This week is an exciting time for students at the UW College of Law, as Law Week began on Monday. The annual event is sponsored by the Potter Law Club and Associated Students of the University of Wyoming, and hosts a number of guest speakers and panelists that are open to students and the public.
“Law students will hear from a variety of experts in their field on a number of legal topics ranging from Title IX law on University campuses to international criminal law cases before the World Court,” Klinton Alexander, dean of the college of law, said. “The student-led event is a significant educational opportunity for our students and the Laramie community as whole,”.
All week long former UW law alumni and honored guests will give presentations and speak to students about the challenges they face with balancing work and family, federal regulations, their lives in politics and how studying law has guided them down their career paths.
“The panel that I’m most excited about is the Law and Politics panel. The former governor of Wyoming Dave Freudenthal will be there, the current secretary of State Ed Murray, who is rumored to maybe consider running for governor, and we have a former representative Mary Throne, who has formally announced that she will be running for governor as a Democrat.” Brandon Taylor, second vice president of the Potter Law Club, said.
David Freudenthal, former governor of Wyoming, said, “I think law school is training in a way of thinking and understanding the fundamental role of the rule of law in America. This knowledge has application whether someone chooses to practice law or to apply the training and perspective in other lines of work.”
Another featured speaker is Johnathan Wood, an attorney who represented a Wyoming rancher who was being sued for $20 million by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“I’ll be speaking about the dangers of a large, unaccountable administrative state. The case demonstrates several of the biggest Due Process concerns of administrative law and what we can do about it,” Wood said.
Taylor hopes students can gain more insight into the nuts and bolts of practicing law, rather than simply studying it.
“Sometimes there’s a bit of a gap between law school and practicing law, and I think Law Week is a great opportunity to bridge that gap,” Taylor said.
Joe Evers, a panelist on the Natural Resources Policy, said, “I would hope to showcase the diverse job opportunities that exist for law students in the business world and how a law degree can be applicable in many industries.”
Evers will be speaking with the Powder River Basin Resources Council and others Tuesday about how regulations affect industry and the environment.
“This presents a good opportunity to see different avenues that people can pursue with their law degree,” Taylor said. “Even those that want to take a traditional path can take a little bit of look into what their future career might look like.”
Wood said, “The prospects for law students and new grads have changed tremendously. 2012 was the dark days of the economic downturn and everyone was stressed about finding some job, any job. With the job market turning around, there’s greater opportunity for students to pursue what they want, rather than what’s available.”
Law Week ends Oct. 20 with the Trelease Dinner, at which Mindy Benson, dean of the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources will be the final speaker.
The dinner is like a graduation speech for the students, to let them know they are on the path to being awesome, director of communications of the college of law said.
The full Law Week schedule can be found on the college of law website.
