News

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — The 2018 National Energy Conference at WVU Law on Dec. 1 will focus on climate change.

Admission is free and the public is invited to attend. Online registration at energy.law.wvu.edu/nec18 is required for the lunch/keynote speaker.

Topics to be discussed at the conference include the latest developments in climate change issues, climate change communication, controlling methane emissions, putting a price on carbon, and solar energy opportunities and obstacles. The speakers are national and regional experts from industry, public policy organizations, environmental groups, and academia.

Emily Calandrelli, an Emmy-nominated science TV host, will deliver the keynote speech. She is a correspondent on “Bill Nye Saves the World” on Netflix and an executive producer and host of FOX's “Xploration Outer Space.” Calandrelli is a 2010 WVU graduate.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — The Michael Late Benedum Chapter of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) recently donated $28,000 to the Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic at WVU.

The chapter raised the funds at its fourth annual Charity Clay Shoot, Dinner and Auction. It was the second year in a row that the event’s proceeds were donated to the veterans clinic, totaling $50,000 to date.

“I am so thankful for the support and enthusiasm that surrounds this event and its cause,” said Anthony Romeo, founder of the shoot, a veteran and an employee at Northeast Natural Energy. “A huge thank you to everyone that was able to make it to the shoot, to our sponsors, and to the volunteers that make it all possible.”

The shoot was sponsored by Lennington, Gratton, & Alexander LLP and supported by 27 oil and gas companies and service providers. It was held at at Hunting Hills in Dilliner, Pennsylvania. 

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — A case being handled by a clinic at WVU Law will be argued in the Supreme Court of the United States on Dec. 3.

WVU Law students in the U.S. Supreme Court Clinic have been preparing for Dawson v. Steager, a tax discrimination case, for 18 months. They conducted much of the required research, analysis and writing for the case under the leadership of Lawrence Rosenberg, a partner with Jones Day in Washington, DC, and Anne Marie Lofaso, professor of law.

Rosenberg will argue the case before the Supreme Court. He and Lofasso founded the U.S. Supreme Court Clinic at WVU in 2011.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA —  A new book co-edited by WVU Law professor Valena Beety sheds light on wrongful convictions in the U.S. justice system.

“The Wrongful Convictions Reader” (Carolina Academic Press, 2018) includes articles of leading research, law, and policy analysis gathered by Beety and Georgia State law professor Russell D. Covey.

Topics include eyewitness misidentification, false confession, DNA, junk science, prosecutorial misconduct and post-conviction review.

Acclaimed trial lawyer Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, wrote the book’s introduction.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA - WVU Law's public interest law program and its graduates' employment rate have been nationally recognized by preLaw Magazine.

PreLaw has named WVU Law among “the best schools for doing good,” giving the college a grade of A in public interest law. Lawyers who practice public interest law help the underrepresented or those who cannot afford legal services. This summer, for example, 22 WVU Law students worked in the state’s public interest agencies, including Legal Aid of West Virginia and Mountain State Justice.

  WVU Law was also among preLaw’s “highest performers” in the nation for employment outcomes, earning the number 16 spot on the magazine’s Employment Honor Roll. WVU Law’s employment rate is consistently higher than the national average. For the Class of 2017, the employment rate was 82 percent for bar passage required and J.D. advantage jobs — the gold standard for law schools. The national average for the Class of 2017 was 75.3 percent.

“WVU Law is committed to excellence in public service and career placement, which is why we maintain comprehensive and robust programs for our students,” said Gregory Bowman, dean of the College of Law. “This means our students excel in these areas, and it also means that we provide vital, much-needed service to our state and region.”

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Jesse Richardson Jr., professor of law and lead land use attorney in the WVU Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic, has received the Excellence in Agricultural Law for Academia from the American Agricultural Law Association (AALA). He was honored during the association’s annual conference on Oct. 26 in Portland, Oregon.

The AALA’s Excellence in Agricultural Law Awards recognizes AALA members for outstanding contributions to the legal profession and the agricultural community. These awards may acknowledge members from professional sectors, including private practice, academia, government and non-governmental organizations.

“Jesse strives to make the academic world a bit more exciting for his students and to share his passion for the industry,” said AALA president Jennifer Zwagerman of Drake University Law School. “His work helps inspire the next generation of professionals.”

Graduating magna cum laude from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Richardson earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics in 1984 and a master’s degree in agricultural and applied economics in 1996. He earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1987.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA —  More of West Virginia’s veterans will soon have access to free legal help from WVU Law.

The law firm of Wooton, Davis, Hussell & Ellis, PLLC in Beckley, West Virginia, has pledged $60,000 over the next two years to fund a full-time fellow in the college’s Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic. Based at the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, the fellow will provide legal services for veterans who reside in the southern part of the state.

“Wooton, Davis, Hussell & Ellis, PLLC has proudly provided legal representation to veterans in the southern part of West Virginia for many years, and we recognize that there is currently a void in the resources available to veterans,” said the firm’s leadership in a joint statement. “The WVU Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic will significantly help to fill this void, and our attorneys are extremely happy to support and be a part of this wonderful program that gives back to our local veterans.” 

Since Wooton, Davis, Hussell & Ellis, PLLC pledged their support for the Veterans Advocacy Fellow, several other lawyers and organizations have made contributions to the program. Significant gifts have come from Michael Escue ’98; Steve New ’98; Mike Farrell ’74 and Farrell, White & Legg PLLC; Pullin Fowler, LLC; and the United Mine Workers of America. Additional donors have contributed $30,000 to fund the fellowship and help the state’s veterans.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Jennifer Oliva, an associate professor of law and public health at WVU, will be a visiting research scholar at Harvard University in spring 2019.

Oliva will conduct focused research on the national opioid epidemic in residence at the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the first member of the WVU Law faculty to be a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School.

“It is an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to work with the incredible team of health law scholars and researchers at the Petrie-Flom Center,” said Oliva. “I hope to meaningfully contribute to the center’s important and innovative work aimed at addressing the national overdose crisis while I continue to develop my research.”

Oliva’s scholarship focuses on health care law and policy, the law of evidence, and veteran benefits law and policy. She is currently completing a trilogy of legal essays and articles about the opioid epidemic. She will finish her last article in the trilogy,  Prescription Drug Compliance: Detailing, Discounts, and Disciplinary Boards, while at Harvard.