Louisville’s CJ Ryan to join Indiana Law in January

Adding to an already impressive list of new faculty, the Indiana University Maurer School of Law is pleased to announce CJ Ryan, of the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, will join the Law School for the start of the spring 2024 semester. In addition to his role on the Brandeis faculty, Ryan is an affiliated scholar at the American Bar Foundation

Rusk Named an American Constitution Society Next Generation Leader

The American Constitution Society has selected nearly two-dozen young legal professionals—including a second-year Indiana University Maurer School of Law student—for its prestigious 2023 Next Generation Leaders Program. Laura J. Rusk, an Evansville, Ind. native, is one of 23 law students from across the country selected for their exceptional leadership in work with their respective ACS chapters. The program offers various opportunities that empower the students to further develop their leadership skills and make a long-lasting impact on their communities

Four pathbreaking women judges to participate in IU conference and public discussion Monday, Sept. 25

Four distinguished women judges from the Middle East and North Africa—including the first female judge in Jordanian history—will visit the Indiana University Bloomington campus Sept. 25-26 for a conference titled “Women Judges in Dialogue,” where they will discuss their own experience as women in the judiciary as well as issues surrounding constitutional adjudication in the region. They will be joined by faculty from the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and the Maurer School of Law. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of the Middle East (CSME) at HLS and the Center for Constitutional Democracy (CCD) at the Law School, the judges will also participate in a panel discussion, “Her Excellency: A Conversation with Women Judges From the Constitutional Courts in the MENA Region,” on Monday, Sept. 25 at 5:30 p.m. in the DeLaney Moot Court Room. Christiana Ochoa, dean of the Maurer School of Law, will moderate the discussion, which is open to the public. “In recent years, partly in response to the Arab Spring, a number of countries in the Middle East/North Africa region have created new courts to handle constitutional claims,” said Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law and CCD Director Susan Williams. “At the same time, women judges have been gaining recognition and acceptance in these systems. As a result, there are, for the first time, women judges on many of the highest courts in the region. We’re looking forward to bringing four of these judges together for a conversation about their experiences as women on these courts.

Free tax assistance available at the Maurer School of Law through March 26

Some Monroe County residents and Indiana University students can receive free assistance with their 2023 federal and state tax returns at the Maurer School of Law as part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program

Five Indiana Law Faculty Members Honored with Teaching Awards

Great instructors are at the heart of any great school, and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law was proud to recognize five of its best at the school’s annual Teaching Awards March 24. This year’s recipients include BestLawyers’ 2022 Indianapolis Corporate Governance Law Lawyer of the Year, a beloved clinical professor and director, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the intersection of law and globalization, a top U.S. tax scholar, and a professor known for flipping homemade pancakes to students. Professor Jeff Stake was honored with the Leon H. Wallace Teaching Award, the highest teaching recognition a faculty member can be awarded. Professors Amy Applegate, Jayanth Krishnan, and Leandra Lederman were each awarded Trustees’ Teaching Awards, and Alan Becker, partner at Bose McKinney & Evans LLP, received the Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award

Romano named a Rumsfeld Graduate Fellow

James Romano’s interests are out of this world. The 2L at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law is intrigued by the futuristic sounding concept of space law, but is quick to note that there’s nothing futuristic about it. “More private companies are rapidly entering space,” Romano said, “and I’m deeply interested in the question of ‘What does the future of space look like?’” While Romano’s focus may be directed upward, his trajectory on Earth is quickly ascending. Romano is one of 14 scholars selected as a Rumsfeld Foundation Graduate Fellow for 2023-24. The fellowships, named in honor of the late former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald W. Rumsfeld, are awarded to students and scholars who aspire to careers in public service

Indiana Law Faculty Member’s Book Honored with IPPY, Other Awards

Nearly a year to the day since it was published, a book from incoming Indiana University Maurer School of Law faculty member has earned an Independent Publisher Book Award (“IPPY.”) Professor Valena Beety’s Manifesting Justice: Wrongly Convicted Women Reclaim Their Rights won the Gold Medal in Women’s Issues. Since 1997, the Independent Publisher Book Awards have been recognizing the best independently published books each year. Released on May 30, 2022, Beety’s book has already won two other prestigious awards—the Montaigne Medal and the Sarton Nonfiction Award—this spring. “Professor Beety is a tremendous teacher and scholar, and we’re proud to see her important work recognized with a number of awards this spring,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa

Committee Chaired by Maurer Professor to Complete its Analytical Review of Hanford Nuclear Reservation Waste Options

A committee chaired by an Indiana University Maurer School of Law professor will complete next week its five-year charge to review the analysis performed by a team investigating how best to treat and dispose of low-level waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington. John Strait Applegate, the James L. Calamaras Professor of Law, has served as chair of the 13-member National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committee since 2018. The committee will conclude its work with a public meeting in Richland, Washington, on June 6. Applegate had previously chaired a prior review of the waste disposal issue from 2017-2020

Distinguished Service Awards Presented to Four Indiana Law Alumni

Four members of the Indiana Law community were honored Friday (September 23) with Distinguished Service Awards. Javier Becerra ’17; Shontrai Irving ’03; Laura Walda ’09; and Mark Wright ’89, received their respective awards during a moving ceremony in front of a standing-room only crowd in the DeLaney Moot Court Room, though circumstances prevented Walda and Wright from attending in person. “These awards are especially meaningful and timely to all of us at the Law School because of our commitment to instilling public service in our students,” said Interim Dean Christiana Ochoa. “Every one of our students commits to an aspirational goal of 60 hours of pro bono service during their three years of law school, so it’s incredibly gratifying to recognize alumni who set such a great example for our students after they enter the legal profession.