<p>When Dean Rod Smolla took on a leadership role in preparing a friend-of-the-court brief for the high-profile Redskins trademark appeal, he turned it into an opportunity for his students.</p>
<p>He explained to his Constitutional Law II class that he was working with renowned First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams on the brief, which would get circulated to law professors around the country seeking signatures of support. He needed student volunteers to do some research and provide feedback on the document, which argued the football franchise has a First Amendment right to its trademark. It was filed Nov. 5 in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va.</p>
<div style="float: right; padding: 5px; width: 33%;"><img src="{staticroot}files/resources/medium_cheneisewright600px.jpg" alt="" width="252" height="200" /><br /><em>2L Cheneise Wright</em></div>
<p>&ldquo;I thought, &lsquo;This is super cool,&rsquo;&rdquo; 2L Cheneise Wright said, recalling her initial reaction. Wright and fellow students Samantha Darrow and Erika LaCon volunteered.</p>
<p>Wright said she met with the dean and he gave her two cases to read. She needed to confirm they said what would be asserted about them in the brief. She also read the brief, to ensure the argument was logical to a legal novice.</p>
<p>Constitutional law concepts can be lofty, Wright said, and she enjoyed the way the exercise applied law from decades ago to a situation happening now. She also thought the experience could translate into interesting job interview conversation down the road.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ll always have with me,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<p>For Darrow, the volunteer work helped bring to life First Amendment concepts she&rsquo;s learning about in class.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was a wonderful experience working on the dean&rsquo;s brief,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It was interesting to see how he took his ideas and put them into a strong and highly persuasive format.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Smolla spoke about the brief at a gathering of the student Intellectual Property Society, detailing his experience of getting into the appeal despite his personal distaste for the football team&rsquo;s name.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I enjoy the outside work I do as an attorney, and it&rsquo;s a bonus when that presents an opportunity to share a high-impact learning experience with students ,&rdquo; Smolla said. &ldquo;This brief involved an argument supported by nearly 20 law professors, and there was no attorney-client privilege concern, so it was a good fit for students. I was glad to have them involved.&rdquo;</p>