This week the Legal Beagle is back to hard-hitting journalism with an interview with Professor Thompson. Below is a transcript of our conversation: 1. What is the best piece of advice anyone ever gave you? My mom recently read me a note that my dad had left her a long time ago and in it he said, “It’s the little things.” And he went on to describe all the things that really mattered to him…
Type: Article
BRISTOL, R.I., April 13, 2020, – The Roger Williams University School of Law Board of Directors on Monday announced that Gregory W. Bowman, a nationally recognized scholar who has been serving as dean of the highly regarded West Virginia University College of Law, will become RWU Law’s sixth dean, effective July 1, 2020. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am thrilled to have Dean Bowman joining the law school,” said the…, Toledo Law Review, , titled, “The Rise of the Creative Law School,” Bowman set out an ambitious vision to help ensure that legal education – and the legal profession – remains relevant and responsive in the 21st century. Bowman wrote: “If the practice of law is changing rapidly (it is), and the perspective of prospective students on the value of law school is changing (it is), and career prospects are no longer…, now, .” Bowman concluded: “Not adapting puts the entire enterprise of legal education at risk – and thus places our democratic society and ideals at risk. And so we must innovate in the face of uncertainty.” Yet, “if we can dare to be aspirational, even in an age of financial challenges – then the future of American legal education will be bright.” Bowman is a graduate of WVU, where he earned his B.A…, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa. He also studied in Denmark as a Rotary Exchange Student and received his master’s degree in Economics with distinction from the University of Exeter, England, before receiving his J.D., cum laude, from the Northwestern University School of Law. Bowman received the Award for Outstanding Teaching from the WVU Foundation in 2014, and he was named “Professor of the Year” in 2011 by WVU Law students. He is the founding director of the College of Law’s Geneva Study Abroad Program. Prior to his teaching career, Bowman practiced law in Chicago and Washington, D.C. with the international law firm…
Type: Article
INTRODUCTION, Hi everyone, we hope you’re all doing well – or at least as well as can be expected under these circumstances. We’re all thinking about you. If you’re facing any special challenges or anything you think we could help you with, please get in touch with, Dean Goldstein, or, Dean Lalli, . We have a lot of resources that we can offer. There’s an emergency fund for students. We have mental health resources available. Even if you just want to talk, please get in touch with us. We’d love to hear from you and hear how things are going., Those of you who are 1Ls are now within two weeks of finishing your classes, and, once you get through exams, will in fact have completed your first year of law school – and it’s been a year like no other in the history of education, there’s no doubt about that. Today, we wanted to address some of the issues that are of unique concern to you., * * * * * * * * * *, What’s the latest on Commencement?, Although this doesn’t directly impact 1Ls, it does affect May: the in-person commencement on May 15 has been postponed. We’re going to reschedule it to a later date when it is safe for us and for you all to be together, and we will be together, and we look forward to that. In the interim, on the originally scheduled Commencement date of May 15 at 12:30 p.m., we are going to have a virtual…, What’s the latest on summer classes?, Summer and fall registration have both begun. Get in touch with Student Finance and Records if you need any help with registration. Normal grading policies will apply in the summer. We’ve also added some new courses to the summer schedule. As you know, we have made the decision to go exclusively online for our summer courses. We’ve also decided that, even if the campus were to be open during the…, Will tuition in the summer be reduced if the campus is closed?, There will be no change in the tuition rate for the summer., Will things be back to normal by this fall?, We have made no decisions about doing anything other than what we’d ordinarily do, which is to gather in August, here in Bristol and at One Empire in Providence, for the inaptly named Fall Semester. Hopefully that’s what we will do again this year, but we, are, doing contingency planning in case circumstances still don’t permit this to be done safely., When will you know for sure?, We have no target date for making that decision, but please be assured that it’s on our minds – and we know that it is on yours. In the meantime, we’re hoping and planning for a normal academic year ahead – which includes a terrific new Dean who will be joining the team effective July 1., Who should we speak with about academic planning?, There are many resources available online. You should also be in touch with your faculty advisor, who will be able to help you and talk to you individually about your plans. Dean Goldstein or Dean Lalli are also available. Students who are on academic probation should talk to Kathy Thompson or Brittany Raposa about their plans. And you should not feel limited to your faculty advisor or folks in…, How does the wait list work?, Students will automatically get put into a course they’re on the wait list for if a seat opens up, unless there’s a conflict with their schedule., When will we know the spring exam schedule?, That should be announced next week. All exams will be take-home and open book. If you need to reschedule any exams due conflicts with other exams or with other things happening in your life, such requests will be handled through the usual process for reschedules. Reschedule requests should be directed to Dean Goldstein . If you have a request for special exam accommodations, you should send them…, Every exam will be timed, but you’ll have at least a 24-hour window to take a timed exam. So, say it’s a five-hour exam: the window may start at 9:00 a.m. and go to the following 9:00 a.m. But you can find whatever five-hour period within that 24-hour period works best for you – and that’s the window in which you’ll download the questions and then upload the answers., How do we take the exams?, Technical explanations will be released with the exam schedule. And just a reminder of what you already know: all grades this semester are Pass/Fail. One positive way to view this is as a rare chance to find out how well you understand the course material without the stress and punishment of a graded exam. In addition, our faculty will all be available to answer any questions, go over your exams…, How will final exams work for accommodated students?, These students should get in touch with Dean Lalli about how exactly their individual accommodations are going to work., What do we need to know about academic standing?, Under our normal rules, students who end their first year with a cumulative GPA below 2.0 are academically dismissed – that’s automatic, as a matter of course. However, we have revised the rule for this semester. We are delaying any decisions about academic dismissal until after the fall semester. So, students will need to have a 2.0 GPA at the end of that semester. Current 1L students who do not…, all, courses completed up to that point, including summer and fall courses. Students who are on academic probation or supervision should soon be getting an email from Dean Goldstein and Dean Lalli about how this program will work and what requirements you’ll need to complete in your 2L year. The scholarship committee will be meeting soon to determine how to evaluate students for membership in the…, How will 1L class ranks be determined?, Class ranking will be based on the GPA that the student has at the end of the 1L year; in other words, just Fall 2019 grades. What that will mean in terms of scholarships is yet to be determined., When will 1Ls find out about ranks, ? Ranking is usually done early in the summer., Will 1Ls be eligible for acceptance into the Honors Program based on fall GPA alone?, We don’t know yet. The Scholarship Committee, along with the director of the Honors Program, is going to meet to work through that and other related questions., Will CALI Awards be issued for the semester for any class year?, No. After discussion among the faculty, we decided that it would be inconsistent with the Pass/Fail grading system that we adopted for this semester to award CALI Awards this semester. That will apply to all courses this semester, except for those that were completed before the crisis occurred; that is, in which the class was completed, or work done before we went online. By the way, we are…, What financial aid is available for this summer?, If you are registered for at least five credits, which is half-time for the summer, you’ll be eligible for federal loans that will cover the tuition and some living expenses. Basically, it’s living expenses for two months. The applications are available on the RWU Law website right now in Financing Your Legal Education under Forms and Resources . Submit your forms (and/or any questions you may…, Will academic scholarships extend through to the summer?, No. Our usual rule that academic scholarships don’t apply to summer semester continues this summer. The only exceptions would be for students who are part time and students in an approved accelerated program, where they’re graduating in December; that they can apply their scholarship to the second summer., How many credits does a student need to be considered for full-time in the summer?, The standard is five credits to get financial aid. Students can register for up to six credits without Dean Goldstein’s approval, but above six they need his approval. That said, he has generally been granting them up to a maximum of 10 credits., How do we get our books for summer courses for books if we can’t come on campus to pick them up the bookstore?, That’s a really good question. We’ll give that some thought., Can we pay for books for the summer classes via financial aid? , Yes, absolutely, as long as it’s going through the bookstore and you’ve done your summer application. That includes signing your award letter before we post your pending aid on your account. Once that’s done, you can use your pending aid or your living expenses to pay for those books., For students who have not yet explored summer internships, employment, etc., what do you recommend that we do?, Contact the Career Development Office and ask specifically about possibilities depending on where you are, what you’ve done in the past, how far away you are, and on so. That office is, while remote, fully staffed and ready to help with any questions you have about summer or fall employment. They are still posting job opportunities on Simplicity., What support resources are available to me right now?, The university as a whole has shared resources through the Counseling Center . They’re updating this website pretty regularly with different topics like humor and resiliency, switching to remote learning and a lot of other things. Make sure you check on it every now and then, especially in the moments where you’re feeling down or alone or isolated. RWU Law student groups are already planning fall…, Can you tell us about the emergency fund?, RWU Law has established the COVID-19 Emergency Fund to help students facing unexpected emergencies due to the pandemic. The law school is committed to helping students facing food Insecurity, loss of income due to the pandemic, emergency travel needs, and other challenges that could impact academic success. If you are facing financial difficulties due to the pandemic, please fill out the…, When will the emergency funds will be dispersed?, The emergency fund committee met for the first time on Wednesday, April 8, and we discussed quite a few applications. As of the morning of Thursday, April 9, the queue was already full again. Our goal is to meet weekly to make sure that we are evaluating each request, each student, each financial aid package, etc., to make sure that we are getting awards out as quickly as possible. Just so that…, Who do we contact about parking and print refunds?, They’re still being processed by the university. Their records are very good in terms of who, for example, was on a meal plan and how much money is left on their cards. But unfortunately – and we’re sorry about this; we’ve been saying this for a couple of weeks – the details just haven’t been worked out. But they’re working on it. * * * * * * * * * *, CONCLUSION: Dean Michael J. Yelnosky, Thank you for your questions. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your hard work. And congratulations – you are getting really close. We will continue to communicate via Town Hall Meetings, FAQs, and email. Once again, we miss you, we want to hear from you, and we join you in really looking forward to being on the other side of this, which is a place where we will all definitely be at some…,
Type: Article
A team of third-year law students from Roger Williams University School of Law has swept the premier admiralty law tournament in the United States, winning the overall championship as well as awards for best brief and best oral advocate. The team – consisting of 3Ls Brody Karn, Steve Lapatin and Joe Staph – traveled to Charleston, S.C., last weekend to participate in the 26th Annual Judge John R…
Type: Article
Next week, April 7-13, is National Library Week ! National Library Week is the one week a year that we stop and appreciate all things library-related. Here at the RWU Law Library we will be taking time out to express gratitude to our dedicated student library workers, our amazing full-time library staff, and our awesome patrons. Thank you all! To celebrate National Library Week 2019, the RWU…
Type: Article
Interested in learning more about the emerging markets of Intellectual Property and Cybersecurity Law? Join us for the very first , IP & Cybersecurity Networking Reception and Panel, at the Cove Restaurant & Marina (just 15 mins from campus). It will be an exciting evening of networking and discussion with students, attorneys and business professionals in two of the hottest growing areas of practice in the legal profession. Presented by the Open Door Speaker Series, and hosted by RWU Law's Cybersecurity Law Association and Intellectual Property Law Association., Please RSVP to IPLA@g.rwu.edu .
Type: Event
BRISTOL, R.I., April 9, 2019, – Roger Williams University School of Law will host a special event commemorating the First Women Lawyers in Rhode Island , featuring the dedication of a plaque listing the names of these 176 pioneers in the law. The program, sponsored by Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C., will be held Thursday, April 11, 2019, at 4 to 6 pm on the 2nd Floor Atrium at RWU Law, and will include a cocktail…, Media, First Women and their families, and the public are welcome to attend the event; however registration is required . Any questions should be directed to the Office of Special Events at RWU Law (events@rwu.edu or 401-254-3166). Please specify any special assistance that may be required to attend.
Type: Article
BRISTOL, R.I., April 10, 2019, – A leading scholar on judicial decision-making will deliver the commencement address to 130 law students during the Roger Williams University School of Law commencement ceremony on Friday, May 17, 2019, as the state’s only law school celebrates its 25th year. One of the nation's top experts on judicial decision-making, Professor Lee Epstein of Washington University in St. Louis, will deliver…
Type: Article
Law and literature, according to Black’s Law Dictionary , is: 1. Traditionally, the study of how lawyers and legal institutions are depicted in literature; esp., the examination of law-related fiction as sociological evidence of how a given culture, at a given time, views law. — Also termed, law in literature, . 2. More modernly, the application of literary theory to legal texts, focusing esp. on lawyers' rhetoric, logic, and style, as well as legal syntax and semantics. — Also termed, law as literature, . 3. The field or movement in which scholars devote themselves to this study or application. 4. The body of work produced by these scholars. This month’s book display is about literature and law in a less formal way. We have included poems about lawyers, poems by lawyers, a list of best fictional lawyers, and lists of author-lawyers. We hope that this display motivates you to think about writing…
Type: Article
BRISTOL, R.I., April 12, 2019, – Nearly 300 attendees turned out Thursday evening when Roger Williams University School of Law hosted a special event commemorating the First Women Lawyers in Rhode Island, which featured the dedication of a plaque listing the names of these 176 pioneers in the law., (See photos of the event here.), The plaque, prominently mounted in the law school’s second-floor Atrium, includes the names of the 176 known First Women, “and others unknown,” along with the preamble: “Roger Williams University School of Law honors the pioneering First Women of the Rhode Island Bar (1920 to 1979). Their efforts helped establish the rightful place of women in the legal profession and a foundation upon which a…, ‘Glass-Ceiling Breakers’, The plaque dedication event, sponsored by Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C., featured comments from Professor Emily Sack; RWU Law student Christine Awe, president of the school’s Women’s Law Society; Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Netti Vogel; and Nicole Verdi ’14, president of the RWU Law Alumni Association. “It’s been obvious from the start, and from the number of people here today, that this…, A League of Their Own, , when the players in later life visit a modern exhibition about pioneering women in the Baseball Hall of Fame. “This is kind of, our, Hall of Fame,” she said. “I think that’s awesome.” Vogel added that, in addition to the better-known pioneers on the First Women list, recognition was due to the unknowns among them. “Some of these women may have abandoned their journey to join the legal profession before they reached any level of success,” Vogel said. “I cannot say that they hit a glass ceiling because they never entered the…, An Onerous Path, The genesis of Thursday’s event occurred in 2017 at RWU Law’s annual Women in Robes event, which brings together RWU Law students and members of the Rhode Island judiciary. In response, the staff at the RWU Law Library, headed by Nicole Dyszlewski, began the task of compiling a definitive list of the first women. Dyszlewski soon discovered, to her surprise, that “no one in Rhode Island had been…, *****, The First Women Lawyers in Rhode Island dedication event was a beginning, not an end. We next plan to gather a group of volunteers to identify ways to keep a focus on the issue of gender equity in the legal profession. If you would like to volunteer, please contact us at firstwomenlaw@rwu.edu .
Type: Article
