News

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. —The 2015 National Energy Conference at the West Virginia University College of Law will examine issues affecting the use of water in energy production, including quality and supply, federal regulations, and climate change.

The fourth annual conference takes place on Friday, April 10, in the College of Law’s Event Hall. It features experts from government, the private sector, and policy, academic, and environmental organizations. The conference is organized by the College of Law’s Center for Energy and Sustainable Development and it is sponsored by Steptoe & Johnson PLLC.

Among the issues that panelists will explore are the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of the “Waters of the United States” and its October 2014 cooling water intake rule. Both are part of the Clean Water Act.

Panelists will also examine how developers and environmental regulators are addressing issues in managing water use in shale gas development, and how climate change is expected to affect water supply and its impact on energy industries.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA – LGBT civil rights attorney Beth Littrell will speak at the West Virginia University College of Law on Wednesday, April 1, at 7 p.m. in the event hall.

Admissions is free and the public is invited to attend. A reception will follow the lecture.

Littrell, who helped win marriage equality in West Virginia, will address the next big advocacy issues in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions, and a reception follows the program. 

As a senior attorney for Lambda Legal in Atlanta, Georgia, Littrell has been involved in a wide variety of litigation for same sex couples, including marriage, custody rights, First Amendment disputes, and employment and disability discrimination.

Founded in 1973, Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

Littrell’s lecture at WVU is hosted by OUTlaw, a student organization at the College of Law that fosters open communication between gay and straight communities while educating individuals on gay rights issues.

-WVU-

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRIGINIA—The West Virginia University College of Law continues to be ranked a top 100 law school by U.S. News & World Report. In its “2016 Best Graduate Schools” guide, the magazine ranks WVU Law #94 out of 198 accredited law schools.

“The national environment for law schools is extremely competitive, so our place among the best schools is very good news,” said Gregory Bowman, interim dean of the College of Law. “Our ranking is the result of the hard work being done by our faculty and staff to ensure a high-quality legal education and it wouldn’t be possible without the support of alumni, friends, university leadership, and the law community.”

To compile its latest law school rankings, U.S. News used statistics from 2013 and 2014, including data on peer assessment, LSAT scores, employment rate, and bar passage rate.

While acknowledging the objective value of rankings like U.S. News, Bowman points out that they are just one tool future law students should use when researching a school.

UPDATE Congratulations to Texas Tech University School of Law, winner of the 2015 National Energy & Sustainability Moot Court Competition, and the University of North Dakota School of Law, runner-up.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA—Law students from across the country are coming to Morgantown March 12-14 to compete in the fifth annual National Energy & Sustainability Moot Court Competition, hosted by the West Virginia University College of Law.

The legal issues in the competition are based on recent court and regulatory cases, and illustrate environmental and sustainability challenges faced by today’s energy companies.

This year, the students in the competition are tackling legal problems faced by a fictitious energy company trying to build a natural gas gathering pipeline system.