email : Webview : Law@Vanderbilt - Looking Back on a Productive and Eventful Year

Dear alumni and friends:

As we prepare to welcome our students back for spring semester 2024, I want to thank you for your support throughout 2023 as we celebrate the close of a productive and eventful year.

During 2023, the Law School launched several exciting new initiatives:

We welcomed five new members to our faculty and staff:

Lauren Sudeall, Professor of Law
Farhang Heydari, Assistant Professor of Law
Nicole Langston, Assistant Professor of Law
Beth Cruz '10, Assistant Dean and Martha Craig Daughtrey Director for Public Interest
Jennifer Safstrom, Director, Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic

In May we celebrated the Commencement of 200 J.D. graduates and 42 LL.M. graduates.

We announced new members of the Vanderbilt chapter of the Order of the Coif for 2022 and 2023.
23 members of the Class of 2023 were recognized at Commencement with academic and citizenship awards. Molly Teague received the Founder's Medal for First Honors.
19 members of the Class of 2023.secured judicial clerkships.

In August we welcomed 167 members of the J.D. Class of 2026 and 27 members of the LL.M. class of 2024.

Our faculty continued to distinguish themselves as scholars, teachers, and policy experts, publishing important research and impactful opinion pieces and garnering recognition from their peers.

Matthew Patrick Shaw received the Steven S. Goldberg Award from the Education Law Association.
W. Kip Viscusi was named to the inaugural cohort of the Southern Economic Association's Distinguished Fellows.
The Fitzpatrick Matrix, developed by Brian Fitzpatrick and Brooke Levy '22, was adopted for use in calculating claims for attorneys' fees in federal court.
Yesha Yadav testified before the Senate Banking Committee on the cryptocurrency meltdown.
Francesca Procaccini delivered the Harry Lee Waterfield Distinguished Lecture in Public Affairs at Murray State University.
Ganesh Sitaraman released a new book, Why Flying Is So Miserable and How to Fix It.
Michael Bressman (BA'89), Sara Mayeux, Francesca Procaccini, Daniel Sharfstein, and Kevin Stack received 2023 Hall-Hartman Awards.

We hosted many renowned scholars and practitioners who delivered distinguished lectures, including (but not limited to!):

Stanford neuroscientist Anthony Wagner delivered the inaugural Weaver Distingished Lecture in Law, Brain Sciences, and Behavior.
Legal journalist Peter Canellos told the story of Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan as part of the Branstetter Judicial Speaker Series.
Judge Allison Riggs of the North Carolina Court of Appeals delivered the 2023 Barrett Lecture.
Reproductive rights scholar Melissa Murray delivered the 2023 Florrie Wilkes Sanders Lecture.

Alumni visited Vanderbilt Law to share their knowledge and career insights and were honored by their peers and the Law School Community.

Ambassador Gautam Rana '97 delivered the 2023 Jonathan I. Charney Lecture in International Law.
GE Chief Sustainability Officer Roger Martella '95 delivered the 2023 Climate Change Governance Lecture.
Ashley Wiltshire '72 discussed his book Everyday Justice, which chronicles his pioneering career as a legal aid attorney.
Sarah Fowler '08, senior deputy general counsel with SAG-AFTRA, discussed the Hollywood actors' strike.
A new scholarship was endowed in honor of J. Michael Campbell '68 (BE'65).

Finally, we celebrated the legacy of the late Vice Chancellor David Williams II and established a scholarship in his honor. We also mourned the loss of beloved members of the VLS community, including:

Dean C. Dent Bostick, Jan. 12

Sen. Doug Henry '51 (BA'49), March 5

Judge C. Roger Vinson '71, April 1

Roy Herron JD'79/MDiv'80, July 9

Jim Bradford '73, Dean Emeritus, Owen Graduate School of Management, July 27

Judge Richard H. Dinkins '77, Oct. 1

Ricky Wilkins '90, Oct. 19

Your engagement with Vanderbilt Law School and your vibrant and visible presence in our community makes a positive difference in the life of the Law School every year. Our faculty and staff join with me in wishing you a happy and productive year in 2024.

Sincerely yours,

Chris Guthrie
Dean and John Wade-Kent Syverud Professor of Law

Save the Date & Join Us at Our Future Campaign Events!

Miami, Jan. 30, 2024 – Perez Art Museum, 6:30-9 p.m.
Dallas, March 4, 2024 – Perot Museum of Nature & Science, 6:30-9 p.m.
Atlanta, March 18, 2024 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 6:30-9 p.m.
San Francisco – May 6, 2024 (tentative)