Left to right: Arbitrators Dr. Prof. Christian Schwartz (Netherlands), Prof. Janet Walker (Canada) and Ziva Filipic (Slovenia), University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law teammates Marshall Casey, Rebecca Simms, UNAM teammates Luis Paz and Angelica Huacuja

The Willem Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot involved 233 teams representing 59 countries and 1,500 students.  Fifty-three United States law schools were represented, although the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law team was the only team representing Kentucky.  There were more than 600 arbitrators from around the world – drawn from law firms and law school faculties – comprised the three-person panels that heard more than 1,000 arbitrations.  

The  University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law team was represented by Marshall Casey and Rebecca Simms. The team acquitted itself extremely well in the first four rounds, receiving very positive comments from the Arbitrators, and actually competed against three teams that went on to the finals.

In the first round the  University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law team went against the top team of three representing the University of Paris, the Sorbonne; in round two they went against the National Autonomous University of Mexico which could be described as the “Harvard of Mexico,” the number one school in the country; they faced Charles University, Czech Republic, in round three, and, finally, the University of Munich, an extremely strong school and one of 24 German (second only to the United States) teams.  As noted, Paris, UNAM and Munich went on to the finals.

Although the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law team did not make the final round of 64 they moved very successfully through the first four rounds, learned a great deal and represented Brandeis in a very important aspect of the gathering, international networking.  It seemed that many participants – from both civil law and common law countries were aware of Louis Brandeis.  There were also opportunities to view the art and history of Vienna. In this the team was aided by alumna, Kristina Huddleston,`97.

Keith Sealing, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs

The UofL Law Clinic Open House and Reception showcases the UofL Law Clinic, an initiative that enables the law school to refocus legal education as a primarily (or even exclusively) classroom-based endeavor into an active, hands-on enterprise of learning by doing.

 

We'd like to thank all the members of the Louisville legal community, alumni, faculty, staff and students who shared in this celebration.

University of Louisville Law Clinic students, from left: Dustin Thacker, Becca O'Neill, Chad Reid, Christopher McDavid, Caroline Pieroni, Amy Jay. Photo credit: Robert Pieroni
Professor Lars Smith, Dean Jim Chen and the incoming Clinic Director Shelley Santry enjoy the reception.
Becca O'Neill and her classmates present gifts to their instructors Stewart Pope, Legal Aid Advocacy Director, and Lars Smith, University of Louisville Professor and Samuel J. Stallings Chair in Law.
Guests enjoy the conversation and live music, compliments of Middleton Reutlinger and Stites & Harbison.
Law Clinic Reception Guests	Law students, Cheri Jones and Simone Beach
Wine, beer, and soft drinks were provided by Middleton Reutlinger and Stites & Harbison.	Bourbon tasting provided by Woodford Reserve.
Hors d'oeuvres provided by Carrabba's Italian Grill.	Vickie Tencer (Unit Business Manager), Kathy Urbach (Assistant Dean for Career Services and Public Service) and Jina Scinta (Program Assistant)
Professor Susan Duncan, Justice Elisabeth Hughes Abramson, Judge Paula Sherlock, Professor Laura Rothstein, and Maria Fernandez, '89	Third year student and Law Clinic member Caroline Pieroni and family, from left: Jennifer Lynch Nickel, Mark Nickel, David Lynch, Julia Lynch, Caroline Lynch Pieroni, Robert Pieroni
Law student, Amy Jay	University of Louisville Law Students

Volunteers pose outside the law school prior to departing for their service projects. Scroll down for more photographs.

 

Nearly fifty volunteers gathered at the law school on a beautiful spring day to donate their time to three worthy causes. Among the participants were Harlan Scholars, alums, students, staff, faculty and their friends & families. Several of them had volunteered last year as well.

Many thanks to the following people for making the 2nd Annual Louisville Law Community Service Day such a success!

PROJECT COORDINATORS

Rexéna Napier (Student Animal Legal Defense Fund) – Animal Care Society

Jenna Johnston (Women’s Law Caucus) – Family Scholar House

Adam Watson (Enivronmental Law & Land Use Society) – Olmsted Parks Conservancy

PLANNING PARTICIPANTS & FACILITATORS

Students: Lauren Bean, Brian Bennett, Matt Birkhoffer, Kevin Graves, Jamie Izlar, Jenna Johnston, Melissa McHendrix, Rexéna Napier, Brian Pollock, Victor Revill, Luke Vance, and Adam Watson

Faculty & Staff: Nancy Baker, Jodi Duce, Ariana Levinson, Debra Reh, Jina Scinta, Keith Sealing, Virginia Smith, Barbara Thompson, and Kathy Urbach

VOLUNTEERS

Sierra Ashby, Lauren Bean, Justin Brewer, Daniel Jay Cameron, Scott Campbell & Beth Nahinsky, Ashley Crabtree, Bridget Coraz, Matthew Dutcher, Brian Fayman, Kevin & Lindsay Graves, Bartley Hagerman, Nick Hart, Ebert Haegele, Jamie Izlar, Guion Johnstone, Jenna Johnston, Jared Kelly, Courtney King, Forrest Kuhn, Arianna Levinson, Ashley Morden, Christopher McDavid, Melissa McHendrix, Rexéna Napier, Marilyn Osborn, Kaitlyn Patrick, Emily Peeler, Brian Pollock, Katie Reisz, Victor Revill, Laura Rothstein, Ben Silver, Virginia Smith, Victoria Steinbach, Nicole Tarrence, Vickie Tencer, Paige Thompson, Katherine Toms, Adam & Jenn Watson, Rebecca Weis, Becky Wimberg, and Boris Yelin

DONORS

The Law School ● Law Library ● LexisNexis ● Westlaw ● Kathy Bean ●  Scott Campbell ● Robin Harris ● Ariana Levinson ● Christopher McDavid  ● Kurt Metzmeier ● Jerome Neukirch ● Laura Rothstein  ● Virginia Smith ● Anonymous Donors

 

Volunteers work with the Olmsted Parks Convervancy to clean up debris from the winter ice storm in Iroquois Park.
Project Coordinator, Jenna Johnston	Family Scholar House Volunteers
Volunteers assemble gift bags for the Family Scholar House.
Project Coordinator, Rexéna Napier (center)	Animal Care Society Volunteers
Friendships blossom at the Animal Care Society.
Volunteers assist at the Animal Care Society.

More photos are publicly viewable at our Facebook group. Search for "University of Louisville Law School Annual Community Service Day Project".

	Congratulations to Ben Basil, winner of the 2009 First-Year Oral Advocacy Competition! Appellant, Ben Basil, and Appellee, Courtney Phelps, advanced from the semi-final rounds to compete in the final round. They were both commended by the judges for an exceptional performance.
Ben Basil	Courtney Phelps
Ben Basil and Courtney Phelps (seated)	Members of the audience
The Honorable Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs, Judge Ann O'Malley Shake, and Judge McKay Chauvin presided over the final round of arguments.

University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law alumna and Louisville public figure Tori Murden McClure, '95, the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, will publish her memoir, A Pearl in the Storm, on April 7. Detailing her first and second attempts to row across the Atlantic, A Pearl in the Storm, focuses on Tori’s personal reflections on the achievements, along with the lessons she learned along the way. The memoir includes tales of Tori's time in Louisville, and has been hailed by actress Candace Bergen as one of  “courage, adventure and personal discovery that will appeal to women - and men of all ages."

Tori Murden McClure will give a booktalk at the Public Library's downtown branch at 7 PM on April 7. Tickets are free and may be ordered online or by calling 574-1644. She's also the featured guest at Aprily's Kentucky Author Forum on April 14 at the Bomhard Theater in the Kentucky Center for the Arts. This event includes a book sale in the Main Lobby from 6-7 PM followed by a lecture and Q&A session from 7-8 PM and then a post reception and book signing in the Main Lobby 8-9 PM. Tickets are $15 and may be ordered online or by calling 584-7777.

"Unlike Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, Tori Murden McClure's true story of a woman and the sea and a boat named American Pearl is one of victory.  But her triumph is not merely over the elements.  Tori finds the courage to cross the inner seas and discover not monsters but a land of promise and an expanded opportunity to love.  If you want to be inspired, read this book.  You won't stop till you've finished." -- Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife  

This year's Edwin H. Perry Fellowship recipients, Christopher Ballantine, Gayla Cissell, Claire Rogers, Abigail Fargen, Andrew Henson, Maria Teresa dela Cruz, Jacob Davis, and Catherine Head, spent spring break in mediation training at Just Solutions, Inc. As a mediation training and services group, Just Solutions exists to create, facilitate, and teach collaborative processes for managing conflict and building community.  

The free training is made possible through an endowment established by local attorney, Edwin H. Perry.

Our students will now be able to participate in mediations referred from the Jefferson County Family Court in conjunction with the Family Law Pro Bono Mediation Project. 

Below are some photos of our students during a training session.

Instructors at Just Solutions	Chris, Gayla, Abigail and Mary
Jacob and Claire	Andrew and Maria

 

Drew Haile and Luke Vance competed in the Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court competition last week.  They had little time to prepare several arguments that they had not expected to make.  Despite that set-back, their performance rapidly improved over three rounds.  By the final round, they performed quite well, receiving the following feedback from the justices.  Chief Justice Cerruti stated that they “did very well” with a “challenging argument” where every fact presents a “slippery slope.”  He complimented Luke’s deferential attitude and good eye contact.  He stated that Drew was “forceful, confident, and responsive to questions.”  Justice Cunningham agreed that both Drew and Luke had a “good tone” and complimented the way Luke scanned the bench when speaking, stating that “everyone should do that.”  Justice Eskter stated that Drew “addressed hypotheticals very effectively” demonstrating that he was able to “remove” himself from the “facts of the case.”  In sum, Justice Eskter concluded that Drew and Luke, as well as their opponents, were “all four more than qualified.”

The Law School is very saddened to report that Andrew Franklin Young, a third-year student, died March 19, 2009. The entire Law School community extends its deepest sympathies to Mr. Young's family.

Visitation for Mr. Young took place Sunday, March 22, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Morgan's Funeral Home, 301 West Washington Street, Princeton, KY 42445, 270-365-5595. The funeral will take place Monday, March 23, at 1 p.m. CDT at Morgan's Funeral Home.

The Law School will observe a minute of silence at noon on Monday in memory of Mr. Young.

Second Annual Conference on Innovation and Communication Law
Louisville, KY USA
August 21 and 22, 2009

The University of Louisville will host the second annual Conference on Innovation and Communication Law on August 21 and 22, 2009.  The Conference, a follow-up to the 2008 conference held in Turku, Finland, is a cooperative effort of the University of Louisville School of Law, University of Turku Faculty of Law, Drake University Law School, Michigan State University College of Law, and the IPR Center in Helsinki, Finland.  The conference sponsors seek proposals for presentations from those in academics, government, and industry.

This year's conference will focus mainly on the role intellectual property and communications law play in the dissemination of information.  As a result, discussion will focus less on the creation of rights, and more on how the legal system helps (or hinders) the development of knowledge.  For example, we anticipate one or more sessions dealing with licensing and franchising issues.  Other possible topics might include the role of intellectual property registration, the law governing trade secrets and confidential information, remedy issues, and the special case of university inventions and works.  Because many of the participants will come from countries other than the United States, proposals with an international or comparative law perspective are especially encouraged.

Anyone interested in presenting at the conference should submit a written abstract of the topic (not to exceed two letter size or A4 pages) via e-mail to one of the following:

• Professor John Cross
• Professor Lars Smith

To be ensured of full consideration, proposals should be submitted no later than May 2, 2009.

The University of Louisville Law Review will produce a symposium issue of papers submitted at the conference. Presenters are encouraged to prepare articles setting out, or expanding upon, the subject of their presentations. The final draft of the paper would be due a few weeks after the conference.

Details concerning accommodation, registration, travel, and the like will be available shortly on the conference website.

Three more exciting CLE programs are being offered this spring.

• Should Law Firms Use Independent Contractors to Handle Client Affairs?, April 10, 2009
• 12th Annual Estate Planning Institute, April 24, 2009
• 26th Annual Carl A. Warns Jr. Labor & Employment Law Institute, June 18-19, 2009

Online registration is now available for each.

Recent graduates and law school students are invited and strongly encouraged to attend the program on April 10. Current students may attend the program portion free of charge. Lunch will be available for a small fee. 

Program	Date and time	Location	CLE hours	Cost	Brochure	Online registration
Should Lawyers Use Independent Contractors to Handle Client Affairs?	April 10 11:30 a.m-1:30 p.m.	Masterson's, 1830 South Third Street	2 hours (1 ethics hour)	$50 for CLE credit; $15 for lunch.
12th Annual Estate Planning Institute	April 24 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.	University Club, University of Louisville	7 hours (2 ethics hours)	$225
26th Annual Carl A. Warns, Jr., Labor and Employment Law Institute	June 18-19 7:45 a.m.-4 p.m.	Louisville Marriott Downtown Hotel, 280 West Jefferson Street	13.25 hours (2 ethics hours)	$395. 10% discount for multiple registrations and early registration by May 1.