General News

Vanderbilt Announces Creation of The Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator for Political Economy and Regulation

Feb. 28, 2023—Law School Professor Ganesh Sitaraman to lead effort to advance research, education and ideas in economic policy and regulation

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Ashley Wiltshire ’72 chronicles pioneering career as a legal aid attorney in new book, “Everyday Justice”

Feb. 27, 2023—Wiltshire headed the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands for 37 years before his retirement in 2007.

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18 members of the Class of 2022 selected for Order of the Coif

Feb. 23, 2023—Members of the Order of the Coif are selected by faculty approval and represent the top 10 percent of their graduating class. The Order of the Coif is a national honorary scholastic society.

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Job Satisfaction Lower Among Black Women and Asian Women Law Graduates

Feb. 22, 2023—New study from Joni Hersch suggests that nondiscrimination in pay may not be sufficient to maintain a diverse legal workforce

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What Role Does the Nation’s Preeminent Business Court Play in the 21st Century?

Feb. 20, 2023—Study co-authored by Randall Thomas examines trends in litigation at the Delaware Court of Chancery

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Evan Donaldson ’24 and Mary-Preston Austin ‘23 to compete in National Trial Competition finals

Feb. 15, 2023—Donaldson and Austin defeated Moot Court teams from four law schools to qualify for the national tournament in San Antonio, Texas, which starts March 29.

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Key takeaways from Yesha Yadav’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on the cryptocurrency meltdown

Feb. 14, 2023—Yadav was one of three financial regulation experts who testified before the full committee in the aftermath of the crypto crash on why financial safeguards are needed for digital assets.

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BLSA Black History Month Events feature talks by federal Judge Waverly Crenshaw ’81 (BA’78) and L.A. Superior Court Judge Rupert Byrdsong ’94

Feb. 9, 2023—Other events include a lecture by criminal defense scholar Andrea Dennis, “Prosecuting Rap: Racial and Constitutional Implications and a Zoom Q&A with ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross.

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Weaver Family Program in Law, Brain Sciences, and Behavior established at VLS with $3.85 million endowment from Weaver Foundation

Feb. 9, 2023—The new interdisciplinary program will be directed by Owen Jones, who holds appointments in the Law School and the Department of Biology. The program will sponsor faculty research and distinguished lectures featuring leaders in the field and host symposia.

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Fee matrix developed by Professor Brian Fitzpatrick and Brooke Levy ’22 adopted by Federal Court

Feb. 7, 2023—A D.C. District Court judge has ordered use of the “Fitzpatrick Matrix” to calculate attorneys’ fees, signifying the new tool’s formal acceptance.

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Ellen Ward ’24 and Samantha Paradela ’24 win 2023 Bass Berry & Sims Moot Court Competition

Feb. 6, 2023—The final round was argued before Judge Andre B. Mathis of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Eli J. Richardson ’92 of the Middle District of Tennessee. Rachel Wagner and Madison Porth were finalists.

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Longer Grace Periods for Payday Loans Don’t Change Repayment Behavior

Feb. 6, 2023—New findings from Vanderbilt Law’s Paige Skiba offer implications for policymakers seeking to improve subprime credit markets

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Judge Releases Decision Approving Meta’s Virtual-Reality Deal

Feb. 5, 2023—Rebecca Allensworth on the decision behind FTC’s loss of its bid to block acquisition

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Yale Journal on Regulation hosts Symposium on new textbook co-authored by Vanderbilt Law Professors

Jan. 31, 2023—Law Scholars reflect on Networks, Platforms & Utilities and its place in curriculum, scholarship, and debate

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Three VLS students pursue legal careers focusing on civil rights as Marshall-Motley Scholars

Jan. 24, 2023—Ashley Fox ’24, Adom Abatkun ’25 and Sophia Howard ’25 were selected for the first and second cohorts of a groundbreaking scholarship program created “to endow the South with the next generation of civil rights lawyers.” The program was developed by the Legal Defense Fund and named for former Supreme Court Justice and LDF founder Thurgood Marshall and pioneering civil rights litigator and former LDF attorney Constance Baker Motley.

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Leighton Lord and Jeff Grantham, both Class of 1989, to head Maynard Nexsen following firm merger

Jan. 5, 2023—Lord will be president and chief strategy officer for the new Maynard Nexsen firm, and Grantham will serve as the new firm's CEO. The new firm merges the operations of Alabama-based Maynard Cooper & Gale and South Carolina-based Nexsen Pruet to form a single firm with offices on both coasts and more than 550 attorneys. Lord and Grantham met at Vanderbilt Law School.

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Chris Slobogin discusses virtual searches with Lawfare senior editor Alan Rozenshtein in Dec. 19 Lawfare podcast

Dec. 19, 2022—Slobogin is the author of "Virtual Searches: Regulating the Covert World of Technological Policing" and a leading analyst of the impact of government surveillance that involves remote electronic monitoring of digital information on Americans' individual privacy and security. He discusses the implications of the transformation from physical searches and seizures to monitoring electronic data with host Alan Rozenshtein in the Dec. 19, 2022, Lawfare podcast.

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Career Services announces Spring Firm Mingle March 22, 2023

Dec. 16, 2022—Members of the Class of 2025 can connect with legal employers with offices throughout the U.S. at this table-talk-style event to be held at the JW Marriott Nashville organized by VLS Career Services.

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Yesha Yadav discusses the arrest of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in CNN International interview

Dec. 16, 2022—Financial regulation expert Yadav discusses the federal charges against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces an eight-count criminal indictment that includes charges of fraud and conspiracy and violating campaign finance laws in the wake of the collapse of his cryptocurrency empire, with CNN International news anchor Rosemary Church.

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Antitrust expert Rebecca Allensworth featured in Yahoo Finance Live discussion of FTC’s actions to rein in Big Tech

Dec. 15, 2022—While antitrust restrictions typically address companies who are direct competitors, "There is increasing recognition not just at the FTC but also in policy circles that vertical relationships between Big Tech companies can also be really damaging to consumers," Allensworth says. She and Charlotte Slaiman, competition policy director at Public Knowledge, discuss the potential impacts of FTC Chairman Lina Khan's actions to address anticompetitive conduct and other concerns raised by the size and influence of Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.

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Yesha Yadav discusses the cryptocurrency meltdown with Jeanne Hruska on the Broken Law podcast

Dec. 7, 2022—Yadav's most recent paper, "Toward a Public-Private Oversight Model for Cryptocurrency Markets," makes a case for mandating self-regulation of crypto-exchanges as a first step toward reforming both the exchanges and cryptocurrency itself. She discusses various types of cryptocurrency and why cryptocurrencies have proven challenging to regulate in this interview with podcast host Hruska, who is senior adviser for communications and strategy with the American Constitution Society.

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Lauren Sudeall to join Vanderbilt Law faculty in summer 2023

Nov. 28, 2022—Sudeall’s scholarship focuses on constitutional law, criminal procedure and access to justice. She is currently a professor at the Georgia State University College of Law, where she is the founding faculty director of the Center for Access to Justice.

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Chris Guthrie to chair search committee for the next dean of Owen Graduate School of Management

Nov. 2, 2022—The committee includes two members of the law faculty: Yesha Yadav, Milton R. Underwood Professor of Law and Professor of Management, and Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Tracey George (ex-officio), who is the Charles B. Cox III and Lucy D. Cox Family Professor of Law and Liberty. The committee, which also includes Owen alumni and Vanderbilt faculty from multiple disciplines, will conduct a national search to replace M. Eric Johnson, who will step down as Owen’s dean on June 30, 2023.

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