The Informant

March 4 , 2008
(2007-08 Archives)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

On Thursday and Friday, March 6-7, the College of Law is hosting noted Delaware jurist Randy J. Holland, a justice on the Delaware Supreme Court. The youngest person ever to be appointed to Delaware's highest court, Justice Holland was reappointed for a second 12-year term in 1999. He has authored a number of highly significant opinions of the court, including opinions in several key corporate law and governance cases. In addition, he has written a number of books, including Middle Temple Lawyers and The American Revolution (with retired English Judge Eric Stockdale) and a West American Casebook Series text (with Martineau, Solimine, and Sinclair), Cases and Materials on Appellate Practice and Procedure (2d ed. 2005). Justice Holland will be addressing the University community from 12:20 p.m. to 1:10 p.m. March 7 in Room 132. The topic of his talk is "Delaware's Highest Court: Corporate Law and a Lot More." In addition, an informal discussion group on his Middle Temple Lawyers book is planned for 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. March 7 in the College of Law Faculty Lounge (2nd floor). This book covers the influence of lawyers educated in the Middle Temple (in England) on the early history of the United States. Specifically, as summarized on Amazon.com, "Middle Temple Lawyers and the American Revolution approaches the influence of the Middle Temple on the United States from three angles. It first describes the participation of Middle Temple-educated lawyers in crucial events leading up to and through the American Revolution. Next, drawing on personal and often humorous transatlantic correspondence, the authors dissect the formative experiences of the American colonists who studied at the Middle Temple in London during the 18th Century. Finally, the authors set forth the stories of distinguished and notable colonial families that benefited from a Middle Temple education." If you would like to attend the book discussion session, please contact Joan Heminway at heminway@libra.law.utk.edu (telephone: 974-3813), as space for that session is limited.

Michael Galligan is an artist, a community activist, a sports enthusiast, and a small-town lawyer.  But don’t let the phrase “small-town lawyer” fool you.  Galligan’s practice in McMinnville, Tenn., which he founded in the early 1970s, includes torts, criminal law, employment, family, and civil rights litigation.  By any measure, Galligan is very successful.  His trial experience earned him a place as a diplomat with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and, for years, a place in our classrooms as an adjunct professor teaching Trial Practice.  He is a community activist and a retired Marine Corp Captain.  Galligan will talk about practicing law in a small firm and about "Doing Well While Doing Good” on March 12 beginning at 12:20 p.m. in Room 241.  The program and the lunch that will follow are sponsored by the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.

Adjunct’s Gift Prompts 1L Advocacy Competition. When attorney Mike Galligan felt that he had to discontinue his long commute to the UT College of Law to teach Trial Practice, he contacted the Advocacy Center and said, “The students gave me so much during my time as an adjunct, I want to give back.” Galligan’s gift has enabled the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution to host the First Annual 1L Advocacy Competition. On March 12, beginning at 5 p.m. in Room 132, a panel of federal and state judges and lawyers will determine which first-year law student should be awarded the first Annual 1L Advocacy Idol Award. Following the competition, the participants and judges will have dinner together and discuss ways to improve advocacy skills. Any interested 1 L student should contact advocacycenter@libra.law.utk.edu.

The SBA announces its 2008-2009 SBA council:

President - Vanessa Patel
Vice President - Alyssa Youngerberg
Secretary - Kelley Brooks
Treasurer - Meghan Fowler
GSS Representative - Brad Hearne
ABA Representative - Jennifer Miller
3L Representatives - Jonathan Buckner & Jatrean Sanders
2L Representatives - Josh Lee & Tom Whitworth
At-Large Representatives - Ben Peacock, Ryan Hoffman, Melissa Hughes, Jennifer McGinn, Thomas Mmbaga, and Walt Siedentopf.

VITA is open to prepare taxes for students, professors, and low-income families. Please come by and get your taxes done for free. VITA will be open March 3-April 9, Monday-Wednesday, from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. and will be closed for Spring Break. VITA is located in the video viewing room on the 1st floor of the law library.

Citizens and working journalists are invited to a free workshop designed to teach them what records and meetings are open to the public under Tennessee law and what they can do if denied access. The East Tennessee chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (ETSPJ) is pleased to present this freedom-of-information workshop in partnership with the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy and the University of Tennessee’s School of Journalism and Electronic Media. MORE

The Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution at the University of Tennessee College of Law is pleased to host a lecture by distinguished scholar James W. McElhaney on Wednesday, April 2, at 12:20 p.m. in Room 132. Prof. McElhaney is perhaps the foremost teacher, writer, and speaker on trial techniques in the country today. He writes the award winning column, "Litigation" in the American Bar Association Journal and the popular quarterly column, "Trial Notebook," in the Litigation Journal. He has authored the three highly acclaimed books, Effective Litigation, McElhaney's Trial Notebook, and McElhaney's Litigation. McElhaney is the Joseph C. Hutcheson Distinguished Lecturer in Trial Advocacy, South Texas College of Law, the Baker & Hostetler Distinguished Scholar in Trial Practice and Joseph C. Hostetler Professor Emeritus of Trial Practice and Advocacy, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and a faculty member of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He has given nearly 1,000 seminars, speeches and workshops on evidence, procedure and trial practice in every one of the 50 U.S. states and throughout Canada.

FACULTY

Prof. Joan Heminway was a featured presenter at a symposium at William & Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law Feb. 23. The symposium, entitled "Not That Kind of Girl: The Legal Treatment of Women Defying Traditional Gender Roles," featured five law teachers/scholars, including Prof. Heminway. Prof. Heminway's symposium presentation focused on her paper, “Female Investors and Securities Fraud: Is the Reasonable Investor a Woman?,” which looks at the conception of the reasonable investor (central to the concept of materiality in securities regulation) in light of increasing participation by women in securities trading transactions. The paper will be published in Issue 2 of Volume XV of the William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law.

STUDENTS

Large Firm, Big City, Not Your Cup of Tea? The Center for Advocacy will host lawyer, artist, community activist, Vietnam War Veteran, and Marine Corps Captain Mike Galligan, March 12, beginning at 12:20 p.m. in Room 241. Not everyone who graduates from law school wants to practice in a large firm or live in a large city. Galligan did not. He built a very successful practice over the last three decades in a small Tennessee town. Galligan, who has taught Trial Practice at the law school for almost 10 years, will speak at the law school on the topic of “Doing Well While Doing Good.” If you are interested in the dynamics of a small-town law practice, be sure to attend. Lunch will be provided.

Applications are now being accepted for the College's 2008-2009 Student Advisors. Student Advisors (SAs) work to ease a first-year student’s transition into law school. Student Advisors orient incoming students by providing social and academic information and support during the first year. SAs are in a unique position to not only serve as an official representative of the College of Law but also to relate the experiences of a current student. Applications are available in the Admissions Office.

The College of Law and the ABA Section on International Law will co-sponsor a panel discussion on careers in international law Monday, April 7, from 12:20 until 1:10 p.m. in Room 135. UT Prof. Robert Blitt will be among those on the panel.

CAREER SERVICES

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