The College of Law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign now offers an online Master of Science in Law (MSL) and seven graduate-level certificates, with courses beginning in Spring 2027. Built for working professionals who need legal knowledge but do not intend to practice law, the new programs are flexible, accessible, affordable, and 100% online.

After the Department of Justice charged 16 people with illegally voting in the last election, ABC 7 in Chicago turned to Professor Jason Mazzone for context. “There’s really no evidence that there are large numbers of people voting, who are not supposed to be voting,” Mazzone said on the broadcast. The charges, if proven to be true, for 16 out of 154 million people who voted in the election represents 0.0000001 percent of the total, which Mazzone described as “essentially zero fraud.”

In a new article, Professor Bill Watson and co-author Nina Varsava examine the ways in which originalists have shown a tendency to espouse a general-law theory of constitutional rights. This change in the direction of originalist arguments, they write in Northwestern University Law Review, makes judicial decisions more dependent on moral reasoning, which more closely aligns with non-originalist approaches. “This general-law turn pulls originalists back to the question they started with,” the paper concludes. “Namely, how should judges adjudicate constitutional disputes?”

Corteva Inc. v. Inari Agriculture Inc. was a closely watched case in the world of biological materials patents. When it ended in a settlement, however, it was a missed opportunity for the courts to come to a ruling on patents for plant varieties. Speaking with Bloomberg, Professor Jacob Sherkow explained that Inari’s decision to settle and place biological materials it obtained into a repository might make similar deals more appealing in future cases. ““You can deposit and get your patents without worrying that everyone will just design around,” he said.

Reporting on the Senate approving a bill to permanently raise debt limits for bankruptcy relief, Bloomberg spoke to Professor Robert Lawless about how this could benefit individuals entering bankruptcy. Lawless noted how the change would help personal bankruptcy filers, as mortgage debt had been a big factor limiting options for individuals in high-cost areas. “Home prices had gone up higher than inflation,” Lawless said. “People were getting mortgage debts that were taking them outside of Chapter 13.”

On September 25, Professor Arden Rowell presented on how to regulate emerging technologies, like AI, at the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington University. She was part of two panels, one on designing adaptive regulation and frameworks and another on regulation of emerging technology; she also submitted a working paper as part of the event.

Professor Sam Limentato ’94 was interviewed on the WDWS program “A Penny for Your Thoughts” in August. As part of his discussion with host Brian Barnhart, he spoke about his role as lecturer and senior associate director of the Anderson Center as well as his perspective as a former Illinois Circuit Judge. Limentato also answered calls from guests about the law and his experience.

The College of Law was fortunate to host Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. on October 8 for a wide-ranging discussion about access to justice, pro bono representation, and the rule of law in Illinois. Our mission to advance justice and the public good is of paramount importance, which made his announcement of a new Housing Justice Clinic initiative all the more meaningful.

In her day job, Sarah Zehr Gantz works with policies and programs across all three University of Illinois campuses as associate vice president for academic affairs for the UI System. When that work isn’t demanding of her, she is among the student body in the Law Building, working hard and studying to earn her Master of Studies in Law degree, which will be her fourth degree, to enrich her personal skill set and be a better servant of the university. That dedication and hard-working spirit are part of what led the Executive Club of Champaign County to name her a recipient of the Athena Leadership Award.

This episode of Illinois LawCast examines the experiences of three first-generation college students enrolled in the JD program at Illinois Law. We pride ourselves on offering the services and support that help all of our students, and with 85% of our newest JD students being first-generation law students, it is important to provide support for the unique challenges of law school. Our robust student support, career counseling, and sense of community have helped make Illinois one of the top destinations among Big Ten schools for first-generation college students: those who are the first in their family to receive any degree. In 2025, our 1L class included 21% first-generation college students; that number in 2026 is 19%. In this episode, I am joined by three first-generation college students in their second year of law school, Brian Rodriguez, Alex Nevarez, and Zaccheus Ng-Posey. Each of them share about their backgrounds and what made them want to continue their journey in higher education by pursuing a law degree from Illinois.