Greetings from Bloomington

Greetings from beautiful Bloomington, where the fall semester is nearly halfway over, the leaves have turned brilliant shades of yellow and orange, and, as I'm learning, the eternal optimism for a winning basketball season remains high.

 

I've just returned from a short, but high-impact trip to Brazil with Provost Lauren Robel, JD'83. We visited several places, including the Funda��o Get�lio Vargas School of Law, one of South America's top law schools; FGV's Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (FGV/EBAPE); the Universidade de Bras�lia, one of the top universities in the country; and with attorneys from Demarest Advogados and The Votorantim Group. It was a tremendous experience to see firsthand how legal education is being taught away from home. Though the visit was brief -- I visited three cities in three days -- it provided a wonderful opportunity to engage with Brazilian lawyers and top foreign faculty and legal educators, and reinforce my belief that our work in the area of global legal education is crucial in preparing students to play transformative leadership roles. 

 

FGV's Executive Vice Dean Rodrigo Vianna, Maurer Dean Austen Parrish, IU Provost Lauren Robel, and Dean Joaquim Falcao at the FGV Direito Rio. 

We will continue that international theme here next week, when we welcome in four highly respected academics and a sitting judge from China as we dedicate the new Academy for the Study of Chinese Law and Comparative Judicial Systems.

 

Based here in the Law School, the new academy -- a partnership between the school and the China University of Political Science and Law -- will foster lecture and research exchanges among the faculty at both schools.

 

As part of the dedication, the Law School will also host the inaugural China Law Forum on Nov. 4, with presentations ranging from the criminal evidence system to procedural law and the protection of human rights in China.

 

The China Law Forum is another remarkable event in a fall semester that has already included visits from former NAACP president and Southern Poverty Law Center co-founder Julian Bond, Harvard Law's Mark Tushnet, and the Court of Appeals of Indiana. Those events are all available to watch on the Law School's YouTube page.

 

I enjoyed meeting with many of you at the Indiana State Bar Association's Annual Meeting earlier this month; our school's alumni continue to amaze and inspire me. For those in the Washington, DC or New York City areas, I'll be visiting there in mid-November (details at right) for a handful of alumni events. I hope to see you there.  

 

Best wishes,

 

Austen L. Parrish
Dean and James H. Rudy Professor of Law
Boles, Jordan, Lee, and Seddelmeyer honored with DSA

Dean Parrish, Lee, Boles, Seddelmeyer, Jordan, and Alumni Board President Andrew Buroker, JD'89, just before the DSA presentation inside the Federal Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.
Four alumni were honored Friday, Oct. 24, as recipients of year's Distinguished Service Award. The four honorees embody the best of alumni achievement and service to their community.

The DSA was established in 1997 to recognize graduates of the Law School who have gone above and beyond in service to their communities and school that far exceeds traditional business, professional, and civic duties. This year's recipients are: 
  • Christopher D. Lee, JD'93, partner, Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn, LLP. Evansville, Ind.
  • Robin K. Boles, JD'79, chief executive officer, In Kind Direct, Inc. London, UK.
  • John E. Seddelmeyer, JD'74, retired senior counsel, ExxonMobil Corp., Houston, Tex.
  • Gregory J. Jordan, JD'84, partner, Jordan & Zito LLC, Chicago, Ill.

The DSA recipients were honored at a luncheon coinciding with the fall meeting of the Maurer School of Law Alumni Board. Dean Parrish said their exemplary service--from Dallas to Evansville and London to Afghanistan-was an inspiration to all Maurer students and alumni.

Class of 2017 welcomes four ICLEO participants   

 

Four 1L students completed the Indiana Conference for Legal Education Opportunity Summer Institute before

Phelps, Duerson, Hammond, and Sowell at the ICLEO closing banquet ceremony.
beginning fall classes in Bloomington. Marcus Phelps, Antoni'A Duerson, Amber Hammond, and Jamal Sowell (from left to right) all participated in the ICLEO program, which is designed as an intense preparatory tool to help students become accustomed to what they will experience as law students. As undergraduates, Duerson and Hammond both attended Indiana University, while Phelps graduated from the University of Akron (where he served as this spring's student graduation speaker), and Sowell -- an inaugural Tillman Military Scholar -- graduated from the University of Florida.  
Alumni connect at NBA breakfast

Seales Jr., Crowl, Woods, Motley, Jairrels, Dowell, and Peoples convened in Atlanta before this year's NBA meeting.

In what has become an annual tradition, the Maurer School of

Law hosted an alumni breakfast at this year's National Bar Association meeting in Atlanta. Frank Seales Jr., JD'74,

treasurer of the National Bar Institute Board of Directors, and Assistant Dean Frank Motley served as Maurer ambassadors during the breakfast, which included Gillian Crowl, JD'10, Tracie Woods, JD'95, Veda Jairrels, JD'78, Michael Dowell, JD'82, and Nora Peoples, JD'82.

Big Ten Junior Law Faculty Conference

Junior scholars from across the Big Ten convened in Bloomington from Aug. 13-15 for the annual Big Ten Junior Law Faculty Conference. The annual event gives faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers the opportunity to present their works in progress, gain new insights on teaching, and establish networks with other faculty at neighboring schools. Thirty-one scholars participated in this year's event, including Maurer faculty and staff: Brian Broughman, David Delaney, Jason Du Mont, Gina-Gail Fletcher, Tim Lovelace, Mike Mattioli, and Ryan Scott.

Faculty news 

Fred H. Cate, Distinguished Professor and C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law, has been named one of the Top 30 Technologists, Transformers, and Trailblazers by the Center for Digital Education. The award honors pioneers in education technology from kindergarten through graduate school and showcase the accomplishments and best practices of award winners. Cate teaches Information Privacy Law and is the co-director of IU's Center for Law, Ethics, and Applied Research in Health Information.

 

Professor Christiana Ochoa will host a screening of her documentary film Otra Cosa No Hay (There is Nothing Else) on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Indiana University Cinema. The film chronicles the effects experienced by local communities in the highlands of Colombia when foreign mining interests arrived in this ecologically vital region. More information on the film can be found on its website.

 

David P. Fidler, the James Louis Calamaras Professor of Law, has appeared in the New York Times three times in the last week, providing expert commentary on the Ebola crisis. Fidler has also been interviewed by TIME. Read those stories, and other faculty media placements, on our media page.
October 2014
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Nominations open for Academy of Law Alumni Fellows

Nominations are open for the 2015 Academy of Law Alumni Fellows class. The ALAF recognizes those alumni who have distinguished themselves in their careers through personal achievements and dedication to the highest standards of their chosen profession. For more information and to submit a nomination, visit the ALAF website.

Connect with our students

To get involved with any of the activities below, email [email protected] or call Kim Bunge in the Career Services Office (CSO) at 812.855.8433

 

Meet a 2014 graduate

In May, 223 of the nation's best graduated from our law school. Since then, these new Indiana Law alumni have taken the bar in almost 25 states including Indiana (65), Illinois (36), New York (14), California (12), and Texas (10), among others. If you would like to welcome one of these new graduates or learn more about the new alumni in your region, please let us know.

 

Winter break networking  

(Dec. 20 - Jan. 14)

The CSO encourages students to develop their professional network by meeting with alumni and other attorneys and winter break is a great time for these meetings. Since final exams begin Dec. 5 many students leave campus before winter break officially begins. An informational interview in your office, allowing a student to shadow you at work, introducing a student to others at a holiday party, and grabbing coffee are all examples of how you can help a student build a professional network. Contact us if you would like to meet with students during winter break. 

 

Alumni mentor program

The Law School's new mentor initiative is off to a successful start. In the last three months, over 250 alumni have volunteered to mentor students. Many were matched with 2Ls and 3Ls this fall, and more alumni will be matched with 1Ls in January. If you would like to mentor a current student, conduct a mock interview, or otherwise act as a career resource for students, please contact us.

Upcoming events
Washington, DC Alumni Breakfast Reception
Join Dean Parrish and other area alumni on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at Arnold & Porter LLP, 555 12th Street, NW. Breakfast provided from 8-9:30 a.m.

New York City Alumni Reception
Dean Parrish will host a New York-area alumni reception on Thursday, Nov. 13, at Morrison Foerster, 21st Floor, 250 W. 55th Street, New York. Complimentary drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be provided. 6:30-8:30 p.m.

To attend, RSVP by Nov. 5 to: [email protected] or 812.855.9700.
Earl Singleton's 25th anniversary
Add a description Clinical Professor and Community Legal Clinic Director Earl Singleton celebrated his 25th anniversary at the Maurer School of Law this week. Singleton, JD'86, joined the Law School in 1989 and has helped countless students develop critical legal skills while representing clients under the Indiana Student Practice Rule. Congratulations, Earl!
Remember the Fund for Excellence
The Fund is Indiana Law's Give now 12 unrestricted account for scholarships and faculty and student support. Click the Give Now button to make your gift via the IU Foundation's secure website.