KU Law Blog

David Simon joins KU Law faculty as visiting assistant professor

David Simon has joined the KU Law faculty as a visiting assistant professor. He is teaching torts this fall, and will teach courses in criminal law and patent law this spring.

Simon said he’s looking forward to the potential for interdisciplinary work at a large research university, and the chance to connect with students at KU Law.

“There’s opportunity for interaction with students on a one-to-one basis. That was important to me, making sure I can connect with the students and really engage them while I’m teaching,” he said.

Simon recently completed a Ph.D. in law at the University of Cambridge, where he was a Cambridge International Scholar. He earned an LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 2011 and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2008.

His research focuses on the intersection of health and intellectual property, as well as examining authors’ rights in copyright. Current projects include examining how trademark law can potentially improve public safety, and how physicians’ prescribing practices can identify new uses for existing medications without the need for patent rights.

An interest in intellectual property combined with experiences with the healthcare system drives those research projects, Simon said.

“Part of intellectual property’s appeal is its subject matter. It’s about fun stuff. It’s about books and movies and Coca-Cola and all the things that everybody knows. Intellectual property is something that everybody can get their head around because they interact with it on a daily basis,” he said.

“I became interested in health law through personal experience in the healthcare system. Navigating the medical system motivated me to understand how we can improve it, though various legal regimes such as intellectual property law, tort law and evidence law. The medical system is so large and complex — perhaps too large for the average patient — that no single legal regime could, by itself, adequately regulate it.”

Simon has taught at Harvard University, the University of Navarra, the European School of Economics, and Greenbriar Elementary School. Before coming to KU Law, he practiced law in Chicago, first at a commercial litigation firm and later at his own firm, simon law group llc.

— By Margaret Hair

New Assistant Dean creates wellness programming at law school

*Leah Terranova recently began a new role as assistant dean for academic and student affairs at KU Law. Photo by Ashley Golledge.*

Leah Terranova recently began a new role as assistant dean for academic and student affairs at the University of Kansas School of Law. Terranova has been with KU Law since 2012 as the law school’s director of career and student counseling services.

Terranova succeeds Elizabeth Kronk Warner, who began a deanship in July at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.

As an assistant dean, Terranova oversees student life at the law school and serves as the primary contact with enrolled students. Terranova creates and implements programs and services designed to positively impact the satisfaction and retention of students. Terranova also coordinates the law school’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“The thing I’m most passionate and excited about is working with students on initiatives that will make their experience here richer,” Terranova said.

In her new role, Terranova has created wellness programming that emphasizes the importance of law students’ mental health and wellbeing.

One of the wellness initiatives that Terranova launched was to bring Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) peer listeners to Green Hall. Every Tuesday, CAPS peer listeners will be in Green Hall from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. to provide a listening ear, tips for managing stress and goal setting, and information about resources available to KU Law students.

“I am trying to make more opportunities available for students on campus that will serve their wellness needs,” Terranova said. “CAPS trained counselors will give law students an outlet to use and a safe space in the building that they can turn to.”

Through her former role as director of career and student counseling services, Terranova became aware of how the culture of law school and law practice does not necessarily support healthy balance in law students’ or law practitioners’ lives. A study by the American Psychology Association found that lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression than non-lawyers.

“Three years is a long time to spend tackling mental health issues without any assistance. It shouldn’t have to be that way,” Terranova said. “There is another way to move through law school with greater positivity and authenticity. Hopefully, some of these wellness initiatives will help students connect to their own personal values.”

Terranova is also bringing Mindful Mondays and yoga in the Wheat Law Library to the law school. Both are programs are aimed at practicing mindfulness and reducing stress. Mindful Mondays will be led by Blake Wilson, a long-time practitioner of Zen and the assistant director for instructional & faculty services in the Wheat Law Library.

“Each session will focus on different aspects of mindfulness: breathing, senses, body, movement, emotions and thoughts,” Wilson said.

For the 2019-20 academic year, Terranova will serve as a University of Kansas Staff Fellow. This year’s Staff Fellows Project focuses on mental health and its stigma and misconceptions, which create barriers to an inclusive culture on campus. Terranova is excited about the opportunity to be involved with this campus project.

Terranova comes to the role in KU Law’s administration with a range of different legal experiences, including practicing insurance law at a firm in New York City, serving as a public defender, and working in landlord-tenant law as a real estate manager.

She completed her undergraduate studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Terranova earned a J.D. at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

She said she’s eager to use her legal experiences in both traditional and nontraditional legal work to advise law students and help them navigate the academic landscape of law school.

“I’m really passionate about wellness initiatives, and I think they can really change the way a student experiences law school,” Terranova said. “When students are in a better place personally, they have more time and energy to focus on academic success.”

— By Ashley Golledge

Meet the Dean’s Diversity Leadership Council

Established in 2015, the Dean’s Diversity Leadership Council (DDLC) is KU Law’s student committee dedicated to promoting diversity and fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of the KU Law community.

The DDLC, composed of 11 students, collaborates with the Dean’s office and the Faculty and Staff Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEI) to provide educational programming and community-building events focused on diversity and inclusion matters. Members of both the DDLC and the DEI committees, in an effort to make our programming and events more tailored to the needs of the student body, welcome and encourage students to contact us with ideas, concerns, or general input. Scroll down to see a listing of the DDLC and DEI members, along with information about their involvement at KU Law and their emails for easy contact.

This year, the DDLC and the DEI are excited to host a new series of brown bag lunches which will be aimed at providing education and training for our entire KU Law community around the issues of diversity and inclusion. Assistant Dean for Academic & Student Affairs Leah Terranova said administration is excited about taking a more proactive role in creating an environment that promotes diversity and fosters inclusion.

“The brown bag lunches are a way of creating space for discussions that, while sometimes difficult, are important for us to have with one another,” Terranova said.

The first of these lunches was held on Sept. 11, and it was focused on creating community standards for communication and interactions during the brown bag discussions. Terranova said the goal of the initial lunch was to establish standards that will both benefit the brown bag lunches as well as help maintain a tolerant and compassionate environment throughout all of Green Hall.

This semester’s remaining brown bag lunches are scheduled for Wednesday Oct. 9 and Nov. 13 over the lunch hour. Specific details will be posted in Dean Mai’s weekly newsletter closer to those dates.

The DEI will also be hosting the KU Law Diversity Dash and Welcome BBQ on Sept. 19, with the dash starting at 4:45 p.m. in Room 104 and the BBQ at 5:15 p.m on the Green Hall Patio. This will provide students a fun way to learn about the diversity within Green Hall and connect the student body with KU Law’s diverse student organization leadership.

Additionally, in an effort to make diversity and inclusion resources at KU more accessible to the student body, the DDLC has created a resource brochure that includes information about offices and organizations on KU’s campus that handle issues of diversity and inclusion. An online version of this brochure is available here.

The DDLC and DEI committees are excited for the new initiatives being introduced this year, and eager to collaborate with the larger student body to provide truly valuable programming that’s both engaging and effective. Don’t hesitate to reach out to any committee member via their emails below, or to the DDLC as a whole at ddlc@googlegroups.com.

DDLC Committee Members

Malika Baker

Hometown: Lansing, KS
Undergrad: University of Kansas
Student Org Involvement: Black Law Students Association Vice President, Women in Law
Email: m121b002@ku.edu

Michael Bené

Hometown: Prairie Village, KS
Undergrad: University of Kansas (BA, currently enrolled in MA in Economics)
Student Org Involvement: Hispanic American Law Student Association, Graduate and International Programs Committee, Vice President of KU Flying Club
Email: m488b813@ku.edu

Terra Brockman

Hometown: Kansas City, KS
Undergrad: University of Kansas (Rock Chalk, baby!)
Student Org Involvement: Student Bar Association President, Student Ambassador, Mock Trial Counsel, Graduate Student Advisory Board
Email: terrabrockman@ku.edu

Claudia Chavarria

Hometown: El Paso, TX
Undergrad: University of Texas at El Paso
Student Org Involvement: Hispanic American Law Students Association, International Law Society, First Generation Professionals, Women in Law
Email: cichavarria@ku.edu

Denise Dantzler

Hometown: Omaha, NE
Undergrad: MidAmerica Nazarene University
Student Org Involvement: Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy Editor-in-Chief, Lawyering Skills TA, Black Law Students Association
Email: denise.dantzler@ku.edu

Aidan Graybill

Hometown: Lincoln, NE
Undergrad: University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Student Org Involvement: Native American Law Student Association, Women in Law, Mindfulness in Law, American Constitution Society, OUTLaws & Allies, Black Law Students Association
Email: aidan.graybill@ku.edu

Delaney Hiegert

Hometown: Topeka, KS
Undergrad: Newman University
Student Org Involvement: OUTLaws & Allies President, Black Law Students Association 2L representative, ACLU of KU Sergeant-of-Arms
Email: delaney.hiegert@ku.edu

Saber Hossinei

Hometown: Wichita, KS
Undergrad: Wichita State University
Student Org Involvement: Midwest Innocence Project Student Organization Co-Founder and President, Asian Law Students Association student representative, First Generation Professionals, Women in Law, Federal Bar Association
Email: saber@ku.edu

Joy Merklen

Hometown: Bali, Indonesia
Undergrad: University of California, Berkeley
Student Org Involvement: Kansas Law Review Editor-in-Chief, Lawyering Skills TA, Shook Scholar for Civil Procedure, Project for Innocence Student Intern
Email: joymerklen@ku.edu

Bria Nelson

Hometown: Woodstock, IL
Undergrad: Iowa State University (Go Cyclones!)
Student Org Involvement: Black Law Students Association Treasurer, Student Ambassador, Equal Justice Works student representative, OUTLaws & Allies, Hispanic American Law Students Association, ACLU of KU
Email: brianelson@ku.edu

Abe Pfannenstiel

Hometown: WaKeeny, KS
Undergrad: Fort Hays State University
Student Org Involvement: St. Thomas Moore Legal Society, First Generation Professionals, Library Committee, Dole Institute Student Advisory Board
Email: abepfannenstiel@ku.edu

DEI Committee Members

Margaret Hair

Hometown: Greensboro, NC
Campus/Community Involvement: Volunteer with the Ballard Center
Position at KU Law: Director of External Affairs
Email: mhair@ku.edu

Yolanda Huggins

Hometown: Topeka, KS
Campus/Community Involvement: Black Law Student Association, Hispanic American Law Student Association, Volunteer with the Girl Scouts
Position at KU Law: Faculty Support, Administrative Assistant
Email: ylhuggins@ku.edu

Stephen Mazza

Hometown: Huntsville, AL
Campus/Community Involvement: Dean
Courses taught at KU Law: Federal Income Tax, Taxation of Business Enterprises
Email: smazza@ku.edu

Jean Phillips

Hometown: Rapid City, SD
Campus/Community Involvement: Faculty Advisor for First Generation Professionals, Chair of Promotion and Tenure, Member of the Campus Equity Implementation Committee, Associate Scout Advisor for all-female Venture Crew
Courses taught at KU Law: Criminal Procedure, Criminal Practice in Kansas, Director of Project for Innocence and Post-Conviction Remedies
Email: phillips@ku.edu

Betsy Six

Hometown: Lawrence, KS
Campus/Community Involvement: Director of Academic Resources, Student Scholarship Committee Member, KU Academic Systems Steering Committee Member, Volunteer with Family Promise and LINK (Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen)
Courses taught at KU Law: Lawyering Skills I & II, Jurisdiction, Writing for Law Practice
Email: bsix@ku.edu

Leah Terranova

Hometown: New York City, NY
Campus/Community Involvement: Faculty Advisor for OUTLaws & Allies, First Generation Professionals, Non-Traditionals in Law and Mindfulness in Law Society; Director of Diversity; KC LEGAL Board Member; KS Task Force for Lawyer Well-Being Member; Inn of Court Diversity Chair; AALS Section on Balance in Legal Education Executive Committee Member; University of Kansas Staff Fellow
Position at KU Law: Assistant Dean, Academic and Student Affairs
Email: leaht@ku.edu

Kyle Velte

Hometown: Gaithersburg, MD
Campus/Community Involvement: OUTLaws & Allies Faculty Advisor, Committee Member of the KU Law Judicial Clerkship Committee, Appointments Committee, Faculty & Staff Council on Sexuality & Gender Diversity, AALS Section on Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Executive Committee Member, Member of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, Colorado LGBT Bar Association, National LGBT Bar Association, Central States Law School Association Board of Directors
Courses taught at KU Law: Evidence, Torts, Employment Discrimination
Email: kvelte@ku.edu

Shawn Watts

Hometown: Catoosa, OK
Campus/Community Involvement: Native American Law Students Association
Courses taught at KU Law: Lawyering Skills I & II, Mediation Clinic, Tribal Law Clinic
Email: shawn.watts@ku.edu

Lua Yuille

Hometown: Monrovia, CA
Campus/Community Involvement: Volunteer with the Willow Domestic Violence Center, Member of Amnesty International, Association of Political Economy in the Law, LatCrit, ClassCrit, Journal of Law and Political Economy
Courses taught at KU Law: Business Organizations, Immigration, Asylum, Property
Email: lyuille@ku.edu

Ensuring justice through the Project for Innocence

3L Quentin Aker participated in KU Law’s Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence clinic. **Photo by Ashley Golledge.**

I firmly believe that every single law student at KU should participate in a clinic before they leave. My year as an intern in the Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence and Post-Conviction Remedies improved my legal writing, lawyering and client-management skills, and appellate advocacy. Interns also receive a first-hand look at the criminal justice system and the post-conviction remedies available to wrongfully incarcerated individuals.

Every intern in the Project works with at least one other partner under the supervision of a licensed attorney. As a team, you are wholly responsible for your clients’ cases. It is simultaneously nerve-wracking and empowering. It is invaluable experience because interns are able to interview clients in prison, to visit federal and state correctional facilities, and to draft important legal documents.

Interns also work on their people skills, too. This was by far my favorite part. As an intern, I got to directly communicate with court clerks, other attorneys, correctional-facility staff, a diverse range of expert witnesses, family members of the client, and law enforcement officers. You just can’t get that kind of experience in any other class!

— 3L Quentin Aker

New director aims to grow M.S. in Homeland Security: Law and Policy program

Donovan Diaz is the new director of KU’s M.S. in Homeland Security: Law and Policy program. *Photo by Ashley Golledge.*

A former JAG Corps attorney and counsel to the U.S. Department of Justice has joined KU Law. Donovan Diaz started in July as director of KU’s Master of Science in Homeland Security: Law and Policy program.

As director, Diaz recruits students, coordinates instructors and pursues partnerships to support growth. This spring, he’ll teach a course focused on military law and national security issues.

Making sure the program’s curriculum is in line with the current state of the law is key, Diaz said.

“The homeland security and national security world is a moving target. It is not a steady-state form of law,” Diaz said. “We want to train our students to be ready for the current threat environment.”

Now in its third year, the M.S. in Homeland Security program is based in Leavenworth and draws students from the military, federal government and civilian positions. Some students come to the program directly out of undergrad with the hope of pursuing a career in homeland/national security, Diaz said.

Students complete core courses in homeland security law and select electives from topics including crisis communication, information security and environmental security. A practicum course culminates in a multi-day, real-time simulated response to a national disaster. The simulation was created by Michael Hoeflich, the John H. & John M. Kane Distinguished Professor of Law at KU. It’s a hallmark of the program, Diaz said.

“The students get practice behind the theory. That’s what makes the program really stand out,” Diaz said.

Diaz comes to the program with broad experience in national security and homeland security, including military and civilian service in domestic and international settings.

After completing an undergraduate degree in art history at the University of Kansas, Diaz earned his J.D. from the Washburn University School of Law. Shortly before Diaz graduated law school in December 2001, the events of September 11, 2001 spurred him toward military service. He was commissioned in May 2002, joining the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG).

His first duty assignment was in North Dakota, followed by four years at Whiteman Air Force Base in Johnson County, Missouri. Diaz’s time with the JAG included a six-month deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, where he coordinated civil affairs matters including hospital upgrades, humanitarian relief and security planning.

Diaz then joined the U.S. Marshals Service with the Department of Justice as associate general counsel. From 2009 to 2014, he was based at Camp Foster in Okinawa, Japan, serving as Counsel to Marine Corps Community Services through the Office of the General Counsel to the Department of the Navy.

For the past five years, Diaz has run his family farm in Weston, Missouri. In addition to a 200-acre farming operation, the Weston Red Barn Farm hosts a wedding venue, a fall festival and a seasonal pumpkin patch and apple orchard.

Diaz said he’s eager to use his experience in military service, law enforcement and growing a business to expand the homeland security program.

“I’m looking forward to working with students and setting them on a career path, and growing the program,” Diaz said.

— By Margaret Hair

Student Spotlight: Liz Thompson pursues justice for clients that ‘feel like they are voiceless’

3L Liz Thompson is pictured at Jackson Square in New Orleans, Louisiana. *Photo courtesy of Liz Thompson.*

Liz Thompson is passionate about public defense. Thompson, a third-year law student from Salina, spent her summer in New Orleans as a law clerk at Orleans Public Defenders (OPD).

OPD is an organization that provides legal assistance and representation for individuals that are unable to afford an attorney. According to the OPD website, the organization represents nearly 20,000 people each year.

“I see a lot of problems with our criminal justice system that unfairly impact individuals. These problems with our criminal justice system are particularly prevalent in New Orleans,” Thompson said. “I saw this internship as the best way to receive exceptional training on how to represent and be a voice for individuals who are most impacted.”

As a law clerk, Thompson went to court with supervising attorneys; visited clients in jail; conducted legal research; wrote memos, motions and writs; and watched footage from body cams.

“It is a great feeling knowing that I am working so hard to give people a voice in a system that makes them feel like they are voiceless,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the work was tough, but she was able to find reward in the opportunity to help others.

“Knowing that problems exist is one thing, but seeing these problems firsthand and seeing how so many people are impacted is another. It’s hard to see,” Thompson said.

Through her position at OPD, Thompson is motivated to keep fighting for justice.

“I’m working with attorneys who are passionate about public defense and other law students from across the country who are passionate about public interest work,” Thompson said. “It has been great to be with people fighting the same good fight.”

During her 2L year of law school, Thompson interned at the Disability Rights Center of Kansas in Topeka. An attorney Thompson worked with at the Disability Rights Center recommended that Thompson apply for the law clerk position at OPD.

Thompson is a second-generation Jayhawk. Her dad, the Hon. Patrick Thompson, graduated from KU Law in 1980.

“My dad is a KU Law grad. I really look up to all of his accomplishments throughout his career and being able to follow in his footsteps here at KU Law has been an amazing experience for me,” she said.

Thompson is a member of Women in Law, a student organization at KU Law that promotes leadership and active involvement through community service and social engagement. Before coming to KU, Thompson earned an undergraduate degree in business administration at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska.

After finishing law school, Thompson plans to become a public defender. She’s also interested in doing criminal justice reform work at some point in her legal career.

— By Ashley Golledge

This post is the ninth in a series highlighting the diverse internships and jobs KU Law students and recent graduates are engaged in over the summer of 2019 and early in their careers. Check out earlier posts from this series about David Biegel, Samantha Natera, Mohammad Hameed, Ellen Bertels, Delaney Hiegert, Jackson Ely, Claudia Chavarria and Aidan Graybill.

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