West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry to Receive Distinguished Alumnus Award at American University Washington College of Law

Award Presented as Part of LL.M. Program in Law and Government’s 15th Anniversary Celebration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 23, 2013 – The Program on Law and Government at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) will give a distinguished alumnus award to Justice Allen H. Loughry II (SJD '03/LL.M. '99), who was elected last year to a 12-year term on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Loughry will receive the award at the LL.M. in Law and Government’s 15th Anniversary Celebration on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013.

“The LL.M. Program wants to salute the accomplishments of its graduates, and there’s no better way to do it than to welcome back to campus Justice Allen Loughry,” said Jamin Raskin, director of the Law and Government Program and Maryland State Senator. “Not only was Loughry a brilliant, popular, and diligent student at AUWCL, but his research done at AUWCL became a published and much-acclaimed analysis of the history of political corruption in West Virginia. Loughry's run for the West Virginia Supreme Court was a tribute to his extraordinary creativity and intellect, and we are very proud of him and all his accomplishments.”

Loughry was elected to a 12-year term on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in 2012. Born and raised in West Virginia, he obtained an SJD and an LL.M. in Law and Government from AUWCL. Loughry was a senior assistant attorney general in the West Virginia Attorney General's Office from 1997-2003. He began working as a lawyer at the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in 2003. In 2006, his book, Don't Buy Another Vote, I Won't Pay for a Landslide, was published. It is a non-partisan look at West Virginia's history of political corruption. Loughry began teaching political science at the University of Charleston in 2010. Loughry is a frequent speaker throughout the country on issues of government, ethics reform, politics, history, education, and the election process.

AUWCL has a long and close relationship with distinguished leaders in West Virginia politics, including former United States Senator Robert Byrd, who graduated from AUWCL in 1963 and came to be known as “the conscience of the U.S. Senate.”

“Justice Loughry continues this wonderful relationship between our school and the state of West Virginia,” said Raskin.

The LL.M. in Law and Government was founded by the late Professor Thomas Sargentich and Professor Jamin Raskin in 1998 to help law graduates with an interest in U.S. government propel their academic and professional careers. At the time of its founding, most LL.M. programs catered to foreign trained lawyers and none focused on the intricate relationship of law and government. The Program began with just five students in the spring of 1998 and has grown to more than 70 students each year from all over the U.S. and the world choosing from the 14 specializations available including Law, Politics, and Legislation, Immigration, Labor, Gender, Environment, Business and Financial Regulation, Administrative Law, and Civil Rights. The anniversary will honor the founding of the Program and the contributions of Sargentich and Raskin to the legal community as well as celebrate the achievements of the LL.M. in Law and Government graduates who now work in both the public and private sector affecting positive change.

Media inquiries can be directed to Megan Smith, assistant director of public relations, 202-274-4276.

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The LL.M. Program in Law & Government, which was founded in 1998, offers students an opportunity to pursue graduate legal work on U.S. public law. It is a 24-credit degree program which students can choose to pursue full-time (and complete in one year) or part-time (and complete at their own pace). The flexible LLM curriculum encourages students to design courses of study in the broad areas of civil and constitutional rights, business and financial regulation (including banking, trade, securities, tax, and antitrust law and policy), and administrative law and regulatory practice (including health law and policy, labor and employment law and policy, intellectual property and information policy, environmental law and policy, and immigration law and policy).