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| | | From the desk of Dean Boise | | | | | |
| | Thank you for making Law Alumni Weekend 2021 a tremendous success. It was a joy to reconnect with so many of you in Dineen Hall after such a long absence, and from my perspective, the energy, enthusiasm, and sense of renewal were palpable. More than 400 of you attended 19 events across the weekend, featuring dozens of alumni and guest presenters, 10 honorees, and nine student organizations. Whether you attended an event or get-together in person or online, moderated or served on a panel, engaged with students and fellow alums, or worked with us behind the scenes, we could not have done it without you. Many thanks to our sponsors, including Lowenstein Sandler LLP (title sponsor); Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC; the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media; Mackenzie Hughes LLP; the Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association; the Syracuse Civics Project; The Tully Center for Free Speech; and Wladis Law Firm. Special thanks go to the College of Law Board of Advisors and the Syracuse University Law Alumni Association for their steadfast support of our annual reunion. If you missed any of the programs, please head to our LAW website where we will post the video of my State of the College Address, the annual United States Supreme Court Preview, and our moving Law Honors Awards and Alumni of Color Awards ceremonies. We’re already planning for an exciting LAW 2022! If you attended a LAW 2021 event, please take a few moments to fill out our short survey so that we can ensure the most useful and interesting programming for next year. Thank you. | | | | | |
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| | ❕Another Boost the ’Cuse is in the books and it’s been a blockbuster! As of publication, our leaderboard shows more than $42,000 raised from more than 400 individual donors, solidly surpassing our goal of 310. I’m so grateful to each of you who took part, and to our Board of Advisors and SULAA Board for their generous dollar-for-dollar match up to $10,000. I also deeply appreciate the alumni at our local law firms who gave during Boost the ’Cuse in support of our friendly annual philanthropic competition—2021-2022 Law Firm Challenge! | | | | | |
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| | | | Please join me in formally welcoming alumnus Brian Gerling L’99 to our College as the new Executive Director of the Innovation Law Center. Gerling, who brings nearly two decades of intellectual property and commercial litigation experience to the role, takes the helm from M. Jack Rudnick L’73, who will remain engaged with the ILC as Senior Advisor. | | | | I was honored to host representatives from the Georgian Bar Association (GBA), who visited Syracuse from Tbilisi on September 15 as part of a tour to deepen cooperation with US institutions and their understanding of rule of law and civil society functions. GBA President David Asatiani and I signed an MOU to promote scholarly exchange and cooperation between Syracuse Law, Syracuse University, and GBA. | | | | During Law Alumni Weekend, the College honored our oldest alumnus and World War II veteran Robert Gang L’42. SU News and News Channel 9 joined the celebration at the National Veterans Resource Center to cover the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic event—“Serving Veterans at the College of Law and in the Community”—and to profile Bob. He is pictured with the clinic’s Executive Director Beth Kubala, with a citation from Rep. John Katko L’88 in hand! Thank you, Congressman Katko, for being a part of this special event. | | | | Syracuse Law Review, the American Constitution Society, and the Federalist Society are co-sponsoring a day-long symposium on November 12 to celebrate the publication of Professor David Driesen’s new book The Specter of Dictatorship, featuring College faculty and top democracy and rule of law experts from across the US. | | | | | |
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| | 📌What’s the buzz? Read the accomplishments of faculty, staff, and students in our Yearbook, and tales of your friendships, connections, and legacies in the Stories Book. | | | | | |
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| | ❕It’s never too early to start thinking about next year’s alumni awards! Please contact Director of Alumni Relations Kristen Duggleby at klduggle@syr.edu or 315.443.9532 to learn more about the nomination process or fill out our nomination forms (Law Honors Awards and Alumni of Color Awards). | | | | | |
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| Honoring Extraordinary Lives and Careers Many thanks to SULAA’s awards committees for their crucial help organizing our keystone events at LAW 2021. Congratulations to the 2021 Law Honors Awards recipients (left photo, L to R): Professor Paula C. Johnson, Carey W. Ng L’02, Laurence G. Bousquet L’80, Melanie Gray L’81, and Joanna L. Geraghty L’97 (on the screen), and Alumni of Color Awards recipients (right photo, center L to R): Hon. Ramón E. Rivera L’94 (LALSA Legacy Award); Hon. Rodney Thompson L’93 (BLSA Legacy Award); and Seuk Joon Lee L’99 (Asian Pacific Islander Legacy of Excellence Award, on the screen). | | | | | |
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| Mackenzie Hughes Competition Celebrates 50 Years During LAW 2021, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Mackenzie Hughes LLP Edmund H. Lewis Appellate Advocacy Competition. Congratulations to the winning team of 3Ls Gabriella Kielbasinski and Cierra Thomas. The team of 3L Diana Rogatch and 2L Paige Kinder received the award for Best Brief, and Thomas won Best Oral Advocate. We are grateful to all those who have contributed to the competition for the past half century and who made the 50th final round competitive and celebratory, especially our final round judges: the Hon. Frederick J. Scullin Jr. L’64, Senior US District Judge, US District Court of the Northern District of New York; Hon. David E. Peebles L’75, US Magistrate Judge, US District Court of NDNY; Hon. Ramón E. Rivera L’94, Judge, NY Court of Claims; Hon. Brenda K. Sannes, US District Judge, US District Court of NDNY; and Hon. Thérèse Wiley Dancks L’91, US Magistrate Judge, US District Court of NDNY. | | | | | |
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| | | Faculty & Department News | | | | | | | |
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| | | | For the third time in 15 years, the Burton Blatt Institute has been awarded a five-year, $6.2 million grant to advance and support the understanding of rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act through its Southeast ADA Center. | | | | Check out this updated IP Rights in Software Guidebook, produced by an interdisciplinary group of law and other SU students who worked on our summer 2021 tech commercialization projects. SU News recently profiled the Innovation Law Center in “Guardians of Innovation.” | | | | On September 16, a film crew from PBS Frontline visited Dineen Hall to interview Professor Paula Johnson and her students about the Cold Case Justice Initiative case of Wharlest Jackson, a civil rights activist who was murdered in Natchez, MS, in 1967. Keep an eye out for this Frontline edition, scheduled for November 2021. | | | | | |
| Scholarship with Impact Our faculty have started the semester with a strong slate of media hits in high-profile outlets. Follow their commentary on our social media channels and don’t forget to like and share! | | | | | |
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| | | How You Can Make a Difference | | | | | | | |
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| | ❕Attention employers—if you are able to provide employment or externship opportunities with your company, law firm, or agency, please reach out to Director of Externships and Career Services Dafni Kiritsis, at dkiritsi@syr.edu or 315.443.1941. | | | | | |
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| Attention Class of 2021 Alums! The Office of Career Services needs your urgent help to complete your Class of 2021 Graduate Employment Survey. This short survey can be accessed directly from your cell phone. Why is this survey important? - We are required to report employment data to the ABA to comply with accreditation requirements. We anonymize and combine individual data with other graduates before we submit the information.
- Accurate employment data benefits your alma mater’s U.S. News & World Report ranking and helps expand career opportunities for both graduates and future students.
- If you are still looking for permanent employment, the Office of Career Services can partner with you. Please schedule half-hour Zoom appointments by visiting the “Counseling Appointment” tab in Symplicity or by emailing lawcareer@syr.edu. Remember, as alumni, you have continued access to the Office and Symplicity.
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| | ❕The Office of Career Services is working with the First-Generation Law Students Association to organize a lunch hour (noon-1 p.m.) virtual speaker series. Assistant Dean of Career Services Lily Yan Hughes welcomes any alum who was a first-gen student to participate in Spring 2022. If you are interested in sharing your personal and professional journey with current first-gen students, please contact her at lyhughes@syr.edu or 315.443.1941. | | | | | |
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| | Questions? Please contact Sophie Dagenais, Assistant Dean for Advancement and External Affairs, at sdagenai@syr.edu or 315.443.4536, or Kristen Duggleby, Director of Alumni Relations at klduggle@syr.edu or 315.443.9532. Contact us at 315.443.1964 or LawAlumni@syr.edu to send us your news. Remember, you can also update your contact information on ’Cuse Community. I’ll keep you updated on our news in future editions of the Dean’s Dispatch, and for those of you who use social media, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram for timely updates and photographs. You also can connect with me on my own LinkedIn account. | | | | | |
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