Sep. 13, 2024

Faculty Spotlight — Meet Ryan Vacca

When Ryan Vacca, ‘04, gave his first guest lecture to students studying the entertainment business at St. Louis Community College, the then-attorney at Stinson LLP began considering going back to school — as a professor. “I could see the light bulb was going off [for students,]” Vacca recalled. “They understood it and were asking great questions. It was a lot of fun, and at that point, I started thinking maybe academia might be for me.” Becoming a law professor was a far cry from what Vacca originally planned to pursue as an undergraduate at Amherst College, where he entered as…

Sep. 4, 2024

Alumni Spotlight — Meet Kristen Evans

Going into law school at the University of Missouri, Kristen Evans, ’22, already had her eyes on a coveted position after graduation: a federal clerkship. “I felt that it would be really resourceful to do,” Evans said. “[Judicial clerks] gain a lot of knowledge about how the courts work, and that includes learning the court system, learning how to cater your arguments, your motions, your orders, to judges’ preferences.” However, Evans felt discouraged by the pervasive message that clerkships were out of her reach. Outside of Evans’ friends and mentors at Mizzou Law, many emphasized the exclusivity of federal clerkships.

Aug. 23, 2024

Dean Sperino cited by U.S. Court of Appeals

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit cited two of Associate Dean Sandra Sperino’s articles in a case involving how causation principles apply to a statute. The Third Circuit cited Statutory Proximate Cause, 88 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1199 (2013) and The Causation Canon, 108 Iowa L. Rev. 703, 704 (2023). The case is U.S. v. Johnson, 2024 2024 WL 3883682 (Aug. 21, 2024). Dean Sperino’s article Revitalizing State Employment Discrimination Law, 20 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 545 (2013) was also cited by the Supreme Court of Connecticut this summer in its discussion of…

Aug. 22, 2024

Class of 2027 has highest credentials ever

Incoming 1Ls at Mizzou Law have achieved something no other Mizzou Law class has ever achieved. Their credentials (GPA and LSAT scores) are the highest ever on record for an incoming Mizzou Law class. Median GPA for the class of 2027 sits at a stellar 3.75, which is the highest mark in history at Mizzou Law. Further, the median LSAT score for the class sits at an excellent 160, which ties the highest mark ever. Congratulations to the promising Class of 2027!…

Aug. 22, 2024

Professors Woods and Alexander Present at the LWI Bienniel Conference

Professors Anne Alexander and Jayne Woods each presented separately at the Legal Writing Institute’s Biennial Conference this summer in Indianapolis, Ind. At the national conference for legal writing professors, Professor Alexander presented on inclusive teaching practices and Professor Woods presented on teaching legal research in an engaging way.

Aug. 19, 2024

Professor Oliveri Speaks at Human Rights conference

On Monday, August 12, Professor Oliveri spoke at the 75th annual conference of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies. The conference was held in St. Louis and featured attendees from Human Rights agencies across the country. Professor Oliveri spoke on the History of Housing Discrimination, Redlining, and Affordable Housing in St. Louis.

Aug. 15, 2024

Professor Lietzan Named to “Best Lawyers in America”

For the 11th straight year, Erika Lietzan, William H. Pittman Professor of Law & Timothy J. Heinsz Professor of Law at Mizzou Law, was named a Best Lawyer in FDA Law and for the 17th straight year as a Best Lawyer in Biotechnology & Life Sciences Law for 2025.

Aug. 14, 2024

Professor Jayne Woods featured in story about AI and legal education

Professor Jayne Woods was quoted in a story by Missouri Lawyers Media about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in legal education. “It is going to change it in the way that calculators changed math classes,” Woods said. “It is going to take some tasks that we used to spend a lot of time on and it’s going to really take that time away so that we can spend it on other things that probably require more of our expertise and knowledge.” To read Professor Woods’ full comments, visit the story here: https://molawyersmedia.com/2024/08/14/robophobia-law-schools-pivot-to-artificial-intelligence-experts-say-it-will-shape-the-future-of-law/…

Aug. 13, 2024

Professor Erika Lietzan Reappointed to ACUS

Erika Lietzan, the WIlliam H. Pittman and Timothy J. Heinsz Professor of Law, has been reappointed to a third term as a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS). ACUS is a federal agency charged by Congress with studying the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of the procedures used by administrative agencies and with developing recommendations for improvement.  These recommendations are issued to administrative agencies, the President, Congress, and the Judicial Conference of the United States, and often result in important procedural reforms. Members of ACUS develop these recommendations in committee, and the agency then meets in plenary session…

Aug. 12, 2024

Alumni Spotlight — Meet Keesha-Lu Abrahams-Mitra

by Anna Sago As the first female senior vice president and general counsel at State Farm, Keesha-Lu Abrahams-Mitra, ‘89, still finds herself relying on a skill she learned on her very first day of law school at Mizzou. “My very first day of law school — civil procedure,” Abrahams-Mitra said, “I happened to have Professor Carl Esbeck. My maiden name was Abrahams and he called on students alphabetically. So Pennoyer vs. Neff is indelibly etched in my mind, not necessarily positively.” Though Abrahams-Mitra can now laugh at her first-day cold call blunder, it taught her a valuable lesson that…