currentthethe magazine of

the Appalachian School of LawSummer 2013

Also in this issue:

Class of 2013 GraduationASL Adds New Juris Master’s Program

Externship Program ExpandedAlumnus Named Lawyer of the Year

Professor Murrey RetiresNew Student Center Dedicated

Seasons of Change: ASL implements new programs and expands existing ones

Dean: Lucy S. McGoughPhotos: Taylor Burgess, Emily Elliott, Akiah Highsmith, Justin Jennings, Sabrina MullinsContributors: Patrick Baker, Mark Belleville, Janie Castle, Candice DuVernois, Stewart Harris, Matthew Hardin, Karen Harvey, Derrick Howard, James Keen, Patty Lester, Michael Loud-enslager, Julia McAfee, Dean Lucy McGough, Doug McKechnie, Alan Oxford, Brenda Oxford, Dale Rubin, Jina Sauls, Thomas R. Scott, Jr., Eric von Kleist, Paula YoungManaging Layout: Janie Castle

currenttheis published twice a year by the

Appalachian School of Law. Send comments or questions to

current@asl.edu

Class of 2013 Graduation Weekend

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On May 11th, family and friends descended on Grundy for the 14th annual commencement ceremony as 88 graduates joined the ranks of ASL’s more than 1000 alumni. The Honorable Justice Elizabeth McClanahan of the Supreme Court of Virginia, a native

of Buchanan County, served as the commencement speaker. She advised the graduates to “measure [their] success...in terms of [their] ability and opportunity to defend the rule of law and help those whom [they] serve.”

On behalf of the Alumni Association, President Karen Adam ’07 presented Candice DuVernois ’13 the Sutin-Blackwell Alumni Prize for Excellence, an annual honor bestowed on the graduating student who has earned the highest cumulative GPA. Candice was born and raised in Southwest Virginia, receiving her Bachelor’s in Nursing in 1994 from Radford University, a Masters’ in Public Health from East Tennessee State University in 2001, and a certificate in Community Preparedness and Disaster Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to attending law school, Candice worked as a director of a public health partnership. In her moving graduation speech, Candice urged fellow graduates to “[b]e kind especially when you cannot see what you will gain from it.”

Many exciting new developments here at Appalachian School of Law are captured in this is-sue of The Current. We’ve expanded our already nationally acclaimed externship program

and created clinical opportunities within our curriculum, reflecting the national movement toward greater “experiential learning” in legal education. Our new partnership with Southwest Virginia Le-gal Aid Society makes it possible for students to practice domestic relations law under the Virginia Third Year Practice Rule in both Family Law in the fall semester and Family Law Practicum in the spring semester. For the first time, students could elect a one-hour clinic as part of their courses in

Criminal Practice, Trusts & Estates and the Juvenile Law Seminar. We’ve also expanded our degrees, offering a Juris Master’s degree after the satisfactory completion of three se-mesters of law school study, which is described in an article on page 3. We also now offer a Master’s in Legal Studies for those who want fundamental knowledge of legal method and of basic subjects, like contracts, torts, civil procedure and criminal law. The one-year course of study could prepare a graduate to work as a legal assistant or could enhance the credentials of someone who works in a law-related field but who does not want to invest in the three years of study required for the J.D. degree. More information about the MSL degree will come in the next issue of The Current. We offered for the first time four “short” (two-week) courses during the summer. These were concentrated of-ferings in Oil & Gas Law, The Law of Renewables, Law Office Practice and Workers’ Compensation. A one-day CLE component was offered simultaneously at the Higher Education Center in Abingdon with The Renewables course and the Workers’ Comp course. We are laying plans to expand these summer offerings with a two-week session in both May and August 2014. Professor Belleville is now teaching an online course in Natural Resources Law and Policy as part of Virginia Tech’s Master of Natural Resources Program and its Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability. We sponsored for the first time a national conversation about “The Future of Energy Law” which drew an audience of over 200 attendees. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell agreed to endorse the event as the “First Biennial Governor’s Natural Resources and Energy Symposium.” It was held at the Higher Education Center in Abingdon. The Symposium, which presented experts from all over the country, was developed by ASL Professor Patrick Baker, the Natural Resources Center Director, and members of the Natural Energy Center Taskforce. We’ve expanded our footprint of usable space. We have a new Roger Powers Student Activity Center and now occupy several new suites in the Booth Center as the Natural Resources Center and Admissions staff expand to carry out new initiatives. Finally, your favorite part of every Current, the families of our 1,110 alumni/ae are expanding, and our graduates are growing in new leadership roles. As a young but vibrant law school, Appalachian School of Law is becoming known outside the six-state region because of the success of our messengers who honed here the values of hard study, rational exchange, community respect and professional responsibility. We want you in share in our efforts to enhance our cur-riculum and outreach programs. We want to hear from you readers about topics of interest you’d like to have us cover in future issues.

Dean’s Corner: Lucy S. McGough

Cover Photo: Members of the ASL Energy and Mineral Law Society, along with employees of the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, toured the Hubble Mine in Fedscreek, Kentucky. After extensive safety training, the group went underground to the face of the mine and observed a continuous mining machine in operation. Students pictured in the mantrip car include Back Row, Left to Right: Staci Shelton Montgomery ’15, Tori Herman ’14, Sherra Kissee ’14, and Scott Kissee ’14; Front Row: Matthew Hardin ’14.

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Developing Opportunities through the Expanded Summer Externship Program

The Appalachian School of Law remains a leader in innovating experiential learning opportunities for law school students.

Ninety-nine percent of our first-year law students have secured site placements around the country and abroad. ASL’s site partners can be found not only in 40 states, but also in other countries such as in Medellin, Columbia. Twenty-one new sites have been added to the roster of placements for the first-year program, including extern-ships with federal and state legislative offices in the surrounding states and in Washington, D.C.; federal and state judges across the country; legal aid and non-governmental offices; district and com-monwealth’s attorney offices; pro bono opportunities at for-profit firms; and with significant federal agencies such as the U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Patent and Trade Office. This brings the total of site placements arranged by the school for its first-year students to 549 and counting.

As a result of the expansion of the Summer Externship Pro-gram, ASL has also arranged 11 “premier” internships for rising second-year students with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Washington, D.C.; The Honorable David Faber, U.S. District Court, Southern District of W.V.; Bristol Virginia Utilities - Bristol, Virginia; The Honorable Deanis L. Simmons, 28th Dis-trict Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court - Marion, VA; Joanne Nolte, The Nolte Law Firm, P.C. (Natural Resources Task Force Member and Co-Chair of ASL’s and the Governor’s First Biennial Natural Resources and Energy Law Symposium) – Richmond, VA; Josh Baker, Administrative Attorney for the Tennessee Department

of Labor and Workforce Development - Workers’ Compensation Division – Nashville, TN; Senator Mark Warner - Abingdon, VA; Stephen W. Mullins, Stephen W. Mullins, P.C. - Dickenson County attorney for four local water authorities and two non-profit cor-porations. Dean Lucy McGough approved more than $20,000 in stipends to assist with living expenses incurred by second-year law students who competed for and were awarded these valuable internship positions. ASL has more than doubled the number of natural resources and environmental law site placements through implementation of this internship component. ASL has also as-sisted with securing third-year practice certificates for 34 students in 9 states and, for the first time, provided a summer course to as-sist students from Kentucky in obtaining their third-year practice certificates.

The third-year Live Client Clinic component of the Externship Program has also garnered robust interest from ASL’s students. Thirty-two students have requested placements in the fall at diverse sites, ranging from estates & trusts or coal law offices, to placements that will expand the student’s trial advocacy and counseling skills.

Next on the horizon is ASL’s Bridge to Practice Program. The school’s Externship, Practica & Career Development Committee has already begun designing a Bridge to Practice Program that will provide third-year students and recent graduates with practical, full-time work experiences that will serve as a springboard to long-term positions in the student’s desired practice area.

On June 14th the Vir-ginia State Bar Young

Lawyers Conference pre-sented Christopher R. For-tier ’05 with the 2013 R. Edwin Burnette Jr. Young Lawyer of the Year Award. The award honors those serving the Young Lawyers Conference, the legal pro-fession, and the commu-nity. Fortier has chaired the VSB Young Lawyers Conference annual Pro-fessional Development Conference for two years.

Fortier is a 2005 graduate of ASL and a

graduate of James Madison University. Chris and wife Brittany (Maynor) Fortier ’06, reside and practice in Vienna, Virginia.

ASL Alumnus Named Virginia State Bar Young

Lawyer of the Year

ASL Student Nominated for Higher Education

CommitteeThe Council of Indepen-

dent Colleges in Vir-ginia has nominated Phillip Blevins ’16 to serve on the State Council of Higher Edu-cation in Virginia Student Advisory Committee (SAC). Phillip previously served on the SAC while attending the University of Virginia’s College at Wise to pursue an undergraduate degree.

The SAC is com-prised of students from various Virginia private and public colleges and uni-versities. SAC members assist the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia and the State Council of Higher Edu-cation in Virginia with issues pertaining to college students.

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ASL Welcomes New Trustees

A native of Buchanan County, James Keen graduated from Whitewood High School in Whitewood, Virginia. He ob-tained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Pikeville College and a Mas-ter of Science degree in Management and Safety from Marshall University. Mr. Keen currently serves as the Town Manager of Grundy. He previously served as Town Manager from May 2007 to June 2009.

Prior to holding his current position as Town Manager, Mr. Keen worked for more than 30 years in the human resources field, holding positions such as Human Resources Consultant, Manager of Human Resources, and Employment Officer for several natural resources companies including Jewell Coal & Coke Manufacturing, Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation, Dominion Coal Cor-poration, Austin Sales Company, LLC, and Virginia Drilling Co. Mr. Keen also has a background in the education field, hav-ing worked several years for the Buchanan County School System as a teacher, coach, and assistant principal, and having taught courses for Southwest Virginia Community College.

Mr. Keen has served and held lead-ership roles in a number of professional and civic organizations including, but not limited to: past-president of the Virginia Self-Insured Association; past-president of the Buchanan County Chamber of Com-merce; past-president of the Coalfield Water Development Fund; past-chairman of the Virginia Employers Advisory Com-mittee; past-president of the Grundy Lions Club; past chairman of Buchanan County Democrat Party; past chairman of the 4th House of Delegates District; past chairman

of 38th Virginia Senatorial District; past vice-chairman of the Buchanan County School Board; past member of the Virginia Transportation Board; past member of the Virginia General Assembly Subcommit-tee on Workers’ Compensation; and past member of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Economic Bridge Initiative. He currently serves as Director of the Breaks Regional Airport Authority and as a mem-ber of the Advisory Board of the Thompson Foundation.

Julia L. McAfee grew up in Dickenson County, Virginia, the daughter of a coal miner. Her upbringing greatly influenced her career path. She graduated from the University of Virginia’s College at Wise with a Bachelor of Science degree in Busi-ness and Public Administration with a con-centration in Accounting. In 1984 she was licensed in Virginia as a certified public ac-countant. Her accounting practice focused primarily on businesses engaged in the mining industry. In addition to her pub-lic accounting practice, from 1988 to April 2008, Mrs. McAfee served as accountant and financial advisor for JAD Coal Com-pany Inc. and its affiliated companies.

She earned her Juris Doctor from Ap-palachian School of Law, graduating in the charter class. She was licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2000. Currently she is an associate at Carl McAfee, P.C. where she concentrates her practice of law in the areas of contracts, business transactions, and taxation. In 2009, Mrs. McAfee was licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and serves as corporate counsel for JAD Coal

Company, Inc. and its affiliates. Mrs. McAfee is a member of various

professional organizations including the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Trial Law-yers Association, the Wise County Bar, the Kentucky State Bar, the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Institute of Certified Public Ac-countants. She and her husband, Carl, live in the Powell Valley section of Wise Coun-ty, Virginia. They are active members of the Norton Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Zackary Stoots is a native of Rus-sell County, Virginia. A 2010 graduate of Appalachian School of Law, he currently works for the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Office of the Executive Secretary Depart-ment of Judicial Services as a Magistrate in District 29, Region 1. He was formerly an assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Rus-sell County.

Prior to attending law school, Mr. Stoots attended Bluefield College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. While attending ASL, he completed both an externship and an internship with the Russell County Com-monwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

Mr. Stoots is a member of the Virginia State Bar and is the President of the ASL Alumni Association. He resides in Leba-non, Virginia, with his wife Sarah and his new son, Mason.

Appalachian School of Law recently welcomed three new trustees to the Board of Trustees-James Keen, Julia McAfee, and Zackary Stoots.

Kendall Isaac’s blog Workplace Dignity is

dedicated to infusing dignity and respect in the working en-

vironment. www.workplacedignity.com

Paula Young’s blog The Red Velvet Lawyer discusses new ways to meet the needs of law firm clients, mediation parties, nego-tiators, and law students. the-red-velvet-lawyer.blogspot.com

Stay up-to-date on news and events from ASL and the local community by visiting Taylor Burgess’ blog.

givetoasl.blogspot.com

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Professor Mark “Buzz” Belleville is now teaching an online course in Natural Resources Law and Policy as part of Virginia Tech’s Master of Natural Resources Programs. The MNR is the graduate program of the Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability (CLiGS), a center with-

in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment (CNRE) in the National Capital Region. CLiGS provides education, research, and leadership needed to prepare students and leaders in environmental and natural resource sustainability to operate in a rapidly changing world. Bringing together faculty and students from Virginia Tech with partners from other educational, business, civic, and government institutions, CLiGS is dedicated to exploring and facilitating interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to sustainable development strategies in globally interconnected ecological, economic, and social environments.

The online course in Natural Resources Law and Policy is one of several that is available to ASL students through our certificate relationship with Virginia Tech. ASL students can obtain a Certificate of Graduate Studies in Natural Resources by completing three hours of qualifying course work at ASL and nine hours of qualifying course work through the Virginia Tech MNR program. ASL students share the on-line “classroom” with Virginia Tech graduate students.

Despite the cold winter and tepid spring, ASL’s Natural Re-sources Program was hot, hot, hot. Building on the new

natural resources classes approved by the faculty in the fall, the faculty adopted a Certificate in Natural Resources Law, so that students can highlight for prospective employers their experience, commitment to natural resources, and expertise. Also, the faculty approved a more flexible schedule that will allow 2Ls to take natu-ral resources related courses for the first time. ASL offered four summer courses in a short-course two-week format in August. As part of the offerings, Oil & Gas Law and The Law of Renewables were taught. ASL plans to offer more summer courses in the fu-ture in order to increase course offerings to ASL students and to attract non-ASL students.

The Natural Resources Committee and Task Force focused their efforts on the Governor’s First Biennial Natural Resources and Energy Law Symposium. ASL partnered with the Governor’s Office of Virginia in sponsoring this event as the official launch of ASL’s Natural Resources Law Program. The event was kicked off on September 22nd with a reception at the Olde Farm. On Mon-day, the venue switched to the Higher Education Center in Abing-don. The event commenced with a keynote address by James W.

McGlothlin, founder of United Coal, and the Symposium covered such timely topics as National Energy Policy, EPA Air Regulations, the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill, the Effect of Wall Street Reforms on Energy Markets, and New and Emerging Technologies.

As always, ASL’s students shined in moot court competitions, as ASL was runner-up at the 72-team National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition held at Pace University Law School. Also, the Appalachian Natural Resources Law Journal continued its growth as the faculty voted to allow editors and senior staff of the ANRLJ to receive academic credit for their work. The ANRLJ is prepared to publish papers from the Symposium in 2013-14, in addition to putting out its own edition in the spring and cite-checking/editing EMLF’s Annual Institute in the fall. Finally, ASL has expanded its externship program to include “premier” intern-ships for rising 2Ls that include opportunities focused on mineral, energy, and environmental law. Two rising 3Ls and two rising 2Ls served at “premier” internships and externships at the U.S. EPA this summer. The Natural Resources Law Program continues to grow and impress.

Natural Resources Program Keeps Up Rapid Pace

On Friday, May 12th, 2013, Dean Lucy S. McGough excited the Appalachian School of Law’s faculty and staff with an

e-mail announcing that the American Bar Association granted acquiescence to ASL’s proposed Juris Master’s program. Begin-ning with the Class of 2014, ASL will confer the degree of Juris Master upon all candidates for the Juris Doctor program suc-cessfully completing their third semester of law school in good academic standing. Dean McGough first proposed the idea dur-ing a meeting of the school’s Special Projects committee in fall of 2012, noting that this enhance-ment of the school’s legal studies program would bring the legal pro-fession into closer alignment with traditional academic doctoral pro-grams. “The Juris Master’s degree adds value to the learning experi-ence at ASL,” said Dean McGough. “A J.D. marks the successful com-pletion of advanced legal training, while the J.M. provides both students and prospective employers with an affirmation of the quality of students’ efforts in their fun-damental legal coursework. It also provides students an added level of confidence in their own capabilities during their three-year program of study, serving as a more immediate benchmark of academic success than the J.D.”

According to Professor Kendall Isaac, Chair of ASL’s Special Projects committee and Director of ASL’s new Master’s in Legal Studies program, the inauguration of the Juris Master’s program places ASL in the forefront of a trend in American legal educa-tion. Professor Isaac remarked that awarding ASL students the Juris Master’s degree provides them recognition for mastering basic legal skills, and is in keeping with ASL’s leadership role in the legal education community, where the school has earned well-deserved national reputation for its commitment to legal education access, community service, and student externships. “The Special Projects committee thought Dean McGough’s sug-gestion was an excellent way to keep ASL at the forefront of innovation in legal education,” said Professor Isaac, “and with

the support of the entire committee, and the hard work of com-mittee members like Professor Patrick Baker ’07, we convinced the ABA that the Juris Master’s degree would be a substantive addition to ASL’s legal education program. The student body is universally pleased with the addition of the J.M. degree to the academic program.”

Eric von Kleist ’12, Registrar and Director of the Juris Master’s program, adds that student reception has been over-

whelmingly positive. “Everyone I talk to appreciates the recognition of the mastery of basic legal skills rep-resented by the Juris Master’s. Folks work extremely hard to achieve good academic standing in their first three semesters of law school. ASL’s J.M. celebrates an intermediary stage of accomplishment, just as a Master’s de-gree does for a purely academic doc-toral program.”

Kenyatta Thorpe ’14 agrees: “When Dean McGough and Dean McGlothlin announced the new program, my classmates and I were excited to be in the charter class for ASL’s J.M. degree. I thought, ‘that’s pretty cool – we’re getting two degrees where students at most law schools only get one.’” Asked what influ-ence she thought the J.M. program would have on the school, Thorpe responded, “well, it’s a good way to put ASL ahead of most other law schools, and I think that the potential to earn the J.M. by maintaining good academic standing will encour-age people to work harder and focus more on academic success. Plus,” remarked Thorpe, “in this job market, it will be helpful to add an additional degree to our resumes.”

Students qualifying for the Appalachian School of Law’s Ju-ris Master’s degree will receive their J.M. diplomas during a cer-emony in the law school’s Appellate Courtroom in January after their third semester.

Appalachian Adds New Juris Master’s Program

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“[I]n this job market, it will be helpful to add an additional degree to our

resumes.”

Kenyatta Thorpe ’14

The team of Nate Ogle ’13, Amber Russo ’13, and Akiah Highsmith ’13 was runner-up at the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

Professor Mark “Buzz” Belleville’s summer course took a field trip to EcoLogical Energy Systems in Bristol, Tenn. to learn about wind and solar energy. Left to Right: Christopher Peterson ’14; Allan Cifuentes ’14; Jimmie Sparrow ’14; Nick Safay, vice-president of Eco-Logical Energy; Micah Bailey ’15; Caitlin Flanagan-Morgan ’15; Anjanae Stringfield ’15

Mary Kilpatrick ’02 was recently appointed Executive Direc-tor of CASA for Kids, Inc. in Tennessee. “CASA” refers

to Court Appointed Special Advocates-professionally trained volunteers who assist in cases involving abused and neglected children in the juvenile courts. During the last fiscal year, CASA for Kids, Inc. assisted nearly 600 Tennessee children.

Mary, a 2002 cum laude graduate of ASL, obtained a Bach-elor of Science degree in Organizational Management from Tus-culum College prior to attending law school. She first learned about CASA while attending ASL and first began volunteering with CASA for Kids, Inc. in October 2012. Mary currently re-sides in Kingsport, Tennessee.

ASL Alumna Appointed Executive Director of CASA for Kids, Inc.

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New Online Course in Natural Resources Law and Policy

Published

FACULTY NewsFACULTY News

At the Podium

James Bowers contributed to Richard A. Wise, Lucy S. Mc-Gough, James W. Bowers, Douglas P. Peters, Heather K. Terrell, Brett Holfeld & Joe R. Neal, “Do Law Reviews Need Reform? A Survey of Law Professors, Editors, Attorneys and Judges,” __ Loy. L. Rev. __ (in press) and also authored the forthcoming publi-cation “Some Economic Insight on the Application of Payments Doctrine: Walker-Thomas Revisited,” __ Chi.-Kent L. Rev. __ (forthcoming).

Doug McKechnie published “Facebook is Off-limits? Criminal-izing Bidirectional Communication Via the Internet is Prior Re-straint 2.0,” 46 Ind. L. Rev. 643 (2013).

Paula Young reviewed Marjorie Corman Aaron, Client Science: Advice for Lawyers on Counseling Clients through Bad News and Other Legal Realities (Oxford U. Press 2012). The book review appeared in the Summer 2013 Edition of Dispute Resolution Magazine.

Patrick Baker moderated the Mine Safety Panel at Senator Mark R. Warner, The Eastern Coal Council, Virginia Mining Association, and the University of Virginia College at Wise’s Miner’s Health & Safety Symposium in April. He also mod-erated the EPA Regulatory Session Panel at the 30th National Regulatory Conference in May. The conference is hosted by the Virginia State Bar Administrative Law Section and the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary. Lastly, Professor Baker recently served as a panelist on the Coal to Gas Conversion Panel and Effect on Utility Rate Making in March. The panel was hosted by ASL’s Environmen-tal Law Society.

Stewart Harris presented a CLE on May 17th to the Washing-ton County Bar Association on the Affordable Care Act and the “contraceptive mandate.” The following day Professor Har-ris addressed the Regional Conference of the honorary teach-er’s sorority, Delta Kappa Gamma, about the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which established women’s suffrage. Addi-tionally, on June 12th, he gave a presentation to faculty of University of Tennessee College of Law entitled, “What Would You Ask Justice O’Connor?”, and on July 16th he addressed the Loudon County, Tennessee Lions Club regarding the Second Amendment.

Michael Loudenslager delivered a presentation entitled, “How to Explain What We Do and How We Do It” at the Associa-tion of Legal Writing Directors Conference held at Marquette University Law School in late June. Professor Loudenslager discussed methods of explaining to professors of other disci-

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Quotations & CitationsPatrick Baker was quoted most recently in Associated Press, Court Records Show Va. AG’s Office Fought Disclosure of Emails that Led to Rebuke, Probe, Washington Post (Aug. 20, 2013). He was also quoted by Virginia Business in an article featuring ASL and its Natural Resources Law Program: Jenny Kincaid Boone, Making Its Case, Grundy School Creating Program in Natural Re-sources Law, Virginia Business (June 2013).

Stewart Harris has a weekly news segments on WJHL, the CBS affiliate in Johnson City, Tennessee. He also appeared on tele-vision several times in June and was quoted in the associated web articles, which are available on the WJHL website. On June 7th, Professor Harris was interviewed regarding the disclosure that the National Security Agency had been secretly collecting phone records from Verizon and other telephone carriers on both WJHL and WCYB, the NBC affiliate in Bristol, Virginia. On June 24th, Professor Harris was interviewed on WJHL re-garding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in affirmative action case Fisher v. Texas. On June 25th, he was interviewed on WJHL regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Voting Rights Act case, Shelby County v. Holder. On June 26th, he was inter-viewed on WJHL regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions on California’s gay marriage case, Hollingsworth v. Perry, and the Windsor decision striking down a key portion of the De-fense of Marriage Act (DOMA). WCYB also interviewed Pro-fessor Harris regarding the gay rights decisions.

Alan Oxford’s article Salvaging Testamentary Intent by Apply-ing Partial Invalidity to Insane Delusion, 12 Appalachian J. L. 83 (2012), was cited at in the latest edition of Jesse Dukeminier & Robert H. Sitkoff, Wills, Trusts, and Estates 275 (9th ed. 2013).

Paula Young was cited most recently in: American Bar As-sociation, Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct (7th ed. 2011); Robert Hornstein, The Role and Value of a Shadow Program in the Law School Curriculum, 31 Miss. C. L. Rev. 405 (2013); Omer Shapira, Conceptions and Perceptions of Fairness in Mediation, 54 S. Tex. L. Rev. 281 (2012); and Sean F. Nolon, Second Best Practices?: Addressing Mediation’s Definitional Prob-lems in Environmental Siting Disputes, 49 Idaho L. Rev. (2012).

Noted AccomplishmentsPatrick Baker is currently serving on the planning committee for the 2014 Virginia Commonwealth University Energy & Sus-tainability Conference Manufacturing Track, which will be held in February 2014 on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Stewart Harris recently interviewed Peter Sagal, host of the new PBS series, Constitution USA with Peter Sagal. Peter Sa-gal is also the host of NPR’s hugely popular news quiz show, Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! Professor Harris interviewed Peter on his radio show Your Weekly Constitutional. Professor Har-ris also launched a new radio show this summer in addition to his weekly show—a daily, two-minute feature called Your Daily Constitutional. The new show is broadcast in Virginia, Michi-gan, and most recently, Arizona: http://ywcfb.podomatic.com/.

Dale Rubin was invited to serve on the Legal Advisory Com-mittee for Free Speech for People. The organization was formed to engage in legal advocacy, public education, and organizing to “push back” in the courts against the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Other com-mittee members include: David Cieply, Visiting Faculty Fellow, Princeton University; Lisa Danetz, Senior Counsel at Demos, a public advocacy organization; Professor Daniel Greenwood, Hofstra Law School; Professor Steven Shiffrin, Cornell Univer-sity Law School; Professor Gerald Torres, University at Texas, Austin; and Professor Jamie Raskin, American University Washington College of Law.

Thomas R. Scott, Jr. was recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s “Leaders in the Law” for 2013. The award honors at-torneys who exemplify the standard to which other attorneys should aspire. Professor John Murrey Retires after 10 Years

of Service to ASL

On March 23rd, students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered in the Lions’ Lounge to thank Visiting Assistant Professor John Murrey for his 10 years of service to ASL. The

surprise retirement party was initiated by the students. Professors Stewart Harris, Parsons, and Scott each toasted Professor Murrey. The 2L and 3L classes both presented him with gifts. Those attending received commemorative t-shirts with Professor Murrey’s likeness and his colorful catch-phrases. ASL alumni participated by sending cards and messages.

John Murrey III received his Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctor degrees from the Uni-versity of Tennessee. After serving for several years as a Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force, Professor Murrey practiced for over 30 years with Witt, Gaither & Whitaker in Chattanooga, Tennessee. For much of that time, he had a general business practice, includ-ing serving as general counsel for two publicly owned corporations. He has served as direc-tor and chairman of Southeast Tennessee Legal Services and in other civic capacities, and he has served as director of three public companies whose shares are traded on the NASDAQ. He taught several business courses over the course of his teaching career at ASL.

Left top: Professor Murrey and wife BeckyLeft bottom: Katie Kennedy ’13, Professor Murrey, and Melanie Ghaw ’13

plines in legal academia the proper focus of first-year writing courses and best practices for teaching legal research and writ-ing to first-year students.

Dean Lucy McGough recently presented at the Over Fifty Expo in Abingdon, Virginia. The presentation was entitled, “End of Life Issues: Living Wills, Medical Directives, DNR Orders.” The Expo was an all-day event open to the general public with speakers from a multitude of disciplines speaking on a variety of topics including legal, financial, medical, and wellness issues.

Doug McKechnie held a Skype discussion with a group of law students from Udmurt State University in Izhevsk, Russia. It was a lively exchange during which he discussed the First Amendment’s ardent protection of speech on matters of public concern and the concomitant social, political, and policy impli-cations. Professor McKechnie’s participation was coordinated through the American Bar Association’s International Human Rights Committee.

Alan Oxford recently presented on “Estate Planning: Wills, Trusts, and Your Property” at the Over Fifty Expo in Abingdon, Virginia.

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5K Memorial Race

Barrister’s BallPractice Area Career Fair

Gumbo Benefit for Boys and Girls Club

ASL Continues Commitment to Community Service

Examples of Spring 2013 Projects:

• Spring Campus Beautification• ASL Memorial 5K• Marsh Regional Blood Drive• Kiwanis Club of Grundy Easter Egg Hunt• “ASL Cares”/Buchanan County Animal Shelter• Energy and Mineral Law Society Arbor Day Tree

Planting• Buchanan County Relay for Life• Boys and Girls Club of Central Appalachia• Grundy Women’s Club Child Abuse Prevention Aware-

ness• Great Eastern and Spearhead Trails in Buchanan Co.• Little League Baseball/Softball• 29th Judicial District CASA Program• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program• Grundy Lions Club• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation• Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy• Buchanan County Public Library• Montgomery County, VA Volunteer Fire Department• “Grundy Games”/Clash of the Coalfields (to benefit

Backpack Blessing Program)

Spring Semester Hours Completed:

Class of 2013: 2200 hours plus 1156.75 “over and above”

Class of 2014: 2275 hours plus 1134.75 “over and above”

Class of 2015: 1660 hours plus 671 hours “over and above”

Total for 2012-2013 Academic Year:

17,802 hours

Sixteen 3L students received the Williard Owens Award for Excellence in Community Service this Spring. The award is presented to 3Ls who perform twice the amount of required service, in most cases 300 hours. In addition, 3L students James Pham and Candice DuVernois were honored with the Sam Weddington Little Red Wagon Award. The recipients of this award “em-body the spirit of the community service program” at ASL.

Softball Tournament

Pruitt Promoted to Director of Admissions

After a brief period serving as Interim Director, Jackie Pruitt has accepted the position of Director of Ad-

missions & Student Services. Jackie has worked in Ad-missions since September 2012, having served as an Ad-missions Counselor before becoming Interim Director in May. A Grundy native, Jackie has been a friend of ASL since its inception, having assisted the Admissions De-partment on a contract basis for over ten years.

Prior to coming to ASL full-time in September 2012, Jackie worked as a supervisor for Sprint Nextel in Bristol, Virginia. She has also spent three years as a bookkeeper for Central Coal Company, and many of our alumni will remember Jackie from her time at the copy shop across from the Post Office in Grundy.

Jackie is a 2002 graduate of Virginia Tech, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and

Marketing. Outside of her role at ASL, Jackie is ac-

tively involved in her church, serving as co-leader of the teen group where she teaches, facilitates activities, and leads service proj-ects. She also enjoys traveling, reading, and creative projects. Jackie is looking forward to the 2014 recruitment year. She commented, “The Admissions and Financial Aid team are young, energetic and passionate about ASL’s strengths – our commitment to service and community. Our prospective and future stu-dents are treated as if they are special, and they are!”

Knitting Circle

Eastern Coal Council

CLASS Notes

William R. “Rob” Sievers is a con-tributor of feature articles to Yahoo! Sports’ ThePostGame.com. You can access Rob’s articles at http://m.the-postgame.com/author/rob-sievers.

Rochelle Richardson was recently featured in The Balitmore Sun for her work with homeless veterans. Rochelle assists with the Homeless Persons Rep-resentation Project, part of the Veter-ans Administration Medical Center le-gal clinic in Baltimore, Maryland. The clinic provides free legal services to indigent veterans of the U.S. military.

Robert Deatherage and wife, Eliza-beth, welcomed a son, Archer B. Deatherage (8 pounds, 10 ounces and 22 inches long) on March 4, 2013. Robert works as an Assistant Com-monwealth’s At-torney in Franklin County, Virginia.

Andrew Nester was promoted to Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney for Henry County, Virginia, before assum-ing the position of Commonwealth’s Attorney for Henry County in July.

Amy Acord Osgood and husband

Shane welcomed a daughter, So-fia Belle, on November 10, 2012.

Felicia Snyder opened her own law firm, Snyder Law Of-

fice, PLLC, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Celeste Barber and her husband received an early gift on Christ-mas Eve 2012 with the arrival of their second son, Clayton Antho-ny (7.8 pounds and 19 inches long).

Brett Buchheit and his wife, Les-lie, are enjoy-ing time with their daughter Amelia, a.k.a. “ P o u n d e r .” Brett contin-ues to practice law in Little-ton, Colorado.

Stewart B. Harman was made a shareholder in his firm, Plant Christensen & Kannell Attor-neys at Law, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Roberta Ann “Robbie” Paluck formed a new firm, Judah & Paluck, PLLC, with fellow attorney Peter Judah. The office is located in Hot Springs, Virginia, in the middle of the beautiful Allegheny Mountains. Robbie is engaged in the general practice of law. Prior to opening her own firm, Robbie was employed at the firm of Frankl, Miller & Webb in Ro-anoke, Virginia as an associate attorney.

Margaret “Meg” Sagi was assigned as the Assistant District Attorney General for the 23rd Judicial District Drug Task Force in Dickson, Tennessee. The Drug Task Force investigates and prosecutes crimes including clandestine metham-phetamine labs; manufacturing, sale, and distribution of drugs and narcot-ics; prescription drug fraud; and other narcotics-related offenses. The 23rd Ju-dicial District Drug Task Force covers five counties including Cheatham, Dick-son, Houston, Humphreys, and Stewart.

Tina Lan-ning Sloan welcomed a new addition to her fam-ily. Daughter

Merritt Emmeline was born March 19, 2013, in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Aaron L. Bell and his wife, Natasha, welcomed their son, Emmett Lee (5 pounds, 6 ounces), on October 15, 2012.

Aaron has begun his fifth year of practice with the law firm of Thigpen & Jenkins, LLP, primarily focusing in the areas of family law and civil litigation. Consisting of three of-fices, the firm provides legal services to cli-

ents spanning ten counties within the Piedmont Region of North Carolina.

Erin Burns and husband Chris Musgrave (‘09) were married in Lex-ington, Kentucky on August 25, 2012.

Captain Artie Vaughn was reassigned from the 60th Air Mobility Wing to

the Air Force Legal Opera-tions Agency as an Area De-fense Counsel at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. He will be respon-

sible for providing defense ser-vices, including courts-martial, to ser-vice members facing military justice and administrative actions. He and his wife, Leeatra, live at Travis Air Force Base with their two children, Tripp (age 4) and Kimberly (age 18 months).

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New Student Activity Center Memorializes Trustee Roger PowersASL lost a long-time friend and one of its founding supporters

when Roger Powers passed away in December 2012. Friends, family, and colleagues made memorial gifts to the law school, and Dean Lucy McGough consulted with Roger’s widow, Sheilah, and sister, Ginger Robertson, about the best way to use them. Dur-ing the same time, members of the SBA, led by President Ryan McLaughlin ’13, approached the Dean about creating a Student Activity Center where students could enjoy down time between classes and relax with games, video, and conversation. They backed up their request with a contribution of $5,000 from the student activity funds.

Dean McGough and Director of Institutional Development Karen Harvey proposed to Sheilah and Ginger that the gifts made in Roger’s memory be used to convert the Lower Level Classroom, which had been the cafeteria when the building was Grundy High

School, into the Roger Powers Student Activity Center. Both en-thusiastically supported the idea, and Sheilah said that Roger had advocated for such a project for a number of years.

Additional gifts were contributed by members of the Board of Trustees, an anonymous donor, TruPoint Bank, Professor Tom Scott and other friends of Roger and ASL. Designer Alyssa Beard (who created the refurbishment of the Bunn House as the Dean’s residence) designed the space, and student volunteers removed carpeting and painted the walls. Sure Step Coating of Bristol, Ten-nessee, refinished the polished concrete floor, and Rife’s TV and Appliance provided furnishings at a significant discount.

A brief ribbon cutting officially opened the W. Roger Powers Student Activity Center on May 10, 2013. Roger’s portrait and a brief biography are being incorporated into a sign near the en-trance that will welcome ASL students for many years to come.

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Staff members Tonya Moore, Brian Presley, Karen Harvey, and Christy Rose in the newly renovated Student Activity Center Burke. Left to Right: Dean Lucy McGough, Ginger Robertson, Shonna Powers, Sheilah Powers,

Lowell Dexter Ray, Hon. Birg Sergent, Dawneda Williams, Marc Anderson ‘13 ke.

Joseph Fanduzz practices with Jolley & Eldridge in Knoxville, Tennessee. His practice includes per-sonal injury and criminal defense. Joseph is a very ac-tive member of the Tennessee Bar Association, having served as vice-chair of the Young Lawyers Division’s Membership & Law School Outreach Committee and as a member of the TBA Mentoring Task Force. He has assisted with the Judicial Internship Program, pairing students attending law school in Tennessee

with trial judges for summer internships. He has also assisted in the development of a mentoring program to assist lawyers who are new to the profession.

D. Adam Moore works at Regions Trust, where his practice focuses on the administration of trusts and estates. Adam is the Editor of the Young Lawyers’ Division’s monthly newsletter E-DICT.

ASL Alumni Named Stars of the Quarter

ASL alumni Joseph Fanduzz ’07 and Adam Moore ’06 recently were named Stars of the Quarter by the Ten-nessee Bar Association.

the National College for DUI Defense.

Megan Thompson and her husband, B.J., welcomed a daughter, Harper Lake

(7 pounds, 12 ounces), on Oc-tober 29, 2012, in Glasgow, Ken-tucky. Harper joins her sis-ter, Aubrey, in

Albany, Kentucky, where the family resides. Megan serves as a staff attor-ney for Circuit Judge David Williams.

Nick Verna formed a partnership, La Mantia, Marsilio & Verna, PLLC. Nick focuses his practice on estate planning and probate law, while his partners focus on business, employment, criminal law, and commercial real estate. La Mantia, Marsilio & Verna, PLLC have offices in Raleigh and Cary, North Carolina.

Blair N.C. Wood was named a Virginia Super Lawyers rising star for 2013. Blair is an attorney at The Creekmore Law Firm PC in Blacksburg, Virginia. Her practice consists of energy and natural resources law and business litigation.

Jessica Nelson recently accepted a new position as Associate Direc-tor of Planned Giving with the Uni-versity of Utah. This position is an integral member within the Univer-sity of Utah Office of Development.

Pamela Keeling was engaged to Michael Shultz in November 2012. Pamela and Mi-chael currently reside in Utah.

Nicole Lawson married Robert Wnu-kowski in Virginia Beach on August 4, 2012. Nicole and Robbie met while earning their undergraduate degrees at

The College of Wil-liam & Mary. Sar-ah Brown (‘12), Pamela Keeling (‘12), Jennifer Ferrara (‘12), and Elisabeth Griffith (‘12) were in attendance at the wedding.

The couple resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where Nicole works as a magistrate at the Norfolk Magistrate’s Office, and Robbie works as an 8th grade teacher at Kempsville Middle School teaching civics and economics.

Bethany Long accepted a position with the Tazewell County Common-wealth’s Attorney’s Office as an Assis-tant Commonwealth’s Attorney. Beth-any previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jack S. Hurley, Jr. in the Tazewell County Circuit Court.

Elena Patarinski is employed as an associate with DankosGordon P.C. in Richmond, Virginia, where she current-ly handles estate planning, real estate, and debt collections. Elena also plans to focus her practice on personal injury, civil litigation, and business law. Elena is admitted to the United States Bank-ruptcy court for the Eastern District of Virginia and is a certified guardian ad litem for incapacitated adults. In addi-tion to her position at DankosGordon, Elena also works for BrownGreer PLC.

George A. “Trip” Payne and David T. Kasper both joined the firm of Warren E. Kasper, PA Attorneys and Counsel-lors at Law in Clemmons, North Caro-lina. The firm provides a full range

of legal services to individuals and small businesses, including business formation, estates and trusts, real es-tate matters, family law, and civil and criminal litigation. The firm opened in Clemmons in 1980 and is retained counsel for the Village of Clemmons.

Valerie Powell married Bryan Cavitt on New Year’s Eve at Ballet Austin in Austin, Tex-as. Jill Martin (‘14) served as a bridesmaid, and Morgan Con-stantino (‘12) was also present.

Chad Simmons accepted a position as an Assistant Commonwealth’s At-torney in the City of Roanoke, Virginia.

Ian Maher and wife Krista happily welcomed their first child, Henry William, on Janu-ary 12, 2013, in Abingdon, Virgin-ia. Upon his grad-uation from law school, Ian and his family returned

to the state of Washington where their loved ones excitedly awaited their return with the newest member of the family.

Matthew G. Coleman and Sarah McKinney Coleman welcomed a son,

A n t h o n y Ronald (9 p o u n d s , 1 ounce) on May 20, 2013.

Aimee Cole Corbett and W. Taylor Cor-bett (‘13) wel-comed a daugh-ter, Audrey Bryn (8 pounds, 10 ounces and 21 inches long), on January 8, 2013.

Amy Lawrence-Lovely and Justin Lovely (‘09) welcomed baby Jame-son Knox (7 pounds, 4 ounces and 20

inches long) on Decem-ber 17, 2012. Baby Knox joined big brother Cash (2 1/2 years old). Amy

and Justin are smitten with sweet baby boy Knox! Amy and Justin live and work in Myrtle Beach, South Caro-lina. Their firm, The Lovely Law Firm, is located on North Oak Street.

T. Aaron Metz and wife Jennifer now reside in Morgantown, West Virginia. Aaron is employed with Metz Law Of-fices, PLLC. The firm employs three real estate attorneys, including Aaron, with offices in Morgantown, Charleston, and Teays Valley. Aaron also handles inde-pendent work in criminal defense and family law. Aaron has been employed at Metz Law Offices, PLLC for over two years. He and his wife recently celebrat-

ed their 5-year wedding anniversary and hope to be blessed with children soon.

Allison Murrell and husband Brandon are proud to a n n o u n c e the birth of their daugh-ter, Camp-bell Ann (6 pounds,

2 ounces and 19 inches long), who was born May 31, 2013.

Jessica Johnson was recently appoint-ed to the position of Chief Magistrate of the 24th Judicial District of Virginia. Jessica supervises magistrates in five of-fices: Lynchburg, Amherst, Bedford, Campbell, and Nelson. She manages and trains magistrates, prepares schedules and budgets, and researches complicat-ed legal issues that apply to the district.

Jacob Lauser and his wife, Wendy, welcomed another beautiful daugh-ter to their family on January 7, 2013. Sophia Grace (8 pounds, 4 ounces) was born in Walnut Creek, California. When

sharing the news and his family’s reception of the new baby, Jacob explained, “Han-nah (almost 3 years old), abso-lutely loves her new sister and insists that we

call her ‘Sophia’ whenever we use her nickname ‘Sophie Bear.’ It’s really price-less to watch the two interact and hear the things she comes up with. I asked her the other day if she was going to be a lawyer when she grew up and she em-phatically said, ‘No, Daddy! Sophia. So, I guess she has ASL plans for her sister.”

Jacob Eberhart and Kelli McSurley recently wed on June 20, 2013, in his-toric St. Augustine, Florida. Kelli and Jacob reside in the Denver, Colorado

area, where Kelli has her own firm, Magnolia Law Firm, focusing on family law. Ja-cob was recently promoted to se-nior leadership for Canary, LLC as Vice Presi-dent of Com-

munications and serves on the Board of Directors for CASA-Denver.

John-Paul “J.P.” Gilson opened his own law practice, The Gilson Law Firm, in Fairfax, Virginia. The firm is dedi-cated to criminal defense, family law, and civil matters. The firm consists

of four attorneys and two support staff.

Paul Montgomery and wife Megan proudly announce the arrival of their son, Royce Asher. Royce was born in

P i k e v i l l e , K e n t u c k y on July 14, 2013. Royce’s big brother (by 2 1/2 yrs),

Syrus Jonah, is happy for this long awaited arrival of his kid brother, “Bobby Cars.”Megan works as an R.N. in the Pikeville area. Paul is an assistant public defend-er at the Public Defender Corp. for the 30th Judicial Circuit in Williamson, W.V. Chet Palumbo recently opened a solo practice dedicated primarily to DUI cas-es. Chet is a certified Standardized Field Sobriety Test Instructor and a member of

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