The UofL Women's Center will present the seventh annual Kentucky Women's Book Festival, Saturday, May 18 (the 3rd Saturday in May) at  Ekstrom Library. This event brings together Kentucky women writers and their readers.

Judith C. Owens-Lalude will open the festival with a talk on the Underground Railroad. The author drew inspiration for her novel, “The Long Walk: Slavery to Freedom,” from stories she heard about her enslaved great-grandfather and his mother, travel to her husband’s native Nigeria and books by men who had been slaves in the same Kentucky counties as her family.

Other speakers include:

• Kristen Gentry, assistant professor of creative writing at SUNY Geneseo
• Nora Rose “Rosie” Moosnick, author of “Arab and Jewish Women in Kentucky”
• Judi Jennings, researcher and writer
• Bianca Spriggs, Affrilachian and performance poet who will give the luncheon keynote
• Sarah Garland, education journalist and author of "Divided We Fail: The Story of an African American Community That Ended the Era of School Desegregation"
• Erin Keane, Sheri L. Wright and Amy Tudor, who will give a poetry reading

The lunch session is the only one that requires registration and has a charge. Registration for it is required by May 15 and can be made by calling the UofL Women’s Center at 502-852-8976. The cost is $16. People who do not want to eat lunch can attend for free.

This year, one lucky festival attendee will win a $100 gift certificate from Carmichael's Bookstore!

If you're interested in volunteering, please contact Virginia Mattingly immediately.

Lawlapalooza, the Louisville legal community's battle of the bands, returns to the Phoenix Hill Tavern, Thursday, October 17, 2013.

Stay tuned for more information, including band registration details. 

Professor Tony Arnold’s innovative educational methods and “unparalleled devotion to students” have won him the University of Louisville’s 2013 Trustees Award. The annual award, selected by the Board of Trustees, recognizes a faculty member for extraordinary impact on students and is considered by many to be the highest honor the University bestows on a faculty member. Arnold will receive a plaque and a $5,000 cash award and will give a speech at the University Commencement ceremonies in May 2013.

Arnold is the Boehl Chair in Property and Land Use at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. He holds an affiliated appointment in the Department of Urban and Public Affairs and directs the Center for Land Use and Environmental Responsibility.

Twenty-nine of Arnold’s former students in law and urban planning wrote letters of support for Interim Dean Susan Duncan’s nomination of Arnold. When news of his selection was posted on Facebook, hundreds of his former students “liked” or commented on it.

The fact that Arnold remains connected with his former students, many of whom he counts as friends, says a lot about the importance of mentoring to him. He is grateful for the positive, lasting influence of his own mentors, which has motivated him to make mentoring a core part of his role as a teacher. He often goes out of his way to be available to help students. One student described Arnold as “a compassionate professor and mentor that always goes above and beyond his call of duty to see students succeed.” A former student talked about how Arnold’s belief in her helped her to overcome her under-confidence as an African American woman from a western Kentucky farm family. With his encouragement and support, she received a national fellowship from the American Association of University Women and went on to realize her dream of working on agriculture policy and justice with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. Others wrote about how he connected them with a job or internship opportunity. Many students credited their professional and personal success to Arnold’s mentoring.

His students praised his innovative experiential-learning methods that integrate intellectual rigor with development of practical skills. They stated that his methods should be a national model for legal education and that his courses were among the best they had ever had. He teaches a Land Use and Planning Law class in which interdisciplinary teams of law and urban planning students work on service-learning projects for government agencies or nonprofit organizations. Many of these projects have actually influenced public policy, and one – an urban tree canopy plan for Louisville – won a statewide planning award. His Real Estate Transactions class is structured around simulated negotiation and drafting of complex transactional documents based on real-world examples. Student after student wrote about how they were able to use practical skills learned in Arnold’s classes in the professional world, but also were able to see issues deeply, critically, and from multiple disciplines.

Students also expressed great enthusiasm for Arnold’s field-study land and water conservation seminars, in which he organizes many extensive field trips that take students to the sites of real-world environmental issues, where they discuss them with the participants. One student wrote, “It is one thing to learn about the conservation efforts taking place at the Green River dam in the classroom; it is quite another thing to learn about them at the riverside from the people on the ground. The courses were extraordinary and Professor Arnold really highlighted the intersection of the law and extra-legal disciplines as a vehicle for collaborative problem solving.”

Arnold is not only a distinguished teacher and mentor but also an internationally renowned multidisciplinary scholar. He received the University’s top award for outstanding research and scholarship in the social sciences in 2011, and his publications have been cited by scholars, policy-makers, and professionals over 1700 times. Arnold’s students articulated the tremendous value of being taught by a prominent expert. His obvious enthusiasm for his subject matter has created a positive and effective learning environment, as well as research innovations that are influencing our ideas and institutions.

University Trustee Bruce Henderson stated that Arnold’s “approach to scholarship, teaching and practice is cutting-edge, dynamic, multi-dimensional, and practical.” Arnold states that he hopes to make a positive difference in the world, not only through his own research and public service but also through the impact that he has on the education and lives of his students.

Arnold received his Bachelor of Arts with Highest Distinction from the University of Kansas in 1987, and his Doctor of Jurisprudence with Distinction from Stanford University in 1990. After five years in law practice, he returned to Stanford Law School as a Teaching Fellow in 1995-96. He has taught at several universities and joined the University of Louisville in 2005.

Professor Jamie Abrams and Student Gregory Justis both presented papers last weekend at the 2013 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference. Professor Abrams' paper, "Enforcing Masculinities at the Border," explored how our immigration laws reinforce dominant masculinities at the border by excluding marginalized masculinities and admitting those who comport with dominant masculinity norms, enforcing masculinity norms at its borders. Greg's paper, "Defining “Union”: The Defense of Marriage Act, Tribal Sovereignty and Same-Sex Marriage," explored the potential impact of DOMA and related legislation on a recent trend towards tribal recognition of same-sex unions throughout the United States, as well as the likely impact of legal recognition on state, federal and tribal law. Congratulations to both of you!!

Louis D. Brandeis School of Law proudly announces our 2013 Brandeis Medal recipient, Justice John Paul Stevens. The medal will be presented at a dinner on April 18, 2013.

The life work of Justice Stevens is very much in keeping with the values of Justice Brandeis. His service on the Court and his commitment to civility and a balanced approach to issues are values and qualities that Justice Brandeis would have applauded. He shares with Justice Brandeis an interest in antitrust law, free speech, search and seizure, and the role of state governments. His commitment to public service has been honored at many law schools through Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowships.
 
Justice Stevens traces his seat on the Court directly to Justice Brandeis. When Justice Brandeis left the Court, he was replaced by Justice William O. Douglas, and when Justice Douglas retired, Justice Stevens was appointed to that position. Justice Elena Kagan was appointed to replace Justice Stevens. In his 2011 book, Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir, Justice Stevens describes the history of the Court by reflecting on the five Chief Justices of the Supreme Court with whom he served during his service from 1975 to 2010.
 
The Brandeis Medal is awarded to individuals whose lives reflect Justice Brandeis’ commitment to the ideals of public service. Previous recipients include Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Harry A. Blackmun, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer; Judges A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. and Abner J. Mikva; New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau; Professors Archibald Cox, Jr.; Professors Samuel Dash and Charles J. Ogletree; civil rights attorney Morris Dees, Jr.; Senator Howard H. Baker; Congressman John Lewis; Brandeis biographer Melvin Urofsky, and legal journalist Linda Greenhouse.

The 2013 Brandeis Medal Presentation and Dinner is made possible through funds provided by the Wilson W. and Anne D. Wyatt Distinguished Speakers Endowment. 

Louis D. Brandeis School of Law proudly announces that Justice John Paul Stevens will receive the prestigious Brandeis Medal at a dinner on April 18, 2013.  Justice Stevens served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 until his retirement in 2010.

The law school will host a question and answer session with Justice Stevens in the Allen Courtroom at 1:30 p.m. on April 18. Attendance is free and open to all UofL students. Attendees are asked to please arrive before 1 p.m. and dress appropriately (business-casual attire.)

For more details about the Brandeis Medal Presentation and Dinner, or to make reservations, please visit the Brandeis School of Law Web site.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's, Jr. Letter From Birmingham City Jail. The Los Angeles Times recently wrote about this anniversary and commented:

King's discourse on legal equality rejected the argument that laws favoring the majority were no different than laws protecting a minority. Or, as Justice John Paul Stevens has written, equality does not require us to ignore "the difference between a 'no trespassing' sign and a welcome mat."

During the spring of 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. visited the law school. This week we will welcome Justice Stevens to the law school to receive the Brandeis Medal. I hope you will join us in room 275 on Thursday for a Q & A with Justice Stevens. Please arrive before 1 p.m. and dress appropriately (business-casual attire).

I also hope all of you will read Martin Luther King's, Jr. letter. The text can be found at: http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/letter-birmingham-city-jai.... We can all still learn from his powerful words and example.

Join law school students, faculty, staff and alumni out in front of the law school building on the portico for the kick-off to Law School Appreciation Week.

Sign our huge thank you banner to show those who have supported you that you appreciate their contributions.

Monday, April 8, from 11:30-2:30

Free Popcorn

Mosaic 1.0, the graphical browser that popularized the World Wide Web in the 1990s, was released 20 years ago this month. While not the first Web browser, Mosaic's importance was its inclusion of images and availability for Windows computers. Previously, Web browsers had been limited to text and the Unix operating system.

An interesting historical footnote: The first Windows Web browser, Cello, was developed by Thomas R. Bruce, co-founder and director of Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute. Tom Bruce is a giant in the very small world of legal education technology.

Brandeis School of Law Assistant Professor Jamie Abrams joined 37 professors of family law and constitutional law in an amicus brief filed in the United States Supreme Court in Hollingsworth v. Perry. Professor Abrams is one of many Brandeis faculty members influencing legal matters of national importance.

Commonly known as the "Prop 8" case, Oral Arguments are being heard Tuesday, March 26.

Read the brief to which Professor Abrams contributed, or follow the activity on this high profile, nationally significant case at SCOTUSblog.