End of Year Message 2021-22
As the 2021/22 academic year comes to a close, we take pride in the remarkable resilience of our community. The King Hall spirit buoyed our return last fall to in-person instruction. Thank you to the entire community for your grace and patience in an amazing time.
The beginning of the year brought the excellent J.D. Class of 2024, with 56% students of color; 59% women; 23% LGBTQ; 20% first-generation college graduates. We also welcomed 21 new LL.M. students from ten countries.
UC Davis Law’s exciting new podcast, Justice Defined: Scholars of King Hall, highlights our faculty’s extraordinary research. UC Davis Law’s faculty ranked 22nd in the nation in University of Chicago Professor Brian Leiter’s influential scholarly impact rankings. Our continuing Racial Justice Speaker Series drew leading scholars from around the country to discuss how systemic racism affects all areas of law. The law school’s California International Law Center (CILC) presented virtual conversations with former Chilean Presidents Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet (now United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights). Dean Kevin R. Johnson moderated the discussions.
A strategic plan from the inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee will soon be submitted and made public. Alexis Elston, our DEI fellow, led this important committee.
In 2022/23, two new faculty will join King Hall: Amelia Miazad, a business law expert previously at UC Berkeley, and Mary Ziegler, a tenured faculty member at Florida State, who will teach torts, family law, and other courses. A legal historian, Professor Ziegler has special expertise in the legal history of reproduction, the family, sexuality, and the Constitution.
Last fall, the law school honored the legacy of Justice and Professor Emeritus Cruz Reynoso, who died in May 2021, with a discussion with three Latina/o civil rights leaders. A transcript to the event is here. This year, the faculty approved Reynoso Academic Achievement Awards for the two top grades in each law school class. A tribute to Justice Reynoso soon will be installed in the building.
Commencement
Congratulations to our 2022 J.D. and LL.M. graduates! At commencement, the Honorable Stacy Boulware Eurie ’95 will be our keynote speaker; Professor David Horton and Khrystan Nicole Policarpio ’22 will also speak. Professors Lisa Ikemoto and Menesh Patel are the faculty marshals. At commencement, look for special stoles, including those for participants in King Hall’s First Generation Advocates Program.
On April 21, we celebrated the Class of 2022 at the Public Service Graduation, followed by the 3L BBQ. The class amassed nearly 30,000 public service hours! Special congratulations to Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award recipient Dayja Tillman ’22 and Alumni Association Award recipient Khrystan Policarpio ’22!
Student Success
More than 87% of the Class of 2021 secured full-time, law-related employment within ten months of graduation. Other student highlights include:
· The Black Law Students Association and Martin Luther King Jr. Day Working Group organized another successful MLK Day of Service and Celebration in January. Our community volunteered at Fourth & Hope, which serves the unhoused in Woodland, and collected more than 200 books to donate to a local elementary school.
· The Latinx Law Student Association honored Monica Ortega ’22 with the Lorenzo Patiño Community Service Award.
· 3Ls Vannalee Cayabyab, Hannah Cho, Alexis Logan, Tony Mekari, Alexandra Mills, Grecia Orozco, Vivienne Pismarov, Khrystan Nicole Policarpio, Kathrine Schulze, and Natalie Truong were selected to the Order of Barristers, a national honorary organization of the best student trial and appellate advocates.
· Andrea Reyes ’22 received a Skadden Fellowship, which provides funding to help launch public interest law careers. She will work for Dolores Street Community Services in San Francisco, providing direct immigration representation to undocumented workers.
· The UC Davis Law Review held a successful gun rights symposium in the fall. The Law Review’s Morgan Mitruka ’22 and Elizabeth Wilson ’22 received Patrick J. Hopkins Memorial Writing Awards.
· Students elected Jason Wong ’23 president of the Law Students Association for 2022/23.
· In the finals of the Neumiller Competition, 2Ls Lena Foellmer, Christine Hanon, Daniel On, and Nicole Opendo, argued before the distinguished panel of California Supreme Court Justice Joshua Groban, Superior Court Judge (Sacramento) Kara Ueda ’00, and Superior Court Judge (Santa Clara) Jacqueline Duong ’94.
· During spring break, a team of eight law students traveled to the U.S./Mexico border to provide pro bono legal assistance to migrants. Professor Raquel Aldana and Spanish professor Robert Irwin accompanied the students as part of Irwin’s Humanizing Deportation project.
Faculty Achievements
UC Davis Law’s world-renowned teacher-scholars consistently appear in the pages of top law reviews and leading media outlets. Stacy-Ann Elvy published a new book A Commercial Law of Privacy and Security for the Internet of Things (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and Chris Elmendorf, Aaron Tang, and others published many op/eds in national publications. Other achievements include:
· Karrigan Börk received the 2022 Distinguished Teaching Award.
· Senior Associate Dean Afra Afsharipour’s article “Women and M&A” generated widespread attention, including a New York Times write-up. She also gave a talk to an Indian government think tank about gender diversity and the role of corporate board of directors in mergers.
· Raquel Aldana and Associate Dean Beth Greenwood spoke in a March “Crisis in Ukraine” event at King Hall.
· Ashutosh Bhagwat was elected chair of the California Independent System Operator board of governors.
· The law school welcomed Legal Research and Writing instructors Luke Fadem and Suzanne Reuben and welcomed back Clarisa Sudarma ’12.
· The Association of American Law Schools’ (AALS) Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) named David Horton’s article on arbitration clauses the year’s best.
· Lisa Ikemoto was elected to the American Law Institute.
· Elizabeth Joh’s podcast emerged with a new name, What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law. She also spoke before a UK House of Lords committee about the use of new technologies in the justice system.
· Dean Kevin R. Johnson joined other law school deans from around the world for an O.P. Jindal (India) Global University law school summit. Along with Professor Raquel Aldana, he also assumed co-directorship of the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies.
· Leticia Saucedo was appointed National Senior Counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a leading Latina/o civil rights organization.
· Donna Shestowsky was elected chair of the AALS Section on ADR.
Outstanding Lectures
UC Davis Law continued its tradition of excellent events:
· Speakers for our annual named lectures included Columbia Law Professor Jamal Greene (Barrett Lecture), UC Berkeley Law Professor Khiara Bridges (Bodenheimer Lecture), and University of Virginia Law Professor Danielle Citron (McClatchy Lecture).
· The School of Law endowed the Bill Smith Memorial Lecture in 2021. Taylor Brown, staff attorney with the LGBT & HIV Project at the ACLU, delivered this year’s lecture.
· The Aoki Center continued its collaboration with the Department of History on the Free People of Color speaker series.
· A California International Law Center virtual conference on intellectual property amid the COVID-19 pandemic featured Professor Peter Lee and speakers from Chile.
Alumni Recognition and Accolades
Alumni Kelli M. Evans ’94 (Alameda), Charles J. Lee ’02 (Fresno), Renee Reyna ‘06 (San Mateo), and Fernando Valle ’02 (Orange County) became California Superior Court judges. Joyce Noche ’99 was appointed to the U.S. immigration court. Jack R. McKenna ’07 was appointed to the Alaska Superior Court. Maggie Krell ’03 (Taking Down Backpage: Fighting The World's Largest Sex Trafficker) and Wajahat Ali ’07 (Go Back to Where You Came From and Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American) published books that garnered national attention. The UC Davis Law School Alumni Board honored Yeoryios Apallas ’72 with the Distinguished Alumnus Award and Austin Quinn-Davidson ’07 with the Rising Star Alumna Award.
So far, the law school has raised more than $18 million toward its campus Expect Greater campaign goal of $25 million. The law school held 50-year reunions for the classes of 1970 and 1971 and resumed annual in-person reunions celebrating many classes.
Milestones
During the 2021/22 year, Mabie Law Library Director Judy Janes, Mark Hoffman (Information Technology), Debbie Hicks (Deans Office), and Karen Sewell (Admissions) retired after amazing careers. We thank them all for their commitment and service to the law school.