JD #Changemaker Stories

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  • Photo of Brenda Reyes

    On Becoming a Storyteller

    Brenda Reyes, RWU Law Class of 2020

    Juris Doctor

    Born and raised in the Dominican Republic before coming to the United States as a teenager, Brenda Reyes has her professional sights set on Immigration Law – and to a significant degree, it’s personal. “As...

  • photo of Amanda Walsh

    Title IX in a Time of Uncertainty

    Amanda Walsh, RWU Law Class of 2011

    Juris Doctor

    In November 2019, when a national array of experts converged at Roger Williams University School of Law to discuss Title IX and the adjudication of sexual misconduct on campus, one of the most authoritative voices...

  • Nicole Verdi

    Deputy Chief of Staff

    Nicole Verdi, RWU Law Class of 2014

    Juris Doctor

    Nicole Verdi ’14 has always been a service-minded lawyer. Even so, her rise in the field has been remarkable -- and never more visibly so than last summer, when Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo...

  • Braxton Medlin

    Leaps of Faith

    Braxton Medlin, RWU Law Class of 2019

    Juris Doctor

    Braxton Medlin ’19 has a history of getting outside his comfort zone. In 2017, the lifelong North Carolina resident took a chance and moved to Rhode Island – a place where he knew no one...

  • Christine Awe

    A D.C. Externship - During the Shutdown

    Christine Y. Awe, RWU Law Class of 2019

    Juris Doctor

    When Christine Awe ’19 decided to spend her final semester at RWU Law taking part in the school’s D.C. Semester in Practice program – she’d been placed in an externship with the Federal Communications Commission...

  • Amanda Argentieri

    Shanghai Sojourn

    Amanda J. Argentieri, RWU Law Class of 2009

    Juris Doctor

    Amanda J. Argentieri '09 arrived in Singapore by chance five years ago – but has since made a home in the sprawling, exotic city. Managing business policies, training and communications in Asia for a Boston-based tech company, Argentieri is also president of the International Professional Women’s Society.

  • Melinda Thies '18.

    Time for a Change

    Melinda Thies, RWU Law Class of 2018

    Juris Doctor

    After retiring at Superintendent of the Bristol Warren Regional School District, Melinda Thies went back to school -- this time as a law student at RWU Law. Having just graduated with the Class of 2018, she reflects on her life and challenges.

  • Molly R. Hamlin

    'It Felt Like a Community'

    Molly R. Hamlin, RWU Law Class of 2018

    Juris Doctor

    Molly Hamlin was born and raised in Oregon, and that’s where she’ll be putting her law degree to work – starting as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Debra K. Vogt, Presiding Judge of the...

  • John W. Caruolo

    On the Transactional Path

    John W. Caruolo, RWU Law Class of 2018

    Juris Doctor

    A dyed-in-the-wool Rhode Islander, John W. Caruolo earned his undergraduate degree at Brown University, and then decided to take advantage of RWU Law’s status as Rhode Island’s only law school to get the academic and experiential chops he needed to succeed in the legal profession.

  • Headshot of Kirby Gordon

    A Passion for Good

    Kirby Gordon, RWU Law Class of 2018

    Juris Doctor

    For Kirby Gordon, the broad spectrum of RWU Law’s curriculum, experiential opportunities and alumni placements offer exactly the flexibility she sought. But it was the school’s 50-hour public service requirement – and its unique experiential guarantee that helps fulfill it – that turned her definitively toward public interest.

Close Course Type Descriptions

Course Types

We have classified RWU Law classes under the following headers. One of the following course types will be attached to each course which will allow students to narrow down their search while looking for classes.

Core Course

Students in the first and second year are required to take classes covering the following aspects of the law—contracts, torts, property, criminal law, civil procedure, and constitutional law, evidence, and professional responsibility.  Along with these aspects, the core curriculum will develop legal reasoning skills.

Elective

After finishing the core curriculum the remaining coursework toward the degree is completed through upper level elective courses.  Students can choose courses that peak their interests or courses that go along with the track they are following.

Seminar

Seminars are classes where teachers and small groups of students focus on a specific topic and the students complete a substantial research paper.

Clinics/Externships

Inhouse Clinics and Clinical Externships legal education is law school training in which students participate in client representation under the supervision of a practicing attorney or law professor.  RWU Law's Clinical Programs offer unique and effective learning opportunities and the opportunity for practical experience while still in law school.