MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — The Honorable Richard A. Robinson, the first African-American
Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, will deliver the 2018 Ihlenfeld
Lecture at WVU Law on Nov. 7 at 12 p.m. in the
Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom
A 1984 graduate of the WVU College of Law, Robinson will discuss the judiciary in
a multicultural world. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.
Robinson was appointed as Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2018
after serving five years on the court. Before that, he was a judge on the Connecticut
Appellate Court and a Connecticut Superior Court judge. He has also served as presiding
civil judge for the New Britain, Ansonia/Milford, and Stamford judicial districts
in Connecticut.
Throughout his legal career, Robinson has served in human rights and educational
organizations, including the NAACP, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights
and Opportunities, and the Connecticut Judicial Education Curriculum Committee.
His work in human rights has been recognized by the Connecticut State Bar Association,
the NAACP, and the Connecticut Bar Foundation.
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA - WVU Law professor Matthew Titolo has
been awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholar grant for the spring 2019 semester.
As a Fulbright Senior Scholar,
Titolo will teach and study at the University of La Laguna in Tenerife, Spain,
focusing on international commercial law and European Union law. He will also
lecture on his forthcoming book, “Privatization and Its Discontents:
Infrastructure, Law and American Democracy”, to be published by Cambridge
University Press.
“The Fulbright grant is a great
opportunity for me to work with scholars in interdisciplinary groups and deepen
my knowledge,” said Titolo. “I look forward to continued collaboration with
colleagues across the Atlantic in the coming years. The work I do in Tenerife
and the working relationships I will make there will help enrich my teaching
and scholarship when I return to WVU.”
Titolo teaches legal history,
contracts, international commercial law and remedies at WVU Law. He earned his
J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a master’s degree
in English Literature from the University of Texas, Austin, and a Ph.D. in
English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles. Titolo
earned his B.A. in English from Baruch College. He is currently pursuing a
Ph.D. in American and European History at West Virginia University.
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA— WVU Law and the West Virginia Securities Commission are
hosting a free workshop to help new and existing entrepreneurs in the Mountain
State grow their business.
The
Raising Capital Workshop takes place on October 4 from 5:30 -7:30 p.m. at the
Clubhouse at Coonskin Park in Charleston, West Virginia.
“There is a lot of opportunity for growth in West Virginia, but with that opportunity
comes important legal and business considerations,” said
Priya Baskaran
, director of the
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Law Clinic at WVU. “We’ve designed this workshop
to help entrepreneurs succeed.”
Participants in the Raising Capital Workshop will learn about the legal options for
funding their West Virginia-based business and how to meet regulatory requirements.
They will also learn more about crowdfunding and free legal services and resources.
A panel
of WVU Law professors will lead
the discussion starting at 12 p.m. on September 17 in the Marlyn E. Lugar
Courtroom at the law school.
Admission
is free and the public is invited to attend.
This year’s
Constitution Day panelists are Robert
Bastress, John W. Fisher II Professor of Law; Anne
Lofaso, Arthur B. Hodges Professor of Law; and John
Taylor, Jackson Kelly Professor of Law.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The House of Delegates elected Roger Hanshaw '12 (R-Clay) as
the 58th Speaker of the West Virginia House on August 29.
Speaker Hanshaw succeeds former Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, who resigned last
week. He becomes just the second Republican to serve as leader of the House of
Delegates since the current state Capitol was built in the 1930s.
“With great humility, I accept this opportunity to help make West Virginia a better
place to live, work and raise a family,” Hanshaw said. “We have made great strides
in the past four years under Speaker Armstead’s leadership, and I hope to build
on that foundation so we can continue to improve our economy, inspire business
investment and help create jobs for all West Virginians.”
Hanshaw, 38, is currently serving in his second term in the House of Delegates. The
Vice-Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he also serves as Chairman of the Legislature’s
Joint Committee on Flooding.
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — A new class of West Virginia Lawyers and Leaders has
been recognized at WVU Law.
WVU Law and West Virginia Executive magazine established the Lawyers and Leaders
Awards in 2017 to recognize lawyers who have made a positive impact on the state
and the nation.
Award winners have dedicated their career to serving others and their communities.
Recipients must practice in West Virginia and/or be graduates of WVU Law.
“The professionals chosen for these awards demonstrate exemplary leadership, a commitment
to service and, of course, an unbreakable bond with the state of West Virginia.
We are proud to showcase them and their wonderful accomplishments,” said
Gregory Bowman, dean of the College of Law.
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — With classes underway, first-year students at the West
Virginia University College of Law have officially begun their legal careers.
There are 113 students in the WVU Law Class of 2021, which is an increase of almost
four percent over last year. First generation college students make up one-third
of the class.
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA – The
West Virginia Innocence Project Law Clinic at WVU Law has helped free a client from prison after proving he was convicted of a crime he
did not commit.
The Circuit Court for Tyler County, West Virginia, recently vacated the conviction
of Christopher Dodrill. In 2016, Dodrill was found guilty of child abuse with serious
bodily injury and unlawful assault after a child under his care became injured.
He was sentenced to 3-15 years in prison.
Dodrill consistently testified that the child fell and hit her head, and that he
took her to the hospital. The child fully recovered, but because she had brain
swelling and a subdural hematoma, the hospital diagnosed her with Shaken Baby Syndrome
without eliminating other possible causes of her injuries.
At his trial, Dodrill had no doctors or expert witnesses to consult or testify on
his behalf, making it his word against the hospital’s diagnosis.
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — A
West Virginia University graduate is one the top lawyers in the U.S. military.
Lieutenant General Jeffrey A. Rockwell was recently sworn in as the 18th Judge Advocate
General for the U.S. Air Force. He earned his law degree from WVU in 1987 and his
bachelor’s degree in accounting from WVU in 1984.
Based at the Pentagon, Rockwell oversees military justice, operational and international
law, and civil law functions at every level of command. He is responsible for the
oversight of more than 4,400 judge advocates (lawyers), civilian attorneys, enlisted
paralegals and civilians in the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps worldwide.
He also serves as the legal advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force and all officers
and agencies of the Department of the Air Force.
Rockwell previously served four years as the Deputy Judge Advocate General. He joined
the Air Force as a first lieutenant staff judge advocate (lawyer) in 1987 and is
now the service’s 39th three-star general.
Caroline Osborne
is the new director of the law library and associate professor of law.
Stephanie Miller
is the library’s first head of outreach, attorney services and digital initiatives.
Both come to WVU from the Washington & Lee University law library.
“Caroline and Stephanie are wonderful additions to the WVU Law community. They have
deep expertise because of their previous leadership at Washington and Lee University
and other law school libraries,” said
Gregory Bowman
, dean of the College of Law. “Our faculty and students and the practicing
bar are really going to benefit from their knowledge and experience. We’re very
excited about the bright future of our law library.”
Osborne served in a range of key law librarian roles at Washington and Lee for more
than a decade. Most recently, she was the assistant dean for legal information
services. She has also been a professor of legal research and senior associate
law librarian. Osborn earned her bachelor’s degree and Master of Science in Library
Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds a law degree
from the University of Richmond and a Master of Laws from Emory University.
