Litton begins role as Mizzou Law’s interim dean as it adds faculty

Paul Litton has stepped into his role as interim dean of the University of Missouri School of Law as a national search for its next dean begins.

Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky ended her time as dean on July 4. She is now a professor at University of Florida Levin College of Law.

“I am so fortunate to have worked with Dean Lidsky and am thankful for all she has achieved for our school,” Litton said in an April 22 press release. “I am thrilled to carry forward her accomplishments.”

Litton said in a statement that as interim dean he plans to grow the faculty and continue the employment rate of its law graduates. Faculty members joining Hulston Hall in August include Yunsieg Kim, Lauren Shores Pelikan, Haley Proctor, Sandra Sperino and Rachel Wechsler.

Kim is a visiting assistant professor of law in the upcoming academic year. He is a law clerk at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. His research focuses on inter-jurisdictional laws, particularly on online activity, and their unintended consequences. Kim earned his law degree from Yale Law School as well as a master’s degree in cybersecurity from New York University.

Pelikan is an associate teaching professor of law this August. The Mizzou alumna and licensed certified public accountant also operates a tax law practice at Emerson, where she advises public and private companies.

“Their remarkable knowledge and skill in their respective areas of expertise will be an incredible addition to our faculty, both in the classroom and through their research,” Lidsky said in an April 20 release.

Proctor is of counsel at Cooper & Kirk, where she practices constitutional litigation. She joins Mizzou Law as a visiting fellow in constitutional litigation. She previously clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and on the U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit for Judge Thomas B. Griffith. She earned her law degree from Yale.

Sperino is joining the law school as its Elwood L. Thomas Missouri Endowed Professor of Law. She joins Mizzou from University of Cincinnati’s law school, with scholarship cited by federal and state courts that focus on how judges resolve employment disputes. She earned her law degree from the University of Illinois.

Wechsler is an associate professor of law as well as an affiliate faculty member in Mizzou’s Department of Sociology. She comes to Mizzou from New York University’s law school, where she researched gender-based violence and the criminal legal system. Her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania is complemented by a doctoral degree in criminology and a master’s degree in evidence-based social work from the University of Oxford.

Litton has been a faculty member since 2006, most recently serving as associate dean for research and faculty development on top of his role as R.B. Price Professor of Law, conducting research at the intersection of law and philosophy. He earned his law degree and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.