Pre-Law Day | Keynote by Alumnus Pierce Reed, Nov. 7-8

Pierce J. Reed

OHIO Pre-Law Day kicks off with a keynote address by alumnus Pierce J. Reed on Thursday, Nov. 7, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Baker Theater.  Reed serves as Program Director for Policy, Legislation, and Education at the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.  The title of his talk is “Revolution, Evolution, and Convolution: How Liberal Arts Saved My Career in Law.”

Pre-Law Day is an annual all-day event featuring a series of panels and interactive opportunities with more than a dozen esteemed OHIO alumni. The event offers opportunities for legal professional networking between alumni in legal fields and students interested in legal careers.

Pierce Reed is an outstanding alumnus that has dedicated his life to public service and law. In 1986, Reed graduated summa cum laude from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. He later graduated from Northeastern University School of Law with his Juris Doctor degree.

Immediately after law school, Pierce completed a graduate fellowship funded by the Echoing Green Foundation, performing policy and litigation work related to privacy and HIV/AIDS. After his fellowship, Reed worked in two Boston firms practicing appellate, product liability, employment, and insurance law before becoming a career law clerk to former United States Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander Ford, one of the first African-American women to serve in the federal judiciary.

Pierce later moved to Columbus and served more than ten years as senior judicial attorney to Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor of the Ohio Supreme Court. During his time in Columbus, Pierce was also an adjunct professor in appellate advocacy at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State,  Treasurer of the Board for the Ohio Center for Law Related Education, and President of the Columbus Chapter of the American Constitution Society.

Pierce is now happily living in Cincinnati and serves as the Program Director for Policy, Legislation, and Education for the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, which is dedicated to investigating claims of wrongful imprisonment and the exoneration of people who are imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

The event is sponsored by Center for Law, Justice & Culture and the College of Arts & Sciences.

A Pre-Law day panel with students and alumni.

Pre-Law Panels & Roundtables

Eight pre-law panels and roundtables take place on Friday, Nov. 8, in Baker Center.

The schedule will proceed as follows:

Thursday, November 7th

• 5:00-6:00 p.m. – Keynote
  • Pierce Reed
  • Baker University Center Theater

Friday, November 8th

• 9:40 – 10:35 a.m. – Panels
  • Panel 1 (Baker 231): Women in Law
    • Featuring: Megan Kelley, Alexa Jesser, Katie Basalla, Maddie Rettig
  • Panel 2 (Baker 233): Law School Advice
    • Featuring: Dan Kemp, Micah Siegal, Pierce Reed, Helen Robinson, John Stember, Jere Krakoff
  • Panel 3 (Baker 235): Criminal Law
    • Featuring: Nick Eaton, Zach Saunders, Joe Gibson, Clarke Vandervort
  • Panel 4 (Baker 237): Corporate Law
    • Featuring: Kerry Boyle, Rob Foehl, Brian Grube, Chris Stanley
  • 10:45 – 11:40 a.m. – Panels
    • Panel 1 (Baker 231): Public Interest Law
      • Featuring: Megan Kelley, Maddie Rettig, Pierce Reed, Joe Gibson
    • Panel 2 (Baker 233): Alternative Legal Career
      • Featuring: Micah Siegal, Rob Foehl, Clarke Vandervort, John Stember, Jere Krakoff
    • Panel 3 (Baker 235): Pursuing Your Dream Job or Internship
      • Featuring: Dan Kemp, Chris Stanley, Brian Grube, Nick Eaton
    • Panel 4 (Baker 237): Law School Advice
      • Featuring: Alexa Jesser, Zach Saunders, Katie Basalla, Kerry Boyle, Helen Robinson
    • 11:50 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Ohio University Law Related Student Organization Presentations
      • Baker Room 240
        • Featuring: Phi Alpha Delta; Mock Trial; Students Defending Students; Student for Law, Justice & Culture; ACLU-OU, OIP-u
      • 2:15 – 3:45 p.m. – Roundtable Discussions
        • Baker Room 240
          • Cause Lawyering
            • Facilitator: Brian Grube
          • Professionalism in the Law
            • Facilitator: Dan Kemp and Zach Saunders
          • Gender and the Law
            • Facilitator: Megan Kelley and Katie Basalla
          • Wrongful Convictions
            • Facilitator: Pierce Reed and Nick Eaton
          • Brandenburg v. Ohio Turns 50
            • Facilitator: Maddie Rettig and Helen Robinson