Cumberland School of Law

Associate Professor Tim McFarlin’s latest article, “Infringing Uses, Not Works,” has been accepted for publication by the South Carolina Law Review, the flagship journal of the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law. “Infringing Uses, Not Works” is expected to be published in Book 1 of the Review’s 76th volume this fall. It explores how the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith may impact the future of copyright law.

McFarlin said, “I’m really excited to share my reflections on Warhol which I hope will help courts and scholars navigate what I think is a core though controversial takeaway: artworks themselves cannot infringe copyright, only how we use them.”

Read "Infringing Uses, Not Works": https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4851013.

Associate Professor Chinelo Diké-Minor recently received a Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General’s Award for Excellence in Fighting Fraud, Waste and Abuse 2024 for her work on U.S. v. Murphy and related cases during her time as an assistant U.S. attorney just prior to joining the Cumberland School of Law faculty.

The award was presented at the OIG Awards Ceremony on June 6, 2024. Diké-Minor received the same award in 2022 for her work on other cases.

Did you know? A core pillar of Cumberland School of Law’s mission is service and outreach.

Students and faculty are dedicated to serving the communities around them through clinical work, externships, and public interest and pro bono work.

Students engage in service beginning with first-year orientation, establishing a firm foundation for serving others throughout law school and in their careers.

Learn more about service opportunities here: www.samford.edu/law/service

Attention Cumberland lawyers in Tennessee!

Are you planning to attend the Tennessee State Bar Annual Meeting next week in Memphis? If so, please join us for breakfast and connect with fellow Cumberland School of Law alumni.

Thursday, June 13, 2024 | 8-9:30 a.m.
The Cadre Building | The Mezzanine
149 Monroe Avenue
Memphis, Tennessee

RSVP to Becky Stroud, director of alumni engagement, by June 10: [email protected]. You need not be a registered meeting attendee to attend the alumni gathering.

Recently, the Alabama National Guard JAG Corps hosted Romania’s senior legal adviser.

Many Cumberland lawyers were part of the exchange, including Col. Thomas “Jay” Skinner IV, Supreme Court of Alabama Justice Brad Mendheim and Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Richard Minor, all members of the class of 1993, as well as Lt. Col. Mike Anderson of the Alabama Army Guard and a member of Cumberland’s class of 1994.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for our upcoming alumni events ⤵️ ‼️

- Florida Alumni Zoom Connection: June 4

- Tennessee Alumni Breakfast: June 13

- Georgia Alumni Zoom Connection: June 24

- North Carolina Alumni Zoom Connection: June 24

- Alabama State Bar Alumni Reception: June 27

- Dothan Area Alumni Dinner: August 15

- Huntsville Area Alumni Reception: September 10

- Nashville Area Alumni Reception: September 11

- All Alumni Reunion Reception in Birmingham: October 25

👉 Learn more here: www.samford.edu/law/events/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Events&utm_campaign=Cumberland%20Connections%3A%20May%202024

On this month's episode of Cumberland Research Radio, students Cameron Bledsoe and Malik Howard, along with alumnus Jeff Friedman, tell us what it is like to receive a Cumberland School of Law education and how it prepares you for a legal career.

Listen here: www.samford.edu/law/podcast

‼️ Nominations are now OPEN for the 50th Annual Cumberland School of Law Distinguished Alumni Awards. ‼️ Categories include: ⤵️

🏆 Distinguished Alumna/us
Given to a Cumberland School of Law graduate who has distinguished himself/herself in the practice of law, service to the community, and leadership in the profession.

✨ Distinguished Young Alumna/us
Given to a Cumberland School of Law graduate who received her/his JD within the past 15 years, and who has distinguished herself/himself in the practice of law, service to the community, and leadership in the profession.

👐 Volunteer of the Year
Recognizes an alumna/us who has demonstrated exceptional loyalty and commitment to Cumberland School of Law through volunteer service to the school.

❤️ Friend of Cumberland
Recognizes a person, who though not a graduate of Cumberland School of Law, has contributed time and resources to enhance the quality of the law school and the educational experience of the students.

👉 If you know of someone who would be fitting for one of these awards, please email Becky Stroud, director of alumni engagement, and provide a summary as to why they should be selected for the specified award. Nominations will close at midnight on June 2.

We look forward to receiving your nominations!

Although the month of May is significant to bringing awareness to mental health initiatives, several Samford University graduate programs implement wellness programs to encourage and uplift students throughout the academic year.

In Cumberland School of Law, Lynn Hogewood, assistant dean of Academic and Bar Success, also understands the critical role mental health plays in academic success and long-term career satisfaction.

Heather Hallman, assistant professor of physician assistant (PA) studies in the School of Health Professions, has integrated diverse programs to encourage wellness activities amongst her PA students.

Read more about their initiatives here:
www.samford.edu/law/news/2024/Samford-Graduate-Programs-Uplift-Students-Through-Mental-Health-and-Wellness-Initiatives

The best way to experience Cumberland School of Law is to meet our people and visit our campus. We offer several opportunities for you to engage with our faculty and admission staff. We hope to meet you soon! ❤️

www.samford.edu/law/visit

Cumberland School of Law will compete in the 2024 Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition, May 28-June 2. Cumberland is the only law school to have been invited to participate in the competition consecutively for 15 years.

Grayson Walden, a second-year law student, will be Cumberland's Top Gun, and John West, a second-year law student, will serve as second chair. Judge Jim Roberts, JD ’94, director of National Trial Teams, will serve as their coach.

Top Gun is widely considered the most difficult national mock trial competition because schools are not provided with the case file until 24 hours before the competition begins and are required to prepare to try both sides of the case in only one day.

The competition requires students to master accelerated case preparation, quick command of the facts and law, and adaptability. The competition also incorporates the use of advanced trial presentation software and has a winner-take-all prize of $10,000.

Best of luck to these Cumberland School of Law student advocates!

www.samford.edu/law/news/2024/Cumberland-School-of-Law-to-Compete-in-Top-Gun-National-Mock-Trial-Competition

The following Cumberland lawyers were admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1974 and have maintained an active status membership for 50 years. Thank you for your dedication to the Alabama State Bar and the legal profession!

www.samford.edu/law/news/2024/Cumberland-Lawyers-Celebrate-50-Years-of-Alabama-Bar-Membership

On this month's episode of Cumberland Research Radio, Professor Brannon Denning discusses his recent book detailing the history of American citizens’ relationship with guns and recent Supreme Court jurisprudence on gun rights.

Listen to the episode here: www.samford.edu/law/podcast

Cumberland Research Radio Succinct Insights into the Research of Faculty at Cumberland School of Law and Around the Globe

Cumberland School of Law had a class of 137 Juris Doctor graduates in 2023. 🎓Among those not pursuing a Master of Law (LLM) degree, an impressive 91.79% found employment within 10 months of graduation, indicating a robust employment rate.‌‼️📈

Read more here: www.samford.edu/law/news/

Members of the Cumberland School of Law Class of 2024 have plans to work in large and small law firms, corporate offices, and district attorneys’ and public defenders’ offices, among other employers.

Several graduates will begin their legal careers by serving as law clerks for federal and state court judges.

Read more about the graduates, such as Courtney Pomeroy and Pierce Ostwalt, here: www.samford.edu/law/news/2024/Cumberland-School-of-Law-Graduates-Obtain-Judicial-Clerkships

Selected Cumberland School of Law students qualified as Scholars of Merit and received the CALI Award for the spring 2024 term. The courses in which the students received this recognition are listed in the 🔗 below as well as the professors who taught the courses in which the students received this recognition.

Congratulations to our scholars!👏
www.samford.edu/law/news/2024/Scholars-of-Merit-Announced-for-Spring-2024-Term

Scholars of Merit Announced for Spring 2024 Term The following Cumberland School of Law students qualified as Scholars of Merit for the spring 2024 term.

Cumberland School of Law recognizes excellence in academic achievement each semester by publishing a Dean’s List. Included on the list are students whose end-of-semester GPA is 3.3 or higher. ‼️🏆

Congratulations to the following students who qualified for the spring 2024 Dean's List: www.samford.edu/law/news/2024/Deans-List-Announced-for-Spring-2024

Last week, Cumberland School of Law professors LaJuana Davis and Layne Keele spoke to a group of visitors from Laos who are traveling the United States studying transparency and accountability in government.

Through a collaboration with our friends at Global Ties Alabama and the U.S. Department of State, the group visited the law school to further understand the pivotal role of academia in fostering transparency, accountability and the development of ethical standards to shape ethical lawyers and promote integrity within the legal profession.

📢LAST CALL! 📢 Your summer plans are here, what are you waiting for?

👉Cumberland School of Law is hosting its inaugural international continuing legal education (CLE) conference, The Art of Advocacy, at the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 26-28, 2024.

What’s in it for you?⤵️
👉12 CLE hours, including one ethics hour
👉Focused workshops devoted to the art of persuasion
👉Expand your international perspective
👉Dinner at Edinburgh Castle, tour the Crown Jewels, Holyrood Palace, the Royal Britannia

‼️And More‼️

See you there 🔗: www.samford.edu/law/study-abroad

Cumberland School of Law consistently excels in regional and national legal skills competitions, maintaining a remarkable performance record. Renowned as one of the nation's most accomplished law schools for trial advocacy, Cumberland School of Law students also regularly excel in other areas of advocacy. The 2023-24 academic year was no exception and culminated in these results:

‼️Trial‼️
🏆 National Trial Competition Regional Champions, Two team sweep, advanced to nationals
🏆 American Association of Justice Regional Champions, Two team sweep and one team advanced to national elite 8
🏆 Online National Championship, Three teams in top 13 and one team in the semifinals out of 50 competing schools
🏆Trials and Tribulations Trial Competition, Quarterfinalists and semifinalists
🏆The Verdict Trial Competition, Third place
🏆National Civil Trial Competition, National runner up

✨Moot Court✨
🏆American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Regional, won all 3 oral arguments

👏ADR👏
🏆American Bar Association Negotiation Competition, advanced to nationals

Read more here: www.samford.edu/law/news/2024/Reflections-on-Another-Successful-Year-of-Excellence-in-Advocacy-TrainingCumberland-School-of-Law-Class-of-2024

Today's to-do list: enjoy the sunshine on Brewer Plaza.☀️✅

All smiles for our 2024 graduates‼️🎓😃

Join Cumberland School of Law this May as we comes together to celebrate Mental Health Month. 🧠

Together, we can break the stigma and continue to cultivate a culture of compassion, understanding and support.💙

🔗 Check out the various mental health resources and participate in our Wellness Week calendar here: www.samford.edu/law/academic-support

Evan Jenkins, a 1987 graduate of Samford University Cumberland School of Law, addressed the class of 2024 during their commencement ceremony held April 27.

The class includes 153 new Juris Doctors, 13 of which earned a joint degree. 3️⃣ graduates earned the Master of Studies in Law.

🔗: www.samford.edu/law/news/2024/Alumnus-and-Former-West-Virginia-Supreme-Court-Justice-Shares-Career-Lessons-with-Cumberland-School-of-Law-Class-of-2024

Cumberland School of Law student Jacob Powell presented his research abstract at Samford's 2024 Student Research Colloquia on April 19.

His abstract, titled, "It All Comes Down to a Piece of Paper: An Argument for Extending Transition Services Through Diploma Deferral for Students with Disabilities" explores existing case law to determine whether transition services can be extended by a student's refusal of a diploma. In doing so, this paper underscores the dangers of a premature termination of transition services that should otherwise be provided by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

According to a U.S. Department of Labor survey report from February 2024, more than 65% of people without a disability were actively employed last year. But for people with a disability, only 22% reported employment. Across the board, people without a disability enjoy better postsecondary educational outcomes in college and in the workforce, highlighting the vast disparity that exists between the two populations.

Finally, his paper argues that the IDEA guarantees a student with a disability the implicit right to defer a diploma and extend his or her entitlement to services.

How can we create a tool that law students can use to better manage time for all that law school requires? 🤔

Cumberland School of Law professors Ramona Albin and Lynn Hogewood join Dean Blake Hudson on Cumberland Research Radio to discuss their student time management study, with a view toward helping students manage the challenges of “too much to do and too little time to do it” in law school.

🎙️Listen at www.samford.edu/law/podcast or on Spotify/Apple Podcasts.

Third-year student Thomas Hannahan recently had an article published by Southern University’s Law Review.

His article, "The Use and Abuse of Use", recounts how the United States Supreme Court created a rift between the ordinary meaning of use and its legal definition. The gap between the ordinary meaning and the legal definition of use can be closed through the correct construal of the Locomotive Inspection Act’s "in use" requirement. The Supreme Court held oral argument on the construal of the “in use” requirement in the spring of 2022, but the Court punted on the issue with a vote of 4-4, leaving the circuit split on the “in use” requirement still intact.

Hannahan would like to thank Al Teel, Maddie Hughes, Starnes Professor of Law Brannon Denning and Stephen Everett Wells Professor of Municipal Law Michael DeBow for their feedback and advice.

Cumberland School of Law’s Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic (C-VETS), which was founded in the fall of 2020, provides free legal assistance to veterans and their families across the state of Alabama.

Since its inception, 62 volunteer law students have served more than 600 veterans, including 239 in the 2023-24 year alone.

Kevin Patton, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, former A-6 pilot and shareholder at Maynard Nexsen, succeeded the late Judge John Carroll, JD ’74, founder of the clinic, as the clinic’s supervising attorney.

Patton hosted a recognition ceremony in appreciation of the students’ hard work and dedication. Each student received a personalized flag and eagle sculpture sponsored by the Central Alabama Veterans Collaborative (CAVC).

Read more here: www.samford.edu/law/news/2024/Helping-Heroes-C-VETS-Clinic-Serves-More-Than-600-US-Veterans-Since-Inception

This week, the Cumberland School of Law community came together to honor Corky Strickland, most immediate past dean and professor of law, as he prepares for retirement.

Strickland joined the Cumberland School of Law faculty in 1988, and since then, has served in various roles including associate dean from 2001 until 2011 and dean from 2014 until 2022 when he returned to full time teaching.

We will miss Dean Strickland on campus and send him the best of wishes for his well-deserved season of retirement.

Spring 2024 Commencement is almost here! Check out the details below:

👏 April 27
➡️ 5 - 6 p.m.
📍 Pete Hanna Center

Join us as we celebrate our spring graduates in Cumberland School of Law!✨🎓

Parking and more 🔗: www.samford.edu/commencement