The Informant

September 9, 2008

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law and the UT Corporate Governance Center will sponsor a lecture by Marco Ventoruzzo on European and Italian corporate governance Friday, Sept. 12, from 12:20 until 1:10 p.m. in Room 136. Prof. Ventoruzzo is an Associate Professor of Corporate Law at Bocconi University - Institute of Comparative Law in Milan, Italy. He has also been an International Visiting Professor at Louisiana State University Law School where he taught Comparative Corporate Law. He received a Master of Law degree from Yale University and has taken graduate courses at the Michigan Law School. The title of his lecture is “European Corporate Governance and the EU Takeover Directive.”

New Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Janice Holder urged UT law students recently to maintain balance in their lives in order to have productive and happy careers. During a lecture at the College Sept. 3, Justice Holder revealed a formula, which she said she had recently re-implemented, that she used while in law school. "Work till 6 on Friday and go back to it on Sunday afternoon," she said. By doing so, she said she found herself to be more productive and efficient in her work and happier in her life. MORE

Congratulations to Sheryl Branson, who was selected as Employee of the Month for July 2008. Sheryl has been a member of the College of Law staff since July of 2002.  As Senior Administrative Services Assistant in the Student Records Office, she is responsible for overseeing several semester activities, including the maintenance of academic records, registration, exams, processing grades, instructor evaluations, textbook orders -- just to name a few -- and she provides invaluable assistance to Dean Morgan and to our students, faculty and staff in handling a wide variety of other administrative and academic matters. “We appreciate very much Sheryl's hard work, positive attitude and great sense of humor each and everyday, and especially for all that she has done to ensure that the Fall Semester got off to a smooth start,” said Dean Doug Blaze. “Sheryl is an outstanding member of our staff, and we extend our sincere gratitude to her for her many contributions to the life of the Law School.”

Students, faculty, and staff joined to thank retiring Tennessee Chief Justice William M. Barker for his years of service to the Tennessee Judiciary by preparing slides which will be shown at the annual Supreme Court dinner in Knoxville. MORE

FACULTY

Over the weekend, Profs. Ben Barton, Joan Heminway, and George Kuney participated in The University of Washington School of Law’s “Legal Education at the Crossroads” conference, subtitled “Ideas to Accomplishments: Sharing New Ideas for Integrated Curriculum.”  Prof. Barton gave a presentation based upon his Tennessee Law Review article entitled “A Tale of Two Case Methods: Combining the Business School and Law School Models,” while Profs. Heminway and Kuney spoke about “Representing Enterprises—A Simulated Business Law Firm with Four (or more) Different Partners,” based on the capstone course for the Concentration in Business Transactions.

Prof. Jeff Hirsch was one of four scholars selected to participate this October in the Seton Hall Employment and Labor Law Scholars' Forum.  The Forum is designed to provide junior scholars with commentary and critique by their more senior colleagues in the legal academy.  Prof. Hirsch will be presenting his paper, "Regulatory Pragmatism At Work," which argues for a more simplified and exclusively federal governance of the workplace.

STUDENTS

Tryouts are being held for the Robert F. Wagner National Labor & Employment Moot Court Competition, run by the New York Law School Moot Court Association. The competition will take place March 11-15 (right before UT’s Spring Break) in New York City. The fact pattern will be released early in December and the brief is due mid-January; thus, the team will work on the brief over winter break. Because the competition rules allow for some help on the brief, this is a unique opportunity to work closely with a faculty member on appellate brief writing. Tryouts involve submitting a writing sample by Sept. 19, then presenting an brief oral argument on Sept. 22 (alternate times can be arranged if needed). The team has been very successful in recent years and is looking to continue that tradition. For more specific information on the try-outs, please contact Prof. Jeff Hirsch.

CAREER SERVICES

Career Services programs this week:

-- Presidential Management Fellowship Program Interest meeting, for all classes, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 12:20-1:10 p.m., Room 135.

-- "Interview Pointers & Protocol: The Call-Back or Second Interview," for 3Ls, Friday, Sept. 12, 12:20-1:10 p.m., Room 135.

-- "What Do Lawyers Do? Navy JAG Corps," for all classes, Monday, Sept. 15, 12:20-1:10 p.m., Room 135.