News

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — It’s a “Back to the 80s” theme for the annual Public Interest Advocates (PIA) Dinner and Auction on March 22 at WVU Law.

The public is invited to attend the event that is celebrating 30 years of PIA. The organization helps fund positions for law students and graduates at legal aid organizations across the Mountain State.

A buffet dinner in the College of Law lobby starts at 5:30 p.m. Tickets for the dinner can be purchased for $10 at the door. The auction starts at 6:30 p.m. in the college’s event hall and admission is free.

Live and silent auction items will be up for bid. Among them, a seven-night stay at a condo in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; overnight packages at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and at Glade Spring in Daniels, West Virginia; Morgantown dining packages; an authentic Persian rug; sports tickets and memorabilia; and gift baskets. There will also be raffle items and door prizes.

Update 3/12/17: Congratulations to winners William and Mary School of Law and finalists Pace School of Law.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Law students from across the country will be in Morgantown March 8-10 for the eighth annual National Energy and Sustainability Moot Court Competition hosted by WVU Law.

The competition problem this year involves a liquefied natural gas facility, and whether an analysis of the environmental impacts requires consideration of the greenhouse gases that will be released when the natural gas is ultimately combusted in its foreign destination.

“The problem also raises issues about the government’s responsibility under the public trust doctrine to preserve access to certain public resources and to clean air and water,” said James Van Nostrand, director of WVU’s Center for Energy and Sustainable Development. 

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — 3L Ryan Wallace has been named one of the top student leaders in the country by The National Jurist.

In its spring issue, the magazine named Wallace a finalist for Law Student of the Year. He is among 20 student leaders from across the country recognized for significantly contributing to their law school and community.

“I am humbled and grateful to be recognized for doing something I love,” said Wallace. “My dream is to become a lawyer who makes a difference in the world, helping communities and people, and I am honored to be able to pursue that dream.”

A two-time recipient of a Public Interest Advocates Summer Fellowship, Wallace has worked for West Virginia Senior Legal Aid and the Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic. As a student attorney in the clinic, he provided pro bono assistance in West Virginia communities devastated by floods.

The keynote and featured speakers will be live streamed.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — The West Virginia Law Review is hosting a symposium on February 23-24 focusing on a wide range of legal and public policy issues faced by Appalachia.

The Appalachian Justice Symposium will feature presentations and discussions by more than 80 national and regional experts. It is being held at the West Virginia University College of Law, beginning at 9 a.m. each day. 

Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA — Charles W. Pace, Jr. has been promoted to Member of Kay Casto & Chaney PLLC. 

He is a 1999 graduate of WVU Law.

Pace practices in the firm’s commercial law group. He focuses on assisting clients with estate planning, trust and estate administration, wealth preservation strategies, special needs planning, elder law issues, and taxation. 

A significant portion of Pace's practice is assisting clients with business entity formation, general business entity advice, and business transactions. His practice also extends into the areas of trust and estate litigation and commercial litigation.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The partners of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP have elected Thomas M. Hancock to the partnership effective January 1, 2018. He is a 2007 graduate of WVU Law. 

Hancock, who joined the firm in 2016, concentrates his practice in the area of complex litigation. His experience involves litigation of catastrophic workplace accidents; litigation of intricate federal regulatory schemes; litigation involving pulmonology; and a variety of business litigation on behalf of clients from diverse industries. He also handles administrative matters for his clients before various state and federal agencies. He is based in the Firm’s West Virginia office. 

Hancock's practice includes both trial work and an active appellate practice. He has regularly practiced before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, the United States Department of Labor, and all state and federal courts in West Virginia. He is also licensed before the Sixth and Third Circuits, where he handles appellate work only.

Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins has more than 575 attorneys and government relations professionals with offices in 10 states and Washington, DC. 

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — When a United Nations investigator recently visited West Virginia, he heard directly from WVU Law representatives. 

UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston traveled to Alabama, California, Georgia, Puerto Rico and West Virginia in December. His mission was “to examine government efforts to eradicate poverty in the country, and how they relate to U.S. obligations under international human rights law.”

At a meeting in Charleston, West Virginia, Alston heard testimony from Valena Beety, director of the West Virginia Innocence Project Law Clinic; Priya Baskaran, director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Law Clinic; Katherine Garvey, director of the Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic; and Jennifer Oliva, director of the Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — The law firm Wilson, Frame & Metheney PLLC has made a $100,000 gift to the Innocence Project at WVU Law.

The funds, paid over five years, will provide operational support for the West Virginia Innocence Project, a law clinic that serves the wrongfully convicted free of charge while providing work experience for student attorneys.

“We are happy to be able to support the Innocence Project’s work in West Virginia,” said attorney Wes Metheney. “For our justice system to function smoothly, the wrongfully convicted need a champion. In the Mountain State, that champion is the West Virginia Innocence Project.”

Third-year law students and law faculty operate the West Virginia Innocence Project. Directed by Professor Valena Beety , the law clinic is dedicated to serving incarcerated persons in state or federal prison in West Virginia by providing free legal representation to individuals with meritorious claims of innocence. The clinic also advocates for reforms designed to avoid wrongful convictions, including improved eyewitness identification and forensic analysis.

A scholarship at WVU Law, endowed by The BrickStreet Foundation and honoring Charleston attorney Thomas V. Flaherty, was announced October 27 at the University’s  Board of Governors meeting. 

The $100,000 gift was announced by W. Marston Becker, a member of both the BrickStreet and WVU boards. Flaherty, also a member of both boards, is immediate past chair of the BrickStreet board and immediate past president of the WVU board. 

“The gift is modest recognition of all that Tom has contributed to both boards,” said Becker, a 1977 WVU Law graduate.

“This gift announced today is a way to honor a great West Virginian who has given so much of his time and effort to make a significant difference both at BrickStreet and WVU,” said Greg Burton, BrickStreet executive chairman. “It has been an honor and privilege to work side-by-side over the past 10 years with such an outstanding leader.” 

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — West Virginia native Elliott Portnoy, the global chief executive officer of the world’s largest law firm, Dentons, will speak at the West Virginia University Erickson Alumni Center at 4 p.m. on November 6.

Portnoy will reflect on how his Mountain State roots and WVU connections have contributed to his professional success and continue to help him lead a $2 billion business. The title of his speech is “Go Big and Go Home!”

Admission is free and the public is invited to attend. There will be a reception at 3:30 p.m. Please RSVP to alumni@mail.wvu.edu.

“My current success has everything to do with where it all started,” said Portnoy, who graduated from Morgantown High School in 1983, “including selling sodas at Mountaineer Field.”