Staff and Clinicians
Veronica Thronson, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Immigration Clinic
Veronica Thronson is assistant clinical professor of law and director of the MSU College of Law Immigration Law Clinic, which provides opportunities for students to experience the practice of law through direct client representation in a well-supervised and academically rigorous program. Students also are engaged in policy research, resource development, community outreach, and systemic advocacy on issues related to immigration.
Before joining MSU Law, Thronson was the directing attorney of the Domestic Violence Program at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, where she practiced in the areas of family and immigration law. She also previously served as the director of training and legal services at the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), a non-profit umbrella advocacy organization for over 200 groups in New York that work with immigrants, refugees, and asylees. At the NYIC, she developed community outreach materials and programs and conducted training for advocates and attorneys on immigration and benefits law and their impact on immigrant communities. Thronson also appeared bi-weekly on an internationally broadcast program of Univision, providing information on current immigration law, benefits law, and immigrant-related topics. She also has been a regular commentator for other local and national newspapers and radio programs on these topics.
Thronson currently serves on the advisory board of the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy at the Migration Policy Institute, in Washington, D.C., and was vice-chair of the Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence. She also taught Community Property as an adjunct professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV.
In 2006, the Southern Nevada Domestic Violence Task Force honored Thronson with its S.T.A.R. award, created to honor an individual for stellar work on behalf of victims. In 2009, Thronson received the Louis Wiener Service Award, given to an advocate who has made substantial contributions in representing victims. Thronson is admitted to the practice of law in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Nevada.
Contact Professor Veronica Thronson at 517-336-8088 ext. 1014, or by email at veronica.thronson@law.msu.edu.
Degrees: J.D. 2000, City University of New York; B.A. 1993, cum laude, City University of New York
Bar Admissions: Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the District of Nevada
David B. Thronson, Professor of Law
David Thronson joined MSU College of Law in 2010 as a professor of law and co-founder of the Immigration Law Clinic. His research and writing seeks to develop frameworks and critical perspectives for analyzing the intersection of family and immigration, with a particular focus on children.
After graduating from the University of Kansas with degrees in mathematics and education, Thronson taught in Nepal as a Peace Corps volunteer. Upon his return, he settled in New York City, where he completed a master's degree at Teachers College, Columbia University, and served several years as a teacher and assistant principal in the New York City public schools.
Thronson earned his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, where he served as co-editor-in-chief of the Harvard Human Rights Journal. After clerking for the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima in California, Thronson returned to New York City as a Skadden Fellow at The Door's Legal Services Center, providing direct legal services to at-risk young people, primarily in the areas of immigration, housing, and family law. He subsequently served as the Gibbons Fellow in Public Interest and Constitutional Law at the law firm of Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione, where he litigated cases on a wide range of issues, including the scope of federal habeas jurisdiction to review immigration matters, the application of the Convention Against Torture, the constitutional adequacy of educational opportunities provided to urban children in New Jersey, and discrimination in New Jersey State Police hiring practices.
From 1999 to 2002, Thronson taught in the Lawyering Program of New York University School of Law. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law and Hofstra University School of Law, where he taught immigration law, public international law, and international human rights.
Thronson then moved to the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he ultimately became a professor of law and associate dean for clinical studies. He taught immigration law and civil procedure at UNLV, founded an Immigration Clinic, and established the Nevada Immigrant Resource Project. In 2003, Thronson was named "UNLV Professor of the Year."
Thronson serves on numerous boards of directors, including that of the National Youth Leadership Council. In 2006, he received the "Friend of Working Families Award" from the Nevada State AFL-CIO in recognition for his community work. In 2008, the Nevada Supreme Court appointed him to its Access to Justice Commission and as a trustee of the Nevada Law Foundation administering Nevada's Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) funds. Also in 2008, Thronson was appointed to Nevada's Governor's Commission for National and Community Service.
Contact Professor David B. Thronson at 517-336-8088 ext. 1015 or 517-432-6916, or by email at david.thronson@law.msu.edu.
Degrees: J.D. 1994, cum laude, Harvard Law School; M.A. 1990, Columbia University, Teachers College; B.S. 1985, University of Kansas; B.G.S. 1985, University of Kansas
Bar Admissions: Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, District of New Jersey, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Ninth Circuit, United States Supreme Court, and United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit