News

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For the next two years, Tanya Karwaki will teach and mentor law students and conduct legal research in health care issues as the first Health Law Fellow at WVU Law.

“I am excited to work in this position because it permits me to share my experience in health law and policy with WVU law students,” said Karwaki. “Health law is a dynamic, complex, heavily regulated and important subject area with broad societal impact and potential for rewarding legal careers. It is important to consider and develop legal frameworks that may facilitate the contemporary practice of pharmacy and increased access to quality health care.”

This semester, Karwaki is teaching a seminar on law and policy of medical drugs for second- and third-year students. While on Law School Hill, Karwaki is also continuing her research on the role of law in improving access to health care, the legal challenges created by the globalization of health care, and innovations in pharmacy law. 

Karwaki comes to WVU Law from the University of Washington, where she taught in the school of law and in the pharmacy program. She holds expertise in drug law, health care professionalism, pharmacy law and health policy.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— Attorney Melissa Giggenbach has been named director of the West Virginia Innocence Project Law Clinic at the West Virginia University College of Law.

Staffed by law students, the clinic provides free legal representation for the wrongfully incarcerated with many cases involving new DNA or other scientifically-gathered evidence. The West Virginia Innocence Project also advocates for policy reform, including safeguards for forensic techniques and eyewitness identification.

“The West Virginia Innocence Project is committed to pursuing justice for all,” Giggenbach said. “There are many people serving sentences for crimes they did not commit, and rather than treat them as casualties of the justice system, the West Virginia Innocence Project sees them as the wrongfully incarcerated who deserve their rights to equal justice and due process. Ultimately, our work makes the justice system stronger.”

Giggenbach has been affiliated with the West Virginia Innocence Project since 2013 when she joined the clinic as an adjunct lecturer. Before that, she worked in solo practice and in the Preston County Public Defender Office. She is a 1999 graduate of WVU Law.