Legal Clinic Faculty Highlights


Eric Amarante, associate professor of law, was awarded the 2024 John Reginald Hill Faculty Scholar Award. He was also part of the legal team that helped the Highlander Research and Education Center regain control of the site of the original Highlander Folk School. Driven by segregationist politicians intent on curbing a growing civil rights movement, the land was seized by the State of Tennessee in 1961. Highlander plans to work with MASS Design Group, the firm that designed the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, to develop appropriate plans for the land.




Wendy Bach, co-director of the Appalachian Justice Research Center and professor of law, was quoted, and her Pregnancy Justice report entitled Pregnancy As a Crime: A Preliminary Report on the First Year After Dobbs was highlighted, in articles on CNN, Mother Jones, and The Guardian.




Sherley Cruz, assistant professor of law, was awarded the University of Tennessee College of Law’s 2024 Tom & Elizabeth Fox Faculty Award for Service to the Bench & Bar. She co-authored an article ABA Standard 303(c) and Divisive Concepts Legislation and Policies: Challenges and Opportunities. She was also elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the AALS Clinical Section, joined the Society of American Law Teachers Board of Governors, and is the incoming chair elect of the AALS Discrimination Law Section.




Tyler Dougherty, clinical teaching fellow, presented her first article, “Carceral Bonds,” at the Richmond Junior Faculty Forum and the AALS Clinical Conference. Carceral Bonds is forthcoming in the Lewis & Clark Law Review (2025).




Kristina “KK” Kersey, assistant professor of law, was named co-director of the Southern Region of the Gault Center: Defenders of Youth Rights. She published an essay in State Court Report on grounding litigation for youth rights in state constitutional law and was the keynote speaker at Barry School of Law’s Child and Family Journal Symposium.




Lucy Jewel, Director of Legal Writing and Professor of Law; Kristina “KK” Kersey, assistant professor of law, and Joy Radice, director of clinical programs and associate professor of law, presented at the SALT Teaching Conference hosted by Boston University Law School. Their presentation detailed how Tennessee Law’s incoming clinic students learn how to model cultural humility and avoid identity-related bias in the course of advocating for their clients. The professors explained how they teach students these difficult concepts through lively cases involving 1990s hip-hop group the 2 Live Crew and through hypotheticals that raise issues of bias and cultural competency in law.




Brian Krumm, associate professor of law, serves as the interim director of the Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law. He has been asked to be on the Board of Advisors for a Transactional Drafting and Negotiation Manual and Problem Repository to be published by West Academic.




Joy Radice, director of clinical programs and associate professor of law, began her appointment as Chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission. Radice was also awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award by the Knoxville Area Urban League (KAUL). Presented during the KAUL Equal Opportunity Awards Gala, the award honors an individual or individuals who have made a significant impact on the programs and services of the Urban League and the community.