The Red Velvet Lawyer

The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Project  at the Appalachian School of Law The Appalachian School of Law offers three  pro bono service programs.  Today, I'll talk about the first program --  the Court Appointed Special Advocates ( CASA ) program.   In later postings, here  and  here , I profile the VITA tax service program and the Great Eastern Trail project, respectively. Court Appointed Special Advocates CASA is a national organization managed on a state and local basis through the court system.  The 29 th Judicial District, which includes Buchanan County , employs case managers to supervise volunteers from the community.  ASL students serve as the majority of the local volunteers.   ASL students spend 30 hours in intensive training at the school to learn to advocate for children in court.  ASL provides a classroom and materials for the training.   The trainer brings in speakers from the Department of Social Services ( DSS ), the police dep

A quick review of the postings by scambloggers suggests that ASL grads are a sorry lot.  Too bad the facts say otherwise. Without going into additional detail, which I will happily do in later postings, I can say with great pride that our graduates have already ascended to these professional heights in public service positions: 1 state legislator (2011 grad) 5 judges (2002-2009 grads) 4 judicial clerks (2007-2012 grads) 6 Commonwealth Attorneys (2000-2008 grads) 4 in Judge Advocates General Corps (2003-2011 grads) 1 in federal government (Soc. Sec. Adm.) (2005 grad) 3 in state government (2004-2006 grads) This data does not reflect employment by our most recent grads.   This list reveals that in a very short time after graduation, our graduates assume public service positions that further the service mission of the school, provide financial security for the families of these alumni, and show --  in the best way possible

We have a law school that looks like a law school! An ABA accreditation team found:  “The physical structure . . . is an especially imaginative and thorough-going remake of a . . .  public school facility.  It has a high degree of functionality, is a thing of beauty, and dominates the landscape of the town and environs.” The Main Building Appalachian School of Law uses a renovated Depression-era school, built as a WPA project in a Jeffersonian-architectural style, for its main campus building of 45,572 square feet.   It houses most of the classrooms, administrative offices, and faculty member offices.   Those Depression-era masons so soundly laid the original brickwork that ASL ’s founders made no structural change during renovations in 1997.   The renovation project earned an award from the American Institute of Architects and has drawn other acclaim.        The ABA accreditation team also noted: "As in the case of most mountain towns, the small va

5,000 Friends and family (perhaps mostly family): You helped me reach a milestone much earlier than ever expected! Some time this morning, while I was doing laundry, you pushed to over 5,000 my total page views for the blog I launched in March. I truly appreciate your interest in this aspect of my "voice." Next month I hope to do some in-depth interviews of our faculty members.  After that, I'd like to profile many of our students and alumni. I love you all!  Really. Let me know what else I can do to make your student or law practice lives easier or more informed.   Feel free to send me suggested topics.

In response to interest expressed by our students, Appalachian School of Law offered several summer school courses that met students' scheduling and geographic needs. These courses further benefit students by giving them options to pursue interests that our bar-focused curriculum makes more challenging during the regular school year.   The courses made it much easier to satisfy the requirements of two certificate programs: the Lawyer as Problem-Solver certificate and the Natural Resources Law certificate.  More than fifty (50) students registered for the four courses offered in the summer of 2013: Workers' Compensation [and ADR], Oil & Gas Law, Law Office Practice, and Renewable [Energy Sources].  For a description of the courses, see our catalog . Background Several years ago, Appalachian School of Law tried to offer a more traditional law school format with courses scheduled during the months of June or July.  A few students found these off

In August of 2013, the  Appalachian School of Law began offering a new advanced degree.   The Master’s in Legal Studies (MLS) degree serves students who: Are interested in being trained in the law for professional development;  Want a birds-eye view of what legal studies is like without committing yet to the rigors of the entire law school experience; Seek the possibility of receiving special admissions consideration to the JD program by successfully completing the MLS degree (perhaps because they have a lower GPA or LSAT score); or  Work in a field that is law-related, heavily regulated, or is benefited by specialized legal knowledge, like:  paralegal,  human resources,  ethics/compliance,  contract marketing and/or analysis,  general management, and  similar fields. A student can complete the Master’s degree in one year, but may take up to three years to complete the thirty-one (31) credit hours required for graduati

This week, I held my last Board meeting as President of the Virginia Mediation Network (VMN).  It was a bittersweet moment giving me a chance to reflect back on all we had accomplished and the chance to say: "What's next!" I remember the first meeting I conducted as VMN President, in October 2012.  I arrived frazzled and exhausted after staying up most of the night reading all the copies I could assemble of the minutes of past-Board meetings.  I was trying to find the loose threads that I might need to follow or tie up. Then I turned my attention to my Dad's very old, yellow-stained, version of the Robert's Rules of Order that he had used as President of some professional organization a long time ago. I was trying to learn how to conduct the meeting the next day. I was overwhelmed, but worked hard to be ready for the trust my tribe had placed in me.  As part of that personal growth of trusting myself and earning the trust of my tribe, I had: Attended a