News Archive

Professor Novella Nedeff, J.D. ’83, retired in December 2022, concluding her 20-year career as director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at IU McKinney.

Professor Nedeff began her legal career as a deputy public defender in the Office of the State Public Defender of Indiana. From there, she moved to the Marion County Public Defender Agency, where she worked as a deputy public defender, a supervisor, and as training director before becoming a faculty member at IU McKinney. She received an IU Trustee Teaching Award in 2008 and was the first recipient of the Marion County Public Defender Agency Mark Emery Award for Outstanding Indigent Defense in 1996.

Professor Nedeff served as a member of the board of directors of the Marion County Public Defender Agency from 2002 to 2010, was the American Association of Law Schools Litigation Section president in 2006, was a member of the Indiana Pro Bono Commission from 2008 to 2011, served on the Seventh Circuit Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions Committee from 2021 to 2022, and has been a Barrister of the Sagamore Inn of Courts since 2014.

Jamar Cobb-Denard, J.D. ’18, says his time as a student in the Criminal Defense Clinic is something he’ll never forget. He said he received valuable in-court mentorship, from Professor Nedeff, but “the best lesson was how to have compassion for defendants and work for their betterment,” Cobb-Denard said. “One of our clients was a heroin addict who was convicted of stealing a car. By the end of working with Professor Nedeff on this case, we’d helped him go to rehab, get off heroin, find a job, reconnect with his kids, and get out of jail. The experience was so impactful that I’ll tell that story for the rest of my life.” After working as an attorney for a few years, Cobb-Denard is now a business broker at Indiana Business Advisors. Criminal law is still close to his heart, he says. “I do have an envy of criminal law attorneys,” he said. “If I ever go into litigation practice, it will probably be criminal law.”

Professor Nedeff will be missed by everyone in the IU McKinney family, said Dean Karen E. Bravo. “Professor Nedeff was an award-winning lawyer before returning to her alma mater to become an award-winning member of our faculty,” Dean Bravo said. “She taught her students by her example how to successfully advocate for clients.  Through their work and advocacy, Professor Nedeff’s impact will be felt for generations to come. We are grateful she chose to share her gifts and talents by training future lawyers at IU McKinney.”