News

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA – Students at WVU Law are winning benefits for the state’s veterans.

Recently, student attorneys in the Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic successfully appealed two denial of claim decisions by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The first case involved Steven McCloud of Clarksburg (left). McCloud served in the United States Navy from 1999 to 2006 and was on active duty in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2006 before being honorably discharged.

In 2016, McCloud underwent sleep studies that concluded he suffered from sleep apnea. When he applied to the VA with a service-connected disability claim and associated benefits, McCord was turned down. That’s when he reached out the Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Professors Shine “Sean” Tu and Elaine Waterhouse Wilson have been appointed to three-year terms as associate deans at the West Virginia University College of Law.

Wilson is the associate dean for academic affairs. She is responsible for curricular oversight and development, student academic achievement, and the college’s compliance with American Bar Association standards.

Tu is the associate dean for faculty research and development. His duties include supporting and increasing faculty scholarship, coordinating guest speakers, endowed lectures and workshops, and leading technology innovation in academics.

“Elaine and Sean are wonderful colleagues, and I am so pleased that they are now on the leadership team at WVU Law,” said Gregory Bowman, dean of the College of Law. "They have distinguished themselves through the excellence of their teaching, service and scholarship. They’ll be fantastic associate deans who will serve the law school, university and legal profession with integrity.”

(THE CONVERSATION) President Donald Trump recently ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry to take "immediate steps" to stop the closure of coal and nuclear power plants.

And according to a draft memo that surfaced the same day, the federal government may establish a "Strategic Electric Generation Reserve" to purchase electricity from coal and nuclear plants for two years.

Both proposals, which have garnered little support, are premised on these power plants being essential to national security. If implemented, the government would be activating emergency powers rarely tapped before for any purpose.

Based on my four decades of experience as a utility regulatory attorney and law professor, I can see why this proposal has caused much controversy, partly because of how energy markets work.

The opioid epidemic received a lot of attention at the 2018 Mountain State Land Use Academy, hosted recently by WVU’s Land Use and Sustainable Development (LUSD) Law Clinic.

Held this year at Adventures of the Gorge in Fayette County, the MSLUA is an annual gathering to discuss issues that are critical to developing West Virginia communities. Participants include certified planners, legal experts, members of local governments, and other community leaders.

“The purpose of the academy is to empower citizen planners by giving them the knowledge and resources needed to address land use issues at the local level,” said Jesse Richardson, a land use attorney with the law clinic. “We focus on current land use issues that are most prominent and pressing in West Virginia.”

Anne Hazlett, assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), was the 2018 MSLUA keynote speaker. She spoke about ways the USDA is working with communities to help residents combat the opioid crisis in their own neighborhoods.