“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. “ -Frederick Douglass
Every week I witness the impressive accomplishments of our students not only in the classroom but also outside the classroom through participation in our diverse C|M|Law student organizations, publications, and events.
No better examples of outstanding student achievement are our C|M|Law Black Law Students Association (BLSA)’s participation last week in the 2017 Midwest Regional BLSA Convention and the Midwest Regional Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition; and the participation of four of our most entrepreneurial students in this past weekend’s CSU StartupVikes Business Competition.
Last night’s Academy Awards have nothing over us - we won the top award and both competitions! (Yes, I’m positive we won.)
And the Envelope Please….C|M|Law BLSA Wins Top Award at Midwest BLSA Convention and Wins Midwest Regional Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition
Last week our BLSA chapter hosted the 2017 Midwest Regional BLSA Convention for the first time in four decades because of C|M|Law BLSA’s national reputation. C|M|Law BLSA was named the Midwest Regional Chapter of the Year and the Midsize National Chapter of the Year in 2016.C|M|Law BLSA officers are Taurean Shattuck, President; Kelynn Carter, Vice President; Shashelia Degraffinried,Treasurer; Anastasia Elder, Corresponding Secretary; Dana Beveridge, Recording Secretary; and Jzinae Jackson, Historian. Professor Browne Lewis is BLSA’s faculty advisor.
At the gala Saturday night, attended by Professor Matthew Green and Professor Browne Lewis, C|M|Law BLSA was again awarded mid-sized Regional Chapter of the Year and will move on to compete to be back to back mid-sized National Chapter of the Year! C|M|Law BLSA Vice President,Kelynn Carter, was Convention Coordinator and was elected as the next Chair of the Midwest Regional BLSA.
The signature event of the convention is the Midwest Regional Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition. The topic was the Sixth Amendment and the right to a jury trial. Amanda Wilson Orr, Midwest BLSA Regional Director, was Director of the Competition. Chief Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. allowed BLSA to use courtroom space in the Carl B. Stokes Federal Courthouse. The competition was fierce among the teams from C|M|Law, Case Western Reserve, Michigan State, John Marshall, Loyola University Chicago, and University of Missouri.
Our team consisting of DeAngelo LaVette and Emily Stolfer was Regional Champion and was also awarded Best Respondent's Brief!DeAngelo and Emily will move on to compete at Nationals in Houston, TX, March 7-12, trying to build off of last year's top four performance. The C|M|Law team was coached by Brandon Cox '12 and Theo Hudson '12. Professor Carolyn Broering-Jacobs and Professor Ken Kowalski also participated. See an online photo album of last week’s competition.
Earlier this month, champions DeAngelo LaVette and Emily Stolfer participated in the C|M|Law BLSA Frederick Douglass Moot Court Nightorganized by Brandon Brown. The distinguished panel of judges consisted of Justice William O'Neill '80, Supreme Court of Ohio, Judge Melody Stewart '88, Eighth District Court of Appeals, and Judge Donald Nugent '74 , U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
In addition, Professor Matthew Green, Professor Doron Kalir, and BLSA President Taurean Shattuck led a group of conference participants to view the exhibit "This Lights of Ours" at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. The exhibit features hundreds of black-and-white photos of the civil rights movement during the 1960's. The visit concluded with a lively discussion about the exhibit and its implications for the future of civil rights.
Four C|M|Law Students Win CSU Startup Vikes Business Competition
I believe that each of our graduates should have the opportunity to develop or enhance their skills at the intersection of law, business, and technology, so when I learned about the CSU StartupVikes Business Competition, I thought that this would be a great opportunity for some of our students. Startup Vikes features a 52-hour process using lean startup methodologies to build a minimally viable product or service. Startup Vikes provides a cash infusion to the top four business ideas and provides a pathway to other business plan competitions in the region for follow-up funding.
Four of our students: Marcus Noel, Heather Holt, Sierra Nugent, and Stephen Robison participated. The competition started Friday evening and ended last evening. Marcus Noel formed his own team, Lex, an attorney search application that matches a client with legal representation that is statistically likely to deliver a favorable outcome. This application collects case information from the client and then uses data analytics drawing upon pre-collected docket data to perform a match. Marcus Noel’s team won the competition and received a $2,000 prize! His coach was Professor Brian Ray. I coached the team of Heather, Sierra, and Stephen. They formed C|M|Match, a service that matches clients that need legal advice with vetted Cleveland-Marshall alumni. They finished in 4th place, winning a $500 prize.
This is the first time that C|M|Law has participated in this competition, and all four of our students placed!
Just a typical week at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law…..
My best,
Lee