FACULTY
Stephen McAllister, L'88: Professor dedicated to serving Kansans honored with Hampton Distinguished Professorship
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onstitutional law expert Stephen McAllister is the newest E.S. & Tom W. Hampton Distinguished Professor of Law. The award recognizes McAllister’s scholarship and provides support for his academic and professional endeavors. “The Hampton chair is one of the highest honors I could hope to achieve at KU Law,” McAllister said. “Holding the Hampton chair means much to me, both because the Hamptons are a great and generous Kansas family that long has supported the law school, and because I follow Professor Emeritus Keith Meyer as holder of the chair. I have big shoes to fill and high expectations to meet as my career continues.”
A 1988 graduate of KU Law, McAllister worked in private practice in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and clerked for Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas at the U.S. Supreme Court. He joined the faculty of his legal alma mater in 1993, receiving the Dean Frederick J. Moreau Award in 1997, a W.T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence in 1999 and the Steeples Award for Service to Kansans in 2008. McAllister
was dean of the law school from 2000 to 2005. He now serves as Solicitor General of Kansas, a role that has taken him to the Supreme Court to argue cases on behalf of the state. The E.S. & Tom W. Hampton Professorship was established in 1985 by the family, law firm and friends of Salina lawyers E.S. and Tom W. Hampton. E.S. Hampton was a 1929 graduate of the law school and senior partner at Salina firm Burch, Litowich and Royce. His son Tom graduated from KU Law in 1959 and joined his father’s practice. The professorship honors the Hamptons’ legacy and aims to attract and retain quality faculty at KU Law.
KU faculty have a long history of serving the state by drafting laws and providing expert testimony to legislators, publishing articles and giving presentations that supply continuing legal education to members of the Kansas bar, granting interviews to area media that elucidate legal elements of their coverage, representing low-income and incarcerated clients as supervising attorneys in KU Law clinics and more. Following is a sampling of faculty service activities: Webb Hecker served as the principal drafter on the Subcommittee on Amendments to the Kansas Revised Limited Liability Company Act. He testified before the Kansas House Judiciary Committee in support of the amendments in March 2013. The amendments are the first comprehensive look at the statute since its enactment in 2000 and ensure that Kansas continues its tradition of leadership in business law.
Civil Jury Instruction Companion Handbook” and “Kansas Law and Practice: Kansas Code of Civil Procedure Annotated.”
Rick Levy has worked on comprehensive reform of the state's administrative procedure and child in need of care codes, as well as offering expert testimony for various legislative committees. In recognition of this service, he received the Steeples Award for Service to Kansans in 2010.
Elizabeth Kronk Warner and Arturo Thompson, assistant dean for career services, have started a Kansas chapter of the Federal Bar Association, which serves federal practitioners and judges who reside in Kansas. She also organizes the annual Tribal Law and Government Conference, attended by Kansas practitioners.
Lou Mulligan testified before the Kansas Senate Judicial Committee concerning the process of Senate confirmation of Kansas Court of Appeals nominees. Mulligan also serves on the board of Kansas Legal Services and co-authors the “Kansas
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Suzanne Valdez is serving her second term as chair of the Kansas Crime Victims' Compensation Board, which provides victims with financial assistance for loss of earnings and out-of-pocket loss for injuries sustained as a direct result of violent crime.
John Peck has served on the Board of Editors of the Journal of the Kansas Bar Association for more than 25 years. He and many other KU Law faculty have published articles in the Journal that benefit practicing attorneys throughout the state.