Regent Law News

According to the March ’08 issue of The National Jurist , Regent Law School ranks alongside UC-Berkeley, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin and NYU law schools for the percentage of alums working in public interest law. Regent Law School was also recently ranked in the Top 20 by the National Law Journal for the number of half-to-full scholarships granted. The connection is clear: Regent Law School provides affordable excellence in legal education, enabling students to follow their calling anywhere. ------------------------------------------------------------- Excellent legal training and scholarship are not the only things that make Regent Law School unique. Click here to learn more. Want more information? Get real-time answers to your questions about Regent Law School now.

While oral advocacy victories have been top news as of late, Regent Law School students are also busy engaging the legal community with their written work. With the addition of the newly formed Regent Journal of Law and Public Policy (RJLPP), Regent Law School now boasts three scholarly journals including the Regent Law Review (RLR) and the Regent Journal of International Law (RJIL). Through these journals students are publishing notes, pursuing top submissions, and researching and editing legal articles. And because journals like the RJIL are circulated internationally, student publications continue to have global reach and impact. Highlighted below are some of Regent Law School’s writers and their award-winning work: Leo Lestino (3L) Publication, 2007-2008 Issue of the Thomas Goode Jones Law Review, "Can Jiminy Cricket be Silenced? Congressional Federal Spending, Federalism, and the Federal Refusal Clause." Competition, 2007 Pacific Legal Foundation Program for Judicial Aw...

In an article titled “What Law School Rankings Don’t Say About Costly Choices”, The National Law Journal ranks Regent Law School 15th in the nation for law schools offering half-to-full scholarships. Boasting a 92% employment rate 9 months after graduation (Class of 2007), a strong regional and national reputation, and a commitment to training students with the legal skills necessary for success, Regent Law School continues to attract students who think outside the box – both in the way they evaluate rankings and the way they eventually practice law. The authors, professors from Indiana University School of Law and University of Illinois College of Law, argue that the link between going to a top tier law school and landing a corporate salary large enough to handle the debt incurred is a flimsy one at best. They write, “Slavishly following the U.S. News rankings will not significantly increase one's large-firm job prospects. And the excess debt that students incur is likely to under...

Fullerton, Calif., April 7, 2008 – Regent Law student Jonathan Penn was awarded $1500 for his winning position paper responding to a delicate issue presented on the subject of embryo donation and adoption. The winning students in Nightlight Christian Adoptions’ 2008 national essay contest carefully tackled the issue of how to handle custody of a child born through embryo adoption after discovering that the egg donor never intended for any resulting embryos to be donated. The detailed problem and winning essays can be read at http://www.embryolaw.org/ . Jonathan Penn placed second and is joined in the winner’s circle by students from Stetson University College of Law and St. Mary's University School of Law.

The rainy weekend of April 4-6 brought two softball teams from Regent Law to Charlottesville, VA, to compete in the 25th Annual Virginia Law Softball Invitational. Over 100 other teams from law schools around the country came out for what has become a highly-anticipated event. Thirteen Regent students on the men’s team leveled three teams on Saturday to emerge the #1 seed. Ohio State, 18-3; George Washington University (Blue), 27-1; and Washington University, 26-1. On Sunday, they beat George Washington University (Gold) and University of South Carolina before losing the championship to UVA Gold. This is the second year that the men’s team has contended with reigning champs UVA Gold for first place. Last year, UVA dubbed the battle that ended 9-8, “UVA v. God.” There’s no doubt they felt the same pressure this year; like the rain, Regent’s force was non-stop and the UVA squad narrowly escaped in a 7-6 victory. For the first year, Regent also entered a co-ed team. Led by Captain Pete G...

Kimberly Holland (Law ’02), president and CEO of Icon Management, a sports and entertainment agency, was featured in an article published by New American Media. Holland is one of the nation’s few female sports agents, and a number of her agency’s athletes will compete in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=e61ed22c52eced53f1a53c3e3ff7d9b8

In 2003, Professor James Duane published The Virginia Supreme Court Takes a Big Bite Out of the Privilege for Marital Communications, 29 The Virginia Bar Association News Journal 8 (March 2003). His article gained the attention of a delegate in Virginia’s General Assembly, who arranged for Professor Duane to be appointed to serve on a committee that drafted a new version of Virginia’s law on marital privileges. His proposal was adopted by the legislature in 2005, and in December of 2007, that amendment directly affected the outcome of Carpenter v. Commonwealth, 654 S.E.2d 345 (Va. Ct. App. 2007). In Carpenter, the defendant confessed to his wife that he had raped their teenage daughter. At his later trial, the wife wished to testify against him about that confession. Under the version of Virginia’s marital privilege in place at the time of his confession, his wife would not have been allowed to reveal what he told her, not even if she wished to do so. However, by the time of the trial...

Congratulations to Ari Craig and Brenda Thorn, members of Regent Law’s Black Law Student Association chapter (BLSA), who won the 2008 NBLSA Annual International Negotiation Competition held March 28-30 at Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center. This year’s competition scenario consisted of a number of teams representing national governments, non-governmental agencies, and pharmaceutical companies negotiating the development and implementation of a vaccine to end child mortality in targeted nations. According to Ari Craig, “The whole experience was amazing. It was really satisfying to win, but I think that I am most thankful for the Regent administration, specifically Prof. McKee and Dean Murphy, for being so supportive of Brenda and me.” Professor Kathleen McKee served as the team’s faculty advisor/coach; Minka Lanier served as their on-site assistant coach. The International Negotiations Competition was created to provide NBLSA members with realistic exposure to alternative dispute reso...

Two moot court teams from Regent Law School competed at the ABA-sponsored National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) in Chicago April 3 – 5, 2008 and returned with high accolades. Valerie Kuntz was awarded 3rd Best Oralist out of more than 48 students representing the 24 best teams in the nation. She and her teammates, James Nealis and Josh Jewitt, surpassed 171 other teams to compete as one of the final 8 in the nation. They lost in a narrow 2-3 vote to an excellent Seton Hall team. The team of Cort Walker, John Legg, and Rhonda Kinard advanced to the final 16, and in a close round lost 3-1 to an exceptional Harvard team that went on to win the National Championship. The triumphs demonstrated at the NAAC Regionals and in their advancement during Nationals show the outstanding abilities of these students. “I am extremely proud of both teams,” said Regent Law Professor and team coach Michael Hernandez. “They represented our Lord and school well. Although we would all prefer to end w...

On March 31st, Joey M. Loudermilk, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Executive Vice President of Aflac, spoke with Regent students and faculty about the interplay between his faith and his high-profile position. As general counsel, Loudermilk oversees Aflac’s legal, corporate, and public policy issues. He attributes his position and accomplished resume to God’s hand in his life, saying in reference to Psalm 139 that “God ordained my days before even one came to be.” He said (smiling) that the juxtaposition of his “average” law school career alongside his professional success clearly highlights the providential plan of God in his life. He attributes Aflac’s success as a Fortune 200 company to the integrity of the people it hires. Pointing out that the reputation of a company falls on the shoulders of its employees, he urged students to recognize the place of God in their own lives and to contemplate what impact that will have on their work. Noting that “it takes a lifetime to bui...

Students participating in Regent Law’s Right to Work practicum will have the exciting opportunity to aid in the litigation of Locke v. Karass, a critical case currently pending before the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court recently agreed to review this case on its merits. Locke v. Karass concerns compulsory unionism and the 1st Amendment rights of employees. By aiding in litigation, Regent students have the opportunity to get an up-close view of the mechanisms of the Supreme Court and to literally make history. The Right to Work practicum was established as a cooperative effort between the law school, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW), and Bruce Cameron, the Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law at Regent. Before coming to Regent Law in the fall of 2007, Professor Cameron worked for over thirty years on behalf of employees in more than 30 states as part of the litigation staff at NRTW. It is his continued association with the NRTW that gives students ...

The Burton D. Wechsler First Amendment Moot Court Competition, The William B. Spong National Moot Court Tournament, the NAAC Regional Championship: Regent Law School moot court teams have captured championships at all three – the only three they have entered - and are now busy preparing for the ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) national showdown in Chicago, April 3-5. These moot court wins for Regent are the most recent in a series of wins over the last few years, including first place at the 2007 J. Braxton Craven Moot Court Competition, and the 2006 ABA National Appellate Advocacy Championship. According to team coach Professor Ben Madison, "I have never worked with students who put such effort into preparing for competitions. They will, no doubt, represent Regent with the excellence for which we strive." The NAAC emphasizes the development of oral advocacy skills through a realistic appellate advocacy experience. Competitors participate in a hypothetical...