Today the law school hosted a terrific symposium organized by the Nevada Law Journal, as a companion to this year's NLJ White Paper: "The Elephant in Nevada’s Hotel Rooms: Social Consumption of Recreational Marijuana, a Survey of Laws, Issues, and Solutions." You can read the White Paper here. The symposium featured law school faculty, members of the Gaming Control Board, leaders from the Nevada legislature, lawyers in the field from around the country, and scholars from the Brookings Institution.

I particularly want to thank Karl Racine, Attorney Journal for the District of Columbia, who

I want to recognize our annual Alumni Award winners. These graduates have gone above and beyond supporting the UNLV Boyd Law School, and I want to thank them for all they have done.

• Jeremy Aguero (JD '04) has been named the UNLV Fred C. Albrecht Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, which is the first time a Boyd grad has received this university-wide honor. This is the highest award given to a UNLV alum and we are proud that Jeremy is the first Boyd winner. Jeremy is the the founder and principal of Applied Analysis, a research firm that has proven instrumental in shaping public policy in

As we head into Nevada Day Weekend, I would like to take a moment and thank all of the local, state and national leaders who continue to support the law school. Over the past 20 years, Boyd Nation has grown to include more than 2,300 alumni, some of the nation's most respected and cited law school faculty, and incredible donors from near and far. I hope you have a moment to read the latest issue of "UNLV Law" magazine which features a special oral history on the origins of the law school, a great story on how Boyd continues to influence marijuana policy, alumni updates, and more. Read it here

We have two great talks I want to highlight coming to the law school in the next two weeks.

First, we welcome Judge Evan Wallach of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Judge Wallach will present a talk on "The Law of War in the 21st Century" on Wednesday, October 17 at noon in the Faculty Lounge. He has served on the Federal Circuit since 2011. Before his appointment, Judge Wallach served for sixteen years as a judge of the Court of International Trade. He holds an LLB (Public International Law) from the University of Cambridge and a JD from U.C. Berkeley. At various

I am delighted to share ongoing good news from our Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic. The clinical program at Boyd regularly demonstrates the impact the law school and its students have on our community.

Students in our Appellate Clinic, directed by Professor Anne Traum, recently won a pro bono family law appeal in the Nevada Supreme Court, Herzog v. Herzog. The Clinic provides our students a wonderful opportunity to pursue appeals and present oral arguments in state and federal courts. Congratulations to students Annie Avery, Andrew Clark, Sabrina Clymer, and Alex Velto (all class of 2018).

The

Next week we are delighted to welcome a trio of Intellectual Property conferences. First up, we welcome the annual meeting of the American Bar Association's Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries. This is a great partnership with the ABA that provides our students with a wonderful opportunity to meet with industry leaders in a growing area of law. We are especially happy to host the keynote speaker, Broadway Video CEO Jack Sullivan, on October 4. Thank you to Greenberg Traurig and especially Shareholder Mark Tratos for once again bringing this conference to Boyd.

Next we are hosting a

With thanks to the UNLV Workplace Law Program, directed by Professors Ann McGinley and Ruben Garcia, we look forward to welcoming Ms. Michele Hirshman on October 8 at 4:00 p.m. in the Thomas & Mack Moot Courtroom. Ms. Hirshman, Partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP, will give a talk entitled:

"The Role of the Lawyer in #MeToo"

Ms. Hirshman's work on important employment matters includes:

• 21st Century Fox in investigations concerning Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly.
• Columbia University in a variety of Title IX matters, including a lawsuit brought by a student alleging

Though the semester has just begun, our students and faculty never stop demonstrating the impact of the law school in both community outreach and research. I would like to take a moment and recognize some of the outstanding accomplishments from around Boyd Nation. 

The Thomas & Mack Legal Clinics launched a new Misdemeanor Clinic working in Department 12 of the Las Vegas Justice Court. UNLV’s Misdemeanor Clinic aims to put law students at the vanguard of a national wave of legal reform efforts to improve procedures for and representation of defendants charged with minor crimes. Misdemeanor

I am delighted to report that the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) has recognized the Boyd Student Chapter of La Voz as the "Law Student Organization of the Year" for the second year in a row. The HNBA honored the organization at its annual convention last night in Philadelphia. Congratulations to La Voz President Ellsie Lucero and all involved!

I also want to thank the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys (SNAWA) for their continuous support of the law school. Every year since 1998, SNAWA has provided scholarships to student leaders. This year’s scholarship recipients are

We've begun another exciting year here at Boyd, punctuated by the fact we've not only welcomed our largest incoming class to date but that we begin our 20th Anniversary. If you haven't yet done so, please mark your calendars for December 1 when we commemorate this wonderful milestone with a gala featuring a keynote talk by Joseph R. Biden, 47th Vice President of the United States. Details, tickets, and sponsorship opportunities can be viewed here.
 
I am also delighted to welcome two new wonderful faculty members: Stewart Chang and Frank Rudy Cooper.

Stewart Chang joins us as a Professor of