Letter from the Editor-in-Chief, Matthew Beddingfield:
The 2013-2014 academic year proved to be a prolific one in terms of awards and recognitions for the Law School here on the Bluff. Dean Ken Gormley’s Pennsylvania Lawyer article “Heading in the Right Direction” highlights the many programs Duquesne School of Law has implemented in order to give students a more “hands-on” approach
to the legal field. Not only has Duquesne School of Law recently become a tier-one law school, but jumped 23 spots in the rankings according to U.S. News and World Report.
This type of recognition has certainly helped the school acquire connections to further the quality of education Duquesne School of Law students receive, but overall it has done something more than that throughout my three years on campus, which I
had not yet recognized to the degree I did this past year. Students are becoming increasingly involved in activities that have helped further the repertoire of the institution, and have a keen interest in producing works that will bolster our school’s standing in the country’s realm of legal education.
From the many successes of this year’s trial and moot court teams at national tournaments, to the Veteran’s Clinic and their free representation
of indigent veterans, Duquesne law students are taking note of their ability to push our great school
forward. These types of efforts have also been noted in the Juris newsroom, where staff writers and editors have willingly taken time out of their busy schedules to contribute their thought in words on issues from the unionization of NCAA athletes to the current happenings at Duquesne School of Law.
This summer issue features stories written by veteran Juris writers, including Lauren Gailey’s feature story on “Combating Modern Slavery,” as well as newly featured authors, such as the feature “E-Discovery Special Masters” story by a 1973 alumna, the Honorable Joy Flowers Conti, the Honorable Nora Barry Fischer and Duquesne alumnus Richard Lettieri. Also featured are the top three winners for the 2nd annual Juris Op-Ed writing competition held this March.
Throughout the year, Juris has made efforts to further the publication’s quality for our readership by building off of the solid foundation set by past editors. By expanding our presence online, recruiting works by former Duquesne School of Law students and being stringent about the works we allow in our publication, we hope to be a small part of the ‘new wave’ of factors that are helping Duquesne move onward and upward.
With that, I would like to extend my warmest appreciation to all student writers, editors, faculty members and alumni who made this spring/summer issue of Juris possible. Let our new graduates reward our school for the first-rate legal education we received by going into the professional world and making a difference only a Duquesne graduate could.
Matthew Beddingfield, 3D, is the Editor-in-Chief of Juris. He is also the president of the Duquesne Intellectual Property Law Association. Upon graduation, Matthew will sit for the Virginia Bar Examination and seek employment dealing with intellectual property or media law in the Northern Virginia/D.C. area.
