April 24, 2023

Graduation Spotlight — Meet Wensdai Brooks

When soon-to-be law school graduate Wensdai Brooks began looking for a college to attend, she decided to heed her grandfather’s advice and move from her hometown of Santa Cruz, California to an out-of-state university. That’s how Brooks ended up in Columbia, Missouri— and after four years of undergraduate studies followed by three years of law school, there’s no place she’d rather be. “It’s been amazing,” Brooks said. “A lot of it has been the community. All of us are really a family. We all actually, genuinely love and care about each other.” During her time at Mizzou Law, Brooks brought…

April 18, 2023

Prof. Jayne Woods Joins Podcast to Talk ChatGPT

Jayne Woods, an associate teaching professor of law at Mizzou Law, joined the California Appellate Law Podcast this week to discuss how ChatGPT can be used to draft oral argument outlines. To listen, click here.

April 17, 2023

2023 Tim Heinsz Race Raises Record Money for Scholarships

Despite the colder weather this weekend, Mizzou Law’s 19th Tim Heinsz Race was a resounding success, raising $63,390 for the Tim Heinsz Scholarship Fund— a record in the history of the event. The atmosphere was lively as students, faculty, alumni and community members gathered at the starting line just outside of Hulston Hall. They were joined by Truman the Tiger, a face painter, and a pancake catering company all the way from St. Louis. “Being able to come back as an alumna is just fantastic,” Julia Rives, ‘16, said. “The scholarship that this race funds was my scholarship [as a…

April 13, 2023

Prof. Rigel Oliveri Speaks at Columbia Fair Housing Event

Rigel Oliveri, the Mizzou Law Isabelle Wade and Paul C. Lyda Professor of Law, will speak at the Columbia Housing Authority fair housing event titled “Creating & Preserving Affordable Housing in Existing Neighborhoods on April 13. Read more about the event here.

April 11, 2023

Finding Joy in Others’ Successes

When Annelle Whitt’s husband, James Whitt, passed in November 2021, she knew she wanted to create a foundation to honor and continue her husband’s legacy of entrepreneurship and support for minority and women-owned business enterprises. “My husband really found joy in people’s successes,” Whitt recalled. “He literally spent his last days on this earth helping minority and women business enterprises. It was so important to him.” She says that she wouldn’t have been able to do it without the University of Missouri School of Law Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic (ELC). Annelle Whitt founded the James and Annelle Whitt Entrepreneurial Development Foundation…

April 5, 2023

Student Organization Recipients for Cecil Award Announced

Congratulations to the Missouri Law Review and OUTLaw for being named Spring 2023 recipients of the Michelle Arnopol Cecil Student Group Endowment Award. The Missouri Law Review was awarded $1,200 for funds to be used toward technology improvements in the Law Review Office. OUTLaw was awarded $1,300 for funds to be used for the OUTLaw-hosted Variety Show event as well as a student scholarship. The Michelle Arnopol Cecil Student Group Endowment Award was created to honor Professor Emeritus Michelle Arnopol Cecil for her dedication to mentoring and helping students and student organizations during her time as a professor and even…

April 5, 2023

2023 Mizzou Law CALI Award Winners

The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Excellence for the Future Awards recognize students with the highest grade in each course at Mizzou Law. Below are the CALI Award winners for the 2022 calendar year. SPRING 2022 Sydney BennettElizabeth WeaverCaleb RutledgeTate CooperNoelle MackLauren NicholsKeaton CampbellIsaac KellerGrace SniderKelly McLaughlinEmily LoftisJared GillenAdam WalkerBrock RyanRachel TaylorGrace SniderKelly McLaughlinAndrew GuinanAlexis RoseClayton VossCatherine HausmanJoshua LongCharles LemonConstance RobinsonAndrew GuinanCatherine HausmanMacgyver NewtonJoshua LongDrew FabriciusMarissa GonzalezJessica SchmitzEmily BergmannLara BensonShamira DwaricaJoel SmithRyan ThomasPeyton RosencrantsStephen KassingColby HallTyler DoddStephen KassingClaire MendesAndrew GuinanEthan SchroederCharles LemonTate CooperBradley IsbellPeyton RosencrantsMackenzie StoutElizabeth SmithMacgyver NewtonSalvatore ParisAndrew KrokstromJessica SchmitzSarah PorterMackenzie StoutEmily BergmannAndrew GuinanClayton VossRobert RayBailey AlexanderAlexis RoseKevin…

March 30, 2023

Mizzou Law Student, Veterans Clinic Director File Amicus Brief in the US Supreme Court

On March 29, Mizzou Law 2L Katherine Frerking and Professor Angela Drake, director of the MU Veterans Clinic, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court for an upcoming case. The case, Skaar v. McDonough, is a putative class action involving hundreds of veterans who were exposed to large amounts of radioactive plutonium dust when they participated in a “clean up” following the collision of two Air Force planes above Palomares, Spain in the 1960s. For years, the Office of Veterans Affairs (VA) used a flawed radiation dose estimate methodology to determine the amount of radiation to which these…

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…