I begin this Dean’s Dispatch by expressing my continued concern for all alumni affected by recent disasters nationwide, including most recently Hurricane Maria and the fires in California. You are in my thoughts, even as our students continue to mobilize to assist those in need. Their leadership in action could not make me more proud.

Tomorrow, the College of Law will host many of our alumni for the annual Law Reunion Weekend. I am looking forward to spending time with all of you, beginning on what will be a very full Friday. This year’s program includes a networking breakfast with current students, lunch with members of the Judiciary, and a substantive afternoon program on the current term of the United States Supreme Court. That evening, I am particularly excited and honored to take part in the SULAA Law Honors Awards ceremony.

The Law Honors Awards were established by the Syracuse University Law Alumni Association Board in 2015 to celebrate the distinguished achievements of our alumni and members of the Syracuse Law family. I am grateful to the SULAA Board for their leadership and stewardship in collecting nominations and submitting their recommendations to me. Together with SULAA Board President Carey Ng and the Law Honors Committee, I will confer Law Honors Awards to the Hon. Jonathan Feldman L’81, Laura Harshbarger L’97, the Hon. Theodore McKee L’75, Lee Michaels L’67, and Frank Ryan IV, L’94. We’ll cap the ceremony with a festive evening in the David S. Levy L’48 Atrium with refreshments and live music.

It’s not too late to register for Reunion, so review the entire slate of events here and then join us.

I hope to see you on Friday!

College of Law News

Late last month, I announced a new and exciting international program. The College of Law and the International Legal Experts Association (ILEA)—a legal industry association comprised of legal and non-legal professionals based in Seoul, South Korea—have formed a partnership to provide doctrinal U.S. law courses in Seoul. The program, conducted by College of Law faculty, will prepare Korean lawyers for the bar examination in the District of Columbia and successful admission to practice in the United States. This new partnership advances our goal to grow the College’s international presence and strengthens our already strong bond with our Korean alumni base.

In October, Assistant Dean for Advancement and External Affairs Sophie Dagenais was named a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation. Fellows are nominated by their peers and work together to advance the practice of law across the state and support the Foundation’s dynamic programs and initiatives. Sophie’s involvement will help us solidify our ties to the state legal community and help to increase the bar’s engagement with the College of Law.

The College of Law was honored to host a tailgate party for more than 100 members of the Wounded Warriors Project in Dineen Hall before the stunning Clemson upset. I am proud that our University and College are active supporters of our veteran community and humbled that we could play a small role in this fantastic event.

Director of Externship Programs Kim Wolf Price, L’03 is serving as co-chair of NYSBA’s 2017 Women on the Move Program, “Talking While Female,” which will take place on October 26 at the Larchmont Shore Club, Larchmont, NY. Kim created the curriculum for the program to support women in their legal careers as they navigate diverse challenges and bias in work and marketplaces. Kim also will moderate and participate in the panel, “Ethical Speaking: Ethics in Communications.”

Students in the College of Law’s Fall 2017 DCEx had the pleasure of meeting Candice Geller L’16, an Honors Attorney at the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Employment Law Branch last month. As part of the program, externs also met with Jenifer Grundy Hollett, an attorney in the Employment Law Branch of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and B. Kevin Cardwell, Associate General Counsel for the Bureau of Prisons.

As Director of NYEx, Kim Wolf Price L’03 reports an impressive calendar of Lawyer Seminars that accompany externship placements and provide students the opportunity to hear from distinguished guest practitioners. This fall, students have participated in seminars with Kristin Nicoll L’03, Director of Professional Responsibility and Risk Management at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, on professional responsibility and ethics, and Fred Price L’03, Partner, Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, on intellectual property practice and career transitions. Students also heard from former NYEx participants Anas Saleh L’11, Counsel, Bousquet Holstein PLLC; Aaron Schiffrik L’11, Associate, Goldberg Segalla LLP; Brittany Murgallis L’15, Associate, Sugarman Law Firm LLP; and Michael Whalen L’13, Assistant District Attorney, Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office, on the transition from externship to law practice. Alumni involvement is a critical component to the success of NYEx and all of our externship programs, and I am grateful to our alumni lecturers and externship hosts!

In the Summer Dean’s Dispatch, I included a call for judges for this semester’s Moot Court competitions. The response from you was overwhelming and the Moot Court team has been busy making contact with all alumni who responded to the call. Today, the Lionel O. Grossman Trial Competition is underway, and more than 20 alumni have participated in the competition as trial judges. The final round of the competition will take place on October 26. Thank you for volunteering to support our students’ evolution as trial advocates. Your feedback and engagement are an invaluable component of their practical training.

The College of Law is again hosting an important judicial body in action. The New York Commission on Judicial Conduct is in session in the Gray Ceremonial Courtroom this week. Due to the nature of the high-profile case, the hearing is not open to the public, but the Commission’s selection of Dineen Hall is both a testament to our world-class facility and an acknowledgment of our desire to more closely connect the College of Law with the New York judiciary.

Students In the News

Congratulations to Bond, Schoeneck & King Alternative Dispute Resolution Competition winners, 3Ls Astrid Quiñones and Julian Harrison!  Andrew D. Bobrek L’07, Partner at Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, helped judge the final round on September 19. Other alumni who judged the final round included Assistant Teaching Professor Emily Brown L’09 and Adjunct Professor Daniel Cantone L’81. The panel also included Assistant Dean Sophie Dagenais. Thank you Andrew and all students and faculty members who made this contest a successful experience for participants and observers alike.

With outstanding work from our students, the Technology Commercialization Law Center continues to move entrepreneurs’ innovations into the marketplace. This hands-on experience with real clients helps our students hone their skills and provides a compelling reference point on the job-seeking front. Read about the contributions of College of Law students and the Center’s clients, epiWELL and Skills Label.

Faculty News

Our faculty remains as busy as ever, both in the classroom and with impactful and timely research and scholarship!

Over the summer, Professor Robert Ashford delivered a series of well-received lectures on “Inclusive Capitalism” in the United Kingdom at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, the London School of Economics, and Syracuse University’s Faraday House in London. Ashford’s pioneering work will be published in a new book tentatively entitled “Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom: Missing Truths, False Promises, and Better Ways” (Cambridge University Press).

As a Director of The Robert H. Jackson Center, Professor of Practice David M. Crane L’80 was on hand to open the International Humanitarian Law Dialogues on August 27 at the Chautauqua Institution.

Associate Professor Lauryn Gouldin traveled to Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law in Orange, CA, on September 22 to take part in a junior faculty works-in-progress workshop. Both her work-in-progress and her contributions to the discussion of the works of other participants were singled out for particular praise in a letter I received from Chapman’s Associate Dean for Research.

On September 26, New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks announced that Associate Professor Michael Schwartz is among the distinguished legal experts chosen to serve on a state committee to improve court accessibility for people with disabilities.

INSCT Director of Research Corri Zoli published “Terror Has Gone Low-Tech” in Foreign Policy on October 2.

Professor Nina Kohn gave a lecture, “The New Era of Surrogate Decision-Making,” at Saint Louis University School of Law as part of the law school’s Health Law Distinguished Speaker Series held on October 4.

Professor Shubha Ghosh has published his two-volume research handbook on Intellectual Property and Innovation with Edward Elgar Publishing. The work is a part of Elgar Publishing’s Critical Concepts in Intellectual Property Law series. Professor Ghosh also discussed protecting intellectual property at the IP Workshop for North Texas Inventors and Entrepreneurs held on September 30 at Texas A&M University School of Law and co-sponsored by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the State Bar of Texas IP Section.

Alumni Events

Last month, I attended a fundraising event in Utica, NY, which proved a spectacular success. Together with Friends of the Wohl Family Veterans Legal Clinic, Oneida County officials, and College of Law students and faculty, we gathered to build awareness of the clinic’s partnership with the county and its advocacy for veterans and military families. The event raised in excess of $100,000 for the clinic’s important work, augmenting a separate three-year grant from Oneida County in the amount of $175,000.

I recently had the pleasure of sharing my strategic vision for the College of Law at three alumni events. On September 29, I joined more than 50 alumni in Rochester at the Oak Hill Country Club. This month, I made my first trip to visit our Chicago alumni at an event at the Union League Club on the 10th, followed by a reception in Philadelphia on the 12th, graciously hosted by Board of Advisors member Christopher C. Fallon Jr. L’73 at the spectacular offices of Cozen O’Connor in Center City. Connecting with you at these events is one of the highlights of my job as Dean; I am always energized by your commitment to the College of Law, and I appreciate your feedback.

I look forward to continuing to keep you posted on our progress as we move the College of Law forward, and we will engage you at every opportunity along the way. As demonstrated by the news reported this month and in previous issues of the Dean’s Dispatch, in our 2017 Yearbook, and at each alumni event, you have made clear your willingness to participate in many ways, and I am grateful for all that you do for your alma mater.

Upcoming Alumni Events

I hope to see you this fall in a city near you!

• Law Reunion Weekend: Friday, Oct. 20 & Saturday, Oct. 21, Dineen Hall, Syracuse.

• Albany Alumni Reception: Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, The Great Hall, New York State Bar Association.

• NYC Alumni Reception with Vice Dean Keith Bybee: Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, Lubin House.

• Atlanta Alumni Reception: Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017.

We are planning additional events in New York City, Texas, and Washington, DC See you soon!

Click here to R.S.V.P. or register and to find additional details on these events.

For More Information

Questions? Please contact Sophie Dagenais, Assistant Dean for Advancement and External Affairs, at sdagenai@law.syr.edu or 315.443.4536, or Kristen Duggleby, Director of Alumni Relations at klduggle@law.syr.edu or 315.443.1964.

I’ll keep you updated on our news in future editions of the Dean’s Dispatch, and for those of you who use social media, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram for timely updates and photographs.