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

Manhattan’s Harmonie Club provided the perfect backdrop for a special event launching the Law School’s year-long 100th Anniversary Celebration.

Attendees included alumni and St. John’s University President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. Welcoming them, Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum noted that the Law School would not have attained its excellence, prominence, and impact over the last century without the support of alumni and friends. With deep gratitude, she thanked:

Dean Jefferson Exum also recognized Rose DiMartino ‘81 and Karen Sue Smith for their generosity and announced their extraordinary gift to name and endow the Law School’s Public Interest Center. The newly named DiMartino/Smith Public Interest Center will help students strengthen their skills and access opportunities to make a difference, advance justice, and serve the public good.

View the event photo album
Learn more about our 100th Anniversary events

During the Harmonie Club event, Dean Jefferson Exum also announced the Campaign for St. John’s Law, which will ensure that the Law School continues to be a place of opportunity and transformation.

As part of the University’s larger Hearts on Fire capital campaign, the Law School campaign aims to:

We invite you to support the Campaign for St. John’s Law. It’s quick and easy to make a gift online.

Wind and rain kept us off the golf course, but our 2025 Fall Alumni Golf Outing went on to be an unforgettable evening of gratitude for, and celebration of, St. John’s Law.

As a highlight of the night, we honored two distinguished alumni whose leadership and generosity embody alma mater’s excellence, prominence, and impact:

Many thanks to the event sponsors, honorees, alumni, and friends who braved the weather to celebrate with us!

View the event photo gallery

Join us as we bring our festivities out west for an unforgettable 100th Anniversary Weekend in Las Vegas:

You won’t want to miss this special celebration. Get your tickets today and reserve a room at the at the Wynn/Encore Hotel. 

To mark the Law School’s 100th anniversary, the St. John’s Law faculty presented a symposium: Impact That Endures: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future of St. John’s Law Faculty Scholarship.

Through moderated panels, the daylong event showcased faculty perspectives on the evolving role of legal scholarship and commentary, with a focus on the U.S. Supreme Court. It also highlighted how our scholars’ work continues to shape the legal community.

Professor Eva Subotnik, the Law School’s Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship, took the lead on producing the symposium, which was co-sponsored by the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development (JCRED) and the St. John's Law Review. Students from the journals introduced the panels and speakers, and both journals will publish the proceedings in future symposium issues.

Special thanks to Hon. Raymond J. Lohier, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, who moderated the final panel on The Supreme Court in Context: Insights from Legal Scholars.

Read more about this milestone event
View photos from the symposium
Access the full event program

To mark the Nuremberg trial's 80th anniversary, Professor John Q. Barrett gave a lecture on Justice Robert H. Jackson through the Supreme Court Historical Society. As a trustee of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, he assisted in presenting the Roosevelt Institute’s 2025 Freedom from Fear medal to Dr. Simon Adams, President and CEO of the Center for Victims of Torture.

Professors Elissa Germaine and Christine Lazaro participated in Practising Law Institute’s annual program, Securities Arbitration 2025. Professor Germaine presented on the panel Staying Ahead of the Curve: Hot Topics and Future Trends and contributed an article titled “Securities Arbitration Case Law Update 2024–2025.” As a panelist, Professor Lazaro offered insights on Avoiding Ethical Mine Fields in the FINRA Forum and contributed a short article, “Ethical Considerations When Using Social Media in Securities Arbitration Cases.”

Professor Kate Klonick is a go-to expert on how social media platforms govern free speech. She offered key context on the subject in a recent Politico story on the social platform X’s escalating disputes with foreign governments over content moderation. You can follow Professor Klonick’s influential work in the field via her Substack, The Klonickles.

Professor Jeremy Sheff spoke on a panel addressing Discretionary Denial and the Court-PTAB Standoff organized by the Hon. William C. Conner Inn of Court.

Columbia Law School's Blue Sky Blog and Harvard Law School's Bankruptcy Roundtable blog featured Professor Ray Warner's recent article, “Sustainable Bankruptcy” (forthcoming in the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review).

The Law School's full-time faculty are researching, writing, and commenting on some of today's most pressing legal issues. Read more about their activities and achievements at our Faculty Focus blog.

This past summer, Nicole Castillo Guiracocha '25 packed her bags, said goodbye to her family and friends in New York, and moved 800 miles away to join the City of Atlanta Office of the Public Defender on a two-year assignment as an Immigrant Justice Corps (IJC) Justice Fellow.

The first and only fellowship of its kind, IJC’s Justice Fellowship identifies promising lawyers who are passionate about immigrants’ rights and places them with organizations where they can make the greatest difference. Chosen for their talent and compassion, the Justice Fellows work with detained immigrants, asylum seekers, families, and children in need of immigration legal services.

Earning the prestigious fellowship, Nicole says, was a dream come true. “I was ecstatic! As the daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants, this fellowship represents more than just a professional milestone, it’s deeply personal. It allows me to continue advocating for indigent clients and immigrant communities while honoring the values my family instilled in me.”

Read more about Nicole and her Fellowship

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Please email Lori Herz, See infra's Managing Editor and Lead Writer, at herzl@stjohns.edu.

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