Celebrating 2019/20

  • by Kevin R. Johnson
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           Congratulations to our J.D. and LL.M. classes of 2020! Although a proper celebration of this milestone in person will have to wait, a video celebrating the class of 2020 will go live on May 16. And graduates should be on the lookout for a special King Hall gift in the mail.

           In a spring semester like no other, the pandemic upended all our lives. Thanks to the entire King Hall community for its resilience, patience, and hard work.  Working together, we were able to quickly learn Zoom, complete instruction, and finish final exams.

           Of course, the pandemic caused dislocations. But the King Hall community responded immediately and effectively. To help our students, the law school and Law Students Association quickly created a student emergency relief fund. To help students pursue employment opportunities, the Career Services office will be staffed fully this summer and remains dedicated to working with the Class of 2020 and continuing students. At the request of employers, interviews will be held throughout the year, with many law firms opting for on-campus interviews in January. In response to the California bar exam’s postponement, the Academic Success program added bar study resources and programs. 

           We are hard at work planning the 2020/21 academic year. To address a rapidly changing set of circumstances, the law school has created three advisory committees to guide the law school on instruction. A student committee will allow a student voice in the planning. Stay tuned as we will provide periodic updates.

           Despite the challenging end of the school year, 2019/20 gave us much to celebrate.  Virtual ceremonies allowed us to honor the LL.M. and Public Service Graduates. The Public Service Graduation drew more than 200 people to celebrate a class that had devoted more than 20,000 hours to helping people in need. Poised to pursue a career in opposition to the death penalty, Evan Reid ’20 received the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Award.

  • We welcomed an amazing Class of 2022. Excellent in all respects, the class is our most diverse yet: 57% students of color; 59% women; 17% LGBTQ; 26% first generation. King Hall also welcomed 58 LL.M. students from 23 countries around the globe.
  • UC Davis Law welcomed Professors Stacy-Ann Elvy and Karrigan Börk. Emily Scivoletto returned to King Hall as Senior Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.
  • Our new endowed chairs are Professors Karima Bennoune, Ashutosh Bhagwat, and William Dodge.
  • Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Afra Afsharipour and Professor Elizabeth Joh were elected to the American Law Institute, the leading U.S. law reform organization.
  • Fundraising record: Our generous alumni helped UC Davis Law raise more than $6.1 million in 2019/20, the best fundraising year in the law school’s history. The support allowed for an increase in student scholarships as well as for a fully funded student emergency relief fund. With philanthropic support, the Immigration Law Clinic added fellows Daisy Ocampo Felt, JJ Mulligan Sepúlveda `15 and Monica Julian to assist in its vital work.
  • Due to the leadership of the Black Law Students Association, King Hall observed the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with its first Day of Service and Celebration . The King Hall community worked at a shelter for the unhoused population and assisted immigrants seeking relief from removal.
  • The Chief Justice of California, Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye ’84, visited King Hall twice in the fall, including speaking as part of the Filipino Law Students Association culture week.
  • Rankings Success: S. News ranked UC Davis Law 26th in “peer reputation” and in the top 20 on the “Law School Diversity Index.” UC Davis Law made the top 10 in Princeton Review categories for “Greatest Resources for Women,” “Greatest Resources for Minority Students,” and “Most Diverse Faculty.”

Student Success

           More than 94 percent of the class of 2019 was employed 10 months after graduation. More than 88 percent secured full-time, law-related employment.

           After an amazing year of leadership, Law Students Association President Paige Tucker ’20 received the Alumni Association Award for outstanding service to King Hall.  Heather Bates ’20 is the 2020 Law School Medalist for her stellar law school academic performance.

  • Led by editor-in-chief Jessica Gillotte ’20, the UC Davis Law Review had an amazing year. It added a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Editor to its leadership ranks. The Review held symposia on wealth transfer law and on the 25th anniversary of Proposition 187, the 1994 anti-immigrant California initiative. The law review published a symposium in honor of beloved late professor Floyd Feeney. Jessica Gillotte, Stephanie Dong ’20 and Veronika Morrison ’20 received Hopkins Writing Awards.
  • Alison Corn ’20 took second place in the Iron Tech Lawyer Invitational, an international competition for tech solutions aimed at bridging the justice gap. Corn created the “Domestic Violence Next Steps Advisor” app, which is used in the Yolo County courts and helps self-represented litigants figure out next steps after filing domestic violence court documents.
  • The Environmental Law Society hosted the March symposium “Saving a Bug’s Life: Legal Solutions to Combat Insect Biodiversity Decline and the Sixth Mass Extinction.”   
  • Thea Percival ’21 and Lauren Ball ’21 of the King Hall Negotiations Team finished second in the ABA Regional Negotiations Competition.
  • The Class of 2020’s Ashley Bateman, Lauren Carbajal, Robin Chavarria, Alison Corn, Sylwia Dakowicz, Riley Doyle, Christopher Machold, Hillary Marston, Anika Nayyar, and Annie Youchah were selected for the national Order of Barristers, an honorary organization of the best student trial and appellate advocates. Judge Dennis Cota ’86 and Michael Canzoneri taught this super group of advocates.
  • Students elected Montserrat Garcia Juarez ’21 president of the Law Students Association for 2020/21.

Faculty Achievements

           Our faculty members continue to publish articles in leading law reviews and appear in the national and international press. Professors Jasmine Harris, Elizabeth Joh and Aaron Tang, for example, wrote op-eds for the New York Times.

  • Professor Lisa Pruitt received the 2020 Distinguished Teaching Award.
  • Professor Carlton Larson’s book The Trials of Allegiance: Treason, Juries, and the American Revolution, is an ABA Silver Gavel Award His second book, On Treason: A Citizen’s Guide to the Law, is due this fall.
  • Senior Associate Dean Afra Afsharipour lectured at China University of Political Science and Law.
  • Professor Karima Bennoune, the U.N. Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, presented a human rights report to the U.N. General Assembly in October. Students Justine Massey ’20 and Vanessa Hofman ’21 joined her.
  • The government of Mexico recognized Immigration Law Clinic Co-director Amagda Pérez ’91 with the Ohtli Award for her work for immigrants and other underserved communities.
  • Professor Jasmine Harris was elected to the board of directors of the Society of American Law Teachers.
  • Professor Courtney Joslin received her second Dukeminier Award from UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute. The award recognizes the best law review articles on sexual-orientation and gender-identity issues.
  • Dean Kevin Johnson was named to the 2020 Lawyer of Color Power List.
  • Professor Donna Shestowsky is working with The Pew Charitable Trusts on an empirical study of online dispute resolution.
  • The Critical Race Studies in Education Association honored Aoki Center Director Mary Louise Frampton with its 2019 Derrick Bell Legacy Award.

Alumni Success

           Our wonderful alumni reunions included our very first 50-year reunion, for the amazing Class of 1969. Professor Emerita Margaret Johns '76 received the Distinguished Alumna Award, and Rodrigo Guevara '09 the new Rising Star Alumni Award.

Special Events

           UC Davis Law hosted many outstanding visitors and events in 2019/20. A few:

  • Annette Gordon-Reed, Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School, delivered the Central Valley Foundation/James B. McClatchy Lecture on the First Amendment.
  • Michele Bratcher Goodwin, Chancellor’s Professor at UC Irvine School of Law, delivered the Edward L. Barrett Jr. Lecture on Constitutional Law.
  • Author John Carreyrou, who exposed the Theranos fraud scandal, spoke to the King Hall community about his bestselling book, Bad Blood.
  • California Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar spoke to students at King Hall.
  • Groundbreaking soccer player and coach in Iran Katayoun Khosrowyar spoke about the importance of sports as a component of women’s rights.

Milestones

           Professor Robert Hillman, a cornerstone of the law school’s business program for 38 years, retired. Next year, a Business Law Journal symposium will be held in his honor.  Congratulations, Professor Hillman!

-- Dean Johnson