Friday, April 27, 2012

Pelotonia 2012: One Goal, End Cancer

Anyone living in Columbus has probably noticed those green arrows displayed on business windows and people's cars.  Four words printed on the arrows boldly stand out, "One Goal End Cancer."  These arrows help spread awareness for Pelotonia, an organization founded to raise money for cancer research.  For the past three years, thousands of riders have traveled across the state on their bikes for this great cause.  This year, on August 11, riders will start in Downtown Columbus and ride as short as 25 miles to Pickerington or as long as 100 miles to Gambier, the home of Kenyon College.  True cycling enthusiasts also have the option to ride back to Columbus the next day - a total of 180 miles over two days!

If you ask Tom Lennox, Pelotonia Founder and CEO, what this organization is all about, he will tell you, "It is all about the money."  That is because every single dollar raised by riders and volunteers goes to cancer research at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute ("The James").  In its first three years, Pelotonia has raised $25.4 million for The James, and after its fifth year, Pelotonia's goal is to have raised $50 million.  Pelotonia has already raised over $1 million this year, and there are still 105 days left until ride.

Last year, Capital Law joined this fight against cancer with the formation of the Capital Law Cycling Club.  Six students and two faculty members (current Capital Law School Dean, Richard Simpson, and former Capital Law School Dean, Jack Guttenberg) courageously rode in a Peloton on behalf of Capital and raised a total of $14,338.97.  Four additional students also helped volunteer the day of the ride.

This year, the Cycling Club hopes to significantly increase the number of riders and volunteers, as well as the total amount of money raised.  Because Capital will be hosting an exclusive "feed zone" in Pataskala, we need around 30 volunteers.  These volunteers will serve the riders food and beverages to keep their energy levels high, but more importantly, they will cheer them on.  Moral support goes a long way. It can be just what riders need to give them that little extra boost of stamina.

Staff, Faculty, Students:  Are you interested in riding or volunteering?  Potential riders can send questions to Ryan Schick (rschick@law.capital.edu), and potential volunteers should contact Molly Dames (mdames@law.capital.edu) or Tom Jeffcott (tjeffcott@law.capital.edu).  If you are on the fence, I encourage you to watch the video posted below.  After watching it, I was just about ready to sign up for the 180 miler, and I haven't ridden a bike in years.  For more information about the Capital Law Peloton, visit our Pelotonia 2012 profile page.





2011 Capital Law Peloton


Monday, April 2, 2012

Law Review Celebrates Its 40th Year

Forty years ago, Roberta Mitchell was a student at Capital University Law School.  One day she was asked if she wanted to create a Law Review publication for the school.  These kinds of publications were prevalent in law schools across the country, but Capital did not yet have one.  After researching what needed to be done, and finding additional students to work as board members, Roberta Mitchell became the Law Review's first editor-in-chief.  Today, Mitchell serves as a professor emerita, and in honor of this 40-year milestone, this year's publication was dedicated to her.

Staff membership on the Capital University Law Review is a true honor for students.  The Law Review staff works hard throughout the year editing and selecting papers from scholars, attorneys, and judges with fresh ideas who are seeking publication.  Students involved gain a tremendous amount of additional training in legal research and writing.  Because of the sophisticated knowledge and skill that comes as a result of being involved in Law Review, employers look very favorably upon this activity.

But Law Review is much more than your average student organization.  Staff members devote countless hours in making sure articles have all of the correct legal citations and that they are free of spelling and grammatical errors.  In addition to their editing expectations, staff members also write their own articles on a current legal topic.  These student-written articles are also submitted to the Law Review and each year, a number of them are published.

Capital Law students have three different ways to become Law Review staff members.  First, students in the top ten percent of their class receive an automatic invitation.  Second, students who earn one of the top two highest grades in their legal writing class also receive an automatic invitation.  Finally, any other student not falling within one of those previous two categories may participate in the write-on competition.  Competitors analyze a fact pattern with accompanying case law, choose a side, and write a short brief.  A few briefs are selected as the winners of the write-on competition, and those students are extended an invitation to join the Law Review staff as well.

This year's publication focuses on contract and intellectual property, foreclosure, and adoption law.  As an incoming law student, Law Review staff membership is a great goal to set for yourself.  According to Professor Dan Kobil, a faculty advisor, "The students on Law Review tend to exemplify the combination of intelligence, diligence, commitment, and responsibility that make for the best lawyers."