Four distinguished alumni will join the Indiana University Maurer School of Law’s Academy of Law Alumni Fellows during a ceremony on April 12.
The 2024 inductees include a former airport manager and tennis executive, a longtime private practitioner, and two alumni dedicated to education and protecting the environment.
Induction into the ALAF is the highest honor the Law School can bestow on an alumnus. This year’s recipients are:
Gary L. Davis ’82. After graduating from Indiana Law, Davis started his career in Indiana before moving to the East Coast, where he began a career in airport management. He became an accredited airport executive and his varied roles would include managing airport operations at both Newark Liberty International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airports. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Davis was responsible for standing up and managing The Port Authority’s Family Assistance Center in Newark. The center aided hundreds of Port Authority employees and families affected by the attacks. He took a two-year hiatus from airport management to serve as president and CEO of the New York Junior Tennis League, the largest youth tennis and educational program in the country. Davis now focuses on providing affordable and workforce housing in the Washington, DC area.
Renee R. McDermott ’78. McDermott began her career as a high school English and journalism teacher before enrolling in law school. While at Indiana, she served as the editor-in-chief of the Indiana Law Journal, and graduated with honors in 1978. She earned a clerkship with the Hon. Jesse E. Eschbach in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana before spending 13 years with Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg. There she pursued environmental regulatory law, with experience in both trial and appellate courts. Renee served as president of the Indiana Bar Foundation, and when she moved to North Carolina, she remained active in environmental issues, dedicating considerable time and resources to a number of local causes and initiatives. Renee passed away in March 2023 and will be inducted into the ALAF posthumously.
Ted A. Waggoner ’78. Waggoner joined the Rochester, Ind. law firm of Peterson & Morton after graduating from Indiana Law, and his career would span an incredible 45 years there as a county seat attorney focused on estate planning, probate, business, and educational law. All the while he was a dedicated alumnus of the Law School, serving the school for three decades—12 years on its Alumni Board and 18 years on its Board of Visitors—under three different deans. Deeply involved in his community, Waggoner has served as an attorney for two denominational districts, serving as lay leader of the National Conference, the Christian Church Foundation, and on the Boards of Trustees for Eureka College and the Christian Theological Seminary. He also founded and led the multi-county Community Foundation and the local Hospital Foundation.
W. William Weeks ’79. Weeks enrolled at Indiana University after graduating from West Lafayette High School in 1971. He was a member of IU’s football team and earned an undergraduate degree in history. He graduated from Indiana Law in 1979 and spent four years at the Indianapolis law firm of Sommer Barnard PC, before following his passion to become the Indiana State Director of The Nature Conservancy. Four years later he became the organization’s chief operating officer and in 1994 moved to Virginia to co-found The Nature Conservancy’s Center for Compatible Economic Development. Weeks returned to Bloomington in 2005, where he helped found the Conservation Law Center. He served as director of the center and the Law School’s Conservation Law Clinic up until 2018. He was appointed the Glenn and Donna Scolnik Clinical Chair in 2018. Weeks is the author of Beyond the Ark: Tools for an Ecosystem Approach to Conservation and was a recipient of the Law School’s Distinguished Service Award in 1997.
“The Law School is proud to welcome Gary, Renee, Ted, and Bill into our Academy of Law Alumni Fellows this spring,” said Dean Christiana Ochoa. “Each honoree has demonstrated a profound commitment to their careers, communities, families, and the legal profession, and they join Indiana Law’s most accomplished alumni as academy members.”
The induction ceremony will occur on Friday, April 12, at a ceremony inside the Indiana Memorial Union.
The Black Law Students Association at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law has earned national recognition, taking home Medium Chapter of the Year honors at the 56th Midwest BLSA Regional Convention in early February.
The Midwest BLSA community includes dozens of chapters at law schools from Colorado to Ohio, including nearly all of the schools in the Big Ten conference.
“Our Black Law Students Association isn’t just one of the best in the Midwest, it’s one of the best in the country,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “Congratulations to Nashuba, the executive board, and all who have helped make this chapter such a strong organization.”
Nashuba Hudson, president of the Indiana Law BLSA chapter, pointed to a number of initiatives that have strengthened the chapter’s reputation.
“One of the core central values that I wanted to instill was to strengthen the foundation of our community,” Hudson said. “We needed to provide programming in order to build that community, but we also needed to provide professional development opportunities to show our students the incredible career paths available to them with a law degree.”
The programming aspect alone is impressive. The BLSA chapter has either hosted, or has plans to host, 28 events during the 2023-24 academic year, including the Law School’s signature social event, the Rapheal M. Prevot, Jr. Barristers’ Ball, in March.
Other events have included student mixers, an annual alumni networking event with Professor Kevin D. Brown, outlining and final exam preparation workshops, volunteering opportunities, meetings with employers, and more.
“The work our board has put in has simply been phenomenal,” Hudson said, crediting Vice President Samantha Jean, Secretary Jax Smalls, Treasurer Courtney Johnson, Programming Director Ramatou Soumare, Director of Communications Serena Bolden, 1L Representatives Kae Dilworth and Jaelyn Guiton, and previous Chief Justice Olivia Hunter with helping to make BLSA such a strong organization.
“We are small, but mighty,” Hudson said. “We’re a small chapter but we’re very forward thinking in terms of what we can do.”
Part of looking ahead means reviewing the past for inspiration. During the mid-2010s, the Indiana Law BLSA Chapter won Midwest Chapter of the Year five consecutive times. That legacy has paved the way for today’s BLSA members, who aspire to create their own lasting impression on the Law School’s history.
“When I was a 1L, I would see all the awards that this chapter has won in the past,” Hudson said. “It’s been an honor representing the 1L class, shadowing previous board members, and now serving as president. I believe we’ve done a phenomenal job of making ourselves recognizable anywhere we go, and I’m hopeful that we will on the national level, too.”
Five members of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law faculty—including two who are in their first full year at Indiana Law—were honored today (March 22) with Teaching Awards, recognizing exceptional teaching over the course of the academic year.
Professor Luis Fuentes-Rohwer was honored with the Leon H. Wallace Teaching Award, the highest teaching recognition a faculty member can be awarded, while Professors Christian Freitag, Andrew Hammond, and Jenn Oliva were each awarded Trustees’ Teaching Awards.
Don Knebel, a retired partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, received the Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award.
“Our faculty are world renowned leaders in their fields, as researchers and scholars,” said Dean Christiana Ochoa. “They are shaping the conversations that are most vital to the country and to the world, and for that we could not be more proud. But these faculty who dedicate so much their time to their research and to their writing, and to being out shaping the world, are among all the other things fabulous teachers. And that is something that is so important for us to come together once a year to commemorate and to note and to cherish.”
Read more about the recipients and what our students said about their teaching excellence.
A renowned law and economics scholar is visiting the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, the first such visitor as part of an international agreement designed to strengthen ties between Mexico and the United States.
Dr. Miguel Angel Marmolejo, Ph.D., is the inaugural Fulbright-Garcia Robles Chair at Indiana University, serving as a visiting professor through the spring semester. His visit is a result of the Fulbright-COMEXUS program, established in 2016 to create new and strengthen existing ties between Mexican and American universities, faculty, and students. Other schools at Indiana University will host future Fulbright-Robles recipients on a rotating basis.
“Hosting IU’s inaugural Fulbright-Garcia Robles Chair is a source of pride not only for the Law School, but for our university,” said Dean Christiana Ochoa. “In 2023, Mexico became the top U.S. trading partner, and our mutual challenges on a range of legal issues pertaining to energy, the environment, trade, finance, human migration, and so many others require us to deepen our relationships with Mexican scholars, and having Dr. Marmolejo working with our students and faculty here in Baier Hall and with our colleagues across campus is an exciting start.”
Ochoa helped establish the position while serving as academic director of the IU Mexico Gateway.
Marmolejo is teaching two courses at the Law School—International Environmental Law: Energy Sustainability and Commercial Arbitration—while continuing his research on justice and economic affairs derived from the Mexican Energy Reform.
He was appointed research professor at Universidad Panamericana in 2017 and as a research professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in 2020. Marmolejo has been a visiting academic at the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom and at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico. Recently he was designated OECD advisor in Mexico, IUCN Academy of Environmental Law member, and a social witness by the Mexican Ministry of Energy.
His work has been published in the Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, The Journal of World Energy Law & Business, and The Routledge Handbook of Energy Law, among others. Marmolejo’s recent scholarship has compared the recovery of the energy sector in Latin America and the European Union after the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the rights of electricity consumers in Mexico.
“I am honored to be the inaugural Fulbright-Garcia Robles Chair at Indiana University,” Marmolejo said. “Indiana University and its Maurer School of Law are recognized globally for their scholarly impact, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this special community.”
All Maurer alumni are invited to join the Maurer Global Forum and collaborate in its development. The Maurer Global Forum was founded in the Summer of 2022 by a group of SJD students and alums at Indiana University Maurer School of Law. The forum serves as an online medium to promote research ideas and visions to the future, share professional experiences, and build the Maurer global community. If you are interested in participating, please fill out this form. Participants can present research papers, contribute articles, update our Academic Career Manual, and/or share your Maurer story with the community.
Research conducted by Indiana University scholars, led by Maurer School of Law Professor Victor Quintanilla, was cited by Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush ’83 during her annual State of the Judiciary as evidence Indiana is a national leader in court technology.
When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe in early 2020, shutdowns were common in nearly every facet of life. From schools and stores to recreational facilities and restaurants, the virus forced many organizations—including courts—to close or reduce their capacity. As some courts opened their dockets to virtual access, Quintanilla and Indiana University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Professor Kurt Hugenberg and post-doctoral scholar Ryan Hutchings saw an opportunity to measure how satisfied litigants were with their online court experience.
The trio of IU faculty published “Accessing Justice with Zoom: Experiences and Outcomes in Online Civil Courts” in October.
They measured the impact of remote technologies on vulnerable individuals in civil cases like evictions, debt collection, small claims and family law – cases in which more than 90% of defendants are unrepresented. The report compares the experiences of unrepresented persons attending civil proceedings in person with those accessing court remotely. Harvard University’s Nedim Yel provided data management support.
“It’s no surprise that court customers would want to get a text message reminder about a hearing or to pay a traffic ticket online—but do Hoosiers want to attend court online?” Rush asked in her address. “We weren’t sure. So we welcomed Indiana University researchers to take an impartial look. Like many, they were skeptical that people would be satisfied with having their day in court remotely. And we were particularly interested in the experiences of vulnerable Hoosiers.”
The State of the Judiciary Address is given each year by the Chief Justice of Indiana to a joint session of the Indiana General Assembly in the House of Representatives Chamber at the Indiana State House.
Quintanilla said previous reports had shown disparities in technology between litigants and lawyers: most lawyers used laptops while most unrepresented persons logged on via phones. He was also concerned about unreliable internet access, as 740,000 Indiana residents – 10.8% of the state’s population – have no personal internet access.
The results of the study showed promise. Researchers found most unrepresented litigants who attended court remotely wanted to do so in the future; unrepresented defendants who accessed court remotely had higher satisfaction rates with case outcomes than those attending in person; and unrepresented defendants reported less stress in remote proceedings than with in-person appearances.
“Their research revealed ‘loudly and resoundingly: online civil courts enhance access to justice for unrepresented litigants,’” Rush said. “For a person who has to find a ride to court, miss work, or get childcare, remote access is not just about flexibility—it is the lynchpin to getting their case resolved, getting justice.”
Rush praised the work of the IU faculty with having a major impact on how access to justice can be improved for Hoosiers across the state.
“Simply logging on to a remote proceeding—at times—is far more practical than jumping the hurdles that can accompany attending court in person,” she said. “Thank you, Professor Victor Quintanilla and team for your research. It provides guidance on how we can use technology to meet the ‘promise of a people-centered justice system.’”
Indiana University Maurer School of Law Professor Bill Henderson has once again been recognized as one of the most influential people in legal education, but he’s not the only one with ties to the Law School on this year’s list.
The National Jurist ranked Henderson #18 on its list. Kellye Testy '91, a member of the Law School's Board of Visitors and president and CEO of the Law School Admission Council, is ranked second.
“These key players are major forces in shaping legal education,” the magazine wrote in its spring 2024 issue. “As in years past, in creating our list, we sought nomination from the nation’s law schools and added our own nominees. We then narrowed the list and asked every law school dean to rate them.”
Henderson is no stranger to the list, having been named the most influential person in legal education in both 2015 and 2016, and earning the #2 spot in 2013 and 2014. Based on his research and public speaking, Henderson has also been included on the National Law Journal’s list of The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America, which is compiled every ten years.
Gabriel Escobedo was appointed the Law School’s inaugural assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, beginning his new role with the school in early January.
Escobedo has strong ties to Indiana University, earning his Ph.D. in Anthropology of Performing Arts and Latinx Culture from the university in 2023. He was an assistant instructor in IU’s Department of Anthropology from 2013-15.
“Gabriel will be a strong leader for our DEI efforts, and we’re excited to welcome him and his family back to Bloomington,” Ochoa said. “His experience and success working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders at Michigan Technological University stood out to us throughout the search process.”
Escobedo has most recently served as MTU’s director for its Center for Diversity and Inclusion, a position he’s held since 2021. There he’s overseen an annual budget for all center expenses and programming, developed and implemented retention and graduation efforts for historically underrepresented students, and led the center’s staff.
Additionally, Escobedo has overseen state-sponsored grants, mentoring program for first-year underrepresented students, led several trainings for faculty, staff, and students, and worked with key stakeholders to generate funds to support programming across campus.
“The Maurer School of Law has a rich history of diversity and inclusion, and I’m excited to start working with the outstanding students there to build on that deep tradition,” Escobedo said.
Recognizing the importance of DEI efforts, Ochoa elevated the position from the director level to an assistant deanship, emphasizing the school’s priority of creating and maintaining a welcoming and collegial environment where all students can thrive.
Escobedo follows Laura Fonseca, who was appointed Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs and Initiatives with the Law School Admissions Council earlier this year.
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