Tag Archives: Law School

Featured Events Archive

Constitution Day Lecture: Free Speech on Campus

Can free speech coexist with an inclusive campus environment? Erwin Chemerinsky, dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California-Berkeley School of Law, will discuss this issue at the 2017 Constitution Day Lecture on Thursday, Sept. 14, from 3 to 4 p.m. in Cartwright Hall, Room 213. Sponsored by the Drake Constitutional Law Center, the Constitution Day Lecture is held each year to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. The event is free and open to all.

In the lecture, Chemerinsky will discuss the importance of providing a supportive learning environment for a diverse student body, while respecting the free expression of ideas.

Chemerinsky, who was recently named the most influential person in legal education by National Jurist magazine, is the author of more than 200 law review articles and 10 books. In addition, he writes a weekly column for the Sacramento Bee, monthly columns for the ABA Journal and the Daily Journal, and opinion-editorials in newspapers across the country. He frequently argues appellate cases, including in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read more information here.

—Kayla Choate, Law School

Featured Events Archive

Drake Law celebrates Diversity Week Feb. 22–26

Drake Law School will celebrate Diversity Week Feb. 22–26 with various events hosted by Drake Law student organizations. Events include Gender and Sexuality Awareness Day, a discussion with local Muslim students and community leaders, a panel of diverse judges, and a roundtable on refugees and immigration law.

Schedule of events:

Monday, Feb. 22
Gender and Sexuality Awareness Day
9 a.m.–4 p.m., Cartwright Hall, Porterhouse Lounge

Tables will be set up in Cartwright Hall  with information related to various gender and sexuality issues in law and society, including reproductive rights, the wage gap, how to address clients of different genders, and more. There will also be facilitated discussions about the upcoming abortion and religious freedom cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and how Justice Antonin Scalia’s passing may affect the decisions.

Girls Court Information Session
4:30–5:30 p.m., Cartwright Hall, Room 206

Drake 3L Laura McGuire will present on the Girls Court, a gender-specific court designed to better accommodate victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. McGuire, who has been involved in the process of opening a Girls Court in Polk County, will discuss what the Girls Court is, when it will start, and why it’s important. The presentation will include time for questions.

Sponsored by Drake Law Women and Drake OUTlaws.

Tuesday, Feb. 23
The Muslim Experience in Iowa
4 p.m., Cartwright Hall, Kern Commons

Students are invited to share in a conversation with Muslim students and leaders from the Des Moines community. During the event, the guests will discuss how the past few years of changing political climate has impacted them in Des Moines. Food will be provided.

Sponsored by the International Law Society.

Wednesday, Feb. 24
“We’re All Just a Piece of a Beautiful Puzzle: Do Your Piece”
10 a.m.–3 p.m., Cartwright Hall, Porterhouse Lounge

Various tables will be set up in Porterhouse Lounge. The display will include an interactive element with two puzzles depicting diversity, a variety of photos celebrating differences in people, and candy giveaways containing uplifting messages.

Sponsored by the Black Law Student Association and OWLS.

Thursday, Feb. 25
Diverse Judge Panel
5:30–6:30 p.m., Cartwright Hall, Room 206

This panel will focus on how diversity and the law interact. Various judges will talk about their own experiences and observations with diversity and the law—both on and off the bench. Potential topics include how the judicial system promotes diversity and where it can improve; the role of diversity in judicial elections, elections in general, access to legal education, and jobs; and how diversity will affect the nomination of the next U.S. Supreme Court justice.

Judges confirmed to attend the event include Judge Mary Tabor from the Iowa Court of Appeals, Judge Romonda Belcher from the Fifth District of Iowa, and Deputy Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Michelle McGovern. The judges will speak for about 40–50 minutes, leaving 10–20 minutes available for questions from the audience. Light refreshments will be provided.

Sponsored by the American Constitution Society—Drake Law Chapter.

Immigration and Refugee Reception
6:30–7:30 p.m., Cartwright Hall, Kern Commons

Attend a reception and roundtable discussion on immigration and refugee matters. Local practicing lawyers in the areas of immigration and civil rights are invited to participate in the discussion with students and share their work with refugees, employment law, and other aspects of immigration law. Each table will have prepared questions and topics to discuss. Food will be provided.

Sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association.

Friday, Feb. 26
Students are encouraged to get a signature on their activity cards at each event they attend during the week. Students who have attended at least three events can submit their cards to Cartwright Hall, Room 128, by noon on Friday, Feb. 26 to be entered into a drawing to win a $50 prize.

Sponsored by the Student Bar Association.

For more information, visit: www.law.drake.edu/newsEvents/details.aspx?eventID=2016-diversityWeek

—Kayla Choate, Law School Alumni Affairs & Communications Coordinator

Featured Events Archive

Former chief judge to give free lecture

Randall R. Rader, former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, will present a lecture, “Standards, Patents, and Proper Valuation of Technology: An Innovation Standard that Honors Standards,” on Feb. 23, 3 p.m., Cartwright Hall, Room 213. The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the Faculty/Staff Lounge. More information is available on the Law School website.

—Kayla Choate

Featured Events Archive

Polygamy and the constitution

What: Drake Constitutional Law Center Distinguished Lecture Series:
“Scrutinizing Polygamy after Hobby Lobby and Obergefell”
Featuring Maura Strassberg, Drake Law School professor
When: Thursday, Feb. 4, 4 p.m.
Where: Cartwright Hall, Room 213

Maura Strassberg, professor of law at Drake Law School, will present “Scrutinizing Polygamy after Hobby Lobby and Obergefell” as part of the Drake Constitutional Law Center’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Now that the Supreme Court has determined same-sex marriage is constitutionally protected under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses, many have wondered whether polygamy should also receive constitutional protection. In addition, recent developments in the protection of religious freedom under the 1st Amendment as well as federal and state Religious Freedom Restoration Acts also provide the basis for a re-evaluation of bans on religious polygamy.

Strassberg will discuss whether existing laws distinguishing polygamy from same-sex marriage are the result of prejudice or if they stem from good reasons. She will point to modern social science research on the harms of polygamy from a global perspective that may answer this question as well as justifications for state prohibitions on polygamy that could survive even stricter scrutiny.

The event is free and open to the public.

—Submitted by Kayla Choate, Law School Alumni Affairs & Communications Coordinator

News & Achievements Archive

Drake news: Week of Jan. 11

Drake a best value among private universities
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has placed Drake at No. 36 on its list of the 100 best values in private universities for 2016. The ranking cites four-year schools that combine outstanding education with economic value. For the third consecutive year, Drake University is ranked in the top 40 nationwide and is the only Iowa university on the private universities list.


Drake Law to host the 2016 CLEO Pre-law Summer Institute
Drake University Law School has been selected to host the 2016 Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. (CLEO) Pre-law Summer Institute June 5–July 2.

CLEO is committed to diversifying the legal profession by expanding legal education opportunities to minority, low-income, and disadvantaged groups.

The program recruits individuals who have a strong desire to join the legal profession, including students who have already been accepted into law school as well as those who may need placement assistance.

More than 300 students apply each year for 40 spots in the CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute. The institute teaches students how to read and brief court opinions; prepare for law school exams; conquer the workload and stress in law school; establish productive study groups; and more. To learn more about the program at Drake, click here.


Drake signs MOU with University of Havana
Officials at Drake University and the University of Havana have signed a long-term agreement to enhance the academic experience and maximize the educational opportunities that arise from blossoming relations between the United States and Cuba.

The five-year, renewable Memorandum of Understanding between Iowa’s largest private university and Cuba’s largest public university builds upon 30 years research and collaboration between Drake and various groups in Cuba. The schools are now formally committed to ongoing partnership on special programs; research activities; and exchange of faculty, staff, and students. Read more in the Drake Newsroom.


Drake senior to live in retirement community
As students across the nation prepare to return to college campuses following a winter break spent with friends and family, one student in Iowa is getting ready to move in with some uncommon housemates. Drake University senior Haley Jenkins will spend the spring semester as a resident of Deerfield Retirement Community in Urbandale, in return for a little musical entertainment, thanks to a partnership between the Drake Department of Music and Deerfield. Learn more here.

Strategic Updates Archive

Drake Law announces new dean

Jerry Anderson, the Richard M. and Anita Calkins Distinguished Professor of Law, has been named dean of Drake University Law School, effective July 1, 2016. He succeeds Ben Ullem, who is currently serving a two-year term as dean of the Law School.

“I am honored to be selected to lead the Law School during an important time in its history,” said Jerry, who has served on the Drake Law faculty since 1991. “We are in the midst of a transformative period in legal education, and Drake is well-positioned to creatively adapt to the changing needs of students and the profession.” To learn more about Jerry, visit the Drake Newsroom.

Featured Events Archive

Hear from Slate magazine senior editor

Legal journalist and attorney Dahlia Lithwick will present “Uncovering the U.S. Supreme Court” at a lecture co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society-Drake Law School student chapter and the Drake University Constitutional Law Center.

The event is free and open to the public. It will be held Thursday, Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m., in the Legal Clinic Library at the Neal and Bea Smith Law Center (2400 University Ave.).

Lithwick is a senior editor and legal correspondent for Slate magazine, where she covers the courts and the law. She contributes to the columns “Supreme Court Dispatches” and “Jurisprudence,” as well as the Amicus podcast series. Her work has appeared in The New Republic, The Washington Post, and CNN.com. She was a legal commentator for the NPR show Day to Day, a regular guest on The Al Franken Show, and has been a guest columnist for The New York Times op-ed page. In 2001, she was awarded the Online News Association’s award for online commentary.

For more information, visit bit.ly/21K9iQC

—Submitted by Kayla Choate, Law School Alumni Affairs & Communications Coordinator

Featured Events Archive

Diversity and inclusion within the Iowa legal community

Drake Law School is sponsoring “The Past, Present, and Future of Diversity and Inclusion within the Central Iowa Legal Community” on Friday, Oct. 23, 1-6:30 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium.

The event, which is open to all students, faculty, and staff, will explore issues in central Iowa related to diversity and inclusion. Speakers will lead participants in a discussion to develop specific ideas and steps to be taken to solve these issues.

Following the event, Drake Law School will host a networking reception in Kern Commons, Cartwright Hall.

Student volunteers are also needed to serve as speaker attendants, help with audio/visual needs, staff the registration table, and more.

Registration is $50; however, Drake Law School has several free registrations available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested in attending or volunteering, contact Jennie Zwagerman, jennifer.zwagerman@drake.edu.

For more information, visit the Drake Law School website.

—Submitted by Kayla Choate, Law School Alumni Affairs and Communications Coordinator

Featured Events Archive

Law School events this week

Professor Mark Kende will present “Amending the U.S. Constitution: Modernization or Foolhardiness?” on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 7–8:30 p.m., in Cartwright Hall, Room 201. Free and open to the public, this event is hosted by the Drake Constitutional Law Center and the League of Women Voters.

Iowa Supreme Court Justice Edward M. Mansfield will serve as the featured speaker at the annual Judge James Grant Iowa Constitution Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 3 p.m. in Cartwright Hall, Room 213. The title of his speech is “Exploring the Original Meaning of Article I, Section 6 of the Iowa Constitution.”

—Submitted by Kayla Choate, Law School Alumni Affairs and Communications Coordinator