1980 On January 14, 630 law students and twenty-five
full-time faculty members move to the new, leased facilities at 665 South High
Street — the former Grange Mutual Insurance building. A new name emerges to
reflect the inclusion of classrooms and other facilities for Capital’s Graduate
School of Administration — Capital University Law & Graduate
Center. The building is formally dedicated on May 24, 1980.
1980 May 21, the Law School Alumni Association board
convenes for the first time.
1982 Spring Semester 1982 sees one of the Law School’s first
ventures into inter-professional education. Law students and Trinity Lutheran
Seminary students take part in a Seminar in Biomedical Law & Ethics that is
team-taught by Professor Lance Tibbles and Trinity Lutheran Seminary Academic
Dean James Childs.

1983 January 6, the Law School is admitted as the 145th
member of the prestigious Association of American Law Schools during the AALS
annual meeting held in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1984 Capital University establishes a summer program for law
students offered at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Professor John Palmer
is the first director. The summer abroad program continues for two years and is
restarted in 1997 with a summer abroad program in Greece under the direction of
Professor Robert Wade.
1984 Professor Roberta Mitchell and Adjunct Professor Scot
Dewhirst, with faculty approval, establish the Center for Dispute Resolution.
Among the CDR’s first activities are trainings for individuals who want to
create a mediation program similar to the Night Prosecutor Mediation Program.
Capital’s first contact with the Jamaican government also begins this year.
1984 Former Bankruptcy Judge Grady L. Pettigrew, Jr. and
Professor Michael Distelhorst establish The North Central Bankruptcy Institute.
The institute offers continuing education programs to bankruptcy judges, lawyers
and others who have an interest in this area. The institute is eventually
transferred to the Graduate School of Administration (now the School of
Management) to be a part of its executive and continuing education programs
division.
1984 The Law School offers its first combined degree – the
joint JD/MBA with the Capital University Graduate School of Administration.
1985 Initiated by Dean Blackmore and Starr Huffman in Tokyo,
Japan, the Law School begins the American Legal Studies in Japan Program with
Professor Michael Distelhorst serving as director. At the time, Honda of America
Manufacturing and its supplier’s are building plants in central Ohio and
creating a demand for legal services and understanding. The program is designed
to run for three years, and offers courses in American law for members of the
Tokyo bar and other Japanese attorneys. The program is facilitated by Mr. Kuni
Sadamoto and Survey Japan in Tokyo. The courses are taught by members of major
law firms in Columbus (including Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, LLP;
Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn; and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP),
nationally recognized professors from other law schools, and several members of
the Law School faculty.
1985 Development of the Jamaica/Capital Project begins to
address concerns expressed by Jamaican government officials over the rise of
violence in their country. Center for Dispute Resolution Co-Director Scot
Dewhirst visits Jamaica to initiate discussions about a country-wide dispute
resolution program for courts, communities and law enforcement. In 1989, the
project receives a $200,000 Ford Foundation Grant. Efforts culminate in a
National Symposium on Dispute Resolution in 1990. The Jamaican government
declares the week of September 24, 1990 to be National Dispute Resolution
Awareness Week and the Mediation Council of Jamaica holds its first meeting. In
1994, the U.S. Agency for International Development awards a $200,000 grant
under its Sustainable Justice Improvement Program with the Government of Jamaica
to continue dispute resolution activities. The Mediation Council incorporates
and becomes the Dispute Resolution Foundation.
1986 With the leadership of Associate Dean Robert Wade, a
Graduate Tax Program is approved by the ABA. Twenty-six graduate lawyers begin
their studies towards a Master of Laws (L.L.M.) in Taxation, and twenty-six
graduate accountants begin their studies towards a Masters in Taxation (M.T.).
The first full-time tax faculty members are Carole (Butler) Berry, Addison
Dewey, Richard Donovan, David Johnston, Robert Wade and Ronald Worley. In
addition, prominent tax lawyers and accountants in central Ohio and law
professors from The Ohio State University teach some specialized courses.
1987 In November, Capital’s National Moot Court Team wins
the national championship. The team of all evening students is comprised of
Benson Wolman, Deborah Roeger, and Susan Geary. A second team from Capital
finishes in the final eight – Jane Kirkeide, Jenny Marks, and Bradford Arnold.
Professors Roberta Mitchell and Brian Freeman are the team’s advisors.
1988 The law school is approved by the Section of the Legal
Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association to offer a
Master of Laws (LL.M) in Business and Taxation for graduate lawyers. The name of
the Graduate Tax Program is changed to the Graduate Tax & Business Law
Program.