CATHOLIC LAW - Key Persons
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- Co - Director, the Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual
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- Director of Alumni Relations
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- Associate Director, Leadership and Annual Giving
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- Director, Immigration Law & Policy Initiative
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- Assistant Dean for Academic and Bar Support
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- Administrative Assistant, Faculty Support
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- Assistant Dean for Admissions, Financial Aid, and Diversity Officer
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- Director of Alumni Relations
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- Director, Office of Institutes and Special Programs / Columbus School of Law / the Catholic University of America
- Director, Office of Institutes and Special Programs / the Catholic University of America / Columbus School
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- Associate Dean for Administration and Chief of Staff
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- Career and Professional Development
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- Krakow Coordinator / Lecturer
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- Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor
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- Information Services and Director of the Law Library
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- Director, Lawyering Skills Program and Clinical Assistant Professor
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- Marketing & Communications
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- - Director, International Human Rights Summer
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- Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
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- Manager, Legal Recruitment
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- Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Dean of Students for the Upper - Division
Gemma Forest received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and Political Science from Boston University in 2016 and her J.D. from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, graduating cum laude in 2019. Gemma clerked for a Circuit Court Judge for Montgomery County, Maryland upon graduation. After clerking, Gemma worked at a D.C. law firm practicing both civil and criminal law. Most recently, Gemma worked as an Assistant State's Attorney for Montgomery County Maryland prosecuting a variety of criminal offenses. Gemma is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
While attending the Columbus School of Law, Gemma was very active in her community as an Associate Editor for the Catholic University Law Review, Moot Court Vice Chancellor for the Seigenthaler-Sutherland competition, and as a Dean's Academic Fellow among other roles. Gemma earned the Alumni Achievement award during the 2019 commencement ceremony.
Job Titles:
- Director of Marketing and Communications
- Marketing and Communications
Professor Sharifi has been a faculty member at the law school since 2008 and currently teaches Evidence and Advanced Evidence. His scholarly interests concern criminal litigation, and his work is published in The American Criminal Law Review, The American Journal of Trial Advocacy, and the Akron Law Review. He was appointed Director of the National Trial Team in 2015. Since assuming that role, CUA has achieved numerous distinctions in advocacy and won the national championship at the 2019 National Trial Competition. He has twice been honored by the student body as Adjunct Professor of the Year.
Professor Sharifi is an attorney in the Appellate Division of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, where he represents indigent defendants on direct appeal in Maryland's appellate courts. Prior to that role, he was a criminal trial and appellate attorney in private practice and handled numerous highly publicized cases. He argued the landmark homicide appeal of State v. Jones, reversing precedent and eliminating altogether a theory of murder in Maryland.
Professor Sharifi earned an LL.M. degree from The George Washington University Law Center and a J.D. from The Catholic University, Columbus School of Law. As a law student, he founded the law school's chapter of the Innocence Project and served as its first president. As a student member of the National Trial Team, he was a regional champion and national semi- finalist. Professor Sharifi is admitted to practice in Maryland's state and federal courts, the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
Job Titles:
- Source and Article Editor
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- Assistant Dean for Career and Professional Development
Julie Dietrich joined the Columbus School of Law in March 2022. As Assistant Dean for Career and Professional Development, she is responsible for providing comprehensive career and professional development services for Catholic University law students and alumni.
Julie received her B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from the College of the Holy Cross and her J.D., graduating magna cum laude, from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.
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- Associate Dean for Administration & Chief of Staff
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- Director, Columbus Community Legal Services and Professor
- Professor of Law, Director, Columbus Community Legal Services
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- Co - Director, Law and Technology Institute and Professor of Law
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- Executive
- Project Coordinator
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- Associate Director for Pro Bono
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- Director International Business and Trade Summer Law Program in Krakow, Poland / the Catholic University of America / Columbus School
Professor Cloud has been an adjunct faculty member at Catholic Law since 2014. In addition to her work with the National Mock Trial Team, she currently teaches Trial Practice.
Professor Cloud heads the legal training practice at KNP Communications. In that capacity, she leads presentation skills training programs at many of the country's largest law firms. Her clients include WilmerHale, Cleary Gottlieb, and Crowell & Moring, as well as leading practitioners in advocacy and public policy. She has also provided presentation skills training for NASA engineers, recording industry executives, and healthcare professionals.
Professor Cloud is a former performing artist, and earned a B.F.A in Theatre Performance from Miami University before graduating cum laude from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. In law school, she was an active member of the National Trial Team, and was a finalist in the 2011 Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition. She was also selected to be the Student Commencement Speaker for the class of 2012. Upon graduation, Professor Cloud served as a Constitutional Law Fellow at the Institute for Justice. She represents clients in both criminal and civil litigation, and is a member of the Maryland Bar.
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- Circulation / Government Documents Assistant
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- Audio Visual Coordinator for Media Services
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- Research & Information Management Librarian
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- Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
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- Administrative Assistant, Faculty Support
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- Assistant Dean for Academic & Bar Support
- Experiential Curriculum Director
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- Student Life & Special Events
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- Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor
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- Assistant Dean for Admissions
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- Associate Director, Leadership and Annual Giving
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- Dean and Knights of Columbus Professor
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- Academic Services Coordinator
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- Co - Director, Center for Religious Liberty and Professor
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- Marketing Copywriter / Editor
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- Assistant Dean for Admissions & Financial Aid
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- Interlibrary Loan / Circulation Librarian
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- Dean and Knights of Columbus Professor
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- Senior Assistant Dean for Academic Services and Registrar
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- Assistant Dean for Admissions and Dean of Students for First - Year Students
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- Visiting Assistant Professor
Ms. Smith joined the National Mock Trial Team program as a coach in 2021 after a highly decorated career in trial competition, which included winning the national championship at the National Trial Competition (NTC). As a student, Ms. Smith advanced at every tournament in which she competed, beginning with a quarterfinal finish at Golden Gate Law School's In Vino Veritas in 2017. She finished as a semi-finalist and was awarded the best cross-examiner in the same competition in 2018. That same year, Ms. Smith was a regional semi-finalist at the NTC regional qualifiers. The following year, Ms. Smith was part of the team that won the NTC regional championship. One month later, at nationals, her team won Catholic Law's first ever NTC national championship. Ms. Smith also individually won the award for best advocate in the entire competition. As a result of this tremendous accomplishment, she was invited to the highly selective Top Gun tournament hosted by Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She capped off her mock trial career as part of the team that made it to the final at Denver Law's Summit Cup trial competition, where she won an "Outstanding Advocate" award. In March 2022, Ms. Smith's paper entitled, "Advocacy Competitions or Courtroom Cosplay? The Case for Rejecting Theatrics and Rewarding Authenticity at Law School Mock Trial Competitions," won the Stetson Advocacy Writing Competition, and will be presented at the Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference this summer.
Ms. Smith is a member of the District of Columbia bar and an associate at Friedlander Misler, PLLC in Washington, D.C., where she works in the firm's Real Estate and Commercial Transactions practice group.
Job Titles:
- Co - Director, the Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual
Job Titles:
- Co - Director, Law and Technology Institute and Professor of Law
Job Titles:
- Director, International Business and Trade Summer