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#College of Law

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The University of Illinois has named Vikram David Amar as the next dean of the College of Law, pending approval from the University s Board of Trustees at their July 15 meeting. Amar will assume the deanship, and also become the Iwan Foundation Professor of Law, on August 16. For the last several years, Amar has been the senior associate dean for academic affairs and a professor of law at the University of California, Davis School of Law.

As of March 15, 2015, 82.2% of Illinois Law s Class of 2014 had secured full-time, long-term positions for which a J.D. was required or preferred. The Class of 2014 s performance in the legal marketplace is the latest data point in a sharp upward trend in employment prospects for Illinois Law graduates.

The University of Illinois recently announced that it will lead a new center to improve the resiliency of the nation s critical infrastructure, funded through a grant anticipated at $20 million over five years from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The College of Law will receive a portion of the grant for a project that will analyze the cyberinsurance market and explore how the insurance market can be expanded and improved. The project will be an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort among Engineering, Computer Science, and Law.

After a combined more than 50 years of service, two prestigious Illinois Law alumni recently retired from the federal bench. The Honorable James Holderman ( 71), former Chief Judge of the Northern District of Illinois, retired on June 1st. The Honorable David Bernthal ( 76) retired from his position as U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Central District of Illinois on April 30th, and recently resumed duties as a recalled U.S. Magistrate Judge.

The University of Illinois College of Law has named Faye Jones as the new director of the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Memorial Law Library, effective August 15, 2015.

Jones, who will also serve as a clinical professor of law, has more than 30 years of experience as a law librarian and law teacher, most recently as director and professor at the Florida State University College of Law Research Center.

The University of Illinois College of Law has named Jennifer K. Robbennolt the Alice Curtis Campbell Professor of Law. Robbennolt specializes in the areas of psychology and law, torts, and dispute resolution. Her research integrates psychology into the study of law and legal institutions, focusing primarily on legal decision-making and the use of empirical research methodology in law.

Last spring, the College of Law launched the Fundamentals of Legal Practice course. Administered by the Office of Career Planning and Professional Development, the course is intended to educate students about the legal profession and provide them with the building blocks for a successful legal career. Covering such topics as professionalism in the workplace, marketing, business development, professional communications, and more, the course modules are taught by instructors from the College, as well as successful alumni and leading practitioners.

Congratulations to Arden Rowell, Melissa Wasserman, and Verity Winship on their promotion to full professor with tenure!

Arden's paper on the social cost of carbon was recently published in Science. a top scientific journal. Wasserman s paper on patent applications was accepted to the 2015 Yale/Stanford/Harvard Junior Faculty Forum. Winship s recent paper on shareholder litigation was awarded a 2015 Junior Faculty Scholarship Prize at the fifth annual Junior Faculty Business and Financial Law Workshop, hosted by the CLEAF at The George Washington University Law School.

Four alumni have been named 2015 Pillars of the Bar by the Champaign County Bar Association: Professor Steve Beckett ('73), Paul Carter Hendren ('67), the Honorable John G. Townsend ('75), and Ward F. McDonald ('69).

As part of Illinois Law s Externship Program, Yara Dodin (Class of 2016) spent her 1L summer as a legislative fellow for Congressman Andre Carson (IN-7) in Washington, D.C. During her externship, she had the opportunity to work on a bill to combat youth violence: HR 1574 Students Helping Young Students Act.

Targeted specifically at K-12 students, the bill is intended to engage at-risk kids by connecting them with university students, who will mentor and tutor them during after-school programs. The bill was introduced to the House of Representatives in March and is currently in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Professor Verity Winship s paper, Shareholder Litigation by Contract. was awarded one of three Junior Faculty Scholarship Prizes at the fifth annual Junior Faculty Business and Financial Law Workshop, hosted by the Center for Law, Economics Finance at The George Washington University Law School.