On Saturday, May 19, surrounded by family and friends, 221 juris doctor candidates received degrees from the School of Law, bringing to fruition the dreams and dedicated efforts that led each on a personal journey toward that moment.  

The 2012 commencement activities were ushered in on Friday evening, May 18, with the Annual Graduation Reception held in the Levy Atrium, Hazel Hall, for graduates, their families, faculty, and staff. The reception is sponsored each year by the Student Bar Association and provides a festive atmosphere for a final class get-together prior to graduation day.

At 10 a.m. on commencement day, all 7,700 Class of 2012 graduates were honored at the university’s traditional full commencement program held at the Patriot Center on the Fairfax Campus. At 12:30 p.m., members of the law school's Class of 2012 assembled for a panoramic class photo, afterward filing into the university's Concert Hall for the start of the School of Law's convocation at 2 p.m.

Dean Daniel D. Polsby presided over the law school convocation, which featured a guest address by Jonathan F. Mitchell, Solicitor General of Texas. Mitchell is currently on leave from the School of Law, where he holds the position of Assistant Professor of Law. Nathan Sales, Assistant Professor of Law, was selected as faculty speaker, while graduating students Catherine Marie Brown and Jim Howland were day and evening class speakers, respectively. Dean Polsby awarded Kristine Fargotstein, Ashley Finnegan, and Allison M. Tisdale the Law School Service Award during the ceremony for their contributions to the school. Graduating students Edward Redfield Brown, Elyse Dorsey, Matthew R. McGuire, and Chelsea Sizemore held the distinction of graduating summa cum laude.

Music for the law school convocation was provided by the George Mason University Jazz Ensemble, and presentation of colors was by members of the George Mason University United States Army ROTC.

The 2012 graduation program is available online.

For the sixth consecutive year, a Mason Law student is the recipient of the prestigious Burton Award for excellence in legal writing, with 2012 honors going to Sean Clerget, a graduating third-year law student.

Clerget was Articles Editor of the George Mason Law Review and received the award for his student comment, "Time is of the Essence: Reviving the Neutral Law of General Applicability Standard Writing and Applying it to Restrictions Against Religious Face Coverings Worn While Testifying in Court." Clerget previously had received the 2011 Adrian S. Fisher Award for the Best Student Note or Comment for the same article. He is a graduate of the Wabash College where he was awarded a BA in Political Science.

As a Burton Award winner, Clerget has been invited to attend the organization's 13th annual black-tie presentation of the Burton Awards at a reception and dinner in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on June 11. Among the guest speakers and honored guests for the event will be U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens (retired).

Founded in 1999, the Burton Awards program is run in association with the Library of Congress and its Law Library. Nominations for the award are made by law school deans and managing partners of the 1000 largest U.S. law firms. Fifteen Burton Award law school winners are selected annually from law schools across the nation to receive this award, which honors partners in law firms and law students who set a high standard for clarity and effectiveness in legal writing.

The awards are selected, generally, by law professors from selected universities. Judge Richard Posner (7th Circuit US Court of Appeals), Chief Judge Alex Kozinski (9th Circuit US Court of Appeals), U.S. Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., Chairman Spencer Bachus, Judith Kaye (Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals) (retired), and Supreme Court Justice Carol Corrigan of California are honorary members on the Board of Directors.

Read more about the Burton Award

The first-year law students in Mason’s School of Law completed their version of basketball’s March Madness this spring in front of a packed courtroom and a panel of judges that would have most veteran attorneys trembling in their wingtips.

It was all moot, of course, in the correct definition of the word. The Mason Moot Court gives students hands-on experience in a real courtroom with real judges but without the consequences, such as financial damages or jail time for defendants.

Suzzette Rodriguez Hurley, director of Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis at Mason's School of Law, addresses students in attendance for the final round of the First-Year Moot Court Competition. Photo by Alexis Glenn.

Each of the 180 first-year students was required to participate in a competition that reduced the number of would-be plaintiff attorneys and defense lawyers in each intensifying round, a la the NCAA basketball tournament. The “finals” took place April 13 in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria where Mason law student Azadeh Malek faced off against classmate Tim Cronin in a case that pitted a family dry cleaning business against a new competitor that advertised itself as being organic.

The berobed judges who sat at the bench were not your usual suspects: three U.S. District Court judges–Anthony Trenga, John F. Anderson, and Leonie Brinkema, who gave 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui life in a supermax prison in 2006–were joined by Rossie D. Alston Jr. from the Virginia Court of Appeals. These are the judges who get the big federal cases, from drug kingpin busts to Microsoft litigation, and they’ve heard it all from $400-an-hour lawyers. How would the students–not even rookies in the minors–fare in the face of such an imposing veteran bench, with School of Law dean Daniel D. Polsby and assistant dean Richard Kelsey observing from the jury box?

The standing-room-only crowd of Mason law students listened intently as Malek, a night student (there are informal bragging rights between day and night students), laid out the case of Smith Family Dry Cleaning Co. v. Green Garments. The judges were not ruling on the fictional case; instead, the students would be judged on their grasp of the appropriate laws and precedents, and the winner would be the student with the most competent and professional presentation.

Law School students "defendant" Timothy Cronin and "plaintiff" Azadeh Malek receive applause from the classmates and courtroom observers after completing the final round of the Moot Court Competition. Photo by Alexis Glenn.

Apparently, according to Malek, Green Garments’ advertising emphasizes its “organic” practices, which generated neighborhood protests against the homespun Smith Family’s implied “nonorganic” process. Malek made the case that Green Garments isn’t actually organic or even very green and therefore  is  advertising fraudulently at great expense to the Smith Family business.

The judges were prickly in their questioning of Malek, and when it came time for Cronin to present his client’s defense, it seemed as if he’d have an easy time. Cronin had his first four major points memorized but–uh oh–he stumbled badly on the third point on before recovering his composure. Would the judges hold that against him? And when it came time for the judges to question Cronin, Trenga came after him right away, with pointed questions delivered with a bit of bristle.

Malek had two minutes to rebut Cronin and, with time running out, was stumped when Anderson asked what would be considered a sufficient bond if the court found in her favor. Malek was surprised by the question and with that hanging in the air, the judges left to deliberate in their chambers. As soon as the door closed the justices must have been confused–and amused–by what they heard in the room behind them: spontaneous applause and a standing ovation from the gallery for the attorneys.

Five minutes later, the judges returned and recognized Dean Polsby, who thanked the court for its participation in the Moot Court and Mason’s ambitious trial advocacy program, from the use of the federal courtroom to the time the judges devoted to the trial. The judges then each took a turn addressing the contestants, as well as the students in the gallery, many of whom were in a courtroom for the first time.

“You need to go to a courthouse to see good lawyering and bad lawyering,” Alston said, with Trenga echoing the sentiment and offering an open invitation. “Don’t be a stranger. We’re open for business five days a week, and you can learn an extraordinary amount by coming to a courtroom.”

Both contestants received praise from the four judges who complimented them on their composure and their grasp of the case and case law, comparing them favorably to far more experienced attorneys.

Now the time had come to announce a winner, and Trenga reminded the court that last year’s Moot Court ended in a tie. But this year, one winner would be recognized: Malek.

The announcement brought another round of applause from the gallery, which seemed just fine with the judges who came down from the bench to shake hands with the contestants and congratulate them on a job well done.

“And enjoy the packed courtroom,” Trenga said. “You’re not likely to see that again for a while.”

 

Reprinted with permission of George Mason University

Students at George Mason University School of Law know that when you see a group of puppies gathered in the Levy Atrium, it's time to hit the books in earnest. 

On April 24 the puppies made their traditional pilgrimage to the law school to help ease the pain of the pre-exam period and give students a chance to take a deep breath in the midst of exam preparation.

"Puppy Day" has become a twice-yearly tradition at Mason Law, which has found itself on the leading edge of a growing trend in which dogs are used to help relieve stress and improve quality of life for students facing the rigors of higher education and all its requirements. During exam time in the fall and spring, A Forever Home Rescue Foundation brings a contingent of wiggling, adoptable puppies to the law school, where students can enjoy a two-hour period in which to visit with the pups and give them the affection and socialization that is so important to their development. Typically an additional happy outcome of each of the visits is the adoption of a few of the puppies, who find their own forever homes through the event. 

This spring a second rescue organization, Homeward Trails, participated in Puppy Day, bringing both puppies and kittens to the law school.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so be sure to check out some of the photos of our April visitors posted on the university's Facebook page. In addition, you can see the puppies on video here. Photos and video are courtesy of the university's Creative Services.

Additional coverage:
Arlington Now

After defeating ILS Law School, from India, in the Round of 64, the Mason team squared off against Georgetown in the Round of 32. On the strength of brilliant arguments from Tyler Stubbs and Eric Liberman, the team advanced to the Round of 16, becoming one of only three American schools to advance to the "Sweet 16" from among the 52 schools that participated. Stubbs' arguments from the general rounds earned him an Honorable Mention for Best Individual Oralist.

This represents the first time that Mason Law has sent students to compete in the prestigious "Vis Moot," which was held March 29–April 5 for the 19th time in Vienna, Austria. 

"It is unprecedented for a first-time team to go this far," said Adjunct Professor Jack Tieder, who added that Harvard competes nearly every year and typically sends a team of 8-10 and an almost equal number of faculty advisors. Tieder, along with Shelly Ewald and Kathy Barnes (all attorneys at Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald, LLP), taught the Vis course and coached the team. Ewald traveled with the team to Vienna for the event.  

Considered to be the world’s premier international commercial law moot court, the Vis Moot  involves an arbitration of a contract of sale between two parties in countries that are parties to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. This moot provides experience in commercial litigation and arbitration skills and provides an opportunity for students to develop commercial law expertise through application to a concrete problem of a client. The research for this moot begins in the fall semester and continues through the spring, at which time two competition memoranda are due. A separate sister competition is held annually in Hong Kong.

"The Vis Moot was the most unique and worthwhile experience of my law school career." Stubbs commented. "The practical training was incredible given the complexity of the problem and the high level of competition. It was tough, but totally worth it. The Vis Moot in Vienna, Austria, was more of an experience than just an event. The number of people and diversity among the 281 teams was staggering. But because we had all struggled with the same problems since October, everyone made lasting friendships instantly. It was also great to see that the 600+ professors and practitioners who served as arbitrators were approachable and excited to attend the events. The fact that partners, practitioners, arbitrators, and professors were willing to go out of their way to meet students speaks volumes to the value of the competition."

While the ADR Society was able to send only three members overseas for the competition, students Ashley Dew, Kay Teng, Lauren Mee, Kate Telis, William Wiegand, and Lin Yang also participated as team members in the drafting of the two briefs for the event. 

While most of the competitors are GWU students, outside teams do compete in this event. Barber secured an award for Excellence in Writing Advocacy, while Santiago was given an Overall Excellence award. In addition, the two were the first team outside GWU ever to advance to the semi-final rounds. 

The annual intrascholastic competition is open to JD and LLM students. Each student has the opportunity to argue both sides of a government contracts case before experienced practitioners as well as sitting judges from the Boards of Contract Appeal and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Each team submits two briefs, one for each side, which are used during oral argument questioning. The final round is argued at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the competition problem and best briefs are published each year in the Public Contract Law Journal.

Adjunct Professor Brandy Wagstaff (’09), who supervised an independent study program for Barber and Santiago and attended the semi-finals with them, spoke of the wonderful feedback the two received from the competition's two faculty advisors, saying both advisors approached her separately to compliment the pair's oral and written advocacy skills. "I was sincerely impressed with the quality and quantity of work they did, " Wagstaff said, adding that she would like to see Mason Law students continue to participate in the event in future years. 

ABOUT THE JLR

In 1998 the Judicial and Legislative Reception began as an opportunity to recognize and honor those who serve the people of our region in their capacities on the bench or in an elected position.

The reception features food and wine from across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each year the event continues to be a great success. This year’s JLR will be no different, showcasing several Virginia wineries and offering appetizers and desserts chosen to complement the wine selections.

The event has been characterized as “the premier legal event in Northern Virginia” with attorneys, judges, legislators and Mason Law alumni looking forward to this annual gathering. In each of the past several years, we have seen nearly 400 people honor us as guests.

Governors, members of Congress, state legislators, and federal and state court judges from Virginia and the District of Columbia have attended the JLR in past years.

We look forward to your joining us as a sponsor and a guest at this wonderful event.

Plan to join us on May 23! Doors will open at 5:45 p.m. for the 6:00 p.m. event, which will run until 8:30 in the evening. 

RSVP NOW FOR THE JLR

Click here to RSVP for the 15th Annual JLR on May 23, 2012. Single tickets are $40. Mason Law students and May 2012 graduates may purchase tickets at a reduced cost of $20. Please make checks payable to GMU Foundation and note "JLR" on the check. Mail to:

Alumni Association—JLR
George Mason University School of Law
3301 Fairfax Drive, Room 370
Arlington, VA 22201

Questions? Please contact Dana Fallon, Assistant Director of Alumni Services, at 703-993-9862 or dfallon@gmu.edu.

 
BECOME AN EVENT SPONSOR

Join 2012 Gold Sponsor Charapp & Weiss at this great event. 

Sponsorships are available at the Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels, and specific benefits are extended to sponsors as outlined in the Sponsorship Opportunities brochure. In addition, all sponsors will also receive recognition via an advertisement in Virginia Lawyers Weekly and on the evening of the event. A portion of your sponsorship is tax deductible.

The sponsorship deadline to be included in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly full-page color ad is 5 p.m. on May 2.

A NOTE CONCERNING PARKING

General parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis for guest in the Founders Hall parking garage in the B2 and B3 levels. Reserved parking is available on the B1 level to invited guests who are provided parking passes that must be displayed in the car. The Founders Hall garage is accessible from the rear of the Arlington campus buildings via entrances on either Kirkwood Road or Washington Boulevard. (See map at page bottom.)

The JLR will be held this year on the ground floor of Founders Hall. Take the Founders Hall elevator from the garage to the ground floor and follow signs to the event.
(Note: Founders Hall and Hazel Hall are now connected.) 

Also competing in the event as a semi-finalist was the Mason Law team of 2Ls Al Bender, Rebecca Hartrick and Kyra Smerkanich, who secured the Best Brief award among Petitioners’ Briefs. The  Mason teams won 12 of their 13 matches, the only loss coming in the semifinal round in which the two teams faced each other

 “The quality of competitors at this year’s competition was phenomenal, and the award winners should be extremely proud of their accomplishments,” commented Alan Woodlief, Associate Dean for Administration, Associate Professor of Law, and Director of the Moot Court Program at Elon Law.

The Mason Law teams were among 33 teams of law students representing 21 law schools at the event, which was held on March 30 and 31 at Elon University School of Law. Competitors were judged on the quality of their appellate brief and oral arguments in a hypothetical First Amendment case before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Read more about the competition.

Tyson Johnson, Mark Scirocco and Tashina Harris celebrate their first place win with
a trophy.

Flanked on left by Elon law student and Moot Court Board member Zachary
Illig, Mason Law students Kyra Smerkanich, Rebecca Hartrick, and Al Bender
display their award for best petitioners' brief.

Photos courtesy of Elon University School of Law 

The fun-filled evening begins with a 7:00 p.m. Happy Hour and Silent Auction, with drinks and appetizers provided. At 7:30 p.m. the live auction begins with celebrity auctioneers Professors Michelle Boardman, Nathan Sales, and David Schleicher, who will present a host of great items to be auctioned, including BARBRI Review courses; Supreme Court bobbleheads; meals, boat outings, and juggling lessons with your favorite professors and judges; restaurant and theatre gift certificates; and many more. Check out the auction bulletin for a full listing of the items to be auctioned. 

Proceeds of the event go toward the Summer Scholarship Program, which assists students spending their summers working in unpaid public interest law jobs. 

All items purchased at the auction, even those purchased by proxies, must be paid for on April 5 via cash or check. Please plan accordingly.

The Institute for Justice and the George Mason Law Review invite you to a spring symposium: Judicial Engagement and the Role of Judges in Enforcing the Constitution.

The courts were meant to play an integral role in keeping legislators and executive branch officials within the proper bounds of their authority, but judges today are often unwilling or feel unable to enforce constitutional limits on government power. We invite you to a symposium that seeks to move beyond the rhetoric of so-called judicial activism and simply ask whether judges are properly engaged in their role of interpreting and applying the Constitution.

Come hear from the nation's leading Constitutional Law scholars, including George Mason Law professors David Bernstein, Eric Claeys, Neomi Rao, and Nelson Lund. CLE credits are available.

For further information, visit www.ij.org/cjesymposium.

Complementary student registration is available. Please email gmusymposium@gmail.com to register!

Mason's clinic, one of only a half-dozen in the U.S., allows law students to research issues, draft briefs, and consult with lawyers representing cases before the high court. Under the supervision of experienced attorneys, law students are exposed to and participate in the most cutting-edge issues of law.

Attorneys Tom McCarthy and Will Consovoy, both partners at Wiley Rein and Mason law graduates (’00), were at the Supreme Court Monday with students from Mason's Supreme Court Clinic as they assised on a case concerning time limits for prisoners challenging their convictions, Wood v. Milyard, which was argued before the high court in Washington, Monday, Feb. 27, 2012.

"One thing we've told students from the very start is, 'You should approach this like a job,'" says McCarthy.

Colorado Solicitor General Dan Domenico, upon whose case the Mason Law students worked, indicated that using the students for this purpose allowed him to double his manpower on the case.

"I think these clinics can really provide a service to those of us who don't spend the bulk of our time concentrating on the Supreme Court," said Domenico.

The idea of a Supreme Court Clinic originated at Stanford University in 2004, and since then the concept has be adopted at Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Texas, in addition to George Mason Law. It is estimated that over the past three years, students have participated in roughly one in every six cases argued before the Supreme Court.

"We're all very much aware that you can go your entire legal career without ever being on a case before this court, and it's unbelievable that we'd have this experience as law students," said clinic participant Matthew Long, who will graduate from Mason Law in May 2012.

Supreme Court 101 in session at high court, Times Union, February 28, 2012.
Excerpt:
"We now run into situations more often where we contact somebody, or somebody contacts us, and they are talking to other clinics as well," said Jeffrey Fisher, the co-director of the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, who will argue before the court Tuesday as part of a case his students worked on.

"Fisher and other instructors who run law school clinics say their classes have helped raise the quality of arguments before the court and clinics offer something big law firms can't. They are willing to get involved in disputes against big businesses, for example. And enthusiastic students can take on time-consuming tasks that would run up costs for a law firm, such as reviewing every state's policy on an issue or scouring hundreds of pages of law for the way a single word is used. There's another factor that can make clinics attractive to potential clients: Their help comes free.

"Students don't do the work alone.

"Each clinic is supervised, usually by a professor or a lawyer at a firm with extensive Supreme Court experience. Students, for their part, may work to identify lower court cases that they believe the Supreme Court will be interested in reviewing. When a clinic takes a case, students may then draft petitions asking the court to hear the case and, if the case is accepted, research and help craft legal briefs for the court."

Read the article

The Journal of Legal Metrics came about through the efforts of editors-in-chief Adam Aft (’10), Craig Rust (’10), and Alex Mitchell (’11) and is part of Mason Law Professor Ross Davies’ Journal of Law project that acts as an incubator for law journals.

The content of the Journal of Legal Metrics is scholarly in nature but allows the reader immediate access to data from all aspects of the law, legal education, and legal practice. While the authors offer their thoughts on the data, it is presented for others interested in the law to examine and draw their own conclusions.

“We live in a more and more data-driven world as computing and technology improve to allow us to access more data at our fingertips,” says Aft. “We hope to be a home for that data in the law, from data on law schools to the Supreme Court.”

The first issue of the new journal contains historical data articles, including a Supreme Court Sluggers update regarding Justices Fortas and Goldberg; Dave Hatton and Professor Jay Wexler’s Original Jurisdiction Standings dealing with how the states have fared at the Supreme Court; and information on the law-making process in Congress, with articles about the Tea Party, maverick voting, and the bills viewed on THOMAS.

In addition, Aft and Tom Cummins (’10) consider a new metric for measuring the United States Courts of Appeal and how they fare at the Supreme Court, while Rust examines the numbers resulting from Justices Stevens’ and Scalia’s time on the court and offers some conclusions about what can be learned from those numbers.

The journal also presents updates to two annual metrics on law schools and law reviews: the law school website rankings (in which Mason Law was ranked tenth) and Davies’ annual law review circulation numbers.

Aft, Rust, and Mitchell are no strangers to the collection and summation of data. Aft and Rust are part of Davies’ Supreme Court Sluggers baseball card project, for which they collect and refine data for each justice. Mitchell concentrates his efforts on the student-run FantasyLaw project, tracking data regarding Congress and its members to facilitate scholarship and a game modeled on fantasy sports. As separate entities, the Sluggers and FantasyLaw projects lend editorial support to the new journal.

“With the common theme of numbers and metrics throughout our projects, we wanted to capitalize on the potential synergies and join forces to produce the Journal of Legal Metrics,” Aft explains.

Aft, Rust, and Mitchell enjoy the support of an editorial team that includes several other alumni of the School of Law.

Read the inaugural issue of Journal of Legal Metrics here.

Chrissy Kendall (’11)  was honored in the spring by the Supreme Court Historical Society with the award of the student Hughes Gossett Literary Prize for her article "Because of His Spotless Integrity of Character, The Story of Salmon P. Chase: Cabinets, Courts and Currencies."

The award is given to recognize the accomplishments of those who work to preserve the history of the Court and contribute to the Society's educational mission. Kendall's article was written as part of her legal history seminar with Professor Ross Davies and was submitted for the prize prior to her graduation from the law school in May 2011.

Kendall's award was presented to her at the Supreme Court Historical Society's 36th Annual Meeting in June and was conferred by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

The recipient of an undergraduate degree from George Mason University, Kendall holds a BA in Russian Studies and Psychology.

Supreme Court Historical Society Quarterly

Photo credit: Supreme Court Historical Society Quarterly

The Steele Scholar Program is named in honor of Chief Justice Myron T. Steele of the Delaware Supreme Court, a noted business jurist who also has developed a substantial body of corporate legal scholarship. The program is administered by the Corporate Federalism Initiative (CFI) at Mason Law, which is directed by Professor J.W. Verret.

Steele Scholars are selected based on a competitive process involving academic performance and submission of an article. During their terms, Steele Scholars receive a substantial stipend and commit to writing an article of their own, as well as assisting faculty researchers at the CFI in their investigations into corporate law and financial regulation.

Goldstein, a graduate of the University of Vermont with a BA in economics/environmental studies, began her studies at Mason Law in fall 2010 and is currently a second-year law student.

Those interested in applying for the Steele Scholar Program should contact Professor Verret.

A Forever-Home Rescue Foundation staff and volunteers will come to the law school on Thursday, December 1, with a pack of puppies whose jobs it will be to soothe the souls of weary law students. Plan to join them between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Levy Atrium to enjoy the antics of the pups and to take a needed break from the serious business of studying for exams.

A Forever-Home Rescue Foundation is a non-profit dog rescue group in Chantilly that operates in the Northern Virginia/Washington Metropolitan area. Its stated goal is finding permanent homes for dogs by making quality dogs available for adoption and matching prospective adopters with the right animal.

Read about last April's Puppy Day.

This was Mason's first appearance at the competition. After defeating William & Mary in the semi-finals and both Villanova and Southern Methodist University in the preliminary rounds, the team went up against Emory in a grueling 6-hour final round. The point differential in the final round was less than 2 points for all judges.

Members of the team were Andy Fiorillo, Allison Tisdale, Kristen Kanaskie, and Kristen Kugel. Kugel and Fiorillo had the distinction of being awarded a perfect score by a judge in the preliminary rounds.

The Honorable Jonathan Thacher and Steve Altman serve as coaches for the Trial Advocacy team.

Mason Trial Advocacy team members Andy Fiorillo, Allison Tisdale, Kristen Kugel,
and Kristen Kanaskie are beaming after a fine performance in the Interamerican
School of Law Criminal Trial Advocacy competition in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Clinic students Lora Barnhart Driscoll, Elizabeth Garvey, and Matthew McGuire assisted in drafting the NDAA’s amicus brief, which argues that unreliable eyewitness identification evidence does not implicate the Due Process Clause if it was not procured through improper state action. 

For more information, please contact Thomas McCarthy (tmccarthy@wileyrein.com) or William Consovoy (wconsovoy@wileyrein.com), the co-directors of the Supreme Court Clinic.

Read the brief

October

Day in the Life:  Copyright/Trademark Law
Tuesday, October 4, 5:00 – 6:00 pm, room 120

SBA Casino Night
Thursday, October 6

Day in the Life:  JDs in Business
Wednesday, October 12, 5-6pm, room 225

Distinguished Alumni Present:  Practical Tips on How to Outline and Study for Exams
Thursday, October 13, 5:00 – 6:00 pm  OR  8:00 to 9:00 pm, room 225

Fundamental Skills Workshop IV – Using Practice Exams and Exam Preparation Resources
Tuesday, October 18, 4:30 – 5:30 pm   OR   8:00 – 9:00 pm

Information Session on Domicile Appeals, with Philip Hunt Associate Registrar for Certification
Wednesday October 19

Equal Justice Works Public Service Career Fair
October 21 and 22

Fundamental Skills Workshop V – Exam Taking Tips and Tackling Essay Questions
Saturday, October 22 –  9:30 – 11:00 am

Mason Law Clinical and Externship Programs Information Session
Monday, October 24, 5:00 - 6:00 pm, Room 120

November

First-Year Career Orientation Weeks
November 1 - November 25, Locations of Introductory Career and Counseling Sessions TBA

Fundamental Skills Workshop VI – Essay, Short Answer and Multiple Choice Questions
Saturday, November 5 –  9:30 – 11:00 am

A service-disabled veteran, Neff served in the United States Marine Corps at MCAGCC Twenty-Nine Palms and MCB Camp Butler, Okinawa, in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. 

Neff grew up a member of a military family, as her father served the nation for 26 years in the U.S. Navy.  She is married to a former E-2C Naval Flight Officer (USNA ’95) and was a military spouse for eight years. Neff retains many ties with and commitments to the military community that has had such a profound influence on her life.  

“Having worked at the law school for the past six years, I have had the chance to see firsthand the incredible work the Clinic does for servicemembers and their families,” says Neff. “I am privileged to have the opportunity to continue and expand on that work as the new director and hope that the Clinic provides Mason Law students not only a glimpse of real-life practice, but also an opportunity to give back to those who give so much.”

Prior to becoming director of CLAS, Neff was the Senior Assistant Director, Career Services, for the School of Law. Her professional career also includes practicing as an associate in the commercial litigation group of McGuireWoods, LLP in Tysons Corner and the litigation and family law sections of Wolcott Rivers Gates in Virginia Beach.

Neff graduated cum laude from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where she was lead articles editor for the Pepperdine Law Review. Following her graduation from law school, Neff served as a law clerk to the Honorable John C. Morrison and the Honorable Joseph A. Leafe in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Norfolk, Virginia. She is a member of the Virginia Bar.

Neff becomes director of the Clinic subsequent to the retirement of Joseph C. Zengerle, founder and first Executive Director of CLAS, who serves as Senior Advisor.

In addition to Huntsinger and Goldberg, the Mason team of Adam Fowles and Kel Rose also participated in the competition, which included law school teams from American, Brooklyn, Catholic, Duke, Duquesne, Georgetown, Harvard, New England, Rutgers, Suffolk, Temple, Baltimore, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, and Pittsburgh.

The competition is sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and named for the late Honorable Giles Sutherland Rich, a Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The competition’s focus is issues of patent and other intellectual property law.

Addressing the Mason team’s win, Adjunct Professor Bradford Kile remarked, “This is quite a significant achievement for these students to have their Appellant’s Brief judged to be better than competing briefs from other top fifty law schools such as Harvard, Duke, Rutgers, Georgetown, etc., since in the real world Federal Circuit appeals are almost always won on the briefs and not oral argument.” Kile teaches Law 123: Giles Rich Moot Court Competition, a course designed to help prepare students for the competition.

For those law students who suffer from pre-exam jitters, a pack of small, yipping puppies provided a welcome break from the rigors of exam preparation when the law school partnered with A Forever-Home Rescue Foundation to arrange the visit of 14 wiggling pups on April 28.

The event, now referred to as "Puppy Day," was the brainchild of law school staff member Rusty O'Connor and was made possible by Debbie Marson of the foundation, who arrived along with two volunteers and the puppies, which were placed in small enclosures in the law school atrium. There under the watchful eye of their caretakers, the Rottweiler/Shepherd mixes, hound mixes, and Miniature Pinschers tumbled and played to the enjoyment of those who came to visit them.

Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., stressed-out law students took full advantage of the opportunity to handle the puppies and enjoy their antics while receiving the benefit of a cuddle and a lick on the cheek before having to return to more serious business.

Allison Tisdale, SBA Vice President of Social Affairs, was enthusiastic about the puppy visit, saying, "The students  were raving about it, and I think that it was the perfect break from studying for finals."

A Forever-Home Rescue Foundation is a non-profit dog rescue group in Chantilly that operates in the Northern Virginia/Washington Metropolitan area. Its stated goal is finding permanent homes for dogs by making quality dogs available for adoption and matching prospective adopters with the right animal.

Cockrell, who graduates in May, has been a member of the George Mason Law Review and received the award for his student comment, "Subprime Solutions to the Housing Crisis: Constitutional Problems with the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009." Cockrell previously had received the 2010 Adrian S. Fisher Award for the Best Student Note or Comment for the same written piece. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and holds a BA in Foreign Affairs.

As a Burton Award winner, Cockrell has been invited to attend the organization's 12th annual black-tie presentation of the Burton Awards at a reception and dinner in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on June 13. Among the guest speakers and honored guests for the event will be U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer.

Founded in 1999, the Burton Awards program is run in association with the Library of Congress and its Law Library. Nominations for the award are made by law school deans and managing partners of the 1000 largest U.S. law firms. Fifteen Burton Award law school winners are selected annually from law schools across the nation to receive this award, which honors partners in law firms and law students who set a high standard for clarity and effectiveness in legal writing.

The awards are selected, generally, by professors from Harvard Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, the University of California at Irvine School of Law, among others. Judge Richard Posner (7th Circuit US Court of Appeals), Chief Judge Alex Kozinski (9th Circuit US Court of Appeals), U.S. Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., Chairman Spencer Bachus, Judith Kaye (Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals) (retired), and Supreme Court Justice Carol Corrigan of California are honorary members on the Board of Directors.

Read more about the Burton Award

George Mason University School of Law, in partnership with Wiley Rein LLP, a Washington, D.C. law firm, will launch the Supreme Court Clinic to provide pro bono legal representation before the United States Supreme Court. The year-long clinic will provide George Mason law students with the opportunity to work closely with Wiley Rein attorneys to identify cases of interest, research legal issues, and draft Supreme Court briefs on behalf of parties and amici at both the certiorari and merits stages.

In addition to working with Wiley Rein attorneys on Supreme Court cases, students accepted into the clinic will receive classroom instruction, analyze federal and state appellate decisions for possible litigation opportunities, and attend at least one Supreme Court argument per term. The clinic will be a two-semester course and will include approximately 12 to 15 students per year.

The Supreme Court Clinic will be directed by William S. Consovoy (photo top, far left) and Thomas R. McCarthy (photo top, near left). Consovoy and McCarthy are lawyers in Wiley Rein's Appellate Group and both are 2001 graduates of George Mason University School of Law. Consovoy previously clerked for Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court and Chief Judge Edith H. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. McCarthy previously clerked for Chief Judge David B. Sentelle of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Judge Frank W. Bullock Jr. of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

"We are very pleased to partner with such a highly regarded firm as Wiley Rein on the Supreme Court Clinic," says Dean Daniel D. Polsby. "Our students eagerly seek field experiences, and this program will give them new opportunities to observe and participate in the business of the highest court in the land."

"We are excited about the Clinic and for the opportunity our appellate lawyers will have to work with George Mason students on Supreme Court cases," says Richard E. Wiley, managing partner of Wiley Rein. "The Clinic continues our strong tradition of pro bono service. At the same time, it will increase our presence at the Supreme Court and thus is a great addition to our already prolific appellate practice."

Wiley Rein's appellate practice is co-chaired by former Supreme Court clerks Andrew G. McBride and Helgi C. Walker and includes a deep bench of appellate lawyers and former judicial clerks. The clinic also will be an invaluable contribution to George Mason University School of Law, as it will expose students to one of the most intellectually challenging areas of the law—Supreme Court advocacy. In addition to working with Wiley Rein attorneys on Supreme Court cases, students accepted into the clinic will receive classroom instruction, analyze federal and state appellate decisions for possible litigation opportunities, and attend at least one Supreme Court argument per term. The clinic will be a two-semester course and will include approximately 12 to 15 students per year.

On Wednesday, March 30, the law school will hold an information session about the clinic for interested students in Hazel Hall, Room 329, at 5 p.m.