From Dean Dan - September 7, 2017

First, I want to send a message of support and commitment to all those affected by this week's announcement of changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. This week the President took action to eliminate the DACA immigration program unless Congress acts within six months. Those eligible for DACA, the Dreamers, are an important and valued part of our community at the law school, at UNLV, and around Nevada. I want to say to our DACA students at Boyd and UNLV: the law school stands behind you and so do I. Here at Boyd we are ready to do all we can to support all of our students in this time of uncertainty. I appreciate the leadership of President Len Jessup on this critical issue, and urge you to read his message to UNLV sent yesterday. UNLV Boyd was built by a diverse and connected community coming together to create a law school committed to inclusion and equality. That is our strength and we will continue to work together to serve this mission.

The school year is now well underway and we are off to a great start. Last week we welcomed nearly 400 new and returning law students to Boyd. In particular, it is a great pleasure to welcome four wonderful new faculty members: Mary Beth Beazley, Ben Edwards, Eve Hanan, and David Orentlicher. Here is some background for each and we thank the community for extending such a warm welcome.

Mary Beth Beazley joined our nationally-ranked legal writing program. Regarded as one of the nation’s foremost scholars in writing and analysis, Beazley has taught for nearly 35 years and has held several leadership positions in legal education. Her current scholarship focuses on behavioral aspects of legal writing and legal reading, and on the impact digital platforms have on cognitive aspects of legal reading. Her contributions to legal writing have been recognized with the field’s top honors. In July of 2017, Professor Beazley received the Marjorie Rombauer Award from the Association of Legal Writing Directors. More on Professor Beazley can be found here.

Benjamin Edwards researches and writes about business and securities law, corporate governance, arbitration, and consumer protection. Before joining Boyd, he taught at Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law and at Michigan State University College of Law. Prior to teaching, Professor Edwards practiced as a securities litigator in the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. At Skadden, he represented clients in complex civil litigation, including securities class actions arising out of the Madoff Ponzi scheme and litigation arising out of the 2008 financial crisis. More on Professor Edwards can be found below in this week’s Faculty Profile.

Eve Hanan teaches Criminal Procedure and Criminal Law, and will direct the Juvenile Justice Clinic. She previously taught at the University of Baltimore School of Law in the Juvenile Justice Project and the Mediation Clinic for Families. Professor Hanan has substantial litigation experience at the trial and appellate level. A long-time public defender, Hanan practiced as an appellate attorney for the D.C. Public Defender Service and as a trial attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Service in Boston. Before joining the Boyd faculty, she worked to develop state-wide litigation strategies for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender.

Dr. David Orentlicher joined the UNLV Law faculty as the Cobeaga Law Firm Professor of Law and co-director of the UNLV Health Law Program. Nationally recognized for his expertise in health law and constitutional law, Dr. Orentlicher has testified before Congress, had his scholarship cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, and has served on many national, state, and local commissions. More on Dr. Orentlicher can be found here.

Finally, as we start off the new semester, I want to thank the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys (SNAWA) for their longstanding support of the law school. Each year since the law schools founding, SNAWA has provided scholarships to student leaders. This year’s scholarship recipients are Lucy Crow, Paige Foley, and Jocelyn Murphy. SNAWA’s annual scholarship fundraiser, the Justice Miriam Shearing Gala, takes place on September 15, and tickets are available on SNAWA’s webpage. We are grateful to the SNAWA Board for their generosity, especially SNAWA President Diane Welch, a 2009 Boyd graduate.

Dan
Dean & Richard J. Morgan Professor of Law
daniel.hamilton@unlv.edu
facebook.com/DeanDanHamilton