The Informant

October 16, 2007
(2007-08 Archives)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Attorney Michael Tigar, best know for his defense of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, will deliver the 2007 Center for Advocacy Founders’ Lecture Oct. 31 beginning at 12:20 p.m. in Room 132. The lecture is free and open to the public. Tigar’s other notable clients have included Angela Davis, H. Rap Brown, John Connally, Allen Ginsberg, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Lynne Stewart. He has taught at numerous law schools and is currently a Visiting Professor at Duke University. His writings have included authorship or co-authorship of 10 books, three plays, And scores of articles and essays. While in Knoxville Tigar will also speak to the Knoxville Bar Association on “Advocates as an Endangered Species” Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m. at Calhoun’s on the River. Tigar is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and earned a J.D. from its Boalt Hall School of Law.

In support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Judge Bill Swann will hold the Fourth Circuit Court docket at the College of Law on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007.

The Child Law Society will be sponsoring a series of focus groups with a representative of Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) on Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. in the Faculty Lounge. Four 30-minute sessions will be held. Each session will start with a brief description of what a CASA volunteer does and will then be followed by a question-and-answer type of discussion. Space is limited so sign up for a session by emailing jmille65@utk.edu. Lunch will be served.

The Knoxville Bar Association is sponsoring a series of free LawTalk programs this fall. These educational programs are designed to create better-informed citizens who understand what is involved in estate planning and administration. MORE

The law school community is invited to “Mediation Day in Tennessee,” at which time UT law Prof. Emeritus Grayfred Gray will receive the First Annual Grayfred Gray Public Service Mediation Award in recognition of his original and lasting contribution to the development of mediation awareness in Tennessee. The event will be held Thursday, Oct. 18, in Nashville beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Ezell Center at Lipscomb University. UT Law Prof. Becky Jacobs will make introductory remarks at the ceremony. More information available here.

The UT Office of Equity and Diversity Experience has scheduled its workshops for Fall 2007. The schedule may be found here.

FACULTY

Prof. Dean Rivkin spoke Oct. 11 to a faculty forum at the LSU Law Center on "The Evolution of Modern Clinical Legal Education." As chair of the AALS site inspection team, and primary author of the AALS Report, for City University of New York (CUNY) Law School's application for membership in the AALS, Prof. Rivkin attended the meeting of the Membership Review Committee last week in Washington, D.C., and briefed the Committee on its findings.

Prof. emeritus Fran Ansley will be a panelist at the University of North Carolina Nov. 4-5 for a program entitled “Wealth Inequality and the Eroding Middle Class.” The topic of Prof. Ansley’s panel is “Labor Markets: Income Inequality & Globalization.”

Prof. Robert Blitt recently returned from Provo, Utah, where he presented a working paper entitled "The Treatment of Religious Organizations Under Russia’s Amended NGO Law" at the 14th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium hosted by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University. Each year, this symposium brings together scholars and government officials from around the world to take part in discussions on religion-state issues.

Prof. Glenn Reynolds' article 'Is Dick Cheney Unconstitutional?' will appear as a colloquy in the Northwestern University Law Review.

Prof. George Kuney’s article "What Your Lender and Mortgage Broker Didn't Tell You: A Proposal for Increased Disclosure of Purchase Money Borrower Protections and their Loss on Refinance" is being published in the Hastings Business Law Review. The article discusses California’s anti-deficiency legislation applicable to purchase money mortgages, how the state’s own disclosure rules are insufficient to warn consumers that anti-deficiency protection is lost upon refinancing, and how federal financial institution legislation and regulation has preempted even that limited disclosure, to the disservice of home borrowers. The subject is of timely interest due to the recent property value down-draft in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and the dramatic increase in foreclosures involving California real estate.

Profs. Jerry Black and Doug Blaze presented a two-day skills training program for legal services attorneys, focusing on deposition and trial skills. The program, was offered during the Equal Justice Conference, sponsored by the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, Sept. 26 and 28 in Manchester, Tenn.

Prof. Penny White will attend a conference on "The Debate over Judicial Elections and State Court Judicial Selection" as an invited participant. The conference, a project of the Sandra Day O'Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary, will be held at Georgetown University Law Center, Oct. 17. Both former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justice Stephen Breyer will address the conference. The invited participants will develop a series of recommendations regarding state judicial selection.

STUDENTS

The Fourth Circuit Court will hold its docket at the Law School Thursday, Oct. 25. Volunteers are needed to help set up court rooms and tables for community agencies on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 24. Volunteers are also needed to man the information desk, assist the court officials and direct participants. Signup sheets and additional information are available in the Dean's Office.

Prof. Ben Barton is seeking four law students for a Spring Semester independent study (“IS”) on working with expert witnesses in litigation. The IS will be held jointly with two statistics grad students who will work as opposing experts. The law students will divide into a pair of litigation teams. Each team will work with one of the statisticians as their expert in a model litigation Prof. Barton is currently designing. The IS will consist of a) working with the expert witness to create a written expert’s report; b) reading the opposing expert’s report, and discussing it with your own expert; c) deposing the opposing expert; and d) running a direct of your own witness at a mock trial and cross-examining the opposing expert. There will also be readings on working with, and litigating against, expert witnesses. The IS will serve as the possible basis for a future class on expert witnesses. If you are interested, please email Prof. Barton (bbarton@utk.edu).

Prof. Jennifer Hendricks is looking for a research assistant to work on projects involving sex classifications, abortion, procedural questions, and other topics. Please send a resume and copy of transcript to jsh@utk.edu.

CAREER SERVICES

Programs/events this coming week:

-- "Interview Preparation & Protocol: The Call-Back or Second Interview," for 2Ls, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 9:40-10:20 a.m., Faculty Lounge.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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CONTACT PERSONS

For a list of College contact persons, Click here.