News Archive

Inlow Hall was abuzz with the energy of students when classes began August 16. Of course, there were in-person classes for some IU McKinney students during the previous academic year, but for safety reasons in-person classes were small and students were kept socially distant. This marks the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 that the law school was filled with students, faculty, and staff.

Lance Howard is an Indianapolis native who’s going into his second year of law school. “As an evening-division student, I was blessed with in-person instruction all of last year,” Howard said. “I look forward to sharing a space with hundreds of students seeking to contribute to the legal field.” He’s the first in his family to go to law school. “One of my goals is to use my law degree to address social and economic inequalities that plague many of our legal institutions,” Howard said.

Griffin O’Gara is a 1L who was working with small businesses prior to coming to law school. In that role, he helped businesses take advantage of benefits passed in the CARES Act. “Navigating the PPP (Payroll Protection Program) loans and the ERTC (Employee Retention Credit) opened my eyes to how much the legal side can play a role in business,” O’Gara said. O’Gara had been working with some clients in-person as some pandemic restrictions eased and he’s looking forward his legal studies. “We are all very excited to be in person, but I think the professors might be even more excited. For what is theater without an audience?”

Taylor Webster is a 3L who took all but one of her courses online during the height of the pandemic. That one in-person course was Professor Fran Quigley’s Health and Human Rights Clinic. “I really enjoyed the flexibility of being able to take classes online,” Webster said. Most of her courses were asynchronous, which she said helped sharpen her time management skills. “Being back in the law school has been great. I love being able to see my study group in-person and to hang out and chat before and after classes. So much has changed since we went on spring break during my 1L year. I blinked and now I'm almost done. It's been nice to have the chance to round out my law school career in person.”