This semester, law students have been doing cutting-edge research into how the pandemic is impacting work laws, as it re-arranges workplaces, requires business closures, transforms the ways we get goods, decimates the service sector, and sickens millions of workers. 

Abishi Cunningham came to Iowa Law in 1939. In his home state, West Virginia University did not accept black students. He graduated in 1941 and returned to West Virginia to open his legal practice. His daughter and grandchildren recently visited Iowa Law to learn more about their family's legacy.

Theodore "Ted" M. Seldin was an entrepreneur with a passion for giving back. He was instrumental in shaping the national and local legislation related to affordable and fair-housing statutes and a generous advocate of the University of Iowa and the College of Law. During his 89 years, Ted made a lasting impact on all of the communities he served.

Jason Rantanen, a professor at the UI College of Law, spent his Fall 2020 Obermann Fellow-in-Residency collecting and analyzing data about such cases. Rantanen, whose research area is intellectual property, specifically patent law, wants to help ensure that such cases are being decided objectively.

The University of Iowa College of Law has partnered with several other law schools across the United States to advocate for compassionate release during COVID-19, including clinical faculty at University of California Irvine and the University of Chicago. For each of these institutions, advocating for compassionate release not only provides incredible learning opportunities for their students; it also begins to establish a precedent within the courts that lengthy sentences and mandatory minimums must be reevaluated.