News for alumni and friends of Indiana Law
August 2019
In this issue:
- Incoming JD and graduate students welcomed
- A busy summer
- Distinguished Service Award recipients announced
- Online cybersecurity certificates offered
- New leadership named
- Moot Court judges sought
- iCLEO Summer Institute held at Law School
- Bell elected to American Law Institute
- Faculty news
- In brief; coming events
Incoming JD and graduate students welcomed
The 2019 incoming classes began arriving in Bloomington the week of August 12, where a refurbished Baier Hall greeted them. The JD class comprises 171 students from 30 states and 96 undergraduate institutions, with a median LSAT and GPA of 162 and 3.80. A record 57% of the class are women, and 22% are minority students. Hon. Nancy Vaidik, Chief Judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals, will deliver the keynote address at orientation.
The school also welcomed 51 graduate and exchange students, including 34 LLM students.
A busy summer
There was no letup at the Law School over the summer, as faculty, staff, students, and alumni stayed engaged in a number of activities throughout the world. Here are just a few examples:
- The successful completion of the second year of the NY Summer Externship Program, overseen by Adjunct Professor Terrance Stroud, '03.
- The National Bar Association alumni breakfast held at its Annual Conference in New York, which former Assistant Dean Frank Motley attended.
- The completion of the inaugural year of the Law School's Rural Justice Initiative, in which students worked as clerks for judges in several Indiana counties.
- The completion of another fabulous Stewart Fellows program with 20 students in nine countries.
- A celebration in honor of Prof. Donna Nagy for her tremendous six years of service as executive associate dean, including the presentation of an award for her outstanding contributions.
- Alumni receptions in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Seattle, Portland, and Chicago.
- Our unique on-location interview program in Chicago, and our participation in the Loyola-Chicago Patent Interview Program.
- The beginning of Indiana University's Bicentennial celebration.
- Remodeling of Baier Hall for the first time in more than 30 years, with carpet, new wood floors throughout, and fresh paint—thanks in large part to generous contributions from our alumni.
Distinguished Service Award recipients announced
Four alumni have been named recipients of the 2019 Distinguished Service Award, given each year to recognize graduates who have distinguished themselves in service to their communities and the school in ways far exceeding traditional business, professional, and civic duties. This year's honorees are Donald R. Lundberg, '76, Indianapolis; Susan Lynch, '93, Washington, DC; James G. Parker, '12, Portland, Ore., and Marisol Sanchez, '02, Indianapolis.
This year's recipients will be honored at a luncheon on October 25 with the entire first-year Legal Profession class in attendance during Alumni Summit Weekend. The Alumni Summit invites all alumni board members to campus for a series of events and coincides with IU's 200 Festival, the kick-off weekend of the university's Bicentennial.
Online cybersecurity certificates offered
Two of the Law School's graduate certificates are now available completely online. The 12-hour certificates in cybersecurity law and policy and information privacy law and policy can be earned beginning in the spring semester of 2020. Applications are open through November 1. For more information, visit the cybersecurity programs page on the Law School's website.
New leadership named
Dean Parrish has named three professors to top leadership positions for the 2019-20 academic year: Prof. Christiana Ochoa, executive associate dean; Prof. Ryan Scott, associate dean for academic affairs; and Prof. Deborah Widiss, associate dean for research. Ochoa takes over from Prof. Donna Nagy, who served as executive associate dean since 2012 and will return to full-time research and teaching after a well-deserved sabbatical.
Ochoa, the Herman B Wells Endowed Professor at the law school, previously served as the Law Schol's associate dean for research and faculty affairs and as associate vice provost for faculty and academic affairs at Indiana University Bloomington. She is also the academic director of IU's Mexico Gateway. Ochoa was the first tenure-track and tenured Latina faculty member at the law school, the Latina in the Law School’s history to hold a decanal position, and the first woman of color to serve as executive associate dean.
Moot Court judges sought
Alumni and friends of Indiana Law are invited to serve as judges in the school's annual Sherman Minton Moot Court Competition. Judging begins on Tuesday, October 23 and runs through Saturday, November 16. To sign up, or for more information, visit the judges' information page.
iCLEO Summer Institute held at Law School
Twenty-three students participated in the Indiana Conference for Legal Education Opportunity's Summer Institute, which helps college students in need as they prepare to attend law school. Participants were immersed in intense study of some of the required first-year courses, lived on campus, and built friendships with their classmates. Indiana Supreme Court Justices Christopher Goff, '96, and Geoffrey G. Slaughter, '89, spoke during the Institute, and Justice Steven David gave the keynote address at the closing banquet.
Bell elected to American Law Institute
Jeannine Bell, Richard S. Melvin Professor of Law, has been elected to the American Law Institute. A nationally-recognized scholar in the area of policing and hate crime, Bell has written extensively on hate crime and criminal justice issues. She is the 2018 recipient of the Leon H. Wallace Teaching Award, the highest teaching award bestowed upon a faculty member.
The American Law Institute is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law. ALI drafts, discusses, revises, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Model Codes, and Principles of Law that are enormously influential in the courts and legislatures, as well as in legal scholarship and education.
Also elected to ALI was Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel, '79, judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of California. Judge Curiel was the Law School's 2014 commencement speaker and is a member of the Board of Visitors.
Sixteen members of the Indiana Law faculty are members of ALI, including Leandra Lederman and Mark Janis, '89, who were elected in 2018 to this prestigious organization.
Faculty news
- Prof. Susan Williams was awarded the Australian National University Zines Prize for her essay on constitutional law in Burma (Myanmar).
- Prof. Luis Fuentes-Rohwer's recent article in Harvard Law Review was cited by US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan in her dissenting opinion in Rucho v. Common Cause, the Court's latest word on gerrymandering.
- Prof. Donna Nagy spoke at the second annual Women’s Leadership in Academia Conference at the University of Virginia School of Law.
- Prof. Leandra Lederman was recognized as the author of one of the 50 most-cited tax articles of all time.
- Prof. Jayanth Krishnan delivered a lecture at the Harvard University's Chan School of Public School of Public Health's program on Access to Justice in India as part of its Human Rights and Development Summer Program.
- Prof. Timothy Lovelace is visiting at the University of Virginia School of Law, and Prof. Gina-Gail Fletcher is visiting at Duke University School of Law this fall.
- A wide range of faculty spoke and presented at the annual Southeastern Association of Law Schools annual conference.
In brief; coming events
- Mark your calendars for Alumni Weekend, October 25-26, including reunions of the Classes of 1959, 1969, 1994, and 2009, along with a special Alumni Board reunion. Details will be forthcoming.
- The Center for Intellectual Property Research is hosting an International IP Colloquium beginning September 5. Visit the Center's website for a complete schedule.
- Several alumni receptions are planned for this fall. See our alumni calendar for details:
- Sept. 7, Bloomington, annual alumni and student reception hosted by Prof. Kevin Brown
- Oct. 25–26, Bloomington, Alumni Weekend
- Sept. 13, Evansville, luncheon; hosted by Hon. Richard L. Young
- Oct. 15, Chicago, reception in coordination with Career Services Office fall break trip
- Oct. 17, Indianapolis, Indiana State Bar Association annual meeting