Welcome to another edition of See infra, delivering a sampling of news from St. John's Law. 

Last Tuesday, our newest J.D. students officially joined the St. John’s Law community at our 1L Convocation. This year’s incoming class includes 260 students from 14 countries and 23 states. After our most competitive admissions cycle to date, we’re excited to welcome this exceptional group of students and can’t wait to see all they accomplish!

This summer, 140 students received substantial stipends for unpaid internships at nonprofit organizations and government agencies in New York and nationwide through the Law School's Summer Public Interest & Public Service Fellowship Program. Expanding access to these transformative opportunities are generous St. John's Law alumni, including Maryann Canfield ’92, whose philanthropy helps students gain hands-on experience serving communities and advancing justice. Read more.

When trial lawyer Greg Kehoe became U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida last year, it marked the latest milestone in a distinguished career guided by three enduring principles: follow the evidence, pursue the truth, and do the right thing. Read more about Kehoe and his approach to leading by example.

Join us on Monday, October 5, 2026, at the Rockaway Hunting Club as we drive, chip, and putt to support student scholarships at this year’s Hon. Theodore T. Jones, Jr. '72L, '07HON Memorial Golf Outing.

Honorees:
Richard L. Stehl '92, Chairman, Otterbourg P.C.
Ayanna Y. Thomas '15, General Counsel, Democracy Prep Public Schools

Rising Star Award Recipient:
Anthony J. Scotti '13, Partner, Milber Makris Plousadis & Seiden, LLP

Register to attend the Golf Outing!

Professor Taifha Natalee Alexander’s essay, “Building Shields: Accreditation, Insurance, and Public-Private Partnerships as Tools to Safeguard Critical Race Theory and Democracy in Higher Education,” appears in the Boston University Law Review.

Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship and Professor Noa Ben-Asher’s book, Secular-Christian Social Justice: Climate, Race, and Gender in the Twenty-First Century (NYU Press) has been published. As shared in a post at Canopy Forum, the book investigates the hybrid secular-theological nature of contemporary social justice domains, asking: what does social justice mean in the twenty-first century?

Professor Philip Lee’s article “Asian Americans and Selective Public High School Admissions: Deconstructing the Wedge” has been accepted for publication in UC Berkeley Law’s Asian American Law Journal.

Associate Dean for Library Services and Professor Courtney Selby has completed work on the 5th edition of New York Legal Research (Carolina Academic Press). The publication is part of a series focused on identifying jurisdiction-specific resources for legal practice, developing comprehensive research strategies, and emphasizing the connection between legal research and analysis.

Professor Miriam A. Cherry, Faculty Director of our Center for Labor and Employment Law, shared her expertise with NPR's All Things Considered for its Word of the Week piece on "Luddite.” Her perspective draws on years of scholarship exploring the intersection of labor, technology, and the future of work, including her thought-provoking fictional essay, "The Future Encyclopedia of Luddism," published by the MIT Press Reader, imagining an alternate history in which the Luddites prevail.

Professors Ashley B. Armstrong, Rosa Castello, and Eric Shannon joined Vice Dean and Professor Rachel H. Smith at the 2026 Biennial Legal Writing Conference, where they shared insights on topics ranging from accessibility in the Legal Research and Writing classroom to putting judicial opinions in broader context and offering advice to newer Legal Research and Writing professors.

Professor Armstrong also attended the Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) Annual Conference, where she helped facilitate the Prospective Law Teachers Workshop. Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure attended the Conference as well, serving as a discussant in two half-day sessions: Governing Digital Transformation: Regulatory Competition, Institutional Capacity, and the Future of Rights and Corporate Power and Accountability in Global Value Chains: Human Rights, Sustainability, Labor, and Technology.

Professor Taifha Natalee Alexander presented her Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review article, “Systemic Racism as Negligence,” at the Private Law and Multicultural Identities Workshop in Arona, Italy. She also co-led the event’s endowed Irving L. Goldberg Panel on Systemic Racism as Negligence—Private Law as Structural Accountability.

Professor Ashley B. Armstrong has been selected for three national leadership roles in recognition of her scholarship, service, and leadership in the legal research and writing community. She will serve as Co-Chair the 11th Biennial Applied Legal Storytelling Conference; as Chair of the Legal Writing Institute’s (LWI) Diversity and Inclusion Committee; and as Co-Chair of LWI’s New Teacher Training Bootcamp Planning Committee.

Dean & Rose DiMartino and Karen Sue Smith Professor of Law Jelani Jefferson Exum delivered the keynote address at a Queens County Supreme Court, Criminal Term celebration commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. In her remarks, she reflected on the enduring promise of the Declaration and the vital role lawyers and court personnel play in safeguarding its principles.

Professor Martin LaFalce has been appointed to the New York City Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. Professor LaFalce previously served on the Committee as the Law School's representative. This time, he joins the Committee as a mayoral appointee, recognizing his leadership in New York's legal community as a longtime public defender at The Legal Aid Society and in his current role as Director of our in-house Defense and Advocacy Clinic. St. John's Law alumnus Thomas J. Principe '69C, '73L, a partner at Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore, also continues his service on the Committee.

Every day, St. John’s Law students excel in and beyond the classroom. We highlight their accomplishments in a curated collection of stories you’ll find in the Student Success section of our online newsroom. Enjoy!

Comments, Suggestions, or Content Ideas?
Please email Lori Herz, See infra's Managing Editor and Lead Writer, at herzl@stjohns.edu.

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