February 2025
Announcing Public Interest Institute 25th Anniversary Art Competition Winners
To kick off the 25th anniversary of the Public Interest Institute at Alabama Law, the Law School hosted an art competition surrounding the anniversary theme, “Cultivating a Lifelong Commitment to Service.” After reviewing a collection of outstanding submissions, the Public Interest Student Board and members of the Law School community have selected “Seeds of Service” by Sonya Clemons (AKA “The Artlady”) as the winner. The committee also extended honorable mentions to two submissions, “Lady Justice Reimagined” by Emily Kelley (Class of 2026) and “The Call to Justice” by Thad Jaymes Bradley. The Law School extends a special thanks to all who participated in the competition. More information about the three pieces can be found here.
Basketball Tailgate: Thank YOU!
Thank you to everyone who came out to the Law School for our very first basketball tailgate this past weekend! It was great to catch up with some friends before the Tide rolled over Kentucky. Be on the lookout for future tailgates! Click here to view photos from the event.
Carol Andrews ABA National Appellate Advocacy Team Advances to Nationals
Last weekend, Alabama Law’s Carol Andrews ABA National Appellate Advocacy Team competed at the regional National Appellate Advocacy Competition in San Francisco. The two three-person teams – made up of students Jason Carlton, Reagan Clark, Sarah Frances Jackson, Alex Jones, Evan Newsome, and Alli Swann – were 3-0 after preliminary rounds. Carlton, Jones, and Swann went on to defeat five other law schools and qualify for the national competition, which will be held from April 3-5. The team also won third-best brief, and Jones was named fifth best advocate among a field of 78. We wish them luck at nationals!
Gifts
Recognition of gifts of $5,000+ over the past month
Beasley Allen Law Firm contributed $10,000 to the Path Makers Legacy Plaza.
Travis M. Bedsole Jr. (’74) contributed $5,000 to the Judge Travis Jesse Bedsole Endowed Memorial Scholarship.
Founders Pledge contributed $114,000 to the Alabama Law Artificial Intelligence Initiatives Support Fund.
Larry A. Golston Jr. (’98) contributed $5,000 to the Path Makers Legacy Plaza.
Brig. Gen. James W. Hart Jr. contributed $5,000 to the Dominic DeSimone Memorial Book Scholarship.
Class Notes
Hon. Spencer Bachus III (‘72) was appointed as the interim president and chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Labarron N. Boone (‘95) was featured in Business Alabama’s Movers & Shapers Spotlight on Montgomery County.
W. Jackson Britton (‘19) was named shareholder at Capell & Howard in Montgomery.
Davis Butler (‘92) joined Baker Donelson as a shareholder and member of their corporate group in Atlanta.
Andy Campbell (‘08) was named to Attorney Intel’s Top 25 Corporate Finance and Capital Markets Attorneys of 2024 list.
Fred D. Clarke (‘16) was named partner at RumbergerKirk in Birmingham.
Jessica K. Drennan (‘95) and Starr T. Drum (‘09) were chosen to serve as mentors for Birmingham Business Journal’s Mentoring Monday event.
Hon. Samarria M. Dunson (‘03) was appointed as district judge for the 15th Judicial Circuit of Alabama in Montgomery County.
Michael E. Hollingsworth II (‘99) was named to Atlanta Magazine’s 2025 Top Professionals list.
Marie Moore (‘78) was elected as chair of the ABA’s Real Property Trust & Estate Section.
Dennis G. Pantazis Jr. (‘10) was appointed commissioner of the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District.
David W. Proctor (‘84) was inducted as president of the Alabama chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Dan J. Roda (‘13) was named chief strategy officer for Natural State Medicinals in White Hall, Arkansas.
Hon. Scott A. Slate (‘93) was appointed as district judge for the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Alabama in Morgan County.
Allie C. Tucker (‘12) was selected to the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) Next Generation Leadership Network.
Delos “Harley” Yancey IV (‘15) was appointed to the North Georgia Mountains Authority by Governor Brian P. Kemp.
Faculty Notes
Professor Montré Carodine was quoted in an Alabama Public Radio article about how a recently-passed Alabama law will affect voting access for disabled Alabamians.
Professor Russell Gold recently began his term serving as chair of the American Association of Law Schools Criminal Procedure Section. He was also quoted in an Alabama Reflector article regarding a proposed Alabama House bill to give law enforcement additional protection from lawsuits.
Professor JD Hsin was quoted in an Education Week article about the effects of President Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s downsizing of the Department of Education on its Civil Rights Office.
Professor Amber Polk’s article, Toxic Battery: Pollution as a Dignitary Tort, was published in Boston College Law Review. She also wrote a chapter in The Vegetal Turn titled In Defense of (Some) Plant Rights (Marcello di Paola ed., 2024).
Professors Clare Ryan and Benjamin McMichael’s article, The Future of Frozen Embryos, was accepted for publication in SMU Law Review. On February 20, Professor Ryan presented the article at the University of Georgia School of Law faculty colloquium.
Professor Clare Ryan presented her work, Antidemocratic Civil Society: Interventions Before the European Court of Human Rights, at a workshop on Legal Infrastructures and Democracy hosted by the Max Planck Institutes for Comparative Public and International Law and for Legal History and Legal Theory in Frankfurt, Germany.
Professor Fred Vars’ article, The Coming Assault on Categorical Gun Prohibitions (with Ian Ayres, Yale Law School), was published in the Stanford Law Review Online.