News

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—A fellowship from the American Bar Association is helping rising 3L Brian Bowen get important work experience this summer.

Bowen is a 2019 ABA Steiger Fellow in the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the West Virginia Attorney General in Charleston. The $6,000 fellowship is awarded to just 37 law students nationally who are interested in consumer protection and public service.

“Receiving the Steiger Fellowship is particularly meaningful to me because I pursued a career in law to promote public understanding of consumer issues and to defend consumer rights,” said Bowen. “The attorney general takes on some of the most complicated and difficult consumer cases in West Virginia, and being exposed to these issues is allowing me to expand my skills, knowledge, and experience while I work with some of the most qualified people in the state.”

At WVU Law, Bowen is a member of the Public Interest Advocates and an inaugural fellow in the Center for Consumer Law and Education. He has also helped launch the student Consumer Law Group at WVU.  Bowen has been a legal extern at Mountain State Justice and an intern at Mobilization for Justice in New York City.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—The West Virginia Innocence Project law clinic has received an award from the state’s public defenders.

West Virginia Public Defender Services recently presented WVIP with the John A. “Jack” Rogers Award for Outstanding Leadership in Public Service for its work on behalf of the state’s wrongfully convicted.

WVIP is a law clinic at the West Virginia University College of Law. Third-year law students in the clinic investigate and litigate cases where criminal defendants have been wrongfully convicted, and move to vacate sentences based on newly discovered evidence, actual innocence, or other constitutional claims.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—This summer, 25 WVU Law students are practicing public interest law across West Virginia.

As Public Interest Advocates Summer Fellows, these students are working in full-time, paid positions for 10 weeks serving the poor, the elderly, children, and victims of domestic violence, among others. They are gaining valuable experience in children’s advocacy, civil rights, consumer law, disability rights, and land use and conservation law.

PIA is a WVU Law student group that raises money to support the nonprofit West Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest. Each year, the WVFLIPI sponsors paid summer fellowships that make it possible for WVU Law students to work for public interest law organizations throughout the state.

“PIA fellowships benefit the organizations who host our fellows and the clients they serve,” said Jennifer Powell, PIA advisor and executive director of WVFLIPI. “Fellows help give access to justice to so many West Virginians who could not otherwise afford a lawyer. Fellowships supported by PIA and the Fund have also helped launch hundreds of law students’ careers and inspired many to work in public interest law and provide pro bono legal services once they become lawyers.”

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—WVU Law professor  Jena Martin is exploring consumer rights issues with the goal of creating best-practice guidelines for policymakers.

Martin is the inaugural recipient of the Ralph C. Young Fellowship awarded by the Center for Consumer Law and Education, a joint program between WVU College of Law and Marshall University.

“The fellowship is giving me the opportunity to engage with regional, national and international audiences on issues of data privacy and access to justice,” said Martin

Martin’s consumer protection research is long-term. In the coming year, she will survey and interview victims of misused data, specifically asking them what satisfactory outcomes they would seek as a result of data-privacy violations.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—Brendan Wood '19 has been awarded a post-graduate legal fellowship from Equal Justice Works that will allow him to offer legal assistance to West Virginians recovering from addiction as they work towards greater socioeconomic stability.

Starting in September, he will create a referral network for education, counseling, group therapy and self-help materials that address the underlying issues associated with substance use disorder. Wood will also use the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws to advocate for his clients to give them improved access to employment, housing and educational opportunities.

“The nature of substance use disorder deprives many victims of access to resources and employment necessary for recovery, including legal counsel to protect their rights under the ADA and other legislation,” he said.

Wood will be working closely with Legal Aid of West Virginia in Charleston. They plan to make the fellowship project a blueprint to help communities across the United States address substance use disorder.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— WVU Law's  West Virginia Innocence Project recently helped overturn the conviction of a man who spent more than seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit.   

On May 1, Judge Alfred E. Ferguson of Cabell County, West Virginia, vacated the manslaughter conviction of Nathaniel Barnett in light of newly-tested DNA evidence. Barnett was convicted in connection with the 2002 murder of Deanna Crawford.

Ferguson gave the Cabell County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office 90 days to decide if they want a new trial for Barnett or if the charges should be dismissed.

Nathaniel Barnett, his brother Phillip, Justin Black and Brian Dement were all convicted in 2008 of charges related to Crawford’s murder despite the lack of physical evidence connecting them to the crime scene.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— The  Center for Consumer Law and Education, a joint program between WVU Law and Marshall University, has joined a federal program that empowers consumers.

The CCLE is now a member of “Your Money, Your Goals,” a grassroots initiative of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CCLE is one of 40 organizations nationally admitted into the program this year.

As a member of “Your Money, Your Goals,” CCLE staff will receive training and tools that will help consumers achieve financial wellbeing and learn important financial skills such as developing budgets, reviewing credit reports, and managing debt.

Since 2013, the “Your Money, Your Goals” program has trained more than 26,000 frontline staff and volunteers in service organizations across the country. Members of the group include federal, state, and local government agencies, faith-based and social service organizations, and financial service providers.

Washington, D.C.—Kimberly A. Reed, a 1996 WVU Law graduate, is the new president and chairman of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM). 

The swearing-in ceremony took place at EXIM headquarters in Washington, D.C. Reed was sworn in by Joyce Stone, EXIM assistant corporate secretary and Ambassador Jeffrey D. Gerrish, EXIM’s former president and chairman (acting). 

Reed was confirmed to EXIM’s top post by the U.S. Senate on May 8, 2019, by a bipartisan vote of vote of 79 to 17.

“I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for this opportunity to execute his agenda by growing jobs and helping U.S. businesses prosper. I am committed to ensuring that American workers can compete on a fair playing field in international trade. It is a tremendous honor to be appointed by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead this distinguished mission,” said Reed.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—Chambers USA has shortlisted Marilyn McClure-Demers, a 1991 WVU Law graduate, for its 2019 Gender Diversity Lawyer of the Year award.

The Gender Diversity Lawyer of the Year award recognizes a general counsel who has shown dedication and commitment to gender diversity programs and/or taken an active role in organizing events and/or discussions to further the advancement of women in the law.

Just 11 lawyers nationally are shortlisted for the 2019 award. The winner will be announced on June 6 at a ceremony in San Francisco.

"To be shortlisted by Chambers means you are a true diversity and inclusion pioneer for the legal profession," said GregoryBowman, dean of the College of Law. “We are proud of Marilyn and inspired by her work.”