School of Law

Kent D. Syverud JD, dean of the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and the Ethan A. H. Shepley University Professor, has been named an independent trustee of the $20 billion BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust. He is one of two appointees who will oversee the newly established trust designed to settle claims against BP resulting from the Deepwater Horizon explosion April 20.

A district judge’s decision to overturn California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage technically puts the issue one step away from the U.S. Supreme Court. But Washington University in St. Louis experts say a final ruling may wait until other, similar cases work their way through the legal system.

The Senate’s approval of Elena Kagan as a U.S. Supreme Court justice marks the first time three women will serve together and gives the court its youngest member, among other shifts.

A comprehensive study by an intellectual property law expert published in the journal Science may guide global climate change and other scientific policy-makers in developing rules for research data release. 

Four School of Law faculty members have received Fulbright awards for the 2010-11 school year. They are Dorsey D. Ellis Jr., JD; ; David Law, JD, PhD; Jo Ellen Lewis, JD; and Leila N. Sadat, JD.

The U.S. Justice Department lawsuit filed July 6 against Arizona’s controversial new immigration law will likely see partial success, according to a Washington University in St. Louis law professor. But he predicts the legal battle will extend beyond Arizona.

Hillary A. Sale, JD, securities law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, talks with Steve Chiotakis of Marketplace Public Radio about whether it’s difficult to prosecute derivatives trading and what she’s watching closely about cases coming down the pike.

The Brookings Institution and Washington University’s Academic Venture Fund (AVF) is seeking proposals from fellows, faculty, staff, centers, institutes and programs.

The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representative are working toward a final version of the financial reform bill, which is expected be on the desk of President Barack Obama by July 4. Securities law expert Hillary A. Sale, JD, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, says that is coming at a good time for the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Washington University School of Law has developed a new summer course, the Associate in Training (AIT) Program, which focuses on advanced lawyering skills training and professional skill development. “The goal of the AIT Program is to give law students an opportunity to improve their practical skills and knowledge of a variety of types of law firm settings,” says Tomea Mayer Mersmann, JD, associate dean for strategic initiatives.