Jamie Izlar, 1L, was honored at the Sixth Annual Elizabeth Cady Stanton Awards Luncheon on November 13, 2008.

Ms. Izlar received the Dr. M. Celeste Professional Development Award, which is given to UofL graduate students for travel or other professional development needs who best demonstrate how well their intended use of the award supports the mission of the Women’s Center and Dr. Nichols’ legacy. Jamie intends to use the award next summer to conduct research that will facilitate community engagement in the Dominican Republic.

The award is named in honor of M. Celeste Nichols, student, scholar, mentor, and professor. She was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from UofL’s English Department. Dr. Nichols taught African American literature and basic writing at UofL, Kentucky State University, and at Bellarmine University. 

Justice Louis D. Brandeis's 152^nd Birthday
November 13, 2008

Professors Metzmeier, Rothstein, and Campbell	Bas-relief image of Aldoph Brandeis, Louis's father
Professor Scott Campbell awards the winners with Animal Crackers, a favorite of Justice Brandeis.	Students engaged in a pop quiz about the life of Justice Brandeis.
Professor Kurt Metzmeier displaying an illustration from a Harper's Weekly article that made up "Other People's Money".	Wreath placed at the grave markers of Louis D. Brandeis and his wife, Alice Goldmark.

The Law Library, in conjunction with University of Louisville Libraries, is pleased to announce the launch of the first phase of its digital collection, which draws on the library’s varied collections.

The first titles of the Law Library Collection to be made available are William Littell's Statute Law of Kentucky, which compiles all the legal enactments relating to Kentucky from its beginning as a district of Virginia to 1819, and Report of the Debates and Proceedings of the Convention for the Revision of the Constitution of the State of Kentucky (1849), a rare transcript of the debates of the convention that drafted Kentucky's third constitution.

Other upcoming collections will reproduce the original plates of H. Levin's Lawyers and Lawmakers of Kentucky (1897), and will digitize the early class composites of the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, starting with prints from the 1890s. In the future, the Law Library digital collection will dip into the institution's archival collections, reproducing scrapbooks kept by Malvina Harlan that document the life and times of Justice John Marshall Harlan.

See the press release for the full story.

 

Professor Sam Marcosson provided the following report on the regional competition of the National Moot Court Competition that took place at the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, VA on November 7-8, 2008.
 
“One of our teams, composed of third-year student Steve Mattingly and second-year Brian Stempien, were recognized for writing the Best Brief in the tournament.  This was the second time in the last three years that one of our teams has won this award.  Writing the best brief of the 21 teams in the competition positioned Steve and Brian to then win both of their preliminary rounds on Friday (beating teams from George Mason and William & Mary), and advance into the quarterfinal round on Saturday morning.
 
There, they defeated the defending regional champions from Campbell University, to advance to the semi-finals where they faced a team from Duke.  In an extremely close and high-quality round, they were knocked out by a slim two-point margin.  Overall, it was the most successful performance by any U of L team in the history of the competition.
 
We were also very well-represented by a team made up entirely of second-year students, Barry Dunn and Duffy Trager.  They went 1-1 on Friday, including a win over a team from Wake Forest, and just missed out on a tie-breaker from advancing to the quarterfinals.
 
It was a great performance, and I was extremely proud of the way all four of them represented the law school.”

The American Constitution Society proudly announces its fifth annual National Student Writing Competition. This annual event for law students is an opportunity to recognize legal scholarship that enhances the understanding and reputation of progressive legal theories.

Any full-time or part-time law student currently enrolled in a J.D. program at a US law school is eligible to participate.

The author of the top submission will receive $3000 and be eligible for publication in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law.

The authors of the two runner-up submissions will each receive $1000.

The submission deadline is Friday, February 20, 2009. 

Please see the attached flyer for details.

Students in the Central High School Partnership program, with the assistance of Professor Tony Arnold and UofL law students, presented a report on the revitalization of the Parkland Neighborhood to Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville. The report, which includes ideas and information about the community’s conditions, is the result of a year long program that educated the students in land use, environmental justice, and public health equity. The program was supported by a grant from the Louisville Metro Center for Health Equity.

 

 

 Source: Engaged Learning Providing Service in West Louisville Community, 2 SIGNATURE PARTNERSHIP 3 (October 2008).

The Jackson Lewis law firm announces its sponsorship of the Louis Jackson Memorial National Law Student Writing Competition in Employment and Labor Law. Chicago-Kent College of Law will administer the competition.  As in the past, entries will be blind judged by a panel of five labor/employment law professors.  Neither Jackson Lewis not Chicago-Kent will have any say in judging.
 
The first place award in $3,000 (structured as a scholarship so the recipient will not have to pay icome tax).
 
There are two second place awards of $1,000 each.
 
Winning entries will be posted on the competition website.
 
Entries must be received by Tuesday, January 20, 2009.
 
Please see the attached competition announcement. 

 

Candidates for Kentucky's 3^rd Congressional District of the US House of Representatives visited the law school this week. Congressman John Yarmuth spoke on October 20^th at the request of the Jewish Law Students Association. Former Congresswoman Anne Northup spoke the following day at the request of the student Federalist Society. Both candidates entertained questions from students, staff, and faculty after their presentations.

 

Aaron Uslan and John Yarmuth	Shem Beard, Anne Northup, and Bee Dean-Northup

	Congratulations to Algeria Ford, winner of the 2008 Pirtle-Washer Oral Advocacy Competition!     Appellant, Jason Schwalm, and Appellee, Algeria Ford, advanced from the first semifinal rounds to compete in the final round. The judges commended them both for an excellent performance.
Jason Schwalm and Samuel Lee	Jarrad Roby and Algeria Ford
Final Round of Arguments

The Moot Court Board is pleased to announce that the semi-finalists for the 2008 Pirtle-Washer Oral Advocacy Competition are Algeria Ford, Samuel Lee, Jarrad Roby, and Jason Schwalm.

• Photo Gallery

The semifinal and final rounds will be held on Friday, October 17^th in the Allen Courtroom. All are welcome.

Here’s the schedule:

9 AM, Semifinal Round

• Appellant: Jason Schwalm
• Appellee: Samuel Lee

10:30 AM, Semifinal Round

• Appellant: Jarrad Roby
• Appellee: Algeria Ford

Algeria Ford is a second year student who ultimately intends to practice patent law. He studied Biology and Chemistry as an undergraduate and holds a Masters degree in Biotechnology. He serves on the Journal of Law and Education, is a member of BLSA and will be representing the University as a member of the 2009 National Environmental Moot Court team. He credits his accomplishments to his wonderful wife and to his friends.

Samuel B. Lee, a third year law student, was born and raised in Owensboro, KY.  He attended the University of Kentucky where he earned a degree in Finance as well as a minor in Economics. After graduation, Mr. Lee plans to practice in Lexington.

Jarrad Roby, a third year student, hails from Bloomfield, KY and attended Bellarmine University where he studied Business Administration and Economics.  While at Bellarmine, Jarrad competed on its prestigious Mock Trial team earning All-American Attorney honors. Jarrad also helped to lead the Brandeis School of Law to a championship in last years Intrastate Moot Court competition. He is currently working for General Electric and clerked for the Governor's General Counsel last summer in Frankfort. He will attempt to participate on this year's Trademark Moot Court team as well and is looking forward to competing in the Spring.

Jason Schwalm is a third year student and Louisville native. His undergraduate degree is in literature from the University of Louisville.

 

Presiding Judges

Each semifinal round will be judged by the following three judge panel:

• Judge Michael Caperton - Kentucky Court of Appeals
• Judge Denise Clayton - Kentucky Court of Appeals
• Judge Thomas B. Wine - Kentucky Court of Appeals

The winners of each of these rounds will continue to the final round at 1 PM.  This round will be judged by the following four judge panel:

• Judge Glenn Acree - Kentucky Court of Appeals
• Judge Michelle M. Keller - Kentucky Court of Appeals
• Judge Joan A. Lloyd - United States Bankruptcy Court
• Professor Samuel A. Marcosson - University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law