Spotlights

National Jurist has named Luke Diamond ’16 a 2016 Law Student of the Year. His many achievements include founding the Consumer Rights Workshop, whose students have helped more than 150 clients, and strengthening the East Bay Community Law Center’s debt-collection litigation defense practice.

A new paper by Rachel Stern and Su Li looks at how international law firms are faring in China. Drawing on 2013 data, their article offers the first such comprehensive overview and shows that a China presence is a valuable symbol of global commitment and a smart bet on future growth.

A new book about Pauli Murray ’45 and her friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reveals their similarities: both smart, inquisitive idealists. Ahead of her time, Murray fought for the rights of a black sharecropper on death row and co-founded the National Organization for Women.

An Obama pick to replace Scalia could shift the ideological center of the U.S. Supreme Court. An analysis of the justices’ voting patterns finds the court would lean democratic for the first time in decades. The research was done with an analytical tool co-designed by Professor Kevin Quinn.

A U.S. federal magistrate judge has granted extradition to Spain of a former El Salvadoran military leader to stand trial—as a terrorist—for his role in a 1989 Jesuit massacre. Berkeley Law Clinical Prof. Emerita Carolyn Patty Blum led the 18-year legal effort with student help.    

Corey Laplante ’13 has formed The Associates Committee to promote philanthropy and civic engagement among young corporate lawyers. Members support legal aid and related nonprofits, and help guide grant recipients. The group already has over 150 members and $150,000 in donations.

Amy Ambrose is  Berkeley Law’s new assistant dean of advancement. As the former director of external relations at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, she led a major expansion of fundraising and global engagement. Previously, she was UC Berkeley’s director of international relations.

Berkeley Law’s J. Clifford Wallace Annual Lecture Series launches Jan. 26 with an address by the series’ namesake on religious freedom in developing nations. A U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge since 1972, Wallace was the court’s chief judge from 1991 to 1996 before taking senior status. Wallace, who graduated from Berkeley Law in 1955, […]

Forbes magazine named Joe Mornin ’15 to its annual “30 Under 30 for Law and Policy” list. Mornin is the founding CEO of BestLaw, which improves and streamlines legal research. He created the free platform “to make life easier for lawyers, students, and other legal researchers.” Mornin, a former software engineer who has worked for […]

The Association of American Law Schools honored Herma Hill Kay on Jan. 7 with the Triennial Award for Lifetime Service to Legal Education and the Law. A Berkeley Law professor since 1960 and the school’s dean from 1992 to 2000, Kay is a pioneering scholar in family law and conflict of laws. She was the […]