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…

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…

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…

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. 

April 16, 2026

Dean Emeritus Dessem publishes op-ed on state and federal ethics investigations

Dean Emeritus R. Lawrence Dessem published an op-ed piece in the Kansas City Star where he argues that the federal Department of Justice should stay out of state bar ethics investigations. Read the full piece here.

April 15, 2026

Professor Lambert sits on panel in Rome

Professor Thom Lambert recently participated on a panel at the International Center for Law & Economics conference titled “Substance over Slogans: Competition and the Wealth of Nations” in Rome, Italy. The panel he sat on was titled, “Gatekeepers or Guardians: Designing Platforms in the Face of Regulation” and the discussion focused on how to conceptualize platforms—as gatekeepers that require constraint or as curators that create value through governance—and how frameworks like the Digital Markets Act (DMA) shape those roles. Watch the full panel here.

April 14, 2026

Professor Conklin publishes essay in History Now

Professor Carli Conklin published the lead essay in the latest issue of History Now: The Journal. Professor Conklin’s piece, “The Harmonizing Sentiments of the Day”: The Declaration of Independence and the Pursuit of Happiness,” discussed the historical origins of the Declaration of Independence and who can be attributed with the ideas included therein. History Now is aimed at getting leading history scholarship out to K-12 educators and the general reader. Read a full copy of her article here.