MORGANTOWN,
W.Va.—A fellowship from the American Bar Association is helping rising 3L Brian Bowen get
important work experience this summer.
Bowen is a 2019
ABA Steiger Fellow in the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the
West Virginia Attorney General in Charleston. The $6,000 fellowship is awarded
to just 37 law students nationally who are interested in consumer protection
and public service.
“Receiving the
Steiger Fellowship is particularly meaningful to me because I pursued a career
in law to promote public understanding of consumer issues and to defend
consumer rights,” said Bowen. “The attorney general takes on some of the most
complicated and difficult consumer cases in West Virginia, and being exposed to
these issues is allowing me to expand my skills, knowledge, and experience while
I work with some of the most qualified people in the state.”
At WVU Law,
Bowen is a member of the Public
Interest Advocates and an inaugural fellow in the Center for
Consumer Law and Education. He has also helped launch the student
Consumer Law Group at WVU. Bowen has
been a legal extern at Mountain State Justice and an intern at Mobilization for
Justice in New York City.
West Virginia Public Defender Services recently presented WVIP with the John A. “Jack”
Rogers Award for Outstanding Leadership in Public Service for its work on behalf
of the state’s wrongfully convicted.
WVIP is a law clinic at the
West Virginia UniversityCollege of Law. Third-year law students in the clinic investigate and
litigate cases where criminal defendants have been wrongfully convicted, and move
to vacate sentences based on newly discovered evidence, actual innocence, or other
constitutional claims.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—This summer, 25 WVU Law students are practicing public interest
law across West Virginia.
As Public Interest Advocates Summer Fellows, these students are working in full-time,
paid positions for 10 weeks serving the poor, the elderly, children, and victims
of domestic violence, among others. They are gaining valuable experience in children’s
advocacy, civil rights, consumer law, disability rights, and land use and conservation
law.
PIA is a WVU Law student group that raises money to support the nonprofit West
Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest. Each year, the WVFLIPI sponsors paid
summer fellowships that make it possible for WVU Law students to work for public
interest law organizations throughout the state.
“PIA fellowships benefit the organizations who host our fellows and the clients they
serve,” said
Jennifer Powell, PIA advisor and executive director of WVFLIPI. “Fellows help
give access to justice to so many West Virginians who could not otherwise afford
a lawyer. Fellowships supported by PIA and the Fund have also helped launch hundreds
of law students’ careers and inspired many to work in public interest law and provide
pro bono legal services once they become lawyers.”
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—WVU Law professor
Jena Martin is exploring consumer rights issues with the goal of creating best-practice
guidelines for policymakers.
Martin is the inaugural recipient of the Ralph C. Young Fellowship awarded by the
Center for Consumer Law and Education, a joint program between WVU College
of Law and Marshall University.
“The fellowship is giving me the opportunity to engage with regional, national and
international audiences on issues of data privacy and access to justice,” said
Martin
Martin’s consumer protection research is long-term. In the coming year, she will
survey and interview victims of misused data, specifically asking them what satisfactory
outcomes they would seek as a result of data-privacy violations.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—Brendan Wood '19 has been awarded a post-graduate legal fellowship
from Equal Justice Works that will allow him to offer legal assistance to West
Virginians recovering from addiction as they work towards greater socioeconomic
stability.
Starting in September, he will create a referral network for education, counseling,
group therapy and self-help materials that address the underlying issues associated
with substance use disorder. Wood will also use the Americans with Disabilities
Act and other laws to advocate for his clients to give them improved access to
employment, housing and educational opportunities.
“The nature of substance use disorder deprives many victims of access to resources
and employment necessary for recovery, including legal counsel to protect their
rights under the ADA and other legislation,” he said.
Wood will be working closely with Legal Aid of West Virginia in Charleston. They
plan to make the fellowship project a blueprint to help communities across the
United States address substance use disorder.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— WVU Law's
West Virginia Innocence Project
recently helped overturn the conviction of a man who spent more than seven years
in prison for a crime he did not commit.
On May 1, Judge Alfred E. Ferguson of Cabell County, West Virginia, vacated the manslaughter
conviction of Nathaniel Barnett in light of newly-tested DNA evidence. Barnett
was convicted in connection with the 2002 murder of Deanna Crawford.
Ferguson gave the Cabell County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office 90 days to decide if
they want a new trial for Barnett or if the charges should be dismissed.
Nathaniel Barnett, his brother Phillip, Justin Black and Brian Dement were all convicted
in 2008 of charges related to Crawford’s murder despite the lack of physical evidence
connecting them to the crime scene.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— The
Center for Consumer Law and Education, a joint program between WVU Law and
Marshall University, has joined a federal program that empowers consumers.
The CCLE is now a member of “Your Money, Your Goals,” a grassroots initiative of
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CCLE is one of 40 organizations nationally
admitted into the program this year.
As a member of “Your Money, Your Goals,” CCLE staff will receive training and tools
that will help consumers achieve financial wellbeing and learn important financial
skills such as developing budgets, reviewing credit reports, and managing debt.
Since 2013, the “Your Money, Your Goals” program has trained more than 26,000 frontline
staff and volunteers in service organizations across the country. Members of the
group include federal, state, and local government agencies, faith-based and social
service organizations, and financial service providers.
Washington, D.C.—Kimberly A. Reed, a 1996 WVU Law graduate, is the new president and chairman of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the
United States (EXIM).
The swearing-in ceremony took place at EXIM headquarters in Washington, D.C. Reed
was sworn in by Joyce Stone, EXIM assistant corporate secretary and Ambassador
Jeffrey D. Gerrish, EXIM’s former president and chairman (acting).
Reed was confirmed to EXIM’s top post by the U.S. Senate on May 8, 2019, by a bipartisan
vote of vote of 79 to 17.
“I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for this opportunity to execute his
agenda by growing jobs and helping U.S. businesses prosper. I am committed to ensuring
that American workers can compete on a fair playing field in international trade.
It is a tremendous honor to be appointed by President Trump and confirmed by the
U.S. Senate to lead this distinguished mission,” said Reed.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—Chambers USA has shortlisted Marilyn McClure-Demers, a 1991 WVU
Law graduate, for its 2019 Gender Diversity Lawyer of the Year award.
The Gender Diversity Lawyer of the Year award recognizes a general counsel who has
shown dedication and commitment to gender diversity programs and/or taken an active
role in organizing events and/or discussions to further the advancement of women
in the law.
Just 11 lawyers nationally are shortlisted for the 2019 award. The winner will be
announced on June 6 at a ceremony in San Francisco.
"To be shortlisted by Chambers means you are a true diversity and inclusion pioneer
for the legal profession," said
GregoryBowman, dean of the College of Law. “We are proud of Marilyn and inspired
by her work.”
