Professor Kenn served as the Associate Dean for Clinical and Experiential Education and the Director of the Community Development Law Clinic for many years. She will be remembered as a passionate educator and mentor to hundreds of students and a relentless advocate for our community.
Read her obituary.
(Syracuse, NY | April 27, 2023) Leading expert on civil procedure, civil rights litigation and disability law Katherine A. Macfarlane will join the Syracuse University College of Law faculty as Associate Professor of Law, and Director of the College’s Disability Law and Policy Program this fall.
Macfarlane comes to Syracuse Law from the Southern University Law Center where she served as an associate professor. Previously, she served as an associate professor at the University of Idaho College of Law, and from 2013 to 2015, she served as a teaching fellow at the LSU Hebert Law Center. Macfarlane also serves as the Special Counsel for Disability Rights, Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education. Prior to entering academia, Macfarlane was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the New York City Law Department, serving as lead counsel in federal civil rights actions. She also practiced law at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in the firm’s Los Angeles and New York offices, where she represented plaintiffs in securities litigation. Macfarlane clerked on U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She is admitted to practice in California and New York.
Macfarlane has written extensively on accessibility, employment, accommodations, and many other disability law topics along with federal procedure and civil rights. At Syracuse Law, she will teach Civil Rights Litigation, Disability Law, and Torts.
“Professor Macfarlane deepens our bench of civil rights and civil procedure faculty with her extensive background in federal practice and procedure. She is also a noted disability law scholar who, as Director of the College’s leading Disability Law and Policy Program, will bring a fresh vision to our disability law courses and programming,” says College of Law Dean Craig M. Boise. All our students will benefit from her commitment to making the classroom an engaging learning environment.”
“I look forward to joining the impressive Syracuse Law faculty and teaching classes that align with my areas of expertise and my scholarship interests. The College of Law’s distinguished and world-renowned disability law program was a major driver of my decision,” says Macfarlane.
Macfarlane has been published in numerous law journals and high-profile publications including forthcoming works in American University Law Review and Tulane Law Review along with published articles and essays in Fordham Law Review, Alabama Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Utah Law Review, and many more.
Professor Macfarlane has chaired the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Section on Disability Law and co-founded the AALS Section on Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies. Her academic awards include the Chai Feldblum Award, AALS Section on Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies, and the University of Idaho College of Law Diversity and Human Rights Award.
Professor Macfarlane received her B. A. in Spanish Language and Gender Studies, magna cum laude, from Northwestern University, and her J.D., cum laude, from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where she served as Chief Articles Editor of the Loyola Law Review and received the Order of the Coif. She was a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Arthur L. Alarcón of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Hon. Frederick J. Martone of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.
Professor Paula Johnson, Director of the Cold Case Justice Initiative, discussed the proliferation of Stand Your Ground laws in response to the shooting of Black teenager Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, MO.
“One of the reasons why these laws are proliferating is because they have expanded the areas in which traditional self-defense laws would have other requirements,” says Johnson, citing the Trayvon Martin case as an example.
Professor Johnson also makes a direct connection between barriers to voting and public policy that hurts minorities and people of color.
Professor Cora True-Frost L’01 recently appeared on CBS News New York to discuss the federal court rulings on Mifepristone. The segment covered the status of the drug, potential next actions, and state-level implications.
“The implications of a ruling that a judge can strike down the judgment of scientists who have ruled that a drug is effective is that judges can intervene in administrative agency decisions, generally, and they [judges] will decide whether a drug is effective.”
While many law school students learn about appellate advocacy in the classroom or on a mock trial competition team, seven College of Law students recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for an oral argument before a federal court. The students seized the opportunity to apply the skills they learned in their law school experience before a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The Executive Director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic (VLC), Professor Beth Kubala, supervised the students along the way and applauded their efforts.
“Participating in a clinic during law school not only affords students an opportunity to work directly with actual clients on important issues, it also gives them invaluable real-world legal experience. The students learned how to navigate a complex appellate process and did so while zealously representing their client.”
Elizabeth G. Kubala, Executive Director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic
Student attorneys in the VLC represented the widow of an Army veteran in her pursuit of survivor benefits. The students initially assisted the widow in appealing this matter through the Army’s administrative process, then through the federal court system.
As the students learned, effective appellate advocacy requires a cohesive litigation team to conduct legal analysis, writing, and advocacy simultaneously. Several students contributed to the litigation team through various roles and tasks.
Last summer, VLC student Mike Poggi L’22 took the lead in drafting the appellant’s opening brief. Bill Rielly L’23 and 2L Milana Casillas helped with research, responding to motions, and brief writing and editing. During the summer, as part of clinic case rounds, all students collaborated in reviewing the draft brief, providing feedback, and helping to shape the final submission. Leveraging clinic students for this purpose brought fresh perspectives, objectivity, and ideas for new approaches to challenging issues.
“Under the leadership of Professor Kubala, we cultivated a dynamic work environment that promoted collaboration and efficiency. Her guidance and support were instrumental in helping us navigate the complexities of our case, and she always went above and beyond to ensure that we had the resources and support we needed to succeed. It has been rewarding to work towards our goal with full confidence in one another and with the support of the Syracuse Law.”
2L Milana Casillas
“In the Veterans Legal Clinic, I had the privilege to work with online JDinteractive and residential J.D. students from across the US, collaborating on research, editing, and motion filing for an important case on behalf of a veteran’s widow. This experience culminated in an awesome morning at the United States Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C., where our lead Syracuse student attorney persuasively argued before the Court,” says Rielly.
In the fall, after receiving the government’s response brief, Ben Emmi L’23 volunteered to draft the appellant’s reply brief to counter matters raised by the Department of Justice. Again, the team mobilized to analyze the government’s approach, refute opposing arguments, and respond appropriately to convince the court that the law supported a finding for the client.
With more than 80 percent of federal appeals decided solely based on written briefs, it came as a bit of a surprise in the spring when the clinic received notice that the Federal Circuit requested an oral argument. Emmi rose to the challenge, narrowing the issues and determining the strongest arguments.
Syracuse Law community members mobilized to hold moot court proceedings to emulate the experience of arguing a case at the appellate level. Professors Shannon Gardner, Courtney Abbot Hill L’09, Kelly Curtis, and Adjunct Professor Dean DiPilato from Mackenzie Hughes donned judicial robes and held two separate moot court sessions where they replicated real court proceedings by asking numerous questions to force Emmi to think on his feet and practice engaging with the bench. During the first moot court session, the entire proceeding was filmed for later use in one of the College’s Appellate Advocacy classes.
Each moot court session helped Emmi refine his knowledge of the facts of the case, practice his opening statement, and expertly frame the issues consistently. The students provided feedback, discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments, and continued to predict the questions the judges would pose.
In early April, a team of students gathered in Washington D.C. for the oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prepared and composed, Emmi confidently appeared before the three-judge panel to emphasize arguments made in the briefs and respond to pointed questions from the judges. The oral argument represented the culmination of 24 months of effort from the entire clinic.
“We were able to put on two moot arguments with the help of Professors Abbott-Hill, Curtis, and Gardner, and Mackenzie Hughes partner, Dean Dipilato. I owe them a huge thank you. They were incredibly dedicated to learning the subject matter and providing me with the most realistic experience possible, not once but twice. As a testament to their judicial prowess, many of their questions during practice came up during the actual argument. I can sum up my argument in front of the Federal Circuit by saying that I wouldn’t have even had such an incredible experience without the support of my peers and Syracuse Law faculty,” says Emmi.
After an outstanding morning in federal court, the students enjoyed engaging with alumni and partners across the nation’s capital. The Marshal of the U.S. Supreme Court gave the students an insider’s view of the courtroom and other historic portions of the building. Bill Van Saun L’19 provided the students with current perspectives from the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, where he serves as Legal Counsel. The next day, 2L Cody Nagel hosted students for a tour of the White House, where she currently is interning with the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
1L D’Andre Gordon was named a Federal Magistrate Judges Association (FMJA) Fellow for the 2023-2024 academic year. He is one of eight law students nationwide to be named a FMJA Fellow. Gordon will be interning for the Hon. Thérèse Wiley Dancks L’91, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York.
According to the FMJA, “The FMJA is committed to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and the courts. For this reason, FMJA, in collaboration with Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization, created the fellowships to support and promote the placement of diverse and underrepresented law students in judicial internships with U.S. Magistrate Judges. Each FMJA Fellow will also have the opportunity to participate in FMJA programs advising students about the application process for federal clerkships and the various career pathways to the bench.”
Gordon says, “As someone who identifies strongly with Black people’s struggle for liberation, the FMJA fellowship is necessary for increasing diversity in the judiciary. Because the intersection of race and class permeates every aspect of our lives, the federal judiciary must strive to reflect the demographic makeup of the U.S. population. Otherwise, there is a real risk that federal courts will cause more significant public harm, and public trust will erode. Working with a magistrate judge will allow me to better understand how federal judges decide cases of great importance while also learning about multiple areas of law. Using the skills I’ll gain working in a judge’s chambers, I hope to become a stronger and more effective advocate for individuals and groups lacking access to the legal system.”
Transactional Law Clinic (TLC) 3Ls Brian Harrison and Alexis Telga recently spoke to a group of Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communication students on “Creating Your Own Media: Legal Considerations When in Business for Yourself.” Harrison and Telga, along with TLC Director Professor Jessica Murray, covered legal topics for students considering setting up their own business or freelancing, in fields such as photography, graphic design, and writing. This included an overview of the different business entities, how to set up your entity, and copyright and trademark considerations.
The TLC was invited by J Elliott Lewis, Newhouse Professor of Practice, Graduate Program Director, Broadcast and Digital Journalism.
Professor Robert Nassau, director of the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, spoke with Fortune on the impact of new funding on the Internal Revenue Service’s services.
“The phone line is amazingly improved, that part of the IRS is working amazingly better,” he said. “But I can see the processing time of written submissions is not back to pre-pandemic sufficiency.”
Christopher (Martz) Arima L’22 was named a “2023 Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award” winner by the Burton Awards. His note “Domestic Violence in Iraq: Legal Barriers to Survivors in Pursuit of Justice” was published in the Journal of Global Rights and Organizations Annual Review – Volume 12. Aliza Milner, Director of Legal Communication and Research, reviewed notes from the College’s academic journals to select one paper for submission.
Arima is currently a law clerk at Herbert Smith Freehills New York LLP, specializing in disputes, international arbitration, and international investment.
The Burton Awards, established in 1999, is funded by the Burton Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and academic effort devoted to recognizing and rewarding excellence in the legal profession. The Burton Awards were established to honor the finest accomplishments in law, including writing, reform, public service and interest, regulatory innovation, and lifetime achievements in the profession.
Law360 is the lead sponsor of the awards and the American Bar Association is the co-sponsor.
Vice Dean Keith Bybee spoke with France’s Le Devoir regarding former President Trump’s indictment in New York City on the impact on Trump’s presidential campaign.
“To date, the controversy and the allegations of violation of the law have only helped Donald Trump,” said Bybee.
