. SSA, held for the first time in November 2004, is a campus-wide academic conference where students, faculty and staff participate in reading colloquia and academic presentations with the goal of highlighting the academic life of the campus community.

SSA II will occur on Friday, March 2, 2007 across the Washington and Lee University campus.