Law Alumnus Awarded Young Lawyer of the Year

Hugo R. Valverde of Virginia Beach expressed a sense of near-disbelief as a recipient of the 2008 R. Edwin Burnette Jr. Young Lawyer of the Year Award at the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Conference (YLC).

Valverde, a 2005 graduate of Regent University's School of Law, serves as chair of the YLC's Immigrant Outreach Committee. His passion for immigration law stems from personal experience growing up in an immigrant family—representing a community, he said, who cannot speak English and needs advocates who will speak on their behalf.

"My work in immigration law began as a law student at Regent University," Valverde said. "After working for five years dealing with environmental policy and regulations as an environmental planner, I sensed the call to serve the immigrant community as an attorney. Through an evaluation [of talents and passions], I felt that God was telling me that I could do the most good in this world as an immigration attorney. As a law student, I volunteered with a local pro bono attorney with Catholic Refugee and Immigration Services, which at that time had an office in Norfolk, Va."

Upon graduating from Regent, Valverde served as attorney advisor to the Immigration Courts in Oakdale and New Orleans, La., and Memphis, Tenn., through the Department of Justice. After completing this service, he came back to the Virginia Beach area to open a law practice and serve the local immigrant community.

"In my practice, I am committed to taking a certain number of immigration cases pro bono," Valverde explained. "As chair of the YLC's Immigrant Outreach Committee, I work to educate criminal defense attorneys and public defenders on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions to provide immigrants with more effective legal representation."

He also devotes volunteer time to teach immigrants about their legal rights, and he was legal advisor to an Illegal Immigration and Crimes Task Force of the Virginia State Crime Commission. "His involvement, dedication, ingenuity and achievements make him the ideal candidate for this award," wrote Sarah L. Petcher, a former Burnette Award recipient, in a nomination letter.

Valverde received the award on June 20 at the Virginia State Bar Annual Meeting in Virginia Beach.

Regent Law Hires Two New Faculty Members—Both Yale Law Graduates—for Fall 2022

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (July 5, 2022) – Today, Regent University School of Law announced the appointment of two new members of its faculty, Erin Morrow Hawley and David D. Velloney. Both Hawley and Velloney are graduates of Yale Law School. Professor Hawley will teach constitutional law and serve as a senior fellow at the Robertson Center for Constitutional Law. Professor Velloney will focus on criminal law, military law, and constitutional criminal procedure. Professors Hawley and Velloney are the third and fourth professors added to the Regent Law faculty in the past year. “We are incredibly fortunate to attract such exceptional teachers, mentors, and scholars to our faculty,” said Brad Lingo, dean of Regent University School of Law. “Our students will love learning from professors Hawley and Velloney and benefit from the depth of experience and Christian perspectives they bring.” New Faculty Appointments: Erin Morrow Hawley: Associate Professor of Constitutional Law J

Regent Alumna Nominated for Two Judgeships

Tanya Bullock, a 2000 Regent Law graduate, has been nominated for a judicial position on Virginia Beach’s Circuit Court and for a vacancy in the city’s General District Court. Bullock founded the firm Bullock & Cooper with her twin sister, a 2002 Regent Law graduate. Bullock has been honored numerous times for her outstanding work in the legal field and on behalf of the community. Awards include Inside Business’s Top 40 Under 40 and Hampton Roads’s Outstanding Professional Women . Previous to founding her firm, Bullock worked as a local prosecutor. Only four others were nominated for the Circuit Court vacancy, including a current general district judge and a former delegate. Ten others were nominated for the General District Court position. Nominations were submitted last month to the Virginia Beach Bar Association, which distributed the names to members and asked them to rate the nominees. When the General Assembly’s regular session convenes on January 13, 2010, the local

Three More Regent Law Alumni Appointed as Judges

Three more Regent University School of Law alumni have been appointed to judgeships, bringing the total number of Regent Law alumni currently serving on the bench to 28. The Virginia General Assembly filled eight vacant judgeships during a special session on Thursday, September 18. Earle C. Mobley ’89 was appointed as a judge for the Portsmouth Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Mobley has served as the commonwealth’s attorney in Portsmouth since 2002. Phillip C. Hollowell ’98 was appointed to the Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Most recently, Hollowell has served as deputy commonwealth’s attorney in Virginia Beach. David Morgan Barredo '01 was appointed Culpeper County’s Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, as the new Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge for Virginia’s 16th District. In addition, Joseph A. Migliozzi ’94 (pictured) , who had been serving as a judge in Norfolk General District Court since 2009, was promoted to the Norfolk Circui

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