The Informant
September 22, 2009
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Prof. Jerry Black has been elected President of TACDL
Prof. Jerry Black has been elected to a one-year term as President of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL). MORE
Visiting Professor Jeffrey Kelleher to speak Sept. 28
“The New Treaty of Lisbon and the Future of the European Union” is the title of a presentation to be given by Visiting Professor Jeffrey Kelleher on Monday, Sept. 28, in Room 132. The presentation will examine the context and potential ramifications for the constitution-like Treaty of Lisbon which has been ratified by all but three EU member states. Ireland is holding referendums Oct. 2 to determine whether or not to ratify the treaty and many expect the other two non-ratifiers to follow the Irish lead. The presentation is free and open to the law school community and the public.
International Law Moot Court team selected
Congratulations to the College's 2010 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Team: Solange Adams, Sukhyun Byun, Steve Chu, TJ Hatter, and Hannah Lowe
FACULTY
From Greg Stein, Associate Dean for Faculty Development
The John Marshall Law School has invited Prof. Robert Blitt to deliver a lecture as part of its 2009–2010 Faculty Scholarship Roundtable Series. Prof. Blitt will be addressing some of his current research in a talk entitled “The Migration of Anti-Constitutional Ideas: The Bottom Up Journey of Defamation of Religion from Muslim States to the United Nations.” The lecture is scheduled for early November.
The Center for the Study of Social Justice, a new interdisciplinary body intended to foster social justice research and teaching beyond the boundaries of individual departments and colleges at the University of Tennessee, has appointed Prof. Blitt to its board of directors. The Center will hold a series of inaugural events in the coming months. More information is available here.
On September 24, Prof. Judy Cornett will present her paper, “Transitions to the New South: Urban and Rural Values in To Kill a Mockingbird,” at the Southern Women Writers Conference at Berry College, Mt. Berry, Georgia. In this paper Prof. Cornett will address Malcolm Gladwell’s provocative essay in The New Yorker, “The Courthouse Ring: Atticus Finch and the Limits of Southern Liberalism,” as well as demonstrating that Atticus Finch represents the literary “country lawyer,” bridging the urban and rural cultures of the South.
On October 28 Prof. Cornett will present a 1-hour webcast in the Tennessee Bar Association’s TennBarU CLE series, “Spooked by Hannan: Will Summary Judgment Ever Return?” On Halloween 2008, the Tennessee Supreme Court decided Hannan v. Alltel Publishing Co., 270 S.W.3d 1 (Tenn. 2008). In that case, for the first time, the Court stated explicitly that Tennessee does not follow the federal Celotex standard for summary judgment. Hannan has spooked some lawyers and judges, who fear that summary judgment has joined the ranks of the zombies — the living dead — or has become a mere ghost that haunts lawsuits but never materializes. In this webcast, Professor Cornett will show that there is no reason to be spooked by Hannan. Summary judgment is no zombie, but is alive and well in Tennessee, and indeed may be more available after Hannan than before.
Prof. Joan Heminway gave two academic presentations last week. First, Prof. Heminway delivered a paper entitled Martha Stewart and the Forbidden Fruit: A New Story of Eve on September 11th at the “Business Law and Narrative Symposium” at Michigan State University College of Law. The paper argues that (contrary to an earlier article written by the symposium organizer) business law generates narratives that are useful to law scholars and teachers. More information about the symposium is available here.
On September 12th, Prof. Heminway presented at the “Legal Education at the Crossroads v.3 Conference on Assessment” at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Her presentation, Summative Student Assessment through Oral Examination . . . , described her experience in using an oral midterm examination in her Securities Regulation course and solicited suggestions on how to translate the experience to a larger class environment. More information about the conference is available here.
Probate and Property, the ABA Real Property, Trust and Estate Section’s magazine, has selected Prof. Amy Morris Hess for one of its “Profiles in Membership.” This magazine column profiles prominent members of the bar in these subject-matter areas. The Profile of Prof. Hess describes her career at the University of Tennessee and her authorship of Bogert Trusts and Trustees. You can read the profile here.
The Antitrust and Competition Policy Blog recently ranked the “Most Downloaded Antitrust Law Professors of the Past Year,” based on papers downloaded from the SSRN database. Prof. Maurice Stucke ranked 10th on the list, with 1,683 downloads, placing him ahead of his counterparts at Harvard, Columbia, Duke, and Michigan. See the rankings here.
Prof. Penny White was a featured speaker at Baruch College’s Robert Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity on the topic of the effect of contributions in judicial elections. The conference, “American Justice for Sale? Corporate Dollars in Judicial Election Campaigns,” was held on Constitution Day and sponsored by the Center for Politicial Accountability and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at the Wharton School. The conference focused on the threat that unlimited spending in judicial elections poses to America’s judicial system. In addition to Professor White, other speakers included Dorothy Samuels, a member of the New York Times editorial board; Professor Roy Schotland, Georgetown Law Center; Charles Grezlak, Vice-President, Government Affairs and Policy, Merck & Co., Inc; Landon Rowland, former CEO of Janus Funds; Robert Alt, Deputy Director, the Heritage Foundation; and Jeffrey Berger, Mayer Brown.
International Activities at the College of Law – Forum on September 29, 3:00–5:00, UC Shiloh Room. The College of Law will sponsor an informational session on “Global Initiatives at the College of Law” on September 29th, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm in the Shiloh Room at the University Center. In this session, students, faculty, and administrators from the College of Law will describe the international and comparative law activities of College of Law students and faculty in the classroom and around the world. The presentation will include pictures from a variety of countries and situations involving student and faculty experiences abroad.
Is Peer Review coming to Law Reviews? Maybe. Check out the following post, including the links. The journals that are currently participating are Mississippi Law Journal, South Carolina Law Review, Stanford Law Review, and Wake Forest Law Review.
Book Discounts! Borders is holding Educator Appreciation Week Sept. 29–Oct. 7. (Shouldn’t they call it “Educator Appreciation Week-Plus-Two-Days?”) They will be offering 30% discounts on nearly everything in the store — but apparently not online — if you provide proof of your status as an educator. The purchases need not be for classroom use. For more information, go here.
STAFF
Director Britton member of TBA Diversity Committee
Karen Britton is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity and will chair the Subcommittee on Recruitment for the 2009-2010 year. Britton is Director of Admissions and Financial Aid and Director, The Bettye B. Lewis Career Center at the College of Law.
STUDENTS
Evidence Moot Court Try Outs announced
The selection process for the Jerome Prince Evidence Moot Court Team is underway. The Jerome Prince Competition is a national competition sponsored by the Brooklyn Law School. The competition includes both a brief writing and oral argument component. The argument competition occurs in April in Brooklyn, New York. Three students will be selected as members of the team based on their legal writing and oral advocacy skills. Students who have excelled in legal writing classes are encouraged to apply for the team. Students who are interested in applying for the team should sign up for a time to try out on the sign up sheet outside of Room 328. All students who sign up to try out will receive an email including the instructions for application, the application form, and the problem. Students must submit electronic copies of the completed application, a resume, and a writing sample to Mark Ensley (mensley@utk.edu) by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 24. Profs. Michael Higdon and Penny White, along with lawyer coach, Preston Hawkins will select the 2010 team following the try outs.
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.
Research Assistant Needed Approximately 10 Hours Per Week
Research will be in the areas of 1) family law and 2) gender and sexuality law. Students interested in the position should send a resume, current transcript and writing sample to Prof. Michael Higdon at mhigdon3@utk.edu. Any questions regarding the position can be sent by email or telephone at (865) 974-2393.
ABI announces Bankruptcy Law Student Writing competition
ABI’s Bankruptcy Litigation Committee announces the Second Annual ABI Bankruptcy Law Student Writing Competition. Students from participating law schools will be eligible to submit a paper from Jan. 1 - March 1, 2010. Entries for the competition, which must be reviewed by a law professor prior to submission, must focus on current issues regarding bankruptcy jurisdiction, bankruptcy litigation or evidence in bankruptcy cases or proceedings. The paper may address business or consumer cases and may include matters such as bankruptcy sales, plan confirmation and other topics that involve jurisdiction, litigation or evidence in the bankruptcy courts. Winners of the competition will be announced on May 1, 2010. The first-place writer will receive $1,000 cash, publication of the paper in the ABI Journal and a one-year membership in ABI. The second-place writer will receive a cash award of $750, publication of the paper in the ABI Bankruptcy Litigation Committee’s quarterly newsletter and a one-year membership in ABI. The third-place writer will receive a cash award of $500, publication of the paper in the ABI Bankruptcy Litigation Committee’s quarterly newsletter and a one-year membership in ABI. Contact papers@abiworld.org for more information. Prof. George Kuney is willing to review student papers and provide feedback before they are submitted to the ABI, if desired.
MORE
"Law Stories" competition announced
The University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review devotes part of one issue each year to a collection of “Law Stories” – short tales about various aspects of the legal world. For the next edition, the theme will be 1L Revisited. An introduction by Scott Turow, author of the classic account of the 1L experience, will lead off this collection of true stories about being a new law student. Current law students and recent graduates (2006 or later) are invited to submit stories. Winning submission(s) will be published in the Spring 2010 issue of the UMKC Law Review, and the first place winner will receive a $500 prize.
Details:
· Non-fiction stories about the first year experience
· 1,000 - 5,000 words, including footnotes
· Footnotes are discouraged—we are looking for stories, not conventional law review articles or notes
· Open to current law student s and recently graduated law students (2006 or after)
· Send to lawstories@umkc.edu with “Law Stories Submission” in subject line
· MS Word or PDF formats only
· Submission deadline October 23, 2009
UMKC School of Law
5100 Rockhill Road, Law 1-200
Kansas City, MO 64110
lawstories@umkc.edu
Lynn Herdon, Editor-In-Chief
lynn.herndon@umkc.edu
CAREER SERVICES
Upcoming programs offered through the Bettye B. Lewis Career Center:
-- "Job Search Strategy: Targeting Smaller Firms" for 2 and 3Ls, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 12-12:50 p.m., Room 135.
-- "Job Search Strategy: Targeting Smaller Firms" for 2 and 3Ls, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 12-12:50 p.m., Room 135.