ASL to Host Solo Practice/Law Office Management Workshop Series April 3, 2013

Wednesday, April 3^rd in Room 227, Career Services will be hosting a Solo Practice/Law Office Management Workshop Series. The event is primarily for 3Ls, though 1Ls and 2Ls are welcome to attend.  Attendees who stay for the majority of the morning sessions will be provided with lunch.  Each attendee will also receive a binder filled with resources.  Please email jcastle@asl.edu if you have not already RSVPed, so that she can ensure that enough binders are available.  Schedule is as follows:

Solo Practice and Law Office Management Workshop Series

April 3, 2013

Room 227

Time	Topic	Speaker
8:00	Introduction; Distribute Materials; Breakfast
8:15	Assessing the Risks and Rewards of Being a Lawyerpreneur	Prof. Kendall Isaac
9:00	Financing a Solo Practice	Prof. James Bowers
9:45	Trust Accounts	Prof. Alan Oxford
10:00	Income Tax Implications of Solo Practice	Prof. Alan Oxford
10:30	Legal Research Resources	Chris King
10:45	Law Office Technology	Prof. Alan Oxford
11:30	Ethics	Prof. Derrick Howard
12:00	Lunch
12:30	Break in Schedule
1:00	Break in Schedule
1:30	Break in Schedule
2:00	Break in Schedule
2:30	Marketing a Solo Practice	Prof. Paula Young
3:00	Tips from an Alumna	Anna Midence Sidoti (tentative)

 

Wednesday, April 17^th Bill Walman, Magistrate Regional Supervisor, will be on campus conducting informational interviews with 3Ls interested in the Virginia Magistrate System.  Interested 3Ls should mail a resume and cover letter to Janie at jcastle@asl.edu by April 10^th at 3:00 p.m.  Magistrate positions are JD preferred positions. Bar passage is not required.  ASL currently has approximately 20 alumni employed through the Virginia Magistrate System.  Magistrates are independent judicial officers appointed by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Duties and responsibilities include conducting neutral and impartial hearings related to searches, arrests, temporary detentions, and bail; conducting legal research and analysis; ascertaining and applying facts to relevant legal principles; and maintaining order and decorum in highly charged, sensitive circumstances. 

Labor & Employment Law Moot Court Team Performs well at Wagner Competition

Amanda Kash and Kenyatta Thorpe represented ASL at the above-referenced competition in Manhattan March 20^th-24^th.  William Moates and Juliane Colby greatly helped the team prepare for the rigorous competition as assistant coaches.  The team did a great job during oral arguments, winning two out of three preliminary rounds.  Additionally, Amanda Kash was noted as a candidate for the “Best Oralist” award on four different judge scorecards!  Despite a strong performance in the preliminary rounds, they were narrowly edged out for a spot in the round of 16 (out of 46 total teams).  Nevertheless, we should all be very proud of how well they represented our school!  Special thanks goes to those that helped prepare the team as guest judges (Professors Rubin, McKechnie, Belleville, Kiser, and Howard as well as Janie Castle and Nate Ogle). 

ASL Hosts Environmental and Natural Resources Panel Discussion

 

 

This past Monday the Appalachian School of Law began its annual Environmental and Natural Resources Panel Discussion on its campus. The panel discussion presented relevant practitioners and experts in the related industries, touching on hot issues in the fields and providing crucial field information for ASL students venturing into the field of Natural Resource and Environmental Law.

The panel entailed ASL’s own Professor Patrick Baker who brings practical and academia experience in hard mineral litigation and policy. From Houston Texas, was Paul Bohannon, contributing over thirty years of experience in energy and environmental litigation. Thirdly, joining the panel was Will Reisinger, Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Litigation- Division of Consumer Counsel and Insurance and Utilities Regulatory Section.
 

ASL’s own Professor and scholar on the related fields, Mark Belleville, moderated the Panel. The three panelists discussed the hot topics affecting the immediate region such as fracking, the conversion of coal plants to natural gas plants and utility ratemaking procedures on how they affect the Appalachian Region. The panelist provided practice tips and employment information to ASL students.

 

The ASL Student Bar Association, Environmental Law Society and the Appalachian Natural Resource Journal of Law hosted the event.  The event is already slatted to take place next year, joining in the school’s new dedication and vision for demand side management and environmental focused curriculums

"Sylvia Richardson: Joy" on Display at ASL Booth Center Art Gallery

News Release

Writer: Rhonda Whited

March 21, 2013

Richardson Exhibits Work at SWCC’s Booth Center

 

Southwest Virginia Community College is pleased to announce the opening of a very unique exhibit in the Booth Center Gallery in Grundy, Virginia.  This exhibit titled “Joy” features the one-of-a-kind embellished, appliquéd quilts and wall hangings of Sylvia Richardson.  This exhibit will run from April 8 through May 8, 2013. The public is invited to view this exhibit during Center hours. 

Sylvia Richardson is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and began her first career as a school teacher.  In the 1980’s she became a quilter after discovering its endless possibilities.  Early in her creative life Sylvia was an “artistic drifter” trying several different outlets.  Quilting satisfied her love of color combinations, texture, and creative design.  Inspiration for her original quilts and wall hangings comes from her home, travel, and quilt guild “challenges”.

After retiring from the public school system, Richardson began teaching quilting, often traveling and lecturing, and presenting workshops.  She has a résumé of ribbons, awards, and accomplishments, and her quilts and wall hangings have been displayed in museums and art centers across the eastern US.  Her quilts have been photographed and published in numerous magazines: Folk Art Magazine, Baltimore Album Revival, Watercolor Impressions, Quilter’s Newsletter, Veranda, and American Quilter.

With a studio in her home in Marion, Virginia, Sylvia continues to do what she does best; create one-of-a-kind quilts, wall hangings, fabric baskets, and wearable art. 

For more information about this exhibit please contact Rhonda Whited at 276.964.7228 or Rhonda.whited@sw.edu

 

 

 

ASL Professor Mark "Buzz" Belleville to Moderate Environmental Panel

On March 25^th, at 12:00 PM noon, student groups on campus at the Appalachian School of Law that are concerned with Environmental and Natural Resource Law will be hosting a panel discussion in the Appellate Court Room.  The event is joint-hosted by the Environmental Law Society, Student Bar Association and the Appalachian Natural Resource Journal of Law. The event will entail a live panel discussion with various professional speakers in the fields- regarding hot topics that affect the area of practice and our immediate surrounding region. ASL’s own Professor Mark Bellville, a longtime scholar in the fields of related academia, will moderate the discussion.

 This is an event inspired by the active groups on campus to create the related campus awareness about the fields, and also to provide a networking opportunity at the following reception from 1:00 PM to 2:00PM in the Second Floor Booth Center Classroom.  Food and drinks will be served. The groups have targeted this event as an annual opportunity for ASL students and future classes interested in the related fields.

ASL Charter Class Alum Jeff Campbell to Seek House Seat

Reported by tricities.com:

http://www.tricities.com/swvatoday/news/smyth_county/article_54d2a394-90e5-11e2-9775-001a4bcf6878.html

Former Saltville mayor and councilman, Jeff Campbell, 46, is seeking the Republican nomination for the 6th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in the June 11 Republican primary election.
Campbell filed the necessary declaration of candidacy and voter petitions on Tuesday, March 12, becoming the first candidate to qualify candidacy with the filing.

Campbell is a lifelong resident of Smyth County and an attorney whose office is located in Marion. He has been active in public service for more than 20 years either in an elected or appointed capacity.
Campbell was elected to Saltville Town Council in 1998 and elected mayor in 2004, serving until 2010. The biggest issue during his service with the town, he said, was – and still is – the economy.
“Saltville was in a state of economic decline, and still is, but it has improved to some extent,” Campbell said. People were driving elsewhere to work and shop and the town council worked to try and re-establish the local economy, he said, hiring an economic developer just for Saltville which helped fill five empty buildings and create jobs by the time he left office. “The tide had turned,” he said, with businesses coming in and storefronts opening up in the downtown area.

Campbell ran an unsuccessful campaign against longtime Commonwealth’s Attorney Roy Evans in 2011 with a platform of change.

“I felt there needed to be some changes in the office in choice and use of plea bargains,” Campbell said, saying that people went to the polls and voted and a majority obviously didn’t agree with him.
If elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, Campbell promises an active and accessible constituency office with a primary focus on economic development, educational opportunity and public safety.

Working on jobs for people of the 6th District – and particularly Smyth County - will be his primary focus, he said.

“I can think of no other governmental function that so positively affects a community and its people than the location or relocation of a new industry, within its borders, bringing with it job opportunities and economic prospects that promote the public welfare and create a better way of life for the residents,” he said. “Our government must make this the number one priority for the citizens of the 6th District, and I pledge to work tirelessly in Richmond to bring the good paying jobs in the Commonwealth back home.”

In addition to 12 years of elected service in Saltville, Campbell has actively served the community on the Saltville Industrial Development Authority and was a founding board member of the Smyth County Tourism Association. He has been a past Rotarian and member of Ruritan, and has been actively involved in Little League and youth recreation as a coach and organizer.

Campbell served for eight years in the United States Army Reserve. He is a 1992 graduate of Emory & Henry College and member of the charter class of the Appalachian School of Law.

Campbell and his wife of 23 years, Carie, reside at 705 1st Avenue, Saltville, with their four children

ASL Students Visit Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On March 15^th, ASL’s Natural Resources Law Program visited the Virginia Hybrid Energy Center in Virginia City, Virginia.  ASL continues its commitment to developing a nationally recognized natural resources law program.  This hands-on field experience was part of Buzz Bellville’s Sustainable Energy Law class and Professor Patrick Baker’s Coal and Hard Mineral Law class.   

 

 

ASL's Energy & Mineral Law Society Host Black Lung CLE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On March 16, ASL hosted the first annual Black Lung Conference, which was organized entirely by students in the Energy & Mineral Law Society. 38 attorneys, along with government officials, a physician, and a retired judge, gathered in Grundy to learn about the state and federal Black Lung claims processes.

"I'm proud of the EMLS for organizing this conference, and proud of the school for stepping to the forefront in promoting continuing legal education in Appalachia. I'm glad I chose to come to ASL, a school where students have opportunities to take the lead and design conferences from the ground up, shaping the future of legal education in the region. I'm especially humbled at what we were able to accomplish, and am already looking forward to next year's event." said Matt Harden ASL EMLS President.