Greetings Alumni! We hope everyone stayed safe and warm during Winter Storm Fern last month! With the law school now back into its regular rhythm, we’re excited to keep you connected and informed on what's happening on campus.
Last week, we were delighted to welcome alumni back to campus for lunch, followed by a faculty-led CLE. The program featured timely legal insights and practical perspectives from our faculty, sparking thoughtful discussion and meaningful questions from attendees. We are grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make the afternoon both engaging and memorable.
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New video alert: Check out the refreshed Belmont Law Admissions video and feel free to share with people who are interested in knowing more about Belmont Law.
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Many attorneys spend decades practicing and never work a case that goes before the Supreme Court of the United States. Read here about how alumna Sarah Ingalls (c' 20) reached the nation’s highest court early in her legal journey.
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| Happenings at the Law School
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Students have had a busy start to the semester with multiple opportunities to engage with the legal community on campus.
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- Employer Day connected students with employers from nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and private practice, offering a broad look at career paths across the legal profession.
- OCIs brought many of our alumni back to campus to interview students for summer and post-graduate positions.
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Mocktails & Mentorship in partnership with the TBA Young Lawyers Division explored topics of mentorship, leadership and communication.
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"I would not hesitate to recommend to any employer that it consider Belmont students, in particular due to Belmont’s obviously successful student recruitment and its education of its students in an environment that fosters a maturity and seriousness around the practice of law that is often lacking in young attorneys. " Mark A. Ison, Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison
"The focus on experiential learning is invaluable. Recently, a Belmont grad interned with our office and then accepted a position with another public defender’s office after graduating. Because they had participated in several internships/externships, they were able to hit the ground running and started representing clients in criminal court without the jitters or hesitancy that some new attorneys have who have not been in an actual courtroom before starting their practice." Mitch Raines, Assistant Public Defender, Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference
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| Dean's Corner: Assistant Dean Travis Brandon
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Professors at Belmont Law have been busy this year writing cutting-edge scholarship on important legal issues. They have published books, articles, and essays, and have presented at conferences around the country. Here are a few examples of the scholarship published during the past year.
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Lucian Dervan published a new book titled The Cost of Plea Bargains: Reflections and Recommendations from the ABA Plea Bargain Task Force, which “tells the story of plea bargaining's rise, the early roots of the movement to reform pleas, and the work and recommendations of the American Bar Association's Plea bargaining Task Force.” Professor Dervan is the founding director of the Plea Bargaining Institute, and brings years of research and experience to this new book.
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Loren Mulraine published his article “Reimagining the Music Industry: In Search of a More Perfect Union” in the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law. Bringing his years of experience and deep knowledge, Mulraine argues in favor of a new model for the music industy that would include “equity ownership of master recordings” and would “revise contract terms and eliminate the unilateral options and the unduly burdensome clauses such as the controlled composition clause.”
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In Spring of 2025, Amy Moore spoke at the Catholic University Law Review symposium on “Traditional Judicial Power & Doctrinal Development.” Professor Moore, a recognized expert on administrative law, constitutional law, and Federal courts, spoke on her article “Splitting the Statute: Severability as a Canon of Construction or Constitutional Concern?,” which was published by the Catholic University Law Review. In the paper, Moore argues that the Court’s current severability analysis “now serves as a barometer of judicial restraint: expansive in preserving landmark legislation, but skeptical when agency power is at stake.”
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Ellen Black, an expert on health law, published her article “Unvaccinated by Doubt: How COVID-19 Governance Sparked a Measles Revival,” with the Florida International Law Review. In the article, Black argues that the recent surge in measles cases can be traced to a distrust of public health officials stemming from “the government's actions during COVID-19,” which “led to this lack of trust, by providing conflicting guidance as to face masking requirements, by mandating the COVID-19 vaccine without acknowledging natural immunity, and by the inconsistency of lockdown parameters.”
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Warmly,
Travis Brandon
Assistant Dean for Research and Scholarship
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Support Our Future Legal Leaders
Your gift to the College of Law helps prepare the next generation of transformative legal professionals. Join us in shaping the future of legal education and practice.
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Class Notes and Additional News
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✍️ Lauren Topping (c'14) has joined Holtzman Vogel, as Of-Counsel. She will focus on election and political law compliance and ethics, drawing on her previous roles as General Counsel to the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance and Assistant General Counsel to the Office of Secretary of State.
✍️ Petar Angelov (c'17) has been promoted to Partner at Bradley. Petar is a member of the firm's Construction Practice Group.
✍️ Hilary C. Dennen (c'17) was named a Member of GSRM Law. Her practice is focused on litigation, labor and employment, estate planning and probate.
✍️ Anna Lucchese (c'25) has joined the Louisville law firm Fultz Maddox Dickens PLC. She will practice with the firm’s commercial litigation group, assisting clients in a variety of complex business and civil disputes, providing support at all stages of litigation.
✍️ Congratulations to Madison Biggs (c'21), Seth Cline (c'18), Sarah Ingalls (c'20), Devon Williamson (c'17), and Emily Guthrie (c'20) for all being selected for the TBA's 2026 Leadership Law (TBALL) program
✍️ Dean Gonzales to Step Down: Former U.S. Attorney General leaves legacy of innovation, excellence
✍️ Forward Trajectory: University leader's contract extended amid record momentum, transformative growth and ambitious vision for the future
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✍️ Alumni Spotlight: Complete this form to share your professional achievements for our next newsletter!
✍️ Briefcase: Is your Briefcase profile up to date? View job opportunities, recruit Belmont law students or connect with fellow alumni.
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