ML - MEMPHIS LAW MAGAZINE

Our 16th issue of ML - Memphis Law Magazine, we are excited to bring you some in-depth articles and profiles on law school leadership, alumni, students, and more!

In this issue, you will find an in-depth feature story on how a young law student named John Vergos ('73), alongside some Memphis Law legal legends such as Lucius Burch, spearheaded the effort to stop the sale of Shelby Farms to private developers back in the 1970s. Their work paved the way for what has become one of the greatest urban parks in the country. 

We also hope you'll enjoy reading a comprehensive piece on (recently) former Dean Katharine T. Schaffzin, as we take a look at her journey to being the first woman to lead Memphis Law as Dean and how her successful efforts during her deanship helped set a firm foundation for success going forward. 

And in a city like Memphis known around the world for BBQ, what better set of alumni to profile than the Vergos family, owners of the world-famous Rendezvous restaurant in downtown Memphis? John, Ellen, and Anna Blair Vergos are all Memphis Law alumni, with each family member making their own mark. But don't be fooled by their status as BBQ royalty, because real legendary legal status has also been acheived by the family as well, particularly by Ellen Vergos as she blazed her own stellar legal path over the years. 

We are also proud to feature one of Memphis Law's amazing students in this issue's student spotlight. Tarik Terry, Class of 2024, could be called Memphis Law's Renaissance Man, as he has successfully undertaken a number of high profile roles during his time at Memphis Law and has prepared himself extremely well for a successful next stage of his career. 

This issue also features a great round-up of faculty scholarship and news items, as well as a look at how our Herff Chair of Excellence has been reimagined in recent years, with a number of nationally known scholars taking up short-term residencies as visiting scholars over the past few years and bringing in a wide range of diverse academic perspectives and knowledge. Our most recent Visiting Herff Chair of Excellence, Professor Stephen Galoob, is our Faculty Spotlight in this issue as well. We also say farewell and good luck to retiring Professor William Kratzke, the true tax law legend at Memphis Law, as he retires after more than 40 years at the law school.

And finally, we close the magazine with a look at our newest Dean, Jim Strickland, as he begins his tenure as Dean of Memphis Law this summer. 

Click HERE to read the full issue online.

Get up to date with all of the latest news and events pertaining to the law school in this section. News items in this section cover a great deal of news and accomplishments from the last semester or so and showcase many of the great things that have happened at the law school recently.

Protecting the Park: When Shelby Farms Was Saved by a Law Student

By Ryan Jones

Fifty years ago, a Memphis Law student named John Vergos, alongside Memphis legal legend Lucius Burch and others, spearheaded the effort to stop the sale of Shelby Farms to private developers. Years later, it has become one of the greatest urban parks in the country thanks to the efforts of Vergos and his team back in the 70s. The story of the park and its preservation is yet another shining example of the success of grassroots environmental activism in Memphis.

A Memphis Law Rendezvous

By Ryan Jones

Around Memphis, the Vergos family name is synonymous with BBQ, specifically the world-famous Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous in downtown Memphis. But decades of having local attorneys, judges, and members of the legal community as customers must have rubbed off on the family, because three of the esteemed Vergos clan all decided to attend the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law to become attorneys. John, his wife Ellen, and their daughter Anna all graced the halls of Memphis Law over the years. Two of them ultimately found their way back to running one of the world's most famous restaurants, while the other went on to become a legal industry all-star.

A Legal Legacy: The Impact of Memphis Law's First Leading Lady

By Ryan Jones

There may have been no one so well-suited and better prepared to assume the mantle of Dean of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law than Katharine T. Schaffzin. As she ends her deanship to return to teaching, we examine how she came into the role, the unique opportunities that prepared her along the way, how she battled through the pandemic and times of national civic unrest, and still found success along the way.

Law School Renaissance Man: Tarik J. Terry, Class of 2024

By Ryan Jones

Tarik Terry is everywhere you look at the law school. He's the media editor on Vol. 54 of the University of Memphis Law Review; an Associate Justice on the Honor Council; a student-attorney in our Neighborhood Preservation Clinic; a member of the National Semifinalist Third-Place Duberstein Bankruptcy Team; and recently received a prestigious Fellowship with the University of Texas Law Nonprofit Organizations Institute. In short, he's the modern day law school renaissance man, a student with a wide variety of interests who excels in all of them.

This section provides our law school alumni the opportunity to share their recent news items and accomplishments.

Get a thorough overview of what Memphis Law faculty members have been working on, publishing, speaking on, and involved with over the past academic year.

After more than 40 years as a faculty member at Memphis Law, the tax law legend William P. Kratzke announced his retirement from the law school. Learn more about his time here and his importance to generations of law students and peers.

We close out this issue with a look at our newest Dean, Jim Strickland. He is the law school's 10th Dean and takes over at an exciting time in the history of Memphis Law, with a multi-pronged mission to guide the law school in the years ahead.

Feel free to send us class notes and updates about your accomplishments. Please include your class year and a high-res head shot, if possible.

To request a hard copy, please email us and we will send you a copy as long as extras are available.

To receive a copy of this issue as a PDF, please email rjones1@memphis.edu.

CONTACTING ML:

Ryan Jones - Executive editor
(901) 678-4910
rjones1@memphis.edu
University of Memphis
Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
1 North Front St.
Memphis, TN 38103

ML - An Award Winning Magazine:

CASE Awards:

• 2018 CASE GRAND AWARD (First Place) - Best Periodical/Magazine Cover; ML - Memphis Law Magazine, Spring 2018
• 2018 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE (Second Place) - Online Innovation/Experimentation; Memphis Law: An Immersive Augmented Reality Experience, ML Memphis Law Magazine, Winter 2017
• 2015 ML Issue #3 - Second Place in Southeastern Regional Category of Print and Digital Publications for Higher Education Publications

ADDY's (American Advertising Federation – Memphis, Awards):

2017 ML Issue #8

National Awards:

• Silver – Magazine Design
• Silver – Illustration Series

Regional:

• GOLD – Best Publication Design/Magazine Design
• Integrated Branded Content Campaign
• Illustration Series
• Augmented Reality

2016 ML Issue #3

• GOLD - Best Publication Cover (Collateral Materials) (Sales & Marketing Category)
• GOLD – Elements of Advertising, Illustrations
• Three GOLD Awards for single illustrations
• One GOLD Award for illustration (series)

2015 ML Issue #2

• Three ADDY awards for Best Illustration and Illustrations in a Series