Articles from 2021

Students gather at Equal Justice Fund annual auction event

The Annual Law School Auction looks different this year

Tuesday, March 23, 2021
The Annual Law School Auction raises money which will provide stipends to students in public-interest internships—from public defender's offices to non-profit organizations and everywhere in between. Often, these internships offer little to no compensation which deters students from pursuing them. The auction seeks to provide enough funding for student’s living expenses during the time of their internship. 
Boyd Law Building on a sunny day shot from an aerial view

Statement from the Dean

Monday, March 22, 2021
No one should have to feel the pain of racial injustice, and we must stand together against it. As the President said over the weekend: “Hate can have no safe harbor in America. It should have no safe harbor anywhere in the world. We must join together to make it stop.” In that spirit, the Iowa Law community stands with all of the members of our community who have felt the sting of racial prejudice.
Eddie Ponce, Class of 2021, in front of the Boyd Law Building

Against the odds, Ponce follows his passion with purpose

Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Eddie Ponce's journey into law has taken many twists and turns, and at times things could have gone in another direction, he is steadfast in his belief that he is on the right path, doing exactly what he should be doing. Read his remarkable story.
Iowa Law mock arbitration baseball course with adjunct professor Dan Matheson

Iowa law students play moneyball

Tuesday, March 9, 2021
A University of Iowa College of Law class uses America’s pastime to give students experience in arbitration—and an opportunity to earn top honors for written work in a national competition.
Group of Iowa Law alum in Street Law shirts walking in downtown Iowa City

Iowa Law alumni create nonprofit to educate youth on Fourth Amendment rights

Monday, March 8, 2021
In response to the killing of Michael Brown and the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, law students Crystal Pound and Alex Lodge created a Street Law course at Iowa Law. They set out to educate youths about what is permitted from both sides of an interaction with law enforcement, with the hopes it could lead to future de-escalation of similar scenarios in local communities.
Masked Students outside of the Boyd Law Building on a sunny fall day

Iowa Law students address the pandemic's impact on the workplace

Wednesday, March 3, 2021
This semester, law students have been doing cutting-edge research into how the pandemic is impacting work laws, as it re-arranges workplaces, requires business closures, transforms the ways we get goods, decimates the service sector, and sickens millions of workers. 
Iowa Law grad Abishi Cunningham's family standing next to the Class of 1941's composite photo

Remembering Abishi Cunningham's legacy

Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Abishi Cunningham came to Iowa Law in 1939. In his home state, West Virginia University did not accept black students. He graduated in 1941 and returned to West Virginia to open his legal practice. His daughter and grandchildren recently visited Iowa Law to learn more about their family's legacy.
Gail Agrawal, Ted Seldin, and Bruce Harreld standing in the Ted M. Seldin Portico at the Boyd Law Building

Ted M. Seldin, a life well lived

Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Theodore "Ted" M. Seldin was an entrepreneur with a passion for giving back. He was instrumental in shaping the national and local legislation related to affordable and fair-housing statutes and a generous advocate of the University of Iowa and the College of Law. During his 89 years, Ted made a lasting impact on all of the communities he served.
Headshot of Professor Jason Rantanen

Patent Warrior: Jason Rantanen's projects seek to help patents serve people

Friday, February 12, 2021
Jason Rantanen, a professor at the UI College of Law, spent his Fall 2020 Obermann Fellow-in-Residency collecting and analyzing data about such cases. Rantanen, whose research area is intellectual property, specifically patent law, wants to help ensure that such cases are being decided objectively.
Boyd Law Building entrance during the winter

Iowa Law's Federal Criminal Defense Clinic fights for compassionate release

Thursday, February 11, 2021
The University of Iowa College of Law has partnered with several other law schools across the United States to advocate for compassionate release during COVID-19, including clinical faculty at University of California Irvine and the University of Chicago. For each of these institutions, advocating for compassionate release not only provides incredible learning opportunities for their students; it also begins to establish a precedent within the courts that lengthy sentences and mandatory minimums must be reevaluated.