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Law Students Compete in Hispanic National Bar Association Moot Court Competition

UA Law students Kimberly Jones (‘17) and Francisco Canales (‘17) represented the Law School at the Hispanic National Bar Association Uvaldo Herrera National Moot Court Competition March 30-April 1 in Miami.

This year’s problem was based upon Beckles v. United States, a recently decided Supreme Court case. The problem raised complicated issues concerning the constitutionality of a United States Sentencing Guidelines provision and whether a ruling striking down that provision as unconstitutional would apply retroactively.

 Jones and Canales competed in a field of 32 teams from around the country. They advanced to the quarterfinals where they lost a very close decision to the eventual competition champion from Washington and Lee. In the quarterfinal round, the team received high praise from all of the judges, including the United States district court judge who originally sentenced the defendant in the Beckles case. 

 In addition to the team’s success, Canales was individually recognized as the second best oralist in a field of almost 90 competitors.

 

Debbie Long (’80) to Deliver Commencement Address

Debbie Long (‘80), Executive Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer for Protective Life Corporation, will deliver the University of Alabama School of Law commencement address at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 7, at Coleman Coliseum.

Long  joined Protective Life as General Counsel in 1992. Prior to joining the company, she was a member of the Maynard, Cooper & Gale law firm in Birmingham, Ala., where she practiced in the areas of insurance, banking and finance, business acquisitions and mergers, and general corporate law.

Long is a Director for the Law School Foundation, and she serves on the boards of various Alabama charitable organizations, including Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham, A+ Education Partnership, Alabama Women’s Commission and the Protective Life Foundation.

Law School Commemorates 45th Anniversary of the First African-American Law Graduates

Professor Bryan Fair and Civil Rights Attorney Fred Gray had “A Conversation about Jim Crow Policy” on March 31 at the symposium on Bending the Arc of History: African-Americans and The University of Alabama School of Law.

Gray said his mother gave him three goals as a child: Keep Christ first in his life, stay in school and stay out of trouble. After he was accepted at Case Western Reserve School of Law, Gray said he decided he was going “to destroy everything segregated I could find.”

“If I have been able to do anything, it was those motivating factors,” he said.

Gray’s talk was part of a symposium that commemorated the 45th Anniversary of the Law School’s first African-American graduates. Almost a decade after the infamous “stand in the schoolhouse door,” Michael Figures, Booker Forte, Jr., and Ronald E. Jackson made history in 1972 by becoming the first African-American students to graduate from The University of Alabama School of Law.

Dean Mark E. Brandon welcomed alumni, judges and professors to the conference that explored complex questions about diversity at the Law School and highlighted advancements that have been made.

“We honor today a group of persons who entered an indifferent and sometimes hostile place, who stayed, succeeded and made a mark on the university, state and nation,” he said.

Lawyers who had been denied admission recounted what it was like to attend other law schools, and the Law School’s first African-American law students shared their experiences at noon as part of the Trailblazers Luncheon. Alumni who followed in their footsteps provided potential solutions to the challenges and obstacles that remain.

UA Law Students Advance to Final Four in National Trial Competition

UA Law students Kristen Campbell (’17) and Bridget Harris (’17) advanced to the final four in the National Trial Competition.

As the Southeast regional champion, the University of Alabama School of Law team advanced to the national finals in Fort Worth, Texas, with the top 28 teams.

After four elimination rounds, the final four teams were Alabama, Georgetown, Northwestern, and Berkeley. UA Law lost to Georgetown by one vote.

Ceremony to Celebrate Research by Alabama Law Faculty

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Two members of The University of Alabama School of Law faculty will be honored for their research contributions at the upcoming Faculty Research Day.

Sixteen faculty members from across the University were chosen as finalists for President’s Faculty Research Award, and six winners will be announced at a ceremony at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 12, in the Bryant Conference Center on the UA campus. Sponsored by the offices of the President and Vice President for Research and Economic Development, the award goes to outstanding faculty researchers from across UA’s Colleges and Schools.

Dean Mark E. Brandon said he was pleased to offer two nominees from the School of Law, both of whom are finalists.

Professor Stephen Rushin was nominated in the junior investigator  category.  “In a very short time Professor Rushin has become one of the most perceptive, interesting, and visible scholars in the nation on the subject of policing,” Brandon said. “He has three major articles forthcoming from three excellent legal journals, and a book under contract with Cambridge University Press.”

Professor Paul Horwitz was nominated in the senior investigator category. “Paul Horwitz is among the nation’s pre-eminent scholars of constitutional law,” Brandon said. “His work on the freedom of religion is subtle, balanced, and enormously influential.”

The winners will be a senior and junior investigator from each of three groupings: physical and biological sciences, mathematics and engineering; social and behavioral sciences; and arts and humanities.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to recognize our diverse and talented faculty,” said Dr. Carl A. Pinkert, UA vice president for research and economic development. “With feedback from faculty and the faculty-led Research Advisory Committee, for the first time this year, award criteria were revised to highlight outstanding contributions from both junior and senior faculty members.”

The purpose of Faculty Research Day is to showcase and celebrate excellence in research and scholarship by bringing together faculty from across the campus. The event is also intended to increase awareness and generate enthusiasm for scholarship among faculty at UA as the University moves to advance its research enterprise.

In addition to remarks by UA President Stuart R. Bell and Pinkert, a keynote address will be given by Dr Kim Bissell, professor and associate dean for research in the College of Communication and Information Sciences.

A networking opportunity begins at 4 p.m., and there will be a reception after the ceremony concludes.The 2017 Faculty Research Award Finalists are:

Physical and Biological Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering

Senior Investigator:

Junior Investigator:

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Senior Investigator:

Junior Investigator:

Arts and Humanities

Senior Investigator:

Junior Investigator:

Professor Horwitz Weighs in on Federal Lawsuit Against a Sitting Justice of the Peace

Professor Paul Horwitz is quoted in the Houston Chronicle about a federal lawsuit against a sitting justice of the peace. 

For more, read “Courtroom Prayers Draw Federal Lawsuit Against Montgomery Co. JP.

Law School Hosts John A. Campbell Moot Court Competition

UA Law students Amber Hall (’18), Tori McCarthy ‘(18), Sloane M. Bell (’18) and Jessica M. Pagano (’18) competed in the final round of the John A. Campbell Moot Court Competition on March 22.

The distinguished panel for the round included the Honorable M. Casey Rodgers, United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida; the Honorable Amit P. Mehta, United States District Court for the District of Columbia; and the Honorable Jennifer Henderson, United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Alabama, Western Division.

Hall and McCarthy were the winning team, and Bell won the Reuben H. Wright Award for best advocate. Bell and Pagano won the Walter P. Gewin Award for best brief.

Frances Isbell Named as One of National Jurist Magazine’s 2017 Law Students of the Year

Frances Isbell, a third-year law student, has been named one of 25 Law Students of the Year by National Jurist magazine.

Isbell received the honor because she was one of 16 graduate students of the inaugural class of the Albert Schweitzer Fellows at University of Alabama School of Law. She’s using her fellowship to help and provide resources to those living with a disability in Alabama. She’s doing so big time.

The fellows, all from Alabama colleges and universities, receive $2,500 and spend an academic year learning how to effectively address the social factors that affect health, while developing lifelong leadership skills. As part of her fellowship, Isbell has donated more than 120 volunteer hours, and she will donate at least 80 more volunteer hours by the time her fellowship ends in 2017.

As part of her fellowship, Isbell organized an Alabama chapter of NMD United, a non-profit association composed of adults living with neuromuscular disabilities that provides resources to promote independence. She created a support network for teens and adults with neuromuscular conditions, such as Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. And she created and distributed informational packets for managing personal assistance services.

With the help of the University Center of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities in Birmingham, she produced a 30-minute video about self-advocacy, and it covers such topics as how to gain access to transportation and housing.

“Frances came to law school with a passion for disability rights law, and she has pursued this passion from day one,” said Glory McLaughlin, assistant dean for Public Interest. “Due to her dedication to this area of law, she is uniquely suited to recognize the most pressing needs of people living with disabilities and to create effective programs for meeting those needs.”

Isbell is organizing financial planning workshops for individuals with disabilities in 2017 so that they can learn about the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, or the ABLE Act. “It’s really going to impact the disability community in the next few years, so I want to do an outreach project because most people haven’t even heard of the accounts,” Isbell said.

Projects like Isbell’s provide a much-needed resource to an underserved community. Individuals with neuromuscular conditions often face challenges in everyday activities, including transportation, voting, finding housing and applying for Social Security.

For more, read “2017 Law Students of the Year.”

UA Law Ranks Among Nation’s Top Law Schools

The University of Alabama School of Law is ranked 26th among the nation’s top law schools, both public and private, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Graduate Schools” rankings for 2018.

The U.S. News rankings of 197 law schools fully accredited by the American Bar Association are based on a weighted average of the 12 measures of quality, including a peer assessment score and an assessment score by lawyers and judges. Data were collected in fall 2016 and early 2017.

Professor Andreen Weighs in on President Trump’s Executive Order to Remove Federal Protections from Many Streams and Wetlands

Professor William Andreen is quoted in Circle of Blue about President Trump’s call for two federal agencies to review the Clean Water Act. 

For more, read “Clean Water Rule Repeal Cannot Come at a Pen Stroke.”