News

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— Omolola “Lola” Oluyemi and Paul Robinson, 3L students at the West Virginia University College of Law, have been awarded post-graduate fellowships from the West Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest.

The fellowships will allow Oluyemi and Robinson to practice law at a West Virginia public interest organization for one year beginning in fall of 2014.

“This is exceptional opportunity for new lawyers to do meaningful and gratifying work,” said Jennifer Powell, director of WVU Law’s Center for Law and Public Service.

There are two main purposes of the West Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest program, according to Powell.

UPDATE – 3/24/14: U.S. Supreme Court rejects Mingo Logan Coal Company v. Environmental Protection Agency

The permit was initially granted in 2007 by the Army Corps of Engineers for the mountain top removal mine that would discharge fill into two nearby streams. Three years later, the EPA withdrew the use of the two streams as disposal sites.

Mingo Logan Coal says the D.C. Circuit ruling gives too much authority to the EPA and jeopardizes any project across the county that requires a Clean Water Act permit. Those projects represent an annual investment of $220 billion, according to the petitioners.

However, McGinley told Law360 that a single enforcement action over the four decades since the Clean Water Act was passed won’t do much to unsettle the markets and will not draw the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In planning for its future, West Virginia should take a closer look at smaller countries like Denmark or South Korea, according to Gregory Bowman, WVU Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Bowman has spent a lot of time in South Korea as head of a legal study abroad program there, and he lived in Denmark as an exchange student.

“Both places offer interesting perspectives on West Virginia,” he suggested at Creative WV.

Both countries emphasize a quality education, which results in highly educated workforces that support high tech industries, solid growth, and an overall high quality of life, Bowman pointed out.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University College of Law Professor Valena Beety recently spent two weeks in residence at the University of Texas School of Law as part of the Big XII Faculty Fellowship Program. 

She was one of just six WVU faculty who were selected to participate in the program this year.

The Big XII Faculty Fellowship Program was created to stimulate scholarly initiatives through creation of an academic community within the institutions in the Big XII Athletic Conference.

As a Big XII Fellow, Beety researched the growing roles of clemency and forensic science in the Texas and West Virginia state criminal justice systems. Her research included a focus on executive and judicial clemency and forensic findings in capital punishment cases. Texas has executed more inmates than any other state. There is no death penalty in West Virginia.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—The Center for Energy and Sustainable Development at the West Virginia UniversityCollege of Law has named Beren Argetsinger its first Fellow in Energy and Environmental Law and Policy. The fellowship is a one-year appointment through the summer of 2014.

Argetsinger is a 2013 graduate of Pace University School of Law and he holds a master’s degree in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. His experience includes internships at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Enforcement and with the litigation team at the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York.

Argetsinger’s recent scholarship has focused on regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act. It’s a priority issue for the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development over the next few months. He has also written in the areas of shale gas development, interest electric transmission facilities, and integration of renewable energy resources.

As the Fellow for Energy and Environmental Law and Policy, Argetsinger will support the research and scholarship of the center’s affiliated faculty, law professors Patrick McGinley, Joshua Fershee, and Alison Peck.

He will assist with the Center’s two major events: the 4th Annual National Energy and Sustainability Moot Court Competition, March 27-29, 2014; and the annual Energy and Sustainability Conference, February 24, 2014.

Argetsinger will also maintain and contribute to the center’s blog, Energy Forward, and help prepare for the College of Law’s new LL.M.in Energy and Sustainable Development Law. Pending approval by the American Bar Association, the LL.M. will be offered in fall 2014.

“We are very pleased to have Beren join us,” said James Van Nostrand, associate professor of law and director of the center. “The field of candidates included graduates from some of the leading law schools in the country. Beren has the impressive academic credentials and experience that will be an asset to the work of the energy center.”

The Center for Energy and Sustainable Development was established at WVU in 2011 to conduct objective, unbiased research and policy analyses; provide a forum for issues to be explored by stakeholders; and to promote policies that strike a balance between the development of energy resources and the protection of the valuable air and water supplies upon which future generations will depend.

-WVU-

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Law professors Patrick McGinley and Robert Bastress are presenting workshops at News Law Training, a seminar sponsored by the WVU College of Law, the WVU Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism and the West Virginia Press Association, on Wednesday, October 23, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Martin Hall.

The seminar will cover avoiding and handling subpoenas; legal issues for online and social media; privacy considerations for the media; the Freedom of Information Act and other laws to access government; and defamation law, avoiding lawsuits and handling complaints.

The cost for the seminar is $10 for West Virginia Press Association members and WVU students; $15 for the general public. Lunch and continental breakfast are included. To register, visithttp://wvpress.org/newslaw/

McGinley is the Judge Charles H. Haden II Professor of Law. He is the co-author of the “Open Government Guide: Access to Public Records and Meetings in West Virginia,” published by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. McGinley has served as a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists’ First Amendment Task Force, has taught courses in public access to government information and has litigated West Virginia FOIA cases on behalf of West Virginia newspapers and the Associated Press. He joined the WVU Law faculty in 1975.

Class photos from the past 135 years line the halls of the West Virginia University College of Law, showcasing a long and distinguished history of legal education. Within some of the oldest photos, there is one recurring character: Bob, identified as the “College of Law Mascot.” He was a medium-sized canine with floppy ears and black and tan markings.

The College of Law is honoring Bob by hosting “Bob’s World,” an exhibit about the law school’s former mascot, in the George R. Farmer, Jr. Law Library, now through Feb. 20, 2014. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend. 

Bob was a beloved pet and companion of Professor William P. Willey, one of WVU’s first law professors and founder of the West Virginia Law Review (1894). Embraced by faculty, staff and students, Bob was considered the WVU College of Law’s unofficial mascot from 1907 to 1910. Law students at the time described Bob as a “gentlemanly” dog. He passed away in 1910, allegedly poisoned, and no dog has since filled the role of the law school mascot.

The exhibit showcases photos of Bob and his owner, as well as published stories about the dog and the students who loved him. It is curated by , the Special Collections Librarian at the George R. Farmer, Jr. Law Library. 

-WVU-

kb/10/15/13

Morgantown, W.Va. – Before he was the iconic leader of nonviolent political resistance, Mahatma Gandhi was a lawyer. 

A new book by West Virginia University College of Law professor Charles DiSalvo is the first biography that explores Gandhi’s transformative early years as a practicing attorney. 

In M.K.Gandhi, Attorney at Law: The Man Before the Mahatma(University of California Press, 2013), DiSalvo traces Gandhi’s journey of self-discovery from his education in Britain, to the failure of his first law practice, and his migration to South Africa. 

Based on exhaustive research, including rare archival material, DiSalvo focuses on the relationship between Gandhi’s practice of law and his embrace of civil disobedience. He illustrates how Gandhi’s background and experiences as a lawyer, particularly in racially segregated South Africa from 1893 to 1914, helped develop what would ultimately become the philosophy and practice of nonviolent civil disobedience.

“Gandhi became a civil disobedient, conscientiously breaking of the law, while he was a member of the legal profession,” said DiSalvo. “That’s a significant transformation for a lawyer and it put Gandhi on a path that would change the world.”

The Indian edition of the book was released last year to critical acclaim. The Asian Review of Books called it “a very powerful and original contribution to Gandhian studies.”

DiSalvo was invited to India to speak about the book at the Jaipur International Literature Festival – the largest book festival of Asia-Pacific. In addition, he has delivered lectures on the book around the world. 

DiSalvo is the Woodrow A. Potesta Professor of Law at WVU and teaches one of the few law school courses in the country on civil disobedience—inspired by Gandhi and others. He is also an expert on bioethics and the law, civil procedure, and trial advocacy. DiSalvo joined the College of Law in 1979 and he is co-founder of the West Virginia Fund for Law in Public Interest.

M.K.Gandhi, Attorney at Law: The Man Before the Mahatma is available now in bookstores and online.

Robinson & McElwee celebrates 30th Anniversary and honors the memory of a founding member Glenn Robinson with two WVU Law Scholarships

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In honor of the firm’s 30th anniversary, Charleston-based Robinson & McElwee has established a $100,000 scholarship award program with the West Virginia UniversityCollege of Law. The firm has also created the E. Glenn Robinson Memorial Scholarship in memory of a founding member of the firm, E. Glenn Robinson.

The Robinson & McElwee Scholarship will benefit first and a second year law students, while the E. Glenn Robinson Scholarship will be granted to third year law students.

“Robinson & McElwee is pleased to celebrate our 30 year anniversary with the establishment of this new scholarship program, but we were saddened by the loss of our founding partner, Glenn Robinson, earlier this year,” said Kent J. George, managing member of Robinson & McElwee. “This gift ensures that Glenn’s legacy and commitment to excellence in the legal profession will live on in future generations of lawyers. It is a fitting tribute to a distinguished attorney.”

The College of Law has received a $1.3 million gift from a trust established by former Secretary of Defense Louis Arthur Johnson. The gift creates the Louis A. Johnson Scholarship Fund at the law school. 

Col. Johnson, who passed away in 1966, was a leading figure in the presidential administrations of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Born in 1891 in Roanoke, Va., Johnson received his law degree from the University of Virginia. He began his legal career in Clarksburg, forming a partnership with Phillip Steptoe and John Rixey. After Rixey’s departure in 1916, the firm became known as Steptoe and Johnson.

Johnson was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and served in World War I, seeing action in France. Following the war, he became involved in veteran affairs and helped found the American Legion. He rose to the rank of Colonel in the Army Reserve in the 1920s.

Serving as the assistant secretary of war for Franklin Roosevelt from 1937-40, Johnson advocated rearmament and the expansion of military aviation in the years leading up to World War II. His tenure as Harry Truman’s secretary of defense from 1949-50 was marked by the so-called Revolt of the Admirals, the founding of NATO, and the beginning of the Korean War.

“After decades of service to his country, Colonel Johnson had the foresight to establish a trust in 1960 that would benefit legal education,” said attorney Robert M. Steptoe, Jr. “His legacy will now live on in the future graduates of the WVU College of Law and the important work they will do throughout their careers.”

“We are deeply grateful for this gift from the Johnson Trust and privileged to use it in a way that memorializes such a distinguished lawyer and leader,” said Joyce McConnell, dean of the College of Law.

After leaving the Roosevelt administration, Col. Johnson opened the Washington, D.C. office of Steptoe & Johnson in 1945. In 1980, the Washington and West Virginia offices separated amicably, creating Clarksburg-based Steptoe & Johnson and Washington, D.C. Steptoe & Johnson, Chartered, which both continue to operate today.

The Johnson gift to the WVU College of Law is part of A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University, a $750 million fundraising effort the WVU Foundation is conducting on behalf of the University.

-WVU-