http://www.law.emory.edu/ Emory Law School: More than Practice en http://www.law.emory.edu/typo3conf/ext/tt_news/ext_icon.gif http://www.law.emory.edu/ 18 16 Emory Law School: More than Practice TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss TESTING-TESTING-TESTING Fri, 24 May 2013 13:52:00 -0400 http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202600625077&thepage=1 ELS General Fri, 24 May 2013 13:52:00 -0400 http://www.law.emory.edu/about-emory-law/news-article/article/wall-street-journal-features-emory-law-graduate-programs-for-non-lawyers.html Emory Law Dean Robert Schapiro was quoted in a May 19 Wall Street Journal article on law schools... Robert Schapiro was quoted in a May 19 Wall Street Journal article on law schools which offer non-JD degree programs for professionals who want a general grounding in law to enhance their careers. “Pitched at midcareer professionals, the programs tend to draw people who work in heavily regulated fields where compliance with a growing body of rules requires an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the law. Some students also hope to gain a competitive edge,” the article states. Emory Law’s new Juris Master program was a response to strong demand for legal education in the broader population and outside the United States, Schapiro said. Student enrollment in programs not based on the traditional, three-year juris doctor degree has increased 13 percent since 2010, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of American Bar Association data, the story said. The article “More Often, Nonlawyers Try Taste of Law School,” is available to Wall Street Journal subscribers.

]]> ELS General Robert Schapiro Mon, 20 May 2013 14:57:00 -0400 http://www.law.emory.edu/about-emory-law/news-article/article/barton-legislative-clinic-students-achieve-long-term-goal-juvenile-law-reform.html Emory Law students played a role in the passage of a landmark overhaul of Georgia’s juvenile code... Kirsten Widner, director of policy and advocacy for the Barton Child Law and Policy Center. “We had three student legislative projects, all of which passed the General Assembly and were signed into law by the governor.” As a lead partner of the JUSTGeorgia Coalition, the Barton Center has been working with state legislators, juvenile court stakeholders, and other child advocacy groups to rewrite Georgia’s 40-year-old juvenile code since 2006. Legislation for reform came close in 2012, but ultimately stalled over concern there was too little time left in session to plan how to implement and pay for the new code. Barton faculty and students saw the law through to fruition this term, and the juvenile justice reform legislation passed unanimously, Widner said. “Many students and faculty members, and our community partners, contributed to this effort over the years,” Widner said. “Our students worked hard on these efforts to improve the lives of children in our state.” Among the main reforms Barton worked toward were new sentencing standards to prevent locking up low-risk juvenile offenders unnecessarily and ineffectively. A 2012 study by the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform found while the Department of Juvenile Justice spent about two-thirds of its $300 million budget on correctional facilities, more than half of the young people who entered that system wound up convicted of another crime within three years, according to a Rome News-Tribune story The cost of a year’s confinement for a juvenile offender is $91,126, versus about $18,000 for an adult in a Georgia prison, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The state must provide schooling, food, clothing, medical care and psychiatric services for minors who are sentenced to detention centers. “Overall, we’re looking at really low-risk populations,” Barton’s Executive Director Melissa Carter told the AJC. “We’re giving them very intrusive interventions at a high cost to the state, and with very poor outcomes.” The study said changing detention policy would decrease the number of juvenile offenders in out-of-home placement by about a third—from 1,908 to 1,269, by 2018—and save the state more than $88 million during that time. Three other significant bills which became law are: · A bill to create a statutory framework for open adoptions in Georgia. Margaret Riley 14L, Brian Kaufman 14L, Yvana Mols 13L, and Sayali Bapat 13LLM worked with Ga. Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver 72L on the bill, “which received only three ‘no’ votes in its journey through the legislative process,” Widner said. Oliver has served on Emory Law’s Advisory Board since 2004. · A bill to create an exception to the state’s child pornography laws for teen “sexting,” to prevent teenagers being charged with a felony for the misbehavior. Meredyth Yoon 14L and Ellis Liu 13L worked with Ga. Rep. Jay Neal on the legislation. “This one struggled to get moving and had to be amended onto another bill, HB 156,” Widner said. “The final version passed the Senate unanimously and had only one ‘no’ vote in the House.” · A law to help child victims of commercial sexual exploitation who are charged with prostitution vacate, modify or seal their delinquency adjudications. Jason Kang 13L, Nisha Chandiramani 08C 13PH, and Georgia State University student Alice Lee worked with Ga. Rep. Buzz Brockway. The bill was unanimously approved by committee and then added onto the juvenile justice reform bill, Widner said. Related links Barton Child Law and Policy Center Kirsten Widner Melissa Carter]]> ELS General Child Law/Barton Clinic Mon, 20 May 2013 10:48:00 -0400 http://www.flickr.com/photos/emorylawphotos/sets/72157633488660695/ ELS General ELS Alumni Thu, 16 May 2013 11:12:00 -0400 http://www.law.emory.edu/about-emory-law/news-article/article/us-supreme-court-sides-with-emory-student-groups-client-vacates-bankruptcy-decision.html On Monday, May 13, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Bullock v. BankChampaign, N.A., a... Bullock v. BankChampaign, N.A., a case brought before the court by the Emory Law School Supreme Court Advocacy Project (ELSSCAP), concerning how to define the term “defalcation.” The students’ petition asked the Court to consider the degree of misconduct that constitutes defalcation under the Bankruptcy Code sufficient to prevent a debt from being discharged. In an unanimous decision delivered by Justice Stephen Breyer, the Court held: “The term ‘defalcation’ in the Bankruptcy Code includes a culpa­ble state of mind requirement involving knowledge of, or gross reck­lessness in respect to, the improper nature of the fiduciary behavior.” In October, certiorari was granted in the case, the first time the Emory student group has reached the merits stage on behalf of a client in the Supreme Court. The students involved in drafting the briefs, at both the certiorari stage and the merits stage, were Ed Philpot 13L, Rachel Erdman 14L, Louis Laverone 13L, Scott Forbes 13L and Michael Wiseman 14L. Students worked with Professor Sarah Shalf, ELSSCAP’s faculty advisor and director of Emory’s Externship and Professionalism programs; Thomas M. Byrne of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, an ELSSCAP partner firm, who argued the case before the Court; and James Engelthaler of Thigpen, Behel, Engelthaler & Scott, counsel for ELSSCAP’s client in the Court of Appeals. The students and Shalf, along with Engelthaler and petitioner Randy Bullock, attended arguments before the Court on March 18 in Washington, D.C. “I’m grateful that the students, Tom Byrne, and Jim Engelthaler are able to share in the excitement of this victory. But most of all, I am delighted that we have won this case for our client Randy Bullock: He needed a ‘fresh start,’ and the Supreme Court has granted him another chance at one,” Shalf said. It was a complex case with facts dating from 1978, when Bullock’s father named Bullock trustee of his estate, which consisted solely of the proceeds of a life insurance policy, whose provisions allowed borrowing against the policy’s value. Bullock borrowed against the policy three times, but also repaid the debts plus interest charged by the insurer. The first time was in 1981, at the father’s request, to loan his mother money to repay a debt to the father’s business. In 1984, Bullock borrowed to pay for certificates of deposit used by the son and mother to buy a mill. In 1990, funds were borrowed against the policy to buy real property.

“The petitioner saw that all of the borrowed funds were repaid to the trust along with 6 percent interest,” the Court observed. In 1999, Bullock’s brothers filed suit, alleging breach of fiduciary duty. An Illinois court agreed, and entered a $250,000 judgment against Bullock. When Bullock declared bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court refused to discharge this debt, and that decision was affirmed on two levels of appellate review. In vacating and remanding the case, the Court acknowledged the lack of clarity thus far. “It is important to have a uniform interpreta­tion of federal law, the choices are limited, and neither the parties nor the Government has presented us with strong considerations favoring a different interpretation,” Breyer wrote. The timing of the opinion’s release was especially sweet for the 13L students, as it was handed down on the same day several of them received their JD degrees during Emory Law’s commencement ceremonies. Related links Download the Bullock v. BankChampaign, N.A. opinion Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case Brought by Emory Law Students]]> ELS General Mon, 13 May 2013 16:19:00 -0400 http://www.law.emory.edu/about-emory-law/news-article/article/emory-law-honors-class-of-2013-at-graduation-ceremonies.html A crisp spring morning provided the backdrop for Emory Law’s 2013 graduation ceremonies held May... Robert A. Schapiro. The hard work, friendships, and academic discipline that go into earning a law degree “allow us to grow, permitting us a fuller capacity to live fully considered lives,” Schapiro said. “Remember these years as a time giving you a better understanding of the possibilities of your life.” Della Wager Wells 86L, president of the Emory Law Alumni Association, welcomed new graduates into the alumni fold. “A lawyer’s education is never complete,” she said. “Law, like most worthwhile disciplines, is an evolving body. And you’re just beginning the best part of your law school education.” Casson Wen 13L was twice honored by his peers, receiving both the Minister Gloria Jean Fowler Angel Award and Most Outstanding Third-Year Student Award. During his remarks, Wen received applause for his analogy of how law school is like a three-year triathlon. “First year is all about swimming,” he said. “It’s all about treading water and not drowning as wave after wave of deadlines crash down upon you. All you can do is pray that you don’t cramp. “Second year is all about biking… you feel like you’re going in circles and spinning your tires. You wonder if you’ll ever make it to the finish line. You can see the finish line from where you are. But it’s a whole marathon of a year away,” he said. “And that’s what the third year is, running. Today, I’m pleased to announce that we crossed this finish line, and we crossed it together. What makes this feat truly outstanding? It’s not just that we finished the race, but more importantly, it’s how we finished the race,” he said. Dean Schapiro announced Professor Martha Grace Duncan as recipient of the Emory Williams Teaching Award. Professor Polly Price received the Ben F. Johnson Faculty Excellence Award. “Most Outstanding Professor” is awarded by student vote, and went to Professor Kay Levine. Levine cited the influence of great teachers upon her life and career—not only her professors at Duke and UC-Berkeley, but also her mother, a chemistry professor, and her husband, who teaches fourth-graders science and math. Levine cited the remarks of Emory University’s 1995 commencement speaker, baseball hall-of-famer Henry “Hank” Aaron. “Playing ball or practicing law, a person gets just an occasional opportunity to do something great,” she said, quoting Aaron. “And when the time comes, just two things matter: how well-prepared you are to seize the moment and whether you have the courage to take your best swing.” “Of all the timeless messages that I thought you might take with you today, this one, I felt, was particularly worthy,” Levine said. “Appreciate the value of preparation and courage.” “Fascism, racism, sexism, oppression of religious and ethnic and sexual minorities, the destruction of the environment, the erosion of the Bill of Rights, all of these are problems on the world stage that deserve your attention,” Levine said. “But these problems also exist in our own backyards, in workplaces and communities across the United States. And if you tolerate injustice at the local level, we can’t hope to make a dent in the worldwide problem.” “You have the power and the tools to do something that can influence the history of your generation,” Levine continued. “But you need the courage to do it, to step up to the plate and swing for the fence when the time comes.“ The law school’s hooding and diploma ceremony was preceded by Emory University’s 168th Commencement on Emory’s Quadrangle. The 3L Class Gift Committee co-chairs Jacob Greenberg 13L and Kathryn Linville 13L presented a check for $25,933, the class donation to their alma mater. Degrees awarded for the class of 2013 included Doctor of Law and Doctor of Philosophy; Doctor of Law and Master of Business Administration; Doctor of Law and Master of Divinity; Doctor of Law and Master of Public Health; Doctor of Law and TI:GER Program Certificate in Intellectual Property; Doctor of Law and Certificate in Transactional Law and Skills; Doctor of Law; Doctor of Juridical Science; Master of Laws; and Juris Master. Related links
Photo album from 2013 Hooding and Diploma Ceremony Video from the ceremony Download the list of 2013 Emory Law commencement prizes

]]> ELS General ELS Alumni Mon, 13 May 2013 13:11:00 -0400 http://www.law.emory.edu/about-emory-law/news-article/article/time-is-of-the-essence.html Emory Law’s new faculty member uses the past to illuminate the most pressing problems of our day. Mary L. Dudziak thinks that to get to the heart of a matter — in law and in scholarship — it can be helpful to start at the edges. To understand domestic law, she looks to its global impact; to understand contemporary war, she looks to its past. It is often at the borders between inside and outside, past and present, that we can more fully see the nature of the core.

Dudziak’s career has proceeded a bit like her way of thinking. She didn’t follow a straight path to law school and academics, but instead wanted to be a writer. In order to write, she needed to learn about the world. A commitment to social justice led her to work in the disability rights movement. The movement’s effort at legal reform inspired her to go to law school. And then her law and graduate work led her right back to writing.

Today, Dudziak (pronounced du-jäck) is a renowned legal historian and author. She seeks to have an impact on social policy in her writing, but her approach is to question the way problems are thought about. Her most engaging scholarship comes not simply from the conclusions she draws, but from reconceiving essential questions.      
  
Dudziak arrived at Emory last summer from the University of Southern California, where she was the Judge Edward J. and Ruey L. Guirado Professor of Law, History and Political Science. She is now Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law and director of the newly created Project on War and Security in Law, Culture and Society. A graduate of Yale Law School with a PhD in American studies also  from Yale, she clerked for Judge Sam J. Ervin III, of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and began her teaching career as a professor of law at the University of Iowa. She has also served as the John Hope Franklin Visiting Professor of American Legal History at Duke Law School and as the William Nelson Cromwell Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard.

“Mary is one of the leading legal historians in the United States today and perhaps the most preeminent of her generation,” says Robert Schapiro, dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law. “Her pathbreaking scholarship coupled with her strong devotion to teaching and engagement in vital matters of public concern make her a wonderful addition to our faculty. Her appointment builds on our existing strengths in international law and terrorism and in national security law, including our International Humanitarian Law Clinic.

“Also, she brings to the faculty an impressive and inspiring record of grant-funded research, including a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation. She offers an array of professional contacts through her leadership, scholarship, and energy to initiate new programs and interdisciplinary opportunities.” Dudziak’s scholarship has been supported also by fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies; Membership in the School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; and the Law and Public Affairs Program at Princeton University.

Her 2012 book, War∙Time: An Idea, Its History, Its Consequences, addresses a contemporary conundrum: Why do we think of war as temporary, confined to time-limited “wartimes,” when American military engagement is persistent? Dudziak’s starting point is to focus on time itself, since wartime, on its own terms, is a temporal concept. We tend to think that wartime is always followed by peacetime, and therefore an essential aspect of wartime is that it is temporary. The assumption of temporariness becomes an argument for exceptional policies, such as torture. She notes that those who cross the line during war sometimes argue “that circumstances deprive them of agency; their acts are driven or determined by time.” If wartime is actually normal rather than exceptional time, she says, “then law during war must be seen as the form of law we usually practice, rather than a suspension of an idealized understanding of law.”

War·Time draws upon anthropology to show that ideas about time are specific to cultures, and not trans-historic. The book draws upon the numerous “small wars” in American history to show the way U.S. military engagement is continuous rather than episodic. Iconic wars like World War II often drive American thinking, but even World War II was not contained within tidy boundaries, as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took action as commander in chief well before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. There is a consequence to the prevalent idea that the American war experience is confined to limited “wartimes”: “the American people, largely isolated from the impacts of war, are not politically engaged on this issue, but leave war to the experts. This enhances executive branch autonomy, leaving us without an effective political check on the war power.”

Dudziak began considering the way historical study informs contemporary war politics because people asked her to. Her most difficult speaking invitation was in October 2001. The nation was reeling from the September 11 terrorist attacks, and a special panel was assembled at the American Studies Association annual meeting to reflect on it. Dudziak didn’t know what to say. But eventually, in the early hours the morning of the panel, the words simply came on their own. “Sometimes I think that September 11 is the longest day in American history,” she wrote. “Its sun arcs slowly across the sky, casting discordant shadows upon the earth. We long for this day to end. Then we might see a clearer pattern among the stars.”

At the time, some argued that it would be decades before historians would have anything meaningful to say about September 11. Dudziak argued that this event and its impact were too important for scholars to stay on the sidelines. Her remarks became an essay, “The Duty of the Living,” and her call for scholars to engage the contemporary crisis became a motivation for her own work.  

Dudziak was born into a family of scientists —  father a nuclear physicist, one sister a hydrogeologist, another a neuropsychologist. Turning away from science to the humanities and social sciences was her form of teenage rebellion. She called herself a feminist from the age of 16, participated in her first protest as a high school senior and wrote a column of political satire for the Dos Pueblos High School paper.

At the same time, she was deeply engaged with the arts. She performed in children’s theater when growing up in Santa Barbara, Calif. At the University of California, Berkeley, Dudziak played a leading role in a musical comedy her senior year. And she is likely the only law professor today to have reprised the 1960s Philip Morris bellhop for a college production. But it was her interest in civil rights that landed her a summer internship at the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C. There, she worked on the implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which extended civil rights to persons with disabilities in federally funded programs, including higher education. When she returned to Berkeley, she worked on the committee charged with implementing Section 504 on the campus.

After Dudziak graduated with highest honors in sociology in 1978, her work on disability rights issues enabled her to get a job working for Judith Heumann, a leader in the disability rights movement. “I saw it all at the ground level when sit-ins and nonviolent direct action were in full swing,” she says. “I had one of the most fabulous jobs a young person could have.”

Because of her writing skills, she was asked to edit an amicus curiae brief in the first Section 504 case to be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court. The experience helped her understand how law could be a tool for social change. That’s when law school became her next step.

Dudziak says Yale Law School offered the most expansive interdisciplinary curriculum, but she felt she needed more than that. Her work in the disability movement was often driven by immediate needs such as drastic funding cuts in services to disabled people when California voters passed Proposition 13, a limitation on property taxes. She felt that she needed to understand the big picture, the vision of justice underlying social change efforts. This was impossible when managing a crisis. And she felt that a legal education would not provide her with the broader understanding she yearned for. So, even though putting herself through school, she applied to graduate school and eventually earned a PhD in American studies from Yale.

It was a summer public interest law position that led to some of her early scholarship. As an intern at the American Civil Liberties Union national office, she was asked to do historical work for continuing litigation in the original desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education. She became interested in the way Topeka, Kan., where the Brown case was filed, came to terms with its role in what was considered the American dilemma. “The history of desegregation in Topeka is fascinating and complicated,” says Dudziak. The local school board voted to desegregate before Brown because they thought segregation was not an American practice. “This was a curious statement, in part because it expressed an understanding of what was ‘American’ and defined a long-standing American practice as being outside the boundaries of American conduct.” After Brown, during the Cold War years when the House Un-American Activities Committee was investigating alleged subversives, the concept of un-Americanism used in the civil rights context played out on the broader ­political stage.

This eventually led to a question for Dudziak that she was determined to answer: Why did Brown take place during the McCarthy Era? Why were some civil rights expanded at the same time that others were repressed? The U.S. Department of Justice amicus curiae brief in Brown provided a clue. It argued that U.S. race discrimination was criticized around the world and undermined U.S. relations, especially with nations emerging from colonialism. Her research ultimately led her to archival records of the State Department that document in detail the way American civil rights crises harmed the American global image and the way American presidents from Truman through Johnson believed that they needed to make progress on civil rights to win the Cold War. This research led to her first book, Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy, published in 2000 and widely assigned in college courses.

Having studied the way American civil rights law was affected by its global impact, Dudziak turned next to the role of one American lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, in global constitutional development. Marshall was lead counsel in Brown and became the first African American Supreme Court justice. One of the highlights of his life was his role as constitutional advisor to Kenyans as they sought independence in the early 1960s. Dudziak uncovered the story through research in Kenya, England and the United States.  Her book Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall’s African Journey was published in 2008.

Dudziak also has published two edited collections:  September 11 in History: A Watershed Moment? (2003) and Legal Borderlands: Law and the Construction of American Borders (2005), co-edited with Leti Volpp. She is also a blogger, creating the “Legal History Blog” in 2006, which is now the “go to” online site for legal history. “I wanted to give legal history a more dynamic presence. And I wanted to make the work of legal historians more accessible to people in other fields,” Dudziak says. She stepped down from the “Legal History Blog” in 2012 but continues as a contributor to the prominent constitutional law blog, “Balkanization.”

This academic also finds her voice in the classroom, and asking her to choose a favorite between writing and teaching, she says, is like asking which child a parent loves more. Teaching, for her, is gratifying when she sees students grow, even though sometimes they are unhappy about having been pushed to do so.

Last fall she taught a class in foreign relations law and this spring is teaching the first-year constitutional law class and a seminar and colloquium on War and Security in Law, Culture and Society. Although interdisciplinary in her scholarship, she likes teaching traditional “black letter law” classes, such as constitutional law, that relate to her scholarship.

Dudziak’s next book is an account of the impact of war on American law and politics that explores war and militarization across time, rather than within discrete wartimes that often structure American histories. Under contract with Oxford University Press, the book’s working title is How War Made America: A Twentieth Century History.

She hopes to change the way Americans think about war. Dudziak is passionate that the American people should be politically engaged with decisions about the uses of U.S. military force around the world. She sees this as the only effective check on presidential unilateralism. “Our constitution proceeds from ‘we the people,’ and we’re supposed to be the bedrock.” Many scholars complain that Congress has let its role in declaring war atrophy, leaving us without a political check on presidential power. But for Dudziak, the ultimate responsibility lies with the people themselves.  “Congress won’t be engaged if the people aren’t engaged,” she insists. “And how can we act as a check if we aren’t actively involved?”

—Jennifer Bryon Owen and Susan Soper
]]> summer2012feature Wed, 08 May 2013 13:09:00 -0400 http://www.law.emory.edu/about-emory-law/news-article/article/an-epic-responsibility.html Emory Law’s student-run committee raises the profile of the legal profession.
Since 1989, the Emory Public Interest Committee (better known by the acronym EPIC) has been promoting awareness and increased understanding of public interest law. The committee encourages and facilitates the employment of Emory Law students in public interest legal positions and acknowledges the professional responsibility of lawyers and law students to make legal services more accessible to those in need of adequate representation.

Throughout the year, EPIC hosts a series of events to raise awareness of public interest legal jobs that are available to law students. Students also play host and operate these events to raise funds for their fellow law students who want to pursue public interest internships. In 2012, EPIC raised more than $180,000 to help 36 EPIC grant recipients accept volunteer positions or clerkships in public interest organizations.
“EPIC is a source of great pride for the law school,” says Robert Ahdieh, Emory Law’s vice dean. “The law clinics, public interest field placements and internships, a pro bono program and the Loan Repayment Assistance Program are examples of Emory Law’s commitment to public interest law.”
EPIC’s largest fundraiser is the Inspiration Awards. Each year, EPIC recognizes three attorneys in the Atlanta area who have made significant contributions to public interest law. The 2013 honorees are Robert N. “Robbie” Dokson, shareholder at Ellis Funk PC; Jeffrey O. Bramlett, partner at Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP; and Tamara Serwer Caldas, deputy director of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation.

Dokson, who is the 2013 recipient of the Lifetime Commitment to Public Service award, says he is humbled to join the ranks of other public interest “heroes” who symbolize the work that EPIC supports. “Work in the public interest, in my opinion, ought to be a part of every lawyer’s DNA,” says Dokson. “Having a group like EPIC functioning so effectively at the law school level, and run almost totally by law students, plants that seed early in a young lawyer’s career in a way that hopefully will last a lifetime.”
Other EPIC-sponsored activities include used book sales, a lunch series that brings together public interest attorneys with law students in a casual lunch setting, fall service day and the annual EPIC conference.
Stephen B. Bright, president and senior counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights, was keynote speaker for this year’s EPIC conference. Bright previously served for more than 20 years as executive director of the center, which represents people facing the death penalty, challenges human rights violations in prisons and jails, and advocates for reforms of the criminal justice system in the southern United States. In addition to advocating for those disenfranchised by the legal system, Bright teaches at Yale Law School and previously taught as an adjunct professor at Emory Law. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Emory University in 2006.
EPIC conference organizers, Anam Ismail 14L and Steve Justus 14L, carefully developed and executed the conference theme, “And Justice for All? Criminal Justice in the South.” Ismail and Justus wanted to create a program that brought together the prosecution and the defense sides of the criminal justice system. This approach reflected the two students’ divergent tracks in public interest law: Ismail spent last summer working on criminal defense cases for the Georgia Innocence Project, and Justus interned for the Cobb County (Ga.) solicitor general’s office.
“There is all too often a dividing wall in the criminal justice system,” Ismail says. “While we recognize this wall, we hope this conference showed that this wall is not insurmountable.”
Ismail and Justus also wanted to shed light on a third side of the process: the perspective of the defendant. In that light, the conference structure allowed attendees to experience the process a criminal defendant goes through beginning with pretrial, advancing to trial and ending in post-conviction.
“The topics, the themes, the focus of the EPIC conference each year really highlight subjects that all of us should be engaged with,” says Ahdieh. Public interest law, he adds, is at the core of what it means to be a legal professional, whether an attorney is in private practice at a large law firm or working in the public defender’s office.

In his frank speech, Bright argued that society is less concerned with the criminal justice system because that system primarily addresses minorities and the poor.
“The criminal justice system is the part of American society that has been the least affected by the Civil Rights Movement,” said Bright, “and that is just a polite way of saying the criminal courts are the most racist institution in our society today.”
Lauren Simons 13L, president of the 2012–2013 EPIC Student Board, says Bright’s passion and convictions set a tone of candor for the conference. “It allowed us to have really honest conversations in an area that can be a little bit uncomfortable.” She also notes that having judges and sheriffs at the same event with criminal defense attorneys created a balanced conversation, with prosecutors and defense counsel contributing to the discourse.
 
Simons joined EPIC her first year at Emory Law because she knew she wanted to pursue a career in public interest law. Her involvement with EPIC connected her with spring break and summer internships at the Georgia Innocence Project and the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection, where she now works as a part-time employee while completing her education. One Emory Law graduate who benefited from EPIC’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program is Haley Schwartz 05L, who now serves on EPIC’s advisory board. Schwartz says she and the other alumni advisors are really there only to provide assistance and backup to EPIC’s student leaders.
“We marvel at these students,” Schwartz says. “Not only are they keenly aware of the law, but they bring such focus and passion to educating their fellow ­students and the community about public interest law.”

—Alison Law
]]> summer2012feature Wed, 08 May 2013 09:34:00 -0400 http://on.wsj.com/10jJ1pT ELS General Rafael Pardo In the News Mon, 06 May 2013 15:54:00 -0400 http://www.law.emory.edu/about-emory-law/news-article/article/dervan-02l-recognized-for-teaching-excellence-at-southern-illinois-university.html Lucian E. Dervan 02L received one of six awards for faculty-staff excellence given by Southern... Lucian E. Dervan 02L received one of six awards for faculty-staff excellence given by Southern Illinois University-Carbondale on April 24, 2013. The Early Career Faculty Excellence Award goes to a faculty member who has joined SIU in the past five years and has made significant contributions throughout the year—through scholarship, teaching or other professional activities. As an assistant professor at the university’s school of law, Dervan teaches courses which include international criminal law, legal globalization and comparative law, sentencing law and white-collar crime. Dervan joined SIU’s School of Law faculty in 2009. In addition to an impressive rate of scholarly publication, he has also organized innovative programs for both students and pre-tenure faculty. In 2012, he was named the School of Law’s Scholar of the Year. Dervan also serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section, Academics Committee. While at Emory, Dervan was an Emory Scholar and an articles editor of the Emory Law Journal. He was an elected member of the Order of the Coif. Related links Read the release on the SIU-Carbondale site Dervan’s profile

]]> ELS Alumni AlumniClassNotes Mon, 06 May 2013 13:33:00 -0400