Jayne Barnard Selected as a 2009 Leader in the Law

Jayne Barnard Professor Barnard's work in victim's rights cleared the way for victims of Bernie Madoff to offer victim impact statements prior to his sentencing.

by Ami Dodson | August 18, 2009

William & Mary Law School Professor Jayne Barnard has been named by Virginia Lawyers Weekly magazine one of 2009's "Leaders in the Law." Recipients are selected following a statewide, peer-oriented nomination process and are honored at an awards ceremony in Richmond on October 22, 2009. Leaders are recognized for changing the law, serving the community, and improving Virginia's justice system.

Barnard is the James Goold Cutler Professor of Law and the Herbert V. Kelly, Sr., Professor of Teaching Excellence. She holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago and a B.S. from the University of Illinois. She has written extensively about white-collar crime, securities regulation, corporate finance, and behavioral economics. Barnard was the first to propose that people harmed by economic crimes should be able to present victim-impact testimony (also known as victim allocution) at sentencing hearings. Her work was instrumental in Congress ultimately passing the Crime Victims Rights Act of 2004, which allowed victims of Bernie Madoff, for example, to offer victim impact statements prior to his sentencing.

Barnard's unique expertise in the Madoff case grabbed the interest of national media. When his sentence was announced, she was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as well as in the L.A. Times, Reuters, and Newsday.