Student Scholarship Celebrated at 2024 Law Review Notes Colloquium Arianna Kiaei ‘25L and Zoe Speas ‘25L were honored for their contributions to the Law Review

By Law Communications
September 2, 2024

On Friday, August 30, the Washington and Lee Law Review held its annual celebration of student scholarship, the Student Notes Colloquium.

Each year, the Law Review staff writers, as second-year law students, write an article on an issue of current interest in the law. The editorial board of the Law Review evaluates the submission, choosing the two most outstanding notes to receive awards the following year. This year’s winners are Arianna Kiaei ‘25L and Zoe Speas ‘25L.

Kiaei was awarded the Roy L. Steinheimer Law Review Award for her note “Under the Influence: Duties, Deception, Disclosures, and Due Diligence of Social Media Influencers.” Commenting on Kiaei’s note were Randy Shaheen, a partner at Baker & Hostetler and adjunct faculty member at W&L Law, along with Carrie Stanton, a visiting assistant professor at W&L Law.

Kiaei graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2020 with a degree in International Business. She also has a master’s degree in public service from the University of Arkansas. Prior to law school, Kiaei worked at a foundation in New York supporting inclusive economies and communities for immigrants and refugees. Following graduation, Arianna will join Weil, Gotshal & Manges as a corporate associate in the New York office.

Speas received the W&L Law Council Law Review Award for her note “The Fiction of Equitable Distribution: Military Divorce, Disability, and the ‘Dire Plight’ of the Former Spouse.” Commentary on her work was provided by Professor Catlin Meade of The George Washington University Law School and David Weaver, an adjunct professor at W&L Law.

Speas is from Cumberland, Virginia. She joined the W&L Law community following a twelve-year career in classical theater and performance. She served as a judicial intern in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond and worked for Jones Day as a 2024 Summer Associate in Washington, D.C., where she will return following graduation as a member of the New Lawyers Group.

These articles, along with other student notes, will be published in an upcoming volume of the W&L Law Review and will also be available online at https://lawreview.wlulaw.wlu.edu/.