Regent Law News

Congratulations to the Regent Law Class of 2016 for outstanding bar passage rates ! The fol lowing results are from the J uly 2016 Bar Exam. Regent Law graduates earned a 100% bar pass age rate in Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky , Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming . Additionally, they earned a 90% bar passage rate in the Uni form Bar Exa m, which has been adopted in 26 states . This allows the graduates to potentially be licensed to practice law in all 26 states , which include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut , District of Columbia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts , Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Ham pshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New Yor k, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. For all U.S. bar exams across the country, Regent Law Class of 2016 earned an 8 2.3% bar passage rate, out performing the 2 01

Regent University's School of Law Faculty members willingly share their knowledge and expertise beyond the classroom to spark scholarly debate and advance the practice of law. Their latest endeavors include the following. The addition of Distinguished Professor Harry Hutchison to our ranks, as well as our continuous work marketing our scholarship, our ranking in SSRN has moved up to 127 from 130, surpassing Richmond, even with our very small faculty.  Download some of Professor Hutchison’s publications . Also download his most recent publication from the Harvard J. L. & Pol’y Hobby Lobby, Corporate Law, and Unsustainable Liberalism: A Reply to Judge Strine . Professor James Duane’s piece The Right to Remain Silent: A New Answer to an Old Question has been downloaded a landmark 1,149 times, and he will be presenting at our Regent Law Faculty Colloquium Series brought to you by the Regent University Law Library, on January 24, 2016. Professor Lou Hensler will be presenti

Regent University School of Law alumnus Gabriel McCoy (’11) had never been a part of a Christian higher education institution before. He recalls very clearly week one, first semester of his 1L year. “I remember telling my dad that I never met so many people that were as intelligent, hard-working, hungry to compete and loved the Lord all at the same time,” said McCoy. “The caliber of people were elevated, and it was fun to run with this pack of motivated folks.” To this day, McCoy still runs with his “Regent pack,” after co-founding Pierce/McCoy, PLLC, with Regent Law alumnus Nathaniel Pierce ’08 in April 2013. The firm, based in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, serves clients in Hampton Roads, Richmond, Texas, New York and even Serbia. The decision to begin the daunting, yet “adventurous” task of beginning a firm came at a time when the legal market was extremely competitive and the “opportunities were few and far between.” McCoy walked in faith and in prayer asked that the Lord w

Regent University's School of Law Faculty members willingly share their knowledge and expertise beyond the classroom to spark scholarly debate and advance the practice of law. Their latest endeavors include the following. Associate Professor Brad Jacob made three separate presentations at the CLS national conference with Associate Dean Natt Gantt . Professor Jacob also spoke at Federalist Society law student chapters at the University of Chicago, IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law, and the University of Baltimore School of Law on topics including religious liberty and the 17th Amendment (two separate topics).  To read some of his constitutional law scholarship, download Will the Real Constitutional Originalist Please Stand Up? and Back to Basics: Constitutional Meaning and 'Tradition' . In addition, Professor Jacob preached in Chapel at Grove City and Patrick Henry Colleges and gave a campus lecture at Wheaton College regarding the Supreme Court.  To read some of Profes

It all started eight years ago with a videotaped lecture he gave to prospective law students. Don’t Talk to the Police ” – his lecture on the Fifth Amendment—talk dozens of times before. Regent University School of Law professor James Duane had given his “ Professor James Duane. “I’d been doing this thing for years, but I’d never taped any of them,” said Duane. But this time, he made an exception: He invited his current students to join in on the lecture. And when a few students couldn’t make it to the class in real-time, he put it on Regent’s website and sent it to 40-some students via email. A week later, he received a phone call from the head of the university’s IT department. “She said, ‘Jim, we’ve got a problem over here,” said Duane. The video had attracted such a high volume of viewers that the school’s server was unable to handle it. Duane agreed to release t

Two paths diverge in a wood, and Regent University School of Law alumnus Justice Daniel Kelly ’91 took the road that led to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. Photo courtesy of Justice Daniel Kelly. The newly appointed justice calls his life a “winding road,” after growing up in Santa Barbara, California and just outside of Denver, Colorado. He landed in Wisconsin to pursue his undergraduate degree, where he met his wife. “I’ve been terribly blessed by the places I’ve been able to call home,” said Kelly. Another one of those places? Regent University. Kelly returned to campus for the first time this fall to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Regent Law Review – he served as the publication’s first-ever editor-in-chief. “It’s phenomenal, this campus has changed so much it was hard to recognize,” said Kelly. “Except for the library, of course, I spent nearly all of my time there.” Kelly’s professional path follows a roundabout pattern as well, returning to Wi

On Nov. 4-5, Regent Law's Moot Court Board had the pleasure of hosting the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament of the American Moot Court Association's annual undergraduate competition. Students in the Regent University Debate Association (RUDA) from the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) registered five teams, two of which earned third and fourth place in the regional competition. Three students, Alexandria Cross, Ronald Pantalena, and Christopher Mateer, received top-10 speaker awards. Competitors came to the annual tournament at Regent from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, George Washington University, James Madison University, Bridgewater College, Patrick Henry College, and Liberty University. Judges determined speaker awards based on knowledge of case facts, legal reasoning, and the manner in which contestants presented themselves while facing pressure from judges. Points were awarded in these categories and then aggregated. Daniel R

Regent University's School of Law Faculty members willingly share their knowledge and expertise beyond the classroom to spark scholarly debate and advance the practice of law. Their latest endeavors include the following. Associate Dean Lynne Marie Kohm, Professors James Duane, Natt Gantt and Ben Madison, and Associate Professor Kathleen McKee presented various topics at the National Christian Legal Society Convention in Washington, D.C. October 20-24.  Assistant Professor Tessa Dysart spoke at the student Federalist Society chapters at Concordia Law School in Boise, Idaho on Oct. 13, and at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon on Oct. 20.  These presentations were largely based on her articles: The Origination Clause, the Affordable Care Act, and Indirect Constitutional Violations , and The Protected Innocence Initiative: Building Protective State Law Regimes for America’s Sex-Trafficked Children . Associate Professor Mike Schutt was the keynote speaker at the r

This past weekend, Dean Hernandez was interviewed on Lawyers for Jesus Radio hosted by Noel Sterett '06, a Regent Law alum and partner at Mauck & Baker, LLC in Chicago, IL. Listen in to hear Dean Hernandez discuss Faith in the Law .

Regent University hosted the Mid Atlantic American Moot Court Association (AMCA) tournament the weekend of November 4, 2016. Students in the Regent University Debate Association (RUDA) from the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) registered five teams, two of which earned third and fourth place in the regional competition. Three students, Alexandria Cross, Ronald Pantalena, and Christopher Mateer, received top-10 speaker awards. "I think the students did very well," said Dr. Nick Higgins, CAS assistant professor and RUDA sponsor. "We will have two teams that will be invited to go to the national tournament in Florida in January. Now we are just working with them to refine their arguments, looking at where the judges poked holes in them, and create a better way to go about and ensure we, Lord willing, have victory in Florida." Eleven RUDA students

Competition: Ninth Annual National Pre-Trial Competition Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida October 14–16, 2016 Team: Team:  Daniel Waters ('17), Julianna Battenfield ('17), Alison Haefner ('17), Elizabeth Berry ('18), and Justin Burch ('17) Coach:  Professor James Metcalfe Results: Second place in the competition out of sixteen teams, coming out ahead of teams from law schools such as University of Miami School of Law, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and Texas Tech University School of Law. Second Best Brief in the competition for Prosecution Second Best Brief for Combined Memoranda. “Regent Law strives to develop three general legal skills: writing, advocacy and strenuous academics,” said  Daniel Waters ('17) . “This competition required excellence in all three of those areas.” Waters said his favorite part of competing is proving his team’s great writing and advocating skills. “Consistently at all competitions, judges say [we] are curre

Regent University School of Law (LAW) Trial Advocacy Board earned early success at the 2016 Ninth Annual National Pre-Trial Competition at the Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida, in late October. Robertson Hall LAW students Daniel Waters ’17, Julianna Battenfield ’17, Alison Haefner ’17, Elizabeth Berry ’18, and Justin Burch ’17 earned second place in the competition, coming out ahead of teams from law schools such as University of Miami School of Law, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and Texas Tech University School of Law. Additionally, the team earned the Second Best Brief in the competition for Prosecution and Second Best Brief for Combined Memoranda. They were coached by LAW adjunct professor Jim Metcalfe. “Regent Law strives to develop three general legal skills: writing, advocacy and strenuous academics,” said Waters. “This competition required excellence in all three of those areas.” Waters said his favorite part of competing is provi

The unbroken cycle of poverty, debt and high-demand for slave labor and sex trafficking leaves many broken families and individuals in the nation of India. But individuals and organizations are working to combat this repetitive, tide-like loop. David Eggert, Evan Henck, and Abishek Jebaraj. On Monday, October 31, Regent University School of Law’s Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law presented a discussion titled, “Slavery in India: Myth or Reality?” The event featured assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, Grayson County and alumnus Evan Henck ’07 (LAW), and India General Counsel at Justice Ventures International (JVI) Abishek Jebaraj. The panel was moderated by University of Washington & Lee Professor David Eggert. To Henck, slavery in India is all but a myth. His line of work as the former di

Teaching has always been on the horizon for Regent University School of Law professor Caleb Griffin. He joined LAW faculty Fall Semester 2016, after receiving a phone call from professor and associate dean, Natt Gantt, who was seeking interested candidates for the position. “I was at work one evening and he called and asked if I was interested in being a law professor, and I really was,” said Griffin. “I was literally called to work here.” Griffin came to Regent after graduating from Harvard Law School in 2014, and a stint of practicing corporate law at the firm of Vinson & Elkins, representing organizations such as banks and oil companies. “Practicing law is great, and I learned a lot, but I find it so rewarding to be able to work with students and examine deeper questions about the law," he said. His true passion lies in helping students conduct research and think about the “bigger issues” of law. He explained that those who practice law for a living don’t always have the pr