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May 23 - 29, 2004 |
ABA Internship Takes McGrory to Albania
John Marshall student Martin McGrory will be rubbing shoulders with some of the top people in international law this summer when he interns in Tirana, Albania, the site of the 2004 International CEELI Conference hosted by the American Bar Association's Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI).
McGrory will spend nine weeks in Tirana as a CEELI intern. He has traveled extensively through Eastern Europe, and is excited by the opportunity to live and work in Albania. Although it is the poorest country in Europe, Albania is working at moving from a communist system to a capitalist society. CEELI staff assists Albanian leaders with questions on all facets of the law _ from constitutional issues to employee rights.
Through the internship, McGrory will be assisting with "Freedom of Information" training sessions in Tirana, Vlore and Shkodra, giving Albanians an understanding of how their laws apply to access of government documents. His work will include conducting an initial and then a follow-up survey; maintaining the data and offering training sessions.
McGrory also will be working with the National Chamber of Advocates, the national association of lawyers in Albania. The group has been granted permission to institute attorney licensing, developing a bar examine and enforcing an ethics code. The group is attempting to put a structure in place. McGrory will join with other CEELI staff in offering training sessions throughout the country.
McGrory came to John Marshall after a successful career in operations management and compliance officer for Futrex Trading LLC, a company associated with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The work gave him insights into various legal matters, including leases, compliance issues and employee benefits programs.
McGrory is the third John Marshall student/alumnae currently participating in the CEELI program. Robert Heuer (J.D.'97) is the country director in Belarus, and Violeta Balan (J.D. '04) is at the CEELI office in Romania.
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American Constitution Society Analyzes Judicial Systems Abroad
In a program co-sponsored by The John Marshall Law School's chapter and the Chicago chapter of the American Constitution Society, Judge James B. Moran (center), of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, discussed "Exporting Equal Justice Under Law," analyzing programs in which U.S. attorneys and judges travel overseas to teach attorneys and judges about the United States judicial system and how to establish their own systems of justice. Welcoming Moran to the law school were (from left) John Marshall student Pat Gerdes; Amy Gardner of Skadden & Arps; Carolyn Gold Aberman of Skadden & Arps; and John Marshall student Mario Sullivan.
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Kucera Receives Kissane Award
Associate Dean John Corkery (right) presents June 2003 graduate John Kucera (center) with the $5,000 Kissane Public Service Award. The award was presented to Kucera who completed a year of service with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. Kucera was assigned to the Juvenile Justice Bureau in the Abuse and Neglect Division of the office. Next month, Kucera will begin a one-year clerkship with Judge Bruce W. Black in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He hopes to return to the state's attorney's office after his clerkship. Congratulating Kucera is Paul Kissane (left) son of Elmer Kissane (J.D. '50), after whom the scholarship is named. Friends and co-workers of Elmer Kissane's established the award for John Marshall students who hope to emulate Kissane's more than 40-year career with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
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Professor Lewis Addresses Australian Bankruptcy Group
Professor Paul Lewis (center) was the keynote speaker at the Australian government sponsored International Bankruptcy Congress in Melbourne on May 13 and 14th. His presentation was: "The Future of Personal Bankruptcy Law: A Global Comparative Perspective." It focused on economic and social issues in various common law countries that have (or should) shape bankruptcy policy. The Congress was attended by government officials, lawyers, academics and accountants from around the globe. Pictured with Professor Lewis are Terry Gallagher, Inspector-General in Bankruptcy of Australia, and Ashley Page, Official Receiver of Victoria and Tasmania.
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English Team Will Join 2005 Advocacy Trial Competition
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn in England will field a trial advocacy team at the 2005 National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition co-sponsored by The John Marshall Law School and the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association.
This will be the second English Inn of Court team to participate. The Honourable Society of Inner Temple participated in 2003.
The competition has been welcoming teams from overseas since 1997 when a team from Trinity College of Law in Ireland participated. The college fielded a second team in 2000. The Canterbury College of Law in New Zealand participated in 1999, and this year's competition had the Victoria University of Wellington College of Law, also from New Zealand.
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John Marshall Begins SCALES Program in June
On June 1, The John Marshall Law School is initiating the Summer College to Assess Legal Education Skills Program (SCALES). The pre-admission program is designed to give the law school the chance to assess an estimated 40 students on their abilities to undertake a legal education.
The seven-week program is replacing the Conditional Program. The objective is the same, although the SCALES program will not have students earning John Marshall course credit. Legal writing and academic achievement components have been added, according to Professor Julie Spanbauer, director of SCALES.
The academic achievement facet of SCALES will include instruction in note-taking, outlining, case briefing and exam taking presented by Professors Corinne Morrissey and Eileen Halpin.
Students will enroll in "Introduction to the U.S. Legal System" and "Introduction to the Law of Principal and Agent and Related Entities," specially-designed courses that will be taught using legal cases and presented in the traditional Socratic method. Professors Spanbauer and Robert Nye will be instructors for the academic courses.
Students will also be required to complete legal writing assignments. The legal writing instruction is designed to aid the students in deductive reasoning and legal synthesis and to introduce them to legal writing conventions. Writing instructors will be Professors Sonia Green and Maureen Kordesh. All final grades must meet a B- average or better to be considered for placement in the June 2007 class.
"We know that there are some students who don't test well, or their college academic credentials aren't strong but they may have other indicators that suggest they are of a law school caliber," Spanbauer said. "We are anxious to see what they can accomplish through this special program, and to offer the outstanding SCALES students the chance to enroll at John Marshall. Our mission has always been to offer opportunities. I believe the SCALES program is another way for John Marshall to do just that."
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Schedule of Events
May 24
- Classes convene for early summer session
- Fair Housing Meeting, Room 1202, 2:30 p.m.
May 26
- American Constitution Society Program, Room 1200, 12:30 p.m.
June 1
- 50 Club Luncheon, Room 3East, 12:00 p.m.
June 2
- Alumni & Development Meeting, Room 402, 12:00 p.m.
June 4
- Staff Appreciation Lunch, Room 1200, 12:00 p.m.
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Faculty Activity and Publications
Professor Ronald C. Smith
Activities
Professor Smith participated as an observer and participant in the training of advocacy teachers for barristers at the Advocacy Training Program of the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn in England on May 14, 15 and 16. As a guest of the Inn, Professor Smith noted and commented on the highly structured and disciplined methods employed by senior barristers who were grading prospective trainers of advocate teachers. The Gray's Inn methods employ exercises and insights derived from NITA-style advocacy training. Developed some 10 years ago by the late Thomas Hill, QC, the Gray's Inn program involves barristers of all ranks. There is remarkable collegiality between all barristers, from those recently admitted to tutelage to High Court judges and highly experienced Queen's Counsel. Professor Smith noted the special challenges facing English barristers who must meet their witnesses for the first time in the courtroom, and how these barristers must quickly size up a witness (even their own client, who may seem hostile or ignorant), and elicit the testimony needed to advance the barrister's theory of the case. The core of the three-day program, however, was on following the methods for training advocates and the teachers of advocates at all levels.