Legal Deacon Digest – March 2024
Message from Leadership As the season changes and brings new beginnings, here at Wake Forest Law, we are embracing the vibrant energy of spring. With the end of the semester in sight, our students are diving into their studies with renewed vigor, and many of our faculty are wrapping up existing projects and embarking on new research that promises to make significant contributions to the legal field. In the past several months, our faculty have secured placements for their research in some of the nation’s most respected legal publications, including the Duke Law Journal, the Cornell Law Review, and the Washington Law Review. In addition, several of our faculty will publish books this spring. Our research plays a crucial role in shaping the future of law, and we’re excited to share our achievements with you. Your support and engagement are vital to our success. May this spring season bring you renewal, inspiration, and joy. Thank you for your continued support and for being an integral part of our community. Warmest regards, W. Keith Robinson 
Spotlights Alumni Congratulations to alum Angelia Duncan (JD ’10), Charlotte Office Managing Partner at Bryan Cave, for being selected as one of the Charlotte Business Journal 2024 Women in Business Award winners! The award celebrates Angelia’s increase in the practice group capabilities and her promotion of equality and empowering diverse lawyers in the workplace. Angelia is the outgoing chair of the Wake Forest Law Rose Council and will be joining the Law Board of Visitors this July. Liz Johnson, director of academic excellence and bar support, recently launched a pilot Alumni Bar Coach Program (ABC Program). The ABC program allows Wake Forest Law graduates to provide mentorship, encouragement, and support for recent graduates who are taking the Bar Exam for the first time. Thirty-one alumni and fifty-three current third-year students signed up to participate. More than 2 million people go through the North Carolina court system each year. The circumstances around their involvement with the justice system vary; the details of each person’s story are different. But most of these people have one thing in common: childhood trauma. Learn more about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and what alums Chief District Court Judge J.H. Corpening, II (’76, JD ’79, P ’09) and District Attorney Ben David (JD ’95) are doing about it. The latest episode of All Things Judicial features an interview with Chief Assistant District Attorney Jennifer L. Martin (’96, JD ’99), who has served as a Forsyth County prosecutor since 1999. On the podcast, Martin shared about her upbringing in Stokes County and how the court led by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren impacted her decision to become a lawyer. David M. Warren (’81, JD ’84, P ’13) was inducted into the Order of the Eagle by his alma mater, Rocky Mount (NC) Academy, for more than 30 years of volunteer service. Warren is chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of NC and an adjunct law professor at Wake Forest and Campbell University. He is a director of DiabetesSisters Inc. and a trustee for the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation. Alex de la Torre (JD ’18) has summited the highest point of every state in the continental U.S. He climbed Gannett Peak in Wyoming in August to complete the goal and was listed as a “48 Finisher” by the Highpointers Club. He hopes to climb Denali in Alaska in the next five years. When not climbing mountains, he practices law in King, NC. See how alum Bonita Brown (’95, JD ’97) uses her legal education to help students live up to their full potential in Saying Yes to Student Success. Students What a weekend for Wake Forest University School of Law participants in the regional American Association for Justice National Trial Competition. Our two teams competed in nine rounds, winning eight. And our team of Trent Turk, Remy Gaines, Bella Sparhawk, Chase Leslie, and Jackson Logan won the region. We are so proud of our #LegalDeacs. Go get ‘em at the AAJ National Trial Competition in Chicago on April 4th! The Wake Forest Law PILO (Public Interest Law Organization) Auction took place on Saturday, March 2 at 6:00 p.m. at Joymongers. The annual fundraising event helps support students in unpaid public interest internships, making a difference in the careers of future public interest lawyers. The auction featured a wide range of auction items donated by faculty, staff, local businesses, and alumni. PILO raised more than $35,000 this year! Check out this brief video from the packed event! Ten representatives from Wake Forest Law’s Competitive Trial Program traveled to Williamsburg in February 2024 to compete in the National Trial Competition Regionals. The students, who finished in third place, demonstrated mastery of courtroom procedure, rules of evidence, and persuasion. On March 1, 2024, the Wake Forest Law Review and the Cremation Association of North America hosted The Future of Death Care in America Symposium at Wake Forest Law. The Symposium brought together leaders in the death care industry, academics, and influential reformers with their distinct perspectives to find common ground to help ensure the protection of consumers and expand consumer choice. More than 750 people attended either in person or via Zoom. View a recording of the panels here. It might look like business as usual at the Forsyth County Courthouse. Litigants appear before judges. A clerk calls the case names. Bailiffs maintain order. But look a little closer. Many of the court personnel are teenagers, and so are the litigants and jurors. Prosecutors and defense counsel are youth or Wake Forest Law students. Teens Take the Lead takes us inside the courtroom of Teen Court. Faculty Wake Forest Law is proud to welcome two new faculty members: Samir Parikh and Nathan Bennett Fleming. Professor Samir Parikh will be joining Wake Forest Law from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland and will teach business law. Professor Nathan Bennett Fleming comes to Wake Forest Law from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago and will teach constitutional law and election law. Wake Forest Law faculty are experts in their field. Read the recent Faculty Scholarship Newsletter highlighting faculty publications, presentations, speaking engagements, media, honors, and awards from June to December 2023. Wake Forest Law’s Experiential Education program continues to provide multifaceted opportunities for students to develop essential lawyering skills and engage in meaningful professional identity formation. Through participation in legal clinics, field placements, and simulation courses, students hone their craft while thinking critically about the legal system and their role in the attainment of justice. Read more about the recent work in Experiential Education. 
Events Where are we going next? Don’t miss the invitations to these alumni events, update your contact information in Wake Network before we head your way! We’ll continue to update our Alumni Events page as the plans come together for the events below!
Pro Humanitate Days 2024: April 6-14 | Join Wake Foresters around the globe as we demonstrate our Pro Humanitate spirit through volunteer-organized service projects and individual activities. Projects are currently organized in Phoenix, Orlando, Tampa, Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Portland, Philadelphia, and Houston. Register here for a volunteer-organized project or you can submit a project for your WAKECommunity. BLSA will host its annual banquet on April 6, 2024. The event theme is “Breaking the Stigma,” in memory of Wake Forest Law alumna Cheslie Kryst (JD/MBA ’17). In honor of Cheslie, BLSA is requesting video and written submissions to be played during the banquet. Purchase event tickets here. The event will be held from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Forsyth Country Club. Save the Date: Law Alumni & Homecoming Weekend is September 13-15, 2024. All alumni are welcome back for a weekend of festivities, and Law School classes ending in 4 or 9 will celebrate their reunions. Registration will open this summer! 
Noteworthy Wake Forest Law is pleased to announce a commitment of a $2 million gift from alum David Furr (’80, JD ’82) to establish the David M. Furr Law Scholarship. The Scholarship will ensure Furr Scholars will graduate from Wake Forest Law debt-free and will be awarded to students based on merit and their intention to practice in certain areas of law. The ACC’s Demon Deacons are the nation’s smallest Power Five program, but Athletic Director John Currie, coaches, athletes, and the school’s big-time supporters believe success has no size limitations—even in a Name, Image, and Likeness world. “[We just] want to inspire people,” says Constance. “Life can be hard. So we want to make sure we’re a movement and doing things to change the world.” Read more for how a little girl and her mom are empowering girls and women with their small business, Sprinkle Grace, and how Wake Forest Law’s IP Law Clinic helped take their business to the next level. Hiring? Career assistance? Get involved? Follow Us |
Categories: Legal Deacon Digest