Robert C. Khayat Law Center. Photo by Robert Jordan/University Communications

OXFORD, Miss. – Alumni of the University of Mississippi School of Law have a new way to feed their competitive side while giving back to their alma mater with the school’s newest initiative.

The UM Law Firm Challenge encourages 20 Mississippi law firms to reach 100 percent giving participation from alumni within the firm.

“During my time as dean, it has been evident that Ole Miss law alumni are very loyal and supportive of the law school, so I know that they will respond well to this initiative,” said Susan Duncan, dean of the school. “We are excited to see which firms come out on top.”

The goal of the competition is to increase the giving rate among the school’s 7,000 alumni, which runs about 4.4 percent. By increasing giving participation, alumni can help provide the school with vital scholarship and operational funds that will benefit our students during their legal education.

“We are at a time when private support is essential for law students,” said Suzette Matthew, development officer for the School of Law. “As we continue to transition into the new world of law practice and legal education, the law school’s success depends significantly on our generous donors.”

The challenge began July 1 and runs through June 30, 2018. Gifts can be made to any UM Law Fund, and gifts already given during these dates will be included.

Firms that reach 100 percent giving participation will receive a trophy, recognition on the school’s website and recognition in the alumni newsletter.

An incentive to reach full participation as quickly as possible also is in place. The challenge has been divided into four categories: firms with 41 or more alumni, firms with 11-40 alumni, firms with 3-10 alumni and other entities, which includes offices with Ole Miss law alumni that are not law firms.

The firm that reaches 100 percent first in its category will receive a personalized trophy and premium placement on the school’s website and the alumni newsletter.

To take the challenge, contact Carol Mockbee at ccmockbe@olemiss.edu or Suzette Matthews at suzette@olemiss.edu. For more information, visit https://law.olemiss.edu/alumni-friends/um-law-firm-challenge/.

Paul Fitzgerald

OXFORD, Miss. – Canadian aviation law expert Paul Fitzgerald visits the University of Mississippi School of Law on Wednesday (Nov. 1) for a discussion of a major trans-Atlantic pact between Air Canada, Lufthansa and United Airlines.

His talk, titled “Introducing A++, A Global Mega Airline You’ve Never Heard Of,” is set for 12:45 p.m. in Room 1115 of the law center. The lecture is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be provided.

A member of the Canadian Transportation Agency and professor at the McGill Institute of Air and Space Law, Fitzgerald has served as an adviser to the government on aviation, rail and marine matters.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for our students to have someone of Dr. Fitzgerald’s international reputation come to Ole Miss to not only speak to our students and faculty, but also to run a workshop in one of our aviation courses,” said Andrea Harrington, associate director of the law school’s LL.M. program in air and space law.

The UM law school has a concentration program in remote sensing, air and space law for J.D. students and an LL.M. program in air and space law for advanced students. Home to the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law, it is the country’s only law school to have a program in aviation.

For more information on Fitzgerald, visit https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/members#fitzgerald. For more information on the air and space law program at Ole Miss, visit http://www.spacelaw.olemiss.edu/.

Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter (left) and his wife, Sharon (right), congratulate the Ole Miss law school’s winning moot court team, (from left) Meredith Pohl, faculty coach Chris Green and James Blake Kelly. UM photo by Jordan Thomas

OXFORD, Miss. – Two University of Mississippi law students recently successfully argued their case and won a moot court completion as part of the bicentennial of Mississippi’s judiciary and legal profession.

Third-year students James Blake Kelly, of Brandon, and Meredith Pohl, of Houston, Texas, defeated a team from the Mississippi College School of Law in the Sept. 27 event in Jackson. The winning team is coached by professor Chris Green.

The competition featured the largest panel of chief justices and chief judges in the state’s 200 years, Green said.

“It was a huge honor to be able to work with students as hard-working, bright, creative and with such appellate litigation talent as Meredith and James,” he said.

Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. presided over the competition and watched as Kelly and Pohl successfully defended the convicted plaintiff in the fictional “Millstone v. United States” case by proving that he was falsely convicted of criminal negligence.

“The opportunity to argue a case before such a distinguished panel of judges was incredible,” Kelly said. “They asked very challenging questions, which required us to think about and respond to a broad range of issues.”

Pohl said that her moot court experiences have prepared her for a career in appellate litigation.

“Appellate litigation is my chosen career path, and to have this kind of experience at 23 years of age is more than I could ever have dreamed,” she said.

The competition can be viewed online at https://livestream.com/supremecourtofms/Bicentennial-MootCourt. For more information on the Ole Miss School of Law, go to https://law.olemiss.edu/.

U.S. Circuit Judge Robert L. Wilkins

OXFORD, Miss. – U.S. Circuit Judge Robert L. Wilkins will visit Oxford to speak Wednesday (Oct. 11) at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Wilkins serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and was instrumental in the development of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. His book, “Long Road to Hard Truth,” tells the story behind the inspiration for the building of the museum.

Wilkin’s presentation, set for 12:45 p.m. in Weems Auditorium, Room 1078, is free and open to the public.

“Judge Wilkins is a good friend of mine; we were colleagues together in Washington, D.C.,” said Tucker Carrington, UM associate professor of law and director of the George C. Cochran Innocence Project. “It’s going to be great. He has a great story to tell, not only about the museum, but about the long road to construction.”

Wilkins’ presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Lunch will be provided. 

Following the event, Wilkins will sign copies of “Long Road to Hard Truth,” which will be available for purchase at the law school. The book signing is set for 2:30 p.m.

For more information about Wilkins’ visit, contact Carol Mockbee at carol@ms-ip.org or call 662-915-6000.

Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr.

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi School of Law is participating in the bicentennial of Mississippi’s judiciary and legal profession Wednesday (Sept. 27) in Jackson.

Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. will be on hand for the celebration, and a full day of events, including a moot court competition between law students from Ole Miss and Mississippi College, is planned.

“We are so excited to have the chance to take a selection of our students to Jackson for this once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Susan Duncan, UM law dean. “Not all law students are able to interact with a U.S. Supreme Court justice.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to meet with some of the top legal minds in our state and country, and in turn, we are eager to show off the caliber of students we have at our law school.”

Students from the UM School of Law and Mississippi College School of Law will have a chance to meet Roberts on Wednesday morning at the Mississippi Supreme Court. The Ole Miss law school also is hosting a networking reception at the Supreme Court building for Jackson-area attorneys and law students from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m., before the moot court competition.

Third-year students James Blake Kelly, of Brandon, and Meredith Pohl, of Houston, Texas, will represent UM in the competition, with professor Chris Green serving as their coach.

The competition will be judged by a panel including Roberts, Chief Justice William Waller of the Mississippi Supreme Court, Chief Judge Carl Stewart of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Chief Judge L. Joseph Lee of the Mississippi Court of Appeals, Chief Judge Sharion Aycock of the Northern District of Mississippi and Chief Judge Louis Guirola Jr. of the Southern District of Mississippi.

“It has been enormously rewarding and a great honor to work with students as talented, poised and hard-working as Meredith and James and dig with them into issues of criminal negligence in the Clean Water Act and corruption in the federal witness-tampering statute,” Green said.

“They will be sure to have the experience of a lifetime arguing in front of one of the most experienced and prestigious panel of judges – surely the largest collection of chief justices and chief judges – assembled in our state’s 200 years.”

Following the competition is a reception and banquet hosted by the Mississippi Bar Association at the Hilton Jackson.

The UM moot court team celebrates its North American championship at the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition at Georgetown University. The team includes (from left) assistant coach Marshall McKellar, Alexia Boggs, Kent Aldenderfer, Kyle Hansen and Andrea Harrington, the team’s faculty adviser and coach. Submitted photo

OXFORD, Miss. – Since winning the North American championship in April, the moot court team at the University of Mississippi School of Law has been busy preparing for its next challenge: the World Championship.

The team’s win at the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition at Georgetown University Law Center earned it the right to compete in the international finals this month in Adelaide, Australia. The team began preparing immediately, but with two members graduating in May and everyone going different directions for summer break, they had to find ways to continue practicing remotely.

The Ole Miss team consists of third-year students Kent Aldenderfer of Huntsville, Alabama, and Kyle Hansen of Issaquah, Washington, and recent graduate Alexia Boggs (JD 2017), from Nashville, Tennessee. Andrea Harrington, the school’s air and space law instructor, serves as faculty adviser, and recent graduate Marshall McKellar (JD 2017), of Hattiesburg, is the team’s assistant coach.

“Over the summer, it was difficult to get many practices in, but we did fit in a few practices on Google Hangout because everyone was pretty much in a different city,” Harrington said. “But once we got back from the break, we had a couple of practices on campus with Kent and Kyle and a couple of online practices with Alexia.

“We also scheduled the week of Labor Day for Alexia and Marshall to come back, and we had an intensive week of practices.”

During the week the team was all back in Oxford, it conducted two practices a day most days. Several professors came to judge the team and give members a variety of perspectives. After the week concluded, the team will have a few more online practices before leaving for Australia.

Although the moot court problem is the same from the North American championships, this round features unknown factors for the team.

“The way this competition is different from a lot of moot courts is you have to prepare both sides of the argument, so you have to prepare a brief for both sides and oral argument for both sides, which is why there are three on the team,” Boggs explained. “Once we’re there, it’s a flip of the coin as to which side we will argue each round.”

The preparations were greatly enhanced by help of several faculty and staff members as well as the dedication of McKellar, who was a member of the 2016 team, Harrington said.

The team is scheduled to arrive in Australia on Sept. 22 and 23 and begin in-person practices once they are all there. The semifinal round of the competition is Sept. 26, and the final round is Sept. 28.

The team will be vying for the university’s second world championship in the competition. An Ole Miss team won the 2015 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition in Jerusalem, beating teams from India and Greece.

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi School of Law is honoring the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution by hosting the university’s Constitution Day commemoration at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 20) in Weems Auditorium.

Each year, the celebration features a panel, which is an edition of the school’s Student Legal Scholarship Exposition. Students will present their published and forthcoming works on specific constitutional issues, followed by responses from faculty and audience members.

“We have one of the most robust and thoughtful constitutions in the world,” said Michele Alexandre, the school’s associate dean who organized the event. “It is exciting to have such high-level engagement taking place on constitutional issues between our faculty and students.”

This year’s presenters are Allison Bruff, speaking on “Ripe for Rejection: A Methodology for States’ Departure from Utah v. Strieff and Its Poisonous Fruit” (Mississippi Law Journal, Volume 86); Catherine Norton, “Keeping Faith with the Fourth Amendment: Why States Should Require a Warrant for Breathalyzer Tests in the Wake of Birchfield v. North Dakota” (Mississippi Law Journal, Volume 87, forthcoming); and TreMarcus Rosemon, “Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones … But Symbols Hurt, Too: Government Speech and the First Amendment” (work-in-progress).

The faculty discussants are Chris Green and Matthew Hall.

The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.