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January 12 - 18, 2003 |
John Marshall's Professor Berendt Serves On Governor's Labor Policy Committee
Professor Gerald Berendt of The John Marshall Law School has been named to Governor-elect Rod Blagojevich's Labor Policy Committee.
Berendt will be serving with labor relations neutrals, academics and union and management representatives. The committee will advise the Governor-elect on legislative proposals and policy initiatives having to do with private and public sector labor relations.
Berendt served from 1986 through July 2002 on the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, and was chairman of the board for most of his tenure. During his 16 years on the board, he participated in more than 1,500 agency decisions implementing the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. During his tenure at the agency, the annual number of educational employee strikes declined dramatically from an average of 25 strikes per year to between five to 10 per year in recent years.
Prior to his appointment to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, Berendt was chairman and executive director of the Illinois Office of Collective Bargaining.
Berendt has been teaching labor law at John Marshall for the past
27 years. Before joining the staff, he served as an attorney for the National
Labor Relations Board in Washington.
John Marshall Professors Assist in
Preparing for U.S. Supreme Court Argument
On December 17, 2002, John Marshall Law Professors Yvette Barksdale, Joseph Butler, F. Willis Caruso, Susan Connor, Allen Kamp, and Damian Ortiz acted as U.S. Supreme Court judges in a moot court argument to assist the respondent's attorney in preparing for the real argument that will take place in the United States Supreme Court on
January 21, 2003. The case, The City of Cuyahoga Falls v. Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, No. 01-1269, involves important issues of racial and familial status discrimination under Equal Protection and the Fair Housing Act and the arbitrary deprivation of property rights in violation of substantive due process. The City had delayed the approval of a site plan for a housing development so that the city's residents could vote on the matter in a referendum. The Ohio Supreme Court later held the referendum to be unconstitutional under Ohio law.
The law professors questioned Edward Kramer, who will represent the respondent, Buckeye, in the Supreme Court argument. Professor Michael P. Seng assisted in writing the respondent's brief, which was filed in the Supreme Court in November 2002. He will attend the oral arguments in the case.
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Czech/Slovak Legal Institute Completes Second Program for New Attorneys
The John Marshall Law School's Czech/Slovak Legal Institute completed its second annual program for new Czech and Slovak attorneys in the Czech Republic on December 6, 2002. The Institute was founded two years ago by the late John Drost and his wife, Doris, and the late Robert Beart and his wife, Helen. Both men had received degrees from The John Marshall Law School. The purpose of the Institute program is train new attorneys about American law and American entrepreneurial practices.
Nineteen new attorneys from the Czech and Slovak Republics participated in the program this year. Professors Susan Connor and Michael Seng, Adjunct Professor Samuel Lawton, and Attorneys Michael Fieweger and John Smietanka were the instructors for the course. Former John Marshall Assistant Dean Carol Belshaw and John Marshall Director of Planned Giving Ernie Melichar simulated clients during the skills sessions of the course. The course was taught for five days in Luhacovice, a spa town near the Czech and Slovak border. The mornings were spent discussing legal topics with a special focus on professionalism and legal ethics. The afternoons were used to develop counseling and negotiations skills useful to new attorneys. Each of the Czech and Slovak attorneys received a certificate at the conclusion of the course.
The Czech and Slovak attorneys were very appreciative of the course, especially because of its focus on professional responsibility and practical skills. The Czech and Slovak Bar Associations selected the new attorneys who participated in the course. Both Bar Associations are anxious to continue and expand the program.
On Saturday evening, December 7, after the conclusion of the course, the American instructors met with the participants of last year's course at a reception in Prague. These attorneys likewise praised the course and explained how it had helped them in their practices during the past year.
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Faculty Activity and Publications
Professor Michael P. Seng
Activities
He completed teaching a course in American Law at the Economics University (VSE) in Prague in December. Professor Seng was recently named a senior consultant for the American Fulbright program and VSE submitted a proposal for him to teach a course in American Law and to consult with them about Czech/American exchange programs.
Professor Seng taught the first week of the course when he was in Prague in October. That portion of the course focused on American Constitutional Law and American political structures. He also invited JMLS alumnus Joseph Vosicky to lecture on American contract law. Professor Seng concluded the course in December. During the December sessions, he focused on American tort law, American property law, and dispute resolution. JMLS alumnus John Smietanka, former U.S. Attorney for Western Michigan, lectured to the students on the American criminal justice system.
Students from the Charles University Faculty of Law also participated in the course for credit, marking the first formal cooperation between the Charles and VSE faculties. VSE is well known in the Czech Republic because of its progressive curriculum. Although VSE is not a law school, it has many legal programs, especially in the areas of intellectual property and informatics law. Professor Seng will teach the course again next fall.
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Student Activities
January 13
Used book sale
January 14
Used book sale
January 15
Used book sale
January 17
Back to School Party - 8 to 12 p.m. - Barleycorns in Wrigleyville- $18 per person
The Barrister Ball will be held Friday, February 7 and tickets are for sale from Miss Criss's office, SBA President, Jenny Irmen, SBA Vice President, Ronak Joshi or Monica Panek in room 210. Space is always limited so do not wait to purchase. Tickets will increase in price after January 20. The Ball will be held at the Hilton Towers Hotel.
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News from the Bookstore
This semester, some course materials will be distributed either digitally (via a course's home page on the student web portal) or in paper form (from the Library's circulation counter). No photocopied materials will available from Beck's Bookstore on 2-east. Please check your student email account for more details.
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Contents
Other LinksReturn to The John Marshall Law School Home Page
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John Marshall Student Receives Hampton Scholarship
Third-year student Jenetia Marshall (center) is the 41st recipient of the Fred Hampton Scholarship and Image Award. The scholarship was established in honor of Hampton, and initiated by the Rev. Jesse Jackson of Operation PUSH and the late Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy to assist black students into the field of law. Congratulating Marshall were William Hampton (left), Fred Hampton's brother and president of the fund, and William B. Powers, associate dean for Admission and Student Affairs. Marshall, a graduate of Spellman College in Atlanta, Ga., worked in social services before attending law school. She is a resident of Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood.
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Student Organizations Recognized
At the Student Bar Association Holiday Party in November, student organizations were awarded certificates of accomplishment for success in membership and activity.
Members of the International Law Society (from left) Ronak Joshi, Erik Johansen and Joe Chavez, accept the award from Dean Powers.
Amanda Stein (left) and Courtney Elliott (right) accept their award from Dean Powers on behalf of Phi Alpha Delta.
Dion Davi accepts an award from Associate Dean William B. Powers on behalf of the Justinian Society.
Mary Reid accepts the award from Dean Powers on behalf of the Black Law Students Association.
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Schedule of Events
January 15
Moot Court Council Meeting, Room 3East, 5:00 p.m.
January 16
Dean Li Meeting, Room 1101, 10:00 a.m.
Bar Grader Training, Room 402, 12:00 and 6:00 p.m.
January 19
Commencement, Sheraton Chicago Hotel, Sheraton Ballroom, 3:00 p.m.
January 21
Career Services - Lunch & Conversations with Alumni, Room 3East, 12:45 p.m.
January 22
Bar Grader Training, Room 402, 12:00 and 6:00 p.m.
January 23
Young Alumni Meeting, Room 402, 12:00 p.m.
January 25
Spring Bar Exam Workshop, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.