NKU Chase College of Law

06/04/2026

RECENT GRADUATE CASSY EDWARDS has put her Chase training to work to help stamp out insurance fraud.
• What she did: “Before I graduated this spring, I worked as the sole researcher and compiler for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud on its Insurance Fraud Laws & Regulations Database Project. The project involved creating a comprehensive database to help insurance companies, legislators, attorneys, regulators and other professionals compare insurance fraud laws across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.”
• How she got there: “My interest in insurance fraud developed through Professor Matthew Smith’s Insurance Law class in Fall 2025. His course introduced me to the broader role insurance plays in law, business, risk allocation and recovery, and it helped me recognize the importance of insurance fraud prevention and enforcement. Professor Smith introduced me to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and referred me for the project.”
• How her Chase education helped: “My Insurance Law course helped me understand how insurance affects so many areas of law and business – how risk is allocated, how assets are protected and how money moves when losses occur. It also helped me connect concepts from other courses, because in many legal and business contexts, the ultimate source of payment or recovery is insurance.”
• After graduation: “I am interested in work that allows me to continue developing my legal research, regulatory, compliance and transactional skills, and I would welcome opportunities involving insurance-related or highly regulated industries.”

06/03/2026

THE CHASE student chapter of the Federal Bar Association is ready for a new academic year in a few months, with officers for the organization for students interested in practices involving federal laws, courts and agencies.

06/01/2026

STUDENT TUCKER COBEY is taking his Chase experience into the heart of a courtroom this summer.
• “As a legal intern in the Municipal Division of the Hamilton County (Cincinnati) Prosecutor's Office with a limited license to practice law in Ohio, I am trusted with the opportunity to call dockets; speak to defendants, witnesses and victims; negotiate and offer plea bargains; and even try cases. Notably, I was recently allowed to run a judge's entire county criminal docket for a day.”

• How Chase prepared him for it: “I would not be anywhere nearly as prepared to speak on the record were it not for my experiences working with Joe King and Alexis Switzer in the Chase mock trial program. Their careful guidance and, importantly, belief in me, gave me the confidence I needed to appear before judges and represent the people of the State of Ohio. I also want to highlight the valuable knowledge I gained from working with my mock trial teammates Hannah Burt, Mayo Howlett and Madeline Ketron. I have been using some of their preparation techniques nearly every day.”

• The payoff: “For all that we try, there is absolutely nothing like standing up in court and litigating actual cases in front of actual judges. Working for the Hamilton County prosecutor, especially in the high-traffic Municipal Division, is giving me an excellent opportunity to gain valuable litigation experience before I graduate. I would not trade this internship for anything!”

05/26/2026

STUDENT MADDIE KETRON has a tough schedule this summer: She is an intern with the Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney in Northern Kentucky and she is playing football with the Cincinnati Cougars, in the Women’s Football Alliance, a women’s tackle football league of about 60 teams nationwide.
• In the courthouse: “I will be learning a lot about what it takes to litigate a case from start to finish in the Commonwealth's Attorney's office. Chase prepared me for this opportunity through classes such as criminal law and evidence, but also through trial team. My coaches, Alexis Switzer and Joel King, taught me a lot about how to speak and present in court. Being a member of the National Trial Advocacy Competition Team for two semesters taught me how to make proper motions, objections, case presentations, and how to adapt to unexpected situations in court.”
• On the field: “I had the opportunity to play flag football at NKU as an undergraduate, but the entire time I was keeping an eye on the Cougars social media, but just couldn’t find the ‘right time’ to commit to playing tackle football on a professional team that travels. As I came into my second year of law school, I decided that I would at least give it a try and ended up making the team. I started the season as a running back, but as the season moved on, I became a fullback and a guard.”
• Together: “Football has helped me become a better law student in several ways. I am a fullback and a guard, so my entire position revolves around reading other people's actions and making a very quick choice that can make or break a play for the skill position player following my block. This has helped in the courtroom when unexpected things happen, because I no longer stress about what others are doing; I only focus on what I need to do in the moment. It has also helped reduce my stress in law school because our football coaches constantly remind us that you are only one out of 11, and you can only give your best as one person. Mistakes happen in trials all the time, but as long as you are doing the best that you can do in the moment, everything will end up working out as long as you keep focusing on what is in your control.”

05/21/2026

STUDENT TARIN WALTON did exactly what good lawyers know to do when they file motions in court – help judges, who are inundated with all kinds of cases, apply the relevant case law in their particular case. Tarin did it with a motion to keep improper evidence out of a criminal trial in a Kentucky Circuit Court – and was successful because the judge concurred in citing a couple of authorities she had cited in her brief.

• How she got there: “I became involved in the case through my work at Anggelis & Gordon in Lexington, a criminal defense firm where I have worked for the past two years. I was assigned to draft a post-hearing suppression brief.”

• Her argument: “The essence was that what began as a routine traffic stop became an unlawful drug investigation that violated the Fourth Amendment. The officer never completed the normal tasks associated with a traffic stop, such as running information or issuing a citation, and instead immediately shifted to investigating narcotics without reasonable suspicion. The brief argued that the prolonged detention and continued search were unconstitutional, and that any alleged consent was invalid because it occurred during an unlawful detention and was later withdrawn.”

• How Chase prepared her: “Professor Marcia Ziegler’s legal writing course taught me how to analyze case law closely, build persuasive arguments from the record and write with precision and purpose. Oddly enough, Professor Sharlene Graham’s contracts class also had a major impact on my approach to advocacy. From her advice in classes, I wanted the court not only to understand the constitutional violations, but to feel the reality of what the defendant experienced during the stop and why those protections matter.”

05/20/2026

OUR NEW COURTROOM and adjacent Chase Student Center are getting national attention. Here's what preLaw magazine, a publication for undergraduates considering law school any place in the nation, says about it:

Another example of the shift toward practice-focused space can be found at NKU Chase.

The law school recently completed a major upgrade focused on hands-on training and student space. In late 2025, the school opened the new Chase College Foundation Courtroom and adjacent Chase Student Center to strengthen the learning environment for practice-ready education.

Dean Judith Daar said the project was four years in the making.

“Our students can now learn in a space befitting the Chase reputation for training practice-ready graduates who ably assist clients at the earliest stages of their careers,” Daar said. “We are enormously grateful to the more than 125 alumni and friends who generously supported this project, making our dream of a state-of-the-art advocacy center a reality.”

The state-of-the-art courtroom is designed to mirror modern legal settings students will encounter in practice. It features a judicial bench that accommodates up to seven judges, counsel tables, a jury box, a 125-seat gallery, judge’s chambers and a jury deliberation room. The space supports trial advocacy courses, moot court and mock trial programs, and will also host proceedings for the Kentucky Supreme Court, Kentucky Court of Appeals and other state and federal courts, giving students exposure to live court operations.

Next to the courtroom, the new student center expands study and collaboration options. The space includes nine glass-front study rooms, open carrels and booths, boardroom-style tables and a central area for gathering or informal work. The project was made possible in part by transforming the law library’s first floor from traditional print storage into a digital-access hub, freeing space for student-focused uses.

Additional amenities include a quiet room for students seeking a place to decompress. Together, the new courtroom and student center reflect a strategic investment in experiential learning, modern study space and the day-to-day needs of today’s law students.

05/19/2026

WHAT HAPPENS when you combine law, technology and entrepreneurship? You get the Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship Pitch Night at Chase, when students in the program pitch to a panel of judges their ideas for law-based technology with potential marketplace applications. The ideas this spring from teams:
• Paired with Care, a platform that allows lawyers and other professionals to find reliable summer child care, from team members Abby Woolverton, Pam Bell, Devin Rogers and Lilyan Hendricks. Their plan is to market this to law firms as an employee benefit they can provide.
• RepMyGame, a platform to connect lower-level college athletes with agents and teams that operate overseas, from team members Sophia Boothby, Sarah Hughes, Lauren Pagano, Ethan Dixon and Conner Schultz. RepMyGame will start with basketball players and expand to other sports.
• Docket Agent, a service for lawyer and paralegals that utilizes a trainable AI agent to provide automated docket review, scheduling and calendar management from team members E.J. Swisshelm, Deanna Allen and Kiel Butterfield. Their plan is to focus on the large number of smaller local courts that do not have the ability for existing software to link directly to their dockets.
• ProTracts, an AI-powered contract interpretations service that provides audio and video explanations of contract terms for non-lawyers, and provide a platform for users to connect with attorneys, from team members Morgan Burkart, Reagan Dumke, Lauren Hart, Sydney Ervin and Noah Manger. They will focus initials on artists, musicians and other freelance and gig workers.
• LiveNLearn, an open-world video game designed to help young adults gain experience with no risk by turning real-life legal and financial responsibilities into an interactive, choice-driven simulation, from team members The-Moor Kelly, Heidi Garcia, Grant Wilson, Matt Bailey and Ben Herndon. Their plan is to market it to high schools.

05/09/2026

IMAGINE SITTING in commencement and having the governor of your state call out your name. That’s what occurred at the Chase College of Law commencement May 8 when Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear delivered the commencement address:

“Look around. You have already accomplished so much. And I've read about several of your accomplishments
• “Olivia Graas, active in the Children's Law Center Clinic, and interned at the Children's Law Center with strong interest in juvenile law. Olivia's now going to the Kentucky Attorney General's office – I know a little something about that place – as a special attorney, a consumer protection division, where she hopes to focus on technology issues. That's a great job.
• “Kavian McMillan, a Moot Court member who served in the Army National Guard before law school. Kavian is starting a career in the prosecutor's office in Cook County, Illinois. I know a few people there. Talk to me before you leave.
• “What about Kiel Butterfield? Kiel is a medical researcher who commuted from Louisville for the part-time evening program for four long years. And if today's achievement isn't enough, Kiel's also celebrating adopting a one-week-old baby last year.
• “Heidi Garcia, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Heidi led initiatives to help students improve writing, and planned multiple symposiums, including one, featuring [Kentucky] Supreme Court Justice Pamela Goodwine.
• “Devin Rogers. Devin was elected the president of the Student Bar Association for two years in a row and is planning a career as an in-house counsel.
• “Jacob Williams. He's the editor-in-chief of the law review. He's gonna begin his career as a data privacy attorney after several key internships. By the way, to everybody who made law review, congratulations. To those of us that didn't, you're still qualified to be governor.

“Now, if I didn't read your name, join the other club, because no one did at my law school graduation, either, because those are just a few of the amazing stories that make up every single one of you. Law school’s not easy. Whether you came straight from college, whether this is another career, whether your path brought you to Kentucky for different reasons, not everybody makes it through this journey.”

And then he turned more contemplative:
“Our nation is splintered by deep divisions. Some seem driven solely by partisanship. And too often, our political and media environments award the loudest, least thoughtful voices. Against this challenging backdrop, the legal profession itself has become both a target and a battleground, shaping the way forward.
“Very soon, these legal questions, and these struggles are gonna be yours to work with. What role will you play in these chaotic times, for the law profession, and for our nation as a whole? So, what I want today’s graduates to know is this: Now, more than ever, America needs you. We need your knowledge, your skills, and above all your passion for the rule of law that lets us disagree with each other.”

05/08/2026

05/08/2026

STUDENT CAROLINE DILLARD can point to one thing that law school and running the recent Cincinnati Flying Pig Half-Marathon of 13.1 miles have in common: Both take steady effort.
• “Both distance running and law school have taught me that success is built over time, through steady effort. Running has helped me learn to push through discomfort, trust the time I’ve spent preparing, and focus on long-term goals. Those same skills have translated directly into how I approach law school.”
• “Balancing half-marathon training with finals wasn’t easy, but it forced me to be intentional with my time and priorities. It required careful time management and a commitment to consistency, both with running and studying to ensure that come race day and finals I was adequately prepared.”
That race preparation paid off. She finished 59th in her female age group, in a crowded field of 12,544 half-marathon total entries.