July 7, 2025

Legal lift: Mizzou law clinic helps small business take next step

When Dana Chole, BS ’11, DPT ’14, and her partners at Switched Adapted Toys had taken their small startup as far as they could, the team of two physical therapists and an entrepreneur knew it was time to grow and establish themselves as a nonprofit — but they didn’t have the resources to make that happen on their own. They had already invested everything they had into their online business, which offers tutorials on how to adapt toys for children with disabilities. The demand for their services was clear, and they were determined to meet it. A quick Google search…

July 1, 2025

Professor Gouzoules publishes book on the long-lasting impact of Scopes v. Tennessee

Professor Alexander Gouzoules co-authored a book, “The Hundred Years’ Trial: Law, Evolution, and the Long Shadow of Scopes v. Tennessee, which is out for purchase now. According to the publisher, Gouzoules, along with co-author Harold Gouzoules “explore the century-long impacts of the historic 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial,” starting with the development of evolutionary theory and charting the resulting cultural and legal conflicts over evolution in the United States. Through a blend of legal history, scientific exploration, and cultural analysis, the authors reexamine how this landmark trial remains a pivotal moment in shaping modern debates on science, religion, and education.

June 26, 2025

Professor Gamage publishes paper on estate taxation

Professor David Gamage has published a new paper in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review discussing policies for estate taxation of mega-wealthy families. In his paper, “Taxing Dynasties,” Gamage and his co-authors analyze proposed tax reforms to prevent estate tax dodging among the super wealthy and find that those reforms would not suffice in curbing intergenerational transmission of vast wealth. The authors also suggest key criteria for transfer-tax reforms that would be successful in preventing estate tax dodging. To read the full article, visit here.

June 25, 2025

Professor Wechsler quoted in Boston Globe

Professor Rachel Wechsler was recently quoted in a Boston Globe article discussing a case of homicide: Rachel Wechsler, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Law who studies gender-based violence, said victims of violent crime often report low levels of satisfaction with the criminal justice system. Incidents like officers failing to arrest Boyette before he allegedly committed murder risk further damage to that relationship, she said.“It certainly can affect the opinion of the competency of people in the system,” Wechsler said. “It sounds like from the report that there…

June 23, 2025

Professor Rana publishes symposium essay on judicial representation

Professor and Assistant Provost Shruti Rana has published an invited symposium essay, Comparative Lessons for Enhancing Representation in the U.S. Judiciary—And Countering Democratic Decline, in Vol. 16 of ConLawNow. The essay argues that efforts to enhance judicial representation and parity in the United States could benefit from further drawing upon and building on international principles and comparative examples from other nations and international fora, and discusses how efforts to ensure greater representation and parity in U.S. Courts could enhance the rule of law and counter democratic decline during periods of intensifying contestation and erosion. This essay is based…

June 13, 2025

Professor Rana publishes article on international law and the rise of populism

Professor and Assistant Provost Shruti Rana has published an article, “International Law and the Rise of Populism,” in the Virginia Journal of International Law, co-authored with her colleagues on a current Australian Research Council grant examining how states interact with and challenge the international legal order. The article challenges the view that populism is merely a reaction against law, arguing instead that it emerges from tensions within liberal constitutional democracy itself. It reveals how shifts in international legal thought have contributed to the rise of populism by clashing with competing visions of political authority and legal normativity. Rana and her…

June 12, 2025

Professor Vacca quoted in Bloomberg Law

Professor Ryan Vacca was quoted in a Bloomberg Law article about the Federal Circuit taking the Trump tariff case en banc without a prior panel decision.  “They have the authority to do this, but petitions for initial hearing en banc are super rare, and a court doing it sua sponte is even more rare,” Vacca said. Read the full story here: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/trump-tariff-dispute-gets-rare-review-by-full-federal-circuit…

June 11, 2025

Professor Jayne Woods presents on AI

Professor Jayne Woods presented “Using AI to Prepare for Moot Court” at the AI & Legal Skills: Innovation, Impact, and Integrity Virtual Conference hosted by the Legal Writing Institute and the University of Wisconsin Law School in early June.

June 10, 2025

Melissa Cullman Cosgrove ,’13, named U.S. Supreme Court Fellow

Melissa Cullman Cosgrove, ’13, was named a 2025-2026 U.S. Supreme Court Fellow assigned to the Federal Judicial Center, the education and research agency for the federal courts. Cosgrove joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, where she was a career law clerk for the Honorable Stephen R. Welby. She previously clerked for the Honorable Stephen R. Clark and the Honorable E. Richard Webber of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. She was also an Assistant Attorney General in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Cosgrove…

June 10, 2025

Child and Family Justice Clinic welcomes new staff attorney

The Mizzou Law Child and Family Justice Clinic welcomes Erika LeFauve, ’25, as a new staff attorney. LeFauve just graduated from Mizzou Law in May and has begun work with the clinic in a limited capacity while she studies for the Missouri Bar Exam. Once she passes the exam, she will begin full-time work as an attorney for the clinic in it’s new Roots of Resilience program. The Roots of Resilience: Rural Families Initiative is the new program the clinic is starting in August, which will expand the CFJC’s service area to include Audrain, Cole, and Moniteau counties.