The book launch for “Mountaineers Are Always Free: Heritage, Dissent, and a West
Virginia Icon” (
WVU Press, 2020) will be held in the Event Hall at the WVU
College of Law on February 24 at 4 p.m. Admission is free and the public is
invited to attend.
Hathaway, an associate professor of English, will lead a discussion about the Mountaineer
with
Travis Stimeling, associate professor of music, and Emily Hilliard of the West
Virginia Folklife Program.
For more than 80 years, the WVU Mountaineer has been alternately a rabble-rouser
and a romantic embodiment of the state’s history. While being the subject of ongoing
reinterpretation, the Mountaineer has consistently conveyed the value of independence.
McCartney will develop and implement seminars for the professional development of
lawyers who practice in the Mountain State. She will also lead strategic planning,
assessment and evaluation of WVCLE initiatives in alignment with the college's
strategic plan.
“I look forward to serving the members of West Virginia’s Bar in designing a curriculum
of timely topics and engaging speakers to help each of them move forward with their
professional goals,” McCartney said. “Legal professionals hold themselves to the
highest standards of integrity and professional responsibility, and the Bar self-regulates
through the fulfillment of continuing legal education requirements.”
McCartney has worked as an attorney with Jackson Kelly PLLC and Huddleston Bolen,
now Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The
West Virginia UniversityCollege of Law is hosting an admissions open house aimed at increasing diversity
in the classroom and the legal profession.
WVU Law’s inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Day will be held on February 22 from
9:00 a.m. (check-in) to 1 p.m. on Law School Hill. It is free and lunch will be
served. To register, visit
bit.ly/wvulaw-diversity-day.
Beginning at 9:30 a.m., guests will hear from law students and alumni about how WVU Law set them up for success
in law school and their careers. Members of the College’s Diversity and Inclusion
Committee will also highlight programs and opportunities offered to diverse law
students to help them get the most out of their legal education.
“Diversity is important in law school and the legal profession because it leads
to better representation for all members of society,” said
Beth Pierpont, assistant dean for
Enrollment Management.
“We are committed to inclusive excellence at the WVU College of Law because
it will ultimately ensure greater access to justice.”
The award is given annually to an organization in recognition of International Human
Rights Day on December 10.
Marjorie McDiarmid, director of the clinical law program, and
Melissa Giggenbach, director of the West Virginia Innocence Project, accepted
the award from Jacob Powers, chair of the Morgantown Human Rights Commission.
“It requires painstaking work on the part of the students first to identify and then
to advocate for clients who have been wrongfully convicted. This award goes
to those students and the faculty and staff who work with them,” McDiarmid said.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— A free public education workshop to be held in Charleston, West
Virginia, will explore how the state’s communities can respond to the world’s transition
to new energy sources and technology.
“Leaving No One Behind: Ensuring a Fair Transition for Workers and Communities” will
be held on February 5 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Charleston Coliseum and Convention
Center. Admission is free, but registration is required for seating. Please visit
energy.law.wvu.edu/transition
for more information.
“The nation’s energy industry is undergoing a major transition, and West Virginia is bearing the brunt of it through the loss of coal jobs and the adverse economic impacts in the southern part of the state,“ said James Van Nostrand, director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development. “This program will give attendees the chance to learn from top national experts about the economic and political opportunities and obstacles for creating a fair transition for all.”
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—WVU Law has
nominated 3L Amanda Demmerle for the prestigious Burton Distinguished Legal
Writing Award for Law Schools.
Demmerle was
chosen for her Note, “Pain in the Ash: How Coal-Fired Power Plants are
Polluting Our Nation’s Waters Without Consequences,” which was published in the
December 2019 West Virginia Law Review (122 W. Va. L. Rev. 289).
A Note is a student-authored academic article that discusses and analyzes a
legal issue.
In her Note, Demmerle
argues that the Clean Water Act is currently the best way to regulate water
pollution caused by coal ash impoundments in the United States. She discusses
options within the Clean Water Act, and each option's likelihood of success, to
hold coal ash impoundment operators liable and reduce water pollution.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—A team from WVU Law has advanced to the national round of the American
Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Trial Advocacy Competition.
Michael Hicks, Lauren Mahaney, Kenshandra Mitchell and Holly Netz, all third-year
law students in WVU Law’s Marlyn E. Lugar Trial Association, recently competed
in the competition’s regional round in New York City. They won three trials in
a row to reach the regional final before falling to St. John’s University School
of Law.
As a New York finalist, WVU Law will now compete against seven other law schools
in the national Labor and Employment Trial Advocacy Competition to be held in January
in New Orleans.
The college is one of the first 26 law schools in the country to sign the American
Bar Association's Well-Being Pledge. The program brings attention to ways to improve
the health and well-being of lawyers and law students.
Research shows that lawyers struggle with addiction and mental health problems at
rates much higher than the general population and other professionals. To encourage
those in need to seek help, WVU Law is working to change attitudes and eliminate
bias related to addiction and mental health.
“We are making the wellness and mental health of our students a priority in our programming,”
said
Tina Jernigan, assistant dean for student life. “The statistics on substance
abuse and mental health in the legal field are staggering, and we can no longer
accept the status quo. By signing on to the pledge, we are committed to wellness
in our student body and the legal profession.”
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—A team from the
West Virginia UniversityCollege of Law recently won the best brief award on the way to a quarterfinal
finish in a regional round of the National Moot Court Competition.
The college’s National Moot Court Team is made up of third-year law students Britany
Dolan, Emily Ford, Julian Pecora, Garrett Spiker and Chris Weed. They competed
in two groups at the National Moot Court Competition Region IV Round held at the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, in November.
Ford, Weed and Pecora won the best brief award, beating teams from 18 law schools
from Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. It is WVU‘s first best brief award
at this competition in more than 20 years.
Spiker and Dolan were among the top eight teams to reach the regional’s quarterfinal
round. They are the third WVU Law team in 10 years to advance that far in the National
Moot Court Competition.
“Our
client now qualifies for a range VA benefits including healthcare, disability
compensation, pension, and home loans,” said Jed Nolan,
director of the Veterans
Advocacy Law Clinic.
The
client was discharged unfavorably in 1986 after being diagnosed with a mental
health condition. Nevertheless, he experienced success in school and work
following the discharge, according to Nolan
The
clinic requested the veteran’s discharge status be upgraded to “General, Under
Honorable” because the behavior that led to his discharge was a direct result
of service-related issues. Students in the clinic also argued that the
discharge upgrade was in the interest of justice because the Navy had failed to
provide him with adequate treatment, which impacted his ability to serve. This
fall, the Board of Naval Corrections concurred.