Regent Law News

Wynter Benda ‘02 (Law) was named assistant to the city manager of Norfolk, Va., according to this Friday, Feb. 25, article in The Virginian-Pilot . 

In observation of Black History Month, Regent’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA) hosted its first ever symposium. The Saturday, February 19th event focused on “Changing the Horizon – Fairness in Sentencing.” “The purpose of this program [was] to foster an academic dialogue about legal issues that affect the black community,” said a BLSA representative. “The dialogue explored the recent Supreme Court decision regarding disproportionate sentencing guidelines and how those guidelines have a disparate impact on the black community.” The morning kicked off with a meet and greet breakfast generously sponsored by the South Hampton Roads Bar Association. The first session featured guest panelist Dr. Valerie Wright, a criminologist who works as a research analyst for The Sentencing Project, and Professor and Director of Regent Law's Civil Litigation Clinic, Kathleen McKee . During the session they answered the question “If racial and ethnic disparities exist, how do we eliminate ...

“Life is about relationships,” began Regent’s John Brown McCarty Professor of Family Law, Lynne Kohm , at last week’s Law Chapel. She explained that communication is what builds them up, while a lack of it can tear relationships down. “New life begins with communication,” she said. Her cheerful tone suddenly morphed into one of sober compassion. “The progression from a relationship to an abortion goes something like this: Relationship leads to sexual activity; sexual activity leads to pregnancy; pregnancy leads to new life - or abortion.” Kohm then went on to share the results of multiple statistical studies, including one by the Guttmacher Institute and another by the Barna Group, both of which concluded that around 70% of abortions in America are performed on women who claim some kind of a relationship to Christianity while over 80% are performed on unmarried women. She explained that the majority of these pregnancies are clearly as a result of sexual impurity. “‘Christians are...

The Regent Law Moot Court Board was honored to host Regent’s 10 th Annual National Constitutional Law competition held on campus February 11-12. As the event hosts, Regent Law Moot Court Board teams did not participate in the competition. 3Ls Justin Hoover and Jessica Kuehn (pictured with Chairman Linh Flores ) of the William and Mary School of Law won by a 5 to 4 panel decision against 3L Spencer Drake and 2L Mark Hicks of the newly accredited Liberty University School of Law in the final round of competition. Participating teams represented 11 law schools from around the country including regional teams from the University of Virginia, University of Richmond, and Villanova and teams from as far away as Roger Williams in Rhode Island, the University of Florida and Brigham Young University in Utah.  Teams argued a hypothetical case involving a challenge to the recently enacted healthcare legislation before a distinguished panel of volunteer judges includin...

Last week Regent Law welcomed Rev. Dr. Sang-Ching Choi to campus as a guest speaker at Law Chapel. The only ordained, Korean Mennonite pastor in the world and an adjunct professor at the Southern Baptist Seminary, Dr. Choi founded the APPA Ministry Center in Washington, D.C., a service to the homeless community that includes a shelter, church, legal and medical clinics, and after-school programs. Dr. Choi opened his talk with a powerful video depicting the homeless men, women and children of Washington, D.C., who are served by the APPA Ministry Center. Dr. Choi, whose surname means “peacemaker,” shared a personal story of how the conflict between his father and uncle - who fought on opposing sides of the Korean War - spawned his interest in issues of peace and reconciliation. When he came to the United States from Korea in the 1990’s to earn a Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution from George Mason University he was struck by the racially motivated violence against Korean Americans he encou...

Regent Law Professor James Duane was recently referred to as “one of the most interesting lawyers in the country” while being interviewed on the 5th Amendment “right to remain silent” on Boston WBZ 1030’s NightSide with Dan Rea . In January, Virginia native and Regent Law alumna Dawn Layton became the first woman to be appointed Chief Assistant District Attorney of Richmond County. Click here to read the article lauding her promotion.

Morning classes were canceled on Wednesday, January 26, so that deans, faculty and the entire student body could gather for one of the events that makes Regent Law distinctly Christian: the annual Student Faculty Retreat. Held just down the road from campus at the New Covenant Presbyterian Church, the Regent Law Retreat was a time for the law school community to set aside the rigors of academic study and reflect on and reorient around the mission and vision that drives them, namely what it means to serve God in their legal calling. A time of singing followed an invocation and opening prayer from Regent Law Dean Jeffrey Brauch . Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Doug Cook , emceed the event, introducing the keynote speakers: Mike Schutt , faculty member and director of the Institute for Christian Legal Studies (ICLS), a cooperative ministry of Regent Law and the Christian Legal Society, and alumnus Jonathan Feavel (’94), a private, general practitioner in Vincennes, Indiana. ...