Colleagues,

Welcome to another issue of St. John’s Law Faculty News, featuring the achievements and activities of our full-time faculty.

As impactful educators and accomplished scholars who share their insights in print, in the media, and in the field, our faculty is a pillar of excellence, prominence, and impact at, and beyond, St. John's Law.

Best,
Jelani Jefferson Exum
Dean & Rose DiMartino and Karen Sue Smith Professor of Law

“Hell Hath No Fury Like a White Man Scorned,” an article by Professor Renee Nicole Allen, has been accepted for publication in the Boston University Law Review. In it, she examines a lawsuit filed by Faculty, Alumni, & Students Opposed to Racial Preferences against Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Professor Anna Arons’ article, “Family Regulation’s Consent Problem,” has been accepted for publication in the Columbia Law Review. The article looks at the central role of so-called “consent searches” of families’ homes in family regulation (child welfare) investigations.

Professor Noa Ben-Asher contributed to Social Movements and the Law: Talking about Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, a new book from University of California Press.

Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure’s forthcoming book, Taken No More: Protecting Your Children Against Traffickers and Cults (Bloomsbury), is written as a practical guide for parents, caregivers, and mental health professionals.

Professor Edward Cavanagh’s article, “Taming the Wild West: Can Order Be Restored to the Collegiate Playing Fields?,” has been published by the Rutgers Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Professor Elaine Chiu’s article, “The Model Minority Victim,” will appear in an upcoming issue of the Santa Clara Law Review. The article features an empirical study of how the criminal legal system responded to anti-Asian attacks in New York City in 2021.

"Distorted Narratives in the Treatment Program Complex," an article by Professor Evelyn Malavé, appears in the Fordham Law Review.

William S. Hein has published Sports Betting: A Legal Research Guide, a work co-authored by Professor and Associate Dean for Library Services Courtney Selby and Christopher Anderson, Deputy Director for Library Services at St. John’s Rittenberg Law Library.

Professor Jacob Todres’ article, “Current Developments in Tax Malpractice: Basics and Beyond,” appears in the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review.

Professor Cheryl Wade contributed a chapter on “Race and the American Corporation: The Rhetoric of Anti-Racism and Diversity in the Twenty-First Century” for The Oxford Handbook of Race and Law in the United States (Oxford Academic). She also contributed a chapter on “Formalizing Compliance to Reduce Board Exposure to Civil and Criminal Liability” for The Law of Fraternities and Sororities (Carolina University Press).

Professor G. Ray Warner authored several chapters for a new treatise on cross-border insolvency, The UNCITRAL Model Laws on Cross-Border Insolvency and on the Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments: An Article-by-Article Commentary (Edward Elgar).

Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure took the guest seat for a recent podcast episode that tapped her expertise on prosecuting cult leaders.

For an episode of The Low of the Land podcast, Professor Elaine Chiu described the evolution and limitations of restraining orders as tools for protecting people from domestic violence.

Professor Martin LaFalce, director of St. John’s in-house Defense and Advocacy Clinic, worked with several other law professors in the New York area to draft a letter (PDF) opposing Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed rollbacks to New York’s landmark 2020 criminal discovery reforms. Appearing on Spectrum News NY1's Inside City Hall, Professor LaFalce shared how the 2020 discovery reforms have served the ends of justice for his clients and all New Yorkers.

In a story for Reuters, Professor Michael Perino comments on Meta's and Nvidia's efforts in the U.S. Supreme Court to defend against federal securities fraud lawsuits.

Professor Rosemary Salomone’s award-winning book, The Rise of English: Global Politics and the Power of Language (Oxford University Press), is quoted extensively in The New Yorker's recent article, “How Much Does Our Language Shape Our Thinking?” Her essay, “English in the Crossfire of US Immigration,” is posted on Language on the Move as part of a miniseries on the politics of language and migration.

Professor Renee Nicole Allen was a panelist for an Association of American Law Schools (AALS) program on Navigating, Challenging, and Transcending Law School Faculty Hierarchies. She was also elected to the Society of American Law Teachers’ Board of Governors.

Professor Ashley B. Armstrong presented at the Legal Writing Institute’s Teacher Training Bootcamp 2.0, as part of a panel discussion introducing effective classroom exercises to participants. Her exercise focused on crafting impactful preliminary statements.

Professor John Q. Barrett spoke at Korematsu v. United States at 80: Reenactment & Re-litigation at GW Law. He lectured at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Brandeis Law Society, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Boston College Law on topics related to the Holocaust, the Nuremberg trials, and antisemitism. He also gave the Wald Lecture in Judaic Studies in Omaha, participated in this year’s Missouri Law Review symposium, and was part of an Academic Exchange mission to Israel.

Professor Christopher Borgen gave a presentation on International Law, Outer Space, and National Security at the 30th Annual Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS) Conference at Duke Law School.

Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure presented to forensic psychiatrists from the Harvard Medical School – Program in Psychiatry & the Law. Her topic was the subject of her American Journal of Trial Advocacy article, “Undoing Undue Influence: How the Doctrine Can Avoid Judicial Subjectivity by Omitting the Vulnerability Element.” 

Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum chaired the AALS Workshop for Pretenured Law School Teachers of Color at the 2025 AALS Annual Meeting in San Francisco. She also participated in the United States Sentencing Commission Drug Sentencing Roundtable, was appointed as a member of the New York State Justice Task Force, and joined the Neighborhood Defender Service Board of Trustees, serving as Board Secretary.

Professor Kate Klonick was recognized as one of The Top Legal Scholars of 2024. She has shared her expert insights at the intersection of law, technology, and online content in leading publications, as a podcast guest, and at her Substack, The Klonickles.

At the New England Legal Writing Conference at Boston University School of Law, Professor Louis Jim participated in a panel discussion that addressed best practices in eliminating and minimizing implicit bias in evaluating students participating in moot court competitions.

Professor Philip Lee presented At the Schoolhouse Gate: Student and Teacher Freedom of Expression in Public Schools (K-12) to Boston Public Schools’ staff and leaders as part of the Dr. Carol Johnson District Leadership Fellowship. As a panelist at the annual Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation sponsored by Widener Commonwealth Law School’s American Constitution Society, Professor Lee presented on How Colorblindness Impedes Educational Access.

Professor Evelyn Malavé is the Chair-Elect of the AALS Criminal Procedure Section. She will serve one year as Chair-Elect and then, per the by-laws, become Chair the following year.

Professor Mark Movsesian, Director of St. John’s Mattone Center for Law and Religion, launched the Center's YouTube channel, featuring the new animated video series Landmark Cases in Religious Freedom and other content.

Professor Colleen Parker presented on why well-being should be prioritized in law schools at a virtual event for the Tri-State Area Well-Being Consortium for Law Schools. She co-presented on The Art and Craft of Persuasive Writing with Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure at a continuing legal education program hosted by the Nassau County Bar Association Appellate Practice Committee.

Professor Jeremy Sheff presented his paper, “Dividing Trademark Use” (forthcoming in the Columbia Journal of Law and the Arts), at the 2025 Chicago Intellectual Property Colloquium. He also spoke at the University College London Institute of Brand and Innovation Law’s Annual Brand Seminar.

For more St. John’s Law faculty news, visit our Faculty Focus blog produced by Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship Eva Subotnik. Professor Subotnik also organizes our annual Faculty Workshop Series that brings scholars from across the country together to discuss their current research and receive feedback on their works-in-progress from our faculty.

Please email Lori Herz, our Director of Strategic Communications, at herzl@stjohns.edu.

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