End-of-Year Message

     Congratulations to the J.D. and LL.M. Classes of 2019!  We look forward to commencement with a keynote by Judge Troy L. Nunley of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District.  Other speakers include Reza Harris ’19 and Professor Aaron Tang. Professors William Dodge and Clay Tanaka will serve as faculty marshals.

As the academic year ends, King Hall has much to celebrate:

• The American Bar Association reaccredited the School of Law.
• Professor Afra Afsharipour became the new Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Menesh Patel, acting professor of law; Robert Miller, legal writing instructor; and Dena Bauman, director of externships, joined the King Hall community.
• Rankings Success: UC Davis moved up six spots to No. 31 in the 2020 S. News & World Report rankings.  Our excellent faculty finished No. 23 among U.S. law schools in Professor Brian Leiter’s “Scholarly Impact” rankings.   National Jurist magazine ranked UC Davis Law the nation’s second most diverse law school.   The Princeton Review placed King Hall among the top schools for “Greatest Resources for Minority Students,” “Greatest Resources for Women,” and “Most Diverse Faculty.”
• The Public Service Graduation honored more than half the class of 2019 for its dedication to public service. A recipient of the prestigious Skadden Fellowship, Angela Yahaira Breining ’19, received the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award.
• The Career Services office introduced the inaugural Public Interest and Government Career Fair, where scores of employers meet with students.
• Kevin R. Johnson was reappointed as dean of UC Davis Law. He is the longest-serving dean in the law school’s history.

Student Success

     More than 90 percent of the Class of 2018 was employed 10 months after graduation. Eighty-seven percent secured full-time law-related employment, the highest percentage since the American Bar Association began tracking this figure.  Seventeen members of the Class of 2018 landed federal and state court clerkships.  The Career Services office currently is searching for an additional public interest counselor.

     Hillary Marston and Chase Stone faced Alison Corn and Micayla Hardisty in the finals of the 50th Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition.  U.S. District Judge William Shubb, Justice Nathan Mihara, California Court of Appeal, and Sacramento Superior Court Judge Larry Brown ’89, judged the competition.

     The 12th annual Asylum and Refugee Law National Moot Court Competition drew 18 teams from across the country to King Hall.   Carina Novell ’19 and Dina Dimirjian ’19, qualified for the national finals of the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition. The inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Trial Competition, organized by Trial Practice Professor Dennis Cota ’86, attracted teams from law schools from across the nation.

     Students from the Humanitarian Legal Aid Organization (HALO) spent spring break helping immigrants naturalize in Colorado.  Our Law Review held a symposium on the 40th anniversary of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the famous affirmative action decision. Environs co-presented the 2019 Environmental Law Symposium “Deconstructing Waste.”  The Business Law Journal held a symposium on “Employment and the Law.”

     The Black Law Students Association held a 3L graduation celebration, which included the unveiling of a new mural in the King Hall courtyard featuring Martin Luther King Jr.  The mural was co-created by Reza Harris ’19. The La Raza Law Students Association and the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association held annual banquets celebrating graduating 3Ls.

     Paige Tucker was elected Law Student Association President for the 2019/20 academic year.

Faculty Achievements

     UC Davis Law scholars published articles in leading law journals, including Harvard and Yale, and were quoted by the New York Times, Washington Post , CNN and National Public Radio.  Our faculty members continue to win honors and accolades.

• Professor Carlton Larson received the 2018 Distinguished Teaching Award.
• In October, Professor and United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights Karima Bennoune delivered her report on cultural diversity and cultural rights to the U.N. General Assembly.
• Professor Kelly Behre, Family Protection Clinic Director, was appointed to the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence.
• Professors Holly Cooper ’98 and Amagda Pérez ’91, were named “Women of the Year” by Congressman John Garamendi and inducted into the International Educators Hall of Fame by Youth-on-the-Move. Professor Cooper also received the UC Davis Academic Federation Distinguished Service Award.
• The American Bar Foundation named Professor Emerita Angela P. Harris the 2019-20 William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Diversity and Law.
• Dean Kevin R. Johnson received the 2018 Derrick Bell Legacy Award from the Critical Race Studies in Education Association and the Defensor de Justicia Award from the Cruz Reynoso Bar Association.
• Professor Lisa Pruitt was elected to the American Law Institute.

  International Programs

     As part of a partnership with Pontificia Catolica Universidad in Chile, UC Davis Law hosted a three-week immigration law program.  Dean Kevin R. Johnson and Associate Dean for International Programs Beth Greenwood traveled to Chile and met with former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, Senator José Miguel Insulza, members of the Chilean Supreme Court and other members of the Chilean legal community.

     In partnership with Jindal Global University in India, the School of Law hosted a conference on Law and Sustainable Development.  Senior Associate Dean Afra Afsharipour and other members of the UC Davis and Jindal Global University faculties participated.  The LL.M. program hosted 30 visiting scholars throughout the year.

Outstanding Alumni

     More than 300 alumni – a record – returned to King Hall for the Alumni Reunions last October.  In November, King Hall will host the 50th reunion of our first class, the Class of 1969.  For her tireless advocacy for the underrepresented as executive director of the NETWORK social justice lobby, Sister Simone Campbell ’77 was named Alumna of the Year.

     Our loyal alumni enabled the law school to raise more than $2 million in 2018/19 for student scholarships, faculty support, our clinics, and more.  UC Davis Law was once again a leader on UC Davis Give Day 2019, raising more than $76,000.  Led by board chair Kim Lucia ’09, every member of the Alumni Board for the 14th straight year gave to the law school.

Special Events

     King Hall hosted many outstanding visitors and events in 2018/19. Here are a few:

• Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, spoke to King Hall students about prosecuting significant insider-trading and corruption cases.
• David Cole, ACLU National Legal Director and Professor of Law and the Honorable George G. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy at Georgetown University Law Center, delivered the Edward L. Barrett Jr. Lecture on Constitutional Law.
• Catharine MacKinnon, Elizabeth A. Long Professor of Law at the University of Michigan and the long-term James Barr Ames Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard, delivered the Brigitte M. Bodenheimer Lecture on Family Law.
• Professor Dean Spade, Seattle University School of Law, delivered the Bill Smith Memorial Lecture.
• Johnston Busingye, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Rwanda, delivered the lecture “The Collective Memory of Genocide.”

  Milestones

     Senior Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Hollis Kulwin is retiring after 17 years of distinguished service.  Law Librarian Peg Durkin will retire after 26 years of sterling service at King Hall.  We wish them both the very best.  We continue to mourn the losses of Dean and Professor Emeritus Rex Perschbacher and Professor Floyd Feeney.  They were beloved members of the community, and we miss them.

-- Kevin R. Johnson, Dean, UC Davis School of Law