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Dear alumni and friends:

This October, we've had wonderful reminders of how many accomplished VLS alumni we have whose careers have focused on or included government service. Roger Martella '95 (below left), a former EPA General Counsel who now serves as GE's Chief Sustainability Officer, delivered our annual Distinguished Lecture on Climate Change Governance on Oct. 9, organized by the Energy, Environment and Land Use Program and made possible by the Sally Shallenberger Brown EELU Program Fund, endowed in 2021 by Martin Shallenberger Brown '92. Then on Oct. 12, U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic Gautam Rana '97 (below right) delivered the Jonathan I. Charney Lecture in International Law, organized by the International Legal Studies Program. Roger also serves as GE's global Head of Engagement, Government Affairs, and Policy, working closely with government environmental policymakers worldwide, and Gautam is a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, which he joined in 2003. Our students were fortunate to hear two outstanding role models from within the VLS alumni community discuss their important work at the frontiers of international and environmental policy, and I thank Roger and Gautam for visiting VLS and sharing their insights with our students and faculty.

This Friday, I look forward to seeing members of our Board of Advisors for our annual fall meeting and welcoming almost 400 alumni who graduated in years ending in 3 and 8 and their guests to Reunion Weekend 2023. JP Motley JD/MBA '99 will preside over his first meeting as our Board president, and I am grateful for JP's willingness to take on this leadership role and for the wise counsel we receive from our 55 Board members. If you're interested in serving on our Board, I urge you to contact Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations Clay Cline.

I invite you to check out the VLS website, which has a new look this month thanks to the hard work of Assistant Dean for Marketing and Communications Nate Luce and many other VLS and University staff. Most prospective students get their first impression of VLS by visiting our website, and we're proud of our new look.

I end with sad news: Judge Richard Dinkins '77, who served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals from 2008 until his retirement last year, died on Oct. 1, and Ricky Wilkins '90, a leader in the Memphis Bar Association, died on Oct. 19. Richard was a civil rights lawyer in Nashville for many years before taking a seat on the Davidson County Chancery Court in 2003. Ricky led his own law firm and represented Memphis and the Memphis Charter Association as an attorney. Both leave oustanding legacies of public and community service.

As always, thank you for your engagement in the VLS community. Our doors are always open when you are in Nashville.

Sincerely yours,

Chris Guthrie
Dean and John Wade-Kent Syverud Professor of Law

Save the Date & Join Us at Our Future Campaign Events!

Miami, Jan. 30, 2024 – Perez Art Museum, 6:30-9 p.m.
Dallas, March 4, 2024 – Perot Museum of Nature & Science, 6:30-9 p.m.
Atlanta, Los Angeles, & San Francisco – TBD

Eva Dossier '11 Selected as U.S. Magistrate Judge

Dossier will serve on the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans. She was a John W. Wade Scholar at VLS and graduated Order of the Coif. She was a law clerk to Judges Lance M. Africk of the Eastern District of Louisiana and James B. Loken of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals before entering private practice as a litigator. She was most recently a member of Stanley Reuter Thornton & Alford.

Nicole Langston Identifies Inequities in Bankruptcy Code

In her recently published California Law Review article, Assistant Professor Langston shows how inequities in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code result in inconsistent debt relief to consumers who file for bankruptcy protection. Civil awards to victims of employment discrimination, unpaid wages, discrimination, sexual harassment, or police brutality can be forgiven if the individual ordered to pay a settlement files for bankruptcy, while civil and criminal fees owed to government entities and student debt are never eligible for bankruptcy forgiveness. Read more.

EELU White Paper Focuses on TVA's "Sluggish" Transition to Clean Energy Sources

A white paper by EELU Program Director Caroline Cox and Fellow Madeline Flynn '23 shows how TVA's slow transition to clean energy sources make transitioning to clean energy harder for local utilities who buy power from TVA. Read more.

Judge Richard Dinkins '77 Dead at 71

Judge Dinkins, shown left delivering a talk at VLS in 2014, served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals from 2008 until his retirement in 2022. He spent 18 years in private practice, serving as the lead attorney on Nashville school desegregation cases and other civil rights cases. He was the cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Read more.

Memphis Civic Leader Ricky Wilkins '90 Dead at 58

A Memphis native, Wilkins returned to his hometown after earning his undergraduate degree at Howard University and his J.D. at VLS and led his own law firm, The Law Offices of Ricky E. Wilkins. He was a leader in the Memphis Bar Association and the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association. As an attorney, he represented the city of Memphis for mny years and represented the Memphis Charter Commission. He was a longtime member of the Memphis Housing Authority.