Legal Deacon Digest – December 2023
Message from Leadership Here at the Law School, classes are winding down and exams are starting, but soon enough, our law students, faculty, and staff will be celebrating and spending time with loved ones, just as we hope you are during this time of year. Speaking of busy seasons, the Law Development and Alumni Engagement office spent much of the last few months on the road to Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Atlanta, Washington DC, and many other cities, as Dean Andy Klein got to know so many law alumni and friends. If you had the chance to meet him at an event, thank you for coming out. We’ll be back on the road this spring, coming to a city near you! All of us here at Wake Forest Law—students, faculty, and staff—are extremely grateful for your support, encouragement, and volunteerism, as we navigate the ever-changing higher-ed legal landscape. Whatever your plans this time of year, we hope you have a joyful season, and be well! Best, Logan Roach (’07) 
Spotlights Alumni Stephen Hawthornthwaite (JD ’96), Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Rothy’s, visited Wake Forest Law October 19 for a fireside chat with students to talk about his path from law school to success with Rothy’s. (pictured at right) In honor of International Wrongful Conviction Day on October 2, The Society for Criminal Justice Reform hosted an International Wrongful Conviction Day Panel. In alignment with the theme of “Resilience Within the Criminal Justice System,” the panel included alumnus Carson Smith (JD ’16), assistant public defender, and Kelvin Alexander, who faced a wrongful conviction. While attending Wake Forest Law, Smith worked in Professor Mark Rabil’s Innocence and Justice Clinic, helping represent Alexander. Through this work and the work of the Innocence Commission, Alexander was freed from prison after almost three decades. Congratulations to Wake Forest University alumna Beth Norbrey Hopkins (’73, P ’12), who was honored on September 7 as one of 17 United States Tennis Association Champions of Equality at the US Open. Hopkins, who is the retired director of the Wake Forest Law pro bono and public interest programs, has a long history with the USTA. (pictured at right) Students Luul Lampkins, Wake Forest Law 3L, recently won second place in the nationwide Law Student Writing Competition for her paper titled “I Can’t Come to Work, I’m Depressed: An Analysis of the Barriers to Accessing Leave Due to Mental Illness Under the Family and Medical Leave Act.” (pictured at right) Wake Forest Law’s competitive trial program was invited to compete in the nationally-recognized Tournament of Champions in Houston, Texas. Wake Forest Law fielded a team of four top students chosen from both the National Trial Team (NTT) and American Advocates for Justice (AAJ) program. The team was captained by Nathaniel Drum (3L), who represented the prosecution with his co-counsel Victor Silva (3L). Defense counsel comprised Tanner Clark (3L) and Marin Bennerotte (2L). The team is coached by Wake Forest Law alum Ashley DiMuzio (JD ’19), whose team won the Tournament of Champions in 2018. Meet Tennille! Wake Forest Law LLM student Tennille Alleyne has been selected to participate in the launch of the inaugural Deacon Dialogue Fellowship through The Office of Civic & Community Engagement at Wake Forest University. The Deacon Dialogue program selected 12-15 students to serve as Fellows who will spend the year learning skills in planning and facilitating dialogues on different issues that impact campus, the community, the nation, and the world. Each fellow is expected to serve for a year. (pictured at right) Meet Emily Mundt (JD ’26), a 1L JD student at Wake Forest Law and a native of Hackettstown, NJ! Emily earned her bachelors of science in foreign service degree with a major in international history from Georgetown University before coming to Wake Forest Law in 2023. “I love the community here at Wake Forest Law,” says Emily. “I’m not sure what my exact goals are after law school, but I hope to work with disenfranchised and marginalized populations by providing access to legal assistance that would otherwise be scarce.” Faculty Professor Keith Robinson recently participated in a Walk With Wente. Lear more about the Walk with Wente initiative! Wake Forest Law Professor Raina Haque, an expert in computational law and emerging technology, recently served as a panelist in a prestigious symposium on AI Lawyering. The panel discussion was moderated by Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Law Keith Robinson. Congratulations to Professor Sarah Morath for being a 2023 Nautilus Book Awards Silver Winner in the category of Green, Restorative Practices/Sustainability for her book Our Plastic Problem and How to Solve It. The Nautilus Book Awards aims to recognize, promote, and celebrate books that support conscious and restorative earth practices, wellness, love, and beauty, spiritual growth, and social change and social justice. Cemetery, Funeral, and Property Law-expert Tanya Marsh, who serves as the associate dean for academic affairs and professor at Wake Forest Law, was featured in the New York Times article “Facing Scrutiny, a Museum That Holds 12,000 Human Remains Changes Course.” The article discusses the American Museum of Natural History’s collection of human remains—a practice dating back to the 1940s that is now viewed as abusive and racist. (pictured at right) Mark Rabil, director of the Innocence & Justice Clinic and professor at Wake Forest Law, was featured on a Fox 8 segment on the cost of false imprisonment in North Carolina. “What I see is built-in systemic racism,” says Professor Rabil about the fact that roughly half of all wrongful convictions are of African-Americans. “I see built-in biases of all sorts. Whether it’s against intellectually disabled people or people of different race or ethnicity, I see a presumption of guilt as opposed to the constitutional presumption of innocence.” Check out the latest news about our Legal Analysis, Writing, & Research (LAWR) program, which is ranked 6th in the nation. Updates include information about faculty scholarship, presentations, and involvement in the legal writing community. 
Events SCOTUS Trip Recap Relive Law Alumni Weekend Where are we going next?
Noteworthy 2023 Issue of The Jurist Available Online The 2023 issue of The Jurist is now available for your reading pleasure! From a feature about our faculty members’ involvement in the Restatements, to inspiring alumni profiles, to stories by Professors Chris Coughlin and Keith Robinson, this issue—centered around the theme of collaboration—is sure to inform and delight. Wake Forest Law Hosts US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Wake Forest Law was honored to host the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit October 30-31! Wake Forest Law students, faculty, and staff were given the opportunity to see attorneys present oral arguments in front of three Judges, watch a table talk with the Federal Public Defender’s Office and US Attorneys, and participate in a Town Hall with Judges and clerks, moderated by Professor Audra Savage. A special thanks to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for providing this educational experience for our students. Wake Forest Law Welcomes Young Indigenous Leaders from Peruvian Amazon The week of September 5, Wake Forest’s Andrew Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability (formerly known as the Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES)) hosted a delegation of young Indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Amazon. The multi-day event, which was a collaboration between Wake Forest’s Center for Amazonian Scientific Innovation (CINCIA), the US Department of State (via the embassy in Peru), and a number of funders, included seven young Indigenous leaders from six different regions in Peru. Also participating were Edgar Flores, a representative from the US Embassy in Peru (and the first Indigenous staff member at that embassy), Marta Torres and Carmen Acho from CINCIA, and Luis Fernandez, Executive Director of CINCIA and Wake Forest University research professor of biology. Wake Forest Law welcomed the Indigenous leaders on September 6 for a lunch workshop with Professor John Knox and Professor Scott Schang. Professor Knox spoke on human rights law and Indigenous land rights. Two of the young leaders also spoke at the event. NC Court of Appeals Visits Wake Forest Law
The North Carolina Court of Appeals visited Wake Forest Law in September, allowing law students, faculty, staff, and the public the opportunity to hear two appellate cases. Following the arguments, the judges took questions from the audience and attended a reception where students and faculty could meet them. The North Carolina Court of Appeals comes to Wake Forest Law once a year to give students the chance to watch the appeals process in action. Hiring? Career assistance? Get involved? Follow Us End of Year Giving | Now through December 31 The end of the calendar year is fast approaching and we want to ensure that your gifts to Wake Forest Law are counted by the December 31st deadline! See below for information on ways you can give to support the Law School and its students. Credit Cards Checks For other ways to give, including stocks and cryptocurrency, please click here or email lawalum@wfu.edu. Thank you for supporting Wake Forest University School of Law! |
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Categories: Legal Deacon Digest