Response by Members of the Boyd School of Law Faculty and Staff to Alan Lefebvre’s “Message From The President”

Professor Francine Lipman Writes New Article

Francine J. Lipman is a William S. Boyd Professor of Law at UNLV.

Professor Lipman has written an article for the Spring 2014 issue of the ABA Section of Taxation's NewsQuarterly. The article is titled The Face of Poverty Is a Working Mother’s Face: Interview with Public Service Fellow Susanna Birdsong. 

"The face of poverty is a mother’s face. Neither the path nor the math is challenging to understand. Forty percent of all households with children include mothers who are the sole or primary source of income, and nearly two-thirds of American minimum-wage workers are women," she wrote in the article.

Professor Lipman has written extensively on tax and accounting issues for legal journals, including the Wisconsin Law Review, Florida Tax Review, Virginia Tax Review, Nevada Law Journal, American University Law Review, Harvard Environmental Law Review, Harvard Latino Law Review, Harvard Journal on Legislation, The Tax Lawyer, The Practical Tax Lawyer, Taxes and Tax Notes.

Boyd Alumna Lucy Flores '10 Featured in The Washington Post

On May 19, Boyd alumna Lucy Flores '10 was featured in The Washington Post article The Fix's 40 Under 40.

The article features 40 state-level politicians, mayors, local officials, and operatives who have made a name for themselves outside Washington, D.C.

The article reads, "Elected to the Nevada State Assembly in 2010, she’s now running for lieutenant governor. The irresistible subplot here: If she wins, Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) might be less apt to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) in 2016 because Sandoval would hand his job over to a Democrat. Rest assured: Reid is very interested in Flores winning."

Communication Breakdown: A Mediation Clinic Student’s Reflections on Attorneys and Mediation

By Lane Wood, Student at the William S. Boyd School of Law 

I joined the Strasser Mediation Clinic in the spring semester of 2014. Before the semester began, I completed an intensive training through the Clark County Neighborhood Justice Center (NJC). Thereafter, I continued to develop my facilitative mediation skills over the course of the semester by mediating divorce cases in Clark County’s Eighth District Family Court and small claims cases at the NJC.

After two and a half years of law school and beginning to work in law firms in town, I was convinced that nobody would go through the time and expense associated with litigation unless they had no other choice. However, from my experience in the Mediation Clinic, I learned that my thoughts were far from the truth. In the family courts, many cases slowly working their way through the system were there not because the parties needed a judge to rule on a legal question, but rather because the parties were unwilling or unable to communicate.

My experience in the Mediation Clinic and in litigation practice settings has taught me that, while many people involved in the court system turn to attorneys for help, many attorneys often have a different idea of what “help” means to their clients. I saw attorneys with an inherent interest in being paid for their time that have been trained to think that all interests can be distilled down to a dollar amount. But the true interests of their clients often extended far beyond money or a particular item’s monetary value – they cared about underlying relationships, the sentimental value of personal property, or simply being able to move forward in their own lives. These underlying client interests were often overlooked in lieu of money. Attorneys, and the courts in general, consistently oversimplify these underlying interests and values by reducing everything to a dollar amount, which focuses resolution on dividing items between parties in even dollar amounts. Framing the dispute in this manner, purely as a problem of distributing assets and liabilities, is bound to leave both parties disappointed because the special value that each person may assign to a particular item are given no consideration. Attorneys often work to maximize their client’s share of the underlying value of everything rather than focusing on what their client truly wants.

Mediation, particularly the facilitative style of mediation, counteracts this oversimplification of interests and values. In divorce mediation, mediators work with the participants to overcome their unwillingness or inability to communicate with each other. The participants, rather than the attorneys, are not only allowed but are invited to frame the dispute. The special values and interests of the participants control the discussion and the participants are not bound by the traditional zero-sum negotiations that are so prevalent in the legal world.

In the divorce and small claims mediations that I conducted, it was not uncommon for individuals to find, after listening to the other participant, that they already agreed on several issues. Typically, the participants were much closer to agreement than they had previously realized. Many times, a simple apology or a few small concessions were the keys to resolving the entire dispute. I was shocked to see how many cases had ended up in court when they could have been resolved relatively quickly if people were able to cooperate or their attorneys were able to help them overcome barriers to communication.

I think that many attorneys fail to recognize the benefits that come from cooperation. Legal education indoctrinates us in the adversarial system where “winning” requires the obliteration of the opponent and success is determined by how much you can take from another. Attorneys are not expected to cooperate with the enemy. Rather, attorneys are preparing for battle.

In the Mediation Clinic, I saw attorneys fail to realize that a cooperative model of dispute resolution is often better for their clients and better for themselves as attorneys. Cooperative models of dispute resolution, such as mediation, provide a more efficient and cost effective alternative to trial. Mediation also provides a means to explore the underlying interests and values of the parties to the dispute and seek a mutually beneficial outcome to the dispute. As the participants are responsible for all terms of any agreement or resolution, they are generally more satisfied by the outcome and are more likely to follow the terms of the resolution.

Boyd Deans, Alumni Featured in Nevada Lawyer

(l-r) Dean Dan Hamilton, Associate Dean Anne Traum, Josh Correlli,
John Funk, and Kendelee Works

Dean Dan Hamilton, Associate Dean Anne Traum, and several Boyd alumni are featured in the May issue of Nevada Lawyer, the State Bar of Nevada's monthly publication.

Dean Dan Hamilton and Associate Dean Anne Traum co-authored the Dean's Column: Students Know Best Why the UNLV Experience Pays. "... students rave about the hands-on learning opportunities and interaction with the legal community. From day one, students are involved in pro bono work through the community service program, which has served more than 50,000 clients. UNLV's small size (about 100 new students in incoming classes) means that students get individualized attention in class, assistance on bar prep and counseling on finding jobs," the column reads.

Alumnus Josh Correlli '05 wrote Avoiding Successor Liability in An Asset Sale. "In order to avoid an exception to the general rule, the parties should negotiate and enter into an asset purchase and sale agreement that specifically contemplates the exceptions to the general rule. Seemingly most important, if all of the seller’s obligations and liabilities are disclosed in the agreement, the parties can decide which, if any, obligations that the buyer is assuming," he wrote.

Alumnus John Funk '11 authored So Your Client Has a Judgment; Now What? In it, he wrote, "Compensation for your client does not end with a judgment; it only ends when your client has successfully executed on that judgment by realizing a monetary return. Many attorneys consider a successful jury verdict, or the granting of a motion for summary judgment, to be the victory for their client. However, most clients have a sense of lasting victory only after they are actually paid what they are owed."

Alumna Kendelee Works '05 wrote Young Lawyers: If You Want to Try Cases in Nevada, You Want to be Part of the Trial Academy. "... the Trial Academy provides an unmatched hands-on approach to learning about the art of trial practice from some of the finest justices, judges and trial attorneys from throughout Nevada," she wrote. She continued, "Past participants attest that this is a rare opportunity to get feedback, in a very small and intimate setting, directly from the same judges that may someday decide their cases."

Professor Ruben Garcia Featured on Ralston Reports

Ruben J. Garcia is a Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

On May 15, he was featured on KSNV News 3's Ralston Reports (17:45 remaining mark). 

In the interview, regarding lawyers getting into business with clients, he said "The conflicts rules talk about a lawyer possibly having a financial interest in the client's business, and there are a number of conditions that have to be met. Generally, the underlying issue or the underlying condition that has to be met is that the client is fully informed about the potential conflicts and consents to them in writing."

A recognized expert in the field of labor and employment law, Professor Garcia teaches Labor Law, Employment Law, Constitutional Law, and Professional Responsibility at the Boyd School of Law. He has been quoted in the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, among others, and has appeared on national and local radio and television programs.

IT’S COMPLICATED!

THERE IS JUST SOMETHING ABOUT MEDIATORS THAT SEPARATES THEM FROM OTHER MANDATORY REPORTERS OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT. 

By Laura Ann Welzig, Student at the William S. Boyd School of Law

During the 2014 spring semester, I did a directed reading on mediator ethics. As I researched, I was surprised to learn that Nevada currently does not require mediators to report allegations of child abuse or neglect that arise during child custody mediations. Initially, I thought this was wrong because, quite obviously, mediators should be required to report allegations of child abuse. But, as I delved into the public policy reasons behind mandatory reporting requirements for certain types of professionals, I discovered that this issue is more complicated than it seems. Mediators, as third party neutrals, occupy a unique position that sets them apart from other professionals. This unique position needs to be considered when determining their reporting responsibilities.

Most states have mandatory reporting laws. Mandatory reporting laws impose a duty on certain professionals (mandatory reporters) to report suspected child abuse or neglect, usually to some governmental or child welfare services agency. Professionals designated as mandatory reporters include doctors, nurses, other medical professionals, teachers, therapists, and social workers. One of the main reasons behind these reporting requirements is that these professionals are frequently in the unique position to observe the children and their behavior. (Ellen Waldman, Mediation Ethics Cases and Commentaries pg. 259).

Art Hinshaw, in his leading article arguing why mediators should be mandatory reporters in child custody cases, asserts that including mediators as mandatory reporters furthers the goals of mandatory reporting laws. Because mediation is so prevalent in child custody cases, mediators may often be the first to hear child abuse allegation. Arguably, then, if mediators are mandatory reporters, these cases will get into the child protection system more quickly. In turn, this should ultimately “result in the earlier provision of needed social or therapeutic services and thus provide better results for children in need of such services” (Hinshaw, pg. 293).

As a third party neutral, a mediator’s role is to act as a facilitator for the mediation, not to render judgment or make decisions; the decision making is left to the parties. Because of this unique role, a mediator’s impartiality is central to the mediation process. When parties perceive that a mediator is impartial, parties are more likely to be open and honest with the mediator.

Open and honest dialogue is vital to a successful mediation because mediators use the information provided to them to ask the parties additional questions, with the intent to facilitate discussion and help parties reach a resolution. If mediators are required to file a report based on allegations heard during mediation, then parties may hesitate to be open and honest during the mediation, fearing that the mediator will not act as an impartial third party. In child custody mediations, in particular, if the parties know that a mediator must report child abuse and neglect allegations, the parties might even withhold information, even if no abuse is taking place. Or, one party may exaggerate the facts, in hopes that the mediator will report the other party.

I will use a couple examples to illustrate my point. During a child custody mediation session, let us assume that a mother tells the mediator that the father is “very aggressive” and “loses his temper very easily.” She goes on to say that she does not think the children are safe with him. The children are not present during the mediation so the mediator cannot examine, question, or even see the children. Furthermore, it is likely the mediator has never met the children and therefore has not established a familiarity with the child’s behavior. At this point, if the mediator makes a report, confidence in the mediation process is lost because the “accused party is likely to believe the mediator is biased and the parties are at the mercy of what CPS [Child Protective Services] determines should happen.” (Hinshaw pg. 297).

In contrast, let us assume that during an examination, a doctor notices external wounds and bruising on a young child. The doctor will inquire as to what happened. Even if the doctor gets an evasive response or excuse, as a medical professional, the doctor has the opportunity, training, and the expertise to investigate further. If, after further investigation, the doctor becomes fairly certain that the child suffered abuse from an adult, then, as a mandatory reporter, the doctor reports the suspected abuse to authorities. And, although a parent in this situation might also feel at the mercy of CPS, a doctor’s role, unlike a mediator’s role, is not to remain neutral.

Although both a doctor and mediator must maintain confidentiality, a doctor’s role, by definition, is to promote health through investigating, diagnosing, offering medical advice, and prescribing medicine, if necessary. In contrast, a mediator’s role requires neutrality, impartiality, and promoting voluntary decision making. (Hinshaw, pg. 283). Moreover, unlike a doctor, who has both medical training and the opportunity to draw informed conclusions, a mediator does not.

Certainly, arguments can be made on both sides of this issue, but what all of this suggests to me is that a mediator’s role is fundamentally different from other mandatory reporting professionals, such that requiring mediators to be mandatory reporters would not further the goals of either mandatory reporting laws or mediation itself.

Nancy Rapoport Named Senior Advisor to the President

The following message was distributed by UNLV President Donald Snyder to the UNLV campus: 

I am pleased to announce that Professor Nancy Rapoport has been appointed Senior Advisor to the President. Since arriving at UNLV seven years ago, Nancy has contributed to the university in many ways. In addition to being a faculty member, she currently serves as the Leadership Development Academy Coordinator, was interim Dean of the Boyd School of Law in the 2012-13 academic year and recently served on the Strategic Planning Team for the Lee Business School. Nancy’s academic career spans more than two decades, where she has served as dean of law schools for two other institutions and previously worked as a law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for a major multinational law firm. In her final year as Dean at the University of Houston Law Center, she led an in depth strategic planning analysis to better position the law school for the future. Nancy’s field of expertise has been “legal ethics” across a broad spectrum ranging from bankruptcy to corporate governance, as well as law firm behavior and the depiction of lawyers in popular culture. She is admitted to the bars of the states of California, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas and Nevada, and to the United States Supreme Court. In 2012, Nancy was elected to the membership in the American Law Institute. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

In her role as Senior Advisor, Nancy will be the President’s point person for the Tier One initiative working with the various constituencies to ensure a collaborative process while maintaining the focus of achieving our goal. She will also provide strategic leadership and vision to ensure the President’s commitment to shared governance is at the forefront of planning and decision making processes. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, Nancy will consult with the President’s leadership team on a wide variety of issues and provide a faculty perspective to the discussions. She will also collaborate with institutional constituencies to ensure a comprehensive and inclusive approach to diversity, and support the recruitment, retention and success of faculty. Nancy will also develop and present institutional reports and assist with special projects as needed. She will continue to be an active faculty member.

Professors Ruben Garcia and Jean Sternlight to Participate in Law and Society Association's Annual Meeting

Ruben J. Garcia is a Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law. Jean Sternlight is the Michael and Sonja Saltman Professor of Law and the Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the UNLV Boyd School of Law.

From May 29 through June 1, Professor Garcia and Professor Sternlight will attend the Law and Society Association's annual meeting in Minneapolis.

Professor Garcia will present a paper entitled "Who are the 'Low-Wage' Workers? Definitional Difficulties for Scholars, Teachers and Social Movements." Professor Garcia will also have duties at the conference based on his service on three Association committees, including: Co-Chair of the Collaborative Research Network on Labor Rights (CRN8), member of the 2014 LSA Article Prize Committee, and member of the Association's Diversity committee. 

On  June 1, Professor Sternlight will take part in a roundtable discussion titled "Mandatory Arbitration Agreements: Promoting Efficiency or Exploiting Inequality?" Her presentation will discuss how companies are using mandatory arbitration to make it more difficult for consumers and employees to obtain legal representation and thus obtain access to justice.

A recognized expert in the field of labor and employment law, Professor Garcia teaches Labor Law, Employment Law, Constitutional Law, and Professional Responsibility at the Boyd School of Law. He has been quoted in the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, among others, and has appeared on national and local radio and television programs.

Professor Sternlight is nationally and internationally recognized for her scholarship and law reform activities in the field of dispute resolution.

Boyd Student Emily Anderson Wins Jackson Lewis Scholarship

When second-year student Emily Anderson participated in Boyd’s Lunch with a Law Firm program, she wasn’t expecting to leave with a scholarship opportunity.

“I saw an email for a lunch with Jackson Lewis. Labor and employment law is something I’m interested in, so I went, wanting to learn more,” Anderson said. “After the lunch, they were talking a little bit about the scholarship they offer. I asked if I might apply, and (Boyd Professional Development Coordinator) Nikki Harris encouraged me to.”

Applying for the scholarship was exactly the right move, as Anderson was recently chosen as the recipient of the $5,000 award.

“I was very surprised. I didn’t think I’d get it,” Anderson said. “It means that I don’t have to get another loan, which is amazing. That’s the biggest thing for me. Plus it’s at a firm where I could actually see myself working in the future.”

Jackson Lewis, which focuses on representing management exclusively in workplace law, annually awards a $5,000 scholarship designed to benefit law students from underrepresented social and economic backgrounds who are interested in the areas of labor and employment law.

“What helped me get the scholarship, I think, is the letters of recommendation. In undergrad, I worked in a psychology lab, and the professor I worked for wrote an amazing letter of recommendation, similar to the one she wrote to help me get into law school,” Anderson said. “Last semester, I worked as a T.A. for Professor Pollman. She wrote a wonderful letter for me, too.”

Anderson is an Articles Editor for the Nevada Law Journal. Next spring, she will be working in the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic’s new Small Business & Nonprofit Legal Clinic. Anderson, who currently works at Bogatz Law Group as a law clerk, has her sights set on a state clerkship after graduation.

“I’d like to get a state clerkship, but I don’t know where I’ll go after that. It depends on how it goes this summer at Bogatz Law Group. I do love the people I’m working with,” she said. “I’ve always thought about teaching, too. I’m still figuring it out.”

Professor Francine Lipman Writes New Article

Francine J. Lipman is a William S. Boyd Professor of Law at UNLV.

Professor Lipman has recently written a new article titled "Heal the Suffering Children: Fifty Years after the Declaration of War on Poverty."

The following is an abstract from the article: "Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the War on Poverty. Since then, the federal tax code has been a fundamental tool in providing financial assistance to poor working families. Even today, however, thirty-two million children live in families that cannot support basic living expenses, and sixteen million of those live in extreme poverty. This Article navigates the confusing requirements of an array of child-related tax benefits including the dependency exemption deduction, head of household filing status, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child Tax Credit."

Professor Lipman has written extensively on tax and accounting issues for legal journals, including the Wisconsin Law Review, Florida Tax Review, Virginia Tax Review, Nevada Law Journal, American University Law Review, Harvard Environmental Law Review, Harvard Latino Law Review, Harvard Journal on Legislation, The Tax Lawyer, The Practical Tax Lawyer, Taxes and Tax Notes.

Professor Mary LaFrance Attends Several Conferences

Mary LaFrance is the IGT Professor of Intellectual Property Law at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law.

On May 10, Professor LaFrance attended the Charting the New Frontiers of IP Protection of Fashion Brands and Designs conference in Hong Kong. The conference is hosted by the University of Hong Kong Law and Technology Center and the Fashion Law Institute in New York.

From May 10 to 14, Professor LaFrance is attending the International Trademark Association's Annual Conference in Hong Kong. At the conference, she will present on the topic of "Can Trademark Law Circumvent Copyright's First Sale Rule for Imported Copies?"

On May 15 and 16, she will attend the Leveraging Creativity: Artists, Entrepreneurship, and Intellectual Property Law conference, hosted by the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University Bloomington. Professor LaFrance's presentation topic will be "Performers as Authors?"

Professor LaFrance’s teaching and research interests include domestic and international intellectual property law, as well as the taxation of intellectual property.

May 8 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The May 8 edition of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Professor Mary LaFrance, student Adam Tully, and alumnus Tom Wilczek '01.

Professor LaFrance is a nationally recognized scholar in the fields of copyright and trademark law. Her expertise is especially sophisticated and technical because it includes the taxation of intellectual property.

Tully will soon begin a two-year clerkship with Nevada Supreme Court Justice Ron Parraguirre. While at Boyd, he's served as Articles Editor for the Nevada Law Journal, and was also a member of the Society of Advocates.

Wilczek is Nevada's lead for interface with the FAA toward development of unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned aerial system regulations. He is also a gubernatorial appointee to the Governor's Military Council, and serves on the Governor's Interagency Council on Veteran's Affairs.

To subscribe to Boyd Briefs, visit law.unlv.edu/BoydBriefs.

Professor Jeffrey Stempel to Attend American Law Institute 2014 Annual Meeting

Jeffrey Stempel is the Doris S. and Theodore B. Lee Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Stempel, a member of the American Law Institute and an Advisor to the Principles of Liability Insurance Project, will be attending the Institute’s 2014 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on May 19 and 20.

The Institute is the leading independent organization in the U.S. that produces scholarly work to clarify, modernize and otherwise improve the law.

Professor Stempel has numerous publications to his credit, including books, treatise chapters and supplements, and law review articles. He is a 1981 graduate of Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal and co-founder of the Yale Law and Policy Review.

Professor Stacey Tovino to Present at the Governance of Emerging Techonolgies: Law, Policy and Ethics Conference

Stacey Tovino is the Lincy Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Tovino will present at the Second Annual “Governance of Emerging Technologies: Law, Policy and Ethics Conference” in Scottsdale, Arizona from May 27 to May 29.

She will give a talk titled “Neuroimaging, Mental Disorder Classification, and the Law: The Case of Gambling Disorder.”

The conference is sponsored by the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Professor Tovino is a leading expert in health law, bioethics, and the medical humanities.

Law Library's Sean Saxon to Present at Innovative Users Group 2014 Conference

Sean Saxon is the Head of Cataloging and Innovative Systems and Associate Professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Associate Professor Saxon will be presenting his research, “Displaying the 33X Fields: Options and Practices" at the Innovative Users Group (IUG) 2014 Conference in Detroit on May 9.

The IUG is an international organization of member libraries that use the Innovative Interfaces Inc. integrated library software.

Associate Professor Saxon has overall responsibility for the Technical Services department, including supervising staff and student employees. He also performs original cataloging and database maintenance for the online catalog.

Associate Dean Ngai Pindell Presents at Fifth Annual Association of Law, Property and Society Meeting

Ngai Pindell is Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Associate Dean Pindell presented his paper, “Local Governments and Gaming,” at the Association of Law, Property and Society’s Fifth Annual Meeting on May 2 in Vancouver, Canada.

The Association is a membership organization for scholars engaged in interdisciplinary legal scholarship, which seeks to foster dialogue among people in many disciplines including property, law, policy and theory.

Associate Dean Pindell's research interests are in economic development and housing, and he teaches Property, Land Use Regulation, Local Government Law and Wills, Trusts & Estates.

Professor Ian Bartrum Appears on Live And Local With Kevin Wall

Ian Bartrum is an Associate Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

On May 2, he appeared on on KXNT's Live And Local With Kevin Wall to talk about a case in New Jersey claiming the right to bear arms only extends to the front door of your home.

"It is going to be a state-by-state deal. In this case, it's actually a circuit-by-circuit deal," he said during the segment.

Professor Bartrum's research interests are in constitutional history and theory, the Establishment Clause, and constitutional education.

Boyd School of Law Hosts Exploring Health Care Disparities in Nevada Symposium

On April 17, the William S. Boyd School of Law hosted the Exploring Health Care Disparities in Nevada: An Interprofessional Symposium. The event was sponsored by the Nevada IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence.

The symposium brought together experts from the Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada School of Medicine, UNLV School of Community Health Sciences, UNLV School of Dental Medicine, UNLV School of Nursing, and more. Panel topics included everything from reducing health disparities among women by gender-specific disease characterization to disparities in Alzheimer's disease prevalence, support and services.

To see videos from the event, click here.

May 2 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The May 2 edition of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Senator Greg Brower, student Julianne Unite, and alumnus Roman Borisov '12.

Senator Brower is one of Boyd's most distinguished adjunct faculty members. In addition to teaching popular law courses, he serves as a role model for Boyd students.

Unite is in her final year at Boyd. Throughout the past three years, she's participated in a array of student organizations including the Student Bar Association, Sports and Entertainment Law Association, and the Animal Legal Defense Society.

Borisov works in public utilities regulation and energy law with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. He cites the influence of Boyd Professors Steve Johnson, Rachel Anderson, and Nancy Rapoport as helping him achieve his current success.

To subscribe to Boyd Briefs, visit law.unlv.edu/BoydBriefs.

Professor Francine Lipman Featured in Credit Card Insider

Francine J. Lipman is a William S. Boyd Professor of Law at UNLV.

On April 29, she was featured in the Credit Card Insider article 15 Things I Wish I Knew Before College Graduation. 

Professor Lipman shares this advice in the article: "With great accomplishments (e.g., graduating college) comes great responsibility. You must master basic accounting and budgeting skills to survive and flourish -- fearing numbers and lacking the basic math skills that these concepts demand is a recipe for financial disaster. Prepare yourself to soar and succeed with these basic skills and your college degree."

Professor Lipman has written extensively on tax and accounting issues for legal journals, including the Wisconsin Law Review, Florida Tax Review, Virginia Tax Review, Nevada Law Journal, American University Law Review, Harvard Environmental Law Review, Harvard Latino Law Review, Harvard Journal on Legislation, The Tax Lawyer, The Practical Tax Lawyer, Taxes and Tax Notes.

Professors Anne Traum, Leslie Griffin, and Jean Sternlight To Attend 2014 District Court Conference

Professors Anne Traum, Leslie C. Griffin and Jean Sternlight will attend the 2014 United States District Court Conference on May 8 in Reno, Nev.

The conference provides members of the Bar with the opportunity to interact with federal judges, while learning more about federal practice.

Professor Traum is attending as a Lawyer Representative who has also served on the Conference's planning committee.

Professor Griffin will be speaking at the conference on the subject of important Supreme Court cases of 2013.

Professor Sternlight will speak on the issue of unethical behavior in the legal profession. She'll  provide insight into why attorneys are often able to resist substantial pressure to act unethically, and will additionally explore steps that lawyers and organizations can take to guard against unethical missteps.

Professor Marketa Trimble Places Three New Articles

Marketa Trimble is an Associate Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Trimble has written three forthcoming articles.

Her first article, titled “The Marrakesh Puzzle,” analyzes the challenges of implementing the 2013 Marrakesh Treaty, due to its provisions concerning the cross-border exchange of copies of copyrighted works made for use by persons who are “blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled." Professor Trimble provides an overview of the Treaty and suggests possible sources for implementation tools. The article will be featured in an upcoming issue of the International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law.

Professor Trimble’s second article, “Foreigners in U.S. Patent Litigation: An Empirical Study of Patent Cases Filed in Nine U.S. Federal District Courts in 2004, 2009, and 2012,” focuses on the challenges patent holders face with the enforcement of their rights against foreign infringers. Statistics taken from her empirical study of 6,420 patent cases show that there are an increasing number of foreign patent cases involving foreign parties, despite the fact that the percentage of such cases in the total number of patent cases did not increase between 2009 and 2012.

The third article, titled “Advancing National Intellectual Property Politics in a Transnational Context,” makes the claim that the increasing frequency with which activities involving intellectual property (IP) cross national boarders warrants a clear delineation of national IP laws in order for parties to operate their activities legally. Despite the need for a clear definition, little attention has been given to the territorial delineation of IP law by legislators, who rarely draft IP statues that consider cross-border scenarios. Professor Trimble analyzes the interaction of existing IP laws and conflict of law rules and reviews from both IP law and conflict of law perspectives, while also providing various tools that could help define the territorial reach of national IP laws. The article will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Maryland Law Review.

Professor Nancy Rapoport to Speak on National Association of Estate Planners and Councils Webinar

Nancy B. Rapoport is the Gordon Silver Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law. 

Professor Rapoport will speak on the National Association of Estate Planners and Council's (NAEPC) Robert G. Alexander Webinar Series on Wednesday, May 14 from 3 to 4 p.m. Her program, “Cognitive Errors in Group Decision Making,” will cover universal cognitive biases and how they are applied to typical group decision-making issues.

Professor Rapoport previously spoke at NAEPC’s 50th annual conference, which was held in November.

Professor Rapoport specializes in bankruptcy ethics, ethics in governance, and the depiction of lawyers in popular culture.