Annual Trial Competition Will Include 21 Law School Teams
Professor Ronald C. Smith, director of the National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition, announced the 21 teams competing in the 2008 competition March 27, 28 and 29 at The John Marshall Law School.
Since the first competition in 1991, more than 150 law schools from throughout the United States, England, Ireland and New Zealand have participated. This year's competition, sponsored by the American Bar Association's Criminal Justice Section and The John Marshall Law School, will include an international team from India's Lucknow University School of Law.
American competing teams will be Barry University School of Law in Orlando, Fla.; Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C.; Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Ga.; Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.; Harvard Law School in Boston, Mass.; University of Houston Law School in Houston, Texas; The John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in New Orleans, La.; University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia; Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Va.; Cumberland School of Law, Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.; St. John's University School of Law, Queens, New York; St. Mary's University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas; Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, Calif.; South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas; Temple University, Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, Pa.; Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, La.; University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Va.; and University of Washington School of Law in Seattle, Wash.
Smith said this year's problem deals with a person charged with violating federal laws that criminalize trafficking in counterfeit merchandise (and conspiring to do so).
The student competitors will be evaluated by experienced criminal trial lawyers and judges, mostly from the Chicago area.
This year's final round will be judged by David P. Schippers, the senior partner at Schippers & Bailey in Chicago who was chief investigative counsel for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee during the Clinton impeachment hearings.
Top of Page
Blood Drive at John Marshall
Associate Dean Rory Smith was one of the donors at the two-day blood drive sponsored by Phi Alpha Delta.
Top of Page
Helpful Portfolio Hints
Dr. Margot Weinstein presented the program, "Building Your Professional Portfolio-An Essential Tool for the 21st Century Career," on Feb. 26. She gave students information on what is useful for a portfolio, how to use a portfolio in interviews and other special techniques.
Top of Page
Black History Month Celebrated
Professor Kevin Hopkins (left) shared his collection of books, magazines and other items with The John Marshall Law School community as it celebrated Black History Month in February. Phyllis Finney (center), circulation coordinator in the library, put the display together. She shows items to June Liebert (right), director of the Louis L. Biro Law Library at The John Marshall Law School.
Top of Page
Speaker Addresses Global Economic Espionage
The Center for International Business and Trade Law presented the program "International Economic Espionage Targets U.S. National Security" given by Adjunct Professor Michael Avramovich (second from left) on Feb. 28. His discussion focused on international economic espionage, the global criminal activity that most threatens to compromise U.S. security and economic and competitive vitality. Joining him were (from left) John Marshall Professor Joel R. Cornwell; Virginia Russell, associate director of the center; Ramon Mullerat, an adjunct professor from Spain; and Timothy C. Klenk, of counsel, Bryan Cave LLP.
Top of Page
Two Faculty Members Present Works in Progress
As part of the Faculty Scholarship In-Progress Roundtable Series, Professor Colin Miller (left) presented his article, "Even Better than the Real Thing: How Courts Have Been Anything but Liberal in Finding Genuine Questions Raised as to the Authenticity of Originals Under Rule 1003." Professor David Schwartz (right) also presented his article, "Practice makes Perfect? An Empirical Study of Patent Cases." Joining them at the Feb. 28 program is Associate Dean Ralph Ruebner (center).
Top of Page
Schedule of Events
March 10
- Employee Benefits Alumni-Career Advice, Room 3East, noon
- Insights I, Room 216, noon
- Intellectual Property Law Distinguished Professor Presentation, Room 1200, noon
- Herzog Competition, Room 3East, 4:30 p.m.
March 11
- Meet the Deans - Open Office Hours, Student Lounge - North end, 5 p.m.
- Public Policy Seminar, CBA 800, 6 p.m.
March 12
- Tax Alums- Career Advice, Room 3East, noon
- Career Services Office: Legal Practice Area Lunch Series: Transactional Attorney vs. Litigator - What's the Difference?, Room 216, noon
- Board of Trustees, Courtroom, 4 p.m.
March 13
- Employee Benefits Lunch & Learn, Room 200, noon
- In-House Faculty Works-In-Progress Scholarship Roundtable - Professor Debra Stark, Room 3East, 12:15 p.m.
March 16-23
- Spring Break - No Classes
March 19
- Center for International Business and Trade Law Lunch and Learn, Room 1200, noon
Top of Page
FBI Agent Shares Career Information
FBI Special Agent Frank Bochte (J.D. '85) was a guest speaker for a Career Services Office program Feb. 25, 2008. Bochte has been assigned to the Chicago office since 1997 where he is responsible for the FBI's undercover program. He began work with the FBI in 1987 and was assigned to the Los Angeles Field Office. He investigated domestic terrorism matters and coordinated the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force created in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Top of Page
Student Activities
March 10
The Gay and Lesbian Legal Alliance will meet at 5 p.m. in room 217.
The Real Estate Law Student Chapter of Lambda Alpha International will feature speaker, Brad White, whose speech "Being Developed in Chicago by Related Midwest" will begin at 5 p.m. in room 216.
The Women's Law Caucus will meet at 1 p.m. in room 201.
March 11
The Native American and Indigenous Law Students Association will meet at 5 p.m. in room 217.
The Latino Law Student Association will meet at 5 p.m. in room 216.
March 12
The Diversity Committee will meet at 5 p.m. in room 201.
March 13
The Labor Law Society and the Employee Benefits Association will meet at 5 p.m. in room 216 to discuss combining the organizations.
The Public Interest Law Council will meet at noon in room 201.
March 14
Amnesty International will have a guest speaker at noon in room 1103. Lunch will be served.
Top of Page
Paper Recycling Program Begins; Second Phase Will Start in Summer
The John Marshall Law School joined with Recycling Services Inc. this month to begin a paper recycling program.
Each staff member received a cardboard container and special large dumpsters are scattered around the building for collection of white paper, newspapers, coated papers, junk mail, brochures, envelopes, cardboard and magazines.
The evening maintenance staff will collect the paper when it cleans the building.
Martin D'Ambrose, director of Human Resources and Auxiliary Services, said this is the first phase of the recycling program at John Marshall. During the summer months, the law school will initiate a recycling program to include the collection of plastic and glass.
The law school joins 200 Chicago-area buildings recycling an estimated 150 tons of paper per year. One ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees. The paper collected at John Marshall is shipped to a processing plant in Wisconsin where the paper is dissolved into a pulp. The ink runoff is collected for resale to the state of Wisconsin, and the paper by-product is sold to companies for bulk sale napkins and toilet paper.
Credit for initiating the recycling program at John Marshall goes to the Student Bar Association and the Environmental Law Society and its president, Aman Ansari.
"The students had suggested a recycling program for some time, but the initiative became much more feasible for John Marshall when the CBA Building offices started recycling last summer," D'Ambrose explained.
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates each American disposes of 4.5 pounds of garbage each day. This program should help each of us reduce that amount, at least in a small way, whether it's recycling papers at the library printer station or discarding your newspaper in the morning," he said.
Top of Page
BLSA Awards Ceremony Honors Alumni, Students
The Glenn T. Johnson Chapter of the Black Law Students Association at The John Marshall Law School honored two alumni and two third-year students for their outstanding achievements at the Feb. 27, 2008, Legacy of Opportunity Award Reception and Ceremony.
The program, sponsored by Jenner & Block, was a celebration of Black History Month.
Honorees receiving the Legacy of Opportunity Award were Reginald J. Hill (J.D. '94), an attorney and partner at Jenner & Block, and Ernie Burden (J.D. '00), an attorney and shareholder at Querrey & Harrow.
Hill, who has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, specializes in intellectual property (IP) litigation and counseling. He is active in the American, Illinois and Cook County Bar Associations and the American Intellectual Property Association. He chaired the Illinois State Bar Association's Intellectual Property Section Council in 2001. In 2003, he was named one of the country's top IP attorneys of color by Diversity & The Bar magazine, and this year as an Illinois Super Lawyer in Intellectual Property by Super Lawyers magazine.
Burden concentrates his practice in civil litigation, including contract disputes, construction, product liability, food contamination and fraud investigation. He serves on the Diversity Committee at Querrey & Harrow. He routinely addresses students about legal careers and speaks at minority career fairs. Burden also serves on John Marshall's Young Alumni Advisory Council.
John Marshall students Alfred Murray II and Akeela Savage were presented Excellence in Achievement Awards.
Murray serves as chief justice of the 2007-2008 Moot Court Honors Board. He has competed on several moot court teams. In 2006, he was a member of John Marshall's first place team in the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition. He has accepted an offer from Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP.
Savage served with the U.S. Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom before coming in John Marshall in 2005. She is a member of The John Marshall Law Review and is a student extern for the John Marshall Veterans Legal Support Clinic.
Jenner & Block partner Reginald Hill (left), a 1994 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, accepts the Legacy of Opportunity Award from Tolulope Olowomeye, president of the Glenn T. Johnson Chapter of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at John Marshall.
BLSA President Tolulope Olowomeye (right) presents the Legacy of Opportunity Award to Ernie Burden, a 2000 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, in recognition of his outstanding achievements as an attorney at Querrey & Harrow LLP and his volunteer efforts in the community.
John Marshall Law School Dean John Corkery (left) and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Ralph Ruebner (right) join with Tolulope Olowomeye (second from right), president of the Black Law Students Association, in congratulating John Marshall students Alfred Murray II (second from left) and Akeela Savage (center) on receiving BLSA's Excellence in Achievement Awards.
Top of Page
Faculty Activity and Publications
Professor Celeste M. Hammond
Activities
The Italian Congress of Civil Law Notaries again invited Professor Celeste Hammond to speak at a conference. The conference was organized because of the growing concern about the American subprime mortgage crisis and its impact globally. The conference entitled "Subprime: Real Estate Frauds, Mortgage Frauds, and Legal Certainty," was held on January 28, 2008 in Turin Italy. Professor Hammond was asked to describe the securitization of real estate mortgages and development of the secondary mortgage markets that have been a feature of the growth in the subprime mortgage market. These notaries, who are specially trained commercial real estate lawyers, believe that globalization of ownership and investment in real estate requires a clearer understanding of the American real estate law and practice. Notaries Eliana Morandi of Trieste and Frederico of Bologna who are leaders in the Congress hope to develop a relationship between the notaries and the Center for Real Estate Law.
In addition to Hammond, Professor Ugo Mattei of University of California Hastings presented his comments. Mattei is founding a Masters Program in Comparative Law Economics and Finance at the International University College of Turin to conduct research and to educate on transnational problems of the global political economy. The Advisory Board includes Professor Guido Calabresi (Yale), Professor Duncan Kennedy (Harvard) and Professor Amartya Sen (Nobel Prize winner in Economics, now at Harvard). Professor Hammond hopes that these relationships will support John Marshall's commitment to Global Legal Education in future years.
In July, 2006, Professor Celeste Hammond met with a research team traveling to Chicago from the Benelux countries. The team included Notaries and Economists who were engaged in a comparative study of American title insurance for residential transactions and the role of the Civil Law Notary. Their study was recently released by the SEOR as "Theory and Evidence on the Regulation of the Latin Notary Profession _ A Law and Economics Approach." It was prepared by the Erasmus Competition and Regulation institute (ECRi) of Erasmus University. It provides an economic analysis of the two approaches to title assurance in response to questions about the need for more regulation of Notaries within the European Union.
As a result, Hammond was invited to come to Brussels during her sabbatical. She was the guest of the largest Notary firm in Belgium, Berquin Notarissen, which is providing support for her research on the Civil Law Notary. On January 22, 2008, she addressed the International Raad van het Belgisch Notariat on issues of concern to the Belgian Notaries about the Subprime Mortgage Crisis and delivered her paper, "Efficiency: Civil Law Notaries or American Title Insurance."
On January 21st Professor Hammond was visiting guest lecturer in law at Yvije Universiteit Brussel (the Brussels Free University) and delivered a paper, "Rules Concerning Successions in the USA. The American Legal System- A Contrast with the Notariat."
Professor Paul Lewis
Activities
He has been invited to speak at a program on globalization at England's Oxford University this summer. He will deliver his paper, "Corporate Social Responsibility, Trade Liberalization, and Human Rights." It addresses three primary issues: how human rights should and do fit into corporate social responsibility strategies; how corporations implement policy in light of these strategies; what is the nature of future challenges corporations may face in light of increasing liberalization of trade.
Professor Timothy P. O'Neill
Publications
His article, "Democrats Headed Wrong Way (North)" was published on the Chicago Tribune's Commentary page on March 6, 2008. This is his 10th article to appear in the Tribune.
Adjunct Professor Yolanda L. Ricks
Activities
She has been appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve as a commissioner on the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission Hearing Board. She is one of three new appointees on the panel.
Ricks, an assistant Illinois attorney general in the General Law Bureau, teaches in John Marshall's Legal Writing program.
Professor Julie Spanbauer
Activities
She will make a presentation as a panelist at the Thirteenth Biennial Conference of the Legal Writing Institute titled, "Reality Bites or Does it? Incorporating Learning Theory and Student Expectations into Problem Design for a First-Year Legal Writing Course," at Indiana University School of Law, in Indianapolis on July 17, 2008.
Spanbauer also served as a panelist at the Global Legal Skills III Conference held at the Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey, Mexico on Feb. 28 through March 1, 2008, where she spoke on "Graduate Opportunities at U.S. Law Schools for International Students: What International Lawyers Look for in a Graduate Program, What Programs are Currently Available, and How to Develop a Program at Your Law School."
She was recently named a Fulbright Senior Specialist Project recipient for the summer, 2008. She will teach at National Chiao Tung University in Taipei, Taiwan a course she designed entitled, "A Survey of Business Law and Skills in the U.S. Legal System." The course is intended to illustrate various aspects of the U.S. legal system while focusing on business law concepts. It will also include a skills component in which students will be exposed to and have limited opportunities to practice drafting common documents.
In spring 2007, she was appointed to serve as the chair of the Legal Writing Institute Awards Committee.
Publications
Spanbauer recently published the article, "Lost in Translation in the Law School Classroom: Assessing Required Coursework in LL.M. Programs for International Students," which is forthcoming in the International Journal of Legal Information, the official publication of the International Association of Law Libraries housed at the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale Law School.
She was awarded an Incentive Scholarship Research Grant by the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) for this project, which was recently listed on SSRN's "Top Ten Download List" for HRN Linguistics Research Network and LING Linguistics Subject Matter Journals.
Top of Page
|
