News

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).

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Jennifer Oliva, associate professor of law and public health at WVU, has been selected a Bellow Scholar by the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).

Only four Bellow Scholars were selected this year and Oliva is the first WVU professor to be named a Bellow Scholar. The program recognizes and supports the research projects of clinical law teachers seeking to improve the quality of justice in communities, to enhance the delivery of legal services, and to promote economic and social justice.

Oliva is the director of the Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic at WVU Law. She is conducting interdisciplinary research to help veterans released from prison return to society and lead productive lives.

For the next two years, OIiva will receive critical feedback and support for her research from former Bellow Scholars. In turn, she will present her work at AALS conferences and workshops throughout the country.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA — Marjorie McDiarmid, Steptoe & Johnson Professor of Law & Technology, is the recipient of the state’s 2016 Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award.

The West Virginia State Bar and Legal Aid of West Virginia present the award annually to an attorney or law firm whose efforts go above and beyond the call of duty.

McDiarmid was recognized for her many years of pro bono work and support for legal service organizations in West Virginia. She received the award recently at the annual meeting of the West Virginia State Bar in Charleston.

“Not only is Professor McDiarmid a respected professor at the West Virginia University College of Law, she is also generous in donating her time to help Legal Aid of West Virginia as an organization, and to serving our clients as a pro bono attorney,” said Gretchen Lewis of Legal Aid of West Virginia.

WVU Law professor Joshua Weishart is among six WVU faculty members selected for the 2017 Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching, which honors exceptional professors who go above and beyond to inspire their students.

Weishart uses a variety of techniques to engage his students in what he calls “the common enterprise of learning,” challenging them to build for themselves the connections between abstract legal rules and real world application.

A proud WVU alum and its 14th Truman scholar, Weishart holds dual appointment in the  Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics and the WVU College of Law, where the Class of 2016 elected him Professor of the Year and invited him to deliver their Commencement address.

Established in 1985 by the  WVU Foundation, the Outstanding Teaching award honors faculty who are particularly effective, inspiring teachers or who have established patterns of exceptional innovation in teaching methods, course and curriculum design and instructional tools.

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA – Rebecca Trump, a second-year student at WVU Law, has been chosen by her peers to serve as editor-in-chief of Volume 120 of the West Virginia Law Review.

The West Virginia Law Review 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, Trump will lead a team to review articles and publish three issues of the law review during the 2017-18 academic year. She will also play a lead role in organizing a symposium and overseeing the law review’s website and online edition.

 “The West Virginia Law Review is a part of the law school that goes back more than a hundred years, and I’m honored that my classmates trust me to steer the ship for this volume,” said Trump, who is currently an associate editor for Volume 119.  “The law review is special because it’s student-run. Our professors are advisors, but when it comes down to it, the decision is ours as to the direction we want to take content.”

Megan Carpenter, a 1999 graduate of WVU Law, will take over leadership of the University of New Hampshire School of Law effective July 1, 2017.

A nationally known expert in intellectual property with a focus in entrepreneurship and the arts, Carpenter is founder and co-director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property at Texas A&M University School of Law.

She will be the first woman to lead the UNH law school since its founding in 1973.

Carpenter is chair of the academic committee of the International Trademark Association, the preeminent organization of trademark professionals. Prior to working in higher education, she practiced law at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart (now K&L Gates) where she represented technology, multimedia, and sports and entertainment clients.