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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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From Roots
Our June Dialogue Day—No More Talking, What Are We Going to Do?—was a call to action organized by our Black Law Student Association, Coalition for Social Justice, and Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights. Students, faculty, and staff came together and committed to steps we can take, individually and collectively, to actively combat racism.
To Branches
That commitment was manifest as Michelle Johnson ‘05, president of the Law School Alumni Association, and Alain Messina ’00, president of the Association’s Alumni of Color Chapter, partnered with student leaders to host A Letter to My Younger Self. A diverse panel of alumni discussed bias and discrimination they have faced in their careers and shared advice for the next generation of lawyers. Many thanks to Ethan Cohen ’02, Michael Henry ’97, Afaf Nasher ’05, and Edda Santiago ’14 for their open and honest reflections and guidance.
And Leaves
The Law School’s vital anti-racism work continued as our Asian Pacific American Law Students Association presented Police Accountability: What Does It Really Look Like? Panelists offered perspectives on police misconduct drawn from their work in the field. They also answered audience questions to frame the issue of police accountability, spotlight the consequences of inaction, and advocate for reform.
While they haven’t started their formal studies at St. John’s Law, our incoming 1Ls are very much part of our community-wide effort to examine and combat systemic racism. They participated in faculty-led book discussions of the bestseller Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by lawyer and activist Bryan Stevenson, which chronicles his efforts to remedy racial injustice in America's criminal legal system.
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No Lazy Days of Summer Here!
Our faculty members are hard at work producing scholarship and sharing expertise that has real-world relevance and impact.
Publications
Professor Kate Klonick spent months embedded at Facebook observing the creation of its Oversight Board, an independent body that reviews the social network's content moderation decisions and policies. Her research and findings are just out in the Yale Law Journal, in an article that also considers the Board’s potential for democratizing private platform governance.
In the Yale Journal on Regulation, Professor Anita Krishnakumar looks at the recent SCOTUS opinions in Bostock v. Clayton County and offers "Three Lessons About Textualism from the Title VII Case.”
Professor Mark Movsesian, who co-directs our Center for Law and Religion, has a post at First Things offering his take on the current round of church closure cases. At Law & Liberty, he shares his views on the scarcity of religious belief in the American legal academy.
In his recent opinion in Barr v. AAPC, the robocall ban case, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch cites an article Professor Movsesian wrote about the severability doctrine.
"Convictions as Guilt," an article by Professor Anna Roberts, is in the latest issue of the Fordham Law Review. And her forthcoming Cardozo Law Review article, "Victims, Right?" has been top 10 in recent SSRN Criminal Procedure download rankings.
Last semester, Professors Elayne Greenberg and Cheryl Wade co-taught a seminar on Lynching and Restorative Justice. In an opinion piece for Jurist titled “July 4, 2020: How Will We Celebrate?” they write: "July 4th should be celebrated as an annual aspiration of what we want our country to become in order to move closer to achieving racial justice, and an annual benchmark of what still needs to be done."
Professor Wade's new book, Predatory Lending and the Destruction of the African-American Dream (Cambridge University Press), publishes this month. Co-authored with University of British Columbia Law Professor Janis Sarra,
the book examines the racial wealth gap that’s widening with the continued economic exploitation of African Americans through targeted predation, including predatory lending in the home mortgage context. The authors conclude by offering structural, systemic changes to address predatory practices.
Activities
Hon. Janet DiFiore ‘81, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals and the State of New York, has appointed Dean Michael A. Simons, along with 23 other attorneys and judges, to serve on a new state task force that will examine the expanded use of technologies by the courts during the COVID-19 crisis.
Events
Dean Simons brings you the next episode of his Law Matters webcast on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. Alumni panelists Tanya Blocker '09, James Darby '84, Lisa Harris '07, and Amanda Jaret '13 will bring their range of experience in labor and employment matters to a discussion of the legal, ethical, and moral issues related to workplace safety and dignity that are especially pertinent today. You can register for the webcast here.
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Once again, thanks to our outstanding students and pro-active, individualized approach to career development, St. John's Law has achieved top employment outcomes. We're #2 in New York, just behind Columbia, for "gold standard" full-time, long-term, bar-required jobs. And, we're #3 overall in the state for total employment. Employers understand the value of a St. John's legal education and know that our graduates excel.
At this year’s Hon. Elaine Jackson Stack Moot Court Competition, the pandemic precluded the oral part of the competition, but Tashila Pierre-Peter ’21 and Stephanie Weaver ’21 bested the field in the written portion and took home the Best Brief Award.
While public health measures also barred the oral component of the 2020 National Law and Religion Moot Court Competition, Danielle Ullo ’21 and Kimberly Capuder ’21 walked away with the Third Place Brief Award.
Just about any chance he gets, Austin Crabtree '19LL.M. will tell law students and practitioners that, if they’re serious about a career in restructuring and bankruptcy, they should enroll in the Bankruptcy LL.M. program at St. John's Law. The program helped him land his dream job. Read all about it.
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Congratulations to Abigail Bittel '21, who earned an Equal Justice America Fellowship to support her work this summer at A Better Balance, a national nonprofit that leverages the law to ensure that no worker has to choose between their job and their health or their family.
Let's also hear it for Kelechi Alfred-Igbokwe '22, who is one of just 20 law students nationwide selected as 2020 Equal Justice Works Immigration Summer Legal Corps Student Fellows. Working remotely with the New York Civil Liberties Union, Kelechi is shining a light on immigration enforcement and detention.
21 days of prescribed silence put Katie Helde '21 on the path to law school and a career in the public interest backed by the experience she's gained in the field over two summers as a St. John's Law Public Interest Fellow. Read more about Katie.
Moved to action by our community Dialogue Day, with one letter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and 2,150 signatures from students, faculty, and practitioners, Jen Hopkins '21 advocated for police reform. Read more about Jen's activism.
Laila Rizk ‘21 understands how financial distress can upend people’s lives. For the better part of the past year, she’s worked as a legal intern for the NYC Bankruptcy Assistance Project (NYC BAP) at Legal Services NYC, the largest U.S. organization devoted exclusively to providing free civil legal services to low-income people. Read more about Laila and her ongoing work as a Summer Public Interest Fellow at NYC BAP.
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| St. John’s mourns the passing of Peter Lou, a remarkably generous and kind man. His legacy is embodied in Christy Li '21, the inaugural recipient of the scholarship he established to honor his late wife, Sui-Wah Li Lou. He will be missed.
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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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