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Showing posts from January, 2009

Back to Back Competitions Put Oral Skills to the Test

Regent Law 2Ls Melissa Bergman, Danielle Temple, Elizabeth Toner, and Katie Burns won first place at the Intramural Trial Advocacy competition held January 23-24, 2009. This is the school’s 10th Annual opportunity for students to experience being trial attorneys. “Many competitors use [this competition] to decide if they want to become trial lawyers,” said Tammy Sossei, Intra-scholastic Coordinator for the Trial Ad Board. Competitors put what they’ve learned about the Rules of Evidence into practice, develop a case theory, and prepare witnesses. Still, with all the preparation, they still are forced to think on their feet. “[T]he evidence can be read so that both parties have equally strong cases,” said Sossei. She added a description of what the teams had to research, noting, “This year the Defendant has been charged with premeditated murder and second degree auto theft. The victim was found in a dumpster with a gunshot wound to his head the day after he had an argument with the Defen...

Former U.S. Attorney Shares Passion for Justice

For former U.S. attorney John Brownlee, being in a courtroom holds great significance. "The big controversies in this country...started in a courtroom," he reminded an audience of students and faculty at Regent University on Jan. 12, where he spoke at the invitation of Regents Hamilton-Jefferson Society. Brownlee described how he progressed from an "Army brat" to one of the top lawyers in Virginia and the challenges he faced along the way. After graduating from law school, Brownlee served as a judicial law clerk for U.S. District Judge Sam Wilson. He then served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, a position he describes as "lawyering in its rawest form." In 2001, President Bush appointed Brownlee to the position of U.S. Attorney. His jurisdiction spanned from Louisa County in central Virginia all the way to "coal country" at the southwest tip of the state. In this position, he developed a successful record prosecuting som...

Regent Law Professors in the News

Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law Bruce Cameron , through his work at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, has been working on an important labor law case in the State of Ohio. Taking on the largest teachers union in that state, Cameron and other attorneys are fighting against compulsory union dues that are used to fund activities that violate teachers’ religious faith. Professor Cameron is quoted here , in an article detailing the suit. Law professor John Tuskey was interviewed by WAVY-TV (Hampton Roads’ NBC affiliate) a few days before Christmas about whether a group from a Norfolk church who were "street preaching" outside of businesses in downtown Norfolk were within their First Amendment rights.