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MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Professor Alison Peck has been appointed director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the West Virginia University College of Law.

“Alison has the background and the passion to ensure that our immigration clinic continues to serve clients in need and provide our students with valuable legal experience,” said Gregory Bowman , dean of the College of Law.

The Immigration Law Clinic serves foreign citizens who are facing deportation, seeking asylum, or need help on other immigration proceedings. Legal services are provided for free by student attorneys working under faculty supervision.

Recent clients of the Immigration Law Clinic include asylum seekers from Honduras, Iraq, Kenya and Libya who faced discrimination or violent persecution for their religious and political beliefs or sexual orientation.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — A new scholarship established at West Virginia University by the West Virginia State Bar is designed to increase legal services in rural communities across the Mountain State.

The Rural Practice Scholarship at the WVU College of Law will be awarded to two members of the Class of 2020 who commit to practicing law in under-served areas.

In exchange for a student’s commitment to three years of post-graduate practice in a rural county, the scholarship will pay tuition and fees for three years of law school at WVU. The scholarship will match in-state tuition and fees and be given in the form of a forgivable loan. At current tuition levels, each scholarship is worth more than $22,000 a year.

One year of loans will be forgiven for each year of qualifying post-graduate rural practice. If the recipient chooses to stop practicing in a rural community, he or she will be required to pay back the outstanding scholarship amount.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — The members of the WVU Law Class of 2020 have officially started their legal careers.

There are 108 of these future lawyers; 49 percent are female and 11 percent self-identify as minority. About 28 percent of the class are first generation college students. The average age is 24 (with an age range of 20 to 58).

The median LSAT score is 153 and the median undergraduate GPA is 3.31. 

Out-of-state students comprise 33 percent of the WVU Law Class of 2020. These students come from Alabama, California, Colorado, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — WVU Law and West Virginia Executive magazine established the Lawyers and Leaders Award this year to recognize lawyers who have made a positive impact on the state and the nation.

Award winners have dedicated their career to serving others and their communities. Nominees for the award must be actively practicing in West Virginia and/or graduates of WVU Law.

"The honorees are a group of hardworking, generous individuals, and their success is evident in their accomplishments and their community involvement," said  Gregory Bowman, dean of the College of Law. 

UPDATE: WVU will host a public memorial for Justice Franklin D. Cleckley on Sunday, September 24 at 2 p.m. in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre at the Creative Arts Center.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Justice Franklin D. Cleckley, the Arthur B. Hodges Professor of Law Emeritus, passed away in Morgantown on August 14, 2017.

“Frank was a giant in legal education and in law practice,” said Gregory W. Bowman, dean of the College of the Law. “He had one of the keenest intellects I have ever known, and he was admired and loved as a friend and colleague across the state and the country. He will be missed. Please keep his family in your thoughts.”

Cleckley taught at WVU Law from 1969 to 2013,  mentoring future judges, lawyers, state and national legislators, educators, and business and community leaders for more than four decades.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Some of the world’s rising young leaders will be in Morgantown on June 19 and 20 when West Virginia University’s Center for Energy and Sustainable Development hosts the Atlantic Council’s Millennium Leaders Program.

“This is a very impressive group of international future leaders,” said James Van Nostrand, professor of law and director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development. “Their visit provides WVU with a great opportunity to demonstrate our expertise and capabilities to a diverse group of young global trailblazers.”

The group will meet at the WVU College of Law where they will hear from Dean Gregory Bowman and environmental and energy experts Evan Hansen of Downstream Strategies and Karan Ireland of WV SUN.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Tax law professor Elaine Wilson is the recipient of the 2016-17 Significant Scholarship Award at WVU Law.

She won the in-house award for her article Cooperatives: The First Social Enterprise, which will be published by the DePaul Law Review later this year. In the article, Wilson addresses the challenges faced by philanthropic organizations that pursue solutions to social problems by funding for-profit business.

According to Wilson, charitable values and economic benefits can be pursued at the same time with a cooperative business structure. She notes that several states have recently developed organizational models, such as low-profit limited liability entities and benefit corporations, that are designed to give profit to investors while spending money on charitable causes.

“This article exemplifies the outstanding scholarship our professors produce surrounding issues in their field of law,” said Joshua Fershee, associate dean for faculty research and development at the College of Law. “Professor Wilson addresses a relevant, widespread challenge and outlines ways to pursue productive enterprise while providing support for the cooperative movement in the charitable sector.”

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Graduates from WVU Law are employed at rates higher than the national average.

That is the message in employment data recently released by the American Bar Association (ABA) for the Class of 2016 from 204 law schools.

The employment rate for WVU Law’s Class of 2016 is 76.5 percent for full-time, long-term jobs that are "Bar Passage Required" or "J.D. Advantage" — the gold standard for law school graduates. That is almost four points higher than national average of 72.6 percent.

“A law degree from WVU definitely has value,” said  Gregory W. Bowman, dean of the College of Law. “It’s a competitive job market and we work hard to prepare our students for careers in the law. Employers like what they see in our graduates.”

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — The College of Law awarded degrees to 104 graduates on May 12 in a ceremony at 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, so as to bring distinction upon yourselves, upon your school, and upon the legal profession," Gregory Bowman, Dean of the College of Law, told the graduates.

John Taylor, the Jackson Kelly Professor of Law, was selected Professor of the Year by the Class of 2017 and he delivered the traditional commencement address.

Taylor advised the graduates that the world pays a lot of attention to talent, but talent alone does not make a good lawyer.

Kylie Barnhart graduates from WVU Law on May 12, yet one of the biggest days of her law school career already happened. 

Earlier this semester, Barnhart argued a case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia.

She was chosen to deliver the oral argument (MP3 audio) on behalf of Anthony Martin, a client of WVU Law’s United States Supreme Court Law Clinic.

Martin, who is incarcerated, brought First Amendment retaliation, equal protection and due process claims against an official in the South Carolina Department of Corrections (Anthony Martin v. Susan Duffy, Docket Number 16-6132).