Due to inclement weather, the law library will be operating on reduced hours this weekend.  The library will be open 10-5 on Saturday and 1-5 on Sunday.

It will reopen on its normal schedule Monday, February 2, 2009.

 

 

The Law School follows the University's lead in all weather-related cancellations and delays.

1) We will cancel classes up to a certain time and begin with our full class schedule at that point.  For instance, if we delay opening until 10 a.m., all classes that begin before 10 a.m. will be cancelled.  Classes meeting at 10 a.m. and later will meet at their regular times and will include the full instruction period..

2) For purposes of this policy, evening classes will be defined as any classes beginning at or after 4:30 p.m.

3) Please note that the University will provide official school closing information in the following ways: A notice at the top of the University home page, www.louisville.edu; e-mails sent to all students and employees on their Groupwise accounts; a recorded message at 852-5555; or, for those who have signed up, a text message will be sent to your cell phone.

These are the only venues through which we can guarantee accurate information.  Please remember, whether or not the University is open, it is up to you to decide if it is safe for you to make the journey.

The Board of Trustees established the Trustees Award in 1989 to recognize faculty who have had an extraordinary impact on students.  The Board encourages the University community to nominate faculty who have demonstrated this trait.  All faculty (with the exception of previous winners) are eligible to receive this award.  The Chair of this Committee has asked that we write and encourage you to nominate a faculty member for this prestigious award. Additional information, including the nomination form, is located at http://louisville.edu/president/trustees/TrusteeAward.doc.   Deadline for submission of materials isJanuary 31, 2009.  Thank you for your consideration in making a nomination!

 

At not insignificant expense, both one-time and ongoing, we have doubled the wireless network capacity in the classroom wing of the law school building.  There are now additional wireless access points on all three floors: one more on the second floor, three more on the first floor, and one more in the basement.

Any student who still has difficulty connecting to the wireless network should first make sure he/she is connecting to ulsecure and not uofl_auth.  uofl_auth was the old network that Odyssey used (though you didn't necessarily have to use Odyssey to connect to it).  University IT killed off uofl_auth over the holiday break.  If you're still trying to connect to uofl_auth, IT has instructional videos showing how to connect Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS 10.4 and OS 10.5 computers to ulsecure.  Those videos are available at http://louisville.edu/it/services/network/wireless/help.html.

Enjoy the improvements.

Professor Timothy Beatley will deliver the Boehl Distinguished Lecture in Lan Use Policy on February 12 at 6:00 PM in room 275 of the University of Louisville's Brandeis School of Law.  Beatley, the Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities at the University of Virginia, is a nationally renowned expert on environmental planning and policy.  He will speak on "Green Urbanism:  Planning for Sustainable and Resilient Cities."

Professor Beatley believes that cities hold much potential for addressing global environmental issues, for reconnecting us to nature and to each other, and for dramatically reducing our ecological footprints while at the same time creating highly livable environments. He argues for what he calls Green Urbanism: creative urban planning and design strategies that, among other things, bring nature back into urban neighborhoods, incorporate locally-produced renewable energy into the urban fabric, and nurture new local and regional sources of the food and materials needed to sustain urban populations.  Beatley also believes cities can be profoundly re-earthed and that green urban living and design hold the best hope for a more sustainable and resilient future. Beatley will review the experiences of leading cities in Europe and North America that are moving in the direction of green urbanism and will describe a number of innovative green planning ideas, projects and policies found in these most exemplary places.  Beatley is the Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities at the University of Virginia, and received his Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He is the author of many books on environmental policy and planning, including The Ecology of Place (Island Press 1997, with Kristy Manning), Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities (Island Press 2000), Green Urbanism Down Under (Island Press 2008) and Resilient Cities (Island Press 2009, with Peter Newman and Heather Boyer).

The Boehl Distinguished Lecture Series in Land Use Policy is one of several law and policy initiatives in land use and environmental responsibility at the University of Louisville, and is supported by the Herbert Boehl Fund and the Kentucky Research Challenge Trust Fund.  This event is co-sponsored by the School of Urban & Public Affairs, which has applied for 1 credit towards the AICP CM requirement

A reception will follow the lecture.

Several graduating students have asked about completing the Kentucky Bar Application electronically.  Because the application is an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) document, one must have and use Adobe Acrobat Professional to save changes to the application.  Acrobat Reader will not work.

All of the Law Library lab computers have Acrobat Pro, so you may complete the application there.  Or, Adobe now offers a 30-day, fully functional trial of all its products, including Acrobat Pro (for Windows only).  You must create an account on Adobe's site before you'll be permitted to download the trial version, but it is available here: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro/tryout.html.

The Exam4 registration and download period is now open (through January 22) for the February 2009 Kentucky bar exam.  Students graduating in May 2009 and planning to take the Kentucky bar exam on computer may take a look at the registration page for the February exam to see what it will look like for them this summer.

There are four steps in the process:

1. Register
2. Pay
3. Download and install
4. Take and submit a practice test

When you register this summer, it is imperative that you provide an e-mail address that will remain active, and that you will monitor regularly, through the bar exam in late July.  Information about software updates, etc. will be distributed via e-mail.  It is worth over-emphasizing that the version of Exam4 you use in law school will NOT work for the bar exam, nor will the bar exam version work for law school exams.

For personal reasons, I have resigned as the Director of Academic Support effective January 15, 2009.  I'm sorry that I had to make this decision in the midst of a semester, but the Administration has assured me that they will try and make the transition as smooth as possible.  It has been a wonderful experience getting to know each and every one of you and I look forward to see you practicing in our community in a few short years.

My powerpoint on the Kentucky Bar application process has been posted to the Academic Support portion of the law school web site. It's entitled "Bar None" and can be found at the bottom of the page.

Academic Support and Career Services are collaborating this week to bring you two workshops on the bar application process. Tuesday, January 6 from 11:45-12:45 in Room 275, Bonnie Kittinger from the Ky. Bar Examiners will be here to explain character and fitness issues and answer questions.  Free pizza will be served.

 

On Thursday, January 8, from 12:05-1:00 p.m. and from 5-6 p.m. in Room 175, Christie Floyd will go over the Ky. bar application in detail. Please take advantage of these workshops as the deadline for the July bar is fast approaching.