Law School Announces Launch of First Fully Interactive Online J.D. Program

As you may be aware, the American Bar Association has granted the College of Law a variance to offer an online J.D. program. This is a watershed event for our law school. Not only does it provide an opportunity to expand the reach of our outstanding residential J.D. program, it cements our national reputation for leadership in innovative approaches to legal education.

The online J.D. program will be the first in the nation to combine real-time and self-paced online classes, on-campus residential classes, and experiential learning opportunities. By allowing students to engage in real-time online classes from anywhere, our online J.D. program will make the College of Law’s high-quality legal education accessible to students who cannot reasonably attend a fully residential program.

I appreciate your continued support as we develop the program and welcome this new group of talented students into the College of Law community.

SULAA Awards Nominations Deadline Set for May 15

One of the joys of being Dean is meeting and honoring alumni from around the world who have left an indelible mark on the law profession and society at large. This is one of the reasons I am proud to partner with the Syracuse University Law Alumni Association on the College of Law’s annual Law Honors Awards, which are the centerpiece of the Law Reunion Weekend.

The Syracuse Law Honors are your honors, because our alumni family identifies deserving members of the community to receive the award. Let us know whom to consider: simply fill out the nomination form by May 15, and we’ll take care of the rest.

You can nominate any member of our extended family—alumni; current and former faculty and staff; or students, parents, and friends—for “distinguished achievements in any field of endeavor” and for their service to the College, the legal profession, Syracuse University, or the world at large. Visit the Law Honors webpage to learn more. I look forward to seeing whom you have chosen!

Other College of Law News

College of Law Welcomes Spring 2018 LL.M. Cohort

In January, the College of Law welcomed its newest cohort of LL.M. students. With interests ranging from international humanitarian law to sports law to commercial law, LL.M. candidates have travelled to Syracuse from countries in Asia, the Middle East, South America, and Africa. With this cohort, the College also expands its global footprint, welcoming a student for the first time from Ecuador.

During their time here, LL.M. students will participate in the College’s annual Job Shadow Program, the International Scholar Lecture Series, and other activities and opportunities for engagement in cooperation with our community partners, including Legal Services of Central New York, the Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment Center, and Board of Advisors Member Alan Epstein L’74.

NYSTAR Re-Designates the College of Law’s Technology Commercialization Law Program as the New York State Science and Technology Law Center

I am pleased to report that Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation (NYSTAR) has re-designated the College of Law’s Technology Commercialization Law Program (TCLP) as the New York State Science and Technology Law Center (NYSSTLC, or Law Center).

The re-designation of the Law Center, this time for a five-year term and funding of nearly $1.7 million, is an explicit recognition of our faculty’s strength in this area—led by Law Center Director M. Jack Rudnick and Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh—as well as our students’ hard work and creativity. Coupled with TCLP, NYSSTLC allows the College to partner with industries across New York, to support economic development in the state, and to provide a law curriculum that is rich in hands-on, practical experience.

Michael A. Schwartz Awarded Grant to Study Access to Justice for Deaf People in Northern Ireland

Associate Professor of Law Michael A. Schwartz has been awarded a grant to explore access to justice for deaf people in Northern Ireland (NI), working in collaboration with the British Deaf Association, Queen’s University Belfast, NI, and Rowan University, located in New Jersey. The funding has been granted as part of the Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) program, led by disabled people and funded by the UK’s Big Lottery Fund.

Julia Wingfield Wins Hancock Estabrook 1L Oral Advocacy Competition

It was a pleasure to judge the 8th Annual Hancock Estabrook 1L Oral Advocacy Competition on February 8 and see the talent and passion of our first-year students on display. Congratulations to the winner, Julia Wingfield, and the runner-up, Joseph Mallek. My great appreciation goes to sponsor Hancock Estabrook LLP; my fellow judges, Hon. Brenda Sannes and Hon. Therese Wiley Dancks L’91; and evaluator Professor Richard Risman. Thank you also to the organizers: Professor Kathleen O’Connor, Faculty Director of the Moot Court Honor Society; Moot Court Executive Director 3L Ryan Lefkowitz; and 3L Tom DeBernardis, who wrote an interesting problem about the risks one assumes as a spectator at a baseball game.

High Attendance at First Wladis Law Firm Deposition Workshop

More than 45 students attended the Wladis Law Firm Deposition Workshop at the College of Law on February 8. During the workshop, which presented a new opportunity for our students to hone their trial advocacy skills, attorney Tim Lambrecht offered an instructional and practical lunchtime session on how to prepare, organize, and conduct depositions.

Entertainment & Sports Law Society to Host CLE Program

The College of Law’s Entertainment & Sports Law Society will host its fourth annual Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium at the College of Law on April 6. This year, attendees will be eligible for up to 5.5 CLE credits in ethics, law practice management, and professional practice. Speakers and moderators will include notable alumni DLA Piper partner and College of Law Board of Advisors Member Frank W. Ryan IV L’94; IF Management Talent Representative Kevin John Belbey L’17; and Buffalo Bills Vice President and General Counsel Gregg G. Brandon L’01.

Registration will open in early March. In the meantime, please contact student leader Allison McFarland at armcfarl@syr.edu for more information.  We hope to see many of you back on campus for what promises to be an exceptional program.

Employment Outcomes & Enrollment: How You Can Help!

Class of 2017 Employment Numbers Continue to Climb

Director of Career Services Stacey Wiley informs me that the Class of 2017 employment rate (the number we report to the ABA and U.S. News & World Report) is 73.8% as of February 12, for full-time, long-term bar-required or J.D.-advantaged positions. By contrast, the class of 2016 ABA/U.S. News employment rate was 67.5% at this time last year.

Our strong February showing for the Class of 2017 is great news, and we are still collecting data for this class via graduate surveys. Can you help us reach our goal of greatly surpassing the final Class of 2016 employment rate of 74.1%? Please reach out to Stacey and the entire Career Services team to explore how you can help us meet our shared goals and how we can help you meet your employment needs. Call them at 315.443.1941 or email career@law.syr.edu.

Remember, employment is not only a key measure of our success, it is an important data point with which to measure the College’s reputation and ranking.

Meet Prospective & Admitted Students in Syracuse This Spring

As I’ve shared in previous issues, one of the most effective ways of persuading the best and brightest students to choose Syracuse is to deliver our message in partnership with you, our accomplished alumni. Please let Assistant Dean of Enrollment Management Denée Page know if you are available to support the following recruitment events:

• March 8, 5-7 p.m.—Admitted Student Reception, Downtown Syracuse
• April 12, 5-7 p.m.—Admitted Student Reception, Downtown Syracuse

Admitted students often seek insight from our alumni, so if you are able to connect with prospective or admitted students where you live or work, we will be happy to set up introductions.

Finally, if you know of any prospective students who may be interested in attending law school, please encourage them to contact the admissions office at admissions@law.syr.edu or 315.443.1962. We are always pleased to speak to interested candidates and offer them the opportunity to visit Dineen Hall.

Students in the News

Phi Alpha Delta Blood Drive a Huge Success

Organized by 2L Matthew Wallace and other members of the Carmody Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta, an impressive and much-needed 40 units were collected at a February 1 Red Cross Blood Drive held in the Travis H. Lewin Advocacy Commons. I congratulate the organizers for their success, and thank all donors—students, faculty, and staff—who helped the College to far exceed the day’s goal of 25 units.

3L Kimberly Grinberg Prepares for an International Conference on US-Mexico Drug Policy

Third-year law students are busy enough in the spring semester, preparing for final exams, studying for the bar exam, lining up job interviews, and looking ahead to Commencement. Nevertheless, 3L Kimberly Grinberg, a joint J.D./M.A.I.R. candidate, recently prepared for a major international conference on US/Mexico drug policy, treaties, and cross-border security in San Diego, CA. There, she rubbed shoulders with reporters from The Washington Post and The New York Times, representatives of major think tanks, and officials from the US, Mexico, and the state of California.

NTC Trial Competition Team Reaches Regional Semis; Chris Clark Wins Individual Awards

Congratulations to the College of Law’s National Trial Competition Region 2 team, which reached the semifinals at Cardozo School of Law over the weekend of 9-11 February. The final round trials were reportedly very close, with Syracuse losing to New York University in one bracket, and another NYU team besting University at Buffalo in the other.

3L Chris Clark, 3L Nicholas Dellefave, 2L Dennis Scanlon, and alternate 2L Matthew Wallace represented Syracuse (Joanne VanDyke L’87 coached the team). Clark took home first place awards for best direct examination and best cross examination in preliminary rounds, and runner-up award for best closing argument. Syracuse beat Fordham in the quarterfinals to reach the Final Four.

For This Fashion Technology Company, the Technology Commercialization Research Center is a Perfect Fit

Students in the Technology Commercialization Research Center (LAW 815) met with entrepreneur Andrea Madho and software engineer Philip Manning G’98 in Dineen Hall on January 16, to learn about a semester-long project they will conduct on behalf of Madho’s and Manning’s start-up fashion technology company, Lab141.

It’s a symbiotic relationship. While Lab141 benefits from patent and market landscapes, competitor analysis, and trademark reviews conducted by the students, the students get to hear from an entrepreneur with years of experience in business development, marketing, and strategic and financial consulting.

“Working with clients such as Madho and Manning provides TCLP students with a unique and exceptional experiential learning opportunity,” says Adjunct Professor Dean Bell G’72. “This research experience and knowledge of entrepreneurship and tech commercialization often translates into successful careers.”

Externship Program Welcomes Distinguished Guests

One of the clear strengths of the College’s externship program is its ability to attract distinguished guest lectures suggested by, or drawn from, our alumni community. Thank you to those who have spoken, or plan to speak, to our students “in the field.” The spring semester has gotten off to a great start:

• Washington, DC: DCEx’s first seminar was with College of Law Associate Professor Tara Helfman at the US Department of Justice, where Helfman currently serves as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. On January 29, DCEx participants met with Covington & Burling LLP Senior Partner Kurt Wimmer L’85, who talked about his work in data privacy and cybersecurity.
• New York City: On January 10, NYCEx students met with Richard M. Jones L’95, Senior Vice President, General Tax Counsel, and Chief Veteran Officer for CBS Corporation. In late January, Eileen Millett L’74, a Partner at Phillips Nizer, served as a guest lecturer, summarizing the history of environmental law. She then joined the students at the NYSBA Constance Baker Motley Diversity and Inclusion Symposium (see photo below), where Director of Externship Programs Kim Wolf Price L’03 was a panelist and moderator. On February 6, Alex Matturri L’83, CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices, hosted externs in the offices of S&P Global (see photo above). Matturri provided students an overview of the index industry and a summary of his fascinating career path.
• Central New York: In late January, NYEx externs heard from Syracuse-based Michelle Billington L’13, Environmental Law Associate Attorney at Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, and Paul Lyons L’09, an Associate at Bottar Law PLLC, who discussed his practice in medical malpractice and personal injury law.

To learn more about the externship program, please contact Faculty Director of Externship Programs Terry L. Turnipseed at tlturnip@law.syr.edu or Director of Externship Programs Kim Wolf Price at kwprice@law.syr.edu.

College of Law Celebrates Pro Bono Week

The College of Law’s Pro Bono Advisory Board held its annual Pro Bono Week from January 29 to February 2. The program included a fair, educational campaign, and panel discussion about the importance of pro bono work to our community and to a student’s personal and professional development. Panelists included Liz Conger of Legal Services of CNY; Gregory Dewan of Hiscock Legal Aid Society; Jillian McGuire of Mackenzie Hughes; Samantha Aguam of Volunteer Lawyers Project; and Colleen Gibbons L’17 of Bousquet Holstein.

Faculty & Department News

Our faculty continues to contribute significantly and prominently to ongoing, complex, and high profile issues of national importance. I hope you’ll take a few moments to read these most recent examples of our scholarship in action.

William C. Banks Expertise in Demand as FISA Court Remains in the News

William C. Banks, Director of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, has long studied the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the FISA Court (or FISC), which was established under FISA in 1978. Media outlets, including The New York Times and WIRED, are reaching out to Banks to gauge his opinion on the Nunes Memo, to explain how the FISA process works, and to better understand what the Nunes Memo controversy means for the Trump presidency and the US intelligence community.

The Founders, Co-Edited by David M. Crane, Charts the Creation of the World’s First International Tribunals

Never before have international chief prosecutors written in detail about the challenges they faced, but with the publication of The Founders—co-edited by Professor of Practice David M. Crane L’80—comes the complex story of four individuals who created the world’s first international tribunals and special courts.

Men’s Health “Texts” Nina Kohn

Men’s Health magazine approached Associate Dean for Research and Online Education and David M. Levy L’48 Professor of Law Nina Kohn for its light-hearted but useful “Text a Lawyer” section. Nina was asked to comment about slip-and-falls on a person’s property, an appropriate subject for a Syracuse law expert in the middle of winter.

Robin Paul Malloy Publishes Land Use and Zoning Casebook

E.I. White Chair and Distinguished Professor of Law and Kauffman Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Robin Paul Malloy has published Land Use and Zoning Law: Planning for Accessible Communities (Carolina Academic Press), the first land use and zoning law casebook to comprehensively integrate issues of accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Shubha Ghosh Joins Amicus Brief in California Copyright Case Brought by The Turtles

Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh has joined an amici curiae brief filed with the Supreme Court of the State of California in a copyright case brought by members of the 1960s rock group The Turtles. The brief is led by the Information Society Project at Yale Law School, with Ghosh joining other scholars “who research, write, or teach about intellectual property and its intersections with free expression.”

Alumni Events

New York State of Mind

Once again our New York City alumni showed up in force and glowing with Orange Pride at our annual winter event at the Lubin House. On January 25, more than 100 alumni gathered to enjoy each other’s company and mingle with College of Law faculty and students. The Dinosaur Bar-B-Que spread made us all feel right at home!

Enjoying Some Miami Heat

On a cold Syracuse winter week, I was fortunate to travel south to Miami, FL. On January 30, I met with more than 30 South Florida-area alumni who joined me and our hosts, Michael Wohl L’75 and Betty Wohl, at the Capital Grille on Brickell.

Save-the-Date: Law Reunion 2018!

I hope you will return to Syracuse September 27 to 30 for our 2018 reunion program. Join me as we:

• Connect with new and old friends over a spectacular fall weekend.
• Celebrate reunion with the law classes ending in 3 and 8. The classes of 1968 and 2003 are planning their celebratory dinners. Will your class plan a dinner?
• Confer the Law Honors Awards on Friday night.
• Attend an exciting game watch party at stylish Club 44, the University’s exclusive VIP club lounge. Will SU beat the Clemson Tigers in a repeat performance of 2017’s stunning upset?!

This year, I hope you will consider volunteering as a Class Agent, to help spread the word among your classmates, encourage them to return home to celebrate their law school days, and take on other responsibilities that will make the event—your event—a success. To be a Class Agent, email Director of Alumni Relations Kristen Duggleby or call her at 315.443.1964.

Other Alumni Events

Alumni events provide an opportunity for you to experience first-hand the Power of Orange and to network with an incredible, influential network of fellow alumni. This month I am especially excited to announce the launch of our San Francisco Bay Area Law Alumni network!

• San Francisco, CA, February 22—Join me, Director of Alumni Relations Kristen Duggleby, and Bay Area Alumni Group leaders Aaron M. Tidman L’07 and Edward J. Baba L’03 for the network launch party at Tacolicious, 741 Valencia St. (Mission District), San Francisco, CA 94110. For more information, email Aaron at atidman@mac.com or Kristen at klduggle@law.syr.edu.
• Zürich, Switzerland, March 13—I look forward to meeting College of Law alumni in Europe via videoconference and on the ground in Zürich during the College’s new International Tax Law program. During the week of March 12, Marnin J. Michaels L’96, G’96 and I will lead a program on “The Evolving Role of International Tax, Transparency, and Tax Equalization.” We are also excited to host an alumni social with program faculty, staff, and students at Baker McKenzie Zurich, Holbeinstrasse 30, Zürich 8034, Switzerland. For additional information on the event or the program, email Kristen Duggleby at klduggle@law.syr.edu.

Please R.S.V.P. at this webpage for any of these events and to keep track of additional alumni socials. Do you want to host an alumni event in your town? If so, please contact Kristen Duggleby at klduggle@law.syr.edu.

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.

Contact us at 315.443.1964 or alumni@law.syr.edu to change your address or to send us your updates!

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.