Inaugural Juliet Moringiello Memorial Lecture Honors a Scholar, Mentor, and Force in the Law
When Professor Juliet M. Moringiello passed away in February 2025, Widener University Commonwealth Law School lost more than a scholar.
It lost a force in the classroom, a mentor to generations of lawyers and a presence that shaped the institution for more than three decades.
That loss, and the legacy that followed, were at the center of the law school’s inaugural Juliet Moringiello Memorial Lecture, “Impact and Influence.” The program brought together students, faculty, alumni, and members of the legal community to reflect on a career defined not only by national impact in commercial law, but by the people she shaped along the way.
Dean andré douglas pond cummings opened the evening by explaining why the law school chose to begin the lecture series on a more personal note before it evolves into a broader commercial law program in the years ahead.
“I wanted our first one to be intimate,” cummings said. “I wanted us to be able to remember Juliet’s life, and I wanted to talk about her impact and her legacy.”
Rather than a traditional lecture, the evening unfolded as a conversation with three alumnae whose careers reflect the fields Moringiello helped define: Angela McGowan ’07, Kara Eshenaur ’19, and Tara Schellhorn ’07.
Through their stories, a consistent picture emerged.
Moringiello was exacting in the classroom. She expected preparation, clarity and effort. But what stayed with her students long after graduation was the care behind that rigor and the way she pushed them toward paths they may not have found on their own.
At Widener Law Commonwealth, Moringiello served as associate dean for academic affairs and taught for more than 30 years. Beyond campus, she was a nationally recognized leader in commercial law and bankruptcy reform.
In recognition of her expertise, she was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts to serve on the Federal Judicial Center’s Bankruptcy Judge Education Advisory Committee, a role that placed her among a small group of experts shaping how federal bankruptcy judges are trained across the country.
Through her work with the Pennsylvania Bar Association Business Law Section, she also played a key role in the enactment of articles in the Uniform Commercial Code and the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act.
She was an elected member of the American Law Institute, served as a uniform law commissioner for Pennsylvania, and in 2020 was appointed vice chair of the joint ALI and Uniform Law Commission Drafting Committee on the Uniform Commercial Code and Emerging Technologies. In 2025, she was recognized with the Association of American Law Schools Mentorship Award, underscoring a reputation that extended far beyond her own institution.
Her scholarship reached widely. She wrote on issues including online contracting, creditors’ rights in digital assets, and bankruptcy law, with her work cited by courts and federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Inside the law school, her impact was just as visible. Graduating classes honored her multiple times with the outstanding faculty award and she received the Douglas E. Ray excellence in faculty scholarship award four times.
Still, it was the personal stories that carried the evening.
None of the panelists entered law school expecting to build careers in commercial or transactional law. Each credited Moringiello with helping them see possibilities they had not considered.
McGowan, now a founding attorney at Pillar+Aught, said she arrived at law school without a background in business or transactional work. Today, she advises clients on commercial real estate, mergers and acquisitions, lending and corporate matters.
“I now have the career that I love,” McGowan said. “And it is literally, and solely, because of her.”
Schellhorn, who practices bankruptcy and corporate restructuring at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C., described a similar turning point. A class recommendation led her into a field she had not planned to pursue, ultimately shaping her entire career.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today if it hadn’t been for really her guiding me,” Schellhorn said.
For Eshenaur, now a commercial finance attorney at Stevens & Lee and an adjunct professor teaching secured transactions at Widener Law Commonwealth, the impact was both academic and practical. As a night student, she faced limitations in accessing certain experiences. Moringiello stepped in to help create an opportunity through the Pennsylvania Bar Association, ensuring she could gain exposure to the kind of work she wanted to pursue.
That kind of investment defined Moringiello’s approach. She did not simply teach doctrine. She paid attention. She followed her students’ careers. She stayed connected.
The panelists described hearing from her about job changes, milestones, and personal moments, reminders that her mentorship did not end at graduation.
They also spoke about what it meant to see a woman in the law operate with complete confidence in her knowledge and authority. For many, especially those without legal backgrounds or role models, that example was formative.
“She let you know, like, no, you are smart, you’re capable, you’re going to do big things,” McGowan said.
cummings noted that her influence extended well beyond Widener Law Commonwealth, reaching into law schools, bar associations and legal communities across the country. Her mentorship shaped not only students, but fellow scholars and practitioners.
Across every story, the same idea kept surfacing.
Moringiello’s legacy is still at work, in the careers she shaped and the confidence she instilled.
The Juliet Moringiello Memorial Lecture will continue as an annual tradition, with future programs focused on emerging issues in commercial law.
