The Informant
November 3, 2009
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Judge Bill Swann (center) leads an informational session for UT law students and others Oct. 29 in advance of Order of Protection Day at the College Nov. 5
Order of Protection Day is Thursday
The Fourth Circuit Court for Knox County will hold Order of Protection Day this Thursday, Nov. 5, at the College of Law. This is the sixth consecutive year the College of Law has hosted Order of Protection Day, an effort to raise awareness about domestic violence. MORE
Tree dedicated in memory of UT law student Joseph Robert Kennedy
Dean Doug Blaze announces Nov. 2 that a maple tree has been planted in front of the law school in memory of 2L Joseph Robert Kennedy, who died in May 2009. Joseph, from Oak Ridge, Tenn., received an undergraduate degree from UT Knoxville before enrolling at the College of Law. He was a member of the College of Law's Class of 2010.
Wednesday deadline for Homecoming BBQ reservations
The annual Homecoming BBQ is this Saturday prior to the Memphis football game. The menu includes ribs, chicken, and two different kinds of pulled pork – not to mention all the sweet tea and fixin’s you can handle. Festivities begin at 4 p.m., three hours before the scheduled kickoff. Tickets are $10 for faculty, staff, and guests. See Alexis Bell in the Alumni Affairs and Development Office for more details. The deadline for reservations is Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Mediation visionary Grayfred Gray to speak here November 17
Retired University of Tennessee College of Law Professor Grayfred Gray will speak in Room 241 during the Free Hour (12 - 1 p.m.) on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Professor Gray is a mediation pioneer and one of the most venerated mediators in Tennessee. During his 28 years as a member of the law school faculty, Prof. Gray founded the Mediation Clinic and was involved in the practice of mediation and in programs in which law students mediated cases before Tennessee courts and federal, state, and local government agencies. He also was one of the founding members of the Community Mediation Center, a local non-profit agency that provides mediation services to the local courts and community. Prof. Gray served as a draftsman for the Tennessee Title 33 Revision Commission, and the code on services to mentally ill and developmentally disabled people which he authored was enacted as Tennessee Public Chapter 947 in 2000. Numerous honors and awards have been bestowed upon Professor Gray, including the Loevinger Prize from Jurimetrics Journal, the Bass, Berry & Sims Faculty Award for Service to the Bench and Bar, and a Chancellor's Citation for Extraordinary Community Service. He also received the first Public Mediation Service award from the Tennessee Coalition for Mediation Awareness, an annual award that now bears his name. Professor Gray now is active in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania mediation community. His talk will focus on the history and practice of mediation.
FACULTY
Faculty book author reception on October 27, 2009
From Greg Stein, Associate Dean for Faculty Development
On October 27, the College of Law hosted a reception honoring law faculty members who published books between March 2008 and March 2009. Guests included members of the law faculty and staff, university administrators, and area alumni. Dean Doug Blaze and Associate Dean Greg Stein made remarks thanking and congratulating the book authors. They noted that twelve faculty authors (including two retired faculty members and one adjunct faculty member) authored a total of fifteen books during the year.
Faculty book authors who were honored include:
— Fran Ansley (Professor Emeritus) and Jon Shefner, co-editors, Global Connections and Local Receptions: New Latino Immigration to the Southeastern United States (University of Tennessee Press).
— Doug Blaze and Jefferson Lankford, The Law of Negligence in Arizona, 3d ed. (LexisNexis).
— Neil Cohen (Professor Emeritus), Criminal Procedure, 3d ed., and Teachers Manual (LexisNexis).
— Neil Cohen (Professor Emeritus), Mastering Criminal Law (Carolina Academic Press).
— Joseph Cook, Linda Malone, Paul Marcus, and Geraldine Moohr, Criminal Law, 6th ed. (Lexis).
— Joseph Cook, supplement to Constitutional Rights of the Accused, 3d ed. (4 vols.) (West) is published annually.
— Joseph Cook and John Sobieski, Civil Rights Actions (LexisNexis), supplemented twice annually.
— Joan Heminway (with Douglas M. Branson, Mark J. Loewenstein, Marc I. Steinberg, and Manning Gilbert Warren III), Business Enterprises (LexisNexis).
— George W. Kuney, Mastering Bankruptcy (Carolina Academic Press).
— George W. Kuney and Donna C. Looper (Adjunct Professor), Mastering Intellectual Property (Carolina Academic Press).
— George W. Kuney and Robert M. Lloyd, Contracts: Transactions and Litigation, 2d ed. (West).
— Robert M. Lloyd and George W. Kuney, Secured Transactions: UCC Article 9 and the Bankruptcy Code (University of Tennessee Center for Entrepreneurial Law).
— Don Leatherman (with Richard Doernberg and Howard Abrams), Federal Income Taxation of Corporations and Partnerships, 6th ed. (Aspen).
— Glenn Reynolds, An Army of Davids, Korean Translation.
— Gregory M. Stein, Morton P. Fisher, Jr., and Marjorie P. Fisher, A Practical Guide to Commercial Real Estate Transactions: From Contract to Closing, 2d ed. (American Bar Association).
Prof. George Kuney joined a group of law professors in submitting an Amicus Brief in Support of Respondent, Francisco J. Espinosa, in the Supreme Court Case of United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Francisco J. Espinosa (Case No. 08-1134). The case involves the question of whether or not a student loan claim can be discharged through a Chapter 13 plan based on the non-objection of the lender when an adversary proceeding under 11 U.S.C. section 1327 to determine dischargability has not been commenced. For a number of policy reasons, most notably the res judicata nature of a confirmed plan, Prof. Kuney and the other professors involved argue that the answer should be “yes.”
Prof. Dean Rivkin participated in an environmental law conference entitled, “Environmental Policy’s New Horizon: From the Clean Air Act to Greenhouse Gas Regulations.” The conference took place last week at UT’s Baker Center. The panel, which was moderated by Prof. Carl Pierce, addressed the topic of “Clean Air Act Legislation and Greenhouse Gas Legislation.” Other conference participants included experts from UT, TVA, and ORNL.
Prof. Rivkin has also been appointed to a three-year term on the eight-member Membership Review Committee of the Association of American Law Schools, to begin in 2010. This appointment was made by H. Reese Hansen of BYU Law School, who is the incoming President of the AALS. The membership Review Committee is responsible for the ongoing law school accreditation activities of the AALS.
UT’s Quest, which features articles about research, scholarship, and creative activity at the University of Tennessee, recently included a profile of Prof. Penny White. The web version of the article, entitled “Disorder in the Courts,” is available here.
On October 16, Prof. White presented a program on Constitutional Criminal Procedure to all of the judges in Delaware at their annual judicial conference. The program was held in Wilmington, Delaware and constituted one-half of the judges’ CLE for the year.
STUDENTS
TBA Outreach visit Nov. 3
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, the Tennessee Bar Association will be on campus for its annual law school outreach visit. An information table will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Baker Rotunda. Feel free to stop by and learn how a student TBA membership can benefit you. Those who join the association as a student member also will receive a free gift! At noon, the TBA will provide a pizza lunch. Come by and eat and interact with local attorneys. That evening, join Knoxville-area lawyers for a networking reception at Oodles Uncorked from 5:30 to 7 p.m. For more information about the events contact TBA Student Liaison Paul Singleton (3L) at paul1454@aol.com or TBA staff member Stacey Shrader at sshrader@tnbar.org or (615) 383-7421. Download an invitation at http://www.tba.org/lawstudent/invite_UT.pdf
Details:
TBA Information Table
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Law School Rotunda
Pizza Lunch
12 noon
The Law School Rotunda
Knoxville Networking Reception
(Joint event with Duncan School of Law students)
5:30-7 p.m.
Oodles Uncorked
18 Market Square
Knoxville, TN 37902
865-521-0600
Business Internship and Writing competition
The Center for Entrepreneurial Law notes that the American Bar Association is promoting a business internship program for the Summer of 2010 and a writing competition featuring cash prizes. For more information click here. Prof. George Kuney is willing to assist students in preparing an internship application or discuss the writing competition if desired.
Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law essay contest
The Public Justice Foundation is sponsoring the 2010 Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest. The topic is Can Coal Be Clean? Litigation Remedies for Coal Contamination from Mining to Combustion to Sequestration. The intent-to-enter form submission deadline is Jan. 29, 2010, and the essay submission deadline is March 31, 2010. Below is the link for additional information about the contest. If you have any questions, please contact me at 202-797-8600 or cgoings@publicjustice.net. Details
Teaching assistants needed
Ten second- or third-year law students
will be hired this November to work with
Legal Process II faculty
during spring semester 2010. Teaching assistants will assist faculty with tasks
such as research, critiquing student writing,
and conducting oral arguments. The salary is $908.54 for the semester. To apply: through your Symplicity account, submit a résumé and legal writing sample to the session "College of Law Teaching Assistants" by Thursday, Nov. 5. Please indicate any prior teaching experience,
even if you regard it as insignificant
(e.g., summer camp counselor). If you have questions see Prof. Judy Cornett,
Acting Director of Legal Writing,
Room 352, phone 974-6827, or jcornett@utk.edu.
Student papers sought
The Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni (ASECA) is seeking law student papers for its annual writing competition. Qualifying papers may address any subject in the field of securities law. Cash prizes will be awarded and the deadline for entries is Nov. 13. MORE
Environmental writing competition underway
The TBA Environmental Law Section has announced the 2010 Jon E. Hastings Memorial Award writing competition for law student members of the section. The competition is held each year in memory of one of the section's most outstanding founding members and has a cash prize pool of $1,200. It is a juried competition for the best legal writing on a topic related to Tennessee or federal environmental law. Entries are due March 27.
Learn more about the contest.
CAREER SERVICES
Upcoming programs offered through the Bettye B. Lewis Career Center:
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Using On-Line Resources for Your Job Search for 1Ls, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 12-12:50 p.m., Room 135.
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Using Nexis/Lexis for Your Job Search for 1Ls, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 12-12:45 p.m., Room 135.
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Using On-Line Resources for Your Job Search for 1Ls, Friday, Nov. 6, 12-12:50 p.m., Room 135.
-- Careers in Estate Planning, Monday, Nov. 9, 12-12:50 p.m., Room 135.