May 1, 2017 - First Monday
The First Monday newsletter is coming to you on a Tuesday, as I celebrated Law Day on the road heading to our Boise location for candidate interviews and commencement.
April was a busy month. We hosted panels, symposiums and celebrated Professor Dale Goble’s career with his retirement party. I’m looking forward to a little down time this summer as we prepare to open our first-year program in Boise this fall.
Commencement
Spring is in the air and soon we will see our graduating students walk across the stage and receive their J.D. degrees. This is the first class that I have witnessed transform from nervous 1Ls to confident 3Ls. The students have put in numerous hours of studying, completed their pro bono hours and have made a difference at the law school and in the community. We will be granting 87 law degrees to 26 students in Boise on May 3 and 61 students on May 13 in Moscow. The College of Law is excited to host Celebration Receptions before the university-wide commencements at each location.
Peggy Browning Scholars
Congratulations to second-year student Chase Phillips and first-year student Katharine Wongmankitkan. These two students have been awarded 10-week summer fellowships from the highly competitive Peggy Browning Fund. Peggy Browning fellows are distinguished students who have not only excelled in law school but who have also demonstrated their commitment to workers’ rights through previous educational, work, volunteer and personal experiences. Chase will serve his fellowship at Mehri & Skalet PLLC in Washington, D.C. Katharine’s fellowship will take place at the National Domestic Workers Alliance in Oakland, California.
Admissions
Counter to regional trends, the University of Idaho College of Law is experiencing a slight increase in applications. The quality and diversity of our applicants has also increased. Our first-year class in Boise received lots of interest and filled up well ahead of the deadline to confirm enrollment. Our first-year class is Moscow is meeting projected enrollment goals. The credentials of the class are strong so far and will potentially result in an increase in our median LSAT and GPA numbers. We also expect to welcome more residents and women this fall. We’ll provide a more complete update in late summer.
National Jurist ranks LL.M. program
The National Jurist Magazine recently gave our LL.M. program an A+ for Best Value and an A for Best College Experience for international students. Our LL.M. program allows international students to study U.S. law and to complete the 24 required credits in a 9-month timeframe.
Congratulation to Reed Larsen
LAC member and class of 1985 alumnus, Reed Larsen was inducted into the 2017 Eastern Idaho Horseman Hall of Fame. He has made significant, positive and lasting contributions to the region’s horse industry. In his professional life, he is an attorney and has been practicing law for 32 years with the firm of Cooper & Larsen, . Larsen is a past president of the Idaho State Bar Association, current member of the Idaho Judicial Council, and member of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
2017 Gem State Tax Symposium
We will be presenting The Gem State Tax Symposium along with the Boise State Department of Accountancy on June 2, 2017 at the Micron Business and Economics Building on BSU’s campus. The day long symposium brings top national and Idaho speakers together to discuss current tax issues, law changes and policy issues professionals are facing. Plenary speakers include Lee Sheppard, Contributing Editor at Tax Analysts; John Mitchell, former chief economist for U.S. Bank and Boise State economics professor and Heather Field, UC Hastings College of Law. Register here.
State Bar Meeting in Moscow this Summer
We are happy to welcome the Idaho State Bar 2017 Annual Meeting to Moscow July 12-14 at the Best Western Plus University Inn. This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow law professionals while earning CLE credits. We have a number of faculty and emeritus faculty teaching CLEs or serving on panels including John Miller, Don Burnett, Jessica Long, Kate Evans and Sunil Ramalingam. Registration is open and early bird pricing ends June 16. We hope to see many of our alums back in Moscow for what will be an incredibly special few days.
Have a great May,
Mark Adams
Dean
University of Idaho College of Law
Upcoming Events
Northwest Mediation Institute
May 15-19, 2017
Basic Family Mediation — Moscow, Idaho
Basic Civic Mediation — Boise, Idaho
Spring Commencement
May 3, 2017 — Boise, Idaho
May 13, 2017 — Moscow, Idaho
Gem State Tax Symposium
June 2, 2017 – Boise, Idaho
Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting
July 12-14, 2017
Best Western Plus University Inn
Moscow, Idaho