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| Welcome to See infra, our 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.
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Congratulations Class of 2020!
On Sunday, May 31, 2020, the J.D. and LL.M. students in the Class of 2020 became St. John’s Law graduates
. . . in an unprecedented way.
They didn’t cross the Carnesecca Arena stage, don their ceremonial hood, and descend the stairs to cheers and applause. Instead they—along with family, friends, faculty, staff, and alumni— came together from a (social) distance for a virtual Class of 2020 Celebration.
It all started days before, with the delivery of custom gift boxes containing a tam and tassel, a handwritten note, and Class of 2020 gear. That set a festive tone for the online celebration, which kicked off with a special video message from Dean Michael A. Simons. With the formal conferral of degrees, the candidates became the newest members of the St. John’s Law alumni family.
You can share in the joy and excitement of the day by viewing our:
Class of 2020 Photo Gallery
Congratulations Class of 2020! Video Playlist
Messages from Family & Friends Video Playlist
From Dialogue to Action to Justice
In the wake of the senseless killing of George Floyd, St. John’s Law students, faculty, and staff will come together for a virtual dialogue about law, justice, and racism and to address the question, “What are we going to do?”
Acknowledging that this is a time of enormous pain and outrage, compounded by a long history of systemic racism in America, Dean Simons shared
recently:
“Confronting racism is painful; but we must do it. Anti-racism work is hard; but we must do it. It is our mission as a Vincentian university, it is our obligation as a law school, and it is what we owe each other as members of the St. John’s Law community. Though our country is right now consumed with pain and anger, I have faith that truly engaging with St. Vincent’s question—What must be done?—can move us not just to dialogue, but to action; not just to hope, but to justice.”
We Asked. They Came Through.
With summer right around the corner, our students were eager to be on the job learning the law hands on. But the pandemic interrupted many of their summer work plans.
That’s where St. John’s Law alumni and friends came in.
During our May fundraiser, we asked them to help us put rising 2Ls and 3Ls to work by supporting our Student Opportunity Fund. They responded generously, raising over $124K to fund stipends for summer employment, including:
• Clinical work representing underserved and marginalized New Yorkers
• Research positions with faculty
• Public interest fellowships
Many thanks to our generous supporters!
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We’ve Got Podcasts and Webcasts!
St. John’s Law faculty members are coming to your favorite digital streams and devices:
Law Profs Are People Too is a new podcast about the lives of law professors brought to you by Professor Renee Nicole Allen.
Professors Marc DeGirolami and Mark Movsesian, who head the Law School’s Center for Law and Religion and write the Law and Religion Forum blog, host the Legal Spirits podcast, covering a broad range of cases, issues, and ideas in the world of law and religion.
Professor Kate Klonick and co-host Benjamin Wittes present In Lieu of Fun, a webcast featuring wide-ranging and timely conversations with interesting people. (One of their recent guests was St. John’s Law Professor John Q. Barrett.) They’re live at 5 p.m. daily and record each episode for viewing on YouTube.
For the second episode of his Law Matters webcast, Dean Simons welcomed Apple VP, Associate General Counsel, and Secretary Doug Vetter '91. They talked about Vetter's time at St. John's Law, his 15 years at IBM, and his role at Apple before opening the mic to questions from the audience.
In the Media
Professor Chris Borgen is our in-house expert on the growing field of Space Law. Over at OpinioJuris, he considers the proposed Artemis Accords in light of recent statements of U.S. space policy and in relation to debates about space mining under international law.
“The lay of the land, especially when you’re dealing with public spaces, like parks or city streets and so on, is that the government has a heavy burden to justify impositions on the freedom of speech,” says Professor Marc DeGirolami in this Queens Chronicle story.
‘Slam dunk’ or ‘uphill climb’? Professor Michael Perino weighs in on the insider trading case against U.S. Senator Richard Burr in this story for The Charlotte Observer.
Forbes spotlights the “Credit Card Interest Relief During the Pandemic Act," a novel proposal that Professor Jeff Sovern and Hofstra Law Professor Norman Silber crafted to help consumers and small businesses financed through credit card borrowing get through the COVID-19 crisis.
Kudos!
Congratulations to Professor Sheldon Evans, whose forthcoming Columbia Law Review article, "Categorical Nonuniformity," has been accepted for presentation at the prestigious Stanford/Harvard/Yale Junior Faculty Forum.
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Let’s hear it for Tatehona Kelly ‘22, who distinguished herself in a strong pool of applicants to earn the New York City Bar's C. Bainbridge Smith Scholarship.
For the ninth consecutive year, St. John's Law has been awarded the New York Intellectual Property Law Association’s (NYIPLA) Hon. Giles Rich Diversity Scholarship. Each year, the NYIPLA selects one law school to receive this $10,000 scholarship. The law school then awards it to one student based on its IP faculty’s recommendation.
Last year’s Hon. Giles Rich Diversity Scholar was e-sports enthusiast
Patrick Lee ‘20, who shared: “It means a lot to me to earn this honor. I'm the son of immigrants, and I know how rare it is to find lawyers from
underrepresented communities practicing IP Law and law in general. I’ve noticed the growing efforts to promote more diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, and I hope those efforts continue. It motivates me to work even harder to achieve my dreams of becoming an IP lawyer.”
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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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