Dean Woodlief participated on a panel of admissions professionals addressing the topic “The Road to Law School: Navigating the Admissions Process from High School to Day 1 of Law School.” This session discussed a variety of topics including the choice of college majors, preparing for the LSAT, the importance of internships, personal statements and the application process. Woodlief also participated in a law school fair, where interested students spoke with him about law school generally and Elon Law’s innovative new program.

Elon Law’s Commitment to Diversity: 

The decision to attend law school is one of the most important you will make. There is much to consider, from the characteristics of a law school’s program of study to your own personal educational goals and dreams. Among the most important of these considerations is the depth of diversity within a law school community and the breadth of support for diverse people and perspectives within that community. 

At Elon Law we believe an outstanding legal education requires engagement with a broad range of people and perspectives. A diverse and academically talented student body and a roster of professors with wide-ranging views and experiences are essential to prepare students to practice law in the 21st century. Through open dialogue and respectful debate in a diverse community, Elon Law students develop the range of insight required to act knowledgeably in today’s global environment.

At Elon Law you will find a supportive community, where minority and international students are embraced, empowered and motivated to excel in the classroom and beyond. Numerous student organizations provide outlets for minority students to share their values and experiences, while our external opportunities, through clinics and field placement programs, allow students a broad range of experiences, addressing a range of needs in our region and beyond.

At Elon Law we embrace diversity and celebrate the school’s wide range of backgrounds and cultures. We pride ourselves in being able to provide students with an academic community reflective of the communities within which we work and live.

The team performed well in three preliminary rounds, facing tough competition, including Regent University School of Law, Florida State University College of Law and the University of Illinois College of Law. Regent eventually won the final round of the competition and received the overall Team Champion award. Professor Todd Bruno, the director of Charleston’s Moot Court Program, noted the high caliber of competition and that the scoring in the preliminary rounds was very close. 

In announcing the Professionalism Award at the competition’s awards ceremony, Charleston Moot Court Board Associate Justice Joe Schillizzi explained that the Board annually selects the competitors who best demonstrate professionalism in the competition. He commended the Elon Law team members on how they conducted themselves during the preliminary rounds throughout the competition, particularly following their elimination, when they stayed positive and actively engaged in the competition, observing the final rounds for the educational experience and supporting their fellow competitors. The team was coached by Professor Tim McFarlin, and third-year student Jennifer Meyer was a member of the team, contributing to the written brief and oral argument practices leading up to the competition. Professor Jim Exum and Sr. Assoc. Dean Woodlief also practiced with the team.

“Elon Law students strive to do their best and to win every competition, but more importantly, they aim to do so with a spirit of civility and collegiality,” noted Senior Associate Dean Alan Woodlief, director of the Elon Law Moot Court Program. “Professional integrity and judgment are cornerstones of the legal education at Elon, and we are proud to have our students recognized for their professionalism.”   

Earlier in the spring semester, Elon Law students Allie Hall and Elizabeth Leo competed at the William B. Spong Moot Court Tournament at William & Mary Law School, Jaci Maffetore and Jason Pruett represented the school at the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C., and Laura Sloane and Sam Price competed at the J. Braxton Craven, Jr. Memorial Competition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The law schools was also represented at the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Washington, D.C. by Morgan Meyers, Nickie Young, Sean McLeod, Danielle Prongay, Todd Kendrick and Jennifer Labeau. These teams were coached by Professors Enrique Armijo and Thomas Noble, Dean Woodlief, and adjunct professor, Michael Costolo L’15. All of these teams represented the law school very well, and many of these second-year students will build on this experience when competing again next year.

In a few weeks, the Board will cap off the year by hosting the Sixth Annual Billings, Exum & Frye National Moot Court Competition from March 31-April 2, 2016. This year’s competition is the largest ever, with 40 teams from 24 law schools across the country competing.

Where: Room 204

Hosted by : Sponsored by collaborative effort of (1) Office of Sustainability ; (2) Elon Law Library; (3) Environmental and Animal Law Society (EALS); (4) JD/MELP 

Staff from the Office of Sustainability will talk about sustainability in general, Elon initiatives, and ways to contribute. Whether you’ve been involved in sustainability for a long time or you’re rather “green” on the subject, this is an event where you are sure to learn something. The EALS will follow the “Trash Talk” presentation with a brief information session to promote the JD/MELP. Also, EALS will formally introduce to students their mission statement, inviting new members to join. Bring your lunch, and join us to learn new methods of sustainability as attorneys! Ice cream will be provided.

Content in the volume includes: 

ARTICLES

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and Chief Justice John Roberts’s Dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges
By Steven G. Calabresi & Hannah M. Begley

Banning Joseph Heller’s Catch-22: The Case of Minarcini v. Strongsville City School District and Issues of First Amendment Rights, Intellectual Freedom, and Censorship
By Anupama Pal 

ADA Open Issues: Transfers to Vacant Positions, Leaves of Absence, Telecommuting, and Other Accommodation Issues
By Lawrence P. Postol

REMARKS AND COMMENTS

Politics in Conflict: Why the Interests of States Inescapably Infuse International Humanitarian Law, the Case of Mexico’s Drug War
By Jessica Caplin 

Refusing to be One’s own Witness: How the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination Differs in China, France, and the United States
By Michael V. Profit 

Knead to Know: Cracking Recipes and Trade Secret Law
By Babak Zarin

NOTES

Demystifying the Internet of Things: Industry Impact, Standardization Problems, and Legal Considerations
By Robin Kester

North Carolina’s Public Records Law and its Need to Change
By Deborah Moy 

Judge Diaz previously served as a North Carolina Superior Court Judge with the distinction of being the first Hispanic Superior Court Judge in the state. Judge Diaz also served as a Special Superior Court Judge in the North Carolina Business Court, which has a close association with Elon Law. While a member of the U.S. Marines Corps and its Reserves, Judge Diaz served as a prosecutor, defense lawyer and military judge for the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary and Appellate Judge for the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge Diaz practiced with Hunton & Williams in Charlotte. He earned his Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, his Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law and his Master of Science from Boston University. He has held leadership roles in the North Carolina Bar Association and is active in other bar associations. 

Elon Law’s Commencement ceremony for the Class of 2016 will take place May 21 at 消消犯. More information about Elon Law’s Commencement week activities is available here. Updates will be posted to Elon Law’s Commencement website throughout the spring as events and programs are finalized.  

They spoke about litigation strategy, case history, post-marriage equality issues and a number of other topics directly related to their personal work on those cases, with the ACLU, and on other issues post-Obergefell.

Christopher Brook is Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, where he oversees the organization’s legal program and its work on a wide range of constitutional law issues, including LGBT rights, racial justice, and religious liberty. Brook grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his 消消犯 and law degrees. While in law school, he served as a legal intern at the UNC Center for Civil Rights, Director of the Carolina Law Pro Bono Program, and Managing Editor of the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation. Upon graduation he was inducted into Carolina Law’s Davis Society, which recognizes eight third-year students possessing both academic and personal excellence as well as a willingness to serve for the betterment of the School of Law and its faculty and students.

Dylan J. Steinberg is a shareholder and commercial litigator at Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller in Philadelphia, PA. Drawing on his ten years of business experience as a technology consultant to pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, Dylan has represented clients in a wide variety of technology and life sciences matters, including matters relating to software licensing and implementation as well as life science collaborations. In partnership with the ACLU, Dylan and four of his colleagues at Hangley Aronchick represented the plaintiffs in Whitewood v. Wolf, which succeeded in striking down Pennsylvania’s laws prohibiting same sex marriage in May of 2014. Dylan received his B.A. from Swarthmore College and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School where he was an Articles Editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Following law school, Dylan clerked for the Honorable Stewart Dalzell on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Elon Law students observed arguments before the Court of Appeals in two cases, witnessing appellate procedure first hand in cases involving criminal law and contempt of court.

“We hope it benefits the students,” said Judge Elmore. “We heard two cases today. We had full courtrooms with students in both cases. We try to pick cases that will be instructive and informative for them.”

Judges Elmore, Inman and McCullough met with Elon Law students for an hour following the Court’s proceedings, sharing insights about the Court of Appeals in a question and answer session moderated by Elon Law’s Distinguished Professor of the Judicial Process James G. Exum, Jr., a former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

First-year law students said the opportunity to observe argument before the Court of Appeals was valuable.

“It was great to reflect on what we have been learning this trimester and see it in practice,” said Grayson Lowery. “It was very demystifying.”

“After doing our first oral arguments in class this trimester, it was nice to see actual lawyers present oral arguments before an appellate court,” said Whitney Armstrong. “I appreciated how closely the techniques we are simulating in class mirror approaches taken by attorneys before the Court of Appeals.”

“It was interesting to see different styles of oral advocates,” said Christopher Hall. “One attorney was more conversational. The other was more formal and more structured. Both approaches seemed effective. As a first-year student, thinking everything should be formal before judges, I got to see the effectiveness of a more conversational approach.”

Following the Court of Appeals proceedings and the judges’ question and answer session with students, Elon Law welcomed students, alumni and members of the regional legal community to an evening reception with Judges Elmore, Inman and McCullough.

The Court of Appeals held court in Elon Law’s Robert E. Long Courtroom, one of the most technologically advanced courtrooms in the state. The proceedings were made viewable by live stream video in an Elon Law classroom for students unable to attend in person.

The Long Courtroom is home to the North Carolina Business Court, making Elon Law one of the few law schools in the country to house a working court.

“Elon Law third-year Angelique Ryan has combined pro bono work with travel to represent clients with great legal needs,” National Jurist said, noting Ryan’s leadership in pro bono advocacy for immigrant women and children detained indefinitely in Karnes Detention Center in Texas and her travel to Ethiopia to advocate for the reunification of a family separated by war.

The National Jurist quotes Elon Law Professor and Director of the law school’s Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic, Heather Scavone, reflecting on Ryan’s contributions.

“During her tenure as a student at Elon, Ms. Ryan has undertaken remarkable efforts to ensure access to justice by those in need, including civilly detained women and children, noncitizen criminal defendants, refugees, and indigent defendants in the criminal courts,” Scavone said.

Ryan has worked as a legal extern in the Guilford County Public Defender’s Office since December 2014 and as a student attorney in Elon Law’s Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic, assisting refugees and asylum seekers in the Greensboro, N.C. community and around the world. At Elon Law, Ryan is president of the Elon Law Democrats, vice president of the Immigration Law Society and an Honor Council Defender. She is a member of the Women’s Law Association, Black Law Student Association, OutLaw and National Lawyer’s Guild. In 2015, she served as vice president of the Innocence Project.  Her prior experience includes service as an intern at the Orange County Rape Crisis Center.

“Elon Law student Angelique Ryan is an inspiring role model to her peers and a remarkable public servant making a difference in our community,” said Melissa Duncan, associate director of the office of student and professional life at Elon Law. “She has consistently gone above and beyond in pro bono work and she has developed creative ways to overcome obstacles to the representation of clients in greatest need of legal advocacy.”

​

Ryan said she plans to pursue a career in immigration law.  

“Working at the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic and with Professor Heather Scavone and learning all the different concepts of federal immigration law have really prepared me for a career in immigration law,” Ryan said. “It’s an exciting adventure and I am really looking forward to the next steps in this journey.”  

“We are delighted to build upon the relationship with 消消犯 School of Law to provide expanded opportunities for North Carolina A&T graduates,” said North Carolina A&T Provost Joe B. Whitehead Jr.

“消消犯 participating in the APLS program will benefit from a strategic and innovative approach in higher education that dramatically reduces the time and costs associated with becoming a lawyer, while enriching learning through recurring and immersive practical experiences,” said Andy Haile, Elon Law Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Law. “We look forward to deepening our partnership with N.C. A&T and continuing to welcome N.C. A&T students into the Elon Law community.”

Initially admission to the new program will be limited to six to nine students per year. A junior A&T student who has followed the unique accelerated Liberal Studies curriculum, earned at least 60 credit hours, and met all other additional entrance requirements stipulated by both schools, can apply to enter Elon Law as a first-year law student – beginning the senior year at Elon Law.  

Although the program will be conducted through partnership and mutually agreed upon stipulations, the application process will be managed through A&T’s Pre-Professional Scholars Program (PPSP) Office. The program will accept fall semester admissions applications through May 1.  

Activities have already been planned across both campuses to facilitate a smooth transition for students and professors into the new program, including special topics and bridge-to-law courses conducted by Elon Law faculty and a law seminar series featuring Elon Law faculty on A&T’s campus; the facilitation of an annual, collaborative and student-led event organized by Elon Law – this year titled, “BA to JD Pipeline Program”; creation of the Shadow-a-Law Student program; and the Buddy System Peer Mentor program.   

Neighboring institutions, Elon Law and A&T have intellectually sound programs that significantly complement and educationally support one another. The Pre Law Concentration at A&T fosters the skills designated by the American Bar Association as ideal for providing a “sound foundation for a legal education.” 消消犯 School of Law is nationally recognized for its rigorous curriculum, innovation and groundbreaking model for legal education taught by highly accomplished faculty. 

For more information about the Accelerated Pathway to Law School Program visit the N.C. A&T Pre-Professional Scholars Program or Elon Law Articulation Agreements online.