Testimonials

Lynne Marie Kohm
John Brown McCarty Professor of Family Law
J.D., Syracuse University College of Law

Most women who want both a career and a family wrestle with feelings that they have to sacrifice one for the other. After nearly 20 years on the faculty at Regent Law, Lynne Marie Kohm, a happily married mother of two, proves that professional mothers can have the best of both worlds.

As the John Brown McCarty Professor of Family Law, Kohm dedicates her legal career to family restoration.

It was not until God taught her to view family law as a means of restoring families instead of ripping them apart that Kohm began to realize her passion for the field.

“We approach family law very differently at Regent. It is an opportunity to restore families rather than to make money as a divorce lawyer,” states Kohm. “Your clients can become reconciled and restored in their family because of Christ and what Christ can do through a Christian lawyer.”

Kohm’s passion for family law was not the only aspect of her legal career that was unexpected. A legal career itself came as a surprise to the would-be missionary.

“I had already raised all my support as a missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ and was sitting in a John Whitehead biblical worldview class when I had an overwhelming sense that God said, ‘You need to go to law school,'” reflects Kohm. “I prayed about it and spoke with my directors who said ‘Do what you’re called to now and if the law is God’s call, it will remain.'”

Three years later, she knew the call was still there.

Five years after graduating from law school Kohm and her husband Joseph moved to Virginia Beach, where he began pursuing his J.D. at Regent. Kohm was interviewing with a number of law firms when her husband set her up with an interview to teach at Regent.

“I was six months pregnant, and when the dean offered me a part-time position, I realized that would be more suitable for me. I did not plan on teaching, but once I began, I started seeing the influence you can have and the discipleship opportunities.”

So how does she balance her professional life—complete with numerous publications, television appearances, and world travel as a guest lecturer—with her family life?

“The key is priorities: Master, mate, mission. If you’re called to be a spouse and parent, your legal calling shouldn’t be at the expense of your marriage and children. That doesn’t mean you slack off on the job, but proper priorities keep multiple mission callings in perspective. Always above all, is a daily, moment-by-moment relationship with God. He is your restorer and your highest calling.”

To learn more about how Christian lawyers are impacting the field of family law visit Kohm’s “Family Restoration” blog. Also, read more about her professional experience.

Gloria Whittico
Associate Professor and Director, Academic Success Program
J.D., University of Virginia

Associate Professor Gloria Whittico describes her legal calling as a ministry with a twofold mission: “To get the right people to Regent and to make sure that all of them know that law is a possibility.”

After graduating cum laude from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy, Professor Whittico felt well-prepared to excel as a student at the University of Virginia School of Law. Once there, however, she found the academics more difficult than she anticipated.

Professor Whittico persevered with support from Christ and her family, graduating from UVA Law, passing the bar exam, and enjoying a successful legal career. She worked for IBM and Starbucks before joining Regent as a faculty member and director of Regent Law’s Academic Success Program.

Reflecting on the ups and downs of her legal journey, Professor Whittico finds that her experiences help her interact with students with a greater depth of understanding. She has a special affinity for underrepresented students from underserved backgrounds, particularly those who do not have the support she received from her family.

“I believe the Lord gave me this specific legal experience so that when I’m sitting in my office working with students who are doubtful, concerned, and frightened, I would know what it was like,” she says. “I like to think I had it all planned, but I didn’t. He did.”

Read more about Professor Whittico’s professional experience.

Bruce N. Cameron
Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law
J.D., Emory University School of Law

Professor Bruce Cameron, Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law, brings decades of experience working at the forefront of litigation surrounding compulsory unionism and Right to Work issues to Regent Law.

Professor Cameron is a distinguished attorney with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc., and is considered a pioneer in the area of religious liberty for employees whose faith prohibits them from supporting labor unions. He focuses his professional and scholarly activities on advocating for religious and political freedom for employees of faith, a topic that continues to receive media attention.

Professor Cameron teaches Religion in the Workplace, Public Sector Labor Law, and administers the Right to Work Practicum. He also publishes on the topics of religion, constitutional law, the rights of religious dissenters, and labor law. He appears frequently on television and radio shows, including programs such as Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. With 30 years of experience litigating religious freedom and constitutional law cases in the employment context, he never lost a Title VII religious accommodation case in court.

Read more about Professor Cameron’s professional experience.

Eric DeGroff
Professor
J.D., Regent University School of Law

A personal and professional crossroads after 15 years in government work led Professor Eric DeGroff to Regent Law, initially as a student in the school’s first enrolling class.

“I had always felt that what I did for a living was not closely tied to who I was as a person,” he says. “I was excited about the concept that there were men and women here at Regent who had been successful professionally and were committed to teaching others how to integrate their faith and profession.”

Professor DeGroff graduated, spent five years practicing environmental law, and became a full-time faculty member, teaching property and school (educational) law, and coaching Regent’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Board negotiation teams.

“Over the years, the things that excited me about Regent remain the same, but the opportunities available to students now are so much broader than when I was a student—it’s like night and day,” he says. “While the school has changed and improved in many ways, I still see the same commitment in both the faculty and the students to serve people and to serve the Lord.”

He also notes that Regent Law maintains its unique emphasis on teaching the historical and biblical foundations of the American legal system.

“If we don’t understand why the legal system is the way it is, we will be susceptible to any kind of argument about what direction it ought to go,” he says.

One area of deep concern for Professor DeGroff is the declining freedom of parents to direct the training and education of their children, particularly the rights of parents, children, and teachers to express their faith within the public school system.

“Freedom of religion requires the intergenerational transfer of values,” says Professor DeGroff. “To the extent that our laws prevent parents from making choices for their children in the public schools, the public schools interfere with this transfer.”

Despite his concerns, Professor DeGroff finds cause for hope among the students of Regent Law, whom he considers to be the best part of his job.

“It’s rewarding seeing who they are now, looking at some of the things they accomplish when they graduate, and watching them make a real difference doing a long list of things I could never do!” he says.

Yet, it is what Professor DeGroff does do at Regent Law makes all the difference.

Read more about Professor DeGroff’s professional experience.

Craig A. Stern
Professor; Director, Honors Program
J.D., University of Virginia School of Law

A true intellectual and academician, professor and director of the Honors Program, Craig A. Stern attributes his career at Regent Law and more than two decades of teaching and scholarship, to Providence. After all, who but God could weave together such a unique personal story?

Raised in a Jewish home in Cleveland, Professor Stern earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University in three years. During college, his exposure to classical Christian literature and fellow students who were believers eroded his intellectual prejudices against Christianity. At the same time, he grappled with inconsistencies in his Jewish faith.

Mental and spiritual satisfaction came to Professor Stern during his first year at University of Virginia School of Law. His friendship with a fellow Yale graduate and Christian sparked a nine-month theological debate that eventually led to his conversion.

Professor Stern’s final obstacle to faith in Christ was his reservation about renouncing his Jewish heritage, a reservation that was relieved after reading Corrie Ten Boom’s Tramp for the Lord. Ten Boom explains to a man with similar fears that Jews who embrace Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, fulfill Judaism. The mark of Professor Stern’s true scholarship was his ability to recognize truth regardless of its source.

The same God who drew Professor Stern to Himself also directed him to Regent Law. Professor Stern’s job on Capitol Hill brought him face to face with Regent’s founding dean who invited him to teach a course at the law school years later.

“I found the place very exciting and the students very good,” Professor Stern says. “I was quite impressed!”

In 1989, Professor Stern continued as adjunct professor while working as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He joined the Regent Law faculty full-time one year later. Currently, he teaches upper level courses, chairs the admissions committee and coordinates Regent’s partnership with Emanuel University in Romania. He also directs Regent Law’s Honors Program.

Professor Stern finds the fit between his calling and his job as a rigorous legal scholar and educator very rewarding. The fit has kept him here and made him one of Regent’s intellectual pillars.

“I’ve stayed through the bumps and twists because it really is a wonderful place where I can exercise the ministry God has called me to with wonderful colleagues and great students,” he says.

Professor Stern also stays because the mission of Regent Law has remained the same: to train legal minds from a Christian perspective.

“The practice of law is a ministry to which God calls people as much as He calls people to be preachers, evangelists, and elders,” says Professor Stern. “Regent equips students really well to practice as Christian lawyers. It also changes the lives of the students while they’re here, making a difference in their spiritual life, their community life, and their understanding of calling.”

Read more about Professor Stern’s professional experience.

Attorney General John Ashcroft
Distinguished Professor
J.D., University of Chicago

“Faith can mitigate against paralysis in times of crisis when it is not possible to obtain all the salient pieces of information,” said former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

When terrorists struck New York City and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Ashcroft, a former Missouri governor, senator, and state attorney general who served with President Bush as the nation’s Attorney General for four years, was charged with the daunting task of charting an effective response.

He also implemented comprehensive policy changes that bolstered security for the American homeland.

“We didn’t know whether this was an initial attack and additional assaults of one kind or another would follow,” he says. “We were concerned something else might happen, and we were working desperately to make sure that we did everything possible to prevent it. And, if something were to happen, that we would be better prepared to respond constructively.”

Under Ashcroft’s leadership, the nation’s law enforcement agencies were furnished with additional tools that greatly enhanced counter-terrorism efforts. The policy changes activated by the USA Patriot Act enabled federal officials to apply certain surveillance practices against suspected terrorists that were previously applied against organized crime and drug deals. The legislation won overwhelming approval in both houses of Congress.

General Ashcroft is credited with having overseen a remarkable period of safety and security in the months and years following the attacks. Under his watch, nearly 200 individuals associated with terrorist-related investigations were convicted. Ashcroft, now a distinguished professor of law and government at Regent University, endeavors to impart important lessons of leadership to his students.

He also emphasizes the role of faith in decision making.

“Making decisions with complete information is reserved to classrooms and theory,” he states. “When the nation is under attack, you have to make decisions absent the kind of comfort that comes from knowing all the facts. And in that event, you have to have a lot of faith in the people with whom you’re working, and you have to trust God to help you make successful decisions.”

Ashcroft is excited to be a part of the Regent Law faculty because it gives him greater latitude to pursue the truth than is commonly available in a secular environment.

“[At Regent] God is not placed off limits,” he says. “The integration of all truth is the business of philosophy and education and the reason for Regent’s existence.”

Read more about General Ashcroft’s professional experience.

Lindsey Gilman, J.D. ‘17
B.A., Arizona State University
Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona

“After visiting during the Preview Event, I knew that Regent is where I am supposed to attend law school. Regent’s faculty, vision, general atmosphere, and picturesque landscape embody what I always believed a law school should encompass. I was given the privilege to speak with Dr. Sekulow from the American Center for Law and Justice over the phone when I was still unsure of where to attend law school. The phone call left me with no doubt that Regent’s principles align with my own.”

Mark Martinez, J.D. ‘17
B.A., University of North Texas
Hometown: Glen Rose, Texas

“I spent a few years working for a non-profit advocating for at-risk youth. I felt I was hardly making a dent in helping clients overcome systemic barriers, so I transitioned into “ministry.” However, I met a wise man along the way who challenged my limited understanding of ministry. He said, “Ministry is not what you do, like preach or plant a church, but it is who you are. Once you know who you are, everything you do is ministry.” This paradigm shift helped me realize that I have the greatest impact on society when I live out the role God created me for. Doing so has led me to law school.”

David M. Rief, J.D., M.A. ’13
Associate Attorney, Cauley Pridgen, P.A.
Kinston, North Carolina

“I went to law school with the goal of working in municipal law. At Regent, I found a joint degree program that was a perfect fit. With an additional year of online classes, I was able to earn both a J.D. and a Master of Arts in Government. This combination provided me with a deeper understanding of the interplay between law and politics, increased my credibility as a government attorney, and helped me secure a successful and rewarding career while making a difference in the lives of my neighbors and surrounding communities.”

Andrew Kartchner, J.D. ’13
Deputy District Attorney, Klamath County District Attorney’s Office, Medford, Oregon

“I make it my personal mission to show the legal world that Regent offers a top-notch legal education and produces lawyers who are highly skilled in their profession and have integrity in their conduct. My goal is to inspire  every attorney, judge, and client I meet to seek out Regent alumni when they are looking to hire a lawyer.”

Maxwell Thelen, J.D. ’12
Associate Attorney in Commercial and General Casualty Litigation, Drew, Eckl & Farnham; Captain, Judge Advocate General Corps, Georgia Army National Guard

“I am very grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to serve as Judge Manion’s law clerk. Seeing the federal appellate judicial process firsthand has been an unparalleled learning experience. I believe that Regent prepared me for this job through opportunities to hone my writing and research skills in core classes and on the Regent Law Review. Most importantly, the culture at Regent helped me to learn to work humbly, diligently, and excellently and to live with the same grace I have received.”

Adeline Allen, J.D. ’11
Assistant Professor, Trinity Law School, Trinity International University, Deerfield, Illinois

“I love teaching; I sense I am really living out my legal calling. So much of my teaching style and philosophy is modeled after that of Regent Law deans and professors. I love equipping my students for their calling with the gift of teaching the Lord has given me.”

Nathaniel Pierce, J.D. ’08 & Gabriel McCoy, J.D. ’11
Founding Attorneys, Pierce/McCoy
Norfolk, Virginia

In March 2013, Nat and Gabe launched Pierce/McCoy in the Waterside Area of Downtown Norfolk. They have established their firm as one that integrates honesty and integrity into a field characterized by aggressive hard work. When advising clients, Nat and Gabe prioritize principled and ethical counsel, and allow their faith to be a guiding factor in how they shape their firm.

Lina Sophat, LL.M. in American Legal Studies ’11
Associate, Corporate Law, Bun & Associates
Phnom Pehn, Cambodia  Legal Advisor, Bun & Associates

“One of the things Lina enjoyed most about Regent Law was its devoted community of faculty and students who genuinely cared about each other. “I had always prayed about going to a Christian law school. My experience at Regent exceeded my expectations.”

Kristen Jurjevich, J.D. ’10
Associate Attorney, Business Law and Litigation, Pender & Coward Attorneys and Counselors at Law
Virginia Beach, Virginia

“Regent really prepares students to face the legal field’s constant changes. The professors teach you how to research. Even though I never took business law classes that might be helpful now, I’ve been given the tools to find the answers I need.”

Shaheryar Gill, LL.M. in American Legal Studies ’09
Counsel, American Center for Law and Justice
Norfolk, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“Regent Law is a memorial for me because the faculty and staff are dedicated to not only to academics, but also humility, truth, and justice. They helped shape me into the faithful servant that God has called me to be.”

Kyle Westaway, J.D. ’07
Founding Partner, Westaway & Co.
Writer, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and Huffington Post
Lecturer, Harvard Law School 

“My time at Regent was pivotal for me, not just due to the quality legal education, but because it gave me a space to truly consider my calling. It was at Regent where I was able to consider how I could play my small role in the social justice movement.”

Bobby Maddox, J.D. ’01
Of Counsel Attorney, Kemp Smith Attorneys at Law
El Paso, Texas

“One thing I want to stress to any prospective law student is this: you’re at a time of life where there are a lot of unknowns about your future that may seem pretty scary. Seek God first always, and trust Him to guide you in the path He wants to take you on. That may include a calling to serve Him as an attorney or a legal advisor. As part of its overt and clear commitment to raise up Christian leaders to change the world, Regent provides an environment that indeed encourages its students to abide in Christ, but it will also take your active commitment to abide in Christ for your legal calling to truly be fulfilled in your life, if indeed that is what God is calling you to do.”

James M. Smith, J.D. ’98
Founding Attorney, Smith Law Group, LLC
Fleetwood, Pennsylvania

“I found that studying the law under professors like Craig Stern and James Duane developed in me a love for the law and the Lawgiver that other schools choose to ignore. I’m not only a better lawyer for it; I’m a better husband, father, and follower of Christ for it as well.”

E. Todd Wilkowski, J.D. ’98
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Baker Concrete Construction, Inc.
Monroe, Ohio

“I was absolutely impressed with Regent and the caliber of people I met. There’s an amazing spirit about Regent when you walk on the campus. You just feel God’s peace there. Unlike other law schools, there is no ‘zero sum’ mentality. At Regent, students encourage each other to do their best and fully prepare to fulfill their vocation rather than compete against each other.”

“One of my greatest joys in life is to mentor and develop young people so they can successfully discern God’s calling on their life and glorify Him by serving Him in the legal sector with their unique gifts and talents.”

Bradley Knox, J.D. ’94
Vice President and Counsel, Aflac
Washington, D.C.

“Some of my best experiences came wrapped in circumstances I wasn’t expecting. When making career decisions, think broadly and be open to non-traditional opportunities. Mentally prepare for lots of ‘no’s’, but remember: God has a plan for you.” 

Teresa Hammons, J.D. ’88
Presiding Judge, Virginia Beach General District Court
Virginia Beach, Virginia

“I would put Regent up against the finest law schools. Regent provided me with a top-notch legal education. Quality academic instruction is required of any law school, but Regent went a step further by providing faculty and staff who genuinely cared for and supported the students.”