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| Welcome to See infra, our new e-newsletter delivering a sampling of news from St. John’s Law, including: innovative courses, programs, and hands-on learning opportunities; faculty scholarship with real-world impact; students who bring unique and diverse perspectives to the study of law; alumni who make their mark in the profession; and the many ways our community members live St. John's Vincentian mission of helping those in need.
We hope you enjoy this first issue!
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As COVID-19 impacts individuals, families, and communities in New York City, across the country, and around the world, we've successfully navigated some major change at St. John’s Law.
• We held our last in-person class on Monday, March 9.
• By Wednesday, March 11, we had moved 140 classes taught by 39 full-time
and 85 adjunct faculty members completely online.
• In just a few more days, our executive staff made all our operations—career
development, student services, alumni relations, and more—fully remote.
Reflecting on the transition, Dean Simons shared recently: "It’s not the building that defines us; it’s the people—all working together to create something: lawyers that our world sorely needs."
As we learn, teach, and work from a distance, we continue to host virtual programs for the Law School community. In April, we launched Law Matters, a webcast series hosted by Dean Simons on legal issues with real-world impact. For the next episode on May 12, 2020, Dean Simons welcomes Doug Vetter '91, who has been a senior member of Apple's legal team for the past 13 years. Please register in advance and join us online for Law Matters.
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But for the pandemic, the St. John's Law community would have gathered to celebrate Professor Lawrence Joseph, who is retiring after 33 years on the faculty. But, even from a distance, we can all still celebrate his latest book of poems, A Certain Clarity, which published to rave reviews in the New York Times and elsewhere.
Stop, hey, what's that sound? It's a (virtual) celebration! Colleagues, students past and present, friends, and family cheered Professor Peggy Turano '77 on as she headed into her last class after 30+ years of teaching, leading, and being a shining light in the St. John's Law universe.
And let’s hear it for our faculty members who are being published in law reviews and journals:
• Sheldon Evans, "Categorical Nonuniformity," Columbia Law Review
• Elayne Greenberg, "Unshackling Plea Bargaining from Racial Bias,"
Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology
• Anita S. Krishnakumar, "Cracking the Whole Code Rule," NYU Law
Review
• Michael Perino, "Real Insider Trading," Washington & Lee Law Review
• Anna Roberts, "Victims, Right?" Cardozo Law Review
Over at WIRED, Professor Kate Klonick weighed in on the impact of losing human content moderators—social media's first line of defense—to social distancing. She continued the conversation about Facebook, content moderation, and the pandemic’s effects on privacy with Dean Michael A. Simons, as his first guest on the Law Matters webcast.
Kudos to Professor Renee Allen, who has been elected to a four-year term
on the Legal Writing Institute (LWI) Board of Directors. LWI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving legal communication by supporting the development of teaching and scholarly resources and establishing forums to discuss the study, teaching, and practice of professional legal writing.
Please join us in congratulating Professor Larry Cunningham on his appointment as the next dean of Charleston School of Law. Professor Cunningham has been an integral part of our Law School's success over the past decade, and Charleston is lucky to be getting him. He makes the fifth
St. John’s Law faculty member to be named dean of a U.S. law school in recent years.
Did we mention that our St. John's Law faculty members are awesome? You can see for yourself when you sit back, relax, and enjoy their year-end video tribute to our hardworking students.
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Wow! An impressive 15 St. John’s Law students earned selective Summer 2020 diversity fellowships and internships. Helping them along the way were dedicated Career Development Office counselors, who offer our students individualized support from their first day on campus.
We’re so proud of the Moot Court Honor Society team of Morgan Liptak '21 and Ashley Williams '21, who won best brief at this year's Cardozo BMI Entertainment and Media Law Moot Court Competition.
Let's extend that pride to Tashila Pierre-Peter '21 and Stephanie Weaver '21, who earned Best Brief at the Hon. Elaine Jackson Stack Moot Court Competition.
And congratulations to Danielle Marino '21, whose paper, "An Illicit Love Affair: How the United States' Legal Landscape Coupled with Social Media Has Created a Fast Fashion Firestorm," earned second place in NYIPLA's Honorable William Conner Writing Competition.
"I went to law school to do more, and I’m so excited to be more and grow more as a public advocate. It's a career goal accomplished, and I'm very grateful for that." Jillian Gardner '20 has built a career in the public interest at St. John's Law. Read her story.
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St. John’s Law students and alumni are staying home and six feet apart, but that doesn’t stop them from going all out to help COVID-19's frontline heroes:
A self-described "Jersey girl born and raised," Jennie Marie Miller '20 has never been one to sit on the sidelines. She had to do something to support
her lifelong best friend, an ER nurse combatting the public health crisis.
Here's what she did.
Quarantine. Cell line snags. Danielle Hofer '21 and Jenna Valente '21 didn't flinch. Their Child Advocacy Clinic client needed documents from his home country. So they jerry rigged WhatsApp & Google Voice to make the connection. Dedication + Ingenuity = Success!
Child Advocacy Clinic students are also hard at work making protective masks for clients who don't have access to them, so they can safely shop for groceries and other necessities and commute to work in and around New York City.
Claudia Carbone '17LL.M. is from Italy, Wyman Ye '17LL.M. is from China, and Arit Nsemoh '17LL.M. is from Ghana. They met as classmates in our Transnational Legal Practice LL.M. program. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the three friends have forged an alliance across continents, helping to source protective masks in China and deploy them to frontline workers and others in need in their hometown communities.
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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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