College of Law recognizes importance of Public Interest Law by offering commendation program

Law Career Services hosted a government/public interest career fair on January 24 in a "Speed Dating" format. Employers from Ohio and Michigan met with students interested in public interest careers.

The University of Toledo College of Law now offers a commendation program that recognizes students who give law-related services to the community.

College of Law students who volunteer 30 or more hours of their time will earn a Public Service Commendation, which can be listed on the student’s résumé. The commendation is the culmination of a growing interest among law students to participate in the public interest arena.

3L Matt Roberts, left, consults with Clinical Professor Rob Salem, right, in one of the College of Law Legal Clinic’s newly refurbished interview rooms.

“This program gives us a way to recognize the many law students who provide volunteer service to our community and a way to encourage them to learn what a difference a lawyer can make in a person’s life,” said UT College of Law Dean Douglas E. Ray, who introduced the commendation program.

Pulitzer-Prize winning author and journalist David Shipler gave a talk based on his book The Working Poor: Invisible in America to an audience of nearly 200 law students, attorneys and other members of the community. The 25th annual Cannon Lecture was co-sponsored by the UT Law student chapters of the American Constitution Society, the Public Interest Law Association and the Student Bar Association.

In the last year, the College of Law has expanded its staff dedicated to helping students to pursue public interest careers. Law students have formed a Public Interest Law Association, which is dedicated to carving out public interest opportunities while students are still in school. Through partnerships with public interest agencies, law students have worked on a variety of public interest initiatives – including providing support to displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina; participating in a pro se divorce project through the Toledo Bar Association where law students provide guidance to those who cannot afford to hire an attorney; and, through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) project, assisting members of the community to file their tax returns.

“Through volunteer work in this program, our students will continue to have the chance to work with lawyers from Legal Aid for Western Ohio (LAWO), Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), the Toledo Bar Association's Pro Bono Assistance Program, the Prosecutor's Office and many other public service agencies,” said Ray. “They will have a chance to be mentored by wonderful role models."

For more information about the Public Service Commendation Program, click here.

Message from Law Alumni Affairs and Career Services Director Heather Karns

In less than eight weeks, the Spring Semester will be coming to a close, UT Law will graduate yet another highly qualified class, and the fall recruiting season will be here before we know it. In preparation, the staff of the Law Alumni Affairs and Career Services Office is busy getting the word out about the kinds of students produced at UT Law – well-rounded and ready to hit the ground running. We would like to expand the number of employers who make UT Law a regular stop on their fall recruiting itinerary and welcome suggestions from our alumni about how to draw you, or your employer, to campus. We also encourage you to do what you can to broadcast UT Law’s strengths loud and clear: Both UT Law’s standing among law schools and UT Law student credentials continue to climb.

Classes resume this fall during the week of August 20 and on-campus interviews begin on August 27. Please call us at 419.530.5128 if you’re interested in participating in recruiting season or if you’d like to share any feedback with us. Let us know also if you’d like us to send more materials illustrating the strengths of students educated at UT Law.

 

The College of Law Wants Your Feedback on Alumni Activities

The merger of The University of Toledo and the former Medical University of Ohio created the opportunity for our Law Alumni Association to affiliate with the University’s Alumni Association. The College of Law will continue to house the Law Alumni Office and continue to sponsor law alumni activities. With over 6700 alumni nationally and internationally, we would appreciate your feedback on how best to serve you and in what capacity you would like to be involved with your Law School. Please take a minute to share your interests and suggestions by clicking on the following link. http://www.utlaw.edu/alumni/survey.asp.

 

Wine-Tasting and Silent Auction Raises $2500 for Public Interest Fellowship

The night of February 8 was a fine evening for tasting fine wine and for perusing and bidding on a wide selection of artwork, theater and concert tickets, jewelry and more. But it was the cause – raising money for public interest fellowships for law students – that inspired nearly 100 people – alumni, attorneys, as well as College of Law faculty and staff – to gather upstairs at Diva Restaurant in downtown Toledo.

The function netted $2500 for public interest fellowships, which will be distributed to UT Law students who secure unpaid public interest jobs over the summer, an important component of a legal education.

“Public interest experiences during law school can lay the groundwork for a career in that area, but they can also inspire students to make the commitment to contribute time and resources as a private sector attorney through pro bono work,” says Jessica Mehl, pro bono coordinator and career services specialist at the College of Law.

Mehl helped to coordinate the event in coordination with the Public Interest Law Association (PILA), a UT Law student group dedicated to exploring and creating public interest and pro bono experiences for law students. PILA also led efforts to publicize the event in cooperation with public interest attorney role models from Advocates for Basic Legal Equality/Legal Aid of Western Ohio and the Toledo Bar Association. If you missed the event this year, you may still have a chance next year. The success of the event has led the group to consider making it an annual undertaking.

  

 

Torrence R. Greene Scholarship Banquet on March 22 to Feature Talk on Diversity by Admissions Official from University of Michigan

The Black Law Students Association and The University of Toledo College of Law invite you to attend the 2007 Torrence R. Greene Scholarship Banquet on March 22 in Libbey Hall of The University of Toledo campus. The banquet will begin at 6 p.m. and will feature guest speaker Theodore L. Spencer, who is the Associate Vice Provost, the Executive Director of Admissions, and the Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan. Spencer will give a talk titled “Seeking Diversity in the Aftermath of Grutter and Proposition 2.”

Tickets are available now and are $50 per person. A table for 8 is $375. Sponsorships are also available at various levels -- $200 for a Platinum Sponsorship; $100 for a Gold Sponsorship; and $75 for a Silver Sponsorship. Each sponsor will be entitled to one dinner per sponsorship and will be listed in the event program. All proceeds go to the Torrence R. Greene Scholarship Fund. For tickets, call Ann Elick at 419.530.2628.

 

Save the Date for the John W. Stoepler Golf Classic: June 4, 2007

The John W. Stoepler Golf Classic benefiting The University of Toledo College of Law will be held this year on Monday, June 4, 2007, with a 1 p.m. shotgun start at Brandywine Country Club. It's not too early to sign up.

Your $150 entry fee gets you lunch, dinner and 18 holes of golf on a challenging private course with a cart (of course). More importantly, your support will permit the College of Law to offer more scholarships to qualified students, as determined by both merit and financial need.

Call Ann Elick at 419.530.2628 to make your reservations today.

 

Points of Pride: Fall 2006

The 2006-2007 academic year – UT Law’s 100th – is going by quickly. Here’s a review of the College of Law’s “Points of Pride” for the academic year so far.

• The University of Toledo College of Law ranked first in the state for graduates who passed the July 2006 Ohio Bar Exam on the first try. UT Law graduates achieved a 94 percent passage rate, according to results released by the Supreme Court of Ohio late last year.

• The U.S. Department of Justice awarded the College of Law just under $200,000 for the study of domestic violence homicides in Northwest Ohio and for the development of recommendations to the community of what it will take to reduce the rate of death from domestic violence. College of Law Domestic Violence Clinic Director Gabrielle Davis said the grant will enable the clinic to devote more resources to finding ways for more effective education and intervention and ultimately help save lives. U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur helped to announce the award to the community at a press conference held at the College of Law on Aug. 29, 2006.

• New York University Press published Professor Rebecca Zietlow’s first book, Enforcing Equality: Congress, the Constitution and the Protection of Individual Rights. The book was released on Oct. 1, 2006. The book focuses on the question of which entity is better suited to protect individual rights of citizens – Courts or Congress. Her answer, that Congress is better suited to protect individual rights than the Courts, challenges the conventional conclusion to the contrary, relying on extensive historical research.

• The University of Toledo College of Law continued its tradition of hosting important discussions on the future of the nation’s most treasured natural resource during the Great Lakes Water Conference on December 1. The conference brought together experts from across the country and from Canada to examine some of the issues most compelling to the Great Lakes region – climate change, wetlands regulation, and the construction of a common water policy to preserve and protect the Great Lakes. The conference received coverage in the Toledo Blade in an article published on Dec. 4, 2006.

• The College of Law Legal Clinic’s Safe School Project has created an anti-bullying training curriculum for school teachers and staff in the Toledo area. In collaboration with activists, teachers, social workers and other University departments, College of Law Legal Clinic students trained 160 teachers and staff at Toledo’s largest high school on Sept. 29, 2006. The feedback from the participants was overwhelmingly positive. Many teachers stated that they now have a better understanding of students’ rights and their own power to address incidents of bullying. Clinic students will be conducting more training around the Toledo area, as well as representing students in discrimination and harassment claims.  Dispute Resolution students will also offer mediation services to schools in an effort to prevent litigation based on bullying allegations.

• Nearly 300 alumni and friends of The University of Toledo College of Law supported its 100th anniversary celebration on Sept. 16, 2006. The celebration featured the musical comedy troupe, Capitol Steps, an elegant reception, and Continuing Legal Education programs taught by distinguished faculty members. The reception was held in the College of Law building, showcasing the many improvements in the facility made over the past few years, including renovated classrooms that feature Smart Board and wireless technology, and a renovated Forum area.

• On Oct. 13, 2006, the College of Law hosted a Thirteenth Amendment Symposium, dedicated to exploring the history of the amendment that ended slavery in the U.S. The symposium also honored James Ashley, the former Toledo congressman considered to be the primary author of the 13th amendment. The conference, chaired by Professor Rebecca Zietlow, featured the leading scholars in this area of law. The College of Law hosted a luncheon during which a portrait of Congressman James Ashley, completed by the congressman’s great great grandson James Ashley, was presented to the College. The program was well-attended by members of the Ashley family, who traveled from New York and California to attend the event.

• College of Law faculty members continued to lend their expertise to members of the local, national and international media. Their work has also been featured in academic journals. In December, for example, College of Law faculty member David Harris was interviewed for his criminal justice expertise and was quoted in the Washington Post,The Christian Science Monitor, and also appeared on MSNBC; Professor Daniel Steinbock was heard on CBC radio; also in December, a favorable review of Professor Joseph Slater’s most recent book appeared in American Historical Review, one of the top history journals in the United States.

 

Reminder of Deadline for Alumni Awards Nominations – March 12

Nominate someone as Distinguished Alumnus, Distinguished Toledo Lawyer, or Distinguished UT Law Professor. The award recipients will be recognized at the annual Alumni Association Awards event this spring. For the nomination procedure, click here.

 

Student Spotlight: UT College of Law student Boyd White III was a featured speaker at city-wide MLK Day Celebration

Boyd White III, a 2L College of Law student, gives the Youth Inspirational Remarks to 3,000 people at the city-wide MLK Unity Celebration on the UT campus.

UT College of Law student Boyd White has made an impression on almost every audience he’s addressed. His speech at a joint program between the city of Toledo and The University of Toledo to celebrate MLK Day was no different. Speaking to 3,000 people at the MLK Unity Celebration on January 15, White gave the Youth Inspirational Remarks. The audience responded with a standing ovation.

White first discovered his aptitude for public speaking in middle school, when he began to participate in speech contests. His abilities led to an aspiration to go to law school. But first, after graduating from the University of Michigan, White worked as an admissions counselor at his alma mater. In that capacity, he had the opportunity to speak to young people about reaching their goals. His message to students who come from a disadvantaged background was for them to realize that they are just as entitled as anybody else to reach for the American Dream; that they need “to take control of their actions and know where their steps are taking them,” but that they are entitled to “rise up and take their place,” White explained. And to those who grow up with every advantage, he also has a message: “Though you have everything that you think you need to succeed, you can’t take it for granted.”

White has taken his own message to heart. His great uncle, Lynn Henry Johnson, was an assistant attorney general for the state of California and provided White with a great role model in the law to look up to. In law school, White has packed his schedule with a broad range of activities. He’s president of the Black Law Student Association and was the recipient of the 2006 Torrence R. Greene Scholarship. He’s also a member of the Trial Advocacy Team, winning accolades for his performance at trial competitions. He also finds time to accept speaking engagements in the community and to work as a teaching assistant. White, a 2L, has accepted an offer to work as a summer associate at a large law firm in Detroit.

 

Don’t forget to check web site for updates on Upcoming Speakers and Events

The Office of Law Communications continually updates the News & Information page of the UT Law web site with the latest on upcoming speakers. To see the Speaker Series Calendar, go to http://www.utlaw.edu/news/speakers.htm. Or, visit www.utlaw.edu, click on News & Information at left, then on Speakers & Events at left.

In March, the Speaker Series will feature a series of important discussions on the Courts and the Constitution. All speaker events are free and open to the public. Call 419.530.2712 for more information about speakers.