UVA Law's Top Stories of 2016

Alumni and friends remembered former faculty member U.S. Supreme Court Justice Justice Antonin Scalia, a UVA Law faculty member from 1967 to 1974, who died Feb. 13. More

Danielle Desaulniers ’17 was selected as editor-in-chief of the Virginia Law Review, one of the nation’s most prestigious law journals. More

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Frank Rosenblatt, a 2006 UVA Law graduate and JAG lawyer, began defending Bowe Bergdahl against charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. More

The Innocence Project Clinic uncovered evidence that gives new hope to inmates in cases from Virginia Beach and Albemarle County.

Criminal defense attorney Dean Strang ’85 became instantly famous when he was featured in the hit Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer” — a role he turned into lobbying for justice. More | UVA Lawyer Q&A

Sometimes understanding the past can unlock insight into today’s struggles for justice, as a story about the Law School community's role in the aftermath of protests at the University of Virginia in 1970 demonstrated. More

The community mourned the untimely death in March of Elizabeth Garrett ’88, who had recently become president of Cornell University. More

Two students (who graduated in 2016) and five alumni were selected to join the U.S. Department of Justice through its Attorney General's Honors Program. The program is the largest and most prestigious federal entry-level attorney hiring program of its kind, and the only way for newly minted lawyers to join the department in an attorney position. More

At the request of state lawmakers, Professor Richard Bonnie and UVA law students are helping mental health experts propose far-reaching, comprehensive improvements to Virginia’s system of care. More

Though the dean's suite is only a short walk from the office Risa Goluboff occupied as a professor, she crossed a milestone when she became the first female dean in the almost 200-year history of the Law School. More

The Law School celebrated the legacy of Mortimer Caplin ’40 on the eve of his 100th birthday July 11. A former faculty member, alumnus, and well-known face at many UVA Law events over the years, Caplin served as IRS commissioner under John F. Kennedy. More

When it comes to federal appeals, lawyers and their clients tend to lose much more often than they prevail. But that rule of thumb didn't apply this year to the Appellate Litigation Clinic, which celebrated an undefeated year in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. More

According to a study released this year, the UVA Law faculty ranks No. 3 in the number of professors among the top 100 faculty in the country cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals courts and state high courts. Three professors — Brandon Garrett, Douglas Laycock and Caleb Nelson — rank among the top 25. More

Among the 90 University of Virginia School of Law alumni who are clerking during the 2016 term, a record 37 are clerking for U.S. Courts of Appeals. The Law School also continued its prominence at the U.S. Supreme Court, where Austin Raynor '13, Nicole Frazer '15 and Andrew Ferguson '12 began clerkships in 2016. More

Professor A. Benjamin Spencer has joined the list of authors of Wright & Miller's "Federal Practice and Procedure," a massively cited, multi-volume reference book that is the preeminent reference for civil procedure topics for practitioners, courts and professors. More

Ten years after the Law School’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic began, the number of cases the clinic has taken on and successfully argued is the envy of any law firm in the nation. Of the 12 cases the clinic has brought to the court, Virginia has won eight and a split decision in a ninth case. More

A team that includes nine alumni is now helping plaintiffs challenge Virginia's policy of automatically suspending the driver's licenses of individuals who are willing, but unable, to pay their fines and court costs. The U.S. Justice Department and the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP have also signaled their support for the lawsuit. More