Faculty Highlight: Jacquelyn Bridgeman

Diversity awards were recently presented to University of Wyoming faculty, staff and students to recognize stellar achievements and contributions at UW.

Awards, presented during the Celebrating Diversity dinner, are sponsored by the Committee on Women and People of Color (CoWPoC), which was formed last year. Academic Affairs also sponsored the event.

“The awards are to recognize the stellar achievements and contributions of diverse faculty, staff and students at UW. They were nominated by someone at UW and selected by a CoWPoC subcommittee,” says co-chair Jacqueline Leonard, Science and Mathematics Teaching Center director, and Department of Elementary and Early Childhood professor.

There are several categories of “Special Awards” that are conveyed. Professor Jacquelyn Bridgeman was the recipient of the Leadership Award for her outstanding work in both the College of Law and across the main campus to boost diversity in enrollment and academic support.

Professor Bridgeman is the Kepler Distinguished Professor of Law at the College of Law. She served as the Interim Dean of the College of Law from October 2013 – June 2015. Previously she has served as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Professor Bridgeman has been a member of the University of Wyoming’s College of Law faculty since 2002. She teaches in the areas of Employment law, Legal Writing, Torts, and Family Law. She also teaches an undergraduate seminar on African Americans and the American Legal System.

Congratulations to Professor Bridgeman on this well deserved award!

You be the Judge – November 18-19, 2015

The Wyoming 2^nd Judicial District for Albany and Carbon Counties, in conjunction with the Wyoming Supreme Court, is pleased to present You Be The Judge at the Albany County District Courthouse, November 18th & 19th, 2015, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

You Be The Judge is an interactive community outreach program designed to educate Wyoming citizens on the purposes and responsibilities of the Wyoming judicial system. The program is designed to provide participants with a behind the scenes glimpse into the difficult decisions faced by Wyoming judges.  Attendees learn how the Wyoming judicial system works, how judges are selected, and what the rule of law is.

In addition, legal arguments will be presented on various topics, including: 4th Amendment issues, divorce/custody issues, landlord/tenant issues, and evidence suppression. After hearing the legal arguments, the audience will be asked to make a ruling on the matter. The arguments will be presented by local attorneys, and the discussion facilitated by professors at the UW College of Law.

Throughout the event participants are given the opportunity to ask questions and to weigh in on how they would rule on the particular case. Participants will hear from District Court Judge Jeffrey A. Donnell, Wade E. Waldrip, and Circuit Court Judge Robert A. Castor on the Wednesday, November 18^th, and from Chief Justice E. James Burke and Justice Michael Davis, Justice Kate Fox, and Justice Keith Kautz of the Wyoming Supreme Court on Thursday, November 19th.

The public is invited to attend and encouraged to participate in both sessions. There will be light refreshments provided as well as CLE credit for attorneys through the Wyoming State Bar Association.

Albany County Courthouse, 525 Grand Avenue, District Court Room, Laramie, WY 82070.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please call Tori Kricken at 307-721-5554.

Alumni Highlight: V. Frank Mendicino, II

The College of Law would like to congratulate alumnus V. Frank Mendicino II on the reception of the University of Wyoming Medallion Service Award for 2015. The Medallion Service Award is awarded by the Alumni Association and is a way to honor its recipients and acknowledge their many contributions of time, talent, or support of the University.

Mendicino grew up in Cheyenne. However, he did not immediately choose UW for his college. Instead, he started at the University of Colorado in the fall of 1957 on a partial tennis scholarship. “I was thinking I wanted to leave Wyoming. It only took me a semester to realize it was too big, and it was too different from how I was raised.” He made the switch to Laramie, which he calls the start of a “fantastic experience.” He joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and got involved in student government. In between completing his bachelor’s degree and starting law school, he served in the Army.

Mendicino practiced law in Laramie, and in 1972 he was elected to the state Legislature representing Albany County. He served one term, then was asked to co-chair Ed Herschler’s first gubernatorial campaign. “Defying all the odds, he was elected,” Mendicino says, “so I became his attorney general.”

Pictured: Frank Mendicino, Barbara Mendicino, Senator Al Simpson, Ann Simpson, Dean Klint Alexander

That period gave Mendicino the opportunity to run what he says was in effect the biggest law firm in the state. He did things lawyers in rural states rarely get to do, such as arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court and getting involved in complex rule making.

As he was deciding what to do next, he heard from an old friend from Cheyenne who’d gotten involved in a venture capital fund in California. Unlike Mendicino, this person and his partner had never managed money on behalf of limited partners. So in 1981, Mendicino joined them in California. Even while working at the firm, he continued to practice law in Wyoming, commuting frequently.

When in the late 1990s the firm opened offices in Texas and in Denver, Mendicino took that chance to return to the Rocky Mountains. Now, he has homes in Denver and Laramie and is very involved with various projects at UW.

Mendicino was recognized for his service to the University during Homecoming, which included a presentation at the College of Law. His remarks were not only inspiring, but were further evidence of his insightful contributions, offering valuable guidance to current law students.

Director of Career Services

The College of Law has hired Ashli Tomisich as the new Director of Career Services. Ashli is a 2011 Graduate of the College of Law. During her time in law school, Ashli was the Student Director of the Family and Child Legal Advocacy Clinic (formerly called the Domestic Violence Assistance Program). She has worked in private practice in Wyoming with Lathrop & Rutledge in Cheyenne, and most recently worked at the Child Support Services Office in Laramie as their State Attorney. She is enthusiastic, has a lot of great connections, a love for the University and plans to rejuvenate the Career Services office.

If you have any inquiries regarding on-campus interviews, job postings, mock interviews, or simply wish to volunteer your time to talk with students about your career path or experience, please do not hesitate to contact Ashli.

The College of Law is extremely pleased to have Ashli on board!

Northern Ireland Speakers and Law Week

October 12, 2015 marks the beginning of Law Week at the University of Wyoming College of Law. Law Week is a forum that features speakers from a wide range of backgrounds in government, academia, public interest groups, and private practice. All presentations are arranged by student groups within the College of Law and the week is organized by the Potter Law Club. The week of presentations is always informative and at the forefront of pressing issues in modern legal discourse. In addition to hosting Oral Arguments by the Wyoming Supreme Court in the College of Law’s state-of-the-art courtroom, Law Week is also an opportunity to gain free Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits. For a full schedule of speakers and presentations, please visit the Law Week page on the College of Law website.

Featured Presentation: Building Community across Difference: Lessons from Northern Ireland

The Center for International Human Rights Law and Advocacy at the University of Wyoming College of Law, along with its UW partners, the Simpson Fund of the Political Science Department, Global and Area Studies and International Programs, announce a lecture Building Community Across Difference: Lessons from Northern Ireland. The talk will feature Dr. Tom Frawley and the Reverend John Dunlop, civil leaders in Northern Ireland who will share their stories and perspective.

Dr. Frawley and the Rev. Dunlop are colleagues of UW Trustee, Michelle Sullivan, who worked with them on a collaborative effort to host an international dialogue on the theme of accommodating differences and pursuing reconciliation.  The meeting took place in Dublin and Belfast in 2010.

Dr. Frawley and Rev. Dunlop’s dialogue will explore the challenges  associated with any community where there are differences of perspective, identity and power. Ultimately the presenters and moderator will explore what lessons can be drawn from a place like Northern Ireland that can be of tangible use to other community leaders and advocates in other settings.

Based in Belfast, Dr. Thomas Frawley is the Northern Ireland Assembly Ombudsman. Appointed in 2000, he is the longest serving Ombudsman since the office was created in 1969. Frawley is responsible for investigating complaints against public organizations in Northern Ireland, including Government Departments, their Agencies and Health Service providers.

Reverend John Dunlop is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.  He has been one of the most respected and vocal figures within Irish Presbyterianism, promoting cultural tolerance between Protestant and Roman Catholics in Ireland. In 1992-93, he served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

The Law Week presentation will take place Wednesday, October 14, 2015 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm in the College of Law Large Moot Court Room. The talk is free and open to the public.

An additional presentation has been arranged for the duo to speak in Jackson, Wyo. on October 16^th. Following their lecture, attorney and mediator Bill Schwartz (J.D. ’83) will moderate a lively discussion with Dr. Frawley and Rev. Dunlop on bridge building across sectarian divisions. For more information, please click here.

More about the presenters:

Dr. Thomas Frawley

Reverend John Dunlop

Faculty Highlight: Professor Duff Named New Associate Dean for Student Programs and External Relations

Effective October 1st, 2015, Professor Michael Duff will be stepping into his new role at the College of Law as Associate Dean for Student Programs and External Relations. Traditionally, the College of Law has had two Associate Deans, one for Academic Affairs and one for Student Services. Since the fall of 2013, the College of Law has been one Associate Dean short, leaving an overwhelming amount of administrative duties on the current administration. The appointment of Duff will not only alleviate some of that burden, but will also expand the College of Law’s existing programs and further develop relations within the state and around the nation.

As Associate Dean for Student Programs and External Relations, Duff will be tasked with addressing many of the challenges experienced in the current climate of legal education. Law schools nationwide have faced a decline in student applications, dramatic increases in tuition rates and student loan debts, a constrained job market, and a lower bar passage rate. Duff will oversee and work closely with both the Director of Career Services and the Director of Admissions to enhance job placement and external opportunities for students, as well as ensure that external efforts in recruiting are effective and efficient for attracting the best students possible to the College of Law.

Additionally, Professor Duff will also be charged with ensuring the success of students currently enrolled at the College of Law, by enhancing development strategies to promote success in the classroom and on the bar exam.

Professor Duff is excited to take on the new role. “I am incredibly honored that Dean Alexander and the Faculty of the College of Law have entrusted me with a range of duties that have become significantly complicated in an era of unprecedented change in legal education,” he says. “I am excited by the unique opportunity I have been presented to work on innovative solutions to these complications.”

Professor Duff has been at the University of Wyoming College of Law since 2006. He founded the College of Law’s Academic Support Program and directed it for seven years. He currently teaches courses in Labor Law, Workers’ Compensation Law, and Torts, and is the College’s Centennial Distinguished Professor of Law. Prior to teaching at UW, he worked as an attorney for eleven years. He earned his B.A. in Philosophy from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Harvard.