Announcements
Week of 14 April 2025
MELSA Arab American Heritage Month Celebration
Monday, April 14, 3:30pm on the Law School Lawn
ETLS Conversation with Oliver Roberts & Elections
Tuesday, April 15, 12-1:20pm in the Minority Alumni Society Classroom (Room 103)
Law Firms, Ethics, and Executive Orders
Tuesday, April 15, 12:20-1:20pm in Room 302
A panel discussion with Professors Brogan, Chanenson, and Fissell.
Sponsored by the David F. and Constance B. Girard-DiCarlo Center for Ethics, Integrity and Compliance. Lunch will be provided.
柑橘直播 Law School Blood Drive
Wednesday, April 16, 12-5pm in the Ambassador David F. Girard-diCarlo 鈥�73 and Constance B. Girard-diCarlo 鈥�74 Student Lounge
Help save lives by donating blood to the 柑橘直播 Law School Blood Drive. Get a classic 鈥淭humbs Up for Saving Lives鈥� (while supplies last) when you donate, and you will be automatically entered for a chance to win a $5k gift card. !
Law of Seasonings
Wednesday, April 16, 3:30-5pm in the Arthur M. Goldberg 鈥�66 Commons
Weekly Mass and Worship Opportunities on Campus
Wednesdays at 12:30pm Chapel of Our Lady, Mirror of Justice, dedicated in memory of Helen A. O鈥機onnor
Mass will be held at the Law School when classes are in session. Further details and other opportunities for worship can be found on the Campus Ministry website. For other information, you may contact Fr. Aldo Potencio, OSA at aldo.potencio@villanova.edu.
Matthew J. Ryan Law and Public Policy Forum
Criminal Sentencing Colloquium: Developments in Civilian and Military Law
Friday, April 25, 9:45am-3pm in Vasey Hall Room 206
This colloquium will examine crucial developments in sentencing law across two distinct domains: federal civilian sentencing jurisprudence and military justice reform. This event will bring together leading scholars and practitioners to explore these parallel yet distinct evolutionary paths in American sentencing law. It is a particularly opportune moment to explore these issues as it has been 20 years since the US Supreme Court鈥檚 landmark decision in United States v. Booker and just over one year since the military justice 鈥渟entencing parameters鈥� became effective pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022.
Co-sponsored by the Federal Sentencing Reporter and the National Institute of Military Justice. For further information and to register, visit the event page.
Maura Buri Memorial Excellence in Student Research Prize
The Law Library is now accepting submissions for the Maura Buri Memorial Excellence in Student Research Prize. This prize grants an award to one 柑橘直播 Law Student who demonstrates excellent research ability and application in an academic paper that they have written this academic year. Please see the prize webpage for submission eligibility and guidelines. Submissions must be received by Monday, May 5, 2025 at 9AM.
Lending Library Textbook Donation
Every year, SBA works in conjunction with the Law Library to manage the Lending Library, which provides textbooks to students with financial need. At the end of each semester, the library accepts donations of books previously used by law students for the collection. The Lending Library Textbook Donation Box can be found on the bottom floor in the locker area. All books except Bar Prep Program and MPRE Books Program are accepted (aka No Barbari, Themis, Kaplin etc.). If you have any questions, about the Lending Library please email Hannah Fassbender.
Law Library Use During Finals
During finals, library use is limited to those in the 柑橘直播 Law community. Please show your ID when you enter the law library. As a reminder, the law library is a quiet study space. Talking/noise is disruptive to other students. Please respect your classmates and take phone calls and other conversations outside the library. Headphones are available for check out at the Circulation Desk for listening to class or other recordings. If you wish to talk with others, please in the library or the classroom wing or meet in the coffee bar, Student Lounge, or a vacant classroom. Your fellow students greatly appreciate it! The Library also has a limited supply of earplugs 鈥� ask for them at the Circulation Desk.
Online Study Aids, Practice Questions, Old Exams and More!
The Law Library offers two online study aids platforms to help you prep for exams. The offers many different study aids including Casenote Legal Briefs, Emanuel CrunchTime and Law Outlines, Examples & Explanations, Glannon Guides, the Inside Series and many more while the provides the Understanding Series and the Questions & Answers series. Also check out our for print study guides, links to the old exam database and other materials to get you ready for finals. Try to help you review concepts and quiz yourself as you go along. And if you鈥檙e finishing up a research paper, review our other for more sources or contact reference@law.villanova.edu for additional assistance. Good luck on your exams!
Summer Resources Guide: Prepare for Your Job, Learn About Summer/Post-Grad Database Access, Pick up New Skills and More!
Check out our Summer Resources Guide to view the and to Bloomberg, Lexis, and Westlaw. The guide also has resources for walking you through researching your employer ahead of your first day of work, tips for , resources like to help you with the Write-on Competition, Write.law and database certifications to and more!
Commencement Information
The Law School鈥檚 Commencement for the Class of 2025 will take place on Saturday, May 17th. We encourage all graduating students to review the Commencement website and emails you receive from the Law School Commencement team so you are informed about commencement-related events and information. If you have specific questions, please email the 柑橘直播 Law Commencement Team.
Bird Migration
Spring Migration is underway! Please close blinds and turn off office lights at the end of each day. Small efforts on our part make a big difference to traveling birds by helping them to avoid window collisions and reducing other hazards such as the disorientation caused by reflective light. For those interested in reading more about this problem, please visit:
If you find an injured or dead bird, email birds@law.villanova.edu.
If you see a bird hit a window or door at the Law School during the weekend or after 5pm during the weekday, and it does not fly away within a few minutes, it may be dazed, injured, or deceased. If the bird is alive, it is important to protect it from predators. Place the bird in a ventilated box with a lid and place the box in a warm, quiet place away from humans or predatory animals. Boxes are available at the lobby desk. After 30 minutes, release the bird back into the wild, unless it still remains dazed or appears injured, then you may contact the Philadelphia Metro Wildlife Center in King of Prussia at 267-416-9453 or the Tri-State Bird Rescue at (302) 737-9543. If you find a deceased bird, please email birds@law.villanova.edu so that the bird can be transferred to the Biology department for documentation. Thank you for your help.
Graduation Awards: Call for Nominations
Each year, the faculty votes to designate the recipients of four graduation awards: the Hyman-Goodman Award, the Herman Mitchell Schwartz Award, the Arthur J. Kania Award, and the Scholarship & Leadership Award (previously designated as the ALI CLE Scholarship and Leadership Award). Each of these awards is described in more detail below.
The Academic Affairs Committee solicits nominations for these awards and makes recommendations to the faculty.
The Academic Affairs Committee invites the entire 柑橘直播 Law School community鈥攆aculty, staff, and students鈥攖o nominate 3L students for these awards. While the final decisions rest with the faculty, all nominations will be carefully considered. To submit a nomination, please click on this Nomination .
The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 18th.
AWARD DESCRIPTIONS:
THE HYMAN-GOODMAN AWARD is presented annually to the graduating student who, in the opinion of the faculty, has done the most for the graduates鈥� class and the School of Law through both academic and extracurricular achievement. The award was established by the family of Myron A. Hyman, Esq., Class of 1964.
THE HERMAN MITCHELL SCHWARTZ AWARD is presented annually to the graduating student who, in the opinion of the faculty, has contributed the most to the achievement of equality of opportunity and treatment for women, either within the School of Law, in the legal profession, or in society at large. The award was given by Shirley Schwartz Weisman, Class of 鈥�71, in memory of her father.
THE ARTHUR J. KANIA AWARD is presented annually to the graduating student who, in the judgment of the faculty, best demonstrates the commitment to professional ethics and integrity exemplified by the life and career of Arthur J. Kania. The award was established by Connie Girard-diCarlo, Class of 1974, in honor of Art Kania.
THE SCHOLARSHIP & LEADERSHIP AWARD is presented annually to the graduating student who, in the judgment of the faculty, best represents a combination of scholarship and leadership.
We are looking forward to reviewing your nominations!!
Gazette Submissions
Due to the Easter holiday break, please send items for next week鈥檚 Gavel Gazette to gavelgazette@law.villanova.edu by 3pm on Thursday. The April 21st issue will be the last one for this semester.
Trial Team鈥檚 Most Recent Success
April 2-5, 柑橘直播 sent two teams to the National Trial Competition hosted by the Texas Young Lawyers Association to compete against thirty other elite teams from around the country. To qualify for the national competition in Texas, each team had to win their region.
The first team, Matthew Peipher and Abby Morris, finished the week by racking up clean sweeps against the University of Arizona and Chicago Kent narrowly avoiding the cut off to the top 8 round.
The second team, Grace Mezzanotte and Kelsey McCafferty, started off with decisive victories over the University of Missouri, Suffolk, and the University of Houston. They advanced to the quarter finals and defeated Cumberland University by a margin of 4-1. Kelsey and Grace then faced off against the University of Denver (a trial advocacy powerhouse) and emerged victorious, advancing to the final round against St. John's. Although they lost the final round, Kelsey and Grace were crowned the National Runners Up. Because of their remarkable performance, the team has already received invitations to compete at tournaments reserved for the true "best of the best" in the world of trial advocacy.
Huge congratulations to Matthew, Abby, Kelsey, Grace along with their dedicated coaches, Zach Wynkoop, Danielle Nispel, Steve Patton 15鈥�
To recap this year鈥檚 success, 柑橘直播鈥檚 team competed in ten trial advocacy competitions this year. They advanced and placed in eight of those competitions and were named the champion in three.
Moot Court鈥檚 Most Recent Success
The Moot Court Board is excited to announce more successful outcomes for our travel teams. Congratulations to everyone for such a successful season!
路 3L Board Members Taylor Bellardino and Samuel Rollick finished as National Quarterfinalist at the American Bar Association鈥檚 National Appellate Advocacy Competition after sweeping their regional competition back in February. We are tremendously proud of these two for finishing in the TOP EIGHT TEAMS out of the over ONE HUNDRED teams that participated in the regional and national stages of this competition! We鈥檇 once again like to thank Sam and Taylor鈥檚 coaches: 3Ls Elizabeth Henning and Jillian Updegraff, Professor Christine Mooney, and alumnus Eric Rotteveel.
路 2L Moot Court Board members Max Farrell and Allison Jedrzejek finished as Quarterfinalists at the Irving R. Kaufman Securities Law Moot Court Competition at Fordham University School of Law. The breezed through preliminary rounds against University of Wisconsin-Madison and Florida State University before ultimately falling by a single digit margin in the Quarterfinals to Michigan State University. In addition to a top-eight finish, the pair brought home not one, but TWO brief awards for Best Respondent Brief and Best Overall Brief! We are so proud of these talented advocates, especially as this was their first ever external competition, and we hope you will join us in congratulating them on this tremendous accomplishment! We鈥檇 also like to thank Max and Allison鈥檚 coaches: 3L Andrea Sol铆s Canto, Professor O鈥橦are, Professor Fissell, and alumnus Parks Kingery.
路 3L Moot Court Board members Jillian Updegraff and Daniel Rooney finished as Quarterfinalists at the Federal Bar Association鈥檚 Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition in Washington DC! After sweeping their preliminary rounds against University of Illinois-Champaign and Northwestern University, the duo advanced to the Sweet Sixteen where they handedly beat their competition to move onto the Quarterfinals and received glowing reviews from the panel, including a federal judge currently sitting in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The duo ultimately fell to the eventual Second Place team from UCLA. In addition to a top eight finish, Jillian was also named the Third Place Overall Oralist out of over eighty advocates! We are so proud of these two, and we hope you will join us in congratulating them on their wonderful finish in their final moot court competition! We鈥檇 also like to thank Jillian and Daniel鈥檚 coaches: 3L Samuel Rollick, Professor Ravid, and alumna Anna O鈥橞rien.
Absence Reporting Form
If you have missed or know you will miss a class session and believe the absence may be excused, please use to record the absence and have it excused where applicable. Please note that individual faculty members DO NOT receive submitted forms, so you must still notify your professors independently of any absences.
Writing Competition Guide
If you are interested in participating in one of the many annual law student writing competitions, check out the Writing Competitions Guide: . There is information in the Guide regarding the mechanics of writing for publication, as well as lists of open competitions.
Counseling Center YouTube Channel
These contain 鈥榮elf-serve鈥� advice and guidance with titles such as: 鈥� Resilience Skills for transition to college 鈥� Coping with Academic Disappointment 鈥� Progressive Relaxation and Body Scan 鈥� Mindfulness Playlists: /university/health-services/counseling-center.html.
DEI LibGuide
The includes information about the law school and university Offices of DEI, the DEI Committee list, processing DEI environmental complaints, student organizations, and affinity groups, a glossary of DEI terms, and details about the Veritas, Unitas, and Caritas Community Award. Refer any questions, suggestions, and recommendations about the LibGuide content to the Office of DEI.
Embedded Counselors at the Law School
Dr Allison Kosloff and Dr. Candice Post, counselors from University Counseling Center, will be at the Law School in Room 138 from 12:30-4:30pm on Mondays and Tuesdays through spring semester for appointments with Law Students. Students should schedule an appointment in advance (in-person or telehealth) using the online appointment form on the Counseling Center鈥檚 website or by calling 610 519-4050.
Wellness Resources for Students
柑橘直播 University School of Law faculty and staff care about you. We remind all law students to prioritize your physical, emotional, and mental health. It is important to reach out if you are going through a challenge, feeling overwhelmed, need to talk or want to find ways to maintain balance in your life.
Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers: LCL is fully operational during this time of uncertainty. They have one staff rotating in the office each day to ensure every helpline call will be thoroughly handled. Their volunteer base of 295 law students, attorneys, and judges are ready, willing, and able to assist any student, staff or faculty member that may be struggling LCL鈥檚 24/7 helpline is 888-999-1941 and their website is also a wealth of information
University Counseling Center: Please see the Counseling Center鈥檚 website regarding their message for continuity of care, on-line appointment request form, local referrals or prescription refill if you have been seeing the University psychiatrist. Law Students have full access to the University Counseling center M-F, 9-5 610 519- 4050 and UWill 24/7 Telehealth Counseling
痴颈濒濒补苍辞惫补鈥檚&苍产蝉辫;Health and Well-Being website
Nancy Whalen, Director of Student Affairs and Wellbeing can help you if you need to connect to resources, want a wellness check-in or need to discuss a specific concern. Email her at whalen@law.villanova.edu or schedule a time to meet with Nancy.
In an emergency, call 柑橘直播 Public Safety at 610-519-4444.
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 160 crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
