When a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals into the soil, water, and air, Zoe Kolender knew the cleanup efforts would be an arduous task. But she also knew something most people don’t—that environmental disasters like the Norfolk Southern derailment are treated differently depending on the areas in which they occur.

Kolender, a 3L at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, had been studying the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) while developing a paper for Professor India Thusi’s seminar in Critical Race Theory. CERCLA provides a Federal “Superfund” to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment.

Her paper has now been recognized with the Environmental Law Student Writing Award, established by the Ohio Bar’s Environmental Law Section and Thompson Hine LLP to recognize current law students looking to advance the application and practice of environmental, energy, or resources law in Ohio.

The East Palestine train incident was a pure coincidence—Kolender’s paper was completed before it happened—but it was one more example of how the federal government responds to environmental catastrophes. As Kolender discovered, not every disaster is treated equally.

“There are no guidelines or standardization with how the Environmental Protection Agency funds the cleanup of waste of toxic sites,” she said. “The research shows that sites closer to minority communities go untouched, while others are cleaned up more thoroughly.”

The result is what Kolender calls “environmental racism.”

Another factor contributing to that disparity in cleanup response is in liability.

“CERCLA is a very complicated statute because there are a lot of ways landowners can be held liable for toxic waste that is on their property,” she said. “Landowners often have to pay for spills on their property, even if they didn’t cause them. The landowner is held liable regardless of their contribution to the contamination, which also disparately affects minority populations.”

Kolender took an interest in environmental law while spending time at her family’s cabin in rural Canada.

“It has no running water or electricity, so I grew up fishing and camping and loving nature,” she said. While she took a break from environmental activism in high school, her passion was reignited at the University of Michigan and has continued throughout her time at the Maurer School of Law.

“Very few schools have environmental law courses, and we have several,” she said, also noting her involvement with the Conservation Law Center.

While she continues looking for a career opportunity in environmental law, Kolender said her award-winning paper has reinforced her belief that she’s on the right path to making the world a better place.

“I’ve found that the more effort I put toward fixing things in our environment, the less anxiety I have about it,” she said. “I feel like I’m doing something to add to the conversation. I’m all in.”

Kolender’s paper will be presented at the Ohio Bar’s Environmental Seminar on March 30.

Film producer, teacher, and writer Michael Uslan ’76 will serve as the Indiana University Maurer School of Law’s graduation speaker this May, the school announced today (Feb. 16).

Holder of three degrees from Indiana University, Uslan is credited with helping to make the Batman franchise one of the most successful film projects of all time. He has served as executive producer on each one of the films, ranging from 1989’s Batman to the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. He served as executive producer on the award-winning Joker in 2019 and his latest project, Joker: Folie à Deux, is currently in production with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.

Just three years out of law school, Uslan raised money privately and bought the rights to Batman from DC Comics in 1979. A lifelong fan of comic books, Uslan was determined to make Batman a serious character on the silver screen. He worked tirelessly to bring his vision to life, facing years of rejection along the way. Uslan’s story of determination and persistence, which he’s written about in two acclaimed books, has inspired countless aspiring actors, filmmakers, educators, and attorneys.

“Michael’s success in Hollywood and beyond is a result of his extraordinary drive and tenacity,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “His story is inspirational to anyone who hears it, and we’re so grateful Michael will be able to share it with our graduates and their families.”

In addition to his role as a producer, Uslan is a prolific writer and instructor. “Batman’s Batman,” the sequel to his first book “The Boy Who Loved Batman,” recaps his 45 years of adventures and misadventures in the movie, television, animation, and comic book industries. The former was released in 2022 to rave reviews, while the latter is being adapted into a Broadway production.

Uslan’s love for comic books and the characters that inhabit them inspired him to become a teacher early on in his collegiate years. He developed and taught the first college-accredited class on comic books, “The Comic Book in Society,” while still an undergraduate. Today, in addition to his numerous other projects, Uslan serves as a professor of practice in IU Bloomington’s Media School—teaching weekend intensives, hosting lectures, and mentoring aspiring filmmakers.

Uslan is also passionate about showcasing his native New Jersey. As chairman of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission, he aims to bring more film and television productions to the state.

The Law School’s graduation ceremony will take place at noon on Saturday, May 6, in the Indiana University Auditorium. See more information on the 2023 graduation ceremony.

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law will add four members to its prestigious Academy of Law Alumni Fellows this April.

Terry Morehead Dworkin ’75, Fred J. Logan, Jr. ’77, Holiday Hart McKiernan ’83, and Luis Felipe Sánchez ’76 will receive the highest honor the Law School can bestow on its alumni when they are inducted April 14 in a ceremony inside the Indiana Memorial Union.

“Terry, Holly, Fred, and Luis have all led remarkable careers and lives, and we’re honored to welcome them into the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows this spring,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “They have represented themselves, the Maurer School of Law, and the legal profession with distinction and honor in a variety of fields, and their induction into the ALAF is well deserved.”

About the honorees:

Terry Morehead Dworkin: Dworkin graduated from the Maurer School of Law as a member of the Order of the Coif. After teaching legal writing at Maurer and serving one year as assistant director of the legal writing program at the University of Virginia Law School, Dworkin joined the faculty of the Kelley School’s Department of Business Law (now Business Law and Ethics). There she rose through the ranks to eventually hold the Jack Wentworth Chair. She served two terms as chair of the department before becoming the Dean of Women’s Affairs for the Bloomington campus. In that office she established a reputation for vigorous advocacy for women coupled with total fairness and objectivity that made men accused of inappropriate behavior secure in the knowledge that they would receive just, unbiased consideration. Outside of IU Dworkin rose through the ranks and served as national president of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business. She continues to be active in the Academy, attending meetings and frequently serving as a mentor to beginning academics. Dworkin has for many years been one of the three co-editors of a leading business law textbook, along with Indiana University colleague Jim Barnes. Dworkin is known as a preeminent employment law scholar, particularly around whistleblower laws. Although she retired in 2007, Dworkin continues to publish and present scholarship.

Fred J. Logan, Jr.: Active in student government as an undergraduate at Indiana University, Logan graduated with an A.B. in Political Science in 1974. After graduating from Indiana Law in 1977, Logan returned to the Kansas City area and started a law firm with his brother. Today, the brothers are partners in the firm Logan Logan & Watson, L.C. in Prairie Village. Logan’s practice focuses on the areas of business law, public and not-for-profit law, real estate, probate and estate planning law, and administrative law. Additionally, Logan has actively been involved in Kansas politics, serving as the state chairperson of the Kansas Republican Party from 1987-1989. At the time, he was the youngest state party chair in the country. Logan’s service to the Kansas City community has been substantial. He has served on the boards of the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City, the Johnson County Community College Foundation, and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, to name just a few. From 2011 to 2015, he was a member of the Kansas Board of Regents, serving as Chair in 2013-14. Logan has received numerous awards and honors for both his professional service and his volunteer activities. Among those are, Beta Man of the Year from the Greater Kansas City Beta Theta Pi Alumni Association (1997), Johnson Countian of the Year (2008), the Law School’s Distinguished Service Award (2009), United Community Services’ Citizen of the Year (2011), and the Outstanding Service Award from the Kansas Bar Association (2013). In 2010, Logan joined two friends from law school and established an endowed public and community service scholarship at the Law School.

Holiday Hart McKiernan was born in Lafayette, Ind. Following the family tradition, she enrolled at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., ultimately receiving her B.A., magna cum laude, in Communications in 1980. She then enrolled at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. McKiernan served on the board of the Indiana Law Journal (v.58) while in law school, and ultimately graduated with her JD, cum laude, in 1983. McKiernan’s legal career began in Indianapolis, first working at Baker & Daniels, and then Leagre & Barnes. In 1991, she became the executive director and counsel for Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity, Inc., advising universities on approaches to high-risk student behavior. In 2003, she became vice president, chief of staff, and general counsel of the Lumina Foundation for Education, Inc. The Lumina Foundation is a private, Indianapolis-based foundation that works to expand student access to and success in education beyond high school. Since 2016, McKiernan has held the title executive vice president, chief operating officer, and general counsel for Lumina. She will retire from the Lumina Foundation on March 1, 2023. McKiernan has served on a variety of boards including DePauw University, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and the St. Vincent Foundation, to name a few. She received an Indiana University Maurer School of Law Distinguished Service Award in 2015.

Luis Felipe Sánchez arrived in Lake County, Indiana with his parents and siblings as a six-year old. After law school, Sánchez was an Indiana Public Defender in Lake County, Ind. for two years. He was Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago for 25 years, all in the criminal division where he successfully prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases for federal crimes. He appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit a dozen times on appellate matters and tried in excess of 60 cases in the U.S. district courts, including an organized crime trial with 14 defendants that lasted nearly five months. Since his retirement from the Department of Justice, Sánchez has continued his legal career in private practice as a criminal defense attorney and has been instrumental in encouraging other Latino students to pursue a legal education at the Maurer School of Law.

About the ALAF

Established in 1985, the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves in their careers through personal achievements and dedication to the highest standards of the profession. With professional roles ranging from U.S. senators to federal judges to managing partners of national law firms, Academy Fellows bring honor to the legal profession and enhance our school’s reputation. Induction into the Academy is the highest honor the Maurer School of Law bestows upon its graduates.

Professor Jody Madeira, an internationally recognized expert in fertility fraud, bioethics, and law and medicine, participated this morning (January 26) in a bipartisan roundtable discussion with victims of fertility fraud.

The event was facilitated by U.S. Representatives Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Julia Letlow (R-LA), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) following the January 23 introduction of their Protecting Families From Fertility Fraud Act, which would—for the first time—make it a federal crime to knowingly misrepresent the source of DNA used in any procedure that involves assisted reproduction.

Madeira was the only non-victim and non-elected representative invited to participate at the roundtable, which is taking place in the Rayburn House Office Building.

The emotional event brought together women who were artificially inseminated without knowing the true source of the reproductive material used, and some of the now-adult children they gave birth to.

“Their existence should never be downtrodden,” Madeira told the group, referring to the human life created in part by fraud or deception. “The outcome of the process resulted in your presence here today, and your existence should never be questioned. It’s important to understand that reproduction is a very divisive subject. This bill is standing up for transparency and truth.”

Madeira had testified in favor of a groundbreaking Indiana law in 2019 that made fertility fraud or deception a felony offense, while allowing victims to pursue a cause of action for civil fertility fraud that would allow them to recover the costs of the fertility treatment.

Her testimony in favor of the Indiana law and her extensive research and scholarship on the issue put Madeira on the radar of other states considering similar legislation.

Madeira was featured in the popular Netflix documentary Our Father, which chronicled the case of an Indianapolis fertility specialist—Donald Cline—who used his own sperm to impregnate multiple women without informing them he was the donor.

Cline was convicted of multiple obstruction of justice felonies connected to a fertility fraud investigation, but prosecutors could not pursue anything beyond those charges—all because there were no laws prohibiting a fertility specialist from using their own genetic material to help a woman conceive.

The four U.S. Representatives who have introduced the PFFFA said the issue needs to be addressed by lawmakers to prevent such cases from happening again.

“The crime of fertility fraud has impacted individuals and families across the nation,” the four said in a statement, “and this event will focus on the need to protect consumers and to provide justice for victims.”

With tax season now in full-swing through April 18, a dedicated group of volunteers is making the filing process easier—and cheaper—for many local community members.

Local taxpayers with an annual income under $57,000 are eligible for free tax preparation help from students at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. beginning January 30.

Law students, students from the Kelley School of Business, and local volunteers will staff the site at the Law School, 211 South Indiana Avenue, through March 28.

Eligible participants cannot own a business or have received income from the sale of stocks, mutual funds, or homes.

“The VITA program is a wonderful asset to our community and to our Law School,” said Indiana Law Professor David Gamage. “Qualifying taxpayers receive expert help while our students earn valuable real-world experience assisting the public. We’re proud to offer this service once again to the community.”

Non-residents for U.S. tax purposes (for example, a student who has only been in the U.S. since 2018 or scholar who has only been in the U.S. since 2021) are also eligible to receive through virtual income tax assistance services, though they must set up an appointment by emailing iubapvita@gmail.com after filling out as much of their tax return as possible using Sprintax.

Morgan Hood, a second-year law student and VITA site coordinator, said those wishing to utilize the VITA program can walk in during the announced service hours.

“Taxpayers just need to bring their tax documents—W2 forms and documents from other income sources—along with a valid form of identification and their Social Security card,” she said. “We will be located on the first floor of Baier Hall and will have signage to direct taxpayers to VITA volunteers.”

While copies of previous tax returns aren’t required, they are helpful to tax preparers.

Eligible taxpayers unable to travel to the Law School can use other VITA sites throughout Monroe, Brown, and Owen Counties.

Hood said Monroe County volunteers helped prepare 940 tax returns in spring 2022, with more than 40 volunteers dedicating their time to help.

“We’re excited to work with community members to help them navigate what can often be a confusing process,” Hood said.

Two legendary members of the Indiana Law community were honored at a retirement ceremony November 16 in the Indiana Memorial Union.

Friends, family, and colleagues gathered to celebrate the remarkable careers of Professor Joe Hoffmann and Dean Emerita Lauren Robel. While both have retired from the Law School, Dean Christiana Ochoa said she is grateful that both continue to be deeply involved in various projects.

Hoffmann, now the Harry Pratter Professor of Law Emeritus, was cited as an extraordinary teacher and scholar, earning rave reviews in the classroom and among his academic peers—all without a trace of ego.

“Joe has done everything a faculty member can do,” said Prof. Jeff Stake. “Internationally famous scholarship, enlightened teaching—both JD and undergrad—and a record of splendid service to the school. And he’s been selfless. He’s a complete team player. He made us better when he joined us, and we’re going to miss him in ways we’ll never know.”

Professor Aviva Orenstein echoed those sentiments.

“You are an amazing colleague,” she said in a letter read by Professor Charlie Geyh. “Throughout your tenure here at IU you’ve offered deep insights into the law, demonstrated a love of ideas, and displayed intellectual generosity.”

Hoffmann joined Indiana Law after clerking for the Hon. Phyllis A. Kravitch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and in 1985 for the Hon. William Rehnquist of the U.S. Supreme Court. He graduated with an undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1978 and earned his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 1984.

“Herman B Wells, the great president of IU, wrote a book called Being Lucky, and that would’ve been the title of my book if I ever wrote one about my life,” Hoffmann said. “I knew from my time that I went to law school at the University of Washington that I wanted to be a law teacher someday. I’d hoped I’d get that chance. And then I got lucky.”

Hoffmann said he and his family came to interview at the Law School on a cold December day, and they fell in love with the school, campus, and city.

“It was clear this was an incredibly special place,” he said.

After joining the Maurer faculty, Hoffmann quickly became an award-winning scholar and teacher, renowned for his remarkable scholarship in criminal procedure, habeas corpus law, and the death penalty. He is the co-author of the groundbreaking book Habeas for the 21st Century: Uses, Abuses, and the Future of the Great Writ, and co-author of one of the leading casebooks in criminal procedure law, Comprehensive Criminal Procedure.

Hoffmann has been honored with the Gavel Award, presented annually to the individual who has contributed the most to the school during the enrollment of the graduating class. He is also a past recipient of the Indiana University Outstanding Young Faculty Award.

In 1996, Hoffmann was a Fulbright Professor at the University of Tokyo, and for two years after that was a Visiting Professor at its International Center for Comparative Law and Politics. In 2003-4 he was a Fulbright Professor at the Universities of Erlangen and Jena in Germany.

But his contributions have extended far beyond our Law School

He served as the co-chair and reporter for the Massachusetts Governor’s Council on Capital Punishment, as principal investigator in Indiana for the National Science Foundation-sponsored Capital Jury Project, and was elected to the Order of the Coif and to the Order of the Barristers at the University of Washington.

“I was incredibly lucky to have kind of stumbled on this place,” he said of the Law School. “This is the kind of place I’d never want to leave.”

Colleagues recalled Robel has a visionary leader of the Law School, and for nearly a decade as Provost of the IU Bloomington campus and executive vice president of Indiana University.

Robel became the first woman to lead the school as dean in 2002 after years of acclaimed service as a teacher and scholar. A 1983 graduate of the Law School, Robel has made an extraordinary impact on her alma mater, Indiana University, and the legal profession.

Her diplomatic administrative style combined with the ability to see—and anticipate—every possible angle to a problem left many awestruck.

“We go way back,” said Professor Don Gjerdingen. “I knew you as an associate professor, and then as a full professor, and then as an associate dean, then as dean of this Law School, then as provost of this even bigger place around us. In all those times and all those places you supported each of our wandering and so often fragile academic worlds. Somehow through all of it, you knew everybody and talked to everybody.”

“Because you were there in all of those places for us,” Gjerdingen continued, “we felt safe and cared for, and above all, we felt listened to. And because we did, we want you to know this: When we were talking to you we felt for a long and so lovely and precious moment like a faculty of one.”

As a teacher, Robel’s influence in the classroom was immeasurable. She was honored with the Leonard D. Fromm Public Interest Award twice, along with the Leon Wallace Teaching Award—the highest teaching award the school bestows upon one of its instructors—and two Teaching Excellence Recognition Awards.

Vice President for International Affairs and John E. Schiller Chair in Legal Ethics Hannah Buxbaum recalled her own first time teaching in Room 121, right after one of Robel’s classes.

“Lauren is an incredibly wonderful teacher,” Buxbaum said. “I thought, if I can just do as good a job in this room as Lauren Robel, I’ll be doing okay at this school.”

Ochoa said it was impossible to overstate the momentum the Law School gained under Robel’s leadership, from the creation of new academic programs and research centers to the transformational gifts the school received from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., Michael S. Maurer ’67, and others.

“Her vision and energy lifted the school,” said Professor Susan Willliams. “It helped us to move toward what we dream of being. Because Lauren has always seen us as our best selves, and she’s made it possible for us to imagine ourselves that way.”

Robel served the legal profession as well, as a member of the Association of American Law Schools’ Executive Committee and later as its president, and as a member of the American Bar Foundation. She was a founding member of the board of the Law School Survey of Student Engagement and a member of the board of the National Survey of Student Engagement.

A number of colleagues reflected on the impact Robel had on their own lives, both personal and professional. Many said they wouldn’t be who they were had it not been for her.

“What this proves to me is that it’s what I’ve always believed about this institution,” Robel said. “It’s one of the most generous and warm and loving places you could ever possibly be. When I came here as a student, I came here by the skin of my teeth. I barely had the resources to walk in the door. And every single step of the way, the faculty here and Len Fromm made it possible for me to get a degree.”

“It’s been easy to love this place,” she said.

La’Kendra Deitche, a 2L from Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been selected as one of eight—and the only one from outside the Washington, D.C. area—Karen Hastie Williams Leadership Fellows, a prestigious fellowship awarded by the D.C. Bar.

Deitche will complete a leadership orientation session followed by a six-month fellowship, from January through June 2023, on the D.C. Bar’s Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources community. The D.C. Bar offers 20 communities that help members develop expertise in specific practice areas.

“I am really excited for this opportunity to learn and grow as a leader in a practice area I am passionate about,” she said. “I think this will provide an awesome opportunity for me to learn and grow as a future civil rights attorney.”

Deitche, who serves as president of the Law School’s Public Interest Law Foundation, will receive leadership skills training specifically tailored for future attorneys and the opportunity to put those skills into practice by working one-on-one with current leaders in the legal profession.

“We’re so proud La’Kendra has received this fellowship,” said Dean Christiana Ochoa. “That she was the only fellow selected from outside the Washington, D.C. area and from a national pool of applicants speaks volumes about her past achievements as well as her future potential. We’re grateful to the D.C. Bar for selecting one of our students to participate in this outstanding program.”

Deitche will complete a fellows project throughout the spring semester, attend monthly meetings with community representatives, and produce a post-fellowship reflection on her experience.

Deitche said she was drawn to the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources community because of her interest in how environmental action affects underrepresented populations. She pointed to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan as an example of how environmental, policy, and legal issues intersect to create an immense problem for a specific population.

Deitche was already going to be in Washington, D.C. for the spring semester as part of the Law School’s Semester Public Interest Program, and Professor Sarah Jane Hughes encouraged her to apply for the prestigious position, which used to be called the D.C. Bar Law Student Community’s Leadership Fellowship.

The fellowship was renamed in 2021 to honor groundbreaking attorney Karen Hastie Williams, the first African American law clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court and the first woman and African American partner at Crowell & Moring.

The United States Senate on Monday (Dec. 5) confirmed an Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumna to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

The confirmation of the Hon. Doris L. Pryor, who earned her law degree from the Law School in 2003, was historic.

“With over a decade of experience in public service, Judge Pryor is now making history as the first woman of color from Indiana to ever sit on the Seventh Circuit,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Dean Christiana Ochoa congratulated Judge Pryor on her elevation to the Seventh Circuit, which was established in 1891.

“The Maurer School of Law sends its most hearty congratulations to Judge Pryor on her confirmation to the Seventh Circuit,” Ochoa said.

“We are so proud that she will contribute to the long legacy of our alumni serving the judiciary. Judge Pryor’s achievements are particularly notable as she becomes the first woman of color from Indiana to serve on the Seventh Circuit.”

Judge Pryor had served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Indiana since 2018. Before that role, she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, and as National Security Chief for the office from 2014 to 2018.

From 2005 to 2006, Judge Pryor served as a Deputy Public Defender for the State of Arkansas Public Defender’s Commission. Judge Pryor served as a law clerk for Judge J. Leon Holmes on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas from 2004 to 2005 and for Chief Judge Lavenski Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 2003 to 2004.

“The example she is setting is deeply meaningful to our entire community,” Ochoa said. “We have been grateful to Judge Pryor for her active involvement with the Maurer School of Law since her graduation, which has included teaching Pre-Trial Litigation and delivering the keynote address and administering the oath of professionalism to our 2021 incoming 1L students during their orientation.”

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law’s Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic has strengthened its connection with a university affiliate designed to help students, faculty, staff, and alumni advance startups and new companies.

Professor Mark E. Need, director of the Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, has been appointed a Venture Legal Analyst-in-Residence with IU Ventures. Through the Executive in Residence Program, which IU Ventures launched last year, experts in a variety of startup areas help accelerate the development of new ventures by sharing insights and real-world experience with the founders and leaders of companies in the IU Ventures portfolio. They also work directly with IU Ventures staff in evaluating new investment opportunities.

The Law School will also serve as a new sponsor of the IU Ventures Fellows program, a unique 12-month immersive experience for an exclusive group of graduate students chosen from across the Bloomington campus. Through the fellows program, students are given opportunities to gain experience sourcing, evaluating, structuring, and investing in new ventures through course work, internships, and on-campus experiences.

“Mark brings to IU Ventures a wealth of knowledge and real-world experience in helping both seasoned and student entrepreneurs navigate the myriad legal issues they will encounter when starting a new business venture,” said IU Ventures President and CEO Tony Armstrong.

“He also is extremely committed to helping advance the success of our local business communities. This is reflected in his long history of serving small business clients and his work directing the Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, which provides students with the unique opportunity to work on actual business organization, planning, and development. We are excited to welcome Mark to our team and look forward to the contributions he will make to furthering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at IU and across our state.”

Hussain Habib, a first-year law student, has been selected as one of the first fellows for the 2023 IU Ventures Fellows class.

“Maurer’s new connections to IU Ventures is a win for students,” Need says. “The clinic will have a more direct connection to exciting startup ventures and their legal and business needs, and Maurer students will have more direct exposure to the world of venture capital through the clinic and the IU Ventures Fellows program.”

The Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, staffed by third-year law and fourth-year JD+MBA students, provides free legal services to startup businesses.

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is proud to welcome Andrew Hammond to the faculty beginning in January 2023.

Hammond is currently an associate professor of law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he writes and teaches in the areas of administrative law, civil procedure, and poverty law.

“Andrew is an outstanding young scholar and teacher and we’re excited to welcome him for the spring semester,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “He’s doing important work in civil procedure and administrative law, and his focus on poverty aligns with many of our developing programs. We are excited to add Andrew and our other new and visiting faculty to our already outstanding group of scholars and teachers.”

It was the strong reputation of the faculty that attracted Hammond to Bloomington.

“I’ve long admired the scholarly culture at the Maurer School of Law,” he said. “The faculty is known nationwide as an intellectual and collegial group with a history of interdisciplinary work that extends beyond Indiana and the nation.”

Before joining the University of Florida, Hammond was a lecturer in the College and the Law School at the University of Chicago. Prior to entering academia, he clerked for then-Chief Judge Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Judge Robert M. Dow of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He then went on to practice as a legal aid attorney at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law in Chicago, first as a Skadden Fellow and later Of Counsel.

At Florida, Hammond has been a prolific scholar, with articles either published or forthcoming in the California Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, and the Northwestern University Law Review, among others. He said he’s eager to begin sharing his research with his new colleagues.

“The faculty at Maurer is so strong across the board,” Hammond said. “(They) have renowned scholars working in my chosen fields of civil procedure and public law and in several adjacent areas of interest. It’s incredibly appealing to have the opportunity to work with the Maurer faculty.”

Aneil Kovvali, a corporate law and governance professor, joined the Law School in fall 2022 from the University of Chicago School of Law.

In addition to Hammond and Kovvali, the Law School welcomed three highly regarded visiting professors this year: Kellye Testy, Cynthia Williams, and Zhuhao (Henry) Wang.

Testy, who was in residence for spring 2022, is the president and chief executive officer of the Law School Admissions Council. A 1991 graduate of the Maurer School of Law, Testy is a prolific scholar, outstanding teacher, and experienced administrator. She focuses her research and scholarship on contracts, corporate governance, business entities, leadership, and access to justice. She is known throughout academic and legal communities for her dedication to the rule of law and its commitment to justice and equality, and served as dean of the University of Washington School of Law from 2009-17.

Williams joined York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto) in 2013 as the Osler Chair in Business Law, a position she also held from 2007 to 2009. Before moving to Osgoode, she was a member of the faculty at the University of Illinois College of Law and, prior to that practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City. Her book, The Embedded Firm: Corporate Governance, Labor, And Finance Capitalism, co-edited with Osgoode Professor Peer Zumbansen, was published in 2011 by Cambridge University Press and was featured at the Society for Socio-Economics Annual Conference in 2012 at MIT. Her groundbreaking work explores how finance, securities, and corporate law are essential to addressing the most pressing social and environmental problems of our time. Her recent articles have appeared, for example, in the Texas Law Review, the Cornell International Law Journal, and the Journal of Corporate Law. Williams is visiting the Maurer School of Law through the end of the fall 2022 semester.

Wang is visiting from the China University of Political Science and Law, where he serves as an associate professor. A 2011 graduate of Indiana Law, Wang’s research focuses on evidence and proof, exploring evidence law outside the jury context and common law traditions, and rethinking evidentiary rules for important non-jury proceedings like bench trials, arbitration and administrative proceedings. His scholarship has been published with or is forthcoming in the Vanderbilt Law Review, UC Irvine Law Review, and International Journal of Evidence and Proof, among other journals. While teaching, Professor Wang serves as Councilor and Associate Executive Director of the International Association of Evidence Science.