Year: 2016

• Law School Welcomes Class of 2019

  Dean Mark E. Brandon welcomed the Class of 2019 during First-Year Orientation. The class has 133 students and was drawn from a pool of more than 1,600 applicants. Members of the class come from 20 states and two countries outside of the U.S., and they have studied at 64 colleges and universities. Forty-one percent of…

• Law School Ranks 12th Among Law Schools for Securing Federal Clerkships

    The University of Alabama School of Law is ranked 12th among the nation’s law schools for the percentage of graduates who land coveted federal clerkships, according to Business Insider. The Law School sent 8 percent of its graduates into federal clerkships. The position requires excellent legal research and writing skills, and it can provide the…

• Business Insider Ranks Alabama School of Law Among Top 15 Law Schools

  The University of Alabama School of Law is ranked 13th among the nation’s top law schools and third among public schools, according to Business Insider‘s The 50 Best Law Schools in America for 2016. Alabama Law has been consistently ranked as one of the best law schools in the country by several law and business…

• Attica Locke Wins 2016 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

  The University of Alabama School of Law and the ABA Journal are pleased to announce Attica Locke, author of “Pleasantville,” will receive the 2016 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. Locke is the sixth winner of the prize. The prize, authorized by Lee, is given annually to a book-length work of fiction that best illuminates…

• Professor Rushin Comments on Police Departments Turning over Shooting Investigations to Federal Officials

  Professor Stephen Rushin is quoted on NPR’s “Morning Edition” and 89.3 KPCC’s “AirTalk” about local police departments handing over investigations of police shootings to federal authorities. “Handing this over to the federal government allows them to essentially hand the baton entirely to a separate group of people to be more directly responsible for the investigation and the…

• Professor Pierson Comments on U.S. Supreme Court Decision in McDonnell v. United States

  Professor Pamela Pierson is quoted in Al.com on the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in the McDonnell v. United States case and how it affects former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman’s bribery conviction. “The Supreme Court is now holding the government to a higher standard in the political corruption cases,” Pierson said. “The Supreme Court did set aside the conviction…

• Alabama State Bar Installs J. Cole Portis as President

  The Alabama State Bar recently installed Montgomery attorney J. Cole Portis (’90) as its 141st president. “I am blessed to have the opportunity to lead our state bar, which has been entrusted with the obligation to serve our profession, seek improvements in our judicial system and serve the public,” said Portis of the Beasley Allen Law…

• Professor Hill Weighs in on Marijuana Businessman Who Was Denied Life Insurance

  Professor Julie A. Hill is quoted in U.S. News & World Report about a marijuana businessman who was denied life insurance. “These and other laws make it very risky to accept any money that you know comes from a marijuana business, regardless of whether you are a bank,” she says. Among the prohibitions are “knowingly…

• Professor Hamill Comments on Whether Donald Trump Has the Qualities Voters Seek in a President

  Professor Susan Pace Hamill is quoted in Vanity Fair about whether Donald Trump has the qualities voters seek in a president.  “The president has a duty of loyalty and care to the United States,” said Susan Pace Hamill, a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law and Honors College and an expert in…

• Professor Vars Writes Poem to Explain Why There Is No Tort Recovery for Injuries

  Professor Fredrick Vars offers this poem as a novel explanation for why there is no tort recovery for very unlikely injuries. ODE TO ADAMS v. BULLOCK CARDOZO WAS A BEHAVIORAL ECONOMIST* Fredrick E. Vars† Tort law asks juries to ignore what they know And give plaintiffs relief only if they show That the defendant should…