Syracuse Law has named Teaching Professor Beth Kubala as Executive Director of Clinical Education. In this capacity, Kubala will lead the clinical faculty in expanding offerings as envisioned by our strategic plan, elevating activities of the clinics within the College of Law, and collaborating with community partners to identify areas that need support in access to justice in Central New York.
In addition, Kubala is the newly established director of Veteran and Military Affairs for the College of Law. She will continue to direct the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, where she has enthusiastically supported clinical legal education and innovated new partnerships and opportunities to enhance both the student experience and the delivery of legal services.
“Since joining the clinical faculty, Beth has served as a valued supporter of our veteran and military-connected students at the College of Law. Beth has been instrumental in growing our ranks of veteran and military-connected students, bringing in scholarship opportunities, and connecting them to resources and opportunities through the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs and the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families. Beth has also assisted many students in their pursuit of careers as military Judge Advocates,” says Dean Craig Boise.
A recent American Bar Association (ABA) Law Student Podcast featured Professor Roy Gutterman L’00 discussing the First Amendment rights of college students. Gutterman was interviewed by Professor Todd Berger, the podcast host, along with current student hosts Leah Haberman and Chay Rodrigues.
Gutterman, the director of Syracuse University Newhouse School’s Tully Center for Free Speech, discussed the history of free speech law, different aspects of free speech, and what law students should know about current campus events as interpreted through the existing legal frameworks.
The Syracuse University College of Law is proud to announce that the Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) in National Security and Counterterrorism Law is now available to students enrolled in the hybrid/online JDinteractive program. Administered through the Institute for Security Policy and Law (SPL), this innovative program offers an interdisciplinary approach to critical issues in national security, counterterrorism, and related fields.
The CAS in National Security and Counterterrorism Law offers numerous benefits to students interested in pursuing careers in national security and counterterrorism. The interdisciplinary curriculum spans multiple disciplines, equipping students with the skills to determine applicable legal rules, locate and evaluate research materials specific to national security, and solve security problems requiring cross-disciplinary solutions. The program covers a broad range of subjects, including:
National Security: Federal law, international law, operational law, geopolitics, foreign policy, defense strategy, humanitarian interventions, and emerging technologies.
Counterterrorism: Legal definitions of terrorism, intelligence collection, surveillance, privacy, prosecution of terrorists, and countering violent extremism.
Cybersecurity: Legal, policy, and technical aspects of cybersecurity, cyber espionage, computer crimes, countering cyber threats, critical infrastructure, and artificial intelligence.
Humanitarian Law: International law, human rights law, laws of war, refugee law, postconflict reconstruction, special courts, and alternative justice.
Professor Shannon Gardner, associate dean of online education, says “This certificate program underscores our commitment to providing comprehensive and flexible legal education to our JDinteractive students. It equips them with specialized knowledge and skills essential for careers in national security and counterterrorism along with an advanced credential that gives them an advantage in this job market. Syracuse Law continues to lead the way in online legal education, preparing students for the demands of 21st-century lawyering.”
Professor Gregory Germain recently provided information on student checking accounts to Wallet Hub. He provided guidance on the different types of accounts, what students should look for in a checking account, and advice on alternatives.
In summary, Germain says “It is all about fees and charges, and convenience. Nothing else really matters. That is why I recommend a free checking account at an institution nearby to keep very small balances linked to an online institution that pays higher rates. But in all cases, you have to understand what is free and what you will be charged for. Annual fees, ATM charges, and high check printing costs should be avoided.”
Germain said he wondered whether the statute of limitations might apply to the underlying – and uncharged – crimes that made falsifying business records a felony.
“I could imagine a court saying that you can’t put together two or three” misdemeanors that are beyond the statute of limitations and turn them into a felony that hasn’t reached that time limit, he said.
“It’s such a complex, convoluted case I think he has good grounds for appeal which is not to say I think what he did here was moral or ethical…but whether he broke the law in a way that isn’t barred by the statute of limitations, its very hard to find that,” says Germain.
When asked about the possibility of the case going to the U.S. Supreme Court, Germain said “I think if the judge sentences him to prison, it might get to the Supreme Court. Imprisoning one of the major candidates during an election raises difficult questions.”
“I don’t think Trump will be given a prison sentence, because that would create a constitutional crisis and a slew of appeals and habeas corpus challenges, and a mess for the judicial system in trying to deal with prisoner Trump,” he said.
Professor Lauryn Gouldin recently spoke with KNX Radio (Los Angeles, CA) on the federal charges against Hunter Biden. He faces two false statement changes and a possession charge in violation of a federal statute that forbids drug users or people with addiction from possessing firearms.
“One of the things that make this an easy case for prosecutors is that there is a signed form that they want to use to prosecute him. When I think of the strategies for the defense, I see that Biden’s defense attorneys seem to be raising questions about who had actually filled out the form in question. I am not sure where that will go,” says Gouldin. “Some of it may turn on what it means under the statute to be an addict or user so there may be some effort to argue that he didn’t know that he would fit those definitions. His memoir and text messages are part of the prosecution’s case against him. I think it’s an uphill battle for the defense.”
Syracuse University today announced that Terence J. Lau L’98 has been named the 13th dean of Syracuse University’s College of Law. The appointment, which begins Aug. 5, was approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.
Erica Sujin Kang L’25 is quick to speak up and doesn’t mind being cold-called in class. For her, that’s all part of the learning experience at the Syracuse University College of Law. Kang hopes those skills will come in handy as she works towards being a lawyer who can speak up for others.
Kang had a successful career before deciding to go to law school. After graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a degree in linguistics, she went to South Korea, where she has family, with the intention of serving others through the context of international relations. During this time, she worked as an international relations specialist for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) of Korea, providing international relations strategy and working as an advisor to the MOLIT minister and the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. Later, she was an external relations assistant translating for the United Nation’s Green Climate Fund (GCF), which serves the Paris Agreement by fighting climate change and investing funds into developing countries.
“Syracuse Law has developed my thinking skills and helped me see the potential of the legal field. And, I draw so much strength from my classmates.”
Erica Sujin Kang L’25
While her career was going well, she had always wanted to attend law school. Kang had seen many lawyers looking to the U.N. for planning and decision making, and she had also been instilled by her father and grandfather (who worked with the president of So. Korea in a role comparable to a mayor in the U.S.) with the importance of public service, She knew studying law would advance her career, and it seemed the time was right.
Wanting to take the bar exam in New York State, she began researching Syracuse Law. Kang was drawn to its relatively close proximity to New York City and also admired the prestigious faculty and alumni, including President Joseph R. Biden L’68. Kang also noted that Syracuse Law had a strong public service presence through various law clinics and activities, as well as a number of classes on national security law and constitutional law. She applied and received a scholarship, and in 2022 Kang headed back to the U.S. to attend Syracuse Law.
Erica Kang points to a photo of College of Law alumni President Joseph R. Biden L’68 as she gives a tour of Dineen Hall.
As part of her commitment to service, she became an academic mentor for the Asian-American Pacific Law Student Association—something she really enjoys. “I think we are still a minority at law schools, and I like helping 1L students in particular who can get overwhelmed or need help with study skills,” Kang explains. “I’ve been a 1L, and I understand it can be challenging, so I talk with them and give them a chance to vent out their stress, so they feel supported.”
Kang has taken advantage of not only her classes and on-campus activities but also internships opportunities that further her legal expertise. During the summer after her first year, she was a legal intern at Hiscock Legal Aid Society in Syracuse, New York, learning how to litigate court trials, advocate for clients, provide legal representation and negotiate with opposing counsel. She also worked as a law clerk remotely for the U.S. Department of Commerce with a focus on commercial law development programs in the Asia Pacific Region that help developing nations have an effective international arbitration center for foreign investors.
As she completes her second year at Syracuse Law, Kang has decided she’d like to become a litigation trial lawyer. “I like speaking up in class, and I want to go to court and speak up for my clients,” she says.
This summer, Kang has lined up an internship with the Department of Homeland Security as a trial attorney. She is hopeful that the experience, along with her work with the U.N. and the skills she’s learned at Syracuse Law, will make her an outstanding job candidate after finishing her law degree.
Kang says, “Syracuse Law has developed my thinking skills and helped me see the potential of the legal field. And, I draw so much strength from my classmates,” Kang says. “I love the law. Being here gives me so much pride.”
Professor David Driesen provided commentary to Newsweek’s coverage of Donald Trump’s hometown newspaper’s editorial on the unanimous verdict in the hush money trial. The Palm Beach Post’s editorial read in part “Defendant Donald Trump is now a ‘convicted felon.’ He becomes the first former president and presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee to earn that historic but ignoble label. He now has a criminal record, a damning complication for any candidate seeking political office, much less the presidency of the United States.”
Driesen said the unanimous verdict reached by independent citizens does not in any way implicate Judge Juan Merchan or the prosecution.
“This was a fair trial,” Driesen said. “Trump’s baseless attacks on prosecutors and judges are scandalous and the willingness of many Republican politicians to back up his nonsense dangerous and despicable.”
To arrange an interview with Professor Germain, please email Rob Conrad, College of Law Director of Communications and Media Relations.
Professor Gregory Germain spoke with Spectrum News 1 in the wake of a New York jury finding Donald Trump guilty of all 34 charges in the hush money case. He provided an analysis of the charges, what can happen on appeal, possible sentencing outcomes, and his current presidential campaign.
Germain noted that “There are very difficult legal issues in this case, some of which the judge preempted them [Trump’s defense] from arguing and others they should have emphasized the fact, for example, that the business records were modified or falsified after the election. How could the records have been falsified in order to defraud the voters when the records were falsified after the election?”
On the topic of sentencing, expected for July 11, Germain said “The rules say the sentence should be between one and four years in jail, but it can be less than one year at the discretion of the judge for a first-time offender. What happens now is we get the presentencing report from the probation department making a recommendation for the sentence and I would be shocked to see any recommendation of any jail time in a case like this, in a Class E first time-felon, the lowest felony you can be charged in New York.”
In a Fox News story, Germain said observed that it was “a terribly risky strategy for Trump to focus on Michael Cohen’s credibility rather than focusing on the convoluted legal basis for the claims.”
“It’s not clear to me what they expected the jury to believe – that Michael Cohen paid $125,000 of his own money to Stormy Daniels without Trump’s knowledge and promise of reimbursement? They did not present an alternative theory that makes any sense, so of course they believed Cohen,” Germain said.
He claims that “a much better argument” would have been “that the records could not have been falsified to defraud the voters in the 2016 election because the records were falsified in 2017 after the election was over, and the records were not public or known by the public.”
