Board of Advisors Distinguished Professor of Law Nina Kohn has contributed the column “One Conversation Every Family Should Have This Thanksgiving” to Forbes.
Kohn writes, “If you’re looking for something real to talk about at your Thanksgiving gathering, start a conversation that can actually make a difference: ask your family members about what they want their final years to look like.”
Professor of Law Emeritus William C. Banks discussed with Bloomberg Law the legal implications of the Department of Justice (DOJ) assigning military lawyers, including judge advocates general, as temporary immigration judges. An advisory opinion from the DOJ found that this would not violate the Posse Comitatus Act.
The opinion also says these detailed judges would be “supervised entirely” by civilians. This “waters down” the Posse Comitatus violation, but it doesn’t remedy it, said Banks.
“They’re still military lawyers and they’re still engaged in law enforcement, whether they have supervisors or not,” he said.
Syracuse University College of Law has launched the Innovation in Advocacy Education Award, a first-of-its-kind award to encourage, support, and celebrate innovation in the field of advocacy education. The winner will receive $5,000 to create, support, or sustain their award-winning advocacy education innovation.
“The advocacy community, perhaps more than any other segment of legal education, is defined by innovation in action. Syracuse Law established this award to recognize those programs that keep adding to that tradition,” said Professor Todd Berger, Director of Advocacy Programs at Syracuse Law.
Below is the process of applying for the award:
*Any American law school may apply for the award (Syracuse is not eligible to receive the award). Schools that collaborate on joint initiatives may jointly apply for the award. The award and the award money will be given to the winning law school (not an individual).
*The award may be given to an existing innovation implemented in the past five years in the field of advocacy education, or a proposed innovation. Advocacy education encompasses the fields of trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution.
*The award will be selected by a committee composed of members of the broader advocacy education community.
*The application deadline is February 20th, 2026.
*The award application will consist of a description of an existing or proposed innovation in the field of advocacy education. The award application should total no more than 3,000 words and may include demonstrative exhibits. The application should describe how the innovation represents new ways of thinking and enhances the quality of advocacy education or otherwise benefits the larger advocacy education community. While not required, the application may describe how the award money will be used to support the innovation.
*The application can be found here:
Syracuse University College of Law’s Mohammad Amer L’26 is the co-MVP/Best Advocate of the 2025 National Trial League (NTL) competition. The MVP award is given to the student who received the highest number of best advocate votes during the regular season.
The NTL is a competition format that provides multiple chances for students to hone their trial skills in a competitive, fast-paced, online setting throughout the Fall academic semester, creating opportunities for schools to compete outside the traditional weekend tournament structure. NTL features 14 trial teams competing against each other in a season format that resembles a traditional sports league with two conferences made up of seven teams each.
“Through seven rounds of brutal competition from August to November, against some of the best advocacy programs in the country, Mohammad tied for the most best advocate votes,” said Professor Todd Berger, director of Syracuse University College of Law’s Advocacy Program. “Without a doubt, because of the number of rounds, pace, and quality of teams, this competition is one of the hardest in the country. Winning the MVP in that context is truly an impressive accomplishment. Congratulations to Mohammad once again on this important achievement.”
Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh spoke with Law 360 on the recent ruling that Meta does not have a monopoly on social media.
Ghosh suggested that Judge Boasberg focused too much on the convergence of the apps and not enough on whether they are actually coming up with something new.
“There’s no discussion about how this particular set of social media is innovating,” Ghosh said. Instead of competition, he mostly just sees imitation.
Ghosh also noted that Judge Boasberg never considers what the market would have looked like had Instagram remained an independent competitor, rendering the opinion “kind of shortsighted.”
Jocelyn Anctil G’26, L’26 was named the recipient of the Rhoda S. and Albert M. Alexander Memorial Scholarship for the 2025-2026 academic year. The Alexander Memorial Scholarship Committee selected Anctil after a competitive application process to receive this significant scholarship in recognition of her commitment and dedication to public service.
Anctil is a joint J.D./M.P.A. candidate at Syracuse University College of Law and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs who has dedicated her legal education to public interest work. She has gained diverse experience through internships at Community Legal Aid, Hiscock Legal Aid, and the Volunteer Lawyers’ Project, and previously served as a paralegal with the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition in Washington, D.C.
At Syracuse Law, Anctil serves as President of the Syracuse Public Interest Network and is an active member of the Travis H.D. Lewin Advocacy Honor Society. Her background in social work, combined with her extensive legal advocacy experience spanning housing rights, criminal justice, consumer protection, and immigration law, reflects her deep dedication to serving vulnerable and underrepresented communities. After graduation, Anctil plans to work as a staff attorney at a legal aid organization or non-profit focusing on criminal defense.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to be selected as the Rhoda S. and Albert M. Alexander Memorial Scholarship recipient for the 2025–26 academic year. This support brings me one step closer to pursuing my commitment to a career in public service,” says Anctil.
The Rhoda S. and Albert M. Alexander Memorial Scholarship was established by College of Law Board of Advisors Chair and Syracuse University Trustee Richard M. Alexander L’82, Partner at Arnold & Porter, and his wife Emily Alexander.
Jen Berrent, CEO of Covenant, led a conversation on how artificial intelligence is transforming legal practice and reshaping the future of law firms. Berrent, drawing from her experience as both a lawyer and CEO, provided insights into the evolving AI landscape and discussed its implications for lawyers, clients, and the delivery of legal services in the coming years.
Berrent discussed the progression of AI tools and how machine-learning systems are helping lawyers analyze large datasets faster and, at times, more accurately than ever before. She also addressed the shifting role of an attorney as work moves from document review to higher-level strategic advising and client counseling. Berrent highlighted the growing need for tech-literate lawyers who can collaborate with AI ethically and effectively.
A significant portion of the discussion focused on how Berrent’s firm, Covenant, is restructuring around AI-driven workflows, including smaller teams, the use of integrated AI tools, and more affordable and flexible billing models. Berrent also predicted a major rise in the role and strategic importance of in-house counsel as companies adopt AI more deeply.
Berrent emphasized that, even as AI grows more powerful, it remains essential to develop human-centric legal skills that technology cannot replace. The next generation of lawyers will need to bridge the gap between legal reasoning and data-driven insight, combining technological fluency with judgment, empathy, and communication.
The overarching takeaway of the session was that AI is not a threat but a catalyst for transformation in the legal profession.
Professor of Law Gregory Germain spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald on President Donald Trump’s threat to sue the BBC for $5 billion over how a video was edited.
The president would need to prove that the BBC acted with “actual malice.” “They’ve got to meet the actual malice standard with New York Times versus Sullivan, which is a very tough standard,” said Germain.
The case, if filed, would also have to surmount another legal standard that protected publications that were “substantially true”, Germain said. The remarks that were spliced together were both things Trump said, even if the edit was poorly done, he said.
“I don’t think they should win a Pulitzer Prize for the editing, but it’s not defamatory,” Germain said. “What he’s alleging is that he doesn’t like the way they edited the video, he’s not alleging that they posted a deep fake or something.”
Professor Aliza Milner’s article, Written Opinions in State Intermediate Appellate Courts: Current Landscapes and the AI Horizon, was published in volume 38 of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. Milner is the Director of Legal Communication and Research at Syracuse Law.
The article surveys the rules that states have developed about when and what their intermediate appellate courts write. It also considers why states limit the writing of their intermediate appellate courts.
The article highlights why rules about appellate court writing matter, how AI may influence those choices, and what writing means for accuracy, transparency, and the future of state court appellate justice.
Aliza Milner, Written Opinions in State Intermediate Appellate Courts: Current Landscapes and the AI Horizon, 38 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 273 (2025).
Emma Bissell L’27 and Elyse Maniccia L’26 tied for the Best Overall Brief award at the 2025 Brigadier General Wayne E. Alley Military Law Moot Court Competition. The team also finished third overall. The team was coached by U.S. Army Captain Nick Van Erp.
“I want to congratulate Emma and Elyse for their double accomplishments at this prestigious competition. I also want to thank Captain Van Erp, who has expertly coached numerous Syracuse Law appellate teams, generously and graciously volunteering his time,” said Professor Todd Berger, director of Advocacy Programs at Syracuse Law.
“It was a pleasure working with Emma, Elyse, and Captain Van Erp. Their professionalism and enthusiasm made a strong impression, and we were honored to host them,” said Captain Shannon K. Lorant L’22, Army JAG Field Screening Recruiting Officer.
This year marked the first time Syracuse University College of Law competed in the Brigadier General Wayne E. Alley Military Law Moot Court Competition, the most prestigious military appellate advocacy tournament hosted by the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Syracuse Law’s participation underscores its long-standing national excellence in advocacy and its historic leadership in preparing advocates for military service in the legal profession.
The Brigadier General Wayne E. Alley Military Law Moot Court Competition recognizes the written and oral appellate advocacy skills of law students and showcases the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and its vast opportunities for litigation to law students, law schools, and the public. The tournament is hosted at the United States Army Advocacy Center on Fort Belvoir, VA and the competitors argue a mock case before the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals. Past final round judges were current and former judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals, and senior trial judges and members of academia.
