Faculty News 24 - College of Law

Keenan co-authors Tribune op-ed on international arrest warrants

Writing with Leila Sadat of Washington University, Professor Patrick Keenan argues President Biden has been misguided in his criticism of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and Gaza. “The law must be applied impartially to all. The U.S. should not stand behind the court when it issues warrants against U.S. adversaries such as Russia and then seek to retaliate against it for pursuing warrants in a situation in which a U.S. ally is concerned,” Keenan and Sadat wrote in their opinion piece.

Read the full article on the Chicago Tribune website.

Sherkow authors new article on DNA trade secrecy

Hallene Gateway at University of Illinois

Whether or not DNA sequences are subject to trade secrecy protections is the critical question examined by Professor Jacob Sherkow in his latest article, published in the Hastings Law Journal. Despite decades of scholarship assuming DNA sequences would be subject to protection, recent research has suggested this assumption was incorrect. Sherkow explores why DNA sequences might not be protected as well as the implications of this change.

Read the full article online.

Amar and Mazzone recap SCOTUS term at Justia

Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone take aim at the perception that the Supreme Court has taken a hard-right turn in their latest article written for Justia Verdict. “In the current term, at least, the Court has not been consistently conservative in a partisan way. Nor has the Court been particularly aggressive in taking up and deciding hot-button issues,” they write. Their opinion article examines the 2023-24 session and how a federal circuit court might be more to blame for the misperception of the nation’s highest court.

Read the full article online.

Illinois Law welcomes five new faculty hires

The University of Illinois College of Law is thrilled to welcome five new faculty members to our roster this fall.

Sara Gerke joins Illinois as an Associate Professor of Law and Richard W. & Marie L. Corman Scholar. Her research focuses on the ethical and legal challenges of artificial intelligence and big data for health care and health law in the United States and Europe. She also researches comparative law and ethics of other issues at the cutting edge of medical developments, such as the clinical translation of stem cell research, biological products, such as somatic cells, tissues, and gene therapy, reproductive medicine, such as mitochondrial replacement techniques, and digital health more generally. Professor Gerke has over 60 publications in health law and bioethics, and her work has appeared in leading law, medical, scientific, and bioethics journals. Professor Gerke earned a JD from University of Augsburg and an MA from King’s College London.

Bill Watson joins Illinois as an Assistant Professor of Law. His work has focused on the intersection of public law and philosophy and has appeared or is forthcoming in law reviews like the Northwestern University Law Review and Boston University Law Review, as well as peer-reviewed journals like Law and Philosophy and Legal Theory. He is currently working on projects that address originalism in constitutional interpretation, the import of legal positivism for legal interpretation, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent treatment of precedent. Professor Watson received his JD from the University of Chicago Law School and his PhD in Philosophy from Cornell University. He was a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School immediately prior to joining the University of Illinois faculty.

Jingkang (Jake) Gao joins Illinois as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law. In his work, he has explored how legal institutions can make urban mobility safer, cleaner, more accessible, and more equitable, and how insights from urban mobility can enrich the study of law. He has applied his background in law in his work with the Chicago Transit Authority on facilitating bus electrification and cultivating a healthier electric bus market in the United States. Professor Gao earned his JD from Columbia Law School and his PhD and an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Maxim Krupskiy joins Illinois as a Visiting Scholar, as part of the Illinois Scholars at Risk program. He has more than twelve years of experience practicing law in Russia defending refugees and civil activists and, as an independent expert, has prepared more than forty independent anti-corruption expert opinions. Krupskiy recently spent time as a Visiting Scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a Non-Resident Fellow at the George Washington University, Russia Program.

Benjamin Horton joins Illinois as a Visiting Lecturer in Law and Stanton Fellow with our First Amendment Clinic. He was inspired to pursue a legal education during the 2016 presidential election and focused his education on free expression and election issues, participating in several clinics and interning for the Center for Democracy and Technology. After completing his JD at Harvard Law School, Horton spent a year with Free Speech For People, an election litigation nonprofit, and two years clerking in the District of Massachusetts.

The College of Law is proud to have these individuals joining our faculty and looks forward to their accomplishments as part of the University of Illinois.

Sherkow receives prestigious recognition as University Scholar

Professor Jacob Sherkow is one of only five University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors to be named a University Scholar in recognition of his excellence in teaching, scholarship and service.

The scholars program recognizes faculty excellence and provides $15,000 to each scholar for three years to enhance their academic careers. The money may be used for travel, equipment, research assistants, books or other purposes.

“The University Scholars program celebrates the remarkable achievements of the named individuals,” said Nicholas Jones, the University of Illinois System’s executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs. “Our faculty represent the strong foundation of the world-class academic experience that contributes to the betterment of society and draws students and researchers to the U. of I. System universities from across the globe. The University Scholars are exemplars of that faculty excellence.

“When you consider the diversity of scholarship across all three of our universities and the standards of academic excellence that we nurture and grow through our recruitment of esteemed educators and researchers, all of our University Scholar recipients should be deservedly proud of the honor.”

College of Law welcomes new staff in student support roles

The College of Law is pleased to announce a significant expansion in our Student Services team, with the addition of two new staff members and a new role for Jolynn Caroline, a dedicated member of the Career Planning and Professional Development team.

An 18-year veteran of the College staff and a graduate of the school herself, Jolynn has spent the last several months gathering views on diversity, equity, and inclusion from our students, faculty, and alumni. After reflecting on a summary of these conversations, Dean Sharpe concluded that the College would benefit from her continued leadership in this critical area. Jolynn will serve as the College’s Senior Director for Inclusive Excellence, Career Planning and Professional Development. In this new role, she will split her time between Career Services and helping Dean Sharpe to foster inclusion and belonging at the College.

Michael Loch joins the College as our first Director of Academic Success and Bar Support, as well as a Lecturer in Law. He joins us from the University of Oregon School of Law, where he served as the director of academic success and taught several classes on bar preparation and fundamental law school skills. In his role at Illinois, Michael will work directly with students, starting in their 1L year, to build academic and analytical skills that will set them on the path toward success during law school, on the bar exam, and ultimately, in their careers.

Maggie Verklan, in partnership with the campus Counseling Center, joins the College as our new (and first) embedded counselor. Assigned exclusively to the law school, Maggie will support our students’ mental health and well-being through individual counseling and programming.

Dean Jamelle Sharpe is eager to collaborate with the new staff members on a variety of initiatives.

“Since the beginning of my deanship, I have been vocal about my commitment to inclusion, belonging, and student health and well-being. I am confident that the addition of our newest team members will enhance our ability to support the diverse needs of our students and advance us in our goal of fostering a community where everyone can thrive,” he said.

Sherkow publishes chapter in COVID-19 and the Law

Professor Jacob Sherkow is one of the authors of a chapter in the new book “COVID-19 and the Law,” published by Cambridge University Press. The chapter examines the ways in which aspects of health law such as food and drug regulation, healthcare reimbursement, and direct research and development subsidies encouraged and impeded new technologies in the fight against COVID-19. The authors sought to provide insight to highlight important lessons for policymakers in order to better prepare for the next pandemic.

Curtis and student clinician speak with WEFT about the Veterans Legal Clinc

Veterans Legal Clinic Director Yulanda Curtis and Briley McVey ’24 joined the WEFT program “Catch the Beat from Market Street” to discuss the different services provided by the clinic and share experiences working with veterans and their families. Their half-hour interview spans a number of topics and provides great insight into why the work of the Veterans Legal Clinic is so important.

Listen to the full interview on WEFT.

Politico quotes Sherkow on CRISPR case

The dispute over who invented CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing is headed to federal appellate court, and Politico turned to Professor Jacob Sherkow to help sort out the details. He expects the case will return to patent court and may result in changes to the licensing fees collected. “Absolutely none of this under any reasonable interpretation is going to change what the retail sticker cost of these drug therapies are going to be — not by a dollar, not by a cent,” Sherkow added.

Wexler discusses Israel-Hamas war on the 21st Show

“Some people see this as an armed conflict only and some people see this as a genocide,” Professor Lesley Wexler said on The 21st Show, discussing the Israel-Hamas war. In her wide-ranging interview, she discussed the conflict, the international law issues around the conflict, and how it is being interpreted by various groups in the US and abroad.

Listen to the full show from Illinois Public Media.