Alabama Law honored the life and legacy of William B. Hairston, Jr. (’50) and named a lecture classroom the Hairston Classroom.
A plaque, displayed outside of the classroom, notes that the Law School received a generous gift to enhance the educational experience of law students by utilizing state-of-the-art technology. The Hairston Classroom features LED lights, new furniture, a projector, a projector screen, and a 21st Century audio and visual system.
The late Mr. Hairston was a lawyer, a scholar, and a teacher. “It’s fitting that one of the ways we will remember him here is in a classroom,’’ Dean Mark E. Brandon said. “On behalf of students who will enjoy studying in this room and being taught in this room, we are deeply grateful for the generous gift that made it possible.”
Alabama Law celebrated the careers of three professors who taught at the Law School for at least a quarter of a century.
One by one, Dean Mark E. Brandon unveiled the portraits of Judge Joseph Colquitt, Professor Bryan Fair, and Professor Jerome Hoffman in the Bounds Law Library.
The portraits, which will be displayed around the Law School, capture the personality and values of their subjects, said Brandon. Portraits, he said, also serve as historical markers of the institution.
“Long after we have departed, each of these portraits remains as a reminder of who the subject was, and what kind of place she or he inhabited,” Brandon said. “Each is also a reminder that this person mattered, left a mark, helped to make the institution what it is – and what it will be.”
As Geneva Cooley took her first, timid steps outside of prison, two of the attorneys who helped her gain her freedom walked closely behind.
Courtney Cross, Director of the Law School’s Domestic Violence Clinic, and Terrika Shaw, Staff Attorney for the Law School’s Elder Clinic, watched as Cooley took her first steps of freedom. They were accompanied by recent graduates and former Domestic Violence Clinic students Kari Todd and Jilisa Milton, who had both been working on the case for over a year.
“They were a good inspiration to me, and they worked diligently to help me get out. And I thank them,” Ms. Cooley said moments after her release.
Alabama Law is pleased to announce Judge Joseph Colquitt (’70) and Philip Langford (’96) have been selected for the 2019 Profiles in Service.
Each year during Pro Bono Celebration Month, which is recognized nationally in October, the
Law School honors outstanding alumni who have made significant contributions to public service.
Judge Colquitt’s commitment to service and to the legal profession has been widely recognized. In 1992 he received the American Judicature Society’s Herbert Harley Award, and in 1999, he was the recipient of the Howell T. Heflin Award for Judicial Excellence. Judge Colquitt was awarded the Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award by the Alabama Judiciary in 2014, and he was named a Pillar of the Bar by the Tuscaloosa County Bar Association in 2015.
Philip’s leadership is grounded in and inspired by years of personal connection to survivors of violence and in frontlines partnership with host governments and communities struggling with trafficking and violence against the poor. He has participated in planning and carrying out scores of successful law enforcement operations to rescue victims and to prosecute their traffickers, slave owners, and other violent perpetrators.
Save the date
Alabama Law Alumni Banquet
Friday, February 21
Giving Tuesdays Are Coming!
Look for social media posts every Tuesday in November showcasing an area or program that contributions from the Alabama Law Alumni Society support.
Interested in Organizing a Reunion for Your Class?
Milestone Classes of 1970, 1980, 1990, 1995, and 2010 may choose to host a reunion at the Law School on Saturday, March 28. Contact Event Coordinator Cindy Rice for information at 205-348-6775.
Penelope A. Davis (’78) contributed $5,000 to the Law School Foundation’s Unrestricted Fund.
Mr. and Mrs. C. Richard Moore, Jr. (’76) donated $10,000 to the J. Rufus Bealle Law Library Endowed Support Fund.
Suzanne and Jerry Perkins, Jr. (‘97) pledged $75,000 to establish the Jerry and Suzanne Perkins Endowed Scholarship.
Are you looking for a law clerk or an associate? Do you need help with a short-term research assignment? The Career Services Office can place a job advertisement for you on our internal job board or connect you with a student through our STAR Program for help with research. Please contact Assistant Dean Megan Walsh for more information.
Beth Beaube (‘94) was featured in the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2019 Women to Watch.
Jenna M. Bedsole (‘97) was named one of 30 Women Who Shape the State by Birmingham Magazine. The award highlights women who are having an impact on their cities, regions, or the entire state of Alabama.
Chelsea Lewis (‘16) has joined FormanWatkins as an Associate in the firm’s Jackson, Mississippi, office.
Jeremy McIntire (‘02) has been promoted to Deputy Chief General Counsel for the Alabama State Bar. He presides over the Alabama State Bar’s Office of General Counsel Disciplinary Division.
G. Pantazis, Jr. (‘10) has been appointed as a Board Member to the Housing Authority Birmingham District.
Jeanie Sleadd (‘12) was named one of 30 Women Who Shape the State by Birmingham Magazine. The award highlights women who are having an impact on their cities, regions, or the entire state of Alabama.
Jack Spencer (‘18) has joined Bone McAllester as an Attorney in the firm’s Nashville office. He focuses on banks, businesses, and individuals in the areas of commercial litigation, creditors’ rights, litigation, and dispute resolution.
Wesley W. Wintermyer (‘13) has joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP as an Associate in Washington, D.C.
The following alumni were featured as Rising Stars in the Birmingham Business Journal:
PROFESSOR RICHARD DELGADO’s paper, “Metamorphosis: A Minority Professor’s Life,” was recently listed on three additional SSRN Top Ten download lists, making a total of 17 such listings since its recent publication. As of October 15, the paper had been downloaded 78 times.
Professor Delgado published, “Should Good People Be Doctors? A Comment on Paul Butler and Anonymous,” in SMU Law Review Online. The article addresses the dilemma of students contemplating careers as prosecutors but hesitant about the prospect of putting large numbers of black and Latino people behind bars.
He published “Rodrigo’s Rebuke: Originary Violence and U.S. Border Policy” in the UC Davis Law Review. The article shows that immigration law is replete with originary violence and that this explains much of the ordinary violence that one finds at the border. It concludes by calling for resistance and activism in this area.
PROFESSOR MIRIT EYAL-COHEN was invited to speak at the ABA Tax Section meeting in San Francisco in October. The panel, titled “Technology-Driven Trends in Tax Law Training,” was co-sponsored by the Teaching Tax and the Young Lawyers Forum. Professor Eyal-Cohen discussed the University of Alabama School of Law’s LL.M. program in taxation and how its synchronized nature and its top professors are advantageous to lawyers nationwide compared with other tax LL.M. programs.
She was invited to an interview with the Bloomberg Talking Tax Podcast. The interview covered technology-driven trends and how young lawyers are and maybe should be learning tax. On that podcast, she discussed why isn’t it enough for future tax lawyers to master Westlaw, Nexis, etc. nowadays, how algorithms may help with tax research, how LL.M. programs contribute to modern tax training, and what sort of research-based and tech-skills issues tax lawyers may encounter in their practice.
PROFESSOR MARY KSOBIECH presented a talk at the Association of Academic Support Educators’ Biennial Diversity Conference on October 3, 2019, at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. The presentation was titled, “Your Flight is Now Boarding: A First-Day Exercise to Build Trust and Promote Diverse Viewpoints in the Classroom.”
PROFESSOR JOYCE WHITE VANCE published an op-ed titled “Trump Is Leaving Congress No Choice But to Impeach,” in the September 24 issue of TIME Magazine. Available at: https://time.com/5684605/trump-impeach-whistleblower-complaint/
Professor Vance appeared on the Talking Feds Podcast on September 23, 2019. She and other legal experts analyzed the complicated questions of law, politics, and national security swirling around the revelations that a whistleblower complaint had been filed but was being withheld from Congress. Available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-whistle-is-blowing/id1456045551?i=1000450815455
She appeared on another podcast, The Oath with Chuck Rosenberg, on October 1, 2019. Professor Vance discussed her path to public service. Available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/joyce-vance-sweet-home/id1461312941?i=1000451991694
Professor Vance participated in panels on The Mueller Report and Challenges to Voting Rights in Advance of the 2020 Election at the Texas Tribune Festival. She also provided commentary on television on emoluments clause litigation, impeachment, and criminal investigations.
The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed by faculty in their publications or research activities are those of the author and not necessarily those of The University of Alabama or its officers and trustees. The content of faculty publications has not been approved by The University of Alabama, and the author is solely responsible for that content.
