News

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—The public interest law program at West Virginia University College of Law has been ranked fifth in the nation.

PreLaw Magazine named WVU Law among the 2020 Best Schools for Public Service: Public Interest. Lawyers who practice public interest law help those who cannot afford legal services and the underrepresented, including the poor, the elderly, children and victims of domestic violence.

WVU Law has a long history of commitment to public interest law. It offers a concentration in the field and, every year, students are funded to work in public interest agencies, including Legal Aid of West Virginia, Mountain State Justice and ChildLaw Services. The college’s clinical law program provides more than 40,000 hours of pro bono legal services a year to those in need. Since 2009, the college has operated a Center for Law in Public Service.

“Excellence in public service is in our DNA, and it’s an integral part of our mission as a land-grant law school,” said Gregory Bowman, dean of the College of Law. “We are committed to helping our students excel in public interest law while providing a much-needed service to our state and nation.”

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— A new book by folklorist Rosemary Hathaway explores the history and potent symbolism of the iconic West Virginia University Mountaineer.

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.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Lauren McCartney has been named director of Continuing Legal Education at the West Virginia University College of Law.

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 University College 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.”

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—The West Virginia Innocence Project, a clinic at the West Virginia University College of Law, has received an award from the Morgantown Human Rights Commission.

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 workshop is hosted by the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development at the West Virginia University College of Law, the West Virginia Center on Climate Change, and the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.

“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.  

>>Read about their out-of-the-ordinary trip to NOLA

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—The West Virginia University College of Law has joined a national campaign focused on well-being in the legal profession.

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 University College 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.