Prof. Wes Shinn Named Dean and Chief Operating Officer of the Appalachian School of Law

According to an ASL press release:

The Board of Trustees of the Appalachian School of Law has appointed Clinton W. (“Wes”) Shinn as Dean and Chief Operating Officer of the Appalachian School of Law, effective July 1, 2007. Dean Shinn has been serving the School as interim Dean since December 12, 2006, while a search for a permanent dean was conducted.

“I am delighted Wes Shinn has agreed to be our dean,” said Roger Powers, ASL Board Chair. “He will provide steady leadership that will ensure the law school continues its progress. The Board is committed to supporting him in every possible way, and I look forward to working alongside him as we continue to solidify and perpetuate the Appalachian School of Law.”

Professor Shinn practiced law in New Orleans, Louisiana for more than 25 years, concentrating in the areas of probate and estate planning, commercial transactions, oil and gas property interests, and environmental regulation.

Professor Shinn returned to full-time academia in 1999, having previously taught for two years as an assistant professor of law at the Tulane University School of Law. From 1999 until 2001, he was a member of the ASL faculty, and then was an associate professor of law at the Mississippi College School of Law from 2001 until 2006. In August 2006, he returned to Appalachian as tenured Professor of Law.

Wes Shinn is a graduate of the Tulane School of Law, where he graduated with highest honors, was elected to Order of the Coif, and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Tulane Law Review. He earned an LL.M. from the Harvard Law School in 1973. He teaches courses in Property, Secured Transactions, and Estates & Trusts at ASL. Dean Shinn has published in the legal fields of civil law obligations, secured transactions, and environmental law, and has been a frequent speaker in the areas of wills and estates. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a Charter Fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation, and served a term as an elected delegate to the Louisiana State Bar Association.

Special thanks to Prof. Paul Caron for bringing Prof. Shinn’s appointment to my attention.