Regent Law News

Regent Law School students intern in some amazing places. This summer, rising third-year law student Meghan Terry is spending five weeks on Capitol Hill as one of South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint’s congressional interns. Terry’s typical day with the Senate Steering Committee includes researching bills coming up for floor debate, attending congressional hearings, and drafting talking points for Sen. DeMint’s speaking engagements. "I knew very little about Capitol Hill before arriving, and it’s been a learning experience from the bottom up,” Terry said. “I now realize the full impact of the decisions our congressmen make. Plus, it’s an honor interning for a Senator from my home state.” Terry is interning on Capitol Hill through ACLJ’s congressional intern program.

Forty law students attending Regent’s Strasbourg Summer Program in Human Rights recently had the unique opportunity to meet Jean-Paul Costa, President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). President Costa’s intimate address to Regent Law students focused on the history and development of the ECHR, mechanisms the ECHR uses to protect individual freedoms, and the problems the unique Court faces today. The ECHR’s Grand Chamber consists of a panel of seventeen judges from various states of the European Council. It hears over a thousand cases a year, and receives even more petitions each year that it finds inadmissible. The Court’s opinions greatly impact the international legal environment and are often cited as precedent and used for legal analysis in the U.S. and abroad. Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft welcomed the President and the students, highlighting the importance of exposure to legal figures who are working to define liberty and freedom in light of the ever-inc...

Regent Law School is one of several Christian law schools discussed in an article, "Redeeming Law," in the August 2008 issue of Christianity Today. The article notes that of nearly 200 law schools approved by the American Bar Association, about 15—including Regent—claim a Christian mission. In addition, Regent Law School alumnus Stephen Pfeiffer ('07) is featured in a sidebar to the Christianity Today article about how he integrates his faith into the daily practice of law.

Tim Spaulding (December ’07) has recently been published in the Gonzaga Journal of International Law. The article, which can be read here , identifies and addresses domestic hindrances to the eradication of the child sex trade in Cambodia. “Cambodia has model laws on the books against child prostitution, and yet the sex trade is rampant. This disconnect is part of what led me to write this article,” Spaulding said. On a trip to Cambodia prior to attending law school, Spaulding became aware of the systemic and pervasive child sex industry plaguing the country. This realization served as one of his motivators for attending Regent Law. “As Christians we’re called to bring freedom to the captives, hope to the hopeless, and to seek justice for those who have been wronged,” Spaulding said. “There are people you can’t effectively share the Gospel with until you’ve met their felt needs. It’s easy to say, ‘Jesus loves and cares for you’, but to a person wrongfully imprisoned, words alone don’t ...

Professor James Duane’s now famous 5 th Amendment lecture - popularly known as “Don’t talk to the police!” - has amassed a considerable internet following. The lecture, given as part of Regent Law School’s spring preview weekend, can be viewed and downloaded here:

Regent Law is proud to announce that 15 alumni from the class of 2008 have won coveted judicial clerkships. One of the most important measures of the success of any J.D. program is the extent to which its grads are in demand in the eyes of the judiciary. This is great news for Regent Law. According to Director of Alumni and Career Services, Darius Davenport, “The class of 2008 accomplished an all-time high clerkship rate of 9.4%, all without compromising placement in top-notch firms around the country. A concerted effort towards making more judicial contacts, increasing programming that that introduces students to clerkship opportunities, and reaffirming the importance of proper preparation through mock interviews and resume critiques all contributed to this record rate.” Alums will be serving judges in the 10th Circuit, US Court of Federal Claims, and various state supreme and local courts.

Thomas M. Brinker, Jr. ('03) has been appointed to the board of EP Global Communications, Inc., the parent company of Exceptional Parent magazine. Brinker is a professor of accounting at Arcadia University (formerly Beaver College) in Glenside, Pa. Read more about his appointment here .

Eric DeGroff, a professor in the Regent University School of Law, has been selected as one of ten winners across the nation in the Used Textbook Association (UTA) Faculty Recognition Textbook Scholarship contest. DeGroff was recognized for his outstanding commitment to textbook affordability and the value of used textbooks for students on the Regent campus. DeGroff was nominated by Peter Dacanay, textbook manager at the Regent University Bookstore and a member of the UTA. According to Dacanay, DeGroff made repeated efforts to communicate to the Regent Bookstore that he planned to adopt the old edition of the text he's using in his first-year Property Law class. "In one decision DeGroff provided his former Property Law students the opportunity to get more money back, and for his fall Property Law students the opportunity to have more used (cheaper) books available to them at the Regent Bookstore," Dacanay said. "This is exactly what the UTA enjoys rewarding, and I fee...

The U.S. Senate unanimously elected Mark S. Davis to a federal judge position in the United States Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Davis is member of Regent’s Law School Board of Visitors which meets regularly with the school’s leadership in an advisory capacity. Judge Davis is presently chief judge of the Third Judicial Circuit of Virginia, Portsmouth Circuit Court. In his official statement, Virginia Senator Jim Webb had the following to say about Davis’ nomination: “Judge Davis is regarded as a patient, thoughtful individual who exhibits the highest degree of ethical conduct and professionalism . . . The Virginia Bar Association rated Judge Davis as highly qualified. Judge Davis’s written opinions reflect his keen intellect, and the extent to which he values communicating his reasoning to counsel and litigants. Further, Judge Davis is active in myriad community and civic organizations.” Judge Davis graduated from the University of Virginia and the Washington and Le...