Regent Law News

On April 5, Katherine David (pictured) and Timothy Chiasson advanced to the semifinals in the Robert R. Merhige, Jr. National Environmental Negotiation Competition at the University of Richmond School of Law. They placed among the top four teams. Professor Eric DeGroff, director of the Center for Advocacy, coached the pair. "This was truly a team effort," says Professor DeGroff. "Timothy, Katherine, and the entire ADR Board worked diligently to research the issues and prepare for every possibility. It was a pleasure to watch how all the work came together in their performance." "I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to compete on behalf of Regent Law School," Katherine says. "Advancing to the semifinals was certainly a team effort, and we could not have done it without the coaching and support given by Professor DeGroff and the rest of the ADR Board. The experience I had was very rewarding and certainly something that will help my a...

One hundred percent of Regent University School of Law graduates passed the February 2014 Virginia Bar Exam on their first attempt, according to the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners. The average pass rate for state-wide first-time bar exam takers was 69.96 percent. "I was very gratified to see the results of the February Virginia Bar Exam. Regent Law graduates performed better than those from any other school in Virginia." said Law School Dean Jeffrey A. Brauch. "The results reflect a lot of hard work by these dedicated men and women and by the outstanding faculty that trained them. They also reflect God’s blessing and grace in their lives. They are now ready to serve clients and their communities with excellence and integrity. Today is a day of joy!" Regent’s overall pass rate, including repeat takers, also excelled, with 69.57 percent passing the exam, a pass rate over 10 points above the state average of 59.41 percent. See the complete results below for la...

Spring 2014 continues to be a successful semester for Regent University School of Law students participating in regional and national Moot Court Competitions. On Friday, April 11, Regent Law students Kellisia Hazlewood, Abbie Nordhagen, and Sarah Decker (pictured) claimed second place overall, second-best brief, best oralist, and second-best oralist in the Touro Law Center's National Moot Court Competition in Law & Religion at the Alfonse D'Amato Federal Courthouse, in Islip, New York. Regent's team, led by assistant professor Dr. Tessa Dysart and third-year law student Elise Girani, followed closely behind the competition's champions, Emory University. Not only did competing students work well as a team, they also performed well individually. Hazlewood won best oralist for her argument. Nordhagen won second-best brief in the competition. "I am really proud of our team. Abbie, Kelli, and Sarah but an incredible amount of time into preparing for the c...

Four Regent Law students will work with the International Justice Mission this summer. Krystle Blanchard and Lindsey Brower will intern for IJM Kenya; Michael Aiello will intern in Thailand; and Sandra Alcaide, a Blackstone Fellow, will work in South Asia. Lindsey Brower, an IJM intern “I could not be more proud of these students,” states Ernie Walton, administrative director of the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law . “Securing an internship with IJM, highlighted by U.S. News & World Report as one of ‘10 Service Groups That Are Making a Difference,’ is a great accomplishment. For years, IJM has faithfully carried out God’s mandate to seek justice for the oppressed, and I am thrilled that some of our students will have the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing through IJM.” Krystle and Lindsey will aid the IJM Kenya team in prosecuting sexual violence cases, protecting the poor from power abuse among local law enforcement, and releasing in...

One of  Professor James Duane 's latest articles, " Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Pointless Remand ," can now be downloaded from SSRN. Professor Lynn Marie Kohm  is sending her recent article " The Challenges of Teaching Gender Equality in a World of Reproductive Gendercide ," which is published in the  Regent Journal of Law & Public Policy , to all gender law professors and feminist scholars. Professor Benjamin Madison  and   Professor Natt Gantt  secured another book contract with Carolina Academic Press on identity formation in legal education. 

As Regent University School of Law leads students to become successful advocates, its Moot Court teams continue to excel in their competitions. On March 28-29, Regent students competed in the fourth annual Billings, Exum & Frye National Moot Court Competition at Elon University. The team, consisting of Regent law students Tiffany Bennett, Chelsea Schlittenhart and Jaclyn Walliser, advanced in the rounds from 25 participating teams and into the semifinal round. During the competition, Bennett, Schlittenhart and Walliser also won the Best Brief Award for Petitions' Brief. The team lost by one point during the semifinal rounds to the winning team from Southwestern Law School. "I am very proud of these teams and how well they represented Regent," said Michael Hernandez, professor in the School of Law and coach for the Moot Court team. "The brief award reflects the outstanding quality of their work and also the strength of the writing instruction provided a...

To provide guidance for Regent Law students pursuing sports law, the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Society (IPELS) hosted a discussion, “Getting in the Game: How to Start a Sports Law Practice,” featuring Michael P. Giordano , Esq. of Vandeventer Black LLP. IPELS Board with Michael Giordano (second right) “While sports law is not currently taught at Regent, I wanted to give students the opportunity to hear from a local attorney who is new in the field and is creating a niche for himself,” states IPELS President Jennifer Brown. “I hope this dialogue helped current students who are interested in starting a sports law practice.” Giordano began his sports law practice, which is just one of his practice areas at Vandeventer, much like an entrepreneur begins a small business: through hard work, networking, and research. One of the most difficult aspects of entering sports law in the Hampton Roads region is that there are no major league teams here. The Norfolk Tide...

Professor  James Duane 's recent article, "The Proper Pronunciation of Certiorari: The Supreme Court’s Surprising Six-Way Split," will be published in the next issue of  The Green Bag . Professor  Tom Folsom  delivered a well-received presentation at the Drake Law Intellectual Property Scholars Roundtable.He presented a paper he is currently working on: "Algorithm Methods: A New Clue for Patent Eligible Subject Matter." It is based on the popular software case,  CLS Bank Intern v. Alice Corporation , which was argued before the Supreme Court this week. He hopes to offer the same presentation at Regent on April 15. Professor   Michael  Hernandez 's new book,  Unlocking Estates in Land and Future Interests , will be published this month and available for Fall 2014 courses. Professor  Bradley Jacob  appeared on  The Randy Tobler Show  and discussed the Affordable Care Act's Contraception Coverage Mandate. Listen to the...