Lewis & Clark Law School
Dean's Newsletter June 2020
Dear friends,

The current national and local protests, catalyzed by the senseless death of George Floyd, have revealed with great clarity the racial inequities and injustices that continue in our society.

Our legal system must protect everyone. We must hold firm to our constitutionally protected rights and to the value of the rule of law that we in the legal profession ensure.

As members of the greater community, we ask ourselves what we are doing to be part of a solution. At Lewis & Clark Law School, our students and our faculty have been and continue to work with those who have been marginalized, offering legal services to individuals and advocating for system-wide reforms. Our professors are providing insights on issues such as racial justice, the limits of presidential powers and the tension between individual liberties and collective safety. In the days and months to come, I know our faculty, staff and students will continue to engage these critical issues and to help forge solutions. My letter to the Lewis & Clark community and the Student Bar Association letter to students are posted on our website .

My thoughts are with our 2020 graduates during this time. Due to COVID 19 restrictions, they were forced to celebrate the great accomplishment of their graduation at home. I am heartened though, as I know they join a community of alumni who are thoughtful stewards of the law and strong advocates for individuals and policies that build just communities.

In August, we will welcome a strong incoming first year class, fueled by their dreams to understand and employ the law to make our world better. We are making plans to open the campus for in-person instruction with new rules for social distancing and for remote access to all classes for those that need it. I will share more details with you as our plans progress.

There will undoubtedly be more difficult days ahead. As we stand at these crossroads, I am proud to be a member of the Lewis & Clark community, committed to forging new paths towards a just society.

My very best,
2019 Employment Stats for Grads: Over 90%
Lewis & Clark Law School presented its 2018-19 employment statistics showing 90.8% of 2019 graduates as currently employed or with a near-term start date, or pursuing further graduate education. Read more...
Incoming Student Profile: Jailhouse Lawyer Who Brought Case to Supreme Court
Incoming 2020 law student Calvin Duncan brings some 23 years of experience in the law from his work as a jailhouse lawyer. While he was an inmate at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, he taught himself the law and helped to free several inmates. Lawyers sought his advice on issues, and he became very good at spotting a promising legal issue among his fellow inmates. Read more...
Immigration Law Students Contribute to Human Rights Report
Students in the  Transformative Immigration Law  course contributed to a  human rights report  published on April 22, 2020. The report addresses the issue of youths separated from their families and detained by ICE for months in juvenile detention facilities in Washington and at the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility (NORCOR). Read more...
Inspector Files Sworn Statement in Support of Clinic Legal Challenge to Pig Slaughter Deregulation
A federal slaughterhouse inspector filed a sworn statement in support of a lawsuit and legal brief filed by the Animal Law Litigation Clinic against the USDA for relaxing regulations for the treatment of pigs in the slaughterhouses.
Law Student Speaks at Oregon Legal Events
Diego Gutiérrez, a second-year law student at Lewis & Clark Law School, is already making an impression on the legal community. Read more.. .
Endowed Scholar Announced for Animal Law and Policy
The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy (Brooks Institute) has established an endowed scholar position for the Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS). Professor Pamela Frasch, Associate Dean and founder of CALS, has been named as a Brooks McCormick Jr. Scholar of Animal Law and Policy . Read more...
Lewis & Clark Recognized for Campus Beauty and Academics
Recent renovations and improvements to several buildings on campus, and the addition of a new entrance plaza, elevated the school to an A ranking for Best Law School Buildings in preLaw Magazine’s Spring 2020 issue.  Read more...
Faculty News
Chris Wold Serves as Legal Advisor at the Convention on Migratory Species
This February, Professor Chris Wold served as an advisor to CMS at the Thirteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP). Read more...
Supreme Court Cites Professor Kaplan in Opinion
Professor  Aliza Kaplan was cited by Justice Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court of the United States in his  concurring opinion  in  Ramos v. Louisiana on April 20, 2020. Read more... .
Delcianna Winders' Op-ed on Slaughterhouse Kill Rates During COVID
The New York Daily News published an op-ed by Professor Delcianna Winders regarding the Trump administration’s use of the coronavirus as an excuse to loosen meat-processing rules. Read more...
Law Faculty and Assistant Dean Recognized for Leadership and Service
Professor  Aliza Kaplan and Assistant Dean for Diversity and Academic Resources,  J.B. Kim  were honored by Lewis & Clark’s  Student Leadership and Service  (SLS) awards committee for their leadership skills and dedication to service on the law school campus and in the community . Read more...
Clinic Updates
CJRC Clients Receive Clemency and Win Parole
Governor Kate Brown '85 commuted two clients of the  Criminal Justice Reform Clinic  (CJRC) at the beginning of April. A parolee client of CJRC was also released nearly three months early on April 20th. Read more...
Animal Law and Environmental Law Launch New International Wildlife Law Clinic
The Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) and the Environmental Law Program at Lewis & Clark Law School are pleased to announce a new International Wildlife Law Clinic. Read more...
Small Business Legal Clinic Provides COVID-19 Resources
The  Small Business Legal Clinic  has set up one-on-one meetings with attorneys for COVID-19 related issues as well as created a  web page  for all COVID-19 related general legal information. Read more...