Professor Van Detta Named the John E. Ryan Professor of International Business & Workplace Law

Dean Richardson Lynn is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, in recognition of Professor Jeffrey Van Detta’s distinguished service to the law school, his excellence as a teacher, and the breadth and depth of his scholarship, has conferred upon him a named Chair in Law:  The John E. Ryan Professor Of International Business & Workplace Law. Congratulations Professor Van Detta on this prestigious accomplishment.

Daily Report Interviews Dean Lynn about Spring Enrollment Announcement

Following Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School’s announcement of its new spring enrollment for prospective students, the Daily Report interviewed Dean Richardson Lynn about the law school’s decision.

For those in a hurry, Lynn said that the spring and summer semesters will comprise the first year, thus allowing a student to compress the normal three years of study into two and a half years. The school says students who enter in the spring will take criminal procedure and criminal law in their first year to ensure they are prepared for the fall semester and second year.  He says the arrangement will require more faculty resources.

“While I always urge college students planning to go to law school to take at least two years off between college and law school,” Lynn adds, “they never listen.  This is a good option for December college graduates who don’t want to wait until the following August and the handful of students who plan to start in August, but have a health or personal issue at the last minute; they could start the next January, rather than wait an entire year.”

For the full story, click here. Prospective student interested in spring admission are encouraged to speak with an admissions professional at admissions@johnmarshall.edu or call (404) 872-3593 ##Ext. 261261. Information regarding our spring admission will also be discussed at the law school’s Fall Prospective Student Open House from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 21, 2013 at the Blackburn Conference Center, located on the campus of the law school. To RSVP, click here.

AJMLS Ranked No. 24 of Top Law Schools for Externships by PreLaw Magazine

Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School was ranked one of the nation’s top law schools for externships by PreLaw Magazine in their most recent issue. The Back to School edition includes a two-page spread of the top law schools for externship opportunities. AJMLS ranked 24th amongst schools like Brigham Young University (5th) and Drexel University (21st).

According to PreLaw Magazine, “Externship programs continue to expand each year as law school strive to teach more real-life skills and students seek the experience employers’ desire.” The article goes on to say, “Legal educators have been calling for more experiential opportunities since the early 1990s. Now, fueled by the need to better prepare graduates, law school are responding.”

Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School would like to recognize Renata Turner and Bridgett Ortega in our Pro Bono and Experiential Learning Department for their hard work and commitment to maximizing opportunities for students through experiential learning.

For the full article from PreLaw Magazine, click here.

Professor Rapping Interviewed by The Seattle Times in Indigent Defense Case

Jon Rapping, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School professor and founder and president of Gideon’s Promise, a national organization aimed at improving indigent defense, was recently interviewed by The Seattle Times regarding an ongoing indigent-defense case.

The Seattle Times reports:

Today, many in America’s legal and law-enforcement communities — from judges and prosecutors to defense lawyers — believe the promise of Gideon v. Wainwright, grounded in the Sixth Amendment, has mostly gone unfulfilled. To prove it, some point to Mount Vernon and Burlington.

The Skagit County towns are at the center of a groundbreaking class-action civil-rights lawsuit over indigent defense filed two years ago by the American Civil Liberties Union, alleging misdemeanor defendants were given little more than a “meet ’em, greet ’em and plead ’em” defense by a pair of public defenders expected to handle more than 2,000 cases a year.

Now, with a Seattle-based U.S. District Court judge set to rule on the case, Mount Vernon and Burlington may become part of an unprecedented solution — the first-ever federal-court takeover of a public-defender system.

The goal, Rapping said, should be that the indigent accused “receive the same kind of representation that you or I would pay for.” The reality at this point, however, is that most public-defender agencies — including the federal Public Defender’s Office — are struggling with budget cuts and a paucity of resources, he said. “It’s unfortunate, but over the years we have become accustomed to a lower standard of justice for poor people,” Rapping said.

To read the full article, click here.