UNLV to Host the Intellectual Property Conference 2012

The Boyd School of Law is very pleased to announce that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, will host the Intellectual Property Conference 2012 on November 2, 2012.

The conference, which is presented by the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of Nevada, will include an opening "Year in Review" session presented by Boyd Professors Mary LaFrance and Marketa Trimble, a "Patent Topic" session by Mikio Ishimaru, Esq., a keynote address by Judge Philip M. Pro, a "Trademark Prosecution Tips" session by Paul Gast, Esq., another "Patent Topic" session by Jason Smalley, Esq., a "Copyright Topic" session by Kate Spelman, Esq., another "Patent Topic" session by Robert Ryan, Esq., and an ethics session entitled, "Don't Try This at Home: Why You Should Never Emulate TV Lawyers" by Sean Carter, Esq.

The conference, which will offer 6.5 continuing legal education credits, of which 2.0 may count as ethics credits, will be held in the Stan Fulton Building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on November 2, 2012, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Registration and other information is available here.

Professor Barbara Pozzo of the University of Insubria, Italy, at Boyd

One of the goals at the Boyd School of Law is to prepare students for the global practice of law, where business is conducted and relationships are commonly formed not only across state lines, but also across national borders. Whether in courses that focus on international and transnational legal problems, such as International Business Transactions, International Intellectual Property, and International Commercial Arbitration, or in other courses, Boyd faculty strive to equip students with a solid understanding of the interactions and interdependencies of U.S., foreign-country, and international law. The comparative perspective permeates not only classes at Boyd but also other aspects of Boyd intellectual life; for example, several faculty members engage in comparative legal research and share their expertise in policy debates at national and international levels.

International guests who visit Boyd play an important role in exposing students to the legal systems of other countries. Boyd hosted one such visitor during the first week of the 2012 fall semester when Barbara Pozzo, Professor of Private Comparative Law at the University of Insubria, Italy, visited Boyd on August 20 – 25, 2012. Professor Pozzo, who specializes in comparative environmental law and issues of multilingualism in the European Union (“EU”), made two presentations to the Boyd faculty and students. In her first talk, Professor Pozzo introduced Boyd students to EU environmental law and explored key European legislation on environmental law. She used the area of environmental law to explain the difficulties associated with the process of harmonization (the alignment) of the laws of 27 EU member countries with varying legal traditions.

In her second presentation, Professor Pozzo discussed her recent article entitled English as a Legal Language in the Context of European Multilingualism: Problems and Perspectives. Fluent in four languages and equipped with a thorough knowledge of the differences among European national legal systems, Professor Pozzo identified the linguistic pitfalls that EU legislation faces as it endures daily translations into 23 official languages – translations that result in problematic differences among the 23 national language versions of EU legislation and decisions of the Court of Justice of the EU. The differences threaten the successful harmonization of national laws because they may – and do – cause inconsistencies in the transposition of EU legislation into national laws and the interpretation of EU legislation and case law in the national legal systems.

In her article Professor Pozzo also explores the transformation of the English language in the EU, where English terms have acquired new meanings that are grounded in EU legislation, and consequently EU legal English, also called “Brussels English,” has diverged from the legal English used in the United Kingdom. U.S. lawyers need to be aware of this problem; when reading English versions of EU laws and the decisions of the Court of Justice of the EU, not only may they not rely on their knowledge of U.S. law to provide guidance to the meaning of the text, but they also cannot rely on an assumption that the English text refers to basic common law concepts or current English law.

Boyd Briefs Makes Its Debut

The Boyd School of Law is very pleased to announce the release of Volume 1, Issue 1, of a brand new communication, Boyd Briefs.

Issued on a monthly basis, Boyd Briefs will provide information about the scholarly and other activities of Boyd faculty members. Illustrative entries will announce new faculty publications, the drafting of briefs and uniform legislation, submission to administrative agencies of comments on proposed regulations, Clinic victories, the organization and hosting of academic conferences, appointments and elections of Boyd faculty members to local, national, and international boards, offices, and societies, and other honors and awards.

The premier (August 2012) issue of Boyd Briefs announces the publication of several new books, dozens of new articles, and a number of influential briefs, pieces of uniform legislation, regulatory comments, and other honors and awards. Congratulations, Boyd faculty members!

NYU Press Publishes McGinley's Masculinities and the Law

The Boyd School of Law is very pleased to announce that Professor Ann McGinley's latest book, Masculinities and the Law: A Multidimensional Approach (with Frank Rudy Cooper) was recently published by NYU Press.

According to masculinities theory, masculinity is not a biological imperative but a social construction. Men engage in a constant struggle with other men to prove their masculinity. Masculinities and the Law develops a multidimensional approach. It sees categories of identity -- including various forms of raced, classed, and sex-oriented masculinities -- as operating simultaneously and creating different effects in different contexts.

By applying multidimensional masculinities theory to law, McGinley and Cooper's cutting-edge collection both expands the field of masculinities and develops new thinking about important issues in feminist and critical race theories. Topics covered include how norms of masculinity influence the behavior of policemen, firefighters, and international soldiers on television and in the real world; employment discrimination against masculine cocktail waitresses and all transgendered employees; the legal treatment of fathers in the U.S. and the ways unauthorized migrant fathers use the dangers of border crossing to boost their masculine esteem; how Title IX fails to curtail the masculinity of sport; the racist assumptions behind the prison rape debate; the surprising roots of homophobia in Jamaican dancehall music; and the contradictions of the legal debate over women veiling in Turkey. Ultimately, Masculinities and the Law argues that multidimensional masculinities theory can change how law is interpreted and applied.

A leading national scholar in the areas of Masculinities Theory and Law, Disability Discrimination Law, Gender and Law, Employment Discrimination Law, and Employment Law, McGinley serves as William S. Boyd Professor of Law at Boyd School of Law.

Boyd School of Law is trying hard to keep tuition as low as possible.

See this news story about changes in tuition.

Dean Rapoport's Latest Article Goes to Press

Congratulations to Interim Dean Nancy Rapoport on the publication of her latest article, "Black Swans, Ostriches, and Ponzi Schemes," in volume 42 of the Golden Gate University Law Review.

Using the Bernie Madoff investment scandal as a launching point, the article offers an insightful examination of what we know (or think we know) about investing as well as when and how we should question our assumptions about investing. According to Rapoport, "The key for those of us with little to no accounting background isn’t to learn accounting principles. It’s to read news stories and ask questions. It’s to be skeptical when things look too good to be true. When a magazine like Fortune runs stories like 'Is Enron Overpriced?' that information is available and accessible to all of us. Our choice to ignore accessible information makes us ostriches. And voluntarily becoming an ostrich — a know-nothing — must have consequences."

Congratulations, Nancy!

Medal of Justice Reception to Be Held at UNLV

Together with the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association and the State Bar of Nevada, the Boyd School of Law and the History Department at UNLV are very pleased to announce a reception honoring Professor Rachel Anderson (Boyd School of Law, UNLV), Professor Joanne Goodwin (History Department, UNLV), Professor Jeanne Price (Boyd School of Law, UNLV), and Claytee White (Director, Oral History Research Center, UNLV) for their work in creating the February 2012 issue of the Nevada Lawyer.

The Medal of Justice reception will be held from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. in the Reserve Room on the third floor of the Wiener-Rogers Law Library at Boyd School of Law on Thursday, August 30, 2012.

The February 2012 issue of the Nevada Lawyer presented comprehensive, state-wide research on the experience of African-American lawyers and the history of civil rights in Nevada. Feature stories include Professor Rachel Anderson's "Timeline of African-American Legal History in Nevada (1861-2011)," Claytee D. White and Geralda Miller's "Charles L. Kellar: Legal Trailblazer in Nevada," Professor Joanne L. Goodwin's "Nevada Civil Rights Act of 1965," Richard F. Boulware's "Dedicated to Excellence: National Bar Association, Las Vegas Chapter," and Geralda Miller's "Bar None: Pioneer African-American Lawyers in Northern Nevada."

Professor Berkheiser Works to Unchain Children

Congratulations to Professor Mary Berkheiser, whose work in the Juvenile Justice Clinic at Boyd School of Law has helped to end the routine practice of shackling juvenile defendants in Clark County.

While watching juvenile court proceedings about ten years ago, Professor Berkheiser noticed that teenagers and preteens would frequently be bound in leg irons, belly chains, and handcuffs. The practice of shackling juvenile defendants began, apparently, when the local courthouse was under construction. Marshals used shackles when moving juvenile defendants from one area to another to prevent them from running. Even after construction on the courthouse was completed, the policy of shackling juvenile defendants remained.

In response, Professor Berkheiser urged her third-year law students in the Juvenile Justice Clinic at Boyd School of Law to do someting about the shackling policy. Working under Professor Berkheiser's supervision, the students succeeded in persuading Judge William Voy, who presides over the Clark County Juvenile Court, to change the policy. Instead of routinely shackling all juvenile defendants, a new policy will allow for shackling only when a particular juvenile defendant is at risk of escape or violence. Clark County marshals have already removed leg irons from most juvenile defendants, and plans are in place to remove belly chains and handcuffs as soon as the courts are able to hire additional security.

To read more about Professor Berkheiser's efforts to end the shackling of juvenile defendants, please see Mary Berkheiser, Unchain the Children, Nevada Lawyer, June 2012, at 30; and Amy Kingsley, Why the Practice of Shackling Juvenile Defendants Is Coming to an End, Las Vegas City Life, August 8, 2012.

Congratulations, Mary!

Dean Rapoport to Serve as Co-Reporter of ABI Advisory Committee

The Boyd School of Law is very pleased to announce that Interim Dean Nancy Rapoport will serve as a co-reporter of the American Bankruptcy Institute's Advisory Committee on the Governance and Supervision of Chapter 11 Cases and Companies. The Advisory Committee reports to the ABI's Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11. Her co-reporter is Douglas Baird, the Harry A. Bigelow Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. The Advisory Committee will assist the Commission in drafting proposed reforms to Chapter 11 and related statutory bankruptcy provisions.

Congratulations, Nancy!

Professor Cammett's Article Reprinted in Contemporary Family Law Casebook

The Boyd School of Law is very pleased to announce that a portion of Professor Ann Cammett's article, "Deadbeats, Deadbrokes, and Prisoners," was reprinted at pages 655 to 656 of the third edition of Contemporary Family Law, authored by Douglas E. Abrams, Naomi R. Cahn, Catherine J. Ross, and David D. Meyer.

Originally published in Volume 18 of the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, "Deadbeats, Deadbrokes, and Prisoners" proposes that lawmakers harmonize child well-being rhetoric with policy by mitigating the counterproductive effects of federal and state law on incarcerated parents. Historically, child support policy has targeted absent parents with aggressive enforcement measures. Such an approach is based on an economic resource model that is increasingly irrelevant, even counterproductive, for many low-income families. Specifically, modern day mass incarceration has radically skewed the paradigm on which the child support system is based, removing millions of parents from the formal economy entirely, diminishing their income opportunities after release, and rendering them ineffective economic actors. Such a flawed policy approach creates unintended consequences for the children of these parents by compromising a core non-monetary goal of child support system – parent-child engagement – as enforcement measures serve to alienate parents from the formal economy after reentry and drive them underground and away from their families. In "Deadbeats, Deadbrokes, and Prisoners," Professor Cammett invites readers to reimagine the normative contours of child supportive practices by recognizing that child support alone will never be an effective substitute for broader antipoverty measures.

Professor Cammett joined Boyd's full-time faculty in 2008, bringing expertise in Family Law, Poverty Law, Prisoner Re-entry, and Civil Procedure. At Boyd, Professor Cammett teaches Civil Procedure and serves as Co-Director of the Family Justice Clinic, a live-client clinical program that has a particular focus on the low-income families of prisoners and those affected by the child welfare system and other forms of state intervention. Named Boyd’s 2011 Law Professor of the Year, Professor Cammett is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center (LLM), City University of New York (JD), and the School of Visual Arts (BFA).

Professor Sternlight's Psychology for Lawyers Published

The Boyd School of Law is very pleased to announce that Professor Jean Sternlight's latest book, Psychology for Lawyers: Understanding the Human Factors in Negotiation, Litigation, and Decision Making (with Jennifer Robbennolt), was recently published by the American Bar Association.

Lawyers who can harness the insights of psychology will be more effective interviewers and counselors, engage in more successful negotiations, conduct more efficient and useful discovery, more effectively persuade judges and others through their written words, better identify and avoid ethical problems, and even be more productive and happier. Psychology for Lawyers introduces practicing lawyers and law students to some of the key insights offered by the field of psychology. The first part of the book offers a crash course in those aspects of psychology that will be most useful to practicing attorneys, including issues such as perception, memory, judgment, decision making, emotion, influence, communication, and the psychology of justice. The second part applies the insights of research to tasks that lawyers face on a regular basis, including interviewing, negotiating, counseling, and conducting discovery. In addition, the book offers practical suggestions for improving your practice suggestions that are grounded in the science of psychology. In short, by learning more about psychology and how to apply it, lawyers will be more effective, more successful, more ethical, and even happier.

Professor Sternlight serves as the Michael and Sonja Saltman Professor of Law and Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at Boyd School of Law. Nationally and internationally recognized for her scholarship and law reform activities in the field of dispute resolution, Professor Sternlight has co-authored texts on alternative dispute resolution, arbitration, and mediation, and has published numerous articles in many journals including the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Stanford Law Review, and Law and Contemporary Problems.

Professor Trimble Guest Blogs at Goldman's Technology & Marketing Law Blog

The Boyd School of Law is pleased to announce that Professor Marketa Trimble is guest blogging at Eric Goldman's Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

Professor Trimble's recent post, The Newest Olympic Sport: Evasion of Geolocation, characterizes the evasion of geolocation as primarily an expatriate sport; that is, a sport for those who long for their home television programming and other content on the internet that can be accessed only from inside their home country. By misleading the geolocation tools that website operators have installed, expatriates travel virtually to an internet IP address int heir home country to access their home television programs. In her post, Professor Trimble explains that those damaged by the new Olympic sport of geolocation evasion will be copyright holders who have licensed their content in a territorially limited manner. Professor Trimble concludes that although the evasion of gelocation may not immediately damage International Olympic Committee ("IOC") revenues, it may in the long run necessitate a rethinking of IOC licensing strategies.

Professor Trimble joined Boyd's full-time faculty in 2010, bringing expertise in Conflict of Laws, Patent Law, Cyberlaw, International Intellectual Property Law, Private International Law, Intellectual Property, Copyright Law, European Union Law, and Comparative Law. She is a graduate of Stanford Law School (J.S.D., 2010; J.S.M., 2006) and the Law School of Charles University in Prague (Ph.D., 2002; JUDr., 2001; and Mgr., 1997).

Professor MacDowell's Latest Article Forthcoming in the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice

The Boyd School of Law is very pleased to announce that Professor Elizabeth MacDowell’s latest article, “Theorizing from Particularity: Perpetrators, Performance & Intersectional Theory about Domestic Violence,” is forthcoming in Volume 16 of the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice.

As background, the role of identity-based stereotypes about perpetrators in outcomes to domestic violence cases has not received much attention in legal scholarship, which has focused instead on the identities of victims. Examining the perpetrator is necessary because stereotypes governing who is a recognizable victim cannot by themselves explain why nonconforming victims are sometimes successful and other, more “perfect” victims are not. Drawing on intersectionality theory, which examines the ways that experiences are shaped by the interaction of multiple identity categories, Professor MacDowell argues in her article that understanding this phenomenon requires examining the "other side": the perpetrator, recognition of whom is governed by intersecting identity stereotypes that parallel those affecting victims.

Part I of Professor MacDowell’s article introduces two illustrative domestic violence cases, and shows the ways in which conventional approaches to intersectional analysis of victims’ experiences cannot explain why unconventional victims sometimes win their cases while others do not. Part II proposes extending intersectionality theory about domestic violence with insights from legal scholarship on the intersectionality of heterosexual men of color, and performance theory, which allows for consideration of how identity is enacted by both victims and perpetrators in court. Part II also considers issues of relative privilege and subordination that arise from an analysis that includes perpetrators as well as victims. Part III examines the methodological implications of an extended intersectional frame, and the ways in which the analytical structure of theory about domestic violence can be further changed to support an analysis that is at once more particularized and more expansive in its explanatory power.

Congratulations, Elizabeth!

Congratulations to Boyd's VITA program!

The American Bar Association Law Student Division has just awarded the William S. Boyd School of Law VITA program, sponsored by the Boyd Financial Law Society, with a Rookie Site Honorable Mention at the division's assembly meeting.  The Boyd program was one of only two programs in the country honored with this national award.  In the presentation, the ABA Law Student Division highlighted the hundreds of volunteer hours put in by the students who participated in the program. SBA President Rob Telles, ABA Representative Izaac Rowe, SBA Vice President Rajan Dhungana, and 14th Circuit ABA Governor Laura Tucker received the award on behalf of the Boyd VITA program.

Congratulations to our VITA participants, and many thanks for your hard work!

Letter Authored by Professor Griffin Entered into Congressional Record

The Boyd School of Law is very pleased to announce that a letter authored by Professor Leslie Griffin addressing health insurance coverage of contraception under the Affordable Care Act was entered into the Congressional Record on Wednesday, August 1, 2012, by California Representative Laura Richardson.

A copy of the letter, which was signed by 170 law professors across the country, including several Boyd faculty members, is available at Congressional Record pages E1370 and E1371. As Representative Richardson stated on the House Floor on August 1, Professor Griffin's letter "explains why the contraceptive-coverage benefit protects the rights of individual employees and in no way violates religious freedom."

Professor Leslie Griffin currently serves as William S. Boyd Professor of Law. She is author of Law and Religion: Cases and Materials, editor of Law and Religion: Cases in Context, and author of numerous articles and book chapters about law, religion, politics and ethics. Her most recent law review article, "The Sins of Hosanna-Tabor," forthcoming in the Indiana Law Journal, addresses the Supreme Court’s recent First Amendment decision. Professor Griffin is a graduate of Yale University (M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D., Religious Studies) and Stanford Law School.

Boyd to Host Second Annual Public Interest Law Film Festival

The Boyd School of Law is very pleased to announce that it will be hosting the Second Annual Public Interest Law Film Festival on September 13 and 14, 2012.

This year's festival, the theme of which is "Legitimacy, Process, and Penalty," will feature three films, including Crime After Crime: The Fight to Free Debbie Peagler, Hot Coffee, and abUSed: The Postville Raid. Distinguished festival presenters include Yoav Potash, award-winning filmmaker; Barbara Buckley, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada; Professor Gabriel "Jack" Chin, UC Davis School of Law; and Justice Michael L. Douglas, Nevada Supreme Court.

The Second Annual Public Interest Law Film Festival will be held at Boyd School of Law's Thomas and Mack Moot Court Facility beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 13, 2012, and closing with a reception in the early evening of Friday, September 14, 2012. The Film Festival schedule is available here. Registration information is available here. Tax-deductible donation information is available here.

Boyd Faculty Members at SEALS

The Boyd School of Law was well represented by Professors Ian Bartrum, Linda Berger, Ann McGinley, and Stacey Tovino at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) 2012 Annual Conference in Amelia Island, Florida.

Professor Ian Bartrum (right) served as an invited participant in the Junior Faculty Workshop. Professor Linda Berger served as a facilitator for the Legal Writing Institute's Writers' Workshop held in conjunction with the conference. Professor Ann McGinley participated in a discussion group on "Contemporary Issues in Gender and Law" and spoke on "Masculinities Theory Meets Feminist Theory" as part of a "Masculinities, Manliness, and Law" panel. Professor Stacey Tovino presented "The Rhetoric of Health Information Confidentiality" as part of a "Health Care, Health Law, and Rhetoric" panel and discussed the implementation of the essential health benefits ("EHB") provision within the Affordable Care Act as part of a discussion group on the Supreme Court's recent opinion upholding most of the health care reform bill.

Road Scholars (August 2012)

The Boyd School of Law is pleased to release the August 2012 edition of Road Scholars.

Road Scholars provides monthly information about the speaking engagements and conference participation of Boyd faculty members. During August 2012, Boyd faculty members will attend conferences and give invited talks, guest lectures, and panel presentations in Amelia Island, FL, Big Sky, MT, Chicago, IL, Eugene, OR, Maui, HI, Santiago de Chile, SA, Stanford, CA, and Tokyo, JP.

The archives of Road Scholars may be accessed here.