Over 200 people turned out for Lawlapalooza, the Louisville law community's 4th annual battle of the bands, at Phoenix Hill Tavern on October 2, 2008. More than $6400 was raised for the Judge Ellen B. Ewing Foundation, which provides summer fellowships for Louisville law students to work in the areas of family law, domestic violence and spouse abuse, and HIV/AIDS. Ewing Fellows, Marque Carey (2007 recipient) and Jacqueline Hersh (2008 recipient) were both present to show their support.

WFPK's Laura Shine opened the ceremonies and by the end of the night The Frank Galvin Experience was crowned as the crowd favorite. Its members include attorneys from Seiller Waterman PLLC and Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLLC law firms. Highlights also included a tribute to the best of the 80's by Jim Becker and Professors Lars Smith & Tim Hall of Elvis Cardozo and the Attractive Nuisances, along with rock n' roll classics performed by second-year law students Forrest Kuhn and Andrew Henson of Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

Jim Becker was quoted in the October 2008 edition of The National Jurist, "Even if we're all competitors, we still root for each other, too. Louisville's a big small town, and we haven't yet lost the sense of being neighbors, especially in the legal community, and especially among the even smaller subculture of people who are both attorneys and musicians." Tim Hall commented in "Guitars & Gavels" (The Louisville Cardinal, October 7, 2008), "We didn't win, but we had a lot of fun. It's always good to be outspent because you know you're raising more money." Andrew Henson added, "It is a networking opportunity too."

A jubilent crowd of judges, attorneys, students, and friends of the local legal community appeared to have a good time dancing, singing along to their favorite tunes, and even igniting their lighters as a show of support. For a recap of the night's events, watch the videos and visit the Lawlapalooza 2008 image gallery.

Pictured from left to right are the candidates and the position that they are seeking:

• Theodore S. "Ted" Shouse - Jefferson District Court, Division 8
• John J. VanderToll - Jefferson District Court, Division 2
• W. Douglas Kemper - Jefferson Circuit Court, Division 4
• Lisabeth Hughes Abramson - Kentucky Supreme Court
• David P. Bowles - Jefferson District Court, Division 8
• David Holton - Jefferson District Court, Division 16

You are invited to attend a lecture by The University of Kansas School of Law professor Andrew Torrance. Professor Torrance will be presenting his paper entitled "Patents and Regress in the Useful Arts" on Thursday, October 9, at 12:00 p.m. in the Cox Lounge. Lunch will be provided.

Professor Torrance developed a computer "patent game" that tests the effectiveness of the patent system on innovation, and his paper addresses the results. In addition to presenting his paper, Professor Torrance will demonstrate the patent game and allow audience members to play the game.

Professor Torrance is a graduate of Harvard Law School with a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University and a B.S. from Queen's University.  Upon graduating from Harvard, Professor Torrance practiced biotechnology patent law at Fish and Richardson LLC, the world's largest intellectual property law firm. Before accepting a position at Kansas, he served as inhouse Patent Counsel at Inverness Medical Innovations, a biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, and he also taught "Biodiversity: Science, Policy, and Law" at Harvard. He conducts research in intellectual property, patent law, biotechnology, bioethics, environmental law, biodiversity, and conservation, and has presented his research worldwide. His research has also appeared in multiple journals including the Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, the Kansas Law Review, and the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. The paper that he will be presenting this week has been accepted for publication by the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review.

A wine and cheese reception will be held at Waterfront Park Place on Thursday evening in honor of Professor Torrance. Please contact Mari-Elise Gates at marielise.gates@gmail.com if you are interested in attending.

Thanks to all who attended and/or contributed to making Lawlapalooza 2008 a great success.  We don't have dollar totals computed yet, but last night's event may have set a new record.  The winning bands were The Frank Galvin Experience (first place), 100% Legal (second place), and the law school's own Elvis Cardozo and the Attractive Nuisances (third place).

Many thanks, also, to all the students who attended.  We had a great turnout.  As an aside, if you're looking for a cheap, humorous Halloween costume idea, Dean Becker has a gently used pair of parachute pants for sale.

Lawlapalooza 2008, the Louisville law community's 4th annual battle of the bands, is tonight at the Phoenix Hill Tavern, 644 Baxter Avenue.  Doors open at 6:00 pm, and the first band begins at 6:30.

The Faculty Resource Center, in room 272, still has plenty of student tickets available -- just five bucks each, limit of two per student -- but they will only be available there until 12 noon today.  After that, students must purchase tickets at the door (same price, same limit) and present a valid student ID card.  General admission tickets are $25 at the door.

Lawlapalooza benefits the Judge Ellen B. Ewing Foundation, which provides summer fellowships for Louisville Law students to work in the areas of family law, domestive violence and spouse abuse, and HIV/AIDS.

Come on out for fun, fellowship and great music -- and have a laugh at Professor Smith and Deans Hall and Becker.

The Law School takes great pride in contributing to the University of Louisville's annual commemoration of Constitution Day. This year's program consists of two videos presenting the views of Law School faculty on recent Supreme Court decisions. Those videos will be posted on this site on or before September 17, 2008. They will also play on monitors at the Law School on September 17.

Other activities include a constitutional curiosities scavenger hunt and a quiz bowl tournament and refreshments hosted by the McConnell Center. 

The law school is pleased to announce that adjunct law professor, Tom FitzGerald, has received the prestigious 14th annual Heinz Award for the Environment, a national honor that includes a $250,000 prize.

Mr. FitzGerald who has been hailed as Kentucky's environmental watchdog, has taught energy and environmental law at the law school since 1986 and has served as Director of the Kentucky Resources Council since 1984. He has also mentored many students interested in pursuing careers in public service, including Liz Edmondson, '07. "Fitz embodies the law school's vision of public service and has worked tirelessly as the state's premier environmental advocate over the past 25 years."

The Awards were established by Teresa Heinz in 1993 to honor the memory of her late husband, U.S. Senator John Heinz. They celebrate the accomplishments and spirit of the Senator by recognizing the extraordinary achievements of individuals in the areas of greatest importance to him, including: Arts and Humanities, the Environment, the Human Condition, Public Policy, and Technology, the Economy and Employment.  

Heinz Award to Louisville activist (Courier-Journal.com, 09/09/08)

Tom FitzGerald wins the Heinz Award in the Environment (Cardinal Lawyer)

Watch live webcasts of the Supreme Court of Kentucky's oral arguments at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law at mms://livestream.louisville.edu/remotelive.  Arguments are scheduled for 9:00 am-12:00 pm, Wednesday, September 10, and Thursday, September 11.

The webcasts will also be shown live in room LL77.  The webcasts will be in Windows streaming media format.  You must have Windows Media Player or a compatible player to view the webcasts.

Mental illness affects 1 in 5 Americans, yet those who suffer from it are the most stigmatized group in the nation.  Read a law student's personal account of her brother's battle.

NAMI—the National Alliance on Mental Illness—works in a number of ways to help those with mental illness.  In particular, NAMI Louisville advocates for those with mental illness in Frankfort, provides support groups for both mental health consumers and their families, trains Louisville Metropolitan Police Department officers to deal with consumers in crisis through its Crisis Intervention Team, and puts on important programs.  This year, NAMI Louisville is bringing Professor Elyn R. Saks of the University of Southern California Law School, author of the acclaimed memoir The Center Cannot Hold:  My Journey Through Madness, which relates her incredibly successful career despite having schizophrenia, to speak at the Law School at noon on October 27.  You can support NAMI Louisville by taking part in the annual NAMI Walk on September 13, with registration starting at 9 AM and the Walk at 11 AM at the Harbor Lawn at Waterfront Park.  The more walkers the better, and Walk participants can also raise money to support NAMI Louisville’s important work by having friends and family pledge to support their Walk efforts.  To register for the Walk, go to http://xrl.us/jimsteam and sign up for the Jim Jones’ A Successful Consumer team. 

Law Librarian, Robin Harris, oversees circulation and reference, and conducts library classes and tours. But those are just a few of her many talents. She is also an advocate for diversity and women's issues.

On June 21, she will be honored at the Champions 4 Her Walk & Run Festival.

To learn more about Robin Harris's contributions to the university and our community, visit her profile at the Women's Center.

Photo of Robin R. Harris courtesy of Ewa Wojtkowska, TODAY'S WOMAN.

Kudos to Professor John Cross for his insightful lecture on Justifying "New" Intellectual Property as part of the panel on "New" Forms of IP: trade secrets, geographical indications and traditional knowledge at the Conference on Innovation and Technology in Turku, Finland. Professor Cross also served as a moderator for the panel on IPR Misues and the IP -- Competition Law Interface.

Congratulations to Professor Lars Smith for successfully moderating a session on Private and Commercial Speech on the Internet at the Conference on Innovation and Communications Law in Turku, Finland. The conference was sponsered by the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, Michigan State University College of Law, Drake University School of Law, the IPR University Center, and the University of Turku.