Among the 10 men and women graduating in June with an LL.M. degree in information technology law at The John Marshall Law School in June 2001 will be U.S. Army Lt. Col. Brian H. Brady - the law school's third, and highest ranking, military graduate of the IT LL.M. program.

Brady is the first active duty Army lawyer assigned to study at The John Marshall Law School. He began in Fall 2000, as part of the Army's Advanced Civil Schooling Program.

According to Brady, colleagues in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps told him of The John Marshall Law School's program in information technology law, the only such IT LL.M. degree program in the nation.

"It seemed the logical choice," he said. "The program is excellent."

"Everyone has exposure to (information technology), because computers are used on a daily basis in the government as well as outside….Technology effects everything we do, and we need a lawyer to go over everything with a fine-toothed comb. Technology is not perfect," he said, but "as a user, I can see its benefits."

Brady says the LL.M. program offers a good foundation in the basics of information technology, with special attention on the privacy arena. This will be especially helpful as he continues his government service where issues of protecting national security and privacy of government web pages are top priorities.

After graduation, Brady expects to be assigned as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command in Fort Belvoir, Va., to serve as the "right hand man" for the Senior Judge Advocate. He will be responsible for conducting information technology legal reviews, administration of the legal office, which has branch offices around the world, and to "train, mentor and otherwise ensure the competence of young JAG captains."

Brady earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Oklahoma State University and a J.D. from Oklahoma City University School of Law. He joined the JAG Corps in 1987, after a year of private practice in Oklahoma City, and a year with Oklahoma's State Insurance Fund as a trial attorney defending against workers' compensation claims.

During his duty as a JAG, Brady has assumed the roles of legal assistance officer, labor counsel, administrative law attorney at the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, Chief of International and Operational Law, V Corps in Frankfurt and Command Judge Advocate at the U.S. Army Headquarters in Southwest Asia, Dhahran and Saudi Arabia.

Brady completed the Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course and Counterintelligence Track Course during reserve service. His John Marshall degree will be his second Master of Laws degree. In 1995, he earned an LL.M. degree in Military Law in the Judge Advocate Graduate Course at Charlottesville, Va.

His published works include, "The Agreement Relating to a United States Military Training Mission in Saudi Arabia: Extrapolated to Deployed Forces?" in Army Lawyer. Also, "Notice Provisions For United States Citizen Contractor Employees Serving with the Armed Forces of the United States in the Field: Time to Reflect Their Assimilated Status in Government Contracts?" in Military Law Review, for which he won the Best Thesis Award.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald will be honored by The John Marshall Law School Alumni Association as its 2001 "Freedom Award" recipient in recognition of his years of service as an attorney, law professor and judge.

Fitzgerald will be presented with the award at a noon luncheon Friday, May 18, at the Palmer House-Hilton, Chicago, hosted by the alumni association.

Also honored at the annual luncheon will be Distinguished Service Award recipients Judge Frederic S. Carr Jr., Judge Michael J. Murphy, Mary McDonald-Pascale, Rudolf G. Schade Jr., John Marshall Adjunct Professor Lewis W. Powell III and John Marshall Professor Michael Polelle.

After a stint in the U.S. Navy, Fitzgerald entered The John Marshall Law School. He helped to reestablish the school's Law Review and served as associate editor. He graduated with honors in 1968 and started a career with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office prosecuting cases in Juvenile Court, Traffic Court and Jury Court. In 1970, he became a Felony Trial Assistant, and in 1974, he was appointed supervisor of the Felony Trial Division.

Fitzgerald followed in his father's footsteps and ran for a Cook County Circuit Court Judgeship winning a six-year term in 1976. He was the youngest person elected to a Cook County judgeship. He won re-election in 1982, 1988 and 1994. He earned a reputation as a "judge's judge."

In 1989, Fitzgerald was named presiding judge of the Cook County Criminal Courts, and was also appointed to serve as the presiding judge of Illinois' first statewide Grand Jury. He served as a Cook County jurist until his election to the Illinois Supreme Court from the First District in November 2000.

Fitzgerald received the Outstanding Judicial Performance Award from the Chicago Crime Commission, and was honored as Celtic Man of the Year by the Celtic Legal Society. He has taught at both The John Marshall Law School and Chicago-Kent College of Law, and at the Einstein Institute for Science, Health and the Courts.

He is a past president of the Illinois Judges Association, past chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Special Committee on Capital Cases; and past chair of several Illinois Judicial Conference and Chicago Bar Association committee on constitutional law and long-range planning.

He is serving on the Illinois Supreme Court's Planning and Oversight Committee for Judicial Performance Review and Cook County's Judicial Advisory Council.

Tuesday, April 24^th

The Federalist Society is sponsoring a reception and panel discussion. Constitutional law scholars will discuss the merits of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore and its effect on the country. 5:15 reception, panel 6:00 p.m. in room 3 East. Refreshments will be served.

The Health Law Society will meet at 1:00 p.m. in room 201.

Friday, April 27^th

The Black Law Student Association Annual Spring Alumni Dinner will be held at 6:00 p.m. Dinner will be served on 3 East and music will be in room 200. RSVP to Miss Criss in room 212.

Phi Delta Phi certificates are available in Miss Criss's office, room 212.

The proof sheets from the Barrister's Ball are available for viewing in Miss Criss's office, room 212.

Jack Valenti, chairman and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Richard Roeper, syndicated columnist and co-host of "Ebert & Roeper and the Movies," will discuss media violence and its effects on today's society during, "Fatal Attractions: Media Violence and American Culture."

The program is presented as The John Marshall Law School's 12^th Annual Belle R. and Joseph H. Braun Memorial Distinguished Lecture, and will be held from 2 to 4 p.m., Friday, April 27, at the law school, 315 South Plymouth Ct., Chicago. Guests will hear Valenti and Roeper discuss the presentation of violence in movies, the assessments of violence for motion picture ratings, and the real or perceived effects of violence on society. A question and answer period will follow.

Valenti has been chairman and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) since 1966. MPAA represents not only the world of theatrical film, but also serves as leader and advocate for major producers and distributors of entertainment programming. Valenti's projects for MPAA included designing the movie rating system in 1969. His work on behalf of the industry has earned him a star on Hollywood's renowned "Walk of Fame" and the French Legion of Honor. Valenti's essays have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post and Atlantic Monthly.

He has written four books, including "Speak Up With Confidence."

Roeper has been co-host of "Ebert & Roeper and the Movies" since July 2000, after a national search to find a replacement for Roger Eberts's partner, the late Gene Siskel. The weekly discussion program on current movies airs on CBS stations across the country. Roeper has been watching movies for years, and is the co-author of "He Rents, She Rents: the Ultimate Film Guide to the Best Women's Films and Guy Movies." His weekly column in the Chicago Sun-Times is distributed nationally by The New York Times syndicate. His writings have earned him the National Headliner Award as top columnist in the country.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information contact the John Marshall Department of Event Management at (312) 987-1420 or e-mail events@jmls.edu. Pre-registration is preferred.

Professor Michael L. Closen

Activities

He was retained as an expert witness on the subjects of contract law and law school academic rule practices and testified for the plaintiffs at the hearing on a possible preliminary injunction in the case of McGrath v. Chicago Kent College of Law, 01 CH 03037, Circuit Court of Cook County, the suit in which several students are suing that law school for breach of contract for adopting a modification to an academic rule raising the required GPA from 2.1 to 2.3 and applying it retrospectively. John Marshall alumnus Enrico Mirabelli, one of Professor Closen's former contract law students, is attorney for the plaintiff-students.

Professor Arthur J. Sabin

Activities

He has been invited to speak at the Terra Museum of American Art, 664 N. Michigan Ave., on Tuesday, May 1, 2001 at 6 p.m. The museum is currently exhibiting works of Rockwell Kent, under the title "Distant Shores: The Odyssey of Rockwell Kent." Professor Sabin's presentation will be "Rockwell Kent: Artist and Political Activist." There is no fee for entry to the exhibit or for the presentation. Kent was one of America's preeminent artists and illustrators. In addition, he was a political activist who tangled with Senator McCarthy and won a crucial Supreme Court case: Kent v. Dulles on the right of a citizen to a passport.

April 23

Practice Before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Seminar, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.

April 24

Foundation Center's Proposal Writing Seminar, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.

JMLS Federalist Society Panel Discussion - "Bush v. Gore: Politics as Usual? Room 3East, 5:15 p.m.

IP Paralegal Program, Room 201, 6:00 p.m.

April 25

Career Services - Fall On-Campus Interviewing, Room 1200A, 12:45 and 5:15 p.m.

Faculty Works in Progress, Room 217, 3:00 p.m.

Czech Study Members Program, Room 3East, 4:00 p.m.

April 27

12^th Annual Braun Lecture - "Fatal Attractions: Media Violence & American Culture, Room 1200, 2:00 p.m.

May 1

Center for Real Estate Law Adjunct Faculty and Advisory Committee Luncheon, Room 1200A, 12:00 p.m.

Alumni Association First Tuesday, Monday's Restaurant, 5:00 p.m.

IP Paralegal Program, Room 201, 6:00 p.m.

May 2

Alumni Association Executive Committee Meeting, Room 1203, 11:00 a.m.

Alumni Association Board Meeting, Room 1200A, 12:00 p.m.

May 3

American Association of Law Libraries, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.

May 4

American Association of Law Libraries, Rooms 200 and 300, 8:00 a.m.

Lorman Educational Seminar, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.

Development Committee Meeting, Room 1203, 12:00 p.m.

May 5

ISBA Women's & Minority Lawyers Conference, 4^th Floor, 8:00 a.m.