The School of Law is pleased to announce the addition of four new members to its faculty and staff and the return of one of last year’s most popular visiting professors. They are an enthusiastic and dedicated group who will add significant energy and strength to the community. They are passionate about providing an excellent education for UDSL students and making a mark in their scholarly fields. 

J.B. Jasiunas (pronounced "ja-soo-nus") will join the Legal Profession faculty this fall. Professor Jasiunas’s academic and work credentials are impressive. He graduated second in his class from the Ohio State University College of Law, received the Order of the Coif, and was the Articles Editor of the Law Review. He was also an outstanding moot court competitor, finishing in first place in the regional National Moot Court competition and advancing to the quarterfinals in the national competition. He spent three years at Arter & Hadden in Columbus, and four years at the Office of the Ohio Public Defender. In addition, Professor Jasiunas has taught appellate advocacy for the last three years as an adjunct professor at Ohio State.

Also new to the faculty this fall is Professor Thaddeus Hoffmeister. Professor Hoffmeister spent the last four years in the U.S. House of Representatives serving as a Legislative Director, Counsel and Subcommittee Staff Director. He also clerked in the U. S. District Court of New Jersey for the Honorable Anne E. Thompson. In addition, he worked for the U.S. Department of Defense as a military attorney in Korea, Japan and Washington, D.C. Professor Hoffmeister is a Major in the Army National Guard. He earned his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and also holds a LL.M. from Georgetown University School of Law. Professor Hoffmeister will teach Criminal Law Clinic and Advanced Criminal Law and Legislation at UDSL; his areas of research are criminal law, congress, juries and international law. He said that he chose to join the faculty at UDSL because “I found the university to be a very warm and welcoming place.” 

The School of Law recently welcomed Staci Rucker as the new director of Academic Support. Director Rucker received her B.A summa cum laude from Howard University, and graduated from Harvard Law School, where she wrote for the Women’s Law Journal. After law school, Director Rucker practiced law in Washington D.C. at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, & Popeo and later Reed Smith. She also practiced in Atlanta at Thomas, Kennedy, Sampson & Patterson and clerked for the Honorable James A. Wynn Jr. of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Director Rucker also brings experience in academic support, having served as the Interim Director of Academic Support at North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Jenifer Wilhem will be a visiting assistant professor, teaching in the Criminal Clinic and other courses, including Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation. Professor Wilhem is a 1990 graduate of UDSL and also received her bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Dayton. During law school she worked as a legal intern for the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office and was an associate editor of the Dayton Law Review. She has ten years experience as a prosecuting attorney at Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, and she brings an important perspective as a judicial officer, having served as a full-time magistrate in Montgomery County Juvenile Court for five years. She has been active in the legal community and has served as an adjunct professor previously at UDSL, teaching ICN, family law, children and the law, and other courses. She has been very proactive about designing new course materials, including simulations, hypotheticals, and other exercises to assist students in effectively developing fundamental lawyering skills.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that Visiting Assistant Professor Rob Lech has agreed to return for another year of teaching in the Program in Law and Technology. “Students in the Program in Law and Technology gravitate to Professor Lech's classes,” said PILT Director Kelly Henrici. “His enthusiasm for the law and for his students shines through in everything he does at UDSL. We are lucky to benefit from his experience and expertise.” Professor Lech has taught Intellectual Property Law, Cyberspace Law, Copyright Law, and Patent Law, as well as overseen student externships. This year he will teach a Patent Practice and Procedure Capstone course. Professor Lech pursued his legal education at the Detroit College of Law where he graduated in the top six percent of his class and earned ALR Book Awards in Civil Procedure and Bankruptcy. After graduating from law school, he went on to work as an Intellectual Property Attorney. Most notably, he was one of the three in-house counsel responsible for the Priceline patent and trademark portfolio. He maintains a limited practice in an of counsel capacity at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Arronoff, where he drafts and prosecutes US and Foreign patent applications, conducts discovery, and drafts dispositive motions in patent litigation cases, counseling clients regarding appropriate overall IP strategy.