2023 was a productive and eventful year at Vanderbilt Law School. Below, we recap some of the highlights from the past year. Visit our newsroom for full coverage.
Vanderbilt Law School launched several new initiatives.
- The Weaver Program in Law, Brain Sciences, and Behavior was established with a $3.85 million endowment from the Weaver Foundation.
- Vanderbilt University launched the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, led by Ganesh Sitaraman.
- The Vanderbilt Project on Prosecution Policy, led by Alissa Heydari, launched in December to focus on prosecution in the South.
- The Vanderbilt AI Law Lab (VAILL), directed by Cat Moon ’98 (BA’92) and Mark Williams, will explore how artificial intelligence intersects with the delivery of legal services and access to justice.
Vanderbilt Law welcomed five new members to the faculty and administrative staff:
- Lauren Sudeall, Professor of Law and Director, Vanderbilt Access to Justice Initiative
- Nicole Langston, Assistant Professor of Law
- Farhang Heydari, Assistant Professor of Law
- Beth Cruz ’10, Assistant Dean and Martha Craig Daughtrey Director for Public Interest
- Jennifer Safstrom, Director, Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic.
Faculty distinguished themselves as scholars, teachers, and public policy experts. Among the highlights:
- Matthew Patrick Shaw received the Steven S. Goldberg Award from the Education Law Association.
- Kip Viscusi was named to the inaugural cohort of the Southern Economic Association’s Distinguished Fellows.
- The Fitzpatrick Matrix, developed by Brian Fitzpatrick and Brooke Levy ’22, was adopted for use in calculating claims for attorneys’ fees in federal court.
- Yesha Yadav testified before the Senate Banking Committee on the cryptocurrency meltdown.
- Francesca Procaccini delivered the Harry Lee Wakefield Distinguished Lecture in Public Affairs.
- Ganesh Sitaraman released a new book, Why Flying Is So Miserable and How to Fix It, in November.
- Michael Bressman, Sara Mayeux, Francesca Procaccini, Daniel Sharfstein, and Kevin Stack received 2023 Hall-Hartman Awards for outstanding teaching.
In May, 200 J.D. graduates and 42 LL.M. graduates received their diplomas.
- 20 members of the Class of 2023 were inducted into the Order of the Coif.
- 23 members of the Class of 2023 were recognized at Commencement with academic and citizenship awards.
2023 graduates joined the U.S. Department of Justice Honors Program and received Equal Justice Works and Barrett Fellowships to launch Public Interest Careers.
- 19 members of the Class of 2023 secured judicial clerkships.
- Justin Brooks ’23 joined the Department of Justice’s Access to Justice division through the DOJ’s Honors Program.
- Samantha Hunt ’23 and Jane Dimnwaobi ’23 were named Equal Justice Works Fellows.
- Madison Lowery ’23 was the 2023 George Barrett Social Justice Fellow.
Vanderbilt Law students won writing and Moot Court competitions, received prestigious scholarships to prepare for careers as civil rights attorneys, and were recognized for volunteer legal work.
- Elodie Currier ’23 won the ABA’s Harvey Saferstein Consumer Protection Prize for her article on data privacy.
- Alex Tritell ’23 won the 2022 ABA Health Law Section student writing competition with an article focusing on regulating gene editing.
- Ellen Ward ’24 and Samantha Paradela ’24 won our 2022-23 Bass Berry & Sims Moot Court competition.
- Marshall-Motley Scholars Ashley Fox ’24, Adom Abatkun ’25 and Sophia Howard ’25 will pursue careers as civil rights advocates
- Jorge Salles-Diaz ’24 and Krishna Ammisetty ’24 worked for legal nonprofits as Peggy Browning Fellows in summer 2023.
- Justin Brooks ’23 and Emma Harrison ’24 were named to the AALS Section on Pro Bono and Access to Justice Honor Roll in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Renowned scholars and practitioners delivered distinguished lectures at Vanderbilt Law:
- Stanford Neuroscientists Anthony Wagner delivered the inaugural Weaver Distinguished Lecture in Law, Brain Sciences, and Behavior.
- Veteran litigator Charles K. Grant delivered the 2023 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture.
- Journalist Peter Canellos told the story of Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan as part of the Branstetter Judicial Speaker Series.
- Criminal justice experts Barry Friedman and Vikrant Reddy discussed police reform in a 2023 Dean’s lecture.
- Judge Alilison Riggs of the North Carolina Court of Appeals delivered the 2023 Barrett Lecture.
- Melissa Murray delivered the 2023 Florrie Wilkes Sanders Lecture.
- C.P. Hoffman delivered the Dean’s Lecture on Race and Discrimination.
Alumni visited Vanderbilt Law to share their knowledge and career insights and were honored by their peers and the Law School community:
- U.S. Ambassador Gautam Rana ’97 delivered the 2023 Charney Lecture.
- GE Chief Sustainability Officer Roger Martella ’95 delivered the 2023 Climate Change Governance lecture.
- Ashley Wiltshire ’72 discussed his new book, Everyday Justice, which chronicled his pioneering career as a legal aid attorney.
- Sarah Fowler ’08, senior deputy general counsel at SAG-AFTRA, discussed the Hollywood Actors’ strike.
- Judge Waverly Crenshaw ’81 (BA’78) and Judge Rupert Byrdsong ’94 discussed their legal careers during Black History Month.
- A new scholarship was endowed in honor of J. Michael Campell ’68 (BE’65).
Finally, the Law School celebrated the legacy of the late Vice Chancellor David Williams II and mourned the loss of several prominent members of the VLS community while celebrating their lives and positive impacts on the legal profession and their communities.
- Dean C. Dent Bostick, Jan. 12
- Doug Henry, March 5
- Judge C. Roger Vinson ’71. April 1
- Roy Herron JD’79/MDiv’80, July 9
- Jim Bradford ’73, Dean Emeritus of the Owen School, July 27
- Judge Richard H. Dinkins ’77, Oct. 1
- Ricky Wilkins ’90, Oct. 19
