Regent Law News

Ben Madison, an Associate Professor in the Law School, recently learned he was among the winners of a call for papers on the topic of “New Law Faculty as Catalysts for Change.” This competition was sponsored by the New Law Faculty Section of the American Association of Law Schools. As a result, he has been invited to present his paper at the association’s national meeting to be held in January 2008 in New York City. “One of our primary goals at Regent is to engage the world,” Madison noted, “and I saw this as an opportunity to do that.” The article challenges legal academia to examine its approach to education. “The article seeks to force those involved in legal education to reexamine everything about our approach. Fortunately, I have colleagues at Regent who are not afraid to do that.” Madison acknowledged that the collaborative approach of his colleagues inspires him to write and speak. His scholarship has focused not only on particular legal issues, but has also included work on edu...

Regent University School of Law is pleased to announce that Associate Professor and Director of Academic Success, L. O. Natt Gantt, II, has recently been promoted to serve as Associate Dean for Student Affairs. A highly qualified candidate, Dean Gantt began at Regent University in the fall of 2000 when he served as an Academic Assistance Instructor where he focused primarily on helping students develop legal study skills. Shortly thereafter, Dean Gantt began teaching courses in Professional Responsibility and Advanced Legal Reasoning, Analysis, and Writing, while passionately working to further develop the Academic Success Program into a year round component of the student curriculum. As Dean of Students, Dean Gantt will continue teaching courses such as Professional Responsibility, while assuming the various other responsibilities that come with the position. When asked about what he hopes to accomplish in his new role, Dean Gantt stated, “At Regent, we’ve developed a reputation for p...

John Legg, a 3L at Regent University School of Law, was named the winner of the 2006-2007 William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship Competition by Aliance Defense Fund. He will receive a cash award in the amount of $2,500.00. Legg is a Blackstone Fellow (2006) who expects to earn his J.D. from Regent University School of Law in May 2008, where he is Editor-in-Chief of the Regent University Law Review. During law school, he has served as a summer law clerk at the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate Generals Corps. Currently, John is a judicial intern in the chambers of United States District Judge Walter Kelley, Jr., in the Eastern District of Virginia. His wife, Karen, also studies at Regent University as a doctoral student in communication studies. Upon graduation, John plans to be commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps.

Reporting accurately, objectively and ethically should be the goals of all news coverage, and journalists —especially those covering high profile court cases — must work hard to achieve these goals, said Manny Medrano, ABC News legal correspondent, addressing attendees at Regent University's annual Law School for Journalists seminar September 17. Medrano, a federal criminal prosecutor before turning to journalism, shared his insights from both perspectives in the courtroom. "I've been fortunate to have two immensely gratifying careers," he said. "At times, there's friction between the fourth estate and the legal system, but I think we can dissipate some of that by understanding each other and working together." Following "Manny's Rules" for covering court cases will help reporters achieve the goals of news coverage, Medrano asserted. Some of his maxims include: "Follow the rules of the court" "Treat court personnel with respe...

The Regent University Library is excited to announce alumni access to three library databases: Academic OneFile, Business Source alumni, and InfoTrack OneFile. These databases offer access to in excess of 21,000 full-text journals in an array of subject areas. To access the databases, visit the University Library website. You will be asked to register for the service, and once your alumni status is verified, the databases will be available for unlimited use. If these databases prove to be popular, more databases in specific areas may be added in the future as they become available. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the Regent Library reference desk by phone (1.888.249.1822), by e-mail (reference@regent.edu), or through IM via all major instant messaging services (screen name RegentULibrary).

It's a combination of fire and spirit of cooperation among lawyers that allows a successful distribution of food to the community, according to Virginia Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell. In a recent award ceremony for the First Annual Statewide Legal Food Frenzy, McDonnell awarded Regent University Law School representatives with the mini Attorney General's cup for collecting the most total pounds and most per capita of food for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia (FSEVA).The school's achievement resulted in 4,231 pounds of food. The award ceremony, held at FSEVA, celebrated the success of over 169 competing law firms, organizations and law school teams that raised 678,686 pounds of food, exceeding the goal of 500,000 pounds. McDonnell, a Regent Law School alumnus, said lawyers are a great facet for community service: "Combine [their] generosity with competition and you have the first Attorney General's Cup Awards," he said. Dean Jeffery Brauch of Regent...

It is a significant achievement to have a scholarly article published during a person’s three years as a law student. Not only has Regent 3L Leo Lestino published two articles during his tenure as a law student, but he also has won a nationwide writing contest in the process. When asked about his recent writing success, Lestino said, “It’s been such a blessing and a great experience.” One of Lestino’s articles titled, “A Mutated Standard of Review: the Not-So-Strict Deferential Scrutiny in Grutter v. Bollinger and Extending its Flawed Application to K-12 Schools,” won first place in the Pacific Legal Foundation’s 2008 Program for Judicial Awareness Writing Competition. The article discusses the standard of review for race-based admissions that the Supreme Court used in deciding Grutter v. Bollinger and its extension to the K-12 context. Lestino addresses the error in the Grutter standard and why deferential scrutiny should not be allowed in university admissions or student assignment i...