News

In October, Professor and UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences Director Karrigan Börk took around 30 students to the Klamath Basin. 

The trip was part of Börk's California Environmental Cases and Places course that connects law and environmental science to allow students to learn hands-on water, environmental and public lands law.

The UC Davis Outdoor Adventures and UC Davis Fire Department provided support and Virginia Cahill ’81 sponsored the trip.

Professor Kevin R. Johnson commented for an Oct. 24 New York Times article, "Can ICE Stop People Solely Based on Their Race?" Johnson offered context about how a Supreme Court decision from 1975 is influencing immigration enforcement today.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Wendy R. Casas '04 to serve as a judge in the Solano County Superior Court. 

Since 2018, Casas has been a solo practitioner at the Law Office of Wendy Casas in Woodland. From 2005-2018 she served as a deputy public defender in Solano County and Kern County. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Christine A. Carringer.

Read the full press release.

Congratulations to Professor Lisa R. Pruitt, who has reached the 25-year milestone as a faculty member at UC Davis School of Law.

Pruitt, who arrived at the law school in 1999, will be honored Wednesday, Oct. 22 at an event celebrating the latest members of UC Davis’ exclusive Quarter Century Club.

The Brigitte Bodenheimer Research Scholar and a Distinguished Professor of Law, Pruitt received the law school’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2020.

Thirty-six teams from the Class of 2028 competed in the King Hall Negotiations Team’s 14th annual 1L Negotiations Competition, held Saturday, Sept. 27.

Congratulations to winning teams Rory Yoakum and Lauren Tepper and Carter Dalke and Evan Gaudreau, and to finalist teams Nathan Nemeth and Garrett Chao and Emily Ma and Anna Bullock.

Thanks to KHNT board members and advisor Professor Sarah McBride.

In December, Carolina Academic Press will publish the fourth edition of Understanding Immigration Law, co-authored by UC Davis Law Professors Kevin R. Johnson, Raquel E.

At the Asian/Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento Gala on Sept. 17, Senior Associate Dean Donna Shestowsky presented UC Davis Law alumnus Yoshonori "Toso" Himel '75 with an award recognizing his lasting, and remarkable, contributions to the legal community.  

By Carla Meyer

In an era of extreme division, Professor Aaron Tang has found a national – and creative – platform to encourage civil discourse.

UC Davis School of Law will honor two outstanding alumni at its upcoming Reunions on Saturday, Oct. 18.

Hannah Buxbaum, the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, has been elected to the Institut de Droit International, a leading society that promotes the development of international law.

UC Davis School of Law has appointed four luminary faculty members to open endowed chairs. The chairs were established previously through generous gifts from alumni and are awarded to faculty members who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, as well as in teaching and service.

By Carla Meyer

Michael Kahrs ’97 found his calling, at age 41, through the Civil Rights Clinic. Now Kahrs, a longtime Seattle solo practitioner who represented many incarcerated clients, has pledged $200,000 to help current and future King Hall students find a similar path.

Professor and Immigration Law Clinic Co-director Holly Cooper spoke to the Christian Science Monitor for a July 1 story that starts with a visit by President Donald Trump to the controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” detention site in Florida.

Professor Raquel Aldana spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 7 about the U.S. Department of Justice’s push to “denaturalize” U.S. citizens whom the government finds to have gained their citizenship illegally.

Professor Kevin R. Johnson spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 14 about federal “border czar” Tom Homan’s suggestion that agents can question people “based on their physical appearance.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court cited an article co-authored by Professor Lisa Pruitt in reversing a lower court ruling in Wis

In August, UC Davis School of Law welcomed Eric Toscano '09 as the new president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Toscano succeeds Errol Dauis '11 who provided excellent leadership and service as past president. 

In an op-ed published Aug. 7 in The Fulcrum, Professor Chimène Keitner discusses President Donald Trump’s position that recognizing a Palestinian state “rewards Hamas.”

Professor Kevin R. Johnson spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle for an August 18 story on the White House blaming California sanctuary policies for a fatal crash in Florida allegedly caused by an undocumented semitruck driver.

Professor Lisa R. Pruitt spoke to The Practice, a magazine published by Harvard Law School's Center on the Legal Profession, for its August issue about legal deserts, or rural areas with too few lawyers and judges to meet demand.

In the noteworthy case of Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, the U.S. Supreme Court's majority opinion, on June 27, 2024, cited Professor Vikram Amar’s scholarship on the importance of honoring the historical understandings of jury-trial rights under the Seventh Amendment.

On Aug. 20, Professor Vikram Amar participated in the American Bar Association's webinar, “The Roberts Court 2024-25: Trumpeting Presidential Power.”

Lindsay Chuang has been named Assistant Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at UC Davis School of Law.

Chuang joined UC Davis in 2022, and had served as Interim Assistant Dean since June. Before that, she was Senior Director of Admission and Associate Director of Admission. In these capacities, she has been instrumental in shaping the past three classes of exceptionally talented first-year students.

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin commented for the Washington Post on Aug. 20 about a recent policy memo from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services indicating it will increase its efforts to determine whether citizenship applicants display “good moral character.”