May 7, 2026

From Equations to Opportunity: How Engineers Are Redefining Law at Mizzou

By: Tanner O’Neal Riley At the University of Missouri School of Law, the distance between engineering and law is shorter than it looks. What begins as equations and design often ends as arguments and advocacy, and for a growing number of students, the transition feels less like a leap and more like a continuation. “It’s a different kind of equation,” said Jacqueline “Jacqi” Parker, a first-year law student with an engineering background. “You’re still solving problems—you’re just using words.” That idea of translation rather than transformation runs through the experiences of students, faculty, and alumni shaping a quiet but meaningful…

May 6, 2026

Professor Lietzan edits book on pharmaceutical marketplace

Professor Erika Lietzan edited a new book just published in French, titled “Le marché pharmaceutique, de l’aporie à une dialectique commerce international/santé.” The book, published by European publisher Mare & Martin, discusses the pharmaceutical marketplace and a wide range of issues relating to reconciling the importance of medicine to global public health with its nature as a commodity like any other. The chapters were written from a range of academic perspectives by scholars around the world. Professor Lietzan also wrote a chapter herself on the prospects for the U.S. government to play a role in the pharmaceutical marketplace. Read more…

May 4, 2026

Professor Shores Pelikan discusses new paper on Tax Notes podcast

Professor Lauren Shores Pelikan recently appeared on the Tax Notes Talk podcast to discuss her forthcoming article, “Toddlers, investors, and Tax Policy.” Professor Shores Pelikan’s paper has been accepted for publication in a forthcoming issue of the Southern California Law Review. You can listen to the podcast episode here.

May 1, 2026

Professor Rachel Wechsler wins Gold Chalk Award

Professor Rachel Wechlser was honored with the Gold Chalk Award. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding faculty who have contributed significantly to graduate and professional education. Gold Chalk awards are student-nominated and student-selected. The Gold Chalk Award is presented by the Mizzou Graduate Professional Council.

April 28, 2026

Mizzou Law alumna honored with American Bar Association professionalism award

Portia Britt, ’15, was awarded the 2026 Rosner & Rosner Young Lawyers Professionalism Award recipient from the American Bar Association, one of the ABA’s premier honors recognizing excellence in legal ethics, professionalism and service. Britt currently serves as an assistant prosecuting attorney with the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, where she prosecutes serious felony matters, including homicides and domestic violence cases. Since returning to the office in September 2025, she has also been appointed to the office’s executive staff, contributing to administrative leadership, personnel matters and public outreach. As intern coordinator, she has strengthened the office’s summer…

April 27, 2026

Rich Kinder, ’68, honored with Golden Quill Award

Mizzou Law alumnus Rich Kinder, ’68, was honored by this spring with a Jefferson Club Golden Quill Alumni Excellence Award. Rich Kinder transformed his leadership ability into one of the most influential careers in American energy. As co-founder and executive chairman of Kinder Morgan, he helped build one of North America’s largest energy infrastructure companies, which transports approximately 40% of the natural gas used in the U.S.  Kinder’s impact extends well beyond business. He and his wife, Nancy, established the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at Mizzou, which has grown into a globally recognized, nonpartisan leader in the study of America’s founding principles and their enduring relevance. In their home of Houston and beyond, the Kinders are equally recognized for their philanthropic commitment…

April 22, 2026

Mizzou Law 3L wins Leaders of Tomorrow award

Myuah Hamilton, a 3L at Mizzou Law, was recently awarded the Leaders of Tomorrow award from Missouri Lawyers Media. The Leaders of Tomorrow award is a part of the Women’s Justice Awards and is given to women law students who demonstrate leadership, professionalism and a passion for making a difference in the justice system or the legal profession. Read more about why Myuah won the award.

April 21, 2026

Professor Oliveri presents on fair housing at Columbia event

Professor Rigel Oliveri recently presented on fair housing for the City of Columbia. The event served as a collaborative platform to discuss critical housing issues within the Columbia community.

April 17, 2026

From Fieldwork to the Law: 1L Bridges Conservation and People

By: Tanner O’Neal Riley McKenna Thompson did not come to law school by way of a straight line. She came by way of forests and rivers — a path that began in wildlife biology and now runs through Missouri’s most privately held landscapes. A 1L at Mizzou Law, Thompson is the co-author of “Understanding Landowner Perceptions, Enhancing Conservation Easement Adoption in Missouri’s Priority Landscapes,” a peer-reviewed, scientific paper that grew out of her master’s thesis research in the School of Natural Resources. The work sits at the intersection of ecology, property rights and public policy, asking a fundamental question: how…

April 17, 2026

Professor Rhodes Presents at University of the Pacific Law Review Symposium

Professor Charles W. “Rocky” Rhodes presented the closing keynote panel address, A Court Not for this Moment: Departmental Enforcement, Stare Decisis, and the Rule of Law, at the University of the Pacific Law Review Symposium on the Rule of Law under Pressure: Executive Power, the Role of the Judiciary, and Democracy’s Future. His remarks addressed the role of constitutional precedential instability in emboldening executive authority to aggressively probe the limits of enforcement authority, focusing on the executive branch’s utilization of the shadow docket and on state exclusive private enforcement schemes.