The Informant
March 8, 2011
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dean Doug Blaze poses with members of R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr.'s family after they accepted an award on his behalf at Saturday's 11th annual Blackshear Gala. Campbelle was the first African American graduate of the UT College of Law. Fred Humphries, vice president of U.S. government affairs for the Microsoft Corporation in Washington, D.C., who provided the keynote address for the event, also is pictured.
Annual Blackshear Gala is huge success
UT law faculty member Dwight Aarons and several law students were honored at the 11th annual Blackshear Gala March 4. The honorees:
R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Leadership Award - Kirton Madison
Julian Blackshear Outstanding Student Award - Cashauna Lattimore
Frank Ennix Award for Excellence - William Perry
Professor Dwight Aarons was honored for his dedication and service to the Black Law Students’ Association.
The First R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. award was presented to him posthumously, and accepted by his family.
The College of Law thanks those who have supported the Blackshear Gala this year, as well as in previous years:
Supporting Sponsor: Merchant & Gould LLC.
Table Sponsors:
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC; Bass, Berry & Sims PLC; Boston, Holt, Sockwell and Durham PLLC; The Family of Attorney R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr.; Hodges, Doughty and Carson PLLC; Husch Blackwell LLP; Kramer Rayson LLP; Lewis, King, Krieg & Waldrop PC; Miller & Martin PLLC; John T. Milburn Rogers; and Student Bar Association.
Repeat Blackshear Gala Sponsors: Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC; Bass, Berry & Sims PLC; Hodges, Doughty and Carson PLLC; Kramer Rayson LLP; Lewis, King, Krieg & Waldrop PC; and Merchant & Gould LLC.
This year's gala had 166 participants, including sponsor tables and individual tickets.
Joshua Arters, Claire Arnett, Jacob Wilson, Eric Mauldin, J. Clay Cox, Jennie Brooks, G. William Perry and Brandon Morrow pose with their moot court award.
UT team wins regional moot court championship
A UT team of J. Clay Cox, Eric Mauldin, G. William Perry and Jacob Wilson won the Atlanta regional competition March 5 in the American Association for Justice National Student Trial Advocacy competition. A second UT team of Claire Arnett, Josh Arters, Jennie Brooks and Brandon Morrow tied for fifth place with a 2-1 record out of a field of 18 teams in the regional.
By winning the regional competition, the UT College of Law qualified for the national finals in Las Vegas in April, where the winning teams from each of 14 regions will compete. This is the first time that a team from UT has won the regional competition. Last year, Mauldin, Perry and Wilson, along with fellow 3L Joseph Welker, narrowly missed qualifying for the national rounds of the competition, coming in second in the New York regional competition.
Tennessee bested teams from North Carolina Central University School of Law, Charlotte School of Law, Duke University Law School, Georgia State University College of Law and Emory University Law School en route to the regional crown. Both teams are coached by Larry Giordano, a partner with the Knoxville law firm of Lewis, King, Krieg, & Waldrop, P.C.
Phi Alpha Delta teams compete, one takes fourth
On March 3-5, UT's Phi Alpha Delta McReynolds Chapter sent two teams of four competitors each to the National Phi Alpha Delta Trial Competition in Washington, D.C. The competitors and coaches traveled at their own expense and had been preparing for months with the help of members of the local legal community.
One UT team placed fourth in this national competition, which included 32 teams from across the country. Making this triumph even more impressive, the team was comprised solely of 1L students, whereas many of their opposing teams' rosters were comprised of upperclassmen that have had the benefit of evidence and trial practice classes. Team members were Alicia McMurray, Austin Purvis, Isabelle Archuleta and Jennifer Dusenberry.
Members of the other UT Phi Alpha Delta team, who also performed admirably, were 1Ls Caroline Latsha and Fred Pickney and 3Ls Alex Brinson and Ted Engel. Coaches included alumni-advisor and local attorney Ed Anderson, PAD attorneys Kathryn Ellis and Shannon Holland and 3L Nicholas Lee.
Thanks to those who volunteered to help the teams prepare for competition, especially Dean Doug Blaze, Faculty Advisor Judy Cornett, Judge Chuck Cerny, local PAD attorneys Stephanie Coleman, Donna Davis, G. Turner Howard, Melissa Moore, Annette Winston and 3L and Co-Vice Chair of UT Law's Executive Moot Court Board, Eric Mauldin, for serving as judges and jurors as the teams prepared.
Many PAD members served as volunteer jurors along the way. Their input was critical to the teams' success. Thanks to everyone who supported the teams.
Business Clinic News
Tennessee Immigrant Empowerment Solutions, Inc. (TIES). TIES, a non-profit organization that provides both financial and educational assistance to individuals seeking United States citizenship, was recently granted 501(c) (3) status by the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to preparing the entity’s non-profit application, the students in the Business Clinic drafted the charter and by-laws and obtained non-profit corporate status in Tennessee. The student attorneys continue to work with the Board of Directors advising them on matters of corporate formalities and assisting them on obtaining state sales tax exemption and charitable solicitation approval.
Knoxville Chamber of Commerce. The Business Clinic recently obtained both state and federal trademark protection for the mark “Members Rx” which is being used in conjunction with a proprietary business operations quality improvement process, which is offered as a service to Chamber members to improve their profitability as well as their corporate governance and regulatory compliance functions. A companion mark “Members MD” obtained state trademark protection but was denied federal protection. As a result, new trademark applications were submitted for “Chamber Member MD”. The Chamber has requested that the Business Clinic work with them in the future in conducting “legal audits” of its member firms.
TJLP magazine announces new editors
The Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy announces the following new staff editors: Joshua Arters, Shalina Bhatia, Eugene Choi' Michelle Holland, Austin Phillips, Rob Robinson, Mabern Wall, Amy Williams and Karina Xart.
2010 Advocacy Idol competitors
Fourth annual 1L Advocacy Idol Competition
The Fourth Annual 1L Advocacy Idol competition will be held on Wednesday, March 23, beginning at 5 p.m. in Room 132. First-year law students, coached by second- and third-year students, will compete by presenting five-minute opening statements to a panel of judges and lawyers. After preliminary rounds, six finalists will be chosen, and from these finalists, the entire panel of judges will determine which first-year student will be named the Fourth Annual 1L Advocacy Idol. No advance preparation is required. Following the competition, first-year participants, their coaches, the judges and lawyers will have dinner together to discuss ways to improve advocacy skills. Cash prizes and certificates will be awarded after the dinner. The competition not only serves as an introduction to the Advocacy and Dispute Resolution Concentration, but it also is a great way to prepare for Legal Process II oral arguments. Interested first-year students should sign up by emailing Brennan Wingerter at bwinger1@utk.edu. The competition is limited to the first 24 first-year students who sign up. Students with questions about the competition may contact either Brennan Wingerter or Professor Penny White at pwhite4@utk.edu.
Law Women benefit YWCA victim's program
The recent Law Women date auction raised $2,739.00 for the YWCA Victim's Advocacy Program.
Advocacy Center to host author Cait Clarke March 30
The Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution will host Cait Clarke, author of “Dare to Ask” on March 30. Cait, who is the director of federal programs at Equal Justice Works, will give a general program at noon in Room 136 for the law school community. Information about Clarke can be found here.
Protecting Children symposium to be held April 1
The Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy and the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution will be hosting an upcoming symposium entitled "The Politics of Protecting Children" on April 1 at the College of Law in Room 132. The symposium will focus on legal and political issues facing child protection. Panels will include discussions about guardian ad litems, political and ethical challenges, landmark litigation and best practices for attorneys from the juvenile judge’s point of view. Robert Schwartz, the executive director of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, Pa., will bring his national expertise and provide a keynote on “Revisiting Luzerne County: Promoting Fairness, Transparency and Accountability in Juvenile Court.” The entire law school community is invited. CLE will be provided (7 hours, with 3 hours dual).
FACULTY
From Greg Stein, Associate Dean for Faculty Development
Professor Joan Heminway was quoted recently in a Knoxville News-Sentinel article addressing the possible effects of further cuts to the UT budget. Read MORE.
Comments by Heminway also were noted in a recent Knoxville News-Sentinel article discussing how UT puts itself at a disadvantage when seeking to hire new faculty because it does not offer benefits to employees in non-marital partnerships. Read MORE.
Last week, Professor Dean Rivkin gave a presentation to the staff of the Vera Institute For Justice's Youth Justice Project in New York City. The talk focused on his paper, "Truancy Prosecutions of Students and the Right [To] Education," and on the legal representation of youth in truancy prosecutions as part of his Education Law Practicum course. Rivkin also spoke on a panel entitled "Making the Special Education Laws Work for Families Without Financial Resources." This second presentation was part of a well attended day-long symposium sponsored by American University, Washington College of Law, called "Keeping the Needs of Children with Disabilities on the Agenda: Current Issues in Special Education Advocacy." The school’s Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law will publish Rivkin’s co-authored paper on this topic.
Professor Maurice Stucke's most recent article, "Am I a Price-Fixer? A Behavioral Economics Analysis of Cartels," was published this month in the book, "Criminalising Cartels: Critical Studies of an International Regulatory Movement." Read MORE.
A commissioner of the FTC discussed some of Stucke’s findings and recommendations in a recent speech. Read MORE.
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON COMMUNITY
Event of interest:
-- The Ready for the World Café, an international buffet operated by students in the advanced food production and service management class, opens for the semester on Feb. 7 and will run through April 21. The café will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday in the Hermitage Room on the third floor of the University Center. Diners will pay $11 for the all-you-can-eat buffet or $9 for a plate of food to carry out.
STUDENTS
Mandatory 1L meetings
The Records Office announces two mandatory meetings for 1Ls regarding registration and advising for fall semester 2011. The Bidding System will be discussed Monday, March 21, from noon until 12:50 p.m. in Room 132. Advising will be discussed Thursday, March 24, from 11:50 a.m. until 12:55 p.m. in Room 132. Failure to attend both meetings will prevent a student from participating in the fall 2011 bidding and registration processes.
Research assistant needed
Research assistant needed to work approximately 10 hours per week. Research will be in the area of immigration and asylum law. Students interested in the position should send a resume, current transcript and writing sample to Professor Karla McKanders at mckanders@utk.edu. Any questions regarding the position can be sent by email or telephone at (865) 974-571
Lewis R. Hagood Labor and Employment Writing Award
Submissions are being accepted for the 2011 Lewis R. Hagood Labor and Employment Writing Award, which will be presented to a law student who, as a second-year, authored the best paper written in the area of labor and employment law. MORE.
Animal humane rights writing competition
The Committee on Animals and the Law of the New York State Bar Association announces its fourth annual student writing competition. The deadline for submission is June 30. MORE
Securities arbitration law writing competition
Entries are being accepted for the James E. Beckley Writing Competition in Securities Arbitration Law sponsored by the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association. The entry deadline is Oct. 3, 2011. MORE
CAREER SERVICES
Upcoming programs offered through the Bettye B. Lewis Career Center:
-- A Day in the Life of Law Firm Associates, Tuesday, March 8, 12-1 p.m., Room 241.