Aug. 23, 2021

Mizzou Law Welcomes First Majority Female Class in History, Largest Class Since 2010

As classes begin, Mizzou Law is excited and proud to welcome the incoming 1L class of 2024 to campus. This class of amazing students and future successful lawyers is historic in many ways. For the first time in the history of the MU School of Law, the incoming class is majority female, with 51% of the 2024 cohort identifying as women. Additionally, as the school continues to grow, the class of 2024 is the largest incoming class since 2010. Incoming 1Ls in the class of 2024 volunteering at the food bank. Beyond, and perhaps even more impressive than these…

Aug. 19, 2021

Two Mizzou Law Alumni Honored by the Missouri Bar Foundation

Jeffrey Q. McCarther, ’09, and Jordan Force, ’09, were two of three named honorees of the Lon O. Hocker Award by the Missouri Bar Foundation. The Hocker Award is given annually to three lawyers under the age of 40 who: “exemplify the qualities of a trial lawyer, including showing professionalism, high ethical conduct, and quick wittedness in the courtroom.” To read more about the Horner Award, visit: https://news.mobar.org/horneyer-force-mccarther-recognized-as-exemplary-trial-lawyers/  

Aug. 17, 2021

LLM Alumna Spotlight: Hong Hu

After her family was involved in a land dispute resolved by court-supervised mediation when she was young, Hong Hu, LLM ’01, was inspired to pursue a career in dispute resolution. “That is probably where the initial motivation [to pursue ADR] came from,” Hong said. Thanks to her talent, hard work, and education at the University of Missouri, Hong now serves as general counsel for a large, multinational corporation in the Asia region. Hong graduated from Peking University School of Law with both an LLB and LLM before attending Mizzou for her Master of Laws degree in dispute resolution. Before moving…

Aug. 17, 2021

LLM Alumna Spotlight: Kemi Sanni

With both of her parents attending the University of Missouri for graduate school, and because of the school’s world-renowned alternative dispute resolution (ADR) program, Kemi Sanni, LLM ’08, knew Mizzou was for her. “My parents always had great things to say about Mizzou and how embracing it is with the many diverse students who attended the school,” Sanni said. “I never applied to any other schools.” Her choice to apply only to Mizzou led to her current role as ADR Programs Manager at the District Court of Maryland in Baltimore. Sanni obtained her LLB at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria…

Aug. 17, 2021

LLM Alumna Spotlight: Kuenzang Dolma

When joining the faculty of the only law school in her native country of Bhutan, Kuenzang Dolma (LLM ‘20) knew she needed to advance her knowledge of dispute resolution. This is because, as a new member of the teaching faculty at the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law, Dolma was tasked with developing and leading the school’s new Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic. After deliberation, Dolma chose one of the leading alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs in the world at the University of Missouri School of Law. “My experience at Mizzou Law was very enriching,” Dolma said. “It was…

Aug. 16, 2021

Professor-Emeritus Robert Jerry Publishes Article on Post-Pandemic Insurance

Mizzou Law Professor-Emeritus Robert Jerry published an article, “Insurance in a Post-Pandemic World,” in the ABA tort trial and insurance practice section publication The Brief‘s summer issue. In the article, Jerry discusses how the pandemic may change the insurance claim and litigation environment moving forward.

Aug. 5, 2021

Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic Announces Julia E. Rives as the New Clinical Director

The Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic recently announced the hiring of Julia Rives as its new clinical director. As clinical director, Julia will be primarily responsible for the classroom component of the clinic, supervision of the students, and the clinic’s amicus brief writing efforts. Julia grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. She attended the University of Missouri and received her Bachelor of Science in 2013. After graduating, she was awarded the Tim Heinsz scholarship to attend the University of Missouri School of Law. Julia worked on several veterans’ disability compensation cases as a law student for the Veterans Clinic, including two military …

Aug. 4, 2021

Professor-Emeritus Robert Jerry Publishes Op-Ed on Champlain Tower Collapse

Mizzou Law Professor-Emeritus Robert Jerry published an op-ed piece in the Tampa Bay Times on Aug. 2. In his article, Professor Jerry argues that the collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium collapse in Florida in June can be blamed on regulatory failure. To read Professor Jerry’s full article, visit: https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2021/08/02/the-surfside-condo-collapse-and-the-costs-of-not-regulating-column/.

June 30, 2021

Professor Abrams Praises Supreme Court Decision Upholding High School Student’s Free Speech Rights

In an essay on a leading youth sports website, Professor Douglas E. Abrams praised the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (June 23, 2021). The eight-Justice majority held that the public high school denied the First Amendment speech rights of the 14-year-old frosh who, after she did not make the varsity cheerleading team, responded with vulgarities in a Snapchat posting that she sent from off-campus on a Saturday. The school suspended her from the cheerleading team for the upcoming year. The Court warned that courts must remain “skeptical” of a public school’s efforts to…

June 29, 2021

Professor Bennett’s scholarship cited in U.S. Supreme Court decision

Professor Thomas Bennett’s scholarship recently was cited by Justice Clarence Thomas in a U.S. Supreme Court decision in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez. “By declaring that federal courts lack jurisdiction, the Court has thus ensured that state courts will exercise exclusive jurisdiction over these sorts of class actions,” Justice Thomas wrote in his dissent. As noted in an article in The Wall Street Journal, “Supreme Court Pares Back Class-Action Suits,” and in Reuters, “State court will be next frontier for consumer class actions under federal law,” Justice Thomas’ dissent cited Professor Bennett’s paper “The Paradox of Exclusive…