2008 has been a momentous year for OCU LAW. We have played host to two U.S. Supreme Court Justices, Dean Zuo Haicong of Nankai University School of Law in Tianjin, China as well as a delegation of Nankai students and Tianjin Bar Association lawyers, seen the publication of a book detailing the first century of our history, and continued to serve our students and our community with the highest quality legal education. Below is a slideshow of some of this year’s highlights:

On Saturday, Dec. 20, OCU LAW awarded the juris doctor degree to 20 students in the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel at OCU. Oklahoma Bar Association President-elect Jon K. Parsley delivered the commencement address, titled "The Bridge." Mr. Parsley, who runs a solo practice in his lifelong hometown of Guymon, Okla., will assume the OBA presidency on Jan. 1, 2009, replacing current OBA President and OCU General Counsel and Distinguished Lecturer in Law J. William Conger. In the process, Parsley, who has served on numerous task forces and committees for the OBA, will become one of the 15,000-member organization’s youngest presidents. 

Photos from the ceremony are available at the OCU LAW Flickr site, and are available for download. Sign in to Flickr with a Yahoo! ID and you may also order prints from the ceremony. A tutorial on how to use Flickr is available here. 

A slideshow of the photos is below:

In this year-end edition of the OCU LAW News Podcast, we take a look back at our faculty spotlight features throughout the year, featuring discussions on everything from the second amendment, Roman law and its relevance to the modern-day American legal system, mediation efforts in tribal areas of Africa, this year’s session of the Oklahoma legislature, and much, much more.

To listen to the podcast, click below or in the podcast player at left. The podcast also is available through iTunes, Podcast Alley and Odeo. 

 

 Episode 11 - December 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This month’s episode of "Profiles in Success" features Jennifer Killman, OCU LAW’s Senior Loan Counselor, who talks about the availability of federal student aid to help students to pay for law school in today’s volatile economic climate, as well as ways to manage money throughout their law school experience. 

"Be prepared to live like a student," Jennifer says. "You will be living on a very lean budget if you plan to live on financial aid." 

Also featured is OCU LAW’s Assistant Dean for Professional and Career Development Gina Rowsam, who talks about some of PCDC’s current recruiting efforts and what students can do now to optimize their career searches.

Listen to this month’s "Profiles in Success" podcast in the player at left or by playing below.

 

 Profiles 03 - December 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Richard Coulson, Professor Emeritus: "Reflections on the Legal Profession and Legal Education" from OCU School of Law on Vimeo.

OCU LAW Professor Emeritus Richard E. Coulson delivered the address at the annual OCU LAW Alumni Luncheon during the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Annual Meeting on Nov. 19. The title of his remarks was "Reflections on the Legal Profession and Legal Education."  

Coulson, an OCU LAW alumnus who graduated in 1968, began his teaching career at OCU LAW in 1969. Coulson’s wife and son are OCU alumni, and his daughter, Mary, graduated from OCU LAW in 1991.

Professor Coulson clerked for Chief Judge A. P. Murrah of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. He has served on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, by appointment of President James E. Carter; he chaired the Oklahoma Governor’s Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, by appointment of then-Governor David L. Boren; was special master for Oklahoma’s federal courts in the remedies portion of a large employment discrimination pattern and practice action; and was a judge for the Temporary Division of the Oklahoma Court of Appeals. He is active as a commercial arbitrator. He was in private practice in commercial law and bankruptcy reorganization. He is a member of the American Society of Legal History, the Selden Society, a director of the American Society of Comparative Law, and an editor of The American Journal of Comparative Law.

The most recent edition of OCU LAW’s Professional and Career Development Center’s e-Newsletter is now online. PCDC eNews is published twice a month during the spring and fall semesters, with special editions during the summer.

In This Issue:

Tips to "recession proof" one’s career:

Arrive at work on time, if not early, and stay late.

Dress more conservatively than usual. 

Take advantage of training opportunities.

Begin building a professional network.

Be grateful. 

Don’t worry.

OCU LAW alumnus Steven R. Foster ‘08 has joined the OCU LAW faculty as Director of Academic Achievement. Foster graduated OCU LAW in May 2008 summa cum laude and ranked #2 in his class. He was a member of the Native American Law Student Association, William J. Holloway, Jr. American Inn of Court, and the ABA Law Student Division. Foster received the Cali Award of Excellence for highest grades in 17 classes, the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Medal of Excellence, the Judge Dwain Box Memorial Award for Outstanding Appellate Advocate, and OCU LAW’s Outstanding Graduate Award for Most Likely To Succeed, and was a member of the Order of the Barristers and the NNALSA Moot Court Team, where he won 2nd place brief and 3rd place individual oralist in national competition. 

Foster earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 2005 from the University of Oklahoma and served as an assistant debate coach at Norman North High School throughout his law school career. Immediately after graduating from OCU LAW he worked as a legal intern for Fenton, Fenton, Smith, Reneau & Moon in Oklahoma City. 

In January, when OCU LAW alumna Christina Melton Crain ‘91 is sworn in as the president of the Dallas Bar Association, she will be the 100th person to hold the position. Crain, who served for five years on the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, will now have another honor to add to her list of accolades: the Gatesville, Texas, prison, which houses about 1,200 female offenders, will now be known as the Christina Melton Crain Unit. 

The Dallas Morning News’ CRIME blog featured the Unit’s new name in a post last week. 

Crain was the first woman to serve as chair of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, where she acted as liaison between the Texas governor and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which manages the nation’s second largest criminal justice program. She also was listed as one of the "Best Lawyers Under 40 in Dallas" in both 2002 and 2004 by D Magazine. She runs a successful private practice which focuses on child advocacy and mediation. 

photo courtesy Dallas Morning News.