March 28, 2023

Leveraging justice: Mizzou law sets the stage for women breaking boundaries in law school and beyond

The University of Missouri School of Law is driving forward equality in the legal profession by cultivating an ever-growing number of successful women lawyers. Out of 422 judges in Missouri, 138 are women. That’s just over 30%. Three of those women — all Mizzou Law graduates — sit on the bench of the state’s supreme court. Others serve on the court of appeals, circuit courts and as commissioners. Below the surface of their impressive pedigrees and titles, what many of these women have in common is they attended law school at a time when few women did. Last year, the…

March 22, 2023

Missouri Law Review Hosts Successful Symposium on New York Times v. Sullivan

On March 10, Mizzou Law and the School of Journalism had the honor of welcoming back former dean and renowned media law scholar Lyrissa Lidsky, alongside nine other panelists, for a Missouri Law Review Symposium about the future of New York Times v. Sullivan. This symposium, which comes less than a year after the landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, was organized to discuss opinions authored by Justices Thomas and Gorsuch that expressed interest in re-examining the precedent set by Sullivan, which created a higher standard for public officials to bring libel suits against members of the…

March 21, 2023

Professor David Mitchell awarded the 2023 Kemper Award for Teaching Excellence

Latha Ramchand, University of Missouri provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Steve Sowers, CEO Missouri Community Markets today awarded a 2023 William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence to S. David Mitchell. Mitchell is the Ruth L. Hulston Professor of Law and co-director of the Michael A. Middleton Center for Race, Citizenship and Justice. Interim Dean of the School of Law Paul Litton today joined other administrators surprising Mitchell by honoring him with the fellowship, which includes a $15,000 check. Kemper Fellowships are awarded to five outstanding teachers at the University of Missouri each year. The…

March 15, 2023

Mizzou Law 3L Named National Jurist “Law Student of the Year”

Mizzou Law student Brandon Bethel (3L) has been named a 2023 Law Student of the Year by the National Jurist Magazine. Brandon has made a remarkable impact on Hulston Hall in his nearly three years as a Mizzou Law student. “Since the day he stepped onto campus, Brandon has single-handedly improved the physical space of Mizzou Law, improving the lives of his fellow students and our entire community,” said Interim Dean Paul Litton said. “In my seventeen years at Mizzou Law, we have not seen a student make a greater impact on our community.” Brandon is a passionate advocate…

March 14, 2023

Alumni Spotlight — Meet Phelan Simpkins

Anyone who’s been through the law school application process knows it can be a daunting task. From choosing when and how to study for the LSAT to crafting the perfect personal statement, it can be confusing and hectic even for the most qualified applicants. First-generation students face an even greater challenge of going through this process without a close family member to advise them. Two-time Mizzou alumnus Phelan Simpkins, BS ‘16, JD ‘21 had to overcome this challenge during his own admissions cycle, and it inspired him to create a tool to help other first-generation students. His podcast and video…

Feb. 17, 2023

MU Innocence Clinic, Midwest Innocence Project Helps Overturn Conviction of Innocent Man

Thanks to students from the University of Missouri School of Law Innocence Clinic and work from attorneys at the Midwest Innocence Project, the 1995 convictions of Lamar Johnson have been overturned. “Lamar Johnson’s exoneration shows how incredibly difficult it is to overturn a wrongful conviction and how there is a role for everyone in that process,” said Chelseá Mitchell, director of the MU Innocence Clinic. “Students in the MU Innocence Clinic are a lifeline for an incarcerated person, providing hope in dark times. And through their contact, clinic students learn the real life consequences of legal decisions, an experience they…

Feb. 15, 2023

Mizzou Law Hires New Executive Director of Advancement

Chelsea Coursey joins the University of Missouri School of Law on March 1 as Executive Director of Advancement. In this role, Coursey will lead all fundraising and alumni engagement initiatives at Mizzou Law. With nearly ten years of experience in higher education fundraising, she comes to Mizzou from Purdue University where she was the Chief Development Officer of the College of Education. During her time at Purdue, Chelsea increased giving totals within her academic unit from under $700,000 annually to above $4,000,000 in FY 22. She secured a gift to name the deanship of education as well as several professorships,…

Feb. 14, 2023

Three Mizzou Law Alumnae Now on Faculty

The University of Missouri School of Law has a 150-year history of producing top-notch lawyers and legal professionals. We can now add top-notch teachers and scholars to the list of impressive accomplishments our alumni have achieved. Even more, several Mizzou Law alumni are now on faculty at Mizzou Law, sharing knowledge and paying forward to future students the great legal education they received in their time at Mizzou. In the past year, Mizzou Law has hired three new faculty members who are Mizzou Law graduates. Here is a little bit about each of them and why they chose to return…

Feb. 13, 2023

Mizzou Law Launches Online LLM Program in Spanish

Mizzou Law and the MU Center for Study of Dispute Resolution (CSDR) have a history of setting precedent. With that history, and some fortuitous timing, the center at Mizzou Law launched the first fully online, asynchronous LLM program in dispute resolution just before the pandemic began in 2020. The program was intended to make the LLM accessible to those who could not afford or were not able to come to Columbia for the residential program. Just four years later, Mizzou Law is now offering that same trailblazing asynchronous LLM program in dispute resolution taught entirely in Spanish. “We identified two…

Feb. 10, 2023

Mizzou Law Announces New Faculty Hire for Winter 2023

Officials at the University of Missouri School of Law are thrilled to announce the exciting new hire of Ryan Snyder to join the nationally renowned faculty scholars and teachers at Mizzou Law. Professor Snyder has joined the faculty at Mizzou Law this winter. “We are thrilled to welcome Professor Snyder to our faculty,” said Paul Litton, interim dean and R.B. Price Professor of Law at the University of Missouri School of Law. “He brings a wealth of fascinating and high-level legal experience, having worked at the United States Supreme Court, a multinational law firm, and the Department of Justice.