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Deans to take over at Elon, Lewis & Clark, Valparaiso, Idaho

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At least four new deans will take the reins at their schools in early June. Here is a summary of each:

• Luke Bierman, will take over as dean of Elon University School of Law on June 1, succeeding George Johnson, who is stepping down as dean after five years of service and will continue to serve as a full-time Elon Law faculty member.

Bierman is currently associate dean for experiential education and distinguished professor of the practice of law at Northeastern University School of Law. Bierman previously served as general counsel for the Office of the New York State Comptroller from 2007 to 2010, was executive director of the Institute for Emerging Issues at North Carolina State University where he held the rank of associate professor of political science, and served as chief attorney for the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court in Albany.

Bierman earned his master’s degree and doctorate in political science from the State University of New York at Albany, a juris doctor degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law of the College of William and Mary, and a bachelor’s degree in social sciences, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Colgate University.

• Jennifer J. Johnson will be the next dean of Lewis & Clark Law School, effective June 1. Johnson, the Erskine Wood Sr. Professor of Law, is a widely respected teacher and scholar who has served on the law school faculty since 1980. She will succeed Robert Klonoff, who served as dean for seven years. Klonoff will return to teaching at Lewis & Clark after a one-year sabbatical.

Johnson, a member of the American Law Institute, teaches business and securities law and is a nationally known authority in the field of securities regulation and arbitration.

Johnson is a 1973 graduate of Mills College, and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1976.

After graduating from law school, Johnson clerked for Judge Alfred T. Goodwin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She practiced law with the Stoel Rives firm in Portland for several years before joining the law school faculty.

Valparaiso University appointed Andrea D. Lyon as dean of the Law School, effective June 2, 2014. Most recently, Lyon has served as the associate dean for clinical programs at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago.

In her role as dean, Lyon will be responsible for the strategic leadership, coordination and guidance of the Law School. Lyon brings an accomplished record of both teaching and practicing law, and she is a national expert in criminal defense.

Lyon is also a visiting professor of law at the Iowa Law School and the University of Michigan Law School, where she was previously an assistant clinical professor. Prior to her career as an educator, Lyon was the director of the Illinois Capital Resource Center and held several positions at the Office of the Cook County Public Defender in Chicago, where she was the first woman to be lead counsel on a death penalty case.

Lyon blogs regularly for Huffington Post and other publications and has published extensively, including defense manuals, books and journal articles.

Lyon holds a juris doctor degree from the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C., and a bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University.

• The University of Idaho appointed Mark Adams as dean of the College of Law, effective June 22, 2014. 

Adams has served as vice dean at Valparaiso University Law School. His teaching and scholarship focus on contracts, labor law and employment law. 

He also served Valparaiso University Law School as associate dean for Academic Affairs, director of International Programs and a professor. He was responsible for the creation and development of programmatic initiatives including a revised curriculum, joint Juris Doctor/Masters programs and a Master of Laws for Foreign Lawyers. Prior to joining the faculty at Valparaiso, Adams was an attorney at the Seattle firm of Davis Wright Tremaine. He graduated with a Bachelors of Arts from Williams College, and earned his J.D. at the University of Chicago.   

Adam succeeds interim dean Michael Satz who was appointed after former dean, Don Burnett, was named interim president of the University of Idaho in May 2013.

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