Legal Biography Commons^™

Ochoa, Big Ten Law Deans Pledge Support For Diversity Ahead Of Scotus Affirmative Action Ruling, The Indiana Lawyer

Christiana Ochoa (7/22-10/22 Acting; 11/2022-)

s the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hand down a decision that could fundamentally alter affirmative action, a group of law school deans — including Dean Christiana Ochoa of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law — has issued a statement affirming the deans’ commitment to diversity.

The group of 15 deans represent Big Ten law schools, including IU Maurer. In their statement — which IU Maurer posted to its official Facebook page — the deans say they are “joining together to affirm our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion through legally permissible means, regardless of the outcome of …

Valedictory Reference In Honour Of Justice Andrew Phang: Compilation Of Valedictory Addresses For Justice Andrew Phang, Hon. Sundaresh Menon, Indranee Rajah, Lucien Wong, Hon. Yihan Goh, Adrian Tan, Davinder Singh, Scott Tan, Hon. Andrew Phang

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

On 15 December 2022, Justice Andrew Phang retired from the Supreme Court Bench. To pay tribute to Justice Phang’s 18 years of service, a Valedictory Reference was convened on 28 November 2022. The following is a collection of speeches delivered at the event by distinguished members of the Bar – a fitting tribute to celebrate Justice Phang’s outstanding contributions to local jurisprudence and legal scholarship, and the indelible mark he left on the lives of those around him.

Committee Chaired By Maurer Professor To Complete Its Analytical Review Of Hanford Nuclear Reservation Waste Options, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

A committee chaired by an Indiana University Maurer School of Law professor will complete next week its five-year charge to review the analysis performed by a team investigating how best to treat and dispose of low-level waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington.

John Strait Applegate, the James L. Calamaras Professor of Law, has served as chair of the 13-member National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committee since 2018. The committee will conclude its work with a public meeting in Richland, Washington, on June 6. Applegate had previously chaired a prior review of the waste disposal issue …

Announcing New Faculty Chairs, Professorships, And Fellowships, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law announced today (May 24) that 14 of its faculty members—including three new additions to the school’s faculty—have been awarded new chairs, professorships, and fellowships beginning this summer.

Rojas Reflects On Law School During A Pandemic, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

During her sophomore year of college, Alexa Rojas was an intake intern with a children’s advocacy center outside of Joliet, Illinois. It sparked the realization that she knew she wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids who have endured abuse and trauma. In her position, Rojas served as the first point of contact for families scheduling forensic interviews with law enforcement and prosecutors. In order to lessen the impact on the victim, substantial logistical work went on behind the scenes to ensure that the child only had to tell their story once—to someone they trusted.

From Natchitoches To Nuremberg: The Life Of Legal Pioneer Lyria Dickason, Todd C. Peppers

Scholarly Articles

Lyria was one of a small handful of women who graduated from a Louisiana law school in the 1930’s. Despite the employment barriers facing female attorneys, she went on to become one of the first female law clerks in both the federal and state judiciary. To date, Lyria’s story has not been told. I have recently discovered, however, that Lyria’s children and grandchildren preserved her letters to her family. They are a treasure trove of information about a woman whose career took her from rural Louisiana to Louisiana’s highest court as well as the post-war ruins of Nazi Germany. The …

Billboard Names Robert Meitus A Top Music Lawyer, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

For a musician, charting is generally perceived as a good thing. Whether it’s a national singles list like the Billboard Hot 100 or a local record store’s Top 10 of the Week, being listed among your peers can be rewarding. Robert Meitus is now on a chart of a different kind—Billboard magazine has just named him one of America’s “Top Music Lawyers” for 2023.

Rusk Named An American Constitution Society Next Generation Leader, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The American Constitution Society has selected nearly two-dozen young legal professionals—including a second-year Indiana University Maurer School of Law student—for its prestigious 2023 Next Generation Leaders Program. Laura J. Rusk, an Evansville, Ind. native, is one of 23 law students from across the country selected for their exceptional leadership in work with their respective ACS chapters. The program offers various opportunities that empower the students to further develop their leadership skills and make a long-lasting impact on their communities.

‘Radical Turn Away’ From Admissions Tests? Deans Say Claims Of Increased Diversity May Be Unfounded, Tyler Fenwick

Christiana Ochoa (7/22-10/22 Acting; 11/2022-)

Indiana University Maurer School of Law Dean Christiana Ochoa said those who want to do away with requiring law school admission tests for diversity’s sake have it backward.

The idea that law school diversity would increase if tests like the LSAT and Graduate Record Examination, or GRE, became an optional part of the admissions process is unfounded, Ochoa said.

Instead, she said she’s worried the opposite is true — that the move would actually hurt diversity.

And she is not alone.

Ochoa was one of 60 deans to sign a letter last September pushing back against the proposed change to …

Class Of 2021 Alumna Earns National Legal Writing Award, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Morgan York was in her third and final year at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law when she published an article in the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. Two years later, she’s being recognized as one of the country’s top law school writers.

York published “I Just Took a DNA Test—Turns Out, I’m 100% Breaching my Donor Anonymity Contract: Direct-to-Consumer DNA Testing and Parental Medical Decision-Making” in 2021. On June 12, she’ll be one of 25 recipients of a “Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award” at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The awards are …

A New Atticus Is Afoot: The Portrayal Of Lawyers In Popular Culture, Anna Thrush

Senior Theses

This project analyzes the stereotypical image of lawyers in popular culture, focusing on either overly demonic or unrealistically heroic. Both stereotypes that are common portrayals of attorneys in popular culture are unrealistic and deny society a true comprehension of the profession. Popular culture has molded the image of lawyers to the characteristics that sell, rather than focusing on a realistic portrayal. Therefore, popular culture creates a falsely dramatized image of attorneys to generate revenue, putting the reputation and future of the profession as risk. These stereotypes are exemplified in this project through a close literary analysis of lawyer characters from …

Being In The Room Where It Happens: Celebrating Virginia’S First Female Law Clerks, Anne Rodgers, Todd C. Peppers

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

The first female law clerk was hired in 1944. However, the entry of women into the law clerk profession was met with sexism. The accomplishments of the first few female law clerks also received little attention. This article seeks to rectify this historical injustice by highlighting the accomplishments of Virginia’s first female law clerks: Doris Bray, Jane Caster Sweeney, and Penelope Dalton Coffman. Doris Bray clerked for Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Spencer Bell in 1967. Jane Caster Sweeney clerked for Federal District Court Judge Oren Lewis from 1960 to 1962. Penelope Dalton Coffman clerked for Virginia Supreme …

Tribute To Professor Joan Shaughnessy, Alan M. Trammell, Joan M. Shaughnessy, Mary Z. Natkin, Brian C. Murchison, Mark H. Grunewald, Barry Sullivan, Michelle L. Drumbl

Washington and Lee Law Review

A tribute to Professor Joan Shaughnessy, who served on the faculty of the Washington and Lee University School of Law from 1983 to 2022. A recognized scholar and teacher in areas of civil procedure, federal courts, evidence, family law, and poverty law, Shaun was appointed as W&L's inaugural Roger D. Groot Professor of Law in 2012.

Interracial Coalition Building: A Filipino Lawyer In A Black-White Community, Victor C. Romero

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The United States is in the midst of a political and cultural war around race and demography that goes to the heart of America’s self-definition as a nation of immigrants. Heeding Eric Yamamoto’s four-part prescription for interracial cooperation via the conceptual, the performative, the material, and the reflexive, this Essay draws from the author’s own experience as an Asian- American volunteer attempting to serve and lead a traditionally African-American civil rights organization in a predominantly white, rural town in Pennsylvania. Three lessons emerge from this experience. When volunteering, it is important to answer the call to serve even when in …

Five Indiana Law Faculty Members Honored With Teaching Awards, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Great instructors are at the heart of any great school, and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law was proud to recognize five of its best at the school’s annual Teaching Awards March 24.

This year’s recipients include BestLawyers’ 2022 Indianapolis Corporate Governance Law Lawyer of the Year, a beloved clinical professor and director, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the intersection of law and globalization, a top U.S. tax scholar, and a professor known for flipping homemade pancakes to students.

Professor Jeff Stake was honored with the Leon H. Wallace Teaching Award, the highest teaching recognition a faculty …

Dean's Desk: Recognizing Iu Maurer Alumnae Who Have Made A Difference, Christiana Ochoa

Christiana Ochoa (7/22-10/22 Acting; 11/2022-)

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to welcome future law students as part of our annual Admitted Student Day. From their seats in the Kathleen and Ann DeLaney Moot Court Room, they look to the front of the room where they see the portraits of four trailblazing alumnae who have made indelible marks on the judiciary. Juanita Kidd Stout ’48, Sue Shields ’61, Linda Chezem ’71 and Loretta Rush ’83 all face out into the sea of newly admitted students who one day hope to forge paths of their own.As we celebrate Women’s History Month, I wanted to …

Four Indiana Law Graduates To Be Inducted Into The Academy Of Law Alumni Fellows, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law will add four members to its prestigious Academy of Law Alumni Fellows this April. Terry Dworkin ’75, Fred Logan ’77, Holiday “Holly” McKiernan ’83, and Luis Felipe Sanchez ’76 will receive the highest honor the Law School can bestow on its alumni when they are inducted April 14 in a ceremony inside the Indiana Memorial Union.

“Terry, Holly, Fred, and Luis have all led remarkable careers and lives, and we’re honored to welcome them into the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows this spring,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “They have represented …

Tribute To Professor James Moliterno, Patricia Roberts, Soledad Atienza, Eleanor Myers, Jim Heller, Gary Tamsitt, Neal Devins, Peter Čuroš, Maxim Tomoszek, Veronika Tomoszek, Pavol Žilinčík, Rongjie Lam, José M. De Areilza, Irina Lortkipanidze, Ján Mazúr, Javier Guillen, Lucia Berdisová, James Étienne Viator

Washington and Lee Law Review

A tribute to Professor James Moliterno, who served on the faculty of the Washington and Lee University School of Law from 2009 to 2022. An internationally active scholar of legal and judicial ethics, Moliterno was most recently the Vincent Bradford Professor of Law. For 21 years prior to joining W&L, he was a member of the faculty of the William & Mary Law School.

Mothers In Law, Melissa Murray

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality. By Tomiko Brown-Nagin.

Hoffmann, Robel Honored At Retirement Ceremony, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Two legendary members of the Indiana Law community were honored at a retirement ceremony November 16 in the Indiana Memorial Union.

Friends, family, and colleagues gathered to celebrate the remarkable careers of Professor Joe Hoffmann and Dean Emerita Lauren Robel. While both have retired from the Law School, Dean Christiana Ochoa said she is grateful that both continue to be deeply involved in various projects.