News

MORGANTOWN, W. Va.— WVU Law awarded degrees to 101 members of the Class of 2019 at commencement on May 10 in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre at the WVU Creative Arts Center.

“As you go forth to live your lives greatly within the law, it is vital that you do so with idealism,” Gregory Bowman , dean of the College of Law, told the graduates.

Vincent Cardi, who was selected Professor of the Year by the Class of 2019, delivered the commencement address. He explored five general characteristics of a good lawyer: show up for work; return phone calls; be honest with your clients; do the work; and get involved in the community.

Cardi also added four more traits of good lawyers: courage, teamwork, organizational skills, and independence.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—WVU Law is about to become the first building at WVU to help offset its reliance on the electrical grid with a solar panel array.

The 48-panel system will be installed this summer on the College's roof. It will put an estimated 18,000-kilowatt-hours per year back into the law school’s electrical system. A single U.S. home uses, on average, about 11,000 kWh per year.

“On the heels of our recent extensive renovation, the College’s Sustainability Committee identified solar as a real and untapped opportunity for not just the law school, but for WVU as a whole,” said Jason Walls, a land conservation attorney with WVU’s Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic.

Siemens Industry, Inc. has made a $43,800 donation to support the project, which will cost $48,000. Additional funds are being provided by WVU Sustainability.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—WVU Law has been named a Top Law School by preLaw Magazine for two programs.

The magazine awarded the college a grade of “A” for trial advocacy and litigation and a grade of “A-” for intellectual property law. PreLaw graded the programs based on curriculum and student experience.

According to preLaw, only four law schools rate higher than WVU for trial advocacy and litigation and just 39 law schools score higher than WVU for intellectual property law. There are 203 law schools in the country approved by the American Bar Association.

“The high rating of our trial advocacy and intellectual property law programs reflects our commitment to preparing students for a broad range of careers in a complex legal market,” said Gregory Bowman , dean of the College of Law.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va.—Professor Alison Peck has won this year’s Significant Scholarship Award from WVU Law for an article that addresses President Trump’s plan to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The in-house award is given each year to a faculty member whose thorough research, clear arguments, and published work directly contribute to our understanding of important public issues.

Peck won the Significant Scholarship Award for her article “Withdrawing from NAFTA,” which was published in The Georgetown Law Journal earlier this year.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – 2L Julie Merow has been elected to an executive position in the American Bar Association Law Student Division.

She is the first WVU Law student to serve in a national-level role for the organization.

The ABA Law Student Division Assembly elected Merow to serve as Delegate of Communications, Publications and Outreach. Her one-year term starts in August 2019.

In her new role, Merow will engage with ABA student members through multiple channels, including social media, “Student Lawyer” magazine, a blog and podcasts. She will also help the ABA House of Delegates develop policy and serve as its recordkeeper during meetings.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va.— 3L Stephen Scott has been selected a Law School Student of the Year finalist by The National Jurist magazine.

The level of Scott’s accomplishments and leadership in law school is dizzying. He is among the top 10 students in his class while balancing commitments to community involvement, student government, tutoring, and countless other activities.

A first-generation college student, Scott grew up in a single-parent household in Shepherdstown, W.Va. His family situation led to his interest in the law.

Scott is president of the WVU Law Student Bar Association and active in the College’s Community Service Council Public Interest Advocates and Black Law School Students Association. He’s an editor for the West Virginia Law Review and a member of U.S. Supreme Court Clinic, which had a case argued at the high court last December. Scott is also a director and secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— The Center for Consumer Law and Education has awarded its inaugural student fellowships to Levi Pellegrin and Brian Bowen at WVU Law. 

Bowen, a second-year student from Greensburg, Penn., and Pellegrin, a third-year student from Phoenix, Az., are helping develop consumer outreach and information programs. They are working this semester with Jonathan Marshall, director of the CCLE at WVU Law.

“Brian and Levi bring a unique perspective to the center’s work,” said Marshall. “Their initiative and enthusiasm for consumer issues are an asset as we lay the groundwork for the center’s future success.”

The CCLE is a joint program between Marshall University and WVU College of Law. Its mission is to educate consumers and partners about consumer law, assist with the development of public policy, and make a meaningful impact on the advancement of consumer law and policy in the state and nation.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va.—Quentin Collie, a second-year WVU Law student, has been elected by his peers to be the next editor-in-chief of the West Virginia Law Review.

The West Virginia Law Review is a professional legal journal that publishes articles of interest to legal scholars, students, legislators and lawyers. Founded in 1894, it is the fourth oldest student-governed law review in the country.

As editor-in-chief of volume 122 of the West Virginia Law Review, Collie will lead a team of students to review articles for three issues of the publication during the 2019-20 academic year. He will also play a lead role in organizing a symposium and overseeing the law review’s website and online edition.

“The legal writing process has been an interest of mine throughout my education and professional career, and being a part of the West Virginia Law Review provides an opportunity to get experience with different aspects of that,” said Collie. “I became interested in the editor-in-chief position because I wanted to make a more significant contribution to the organization and to the College of Law community and further develop my organizational and leadership skills.”

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Two teams from WVU Law won first and second place in the 2019 Albert R. Mugel National Tax Moot Court Competition held recently at the University of Buffalo.

Sierra Williams and Emily Cramer, both second-year law students, took first place in the competition. In the final round, Williams was awarded best oral advocate. She also won best oral argument in the preliminary rounds.

Third-year law students Braden Noon and Hannah Williams won second place. They were also recognized for the best respondent brief in the final round.

The WVU Law teams were coached by Elaine Waterhouse Wilson, professor of law and associate dean for academic affairs. Wilson has coached student teams for tax moot court competitions since she joined WVU Law’s faculty in 2012.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. ­- The Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic at the WVU Law recently secured a discharge upgrade for an Army veteran that qualifies him for benefits.

Clinic client Jerry Severt, a native of McDowell County, West Virginia, was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968. Traumatized by the death of his seven-year-old brother in 1970, Severt was unfavorably discharged.

From 2010 to 2013, Severt made three requests for a discharge upgrade to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records. His requests were denied and his case was administratively closed.

In 2017, the Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic took Severt’s case. In refiling his claim, law students in the clinic argued that Severt’s discharge was unfair based on the modern understanding of the effects of traumatic events on a person’s mental health.