March 2020 First Monday
Dear Alumni and Friends,
It’s hard to believe we’re already preparing for commencement, but classes have passed the mid-term mark, and we’ll soon enjoy spring break, begin preparations for exams, and wish luck to our retiring colleagues as they begin new adventures. Spring, as always, will be busy (see the Events Calendar below). This year, we’re thrilled to be continuing our wonderful relationship with the State’s judiciary, hosting Justice Joel Horton as our 2020 Jurist in Residence.
Tomorrow, we welcome Luis Cortes Romero, ’13, who will share his experiences with law and pre-law students. His work in the Immigration Law Clinic has led him to an incredible career thus far, with Luis at the center of the DACA case awaiting decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
We’re also preparing to say farewell to several faculty who built the College of Law we know today – Professors Anderson, Beard, Cosens, Laflin, Lillard, and Miller will share a retirement party in early May in Moscow. I hope you’ll join us in celebrating each of their legacies and in supporting The Faculty Scholarship fund they’ve established.
Welcome new Associate Deans Kristi Running and Wendy Couture
We’re thrilled that our search for an Associate Dean of Students in Moscow has attracted Kristi Running from our Boise location. She is off to a great start, focused on student well-being and achievement. Kristi has taught legal research and writing with the U of I since 2012 and works closely with Associate Dean of Students Katie Ball in Boise, who has been serving as Associate Dean of students in both locations since August. Kristi started her legal career in Moscow—both as student and a member of our faculty—and we’re very happy to welcome her back home.
Our new Associate Dean of Faculty Development in Boise is Wendy Couture, who has taught white collar crime, securities regulation, business law, and commercial law with the U of I since 2008. Wendy was our first tenure-track faculty hire in Boise, and she has played a critical role in our ongoing success in our state capital. She will work closely with Moscow’s Associate Dean of Faculty Development David Pimentel, and the two are already working with the faculty to continue our tradition of excellence in teaching.
Thank you all for being committed to the College of Law’s success and providing a quality legal program for Idaho’s future lawyers.
As we welcome new appointments, we’re also preparing for departures:
Monique Lillard to Retire
Professor Monique Lillard was the College of Law’s first female Associate Dean. She began her legal career as a litigator with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and clerked for Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Cynthia Holcomb Hall. She has been teaching workplace law, torts, and remedies with the College of Law since 1987, earning tenure in 1992, and becoming full professor in 1993.
Professor Lillard’s tenure includes being a visiting lecturer at Staffordshire University Law School in Stoke-on-Trent, England, and Visiting Professor at William and Mary School of Law in Virginia. She developed a course in advanced torts, developed the workplace law curriculum, and her legal scholarship has been cited and downloaded extensively.
Her commitment to the community is likewise impressive. She has served on a long list of committees with the University, including Vandal Catholics and Vandal Swordplay (U of I’s fencing club), as faculty advisor to an even longer list that includes the American Constitution Society, Diversity Committee, Idaho Trial Lawyer’s Association, and Women’s Law Caucus, among others, and in the community with Palouse Choral Society, Palouse Pathways, ACLU, Moscow Pullman Daily News Community Board, and more.
We will miss Monique’s ability to harmonize, her calming presence, and her undeniable support of the students. For the first decade of my career, my office was a few doors down from Monique’s. She has been a trusted and honest confidant, a mentor, a place I could always find help, support, and understanding. That has continued since I moved downstairs to the dean’s office. She is a great friend, and I will miss seeing her every day. If you are a former student and you have a favorite memory or a message you would like to share, please send them to Michele Bartlett at bartlett@uidaho.edu. They will be compiled and shared with Monique at her retirement gathering in the spring.
Jack Miller to Retire
Former Dean Jack Miller will also retire at the end of the spring term. Professor Miller has been teaching basic income taxation, business entities taxation, elder law, and estate planning with the College of Law since 1988 and has been the Weldon Schimke Distinguished Professor of Law since 2004. He has authored several textbooks on taxation and written and spoken extensively on Medicaid, taxation, estate planning, and elder law.
During his tenure with the University of Idaho, Professor Miller served as visiting professor with the University of California Hastings College of Law, University of Washington, University of Western Australia, Gonzaga, William & Mary, and University of Richmond.
Professor Miller’s legal career began in Lexington, Kentucky, with the law firm Eblen, Milner, Rosenbaum, & Wilson. He later served the State of Kentucky as Assistant Attorney General, litigating consumer protection matters, and as Chief Tax Counsel. He has been admitted to practice law with the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the U.S. District Courts for both the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky.
We will all miss Jack’s thoughtful curiosity and commitment to providing a quality legal education. I will miss Jack’s ability to share his advice and wisdom as a former dean, while still respecting my decisions. Jack has always thought of the College and its students first, and I know he’ll still be there if I need help, advice, or just the listening ear of someone who understands. If you are a former student and you have a favorite memory or a message you would like to share, please send them to Michele Bartlett at bartlett@uidaho.edu. They will be compiled and shared with Jack at his retirement gathering in the spring.
The College of Law Faculty Scholarship fund
A scholarship fund has been established to honor the 180 combined teaching years of Professors Anderson, Beard, Cosens, Laflin, Lillard, and Miller and recent retirees Dean Burnett, and Professors Brandt and Goble. The College of Law Faculty Scholarship will be given each year to one rising 3L student based on need, and a demonstrated commitment to public service, the community and the College of Law. If you are interested in making a contribution to the fund in honor of your favorite professor or colleague, you may donate online or contact Michele Bartlett at 208-364-4044 or bartlett@uidaho.edu.
Jurist in Residence
I am pleased to share that Justice Joel D. Horton will be the College of Law’s 2020 Jurist in Residence. The Justice Alfred Budge Visiting Jurist Program was created to provide a connection between the Idaho Judiciary and the University of Idaho College of Law, enabling a justice or judge to spend time in residence at the College of Law, educating law students on the workings of the Court, sharing their understanding of the judicial function, and researching how to improve the administration of justice.
Justice Horton served on the Idaho Supreme Court from 2007 to 2018, and previously served as a district judge, and a family law judge for Ada County. Prior to serving on the bench, Justice Horton served as an Ada County Prosecutor and Deputy Attorney General. Justice Horton is a Vandal, receiving his J.D. in 1985. He’s also a Husky, receiving his B.A. in Political Science in 1982.We’re honored to have Justice Horton join us in residence on our Moscow campus from March 30 to April 10.
One Family, Two Generations of Vandals
Thomas and Kimberly Prohaska, ’88, recently pledged $25,000 in support of scholarships for students attending the University of Idaho College of Law. The Prohaska Family Gift is in recognition of the legal education received by Thomas, ’84, ’88, and his brother Daniel, ’78, ’82 at the College of Law. It also recognizes the College of Law legal education of Thomas and Kimberly’s two children Nathan, ’17, and Kendall, ’18. The gift will allow the College of Law to provide financial scholarship support to students who have demonstrated academic merit and/or financial need. It also allows the College to attract more top-notch students, helps them graduate with less debt and then gives them the option to practice where their skills are needed most. If you would like to learn more about giving to the College of Law, contact Michele Bartlett at 208-364-4044 or bartlett@uidaho.edu.
Jerrold A. Long
Dean
College of Law
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events
Visit with Luis Cortes Romero
March 3, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Courtroom, Menard Law Building
Idaho Critical Legal Studies Journal Symposium
March 6, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Room 313, Idaho Law & Justice Learning Center
Idaho Court of Appeals
March 9 - 10
Courtroom, Menard Law Building
Idaho Law Review Symposium – Democracy Evolved: The Future of American Elections
April 3
Lincoln Auditorium, Idaho State Capital
Register Here
American Bar Association 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment – Traveling Exhibit
April 3 - 17
College of Law Library, Idaho Law & Justice Learning Center – Boise
Vandal Giving Day
April 7 - 8
Law Advisory Council Meeting
April 24
FACES of Hope Victim Center
Retirement Party for Professors Anderson, Beard, Cosens, Laflin, Lillard, and Miller
May 3, 3-6 p.m.
1912 Center, Moscow
Register Here
Commencement - Moscow
May 16 at 9:30 a.m.
ASUI Kibbe Activities Center
Commencement – Boise
May 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Idaho Law & Justice Learning Center
