Professor Jonathan Gutoff is one of the nation’s top experts on piracy and maritime law issues. In addition to his popular courses on Administrative Law, Admiralty, Civil Procedure, and Remedies, Gutoff is a former acting director (and present faculty member) of RWU Law’s Marine Affairs Institute. His articles have appeared in top legal publications such as the Journal of Maritime Law and…, Articles, ", Attaching Domestic Assets to Remedy High Seas Pollution: Rule B and Marine Debris," 22, Roger Williams University Law Revie, w 432 (2017) "Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt:, A Split Court, Full Faith and Credit, and Federal Common Law,, ", 22 , Roger Williams University Law Review, 248 (2017) "An Examination and Consideration of: Jurisdiction and Forum Selection in International Maritime Law: Essays in Honor of Robert Force,", , 38, Journal of Maritime Law and Commerc, e 583 (2007), ", Fugitive Slaves and Ship-jumping Sailors: The Enforcement and Survival of Coerced Labor,", 9 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor and Employment Law, 87 (2006) , ", A Jurisdictional Prolegomenon to the Limitation of Liability Act," 32, Journal of Maritime Law and Commerc, e 203 (2001), ", The Law of Piracy in Popular Culture," 31, Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, 643 (2000), ", Federal Common Law and Congressional Delegation: A Reconceptualization of Admiralty," 61 , University of Pittsburgh Law Review, 367 (2000), ", Original Understandings and the Private Law Origins of the Federal Admiralty Jurisdiction: A Reply to Professor Casto," 30, Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, 361 (1999), ", Limitation of Liability in Oil Pollution Cases: In Search of Concursus or Procedural Alternative to Concursus?," 22 , Tulane Maritime Law Journal, 331 (1998) (with Robert Force) "Admiralty, Article III, and Supreme Court Review of State Court Decisionmaking," 70 , Tulane Law Review, 2169 (1996)
Type: Faculty & Staff Profile
Suzanne Harrington-Steppen is the Associate Director of Pro Bono Programs and the Director of Summer Public Interest Externship Program. Suzanne received a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and a J.D. from City University of New York School of Law. Prior to joining the Law School as the Project Coordinator for the Pro Bono Collaborative, Suzanne completed a two-year federal clerkship…, Books, Integrating Doctrine and Diversity: Inclusion and Equity in the Law School Classroom, (Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2021)(with Nicole Dyszlewski, Raquel J. Gabriel, Anna Russell, and Genevieve B. Tung), Articles, "Learning from Millennials in the Legal Workspace,", Rhode Island Bar Journal, , Mar./Apr. 2019, at 23 (with Nicole P. Dyszlewski) "Don’t Do It Alone: A Community-Based, Collaborative Approach to Pro Bono," 23, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, , 323 (2010) (co-authored with Laurie Barron, et al.)
Type: Faculty & Staff Profile
Type: Course
Susan Heyman joined the Roger Williams University School of Law faculty in the fall of 2011. She had previously been at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York. She graduated magna cum laude from Cardozo, where she was executive editor of Cardozo Law Review and the recipient of the Felix Frankfurter Award. She clerked for the Honorable Robert E. Cowen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for…, Articles, "Digital Realty Trust v. Somers: Whistleblowers and Corporate Retaliation," 24, Roger Williams University Law Review, 78 (2019), ", Corporate Privilege and an Individual’s Right to Defend," 85, George Washington Law Review, 1112 (2017), ", Rethinking Regulation Fair Disclosure and Corporate Free Speech," 36, Cardozo Law Review, 1099 (2015), ", The Quiet Period in a Noisy World: Rethinking Securities Regulations and Corporate Free Speech," 74, Ohio State Law Journal, 189 (2013) Book Review, "Contracts in the Real World: Stories of Popular Contracts and Why They Matter by Larry Cunningham,", Concurring Opinions, (October 17, 2012), , ", The Missing Elements of Contract Damages," 84, Temple Law Review, 119 (2011), ", Bottoms-Up: An Alternative Approach for Investigating Corporate Malfeasance," 37, American Journal of Criminal Law, 163 (2010), ", Bringing Down the Bar: Accountants Challenge Meaning of Unauthorized Practice," 21, Cardozo Law Review, 1425 (2000)
Type: Faculty & Staff Profile
After a successful term at Yale Law School (where she served on the Yale Law Journal, the Yale Journal of Law and Policy, and the Yale Journal of International Law), Niki Kuckes won a coveted clerkship with Judge (now Justice) Antonin Scalia. She moved on to develop a sophisticated litigation practice in Washington, D.C, where for almost two decades she focused on white collar criminal matters,…, Books, “Rewriting Grand Jury History,” in, Grand Jury 2.0, , edited by Roger Fairfax (Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Press, 2011), Articles, ", Iancu v. Brunetti: Free Speech Meets Immoral and Scandalous Trademarks in the Supreme Court," 25, Roger Williams University Law Review, 80 (2020), ", Matal v. Tam: Free Speech Meets Disparaging Trademarks in the Supreme Court,, ", 23, Roger Williams University Law Review, 122 (2018), ", Designing Law School Externships That Comply with the FLSA," 21, Clinical Law Revie, w 79 (2014), ", The State of Rule 3.8: Prosecutorial Ethics Reform Since Ethics 2000," 22, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, 427 (2009), ", Civil Due Process, Criminal Due Process," 25, Yale Law and Policy Review, 1 (2006) "The Democratic Prosecutor: Explaining the Constitutional Function of the Federal Grand Jury,", , 94, Georgetown Law Journal, 1265 (2006) "The Useful, Dangerous Fiction of Grand Jury Independence,", , 41, American Criminal Law Review, 1 (2004)
Type: Faculty & Staff Profile
Victoria Grace Litman M.Div., J.D., LL.M. is a visiting professor at Roger Williams University School of Law, where she teaches Torts, Cannabis Law, and Psychedelics Law. She is also a Fellow in Psychedelic Law and Spirituality at Harvard Law School’s Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics. Her scholarly work focuses on the intersections of tax law, religious…, Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, , Penn’s, Regulatory Review,, , Petrie-Flom Bill of Health, , and the Cato Institute’s, Regulation Magazine, . An accomplished presenter, Litman regularly speaks at major academic and policy conferences in the United States and abroad. Her recent presentations have addressed topics like psychedelic chaplaincy, cannabis tax law reform, and psychedelic religion and law. In addition to her teaching and research, Litman is a nonprofit tax lawyer specializing in tax-exempt organizations within the cannabis…, Articles, “ Facilitating the Sacred: The Role of Chaplains in Psychedelic Law and Policy ,” In , Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology, February 2025, " Psychedelic Policy, Religious Freedom, and Public Safety: An Overview ,", Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, September 2024, " What You Need to Know About Marijuana Rescheduling - Petrie-Flom Center ,", Harvard Bill of Health, May 2024, " Why We Need To Talk About Psychedelic Dispensaries ,", The Regulatory Review; Penn Regulatory Review, April 2024, ", Limiting Federal Regulation of Cannabis, ," Cato Institute, the Cato Institute, Regulation Magazine,
Type: Faculty & Staff Profile
David A. Logan became Dean of Roger Williams School of Law in 2003, after two decades on the faculty of Wake Forest University School of Law, where he won awards for his teaching of Torts, Media Law, and Professional Responsibility. At the end of his deanship in 2014, he was one of the nation's longest-serving deans. He has also been a visiting professor at UNC, UT-Austin, Florida State, and the…, Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, , 455 U.S. 363 (1982), a major Supreme Court decision interpreting the Fair Housing Act. Professor Logan's publications, primarily focusing on the intersection of tort law and the First Amendment, have appeared in major journals, including the, Michigan Law Review, , the, Iowa Law Review, , and the, Virginia Law Review, . His most recent piece, “Rescuing our Democracy by Revisiting, New York Times v. Sullivan, ,” published in the, Ohio State Law Journal, in late 2020, was cited sixteen times by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in his 2021 opinion in, Berisha v. Lawson, . Professor Logan has served as an Advisor to the American Law Institute’s Restatement (Third) of Torts, most recently on the ALI’s Defamation and Privacy Law Project; he has also served the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools in various leadership capacities. He has won awards for his “dedication and commitment to equal justice in the law” (Rhode Island Legal…, Wall Street Journal, ,, New York Times, ,, Washington Post, , and the, Economist, ). He was born in New York City and grew up in Northern Virginia, where he excelled as a violinist and started for the first racially integrated team to win the state AAA basketball championship. He earned his BA from Bucknell, his MA from Wisconsin-Madison, and his JD from Virginia. In college, he was a varsity basketball player, head deejay on the campus radio station, and a music critic for, Rolling Stone, magazine., Books, , "Protection of Personality Rights against Invasions by the Mass Media in the United States of America,” in, The Protection of Personality Rights Against Invasions by the Mass Media, , edited by, , Helmut Kozel & Alexander Warzilek (Vienna: Springer, 2005) (with Michael D. Green), North Carolina Torts, , 2d ed. (Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2004) (with Wayne A. Logan), Selected Articles, , ", Rescuing our Democracy by Revisiting, New York Times v. Sullivan,", 81, Ohio State Law Journal, 759 (2020), ", Still Standing After All These Years: Five Decades of Litigation Under the Fair Housing Act and the Supreme Court Still Can't Say for Sure Who is Protected,", 23, Roger Williams U. L. Rev., 169 (2018), ", Juries, Judges, and the Politics of Tort Reform," 83, University of Cincinnati Law Review, 903 (2015), ", When the Restatement is Not a Restatement: The Curious Case of the Flagrant Trespasser," 37, William Mitchell Law Review, 1448 (2011) (symposium on the , Restatement (3d) Torts, ), ", The Perils of Glasnost," 38, University of Toledo Law Review, 565 (2007), ", Teaching Through Tragedy," 34, Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, 181 (2002) "Libel Law in the Trenches: Reflections on Current Data on Libel Litigation," 86, Virginia Law Review, 503 (2001), ", All Monica, All of the Time, The 24-Hour News Cycle and the Proof of Culpability in Libel Actions," 23, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review, 201 (2000), ", Upping the Ante: Curricular and Bar Exam Reform in Professional Responsibility," 56, Washington and Lee Law Review, 1023 (1999), ", Masked Media: Judges, Juries, and the Law of Surreptitious Newsgathering," 83, Iowa Law Review, 161 (1997), ", Of "Sloppy Journalism", "Corporate Tyranny", and "Mea Culpas": The Curious Case of, Moldea v. New York Times,", 37, William and Mary Law Review, 161 (1995) "The Man in the Mirror," 90, Mich L. Rev, . 1739 (1992).
Type: Faculty & Staff Profile
Joining the RWU Law faculty in 2001, Professor Emily Sack has become a nationally recognized expert on domestic violence and reform of the court system. As the Deputy Director for the Center for Court Innovation, Professor Sack helped develop and implement the first domestic violence courts in New York, as well as the first felony domestic violence court in the United States. U.S. Supreme Court…, The Struggle for the Future of Domestic Violence Policy, in his opinion in the domestic violence case , Castle Rock v. Gonzales, . Active in the community, Professor Sack is a member of the Elder Abuse Working group, assists the National District Attorney’s Association with developing elder abuse training curriculum for prosecutors, and serves as Member of the Board and Chair of EMERGE, a batterers’ intervention and parenting skills programs for men who abuse intimate partners. Prior to joining RWU, Professor Sack worked…, Books, “Varieties of Public Policy Toward Domestic Violence,” in, The Oxford Handbook of Family Policy Over The Life Course, (Oxford Univ. Press 2023), Domestic Violence and the Law: Theory and Practice, , 3rd ed., , (Eagan, MN: Foundation Press, 2012) (with Elizabeth Schneider, Cheryl Hanna & Judith G. Greenberg). “The Crime of Domestic Violence,” in, Criminal Law Conversations, , edited by Paul Robinson, Stephen Garvey & Kimberly Kessler Ferzan (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2009)., Articles, ", Illegal Stops and the Exclusionary Rule: The Consequences of Utah v. Strieff," 22, Roger Williams University Law Review, 263 (2017) "United States v. Castleman: The Meaning of Domestic Violence,, ", 20, Roger Williams University Law Review, 128 (2015), ", Is Domestic Violence a Crime?: Intimate Partner Rape as Allegory," 24, St. John’s Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, 535 (2010), ", Judicial Selection in Rhode Island: Assessing the Experience with Merit Selection, Response,, ", 15, Roger Williams University Law Review, 793 (2010) "From the Right of Chastisement to the Criminalization of Domestic Violence: A Study in Resistance to Effective Policy Reform," 32, Thomas Jefferson Law Review, 31 (2009), ", The Burial of Family Law," 61, Southern Methodist University Law Review, 459 (2008), ", The Domestic Relations Exception, Domestic Violence, and Equal Access to Federal Courts," 84, Washington University Law Review, 1441 (2006), ", Civil Unions and the Meaning of the Public Policy Exception at the Boundaries of Domestic Relations Law," 3, Ave Maria Law Review, 497 (2005), ", The Retreat from DOMA: The Public Policy of Same-Sex Marriage and a Theory of Congressional Power Under the Full Faith and Credit Clause," 38, Creighton Law Review, 507 (2005), ", Battered Women and the State: The Struggle for the Future of Domestic Violence Policy," 2004, Wisconsin Law Review, 1657 "Domestic Violence Across State Lines: The Full Faith and Credit Clause, Congressional Power, and Interstate Enforcement of Protection Orders," 98, Northwestern University Law Review, 827 (2004)
Type: Faculty & Staff Profile
Professor Spacone brings to his courses almost forty years of outside and inside counsel experience advising and defending for profit and non-profit corporations on a wide range of domestic and international legal issues including corporate governance and compliance, risk management and insurance, high stakes litigation and government investigations and proceedings, environmental, products…, cum laude, from the University of Buffalo Faculty of Law & Jurisprudence where he was Articles Editor of the , Buffalo Law Review, . He also holds an M.A. in history from the University of Buffalo and is B.S. from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, from which he graduated cum laude. He is a member of the Rhode Island and New York bars, the U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island, the U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, and the U.S. Claims Court. Much of Professor Spacone’s legal background centers on…, Articles, "Broker-Dealer Liability: Are the Rules Pertaining to Providing Advice to Retail Customers About to Change," 64 R, hode Island Bar Journal, 13 (March/April 2016)(with Nicole M. Verdi), ", A Practical Guide to Establishing an Effective Crisis Management Plan," 9, In-House Defense Quarterly, 52 (Winter 2014), ", Implementing Practical Risk Management: A Guide for 501(c)(3) Nonprofits," 62, Rhode Island Bar Journal, 5 (March/April 2014)(with Robert I. Stolzman), ", Reducing the Risks of Outsourcing in China and Other Countries: Contracts & Beyond," 26, ACC Docket, 78 (December 2008), ", Strict Liability in the European Union-Not A United States Analog," 5, Roger Williams Law Review, 341 (2000), ", The Emergence of Strict Liability: A Historical Perspective and Other Considerations, Including Senate 100," 8, Journal of Products Liability, 1 (1985) "A Practical Guide to Controlling Products Liability Costs," 7, Journal of Products Liability, 365 (1984) "Topless Dancing and the Constitution-A New York Town’s Experience," 25, Buffalo Law Review, 753 (1976)
Type: Faculty & Staff Profile
Eliza Vorenberg is the Director of Pro Bono and Community Partnerships. Eliza is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College (1983) and Columbia Law School (1990) and clerked for Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Herbert P. Wilkins. She has extensive experience in public interest law, the private sector, academia, and conflict resolution. Her previous experience includes litigating employment and civil…, Books, “Pro Bono as a Professional Value,” in, Building on Best Practices: Transforming Legal Education in a Changing World, , edited by Deborah Maranville, et al. (2015) (with Cindy Adcock, et al.), Articles, "Don’t Do It Alone: A Community-Based, Collaborative Approach to Pro Bono," 23, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, 323 (2010) (co-authored with Laurie Barron, et al.)
Type: Faculty & Staff Profile
