We are very fortunate to have outstanding full-time, adjunct, and emeritus faculty, leaders-in-residence, and staff. We are pleased to share regular updates on their excellent scholarship, presentations, teaching, and service. This Faculty/Staff Focus is distributed widely to Law School students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the CSU community.
Faculty
CSU|LAW alumna, faculty member, and Grammy Award–winning pianist Professor Angelin Chang delivered an inspiring keynote at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the inaugural Rock and Roll Moot Court Festival, highlighting the intersection of law, music, and professional purpose. Co-Interim Dean Brian Ray closed the event with remarks celebrating CSU|LAW’s creativity, collaboration, and dedication.
Alumni advisors Kyle Hutnick ’16, Billy Killmeyer ’20, and Grayson Sieg ’15 guided student teams alongside coaches Brittany Mallow ’19 and Mandi Schenley ’22, while judges included Justice Melody J. Stewart ’88 and Justice Michael P. Donnelly ’91.
The festival was a powerful testament to CSU|LAW's hands-on learning, alumni engagement, and professional excellence.
Professor Deborah Hoffman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at CSU Law, co-authored an article titled “Digital Assets and Estate Planning: Preventing and Resolving Trust and Probate Challenges” with Wesley Brandi, CTO of Praefortis. The article appears in the January/February 2026 issue of Probate & Property. It examines how cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other blockchain-based assets are increasingly appearing in trusts and probate proceedings and addresses challenges including access issues, documentation gaps, and fiduciary limitations under federal and state law. The article also offers practical strategies for estate planners and fiduciaries, including drafting approaches, custody planning, and dispute prevention.
Prof. Hoffman also co-authored “Locked Out at Closing: When Crypto Fails at the Closing Table,” with Wesley Brandi, published in the December 2025 issue of ACC Docket, the journal of the Association of Corporate Counsel. The article focuses on the growing use of cryptocurrency in commercial and real estate transactions and the risks that can arise at closing, including custody failures, frozen wallets, lost private keys, and third-party platform disruptions. It situates these issues within existing transactional and real estate law frameworks and discusses the role of counsel in mitigating risk through diligence, deal structure, and contract drafting.
In November 2025, Prof. Hoffman spoke at the Executive Women’s Summit in Santa Fe, hosted by Women of ALICE, as part of a featured panel titled Beyond the Hype: Leading with ClArIty. The panel explored how leaders in finance and technology are navigating artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in regulated industries, including issues of trust and transparency, vendor governance, risk tolerance, and the evolving role of blockchain and tokenization in mortgage and financial services. Professor Hoffman’s remarks emphasized clarity and responsible innovation as essential leadership tools for guiding technology adoption.
Professor Laura C. Hoffman's latest law article was published by the Akron Law Review as part of its 2025 symposium exploring the intersection of healthcare and innovation. Prof. Hoffman focuses on addressing loneliness and social isolation of the aging population by examining the use of technology and possible regulatory challenges in "Reconnect or Disconnect?: Using Technology to Address Loneliness and Social Isolation for Aging Adults and Its Regulation," available at https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronlawreview/vol58/iss4/2/.
Professor Doron Kalir presented his paper, “Jewish Human Dignity: Equality Before God & Men,” at the inaugural Faith, Values and the Rule of Law Interdisciplinary Conference at Seton Hall Law on February 4, 2026.
Professor Mehtab Khan will be speaking at The Ohio State Technology Law Journal’s 2026 symposium on Public Interest Technologies for Community Well-Being: Innovating Health, Democracy, and Local Futures in Ohio. This year’s symposium will be focused on public interest technology and bring together leading experts from law, policy, and technology to discuss the pressing challenges and emerging trends within the field. Our goal is to foster a robust discussion on how legal frameworks can impact various areas of public interest technology.
Professor Karin Mika participated on the AALS Panel, "Leaning into AI to elevate Teaching Legal Skills." Prof. Mika discussed using AI to help improve contract drafting skills.
Prof. Mika also was appointed a Deputy Editor for the ABA Section's International Law Section's Year-in-Review. Prof. Mika edited the section covering Eurasia, including changes in Ukrainian law.
Prof. Mika's microessay titled "Reflections from Four Decades of Teaching" was published in the newsletter of the AALS Section for Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research. The essay covered topics related to the status and security of legal writing professionals.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/fac_articles/1344/
Prof. Mika's article, “Using a Comparative AI Exercise to improve Student Drafting,” was recently published in The Second Draft (a peer-reviewed publication of the Legal Writing Institute). The article discusses the need to incorporate AI into Legal Drafting courses while also understanding its limitations.
https://www.lwionline.org/article/using-comparative-ai-exercise-improve-student-drafting
Professor Reggie Oh organized at CSU Law American Injustice at Guantanamo Bay: A Conversation with Human Rights Attorney and Author Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice and International Law Centers. Professor Oh moderated the discussion with Mr. Colangelo-Bryan about his work representing Guantanamo Bay detainees and the importance of human rights law.
Professor Milena Sterio participated as an expert in a week-long training of Ukrainian judges and prosecutors on International Humanitarian Law, War Crimes Prosecutions, and International Environmental Law, from January 19-23, in Rzeszów, Poland.
The training was organized by the International Bar Association, and the expert team, in addition to Prof. Sterio, consisted of professors and practitioners from the United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile, and the United States. Prof. Sterio delivered two presentations about the sources of International Humanitarian Law and the fundamental principles of International Humanitarian Law. In addition, she also led several discussion groups and simulated exercises, where she guided Ukrainian colleagues across various evidentiary challenges as they relate to complex war crimes trials. This was Prof. Sterio’s second trip to Poland as an expert; she had previously participated in a similar training in September 2024.
Prof. Sterio ranks 39th in the United States in Scholarly Impact Rankings for International Law scholars, according to Hein Online. Hein Online publishes a list of top 100 scholars by subject area, and Professor Sterio is listed in the International Law Impact Rankings. The impact rankings are based on the number of citations, as well as additional factors.
Prof. Sterio has accepted a publication offer from the American University International Law Review, one of the most prestigious international law journals, for her article “Artificial Intelligence, the Use of Autonomous Weapons, and Individual Criminal Responsibility: A Paradox or a Possibility.” The article will be published in the journal’s forthcoming 2026 issue.
Prof. Sterio has been invited to submit an article to La Trobe University’s (Melbourne, Australia) inaugural volume of the La Trobe University Law Review. The volume will focus on the theme “AI on the Battlefield: Navigating Legal and Ethical Frontiers in 21st Century Conflict,” and her article will focus on the issue of individual criminal responsibility for operators of autonomous weapons systems which use AI.
Prof. Sterio co-hosted a new episode of the International Law Chats podcast, a monthly podcast by the American Branch of the International Law Association co-hosted by Prof. Sterio, Professor Chiara Giorgetti (University of Richmond Law School), and Alison McDonald, KC. The episode, published on Feb. 2, 2026, featured as guest Professor Harold Koh, Yale Law School, speaking on “The Future of the International Legal Order.” Professor Koh is the most highly cited international legal scholar; he is former dean of Yale Law School as well as former Legal Advisor to the U.S. State Department.
Professor Bob Triozzi, Associate Dean Jonathan Witmer Rich, and Director of Bar Preparation Justin Washburne and former prosecutortogether with civil rights attorney Rufus Sims (’86) participated in a panel discussion Examining Law Enforcement Use of Force at CSU Law sponsored by the CSU Law Criminal Justice Center. The panelists discussed the legal standards and procedures governing police use of deadly force, in the wake of the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minnesota.
Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich was quoted in an article titled, "Cleveland police use facial recognition without training or transparency on its use," published by Ideastream Public Media. The article discusses a recent criminal case in which Cleveland police used facial recognition technology to obtain a search warrant in a murder investigation. Professor Witmer-Rich opined that Cleveland police should be more open about what technology they’re using and how they’re using it.
Staff
Laura Ray, Outreach & Instructional Services Librarian, has a program approved for the July 2026 American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting in Cleveland. The program is "Touchable in Cleveland: Eliot Ness and the Kingsbury Run Torso Murders." Drawing upon Ness' papers, news articles and police records, the program will discuss the criminal investigation of the Kingsbury Run Torso Murders, revealing contemporary forensic limitations, and review current forensic efforts with the DNA Doe Project to identify many of the killer's victims. The program will also examine the ramifications of the prime suspect's political connections as well as Ness' ferocious raid and burning of the Kingsbury Run shanty town.
Laura has been appointed to be a member for a three-year term on the Committee on Membership & Awards of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The Committee serves as a focus group for membership feedback and calls to action. It also promotes the ACR annual awards program and makes nominations for the Awards of Distinction, ACR Masters and Distinguished Fellows.
Laura has also been appointed a member of the Grants Committee of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley Association of Law Libraries (GLOVALL). The Committee runs and promotes the GLOVALL grants program, which provides scholarships for attendance at the annual meetings of GLOVALL and the national AALL.
Laura has also been appointed a member of the ad hoc Website Redesign Committee of GLOVALL. The Committee will conduct an extensive review of the GLOVALL website and make recommendations for its updating and redesign.
Warmly,
Carolyn and Brian