The American Society of Comparative Law has elected Indiana University Maurer School of Law Professor Hannah L. Buxbaum as its next president, the organization announced last week at its annual meeting.

Buxbaum is an internationally recognized scholar in the areas of private international law and international litigation and jurisdiction, and has most recently served as vice president of the ASCL. She is the John E. Schiller Chair in Legal Ethics at the Law School as well as Indiana University’s Vice President for International Affairs.

“Vice President Buxbaum’s election to president of the American Society of Comparative Law is a testament to the brilliant leader and scholar that she is,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “We’re incredibly proud she will direct the nation’s leading comparative law organization.”

Founded in 1951, the ASCL promotes research and teaching on comparative, foreign, and  private international law, and publishes the American Journal of Comparative Law. The Society’s members include leading comparative law experts in the United States and many other countries.

Buxbaum is also an elected member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, and in 2019 was appointed to the Curatorium of the Hague Academy of International Law. She is expected to serve a two-year term as ASCL president.

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit—one of 13 appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary—will hear oral argument at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law on Thursday, October 24.

The arguments are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Law School’s DeLaney Moot Court Room. The proceedings are open to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 9 a.m. An overflow room will be available if needed.  The arguments are expected to conclude by 12:30 p.m.

“The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has a long tradition of sitting at in-circuit law schools when invited to do so,” said the Hon. Diane S. Sykes, the court’s chief judge. “When we emerged from the pandemic, we reinvigorated and expanded the program. Now the court sits twice a year at law schools around our circuit, and we incorporate learning opportunities and additional programming for students, local bar members, and the public. We remain committed to ensuring that the court is accessible and to enhancing the public’s understanding of the importance of our work.”

The Seventh Circuit, based in Chicago, is the federal appellate court with jurisdiction over district courts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The three judges hearing the arguments will not be known until the day of the event. The panel will hear arguments of between 10- and 15- minutes per side in six cases—a mix of civil and criminal. They include:

• William Huggins, et al v. ABK Tracking, Incorporated, et al
• Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Todd Rokita, et al
• USA v. Edward Gibbs
• USA v. Jonathan S. Rose
• Raquel Haro v. Porter County, Indiana, et al
• Gayl Flynn v. Consolidated City of Indianapolis and County of Ma, et al

“This is an enriching and rare opportunity for the local community—particularly our students and those students interested in debate, the judiciary, and the legal process—to hear how one of our nation’s most prominent courts operates,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “There is a long history between the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law and we’re proud to host these arguments October 24.”

The Hon. Sherman Minton, a 1915 graduate of the Law School, authored more than 250 opinions during his eight-year tenure on the Seventh Circuit before he was elevated to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Hon. David F. Hamilton, whose chambers are housed in the Law School’s Baier Hall, was President Barack Obama’s first judicial appointee in 2009. And the Hon. Doris L. Pryor, a 2003 alumna of the Law School, became the first woman of color from Indiana to serve on the Seventh Circuit following her confirmation by the U.S. Senate in late 2022.

Judges will meet with small groups of law students during their visit, providing insight into the court’s work as well as their career paths to the bench.

The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit last heard arguments at the Law School in 2012.

Jenn Oliva, Professor of Law and Val Nolan Faculty Fellow, has been elected to the American Law Institute, the organization announced yesterday (Oct. 4).

She becomes the 18^th member of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law faculty to earn the prestigious recognition.

“This is a tremendous honor for Professor Oliva and we are proud to have her on our faculty,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa, who holds an ex officio role with the ALI. “Since Jenn joined us in 2023 she’s quickly become an invaluable member of the Maurer community and we’re thrilled to see her recognized.”

Founded in 1923, the ALI is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law. The organization drafts, discusses, revises, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Model Codes, and Principles of Law that are enormously influential in the courts and legislatures, as well as in legal scholarship and education.

“As ALI welcomes this class of newly elected members, we recognize the important role they will play in shaping the future of the Institute,” said ALI President David F. Levi. “Their election is not just a reflection of their leadership and accomplishments, but also of their commitment to contributing their wisdom to the collaborative work ahead. ALI thrives when each member actively participates in our work to secure the rule of law. I am sure that each of these new members will bring a unique perspective that will contribute meaningfully to that mission.”

As an ALI member, Oliva will have the opportunity to influence the development of the law in both existing and emerging areas, to work with other eminent lawyers, judges, and academics, and to give back to the legal profession.

Oliva, a U.S. Army veteran, focuses her research and teaching interests on health law and policy, privacy law, evidence, torts, and complex litigation.

She has earned numerous awards for her scholarship, teaching, and service. She was selected as a 2019 Wiet Life Science Law Scholar by the Loyola University Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy and a 2020 Health Law Scholar by the Saint Louis University Center for Health Law Studies and the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Oliva was the recipient of the 2021 Health Law Community Service Award from the AALS Section on Law, Medicine, and Health Care and the Harry S. Truman Foundation honored her with the 2019 Truman Scholarship Foundation Ike Skelton Award for her commitment to public service.

In her first full year in Bloomington, Oliva earned the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Trustees Teaching Award and the school’s Black Law Students Association Outstanding Interactive Professor Award.

Other Indiana Law ALI members include:

• Fred Aman
• John Applegate
• Hannah Buxbaum
• Fred Cate
• Yvonne Cripps
• Ken Dau-Schmidt
• Rob Fischman
• Charlie Geyh
• Sarah Jane Hughes
• Mark Janis
• Jay Krishnan
• Leandra Lederman
• Jody Madeira
• Donna Nagy
• Christy Ochoa (ex officio)
• Aviva Orenstein
• Bill Popkin
• Lauren Robel

The Maurer School of Law is mourning the passing of its graduate Robert H. McKinney, a visionary attorney, businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist, who died over the weekend at his home in Michigan.

He was 98.

McKinney was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving on destroyers in the Pacific Theater for three years near the end of World War II. He also had a temporary appointment to Gen. MacArthur’s staff before returning to law school.

And once he graduated, McKinney became one of the most successful—and beloved—attorneys in Indianapolis. Partnering with Lew Bose and William Evans, McKinney joined forces in 1963 to create one of the Midwest’s premier law firms in Bose, McKinney, and Evans.

That was just the beginning of what would become an extraordinary career of both public and private service, and a life dedicated to the belief that giving back to his community wasn’t just a nice thing to do—it was the right thing to do.

That included indelible contributions not only to his alma mater, but to the Indiana University Indianapolis law school where he began his legal education. McKinney enrolled at the IU School of Law in Indianapolis after his World War II duties, but was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. McKinney transferred to IU’s law school in Bloomington, where he graduated in 1952.

He remained actively involved with both law schools—and the university—for more than 70 years. In 2011 the IU School of Law in Indianapolis was renamed in his honor.

The Maurer School of Law inducted McKinney into its Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 1999, the same year he endowed the Robert H. McKinney Professorship in Bloomington. Professor Dan Conkle held the chair for years, and recalled fondly his interactions with McKinney.

“Bob was a highly accomplished individual and a generous benefactor, but he also was a true gentleman,” Conkle said. “He reached out to me shortly after I took on the position that he endowed, expressing genuine interest in me and in my scholarship. I shared my scholarly work with him, and he not only read it but also offered his comments. Bob was a remarkable man. It was privilege to know him and, through my professorship, to have my name associated with his.”

Virtually unparalleled is his support of Indiana University, McKinney served on its Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1998, including one year as its president. IU recognized him with its Presidents Circle Laurel Pin in 2014, its Partners in Philanthropy Herman B Wells Visionary Award in 2017, and a Bicentennial Medal in 2019. McKinney was awarded an honorary doctorate from IU in 2018 to go along with previous honorary doctorates from Marian and Butler universities.

“Indiana has lost a true giant of the legal profession,” said Maurer School of Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “Bob McKinney has been an inspiration to and friend of us all over the years, and his legacy in Indiana and beyond will live on in our faculty and students for decades to come.”

McKinney’s legacy extends far beyond the legal profession. President Jimmy Carter—a classmate of McKinney’s at the Naval Academy—appointed him chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. McKinney led the deregulation of the thrift industry in the 1970s, positioning it for growth and stability.

Valena Beety, who now serves as the Robert H. McKinney Professor of Law, said that though she never had the opportunity to meet him, McKinney was an inspiration.

“I am thankful to Mr. McKinney for his significant support of higher education in Indiana, both through his incredibly generous contributions to Maurer and McKinney, and his support for Indiana University,” she said.

An employment law scholar at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law has been honored for her remarkable contributions to the field.

Deborah A. Widiss, professor of law and the John F. Kimberling Chair, was presented the Miller Award at the 19^th annual Colloquium on Scholarship in Employment and Labor Law (COSELL) in San Diego on September 13.

Named in honor of the late Paul Miller, who was the Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law, the Miller Award is presented annually to a senior scholar who has shown “outstanding academic and public contributions to the field of labor and employment scholarship.”

The award was presented by Orly Lobel, Warren Distinguished Professor of Law and director of the Center for Employment and Labor Policy at the University of San Diego School of Law.

“Deborah embodies the best of all aspects of our academic path: a deep scholar with both theoretical sophistication and policy impact, a generous colleague and institutional leader, and an excellent teacher,” Lobel said. “She has conducted insightful research using comparative law to illuminate the deficiencies in American employment anti-discrimination and family leave laws and continues to be an inspiration for all of us in the employment and labor law scholarly community.”

Widiss joined the IU Maurer School of Law faculty in 2009. Her research and teaching focuses on employment law, family law, statutory interpretation, and the significance of gender and gender stereotypes in the development of law and government policy.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Professor Widiss,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “Her work continues to inspire students, scholars, and policymakers alike, and we are so glad the Colloquium has recognized her scholarship and service to labor and employment law communities around the world.”

Before transitioning to academia, Widiss was an attorney at Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund), where she was a national expert on the intersection between domestic violence and employment. She continues to work with national and Indiana-based advocacy organizations to enact and enforce employment laws supporting pregnant workers, parents, and other family caregivers.

The Miller Award is the latest in a long line of recognition for Widiss’s contributions to the field.

In 2018, she received a Fulbright Senior Scholar grant to study Australia’s paid parental leave program as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Melbourne Law School. She has won the Association of American Law Schools Outstanding Scholarly Paper Award, recognizing the best paper submitted by a junior faculty member at an AALS-member law school; two separate Dukeminier Awards, recognizing the best law review article on sexual orientation published in the previous year; and the Feldman Award, recognizing a peer-reviewed journal article that makes a significant social policy contribution related to gender in families. She has also received two Indiana University Trustees’ Teaching awards.

Widiss has also served as chair of the AALS Employment Discrimination Section and as a member of the executive committee of the AALS Legislation Section.

At the Maurer School of Law she served as associate dean for research and faculty affairs from 2019-23 and as the Ira C. Batman Faculty Fellow from 2016-23.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced today (Sept. 10) six new members—including an associate professor from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law—to fill vacancies on its Investor Advisory Committee.

Prof. Alvin Velazquez, who joined the Indiana Law faculty this summer, is one of only two members of academia newly appointed to the committee. The committee advises the SEC on regulatory priorities and initiatives to protect investors and promote the integrity of the U.S. securities markets.

It was established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010.

“The new members bring valuable experience to the Investor Advisory Committee,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “I thank each of them for their willingness to serve, providing the Commission with important perspectives on behalf of investors.

Velazquez will serve a four-year term on the committee, which includes leaders from the legal, business, public policy, and government communities.

“Prof. Velazquez has been an amazing addition to our faculty, and I know he’ll be an outstanding addition to the SEC Investor Advisory Committee,” said Christiana Ochoa, dean of the Maurer School of Law. “His scholarship on and deep knowledge of our evolving economy position him well to advise the SEC.”

Velazquez writes and teaches at the intersection of labor, bankruptcy law, and corporate law. His scholarship focuses on how organized labor adapts to the changing nature of the economy and the workplace.

Specifically, his research provides insights into the roles that labor unions can have in the governance of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, bankruptcy practice, corporate governance, and the agencies that regulate them.

Prior to arriving at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Velazquez was an associate general counsel at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), where his practice focused on corporate governance, public sector bankruptcy, and emerging technologies. During his career at SEIU, Velazquez served as chair of the Unsecured Creditors Committee for the Puerto Rico bankruptcy. He also testified before Congress, provided numerous Congressional briefings, and has had extensive experience advocating before various administrative agencies.

Velazquez is the second faculty member with ties to Indiana Law to join the advisory committee. Prof. Gina-Gail Fletcher, now at Duke University School of Law, was a member of the Maurer faculty from 2014-2020.

Law students from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law will have the opportunity to help exonerate wrongfully convicted Hoosiers through the newly established Indiana Innocence Project, which officially launched Saturday (Aug. 17).

Established in association with the national Innocence Project—which has helped free more than 240 wrongfully convicted prisoners since 1992—the Indiana Innocence Project (INIP) has been made possible through the support of the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, along with the Law School and IU’s Department of Criminal Justice.

The Indiana Innocence Project will screen and investigate cases with meritorious innocence claims, secure DNA testing when biological evidence exists, advocate for the release of the factually innocent, provide services to exonerees, educate toward reform to prevent wrongful incarcerations, and sustain academic collaborations for student learning.

“The Law School’s role is particularly necessary for the last component of the INIP’s mission statement—to sustain academic collaborations for student learning,” said Prof. Valena Beety, a member of the INIP’s Board of Directors and the Robert H. McKinney Professor of Law. “We have student externs and research assistants who have been working with the INIP over the past year preparing for the launch of the project, and who will continue working with the project in data intake, screening cases, transcript reviews, research, and correspondence with applicants.”

In addition to Beety, other INIP Board of Director members include IU Department of Criminal Justice Professor Marla Sandys, IU McKinney School of Law Clinical Professor Emerita Fran Watson, Indiana exonerees Kristine Bunch and Roosevelt Glenn, and Indiana attorneys Scott Montross and Jim Voyles.

“The Indiana Innocence Project is the collaborative effort of dedicated individuals to right the ultimate wrong of our criminal justice system. I am honored and energized to work with our students to help free the innocent and prevent future wrongful convictions in our state,” Sandys said.

The project has launched a website where incarcerated individuals who believe they were wrongfully convicted can submit their case for review.

According to the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic, the prosecution and conviction of innocent people in Indiana is “a problem of serious concern.” Since 1989, there have been 47 exonerations in the state, but 11—almost 25 percent of Indiana’s total—have occurred in Indiana since 2017.

Statistics from the NDEJC indicate these wrongful convictions have a racial dimension. “Specifically, 22 of the 47 Indiana exonerees (47%) are African Americans,” according to the clinic, “whereas African Americans comprise only ten percent of Indiana’s population. Almost half of the wrongful convictions in Indiana involved African Americans, raising significant questions about equal justice in the Indiana criminal justice system.”

Beety’s experiences as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., and as an innocence litigator in Mississippi and West Virginia, shape her research and writing on wrongful convictions, forensic evidence, prosecution, and incarceration. She served as the Founding Director of the West Virginia Innocence Project, at West Virginia University College of Law, and the Deputy Director of the Academy for Justice, at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. She has successfully exonerated wrongfully convicted clients, served as an elected board member of the national Innocence Network, and served as an Appointed Commissioner on the West Virginia Governor’s Indigent Defense Commission.

“The Indiana Innocence Project will bring together all stakeholders in restoring justice: prosecutors, defense attorneys, and civil litigators, as well as exonerees, families, and advocates,” Beety said. “Together we can restore justice for wrongly convicted Hoosiers.”

Beety is the co-editor of The Wrongful Convictions Reader (with Russell Covey), and author of the award-winning book Manifesting Justice: Wrongly Convicted Women Reclaim Their Rights. She is also a co-author of the treatise Scientific Evidence (with Paul C. Giannelli, Edward J. Imwinkelried, Jane Campbell Moriarty, Andrea Roth, & Jennifer Oliva) and the litigation guide Miscarriages of Justice: Litigating Beyond Factual Innocence (with Karen Newirth & Karen Thompson).

Empathetic. Driven. Supportive. Engaged.

Those are just a few of the many adjectives nominators used to describe Nashuba Hudson, the recipient of the 2024 Student Leadership in Fostering Community and Inclusiveness Award. Hudson, a 3L from Chicago, was presented the award today (Aug. 16) as part of the concluding events of this year’s 1L Orientation.

Established in 2018, the award, which comes with a $2,000 scholarship, celebrates a student who “goes above and beyond to foster our diverse, inclusive, supportive, and welcoming community.” Recipients are honored for their work in the previous year.

Hudson is the first Black woman to hold the editor-in-chief position of the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies and is past-president of the award-winning Black Law Students Association. She is a fellow for the Office of Admissions, helping recruit future Indiana Law Students, a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Board, and active with the Latinx Law Student Association and Outreach for Legal Literacy Association. Hudson is a member of the Protective Order Project, Life Experience Then School, Public Interest Law Foundation, and was a 2023-24 Marshal for Phi Alpha Delta.

“Since teacher her in her 1L year, I’ve seen her involvement with our student body building networks of empathy and supporting our community through all kinds of initiatives and small acts of kindness,” said one of her professors.

“Among my peers, she is the go-to person if I experience something I don’t know how to handle,” said one of her fellow students. “I trust her with my whole heart and she always provides me with practical advice. In addition, her efforts really make an impact in the community. BLSA won a national award under her leadership, and she is the first Black woman at Maurer ever to serve as the editor-in-chief for the IJGLS. She is an inspiration to many students, including me.”

The award was presented by Student Bar Association President Samantha Jean.

Four alumni of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law will be presented with Distinguished Service Awards this September in Bloomington.

Dino Bovell, Matt Furton, Augie Haydel, and Terrance Stroud will be honored September 13 during a meeting of the school’s Alumni Board and before reunions for the classes of 1964, 1974, 1999, and 2014.

The Distinguished Service Award was established in 1997 to recognize graduates of Law School who have distinguished themselves in service to their communities and the school in ways far exceeding traditional business, professional, and civic duties.

Through their hard work, passion, and accomplishments, these alumni define Indiana Law’s ideals for community service and serve as accomplished role models for our Law School and the greater community.

“It is always an honor to present the Distinguished Service Awards to some of our outstanding alumni,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “Professionally, this year’s recipients represent excellence in private practice and public service. But their dedication and commitment to improving their respective communities—from Los Angeles to New York—and in their extraordinary representation of the Law School makes them especially worthy of recognition.”

This year’s recipients are:

Dino Bovell ’14 is a first-generation Guyanese American born and raised in Yonkers, New York, and the first member of his family to graduate from college and law school. He moved to Los Angeles in 2021 to further his ambitions to amplify Black and Brown voices in popular culture and expand the sphere of opportunities and influence for underrepresented communities. He is currently a director of business affairs with NBCUniversal (“NBCU”), where he is responsible for negotiating the commercial deal points with the production companies and behind-the-scenes/on-screen talent that develop, produce, and feature in NBCU’s premium television and streaming content. Bovell has worked on a variety of projects across film and television including the Olympic games, Sunday Night Football, Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster Oppenheimer, and Saturday Night Live. He formerly worked as an employment lawyer with two preeminent international law firms in New York City.

Matthew Furton ’95 is a partner and former co-chair of the 240+ lawyer Litigation Department at Locke Lord. He has a national, complex commercial and IP litigation practice. Furton has handled trials, appeals and arbitration proceedings in over twenty-five states. His cases include contract, business tort, and fraud claims as well as statutory actions such as RICO, consumer fraud, shareholder derivative actions, and antitrust claims. In the IP area, Furton handles copyright and trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation, false advertising and defamation claims. He handles cases in any industry, but many of his cases arise from the use of information technology or the business of insurance. On multiple occasions, Furton has secured injunctions in favor of entire industries. Representing trade associations and leading companies, Furton has secured judicial relief prohibiting Illinois agencies from enforcing recently enacted statutes. His clients include Fortune 500 companies that repeatedly turn to him for their most challenging cases. His clients also include entrepreneurs and mid-market companies that need an efficient solution to a commercial dispute.

Augustavia “Augie” Haydel ’85 is general counsel of L.A. Care Health Plan. In this role she provides and arranges for legal counsel to L.A. Care’s Board of Governors and to senior management. Haydel’s duties involve a wide array of activities, including advice and counsel on health care legal issues, public law and government practice issues, board administration and governance issues, litigation activities, contract strategies and negotiations, and various other general and specialized legal topics. Before joining L.A. Care, she served for 10 years as counsel at WATTS Health Systems, Inc., in Los Angeles. Prior to that position, she was in private practice. She also has served as an assistant district attorney in the King’s County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, and worked as a Market Research Analyst for the Indiana Business Development Foundation in Indianapolis.

Terrance Stroud ’03 serves as the Deputy Commissioner at the Department of Social Services (DSS) overseeing the Office of Training & Workforce Development. He leads the development and implementation of the agency’s learning strategy. DSS is the largest municipal social services agency in the nation and has an operating budget of $9.7 billion and over 18000 employees. Stroud is a published author who has been honored by elected officials on a city, state, and federal level for his work in government and his contributions to the community. His distinctions also include being named a Brooklyn Tech Distinguished Younger Alumnus, a Home Reporter News “Star of Brooklyn,” a City and State “Top 40 Under 40,” Black Enterprise Modern Man of Distinction, the IU Maurer School of Law Samuel S. Dargan Outstanding Alumni Award, the City & State Inaugural Above & Beyond: Innovator Award and the City & State Higher Education Power 100. Stroud was appointed to the New York State Staff Development Advisory Committee and was elected to the National Staff Development Training Association’s Executive Advisory Council. Stroud is also co-chair of the American Public Human Services Association’s Equity Diversity and Inclusion Peer Community. President Biden appointed Stroud to serve as a Commissioner on the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. Stroud is an adjunct professor of law overseeing the Law School’s New York Externship Program and is the first black recipient of the Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award. He was the inaugural Global Leader in Residence at the Indiana University Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, where he led the Global Leaders & Professionals Program.

The recognition will take place in the DeLaney Moot Court Room at noon.

A rising 3L at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law is one of 10 law students nationwide—and the first IU student ever— to receive the Sports Lawyers Association’s Student Writing Competition Award.

Amelia Taylor won the honors for her work “A Critical Analysis of Name, Image, and Likeness Policies and Their Implications for International Student-Athletes.”

While American student-athletes have been allowed to earn compensation through NIL deals since July 2021, international student-athletes have faced major hurdles due to immigration laws and policies.

“I chose to focus on international students’ NIL rights because this issue is often overlooked, with media and politicians focusing on higher-profile topics like athlete compensation, employment, and recruitment/inducements,” Taylor said. “Despite the attention these issues receive, they do not address the unique challenges faced by international students.”

Taylor said her interest in the subject arose from her own personal relationships with international student-athletes who aren’t able to capitalize on the new NIL landscape in college athletics.

“Seeing them go to class and encounter classmates with stickers of their likeness on laptops and water bottles, while being unable to receive any compensation due to immigration laws, felt fundamentally wrong,” she said. “My passion grew as I interviewed a variety of international student-athletes across different sports and schools, revealing how deeply this issue affects their athletic careers and overall college experience. Through my work my aim is to bring greater exposure and awareness to this complex issue.”

Prof. Mark Janis, director of the Law School’s Center for Intellectual Property Research, praised Taylor’s achievement.

“Amelia is already immersed in the practical aspects of the NIL issue – and that’s a real accomplishment by itself, given how radically the legal landscape is shifting,” he said. The Law School’s NIL Initiative, run by the CIPR, allows law students to work with student-athletes at IU on potential NIL opportunities.

The annual SLA Student Writing Competition solicits submissions from JD and LLM students across the country, with this year’s theme focused on current issues in sports law. Submissions were reviewed and judged by a panel of professional sports attorneys, who selected the top 10 entries.

Taylor received $1,000 in prize money and a complimentary spot at the 2024 Sports Lawyers Association’s Annual Conference, held in Baltimore this past May.