MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Professor
Joshua Weishart is the winner of WVU Law's 2017-18 Significant Scholarship
Award.
The in-house award recognizes Weishart’s article, “Equal Liberty in Proportion,”
published in a 2017 issue of the William and Mary Law Review (see citation on the right).
In the article, Weishart explores the increasing role state courts play in settling education rights.
He asserts that most courts have failed to fully enforce such rights, in part
because they lack suitable legal standards.
Weishart thus proposes a new standard for determining whether states are satisfying
constitutional mandates to improve educational opportunity. He urges courts to
maintain vigorous enforcement of education rights as public schools continue to
endure “inequitable and inadequate funding.”
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA
— Rising 3L Blair Wessels has been elected by her peers to
serve as editor-in-chief of Volume 121 of the West Virginia Law Review.
The West Virginia Law
Review is a professional legal journal that publishes articles of interest to scholars,
students, legislators, and lawyers. Founded in 1894, it is the fourth oldest
student-governed law review in the country.
“I
want to continue the great legacy of the West Virginia Law Review and connect
the law school to lawyers practicing in West Virginia and across the country to
share the meaningful work that we’re doing here,” said Wessels.
As the next editor-in-chief, Wessels will lead a team that reviews
and selects legal articles for three issues of the law review during the
2018-19 academic year. She will also oversee the law review’s website and
online edition, and play a lead role in
organizing a symposium.
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA – WVU Law is offering a legal certification class on
title research for graduating students interested in working in the energy sector.
Students in the five-day Title Research Certification Program will learn how to efficiently
research real property title chains from experienced attorneys. As part of the
class, students will conduct supervised field work at records offices in Monongalia
and Marion counties.
Upon successful completion of the class, students will receive a Certificate in
Real Property Title Research from West Virginia Continuing Legal Education. Classes
start May 8.
“A certification in title research can greatly increase a new attorney’s value to
potential employers and clients,” said Heather Spielmaker, assistant dean for Career
Services. “Title research is a common assignment for new associates and a certification
will help our graduates hit the ground running at firms with clients in the energy
sector.”
MORGANTOWN,
WEST VIRGINIA — WVU Law and Marshall University have each received $1 million to launch a Joint Consumer
Assistance Project for West Virginians.
“This
is great news for the state,” said Gregory
Bowman,
dean of the College of Law. “Using legal research, scholarship and outreach, we
plan to provide publications on consumer rights and remedies that will help our
state’s residents.”
WVU
law professors and students working on the project will analyze consumer
regulations and make policy recommendations to state agencies and the state
legislature. They will also help lawyers and organizations who protect the
consumer rights of West Virginians.
“This
program is a perfect example of higher education's power to improve West
Virginians’ lives,” said Gordon
Gee,
president of West Virginia
University. “West Virginia University
is proud to partner with Marshall
University in protecting
consumer rights through research, outreach and public policy advocacy.”
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — WVU Law recognized its outstanding law students on April
10 at it annual Honors Ceremony in the Event Hall.
The ceremony, titled Celebrating Our Students: A Culture of Excellence, highlighted
the achievements of individual students and student groups during the 2017-18 school year.
Recognition was given for academic excellence, community service, pro bono legal
work, participation in moot court competitions, and for the work of student organizations.
The Student Bar Association was also acknowledged for their work on behalf
of the student body.
MORGANTOWN,
WEST VIRGINIA — WVU Law is one of the best schools in the
country for public interest law, according to preLaw Magazine
The publication
ranks WVU Law sixth in the nation for preparing students to work in public
interest law, a field of law that serves those in need, including the elderly,
children and victims of domestic violence.
It is the
second year in a row that WVU Law’s work in public interest law has received
high marks from preLaw Magazine.
“Using the law
in public service is a cornerstone of legal education at WVU,” said Gregory W. Bowman, dean of the College of Law. “It is our privilege to be a
leader in public interest law as we prepare our students to help the
underrepresented and underprivileged.”
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — WVU Law has been rated one of the top schools in the country for environmental law.
In its spring issue, preLaw Magazine awards the
College of Law a grade of A for the range of its energy and environmental law classes
and other related opportunities. Only 12 other law schools in the nation scored
higher.
“We are very excited about this recognition,
especially because West Virginia is an energy state with rich natural resources,”
said Gregory
Bowman, dean of the College of Law.
“Our faculty and staff have created a deep and well-rounded program in energy
and environmental law and policy that prepares our students for their legal
careers.”
WVU Law offers students the
opportunity to concentrate in energy
and sustainable development law.
Student can also earn a dual J.D./LL.M.
(Master of Laws) degree in energy and sustainable development law.
MORGANTOWN,
WEST VIRGINIA - WVU Law 3L Jaden Rhea is a winner of the 2018
Burton Distinguished Legal Writing Award for Law Schools.
Rhea
is one of just 15 law students from across the country to receive the award. She will be honored with the other recipients at
a black tie dinner at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, on May 21.
Other winners includes law students from Stanford, Georgetown, Berkeley, Tulane, and Yale.
Rhea won for her
article, Highway to Hell: The Privatized Prison
Transportation Industry and the Long Road to Reform, which was published in the
fall 2017 edition of the West Virginia
Law Review.
MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Elizabeth Van
Nostrand, an expert on public health and the law,will deliver the
annual John W.
Fisher II Lecture in Law and Medicine on April 3 at 12 p.m. in the Event
Hall at WVU Law.
Van Nostrand will discuss legal epidemiology, an emerging
field that combines the practice of developing and implementing health laws
with the scientific evaluation of how laws affect public health. She will also address
how legal data can be used in health information and communication systems.
Admission is free and the public is invited to
attend.
Van Nostrand is an assistant professor
at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health. She is also
an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
MORGANTOWN,
WEST VIRGINIA — It’s a “Back to the 80s” theme for the annual Public Interest
Advocates (PIA) Dinner and Auction on March 22 at WVU Law.
The
public is invited to attend the event that is celebrating 30 years of PIA. The organization
helps fund positions for law students and graduates at legal aid organizations
across the Mountain State.
A
buffet dinner in the College of Law lobby starts at 5:30 p.m. Tickets for the
dinner can be purchased for $10 at the door. The auction starts at 6:30 p.m. in
the college’s event hall and admission is free.
Live
and silent auction items will be up for bid. Among them, a seven-night stay at
a condo in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; overnight packages at the Bavarian Inn
in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and at Glade Spring in Daniels, West Virginia;
Morgantown dining packages; an authentic Persian rug; sports tickets and
memorabilia; and gift baskets. There will also be raffle items and door prizes.
