 Recapping a Successful Year
From bar passage rates being first in the state to over 1,500 applicants applying for this fall’s entering class, 2011 was a special year for the University of Cincinnati College of Law. As we begin 2012, here is a brief snapshot of the year that was.
In January, the new Economic and Community Development Clinic opened its doors, enabling third-year law students to directly assist small business owners and non-profit organizations in a variety of capacities. The following month saw the kick-off of Catalyst, a micro-mentoring program designed to fold students in the lives of attorneys. Still in its early stages, Catalyst is already linking law students with mentor attorneys in Chicago, Philadelphia, Columbus and Cleveland.
In April, the law school’s Ohio Innocence Project co-hosted the first ever international conference on wrongful convictions right here in Cincinnati at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Participants from 20 countries around the world were in attendance. The summer then marked the inauguration of the Institute for the Global Practice of Law—an initiative to train foreign lawyers about the U.S. legal system. In August, 119 members of the Class of 2014 began their careers at the law school (this following an admission cycle with our second highest number of applications ever received – over 1,500).
September brought justice for inmate David Ayers, freed by the Ohio Innocence Project after being in prison for 11 years. It was their 14th such victory since 2003. Later in the fall, bar exam results were announced, with our graduates passing the July Ohio Bar Exam at a 94% rate on their first attempt—leading Ohio's nine law schools in first place.
To read details about any of these items (and much more) visit our website www.law.uc.edu. |
Professor Angela P. Harris, University of California, Davis, School of Law, will present the lecture "The Occupy Wall Street Blues: Why Americans Have Trouble Talking About Inequality" on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 12:15 p.m. In her talk, she will discuss some of the reasons, legal and political, why Americans have trouble talking about race, class, and structural inequality in particular. 
Professor Jacob Cogan co-organized the Works-in-Progress Workshop of the International Organizations Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), which was held at the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, on October 28. Professor Cogan is an elected member of the American Law Institute, Co-Chair of the ASIL International Organizations Interest Group, and formerly a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He edits the International Law Reporter, a widely read and lauded blog on international law scholarship. He holds both German and U.S. citizenship. 
Established in 1997, the Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program (SPIF) provides Cincinnati Law students with funds to work at unpaid public interest law positions. Over 90 students gained valuable experience through SPIF over the summer of 2011 working in local, regional, national and international public interest positions. Over the years partner organizations have included the ABA Judicial Clerkship Program, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Cincinnati City Council, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Federal Trade Commission, New York City Legal Aid Society, ProKids, UNESCO and many, many more. (
"Climate change presents the United States, and the world, with regulatory problems of a magnitude, complexity and scope unseen before," wrote Tomain, the Wilbert and Helen Ziegler Professor of Law, in his book Ending Dirty Energy Policy: Prelude to Climate Change. "The United States, however, particularly after the mid-term elections of 2010, lacks the political will necessary to aggressively address climate change."