Newsroom

U.S. News ranks Lewis & Clark Law’s environmental law program number one in the nation for 2021, as well as 2020 rankings. Plus we have nationally recognized programs in Animal Law, Criminal Law, Intellectual Property, Business Law and Public Interest Law.

Professor Dan Rohlf’s interdisciplinary paper, co-authored with Carlos Carroll, Bridgett VonHoldt, Adrian Treves, & Sarah Hendricks, was cited in the October 29, 2020, New York Times article describing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) decision to remove federal protections for grey wolves under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Professor Jack Bogdanski’s treatise, Federal Tax Valuation,was cited, and quoted, by the U.S. Tax Court on November 19, 2020, in the court’s opinion in Fakiris v. Commissioner.

The Small Business Legal Clinic (SBLC) has been working to educate entrepreneurs on patents to protect their unique products as well as filing patent applications for clients.

Earthrise Law Center, at Lewis & Clark Law School, on behalf of their client San Francisco Baykeeper, recently won an important case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to protect salt ponds in Redwood City, California.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Disability Rights and the Law School Admission Council created a video featuring disabled lawyers and law students.
Law school student and SBA President Amanda Pham Haines ’21 was featured in the ABA video.

The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) at Lewis & Clark Law School presented at the annual Oregon Migrant Education Program (MEP) Conference, November 6 and 7, 2020.

The Criminal Justice Reform Clinic (CJRC) and Clinic Director Aliza Kaplan were prominently featured in the OSB Bulletin for the work Professor Kaplan and the Clinic have done to end nonunanimous jury convictions and help people convicted by a nonunanimous jury post Ramos.

The Criminal Justice Reform Clinic (CJRC) petitioned for and received an amazing 14 commutations for their clients since April of this year. CJRC also made Oregon history when Governor Kate Brown commuted its client to the Parole Board after reducing his sentence from Life Without Parole to Life, the first time such a commutation has happened in Oregon.

The 28th Annual Animal Law Conference—Impacts On Animals In A Changing Climate—was held October 23-25th and was a “virtual” triumph!

Studies have proven a clear link between domestic violence and animal cruelty. Animal advocates can play an important role in stopping violence to human and non-human animal victims, by becoming allies in the fight against domestic violence.

The Oregon State Bar is honoring four alumni from Lewis & Clark Law School. The 2020 Annual Awards, will be presented on November 6, 2020, in a virtual ceremony.

Lewis & Clark law students were highlighted In the October 2020 issue of Multnomah Lawyer for their work as Legal Observers (LO) during the protests that have been happening every night since May 25 in downtown Portland.

Professor Alexandra B. Klass, University of Minnesota Law School was the 32^nd annual Distinguished Environmental Law Visitor.

Lewis & Clark’s environmental law program honored several alumni on October 13, 2020, in a virtual event.

Dr. Rajesh K. Reddy is stepping into a new role as the Global Animal Law and Advanced Degree Program Director for the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School, after serving as the Animal Law LLM Program Director since 2018.

The Sammons Family Charitable Foundation has generously donated $5,000 to the Lezak Legacy Endowment Fund at Lewis & Clark Law School. The Foundation intends to make this an annual commitment to support Lezak Legacy Program.

The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) is co-counseling with attorney Ellen Kreitmeier to represent several farmworkers from Jamaica who were in the United States on H2A visas to harvest apples in 2018. The IRS rejected the farmworkers’ claims for a personal exemption based on a misapplication of a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This caused the farmworkers to pay taxes on every dollar earned.

Jason Yarashes ’12, lead attorney and program coordinator of the Virginia Justice Project for Farm and Immigrant Workers at the Legal Aid Justice Center, led the charge to get Virginia to pass the first COVID-19 enforceable emergency workplace standard in the United States. Other states, including Oregon, are using this development to try and push their respective states and localities to do the same.