Driven by service

Here, Gianopoulos said she was “inspired by Professor John Mogk‘s tireless action and devotion to Detroit, Chief Judge Elizabeth Gleicher’s eye-opening teaching and compassionate action, and the lifelong commitment and unwavering class of Justice Marilyn Kelly.” She also credits Associate Professor Justin Long and Professor Jonathan Weinberg for ongoing post-graduation inspiration and support.

Gianopoulos observes that a core takeaway from her experience is that it is never too late to change a path, chase different dreams or learn new things. She believes that law school has allowed her to set an example for her children, continue to challenge herself, grow meaningful and fulfilling relationships, and contribute to a new profession. What’s more, she has been pleasantly surprised to learn that the Detroit legal community is small and welcoming and enjoys practicing among its members.

Wayne Law students continue to soar

Lawyers Look Like Me

The campaign aims to challenge stereotypes about what lawyers “look” like, celebrate historically underrepresented law students and highlight the importance of diversifying the legal profession. The students driving this campaign represent numerous multicultural, multiethnic and ally organizations.

“Lawyers and judges carry people’s livelihoods and liberties in their hands. It’s so important for the profession to welcome practitioners that come from all walks of life,” said Aleanna Siacon ’22, the creator of the campaign. “There’s much work to be done to address and remove the barriers that make law school inaccessible to many, but this campaign recognizes the power of representation.”

Ranking reaches historic high

Facts and accolades

Muthu Veerappan ’22 set the Law School record for the highest number of pro bono hours donated by a student. As part of the Warrior Pro Bono Pledge, he reached 1,020 total pro bono hours through the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.

“I learned a lot working there over the past year,” Veerappan said. “I have done everything from preliminary exams, motions, briefs and a jury trial to watching a victim’s 8-month-old child when they were testifying.”

Prior to completing his pro bono hours, Veerappan worked at Wayne Law’s Free Legal Aid Clinic (FLAC) and Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic (AILC), and he had a public service externship. Veerappan completed 150 hours of fieldwork for FLAC, 250 hours for AILC, and 150 hours for the externship.

Wayne Law’s student voluntary pro bono program aims to encourage law students to use their professional training to benefit underserved populations and the community at large.

The graduating Class of 2022 donated nearly 2,400 pro bono hours in total.

Wayne Law was pleased to welcome Professor Elizabeth Joh, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law, to deliver the 2022 Paul A. Rosen Constitutional Law Lecture March 7, 2022. Professor Joh is a widely known expert on policing, technology and surveillance, and her talk on the intersection between those topics was titled “The Victims of Police Federalism.”

Before taking questions from the audience, Joh spoke for a half-hour on the technological innovations changing the face of modern policing, along with the legal aspects of those changes. In ways that citizens don’t realize, modern policing depends on modern technology. Police departments use prediction tools that anticipate future crimes in deciding where to allocate their resources. They rely on surveillance, imaging technology and data aggregation to track people who might be later linked to a crime through still photos taken by business surveillance cameras or overhead air drone monitoring. This has meant a loss of privacy for some, but it also has fundamentally changed policing and the relationship between modern people and the police. It also creates problems, particularly for minority groups. Facial recognition, for example, is not always accurate, and it is most inaccurate for women and people of color. For women of color, the facial recognition inaccuracy rate is nearly 35%.

Meet the assistant deans

New faculty

Michael Oswalt
Professor of Law

Faculty achievements

Kirsten Matoy Carlson
Professor of Law

Robert Greenstein ’61 was honored by the Florida Bar as a member with a 50-year cumulative legal practice with the Florida Bar and one or more U.S. jurisdictions.

Sam Bernstein ’68 was honored by the Florida Bar as a member with a 50-year cumulative legal practice with the Florida Bar and one or more U.S. jurisdictions.

Robert J. Norton ’69 was honored by the Florida Bar during its 50-Year Member and Senior Counselor Recognition Luncheon.

Theodore Karl Egner ’71 was honored by the Florida Bar during its 50-Year Member and Senior Counselor Recognition Luncheon.

Howard Hertz ’76 was featured in Downtown Newsmagazine. For more than 40 years, he has been practicing media and entertainment law as well as intellectual property law at Hertz Schram, which he co-founded.