King Hall Blog

To celebrate Halloween, Professor Jasmine Harris each year has an Evidence Halloween Costume Contest in her Evidence Class.  I was one of the judges, along with Kendra Rivas '21 and Monserrat Garcia-Juarez '21. Several students dressed in costumes illustrating an evidence concept. The winner was “confrontation clause,” who donned boxing gloves.  Second went to “excited utterance,” who was dressed as a cow.  Third place went to “drunken jurors.”  The names have been changed to protect the innocent!

UC Davis School of Law had a huge turnout for our Fall Admissions Open House, which brought students from far and wide to Martin Luther King Jr. Hall.  Prospective students were able to hear from faculty, students, and staff about our law school.  It was a sunny and cool fall day and a great opportunity to talk about King Hall.

Photos by Kim Thomas

It’s that time of year again. The UC Davis School of Law held its Halloween “best pumpkin” contest. I am biased, but I like the Dean's Office entry, an uplifting and inspiring pink pumpkin encouraging awareness of breast cancer.

Above, Assistant Dean for Career Services Craig Compton holds the enigmatic “8 ball” pumpkin, which is a mascot of sorts for the entire Career Services office.

The winners of the competition will be announced on Oct. 31.

George Demos, an adjunct professor at King Hall, interviews Bad Blood author John Carreyrou.

It was another great night at the Schwartz/Levi Inn of Court.

Professor Menesh Patel attended as a guest, and was able to hear a program on professional responsibility and law firms. Professors Alan Brownstein and Carlton Larson also attended. Plenty of UC Davis School of Law students were there as well.

With Blake Nordahl '02, Professor Amagda Pérez '91, Luis Cespedes and Associate Vice Chancellor Raquel Aldana

UC Davis had a large presence at the Sixth Annual Court/Clergy Conference in Sacramento.  Organized by Sacramento Superior Court Judge James Mize and Justice George Nicholson (Ret.), the conference brings together judges and clergy to discuss topical legal issues. 

At a crowded lunchtime lecture, Professor Al Lin provided the international background on climate change before introducing Professor Karima Bennoune. As the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Professor Bennoune talked about her role with the UN and lectured on Cultural Rights and Climate Change to the UC Davis School of Law community. She discussed climate change as a human rights issue and examined how climate change affects cultural rights.

The standing-room only audience had the pleasure of learning from a United Nations official!

It is a wonderful and exciting time at UC Davis School of Law.  On Friday we began with a full house at the UC Davis Law Review symposium, “ An Empirical Analysis of Wealth Transfer Law.” Unlike some other areas of law, trust and estate law affects nearly everyone.

UC Davis School of Law held its Second Annual Taco Tailgate on Saturday, Oct. 12 at the UC Davis football game against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  More than 120 students, faculty, staff, and friends joined for pre-game cheer and delicious tacos from Las Brasas, a Woodland restaurant.

Last week, the King Hall Legal Foundation (KHLF) held the 11th Annual Steve Boutin Invitational Golf Tournament on a picture perfect fall day at Davis Municipal Golf Course.  Alum Steve Boutin '72, who the tournament is named after, and Professor Clay Tanaka worked with the students for months to organize the tournament.  KHLF co-chairs Lisa Nakashima and Kristi Thielen, Class of 2021, put together a wonderful event for the UC Davis School of Law community.  KHLF raises money to support fellowships for law students in public interest laws.

Our students were fortunate to hear from Judge Emily Vasquez, Superior Court for Sacramento County, who talked about diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.  A true friend of UC Davis School of Law, Judge Vasquez was named the 2019 Sacramento County Bar Association Judge of the Year.  Her talk was sponsored by the Aoki Center for Race and Nation Studies and Professor Mary Louise Frampton introduced Judge Vasquez.

I traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the Faculty Recruitment Conference and recruit new faculty for UC Davis School of Law.  Before the interviews, I caught up with our alum Eduardo Diaz ‘76, who works at the Smithsonian, who took me to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.  Gary Solis ‘71 and his wife Andrea, who live in the area, joined us for a tour.

UC Davis School of Law is pleased to announce that Russell Jura's $1.25 million gift to UC Davis School of Law will further fund the Russell D. Jura Scholarship.

On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Business Law Society hosted a terrific panel of three women lawyers who practice business law. The panel was moderated by me, and included Kristy Young Coleman '08 an associate at Goodwin Procter, Kim Lucia '09 a partner at Boutin Jones and Tina Combs, a visiting lecturer at King Hall and formerly deputy general counsel for the University of California.