About
Posted by Jody Roselle on March 22, 2009
Welcome
The Widener Journal of Law, Economics and Race (‘WJLER”)
is Widener’s newest law journal and the first to be published
jointly by both the Delaware and Harrisburg campuses. This
journal is designed to provide a forum for in-depth analysis and
a critically and socially relevant discourse on the intersection of
the law, race, and economics in America. The goal is to provide
a space for scholars, practitioners, and students to expand the
exploration of the issues of race and economics, and to create a
resource from which policy makers can draw new ideas to
address legal and economic problems in our society.
WJLER content will come from symposia (sponsored and
webcast by WJLER); student-authored works; distinguished
Widener graduates; and other professors, judges, and legal
practitioners. The journal will have an editorial board as well as
an advisory board which will include Widener alumnae and other
legal scholars from the community.
The idea for WJLER resulted from the reaction of three Widener Law school students to the 2005 report, Race and Incarceration in Delaware: A Preliminary Consideration, (ww.njisj.org/pubdocs/red_072805_delaware_report.pdf) According to the study, Delaware, the second smallest state, has one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation. At the time of the study, African-Americans in Delaware were two and a half times more likely than Caucasion Americans to serve a prison sentence; and those arrested on drug charges in Delaware are five times more likely to serve a prison term of over one year. Data from the study also shows that the trend of racially based disparate treatment in Delaware is increasing. The report noted that one primary reason for this disproportionate representation was the economic status of those arrested. This disturbing report clearly points out the imbalances of justice within the State of Delawareís justice system and the lack of an open discourse on issues of race and economics in the First State. published by the Delaware Department of Justice and the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League.
The founders of WJLER also considered the need for such a discourse on a national level. For example, the circumstances of hurricane Katrina victims in Louisiana and surrounding areas; and the issue of illegal immigration also highlight the tension between the law, race and economics.
The WJLER was conceived and designed to be an opportunity for an expression of various views on these types of matters, while simultaneously providing a resource from which policy makers could draw when addressing these important societal issues.
Founding Members
Robert L. Hawkins, Jr., Vice President & General Manager, Claimant Management Systems, LLC
B.A., Economics University of Pennsylvania; J.D., Widener University School of Law May 2008
Robert L. Hawkins, Jr. will receive his juris doctorate degree from Widener School of Law and a certification in business organization law from the Institute of Delaware Corporate Law in May 2008. Hawkins also has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
He is currently serving as vice president and general manager of Claimant Management Systems, LLC, providing systems and litigation support services to the in-house counsel of FORTUNE 500 companies and corporate law firms; and he serves as Chariman of the Board of Compassion International, one of the world’s largest child-development organizations, working with more than one million children in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Hawkins has held leadership positions with various Time Warner divisions in New York, including director of new market development for Columbia House Music Club; vice president and general manager for FORTUNE magazine’s conference division; and chief marketing officer for Essence, the premier magazine for African-American women.
In addition to the numerous awards he has received for his work in branding, marketing and fundraising, Hawkins served on the board of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association from 1997 to 2004. He has also served as a member of the New York Chapter of 100 Black Men.
Tamika A. Crawl-Bey, Wolcott Law Clerk to the Honorable Henry DuPont Ridgely
B.S., Engineering University of Delaware; MBA Wilmington University; J.D., Widener University School of Law May 2008
Tamika A. Crawl-Bey has degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Liberal Arts from the University of Delaware and an MBA from Wilmington University. In her freshman year in college she learned that there were less than 100 African American patent attorneys in the United States. Although this sparked her interest in a legal career, after taking a patent law class as an elective while an undergraduate at UD, her interest in patent law peaked. In 2004, while working full-time, she decided to pursue a legal career. She selected Widener University because of its excellent location and flexible evening division program.
After having a successful 10-year career as a Mechanical Engineer, Tamika is currently serving as a Wolcott Law Clerk to the Honorable Henry DuPont Ridgely. After graduation, Tamika will be Associate for the intellectual property group of Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz.
Dana D. Griffin, Program and Policy Analyst, Nemours Health and Prevention Services
B.S., Environmental Science Cook College-Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ; Widener University School of Law May 2008
Dana D. Griffin will receive her juris doctorate degree from the Widener School of Law with a certificate in business organization law in May 2008. Additionally, in 2007 Dana received a certificate in health care compliance from the Seton Hall School of Law in Newark, NJ. Dana has a bachelor of science degree in environmental science with a concentration in environmental health from Cook College of Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, in New Brunswick, NJ.
Dana currently supports the community and government relations work at Nemours Health and Prevention Services in Newark, DE. In this position, she is actively involved in the advocacy and policy development of targeted issues pertinent to children in Delaware. Dana is also committed to community service and serves as a board member of the New Castle County Safe Kids Coalition, and as a member of the Wilmington Health Planning Council. Dana realized at a young age that our society is structured within a legal framework. The law touches everything, and is instrumental in influencing policy, legislation, and even culture. This was the catalyst that caused Dana to pursue a juris doctorate degree. Following graduation, Dana plans to continue working in the public interest sector and will pursue a graduate law degree in the near future.
Faculty Advisors
Nathaniel C. Nichols, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs
B.A., Howard University; J.D., Columbia University School of Law
Nathaniel C. Nichols is Associate Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs at Widener’s Delaware campus. Professor Nichols received a B.A. from Howard University in 1970 and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1973.
Following graduation from law school, Professor Nichols served as Managing Attorney for Delaware County Legal Assistance in Chester, Pennsylvania, from 1974-78, and in private practice as a partner at Nichols & Givens in Chester, Pennsylvania, from 1978-86.
Professor Nichols joined the faculty at Delaware Law School as Visiting Assistant Professor in 1986 and served in that capacity until 1988; he then served as Assistant Professor of Law, from 1988-91, and as Associate Professor of Law since 1991. Professor Nichols served as Assistant Dean for Student Affairs from 1995-96; Associate Dean for Student Affairs from 1996-97, and Dean of Students from 1997-98, when he returned to the faculty as Director of the Clinical Programs.
Professor Nichols is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, and teaches and writes in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights.
Professor Nichols has been active in a number of professional and civic organizations, including The Chester Education Foundation and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference
Serena M. Williams, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs
A.B., Smith College; J.D., Georgetown University Law Center; LL.M., George Washington University National Law Center
Serena M. Williams is a Professor of Law and Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at the Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. She teaches and researches in the areas of property law, landlord/tenant law, and environmental justice. Professor Williams received an A.B. in Economics from Smith College in 1981. She received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1984 and her LL.M. in Land Use Management and Control from the George Washington University Law School in 1992.
Following graduation from law school, Professor Williams served as an attorney in the Office of Program Enforcement at the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She also served as a Financial Economist in the Office of Economic and Tax Policy of the Washington, D.C., Department of Finance and Revenue. As a law student, she clerked for the National Association of Home Builders.
Prior to joining the faculty at Widener, Professor Williams taught property, land use, and environmental law at the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY. She also taught as an instructor of legal writing at the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.
Professor Williams currently serves on the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Delaware and of Planned Parenthood Delaware. She advises the Walnut Street YMCA delegation to the Delaware Youth In Government Program, a mock legislative program sponsored by the YMCA of Delaware. While in Kentucky, she served as a Commissioner on the Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission.
Professor Williams is admitted to practice in Maryland and Washington, D.C
J Palmer Lockard, II, Associate Professor of Law
B.A., Drew University; J.D., Washington and Lee University School of Law
J Palmer Lockard, II is Associate Professor of Law at Widener’s Harrisburg campus and Director of the Harrisburg Civil Law Clinic. Professor Lockard received a B.A. from Drew University in 1973, and a J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1978.
Following graduation from law school, Professor Lockard was in Private Practice in Belchertown, Massachusetts, from 1979-80. He then served as VISTA Attorney for the Central Massachusetts Legal Services, Worcester, Massachusetts from 1980-81, as Staff Attorney for Northern Pennsylvania Legal Services in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1981-82, as Staff Attorney for Hyatt Legal Services in Allentown, Pennsylvania, from 1982-83, while serving as Instructor, American Institute for Paralegal Services, Scranton & Allentown, Pennsylvania. Professor Lockard was Executive Director of the Schuylkill County Legal Services in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, from 1984-89.
Professor Lockard joined the faculty at Widener in 1989 as Legal Methods Instructor and served in that capacity until 1991. From 1991-96, Professor Lockard served as Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Harrisburg Civil Law Clinic. He was also Coordinator of Clinical Programs on the Harrisburg Campus from 1993-96.
Professor Lockard is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and he teaches and writes in the areas of Creditor’s Rights, Harrisburg Civil Law Clinic, Family Law.
Amanda Smith, Professor of Legal Methods
B.A. Grove City College; J.D., Dickinson School of Law
Amanda L. Smith is a Legal Methods Professor at Widener’s Harrisburg campus. Professor Smith earned a B.A. in English from Grove City College and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law. She was a member of the National Appellate Moot Court Team and served as a Case Note Editor for the Dickinson Law Review.
While in law school, Professor Smith worked for the Honorable J. Andrew Smyser of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Following graduation from law school, Professor Smith served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra Schultz Newman of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Before joining Widener’s faculty, Professor Smith served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Civil Litigation division of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. With the Attorney General’s Office, Professor Smith litigated civil actions from the initial pleading stage, to jury trials, and through appeal. She specialized in civil rights and employment discrimination litigation. She also assisted the Attorney General in defending the constitutionality of several Pennsylvania statutes.
Professor Smith has practiced before the United States District Courts for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Central District of California, and Middle District of Florida, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third and Ninth Circuits, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
In 2005 and 2006, Professor Smith served as a faculty member for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s programs on The Fundamentals of Section 1983 and Constitutional Tort Litigation. She is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Committee on Women in the Profession.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to James Maron and Maron Marvel Bradley & Anderson for sponsoring the launch of WJLER. Maron Marvel Bradley & Anderson P.A. (MMBA) was founded in 1996 and concentrates its litigation practice in the areas of Complex Toxic Tort, Environmental, Products Liability, Securities and Commercial Litigation. The firmís proven business practices, legal expertise and technological capabilities allow it to manage voluminous cases across multiple jurisdictions in an effective and cost-efficient manner – minimizing risk to clients and ensuring a consistent approach to litigation. MMBA attorneys serve in the capacity of national coordinating counsel, regional counsel and as local counsel in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey for Fortune 500 and mid-cap corporations. http://www.maronmarvel.com
The WJLER logo was designed by A’Lexa Hawkins of A’Lexa’s Designs.alexahawk@aol.com
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