News 31 - College of Law

College of Law congratulates 2024 Rickert Award recipients

The Rickert Awards are the most prestigious awards conferred upon students at the University of Illinois College of Law and recognize excellence in student achievement. The Rickert Awards Program was established in the fall of 1976 and was named in memory of Joseph W. Rickert, a distinguished lawyer who practiced law in southern Illinois for many years. The Rickert gift paved the way for the College of Law to recognize outstanding third-year law students for their achievements. Congratulations to all of our 2024 honorees!

Excellence in Academic Achievement

Rachel Aranyi
Austin Archer
Henry Brunngraber
Austin Bull
Catherine Frantz
Grace Gardner
Helen Hsuan
John Keller
Jared Merens
Diana Sweeney
Andrew Watkins
Kyle Zollinger

Excellence in Advocacy

Serena Cheng
Bethany Dain
Madelyn Foster
Nina Grover
Allison Heil
Lili Klainer
Akshay Krishnamani
Mariana Rose Renke

Excellence in Legal Writing

Megan Benka
James Cheney
Kevin Estes
Mithran Kumaran
Robert Nader
Luke Nance
Dakota Richmond
Zoë Smith

Excellence in Service

Bethany Dain
Joshua Dela Pena
Nick Holy
Seon Ki Jo
Alec Klimowicz
Emma Overton
Eliza Powers
Mariana Rose Renke

USA Today quotes Johnson on shooting accountability cases

“I think the cases are a step in the right direction,” Professor Eric Johnson told USA Today about a new tactic from prosecutors in the battle against gun violence. Three separate cases have recently charged adults, such as parents and school principals, for failing to prevent adolescents from committing crimes involving firearms. This new legal approach has been successful in Michigan and Illinois and Johnson believes it could make gunowners think twice about their liability.

Read the full article from USA Today online.

Hunter and Jones speak at Popular Culture Association Conference

Professors Pia Hunter and Faye Jones spoke at the 2024 Popular Culture Association Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois, on March 27, 2024. The Popular Culture Association is a group dedicated to promoting the study of popular culture throughout the world through the establishment and promotion of conferences, publications, and discussion. With members in hundreds of specialty areas and an emphasis on scholarly exploration, the conference brought together scholars of varied backgrounds to hear Hunter and Jones deliver their presentation “The Death and Life of Privacy in Contemporary Popular Music” as part of the Law and Popular Culture section of the conference.

Kaplan files amicus brief in Fifth Circuit retirement investing case

Professor Richard Kaplan was one of six law professors who filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit case State of Utah et al. v. Julie Su et al. The brief was filed in support of a Biden administration rule allowing retirement advisers to consider environmental, social and governance issues when making decisions for clients, with the professors arguing the move aligns with fiduciary duties to minimize risks and maximize returns for clients. The brief also urged the appeals court to reject a Utah-fronted challenge that argues the rule is inconsistent with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and investment professionals’ obligations.

Read coverage of the case from Law360 and Bloomberg.

Delaware Bankrupcty Court relies on scholarship from Lawless in opinion

In the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Judge Craig T. Goldblatt relied heavily upon the scholarship of Professor Robert Lawless in his opinion for Yellow Corporation’s Chapter 11 plan. Citing “Reframing Arbitration & Bankruptcy,” Judge Goldblatt ruled that Yellow Corp. must resolve issues in bankruptcy court rather than in arbitration. Speaking to the American Bankruptcy Institution about the decision, Lawless explained “Judge Goldblatt cut through the rhetoric and got it right.”

Read the Bankruptcy Court opinion online.
Read the American Bankruptcy Institute’s examination of the ruling.

Brubaker talks Bayer, Texas Two-Step bankruptcy with Bloomberg

Professor Brubaker speaks during a live podcast recording at the College of Law

Bayer AG is considering employing the controversial legal tactic known as the Texas Two-Step bankruptcy to address the thousands of lawsuits alleging that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. The strategy, which involves splitting assets and liabilities into separate units, with the unit burdened by liabilities being placed into bankruptcy to facilitate a global settlement, is an area of expertise for Professor Ralph Brubaker. Speaking to Bloomberg, he suggested that although the courts may ultimately refuse this tactic, bankruptcy could provide Bayer with time to propose a settlement while halting ongoing litigation.

Read the full Bloomberg article online.

Finkin testifies before Vermont legislature and is quoted by Massachusetts Supreme Court

Professor Matthew Finkin’s scholarly expertise was recently in demand in the Northeast. On Wednesday, March 20, Professor Finkin testified before a committee of the Vermont Legislature concerning a proposal to amend the state’s constitution to add a worker rights provision. The proposal would follow Illinois in enshrining the right of collective bargaining into the state’s constitution. After his testimony, the committee voted unanimously to recommend the proposal for inclusion into the state constitution.

On March 14, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts held that the academic profession’s understanding of the meaning of academic freedom and the “economic security” of tenure had to be considered in deciding the allowability of a university’s change in salary policy for tenured faculty. The Court’s decision resisted on the analysis of an amicus brief on behalf of a nationwide group of tenured faculty submitted by Professor Finkin. The Court expressly rejected contrary precedent in New York, citing Finkin’s published criticism of the New York decision.

Mazzone pens op-ed on Trump for the News-Gazette

Former President Donald Trump’s bid for a second term is generating a lot of constitutional questions, which is keeping Professor Jason Mazzone busy. Writing at the News-Gazette, Mazzone explores the question of whether a state has the power to exclude a candidate from the ballot because of the insurrection act. He examines what the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Anderson and where his understanding of the Constitution differs from the justices.

Read his full opinion piece on the News-Gazette website.

Law360 quotes Brubaker on mass tort claims and nondebtor parties

The sun rises over the Illini Union. The Illini Union, which was dedicated in 1941, serves students and the campus in many ways, including housing the Illini Union Hotel, a credit union, a convenience store, information services, CITES (Campus IT) instructional facility, quick-service restaurants, a bowling alley and arcade, student performance spaces, and office space for Registered Student Organizations, student government, Student Legal Services, Student Tenant Union, LGBT Resource Center, and Union administration.

A recent $2.5 billion bankruptcy settlement between the Boy Scouts of America and childhood sexual abuse survivors seemed to put a close to an awful chapter in the victims lives, until the settlement was halted by the U.S. Supreme Court due to concerns over the legality of mandatory releases of claims against nondebtor third parties. Writing about the settlement, Law360 highlights broader debates about the fairness of handling mass-tort claims in bankruptcy courts, where settlements may favor one side over the other and quotes Professor Ralph Brubaker, and expert in this area. The article explores the history of such releases, their impact on mass-tort litigation, and ongoing legal disputes over their validity.

Read the full article from Law360.

Mazzone quoted in multiple outlets on Trump’s ballot case in Illinois

Cook County Judge Tracie Porter’s decision to remove Former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot made Illinois one of three states barring him from the ballot. Similar to cases in other states, Trump’s lawyers argued that the insurrection clause doesn’t apply to the president, and the Trump campaign criticized Porter’s decision. Professor Jason Mazzone, a constitutional theory expert, shared his expertise on the topic with Courthouse News and Crain’s Chicago Business, noting prior to their decision that the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn such rulings.

Read the Courthouse News article and the Crain’s Chicago Business article online.