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In support of that mission, we strive to: Provide an excellent legal education that is focused on the development of students’ analytical, ethical, and other practice skills through the exploration of legal doctrine, policy, history and theory, including the relationship between law and social inequality. Provide students guided opportunities to provide pro bono legal assistance to unrepresented…,
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1990, Approval of Law School Roger Williams College President Natale Sicuro, appoints a blue-ribbon committee to explore the feasibility of establishing a law school at Roger Williams College., 1991, Chief Justice Joseph Weisberger Rhode Island Chief Justice Joseph Weisberger, , as chair of the exploratory committee, officially recommends that Roger Williams College establish a law school, based upon an intensive “Feasibility Study to Establish a Law School” prepared by Anthony Santoro, then Dean and Professor of Law at Widener University School of Law., 1992, Professor Anthony Santoro Anthony J. Santoro, is appointed as, RWU Law’s founding dean, . Construction of law building begins. Faculty recruiting begins. In May, Roger Williams College is renamed Roger Williams University, partially as a result of its decision to add a law school., 1993, The School of Law opens., Its first class, the Class of 1996, consists of 110 full-time (Day Division) students, and 74 Extended Division students. The class breakdown is 56 percent Rhode Islanders, and 44 percent from out of state; they were chosen from among 600 applicants., Dean Anthony Santoro, is named the sixth, President of Roger Williams University, , effective August 23., Dean John E. Ryan, John E. Ryan, is appointed, Dean, , effective September 7. Ryan was former dean of McGeorge Law School in Sacramento, Calif., and a two-term chair of the American Bar Association’s accreditation committee. , 1994, RWU Law The School of Law building is officially dedicated, May 1.
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1995, Moot Arguments with Rhode Island Supreme Court, Chief Justice Joseph Weisberger commences the tradition of the Justices of the, Rhode Island Supreme Court, presiding over the final rounds of the annual, Moot Court Competition, – a tradition that has continued ever since. Weisberger was joined by the Honorable Florence K. Murray, the Honorable Donald F. Shea, and the Honorable Victoria Lederberg. RWU Law is awarded, provisional accreditation, from the, American Bar Association, ., 1996, Roger Williams University Law Review publishes its inaugural issue, Roger Williams University Law Review, publishes its inaugural issue. , Justice Anthony Kennedy, Inaugural Commencement held May 18, with, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, as commencement speaker. There are 87 Day Division graduates (Extended Division students from the first class would graduate in 1997). The, Marine Affairs Institute, is established, July 29., The Feinstein Institute for Legal Service, (now the, Feinstein Center for Pro Bono & Experiential Education, ) , the hub of RWU Law’s public service initiatives, is established with a $1 million donation from Rhode Island philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein on September 9. , 1997, American Bar Association, RWU Law is awarded, full accreditation, by the, American Bar Association, . At the time, it is the fastest law school accreditation in ABA history. , Esther Clark, The, Clark Moot Court Competition,, named for Distinguished Visiting, Professor Esther Clark, (1929-2002), a pioneering litigator and popular teacher in the school’s early years, is established. , 1998, Dean John Ryan, Dean John Ryan steps down, effective June 30., Bruce I. Kogan, , formerly Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, appointed Interim Dean effective July 1. , 1999, Harvey Rishikof Harvey Rishikof, is appointed Dean, effective July 1. Rishikof was previously legal counsel to the deputy director of the FBI, serving as liaison to the Office of the U.S. Attorney General. He had also served as U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s chief of staff from 1994 to 1996.
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2000, Dean Rishikof introduces courses in National Security Law and the Constitution Dean Rishikof introduces courses in National Security Law and the Constitution, in cooperation with the Naval War College in Newport., 2001, Founding Dean and former Roger Williams University President Anthony Santoro rejoins RWU Law as faculty member., Eric Holder Eric Holder, , then Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno, delivers the RWU Law’s first Thurgood Marshall Lecture., Mrs. Thurgood Marshall, makes her first of several visits to RWU Law for the inaugural lecture., Honors Program, established. Dean Rishikof steps down, effective June 30., Bruce I. Kogan, , formerly Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, appointed Interim Dean effective July 1., 2002, Amicus, Amicus, Magazine, , Vol. 1, No. 1, is published. Amicus had previously existed as a student/alumni-run newsletter. In 2011, the magazine was redesigned and re-titled, RWU Law Magazine, ,, with "Amicus" retained as the name of the publication's Alumni department., RWU Law Magazine, would publish biannually through 2016, and occasionally thereafter., 2003, Logan David A. Logan, is appointed Dean, effective July 1. Logan had been a tenured full professor at Wake Forest University School of Law. , 2004, Thurgood Marshall, The, Thurgood Marshall Lecture Series, becomes RWU Law’s first endowed lectureship, underwritten by leading law firm, Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP, . First topic is the 50th anniversary of, Brown v. Board of Education, (1954).
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, 2005, The Pro Bono Collaborative (PBC) is established as pilot program The, , Pro Bono Collaborative (PBC), is established as pilot program. It is officially launched as a full RWU Law program in January 2006, with support from the Rhode Island Foundation. AALS, 2006, RWU Law awarded membership in the, AALS, (Association of American Law Schools)., The Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger, retired Chief Justice of The , Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger, , retired Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court (1993-2001), becomes the first chair of, RWU Law’s Board of Directors, ., 2007, RWU Law’s first endowed professorship, is established in honor of the Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger. Professor Michael Yelnosky, Professor Michael Yelnosky, releases his first Faculty Productivity report, measuring per capita productivity of law faculties, based on publication in major law journals between 1992 and 2007, and underscoring the quality of RWU Law’s faculty. , 2008, Chief Justice John Roberts, Chief Justice John Roberts, of the U.S. Supreme Court meets with RWU Students in Providence, and swears in 43 alumni to Federal Bar. Justice Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, of the U.S. Supreme Court spends a memorable day at RWU Law as Distinguished Jurist in Residence. , 2009, In furtherance of RWU Law’s commitment to public service, the faculty votes … In furtherance of RWU Law’s commitment to public service, the faculty votes to require that, in order to graduate,, students must complete at least 50 hours, of unpaid, law-related public service, for which they will not receive academic credit.
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2010, Betty Anna Waters RWU Law hosts a special Advance Screening of, Conviction, (2011), a major-motion picture starring Hilary Swank and Minnie Driver as RWU Law alumni Betty Anne Waters ’98 and Abra Rice ’98 and their true-life battle to free Waters' wrongly convicted brother from prison. , Peter Kilmartin Peter Kilmartin ’98, is elected Attorney General of Rhode Island. , Attorney Mark Mandell Attorney Mark Mandell, is elected chairman of RWU Law’s Board of Directors , succeeding the Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger. A prominent Rhode Island attorney and popular adjunct professor, Mandell had served as president of both the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He also served on the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel and the Governor’s Advisory Commission…, 2011, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, of the U.S. Supreme Court spends a day at RWU Law. , 2012, The, Santoro Business Law Lecture Series, becomes RWU Law’s second endowed lectureship. It was endowed entirely by alumni support, following a lead gift from Brian Ali ’07. Frank Fahrenkopf – co-chair of the Presidential Debates Commission, former RNC chair, and head of American Gaming Association – is first speaker., Associate Justice Samuel Alito Associate Justice Samuel Alito, of the U.S. Supreme Court spends a day at RWU Law. , 2013, 20th Anniversary20th Anniversary Celebration 20th Anniversary Celebration, begins, for 2013-14 academic year. As of May 2013, the total number of RWU Law Alumni stood at 2,662. , Associate Justice Elena Kagan Associate Justice Elena Kagan, of the U.S. Supreme Court addresses first-year class of RWU Law. , Former Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Former Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, of the U.S. Supreme Court spends a day at RWU Law. , 2014, Professor Michael Yelnosky, Professor Michael J. Yelnosky, appointed the fifth Dean of RWU Law, effective July 1. Yelnosky was a founding faculty member of RWU Law. , Chief Judge William E. Smith Chief Judge William E. Smith, , of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, elected chair of RWU Law’s Board of Directors , effective July 1.
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Sorry, the requested page could not be found. It's likely still here, just relocated. To Find What You Are Looking For:, Try the site search located at the top of the page. , , Try navigating from the RWU Law , Homepage ., Check out the Current Student Quick Links ., For older articles or blog posts visit our digital archive ., Head to one of our top searched pages:, Academics Apply to the JD Apply to the MSL Law Calendars Law Library Please be sure to update any old bookmarked URLs, and if you believe you reached this 404 page in error, please email webmaster@rwu.edu .
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, 2015, Veterans law RWU Law establishes its, Veterans Disability Appeals Field Clinic, in the Providence offices of Chisholm & Chisholm, one of the nation's leading veterans disability law firms. , Judge Savage, RWU Law Distinguished Jurist in Residence, Judge Judith Colenback Savage, hosts a major symposium on, Mass Incarceration, at the school that helps lead to significant changes in Rhode Island law. , 2016, One Empire, RWU Law opens new, Experiential Learning Campus, at One Empire Street in downtown Providence, housing in-house clinics, hosting classes, and providing a base for students performing externships and gaining other work in the city. , 2017, Luis Mancheno, Luis Mancheno ’13, makes national headlines when he leads a team of young attorneys in bringing the case of, Darweesh v Trump Order, less than 24 hours after President Trump signed his “Muslim ban”. In response, a federal judge blocks part of the executive order, ordering that refugees trapped at airports across the U.S. should not be sent back to their home countries. The Professor Anthony J. Santoro Classroom (Room 262) is dedicated in honor of The, Professor Anthony J. Santoro Classroom, (Room 262) is dedicated in honor of the founding Dean of RWU Law and President Emeritus of RWU. Santoro thanked the gathered faculty, alumni and students for the honor, noting that RWU Law was “instrumental in my having the best time of my life during these last 25 years – especially the last few as a faculty member. I really enjoyed that classroom and I am so thrilled to have it named after me…, 2018, RBG, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, of the Supreme Court of the United States makes national headlines when she skips President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to spend a snowy day at RWU Law. , The Honorable Edward C. Clifton, retired associate justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court The Honorable Edward C. Clifton, , retired associate justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court, completes his term as Distinguished Jurist in Residence at RWU Law, a post he’d held since 2015. In 2018, Judge Clifton received the school’s Champions for Justice Award. He served on RWU Law’s Board of Directors from 2009 until 2020, and received an honorary degree from the school in 2021. , 2019, First Women A team of RWU Law librarians and staff, aided by members of the state bar and judiciary, builds a definitive list of the 176, First Women Lawyers in Rhode Island, . In April, the law school hosts a gala event for the plaque dedication. , Dorothy Crockett, In September, the, Dorothy R. Crockett, Classroom is dedicated in honor of Rhode Island’s first African-American woman lawyer, admitted to the bar in 1932 . In November, cybersecurity lawyer Linn Foster Freedman, a longtime RWU Law board member In November, cybersecurity lawyer, Linn Foster Freedman, , a longtime RWU Law board member, noted philanthropist, and law partner at Robinson & Cole LLP, is honored with a seminar room in her name.
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