Boyd Alumnus Peter Ajemian ’05 Named Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig

Boyd alumnus Peter Ajemian ’05 was featured in a Feb. 25 article on the InsuranceNewsNet website titled “Greenberg Traurig Names New Shareholders in Las Vegas Office – Peter H. Ajemian, Jacob D. Bundick, and Leslie S. Godfrey.”

Ajemian is one of three attorneys recently elevated to shareholder in the Las Vegas office of Greenberg Traurig, an international, multi-practice law firm.

“Those named to our class of 2015 represent the firm’s commitment to excellence in the delivery of legal services. They live the special culture that is Greenberg Traurig …” said Greenberg Traurig CEO Richard A. Rosenbaum in the release.

Ajemian focuses his practice on trademark, copyright, and entertainment law. Committed to the community, he is on the board of trustees for the Nevada School of Art.

Professor Michael Kagan Writes Op-Ed on Salon.com

Michael Kagan is co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

On Feb. 19, Professor Kagan published an Op-Ed on Salon.com, titled “The conservative case for DACA: The intriguing legal theory you won’t hear on Fox News,” arguing that conservative critiques of public sector unions offer an important argument in favor of President Obama's executive actions on immigration. Following the injunction filed by a Texas federal judge, the government has filed an emergency appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

"No other president has made discretion such a central part of his immigration policy, in such a transparent manner,” argued Professor Kagan. “As a result, it is time to acknowledge that Obama has taken executive action on immigration into uncharted territory. That does not mean his actions are illegal. But it does mean they require new justifications. The best response to Judge Hanen is to acknowledge that, yes, one of the goals of DACA/DAPA is to take power away from front-line ICE agents. In fact, this is one of the virtues of DACA/DAPA."

With an audience of 17.6 million monthly unique visitors, Salon.com covers breaking news, politics, culture, technology and entertainment through investigative reporting, commentary and criticism and personal essays.

Professor Kagan has written several of the most widely cited articles in the fields of refugee and asylum law. His research on credibility assessment in asylum cases has been repeatedly relied on by federal appellate courts and, according to a 2012 commentary, has "guided most subsequent research and analysis on the topic."

Professor Ruben Garcia Talks Public Employee Unions in Las Vegas Review-Journal

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

Professor Garcia recently spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a Feb. 23 article titled “Teamsters Seen as Upping Effort to be Clark County Schools Union.” 

The article, which talked about the Teamsters Local 14’s recent filing of a public records request for members of the Clark County Education Association, included comments from Professor Garcia about the union’s motives.

The article read, “Boyd Law School professor Ruben Garcia, who teaches labor relations law, said the public information request could be viewed as an effort to organize the teachers as Teamsters. Garcia said he doesn’t know for sure, but this could be one of several avenues the Teamsters could use to tell the teachers ‘they can be a more effective advocate.’”

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.

Feb. 26 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The Feb. 26 issue of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Professor Ruben Garcia, student Ashley Lacher, and alumnus Eric T. Aldrian '10.

Professor Garcia brings experience, insight, creativity, and intellect to any conversation about labor and employment law. His years of practice in the field inform his judgment. And the depth and breadth of his scholarship draw attention and distinction.

At the outset of her college career, Lacher passed on golf scholarships to stay in Las Vegas and take care of her grandparents who had recently become ill. While carrying out her responsibilities as a caregiver, she earned her B.S. in Accounting from UNLV and gained admission to Boyd.

Aldrian is part of the corporate counsel staff for Wynn Las Vegas, LLC. In this role, he negotiates commercial agreements; drafts marketing and promotional offers; provides legal guidance to hotel management; ensures the company's compliance with federal, state, and gaming regulations; and oversees much of the company's litigation.

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

Professor Marketa Trimble Writes Guest Blog on Patently-O

Marketa Trimble is a professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

On Feb. 23, Professor Trimble wrote a guest blog titled “A Patent on the Internet” for Patently-O, the nation’s leading patent law blog.

In her blog, Professor Trimble discusses the scenario of a U.S. patent application that “seeks a patent on simultaneous compliance with multiple countries’ data privacy laws on the internet through broad method claims.”

She writes, “If someone could patent a method for complying simultaneously with multiple countries’ data privacy laws on the internet and claim the method broadly enough to cover all possible methods of achieving compliance with the national privacy laws, that patent owner might just as well own a patent on the internet, or at least on a very large percentage of internet activity … Whatever the future might bring for the claimed invention, this patent application serves as a useful prompt for thinking about the components that have been or are becoming essential to conducting business and other activities on the internet.”

In her research, Professor Trimble focuses on intellectual property and issues at the intersection of intellectual property and private international law/conflict of laws.

Professors Linda Edwards, Terrill Pollman to Speak at Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference

Linda Edwards is the E.L. Cord Foundation Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law. 

Terrill Pollman is a professor of law at the Boyd School of Law.

Professors Edwards and Pollman will attend the 15th Annual Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference March 6-7.

Professor Edwards will present her paper, titled “Lawyering, Bad Facts, and Furman’s High-Stakes Dilemma."

Professor Pollman will speak on the topic of “Sticky Ideas” and address persuasion techniques writing professors might use.

The conference, which was hosted by Boyd last year, will be held at the University of New Mexico School of Law this year and focus on the theme “Revisiting the Standard 1L Curriculum.”

Professor Edwards is a national leader in the field of legal writing, having been awarded the 2009 Thomas Blackwell Award for her lifetime achievements in and contributions to the field. 

A founding faculty member, Professor Pollman teaches in the areas of Lawyering Process, Persuasion, Negotiation, and Leadership and Law. Her scholarship focuses on legal writing, pedagogy and rhetoric.

Professor Nancy Rapoport Attends VALCON 2015

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

Professor Rapoport will join a panel on “Ethical Turnarounds” and address the topic of maximizing value for law firms and their clients on Feb. 27 at VALCON 2015, Emerging Valuation Issues in Bankruptcy and Beyond.

Co-presented by the American Bankruptcy Institute, The Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, and The University of Texas School of Law, VALCON 2015 offers attendees the opportunity to hear from and meet leading professionals in the distressed debt, restructuring and valuation business.

Professor Rapoport's specialties are bankruptcy ethics, ethics in governance, and the depiction of lawyers in popular culture.

Professor Jean Sternlight Speaks at UCLA Law’s Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Colloquium

Jean Sternlight is the Michael and Sonja Saltman Professor of Law and the director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law.

On Feb. 26, Professor Sternlight traveled to UCLA Law as part of the school’s Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Colloquium to present a paper titled “Disarming Employees: How American Employers are Using Mandatory Arbitration to Deprive Workers of Legal Protection.” 

The colloquium, a component of the school’s Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program, invites leading scholars from around the nation in a variety of disciplines such as law, business, psychology, public policy and sociology to engage with the law school community, practicing bar and public.

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

Professor Leslie Griffin Attends Hastings Law School Symposium

Dr. Leslie C. Griffin is a William S. Boyd Professor of Law at UNLV.

Professor Griffin was invited to speak at the “CLQ Symposium: The Religious Rights of Corporations in the Aftermath of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby” on Feb. 20 at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. On the symposium topic, Professor Griffin argued both the case and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act undermine religious freedom.

Professor Griffin, who teaches constitutional law, is known for her interdisciplinary work in law and religion.

Mountain Region Ranked Best Legal Job Market by The National Jurist Magazine

In an article titled, "Best legal job markets," which appears in the February 2015 issue of The National Jurist magazine, Nevada is part of the number one region for job opportunities for recent law school graduates.

The article reads, "Law schools in the Mountain Region ... produced fewer graduates in 2013 than there were entry-level legal jobs in that region. This helped the Mountain Region rank as the best legal job market for entry-level graduates ... "

The Mountain Region includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The National Jurist rankings are based on placement data from the National Association for Law Placement's Jobs & JDs Class of 2013 report and the American Bar Association's employment data. The data helped determine which job markets offer the most job opportunities per applicant.

"With only 85 graduates for every 100 legal jobs, the Mountain Region is far and away the leader in the nation when it comes to low competition for legal jobs. The region is driven by robust economies in Wyoming, Idaho and Colorado, with lawyer shortages in Utah, Nevada and New Mexico," the article states.

Feb. 19 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The Feb. 19 issue of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Professor Francine Lipman, students Stephen Davis and Sean Young, and alumna Kara B. Hendricks '01.

Professor Lipman's scholarship integrates not only the practice and the theory of tax and tax justice, but also the context. Indeed, her scholarly camera has many lenses: Lipman offers detailed close-ups of the minutiae of the tax code, yet also manages to contextualize the objects of her focus within a wider social context. A deep intellectual commitment to justice and fairness elegantly complements her vast knowledge of and unparalleled enthusiasm for tax.

Davis and Young earlier this month took first place honors in the ABA Region 12 Client Counseling Competition held at the University of Oregon School of Law. They went up against students from law schools in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Wyoming. The team is now moving forward in preparation to represent Boyd at the ABA National Client Counseling Competition in Durham, N.C. March 13-14.  

Hendricks is a shareholder with the Las Vegas office of the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. She has a broad range of experience litigating a variety of business matters. Additionally, she counsels clients regarding statutory and administrative issues, including insurance and charter school requisites.

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

Professor Michael Kagan Talks Immigration to Reuters

Michael Kagan is co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Reuters.com featured an article Feb. 18 titled “Texas judge's immigration rebuke may be hard to challenge” in which Professor Michael Kagan was quoted. 

The article delved into the Obama administration’s difficult task of overturning a decision made by the Texas court ruling that blocked President Obama’s immigration overhaul. In the ruling, Judge Hanen faulted President Obama for not giving public notice of his plans, which was a violation of the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act.

"It's a very procedural point – that he did this too quickly," said Professor Kagan in the article.

The Reuters news agency is one of the world’s largest international multimedia news providers, reaching more than one billion people every day.

Professor Kagan has written several of the most widely cited articles in the fields of refugee and asylum law. His research on credibility assessment in asylum cases has been repeatedly relied on by federal appellate courts and, according to a 2012 commentary, has "guided most subsequent research and analysis on the topic."

Professors Kagan, Bartrum, and Marouf Quoted in Las Vegas Sun About Immigration

Michael Kagan is co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Ian Bartrum is an associate professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Fatma Marouf is also the co-director of the Immigration Clinic and an associate professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

On Feb. 18, the Las Vegas Sun featured an article with comments from all three professors on the topic of immigration. Titled “Why Obama’s immigration plan is facing an uphill battle in Nevada,” the article discussed the recent injunction of President Obama’s newly announced deportation deferral plan by a federal judge, the resulting obstacles, and the uphill battle to reverse it.

“I think it’s entirely possible that within a week the injunction will be lifted, and it’s entirely likely it won’t be,” said Professor Kagan in the article. “I’m hesitant to make predictions because I wouldn't want to tell supporters it's going to go away at the risk of disappointing them. Litigation never makes for a neat and tidy press release.”

In addressing the decision made by the federal judge in which he placed blame on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Professor Bartrum added, “There is a legal sort of hook here in that the agency didn’t cross all the t’s and dot the i’s. That seems to be the strongest basis.”

These obstacles have undoubtedly confused and discouraged the many people affected by the plan.

“My sense is even fewer people will apply for deportation relief,” as a result of the recent executive actions said Professor Marouf.

Professor Kagan has written several of the most widely cited articles in the fields of refugee and asylum law. His research on credibility assessment in asylum cases has been repeatedly relied on by federal appellate courts and, according to a 2012 commentary, has "guided most subsequent research and analysis on the topic."

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

Drawing on her extensive experience representing individuals before the Immigration Courts, Board of Immigration Appeals, and U.S. Courts of Appeals, Professor Marouf's research probes various problems involved in adjudicating immigration cases at all levels.

Professor Ann McGinley Interviewed by Las Vegas Review-Journal

Ann McGinley is a William S. Boyd Professor of Law at UNLV.

On Feb. 15, the Las Vegas Review-Journal ran an article titled “Businesses tread carefully with vaccination policies” discussing the recently confirmed case of measles at a resort restaurant and the question of whether companies can require employees to get vaccinated.

The article, which includes comments from Professor McGinley, stated: “Companies wanting to implement a vaccinations policy would have a simpler task limiting the rules to new employees, according to Ann McGinley, a law professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law. In order to create a new policy for existing employees, company officials would have to show that having workers vaccinated is job related and consistent with business necessity, she said.”

Professor McGinley is an internationally recognized scholar in the area of employment law, employment discrimination and disability law and a leader in Multidimensional Masculinities Theory, an emerging discipline that applies masculinities theory from social sciences to legal interpretation.

Professor Ian Bartrum to Speak at Hugh Darling Originalism Conference

Ian C. Bartrum is an associate professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Bartrum will be attending the Sixth Annual Hugh & Hazel Darling Foundation Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference on Feb. 20-21 to present his paper titled “Two Dogmas of Originalism,” with commentary from Professor Lawrence Solum from Georgetown Law.

Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism located at the University of San Diego School of Law, the conference will feature presentations from a variety of scholars like Professor Bartrum on the topic of originalism.

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

Professor Nancy Rapoport to Attend Annual Oil & Gas Conference

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

Professor Rapoport will travel to Houston to attend the 66th Annual Oil & Gas Conference on Feb. 19. At the conference, she will give an ethics presentation and talk about how social science can lead to more ethical behavior in law firms.

The conference, which attracts more than 500 participants each year, is the oldest continuously presented CLE program in the nation. Over the course of the two-day event, a variety of topics will be covered including U.S. Litigation, International, U.S. Transactional, Oilfield Services, U.S. Regulatory, Compliance and Environmental.

Professor Rapoport's specialties are bankruptcy ethics, ethics in governance, and the depiction of lawyers in popular culture.

Feb. 12 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The Feb. 12 issue of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Professor Ian Bartrum, students Bailey Bortolin and Shaina Plaksin, and alumna Christina Mills '07.

Professor Bartrum is an expert on matters of Constitutional interpretation. Bartrum argues that it would be dangerous for a society to commit in advance to any theory of interpretation that would reduce the number and kind of interpretive tools that have emerged from the centuries of lived experience.

Bortolin and Plaksin are this year's Public Interest Law Association co-presidents. As a Boyd Public Interest Fellow, Plaksin has worked as an intern in the Fraud Unit of the Nevada Attorney General's Office. Additionally, she has served as a student attorney in our Immigration Law Clinic, a research assistant for Professor Fatma Marouf, and founding president of Boyd's Federal Bar Association Student Chapter. Also a Boyd Public Interest Fellow, Bortolin currently finds herself in beautiful Carson City, Nev., participating in Boyd's Legislative Externship Program -- she is working as a lobbyist for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada as well as Washoe Legal Services.

Mills currently serves as senior counsel at Aruze Gaming America. She provides primary legal support to Aruze's Sales Team and assists with other corporate transactions and gaming compliance matters.

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

Boyd Alumni Featured in February Issue of Nevada Lawyer Magazine

Several Boyd School of Law graduates are featured in the February issue of Nevada Lawyer, the State Bar of Nevada's monthly publication.

Boyd alumni Derek Armstrong '10, David Gardner '10, and James Ohrenschall '09 are featured in the "Lawyers in the 2015 Legislature" article. The article, about the nine lawyers who serve in both houses of the Legislature, reads, "The lawyers in the Nevada Legislature traveled diverse and unique paths to their seats in the Senate and Assembly. The people of the state will be well represented in the 2015 Legislative Session, by these remarkable individuals from the legal community."

Alumna Nicole Young '13 co-wrote the article, "Stoked About Marijuana Related Accommodations in the Workplace?" The article reads, "It is clear to many that when the 2013 Legislature decided to compel employers to make reasonable accommodations for the medical needs of marijuana-using employees, it ventured well beyond any mandate imposed by Article 4, Section 38 of the Nevada Constitution. Setting that issue aside for the moment, when focusing on the mechanics of this new accommodation obligation, one is immediately struck by a conspicuous inconsistency within NRS 453A.800. On one hand, the statute provides that an employer does not need to modify those “job or working conditions” that are “based upon the reasonable business purposes of the employer,” when providing an accommodation (language added by the Nevada Senate), but, on the other hand, states that an accommodation is not reasonable if it would prohibit an employee from fulfilling any and all job responsibilities (language added by the Nevada Assembly). Two different accommodation standards are expressed in NRS 453A.800(3). Which one controls?"

Alumna Elana Turner Graham '10 wrote the message from the State Bar of Nevada President, this month titled, "Ask Not What You Can for Your Bar, but What Your Bar Can Do for You." In it, she writes, "Most State Bar of Nevada members have just paid or are getting ready to pay their annual license fees. No one looks forward to bills and sometimes it’s very easy to forget license fees pay for more than a means of making a living in Nevada; bar membership also provides access to many truly helpful services and benefits. Are you taking advantage of them? Just as every hard-working attorney helps makes the State Bar of Nevada the best bar it can be; your hard-working bar can help make you the best attorney you can be!"

Professor Nancy Rapoport to Speak at Estate Planning Forum

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

Professor Rapoport will be traveling to the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council (SAEPC) in Tucson on Feb. 18 to speak on the topic of cognitive biases. Earlier this month, Professor Rapoport presented to the Tulsa Estate Planning Forum.

The SAEPC is a local organization that fosters continuing education and networking opportunities for professional estate planners.

Professor Rapoport's specialties are bankruptcy ethics, ethics in governance, and the depiction of lawyers in popular culture.

Professor Ruben Garcia Testifies Before Standards Review Committee

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

On Feb. 13-14, Professor Garcia will travel to Washington, D.C. to attend the American Bar Association’s Council of the Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. He will be testifying before the Standards Review Committee on law school accreditation standards on diversity in his capacity as co-president of the Society of American Law Teachers.

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 Nancy Rapoport Attends Estate Planning Forum

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

Professor Rapoport recently attended the Tulsa Estate Planning Forum Feb. 9 to speak on the topic of why people make bad decisions. The Tulsa Estate Planning Forum, a non-profit organization, invites distinguished speakers to present on relevant estate planning topics to its membership of professionals.

Professor Rapoport's specialties are bankruptcy ethics, ethics in governance, and the depiction of lawyers in popular culture.

Professor Rachel Anderson Presents at Santa Clara Law School Symposium

Rachel J. Anderson is a professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Anderson recently traveled to San Jose Feb. 6-7 to participate on a corporate responsibility panel at the Santa Clara Law School Journal of International Law’s 2015 Symposium. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Center for Global Law and Policy.

Professor Anderson's research and teaching interests focus on business law, civil and human rights, empirical legal studies, and international law. 

Professor Nancy Rapoport Speaks at Bankruptcy Conference

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

On Feb. 6-7, Professor Rapoport traveled to Sacramento to speak on bankruptcy ethics and social science at the 14th Annual Northern California Bankruptcy Conference.

Hosted by the Sacramento Valley Bankruptcy Forum, the two-day seminar is held each year on topics of interest to the membership and public to address concerns involved in the bankruptcy process.

Professor Rapoport's specialties are bankruptcy ethics, ethics in governance, and the depiction of lawyers in popular culture. 

Boyd Student Brian Vasek Interviewed on KNPR’s State of Nevada

William S. Boyd School of Law student Brian Vasek recently spoke with KNPR’s State of Nevada for a Feb. 10 segment about guns on campus.

The segment, titled “State Lawmakers Taking Up Issue Of Guns On Campus Again” (15:38-minute mark), discussed the issue of guns on campus and the Nevada State Legislature’s consideration of a bill, AB2, that would allow guns to be kept in a locked or occupied car on campus.

Vasek, who has written a paper titled “Rethinking the Nevada Campus Protection Act,” spoke about campus security law.

“ … Currently, based upon my research, I would suggest that approximately 18 states in some capacity grant in some degree what I would call campus carry via full, partial, or what I would call vehicular permission. AB2 is a vehicular permission bill. While Speaker Hambrick did classify it as a parking lot bill, it is what I would argue to be one degree vehicular permission.’

“ … Now whether or not Assembly Bill 2 is right for Nevada I can’t say. It is only one degree of campus carry but I believe it is a step in the right direction toward compliance with the fundamental rights to keep and bear arms …”

In the interview, Vasek also pointed out that other states with similar laws allowing people to bring guns onto campus had little impact on crime rates or incidents of violence.

Patenting in Nevada (Part 3)

By Marketa Trimble, Associate Professor of Law 

Click on figures to enlarge them

The number of patents granted in a given period for inventions originating in a particular territory is an inaccurate proxy for the innovative activity that occurs in the period and the territory. Patents on inventions considered novel, non-obvious, and useful capture only some of ongoing innovation, and therefore the number of patents granted is only one of several indicators of innovative activity. Fluctuations in the number of patents granted may be associated with a number of factors, including institutional and procedural changes in patent applicants’ organizations and in the Patent Office, and also changes in attitudes in a particular industry toward the protection of inventions by patents. The availability of highly skilled patent attorneys and patent agents who can draft and prosecute patent applications successfully is yet another factor that can affect the number of patents granted.

Keeping the above caveat in mind, we can note that the numbers of U.S. patents granted in 2010 – 2013 on inventions by Nevada inventors indicate a positive trend in innovation in Nevada. (Throughout this post, the terms “patents” and “inventions” are used to refer to utility and design patents and to inventions and designs, and the statistics are for calendar years, not fiscal years.) While Figure 1 shows a slight decrease in the number of patents granted on applications listing Nevada assignees in 2011 and 2012 (when the numbers of such patents granted were in the 1,300s), Figure 1 also shows that in 2013 the number of such patents granted that year jumped to 1,691. Development in Nevada is unequivocally positive in Figure 2, which shows a gradual rise in the number of patents granted on inventions for which at least one inventor was a Nevada resident; the number increased from 794 patents granted in 2010 to 1265 patents granted in 2013.

Figure 3 compares the development of the numbers of all U.S. patents granted in 2010 – 2013 with the development of the numbers of U.S. patents granted on applications listing Nevada assignees and Nevada inventors. The number of all U.S. patents granted in 2013 was 24% higher than it was in 2010; the number of U.S. patents granted in 2013 exceeded 300,000. The number of U.S. patents granted on applications listing Nevada assignees in 2013 was 12% higher than it was in 2010, but there was a slight dip in the numbers in 2011 and 2012. However, patents on applications that named at least one Nevada inventor have been growing steadily from 2010 to 2013, and the number of such patents granted in 2013 was 59% higher than it was in 2010.

The numbers of patents granted could have risen in Nevada because of an increase in Nevada’s population or growth in Nevada’s economy; to find out whether the rise might be attributable to an increase in the intensity of innovation, it is useful to look at the development of the numbers of patents per million Nevada residents and per $ billion Nevada GDP. Figures 4 and 5 show that the numbers of patents on inventions by Nevada inventors, per million Nevada residents and per $ billion Nevada GDP, have been growing, and that they have been growing faster than the numbers of patents on inventions by all U.S. inventors, per million U.S. residents and per $ billion U.S. GDP. In fact, Figure 5 shows that more patents per $ billion Nevada GDP were granted on inventions by Nevada inventors in 2012 and 2013 than were granted on inventions by U.S. inventors per $ billion U.S. GDP in those years.

The increase in the number of patents on inventions by Nevada inventors is confirmed by Figures 6 and 7, which show, per million residents and per $ billion GDP, the number of patents on applications in which a U.S. and a Nevada resident were the first-named inventors. The state or country of residence of the first-named inventor is the criterion that the USPTO uses, for statistical purposes, to define the geographical origin of a patent. Using this definition, Figures 6 and 7 show an increase in the numbers of patents granted on inventions by Nevada inventors, per million Nevada residents and per $ billion Nevada GDP. The numbers of patents granted in 2012 and 2013 on inventions by Nevada residents per million Nevada residents and per $ billion Nevada GDP in Figure 7 do not exceed the U.S.-wide numbers as they do in Figure 5; nevertheless, Figures 4 – 7 all suggest possible intensification of innovation in Nevada.

As noted above, number of patents granted is not the only indicator of innovative activity, and might not even be an accurate predictor of economic development. Much more than patenting must happen to propel economic growth; lawyers who can provide high-quality legal advice and sensible business perspectives are indispensable for the success of innovation. Preparing lawyers who will help sustain and promote innovation in Nevada is one of the Boyd Law School’s most important missions.

The data in Figures 1-7 are from the USPTO Calendar Year Patent Statistics and from data collected with the use of the USPTO Search for Patents.

For previous installments of this blog post chain see Part 1 and Part 2.

Professor Trimble welcomes any citing or quoting of this blog post or reposting of the entire blog post and/or the figures; however, she requests that you cite the author and title of the blog post and include a link to this page.

Professor Michael Kagan Invited to Speak on Immigration at Symposia

Michael Kagan is co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Kagan has been invited to speak at symposia this month:

From Feb. 4-5, he will speak on the topic of “Dangerous Women and Children” at the Texas International Law Journal Symposium in Austin. Each year, the Texas International Law Journal organizes an event related to a developing area of international law. The topic for this year’s symposium is “Immigration and Freedom of Movement.”

On Feb. 7, Professor Kagan will be in Detroit to attend the Michigan Journal of Law Reform Symposium 2015 titled “Immigration Reform at 50” and give a presentation on “Immigrant Victims, Immigrant Accusers.” Additionally, in conjunction with the symposium, the Journal will publish five articles in its summer-fall edition including Professor Kagan’s presentation.

Professor Kagan has written several of the most widely cited articles in the fields of refugee and asylum law. His research on credibility assessment in asylum cases has been repeatedly relied on by federal appellate courts and, according to a 2012 commentary, has "guided most subsequent research and analysis on the topic."

Professor Sara Gordon Speaks to Reno Federal Public Defender’s Office

Sara Gordon is an associate professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

On Feb. 3, Professor Gordon was invited to repeat her presentation titled “Schema Theory and ‘Plain Language’ Jury Instructions" - this time to the Federal Public Defender’s office in Reno. Earlier this year on Jan. 29, she gave the same presentation to the office in Las Vegas.

The Federal Public Defender’s office provides federal criminal defense services to those unable to afford representation.

Professor Gordon's research focuses on law and psychology and the impact of cognitive and social psychology on jurors and other legal decision-makers.

Professor Marketa Trimble Publishes Article on Technology & Marketing Law Blog

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

On Jan. 30, she published an article titled, "One Is Not Enough, How Many Is Too Many? How Many Countries’ Copyright Laws Should and Actually Do Apply to Copyright Infringements on the Internet?" on the Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

In the post, she writes, "The sparse number of online infringement cases with claims under multiple countries’ laws might not be surprising to practitioners familiar with the practical obstacles of cross-border litigation. In my forthcoming article, I identify some of the hurdles that prevent copyright owners from claiming simultaneous infringements under the copyright laws of multiple countries. The elimination of these litigation hurdles in cross-border copyright enforcement is one of the goals of several academic projects that seek to create choice-of-law provisions to simplify copyright enforcement and allow copyright owners to enforce their rights in multiple countries simultaneously, and in a single venue."

In her research, Professor Trimble focuses on intellectual property and issues at the intersection of intellectual property and private international law/conflict of laws.

Feb. 5 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The Feb. 5 issue of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Professor Lydia Nussbaum, student Kerry Kleiman, and alumna Assly Sayyar '04.

Professor Nussbaum is the associate director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution and is the director of the Strasser Mediation Clinic. Part of her work explores how the popular and familiar institution of mediation may be experiencing an important transformation. Her forthcoming article, tentatively titled "Mediation Creep: Expanding State Regulation of Private Disputes," is an important conversation starter.

Kleiman is the editor-in-chief of the UNLV Gaming Law Journal and won both IAGA's 2015 Shannon Bybee Scholarship Award and the 2014 Anthony Cabot Award for Best Student Note for her article on conflicting international anti-money laundering protocols for casinos. As a member of the Society of Advocates, she was named second best oralist at Fordham University School of Law's 2014 Kaufman Memorial Securities Law Moot Court Competition.

After more than seven years of civil litigation and transactional practice in small- and medium-size firms in the Southern Nevada area, Sayyar opened her own solo practice in the northern county of San Diego in May 2012, with a satellite office in Las Vegas. She continues to offer her skills as a trial attorney, civil practitioner, and business and corporate transactional attorney in both states.

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

Professor Jean Sternlight Quoted on Natural Products Insider Website

Jean Sternlight is the Michael and Sonja Saltman Professor of Law and the director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law.

In a Feb. 4 article posted on the Natural Products Insider website titled “Supplement Manufacturers Need Game Plan to Defend Against Class-Action Lawsuits,” one of Professor Sternlight’s articles from 2012 was quoted. Natural Products Insider is a print, online and e-mail resource for marketers, manufacturers and formulators of dietary supplements, healthy foods and cosmeceuticals.

The article on the website said, “The AT&T case has been helpful to companies seeking to uphold arbitration agreements and bar a class-action lawsuit. ‘In case after case, courts are now refusing to void arbitral class action waivers in consumer and employment cases,’ wrote Jean Sternlight, a professor of law at UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) Boyd School of Law, in a 2012 article for Oregon Law Review called ‘Tsunami: AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion Impedes Access to Justice.’

“Sternlight said the courts in consumer fraud actions and other cases have found the complaints must be handled through individual arbitration rather than a class-action lawsuit.”

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

Professor Fatma Marouf Interviewed by 8 News Now

Fatma Marouf is the co-director of the Immigration Clinic and an associate professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Marouf recently spoke with 8 News Now for a Feb. 3 segment titled “U.S. Senate to vote on bill affecting immigration programs” (1:07 mark).

In the interview, Professor Marouf talks about how the U.S. Senate’s vote on the Department of Homeland Security’s budget may not directly impact the future of the immigration programs announced by President Obama. The budget is under controversy because it excludes funding for the President’s immigration programs.

“The only people that would not actually be affected by this are the employees of USCIS, which is the agency that actually processes the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability applications, which is entirely funded with the fees it collects on those applications,” Professor Marouf said. “In fact, the House appropriations committee has said that, you know, Congress can't even stop it from processing these applications, because there are actually provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act that says the USCIS is funded through its fees.”

Drawing on her extensive experience representing individuals before the Immigration Courts, Board of Immigration Appeals, and U.S. Courts of Appeals, Professor Marouf's research probes various problems involved in adjudicating immigration cases at all levels.

Boyd Alumna Chandeni Sendall ’12 Joins McDonald Carano Wilson

Boyd alumna Chandeni Sendall ’12 was highlighted in a Jan. 29 Nevada Business magazine article titled “McDonald Carano Wilson Announces New Associate.” Nevada Business covers business issues, news and events in Nevada.

“We are very excited to have Chandeni join McDonald Carano Wilson,” said John Frankovich, the law firm’s managing partner. “She is an excellent lawyer with tremendous legal experience at both ends of Nevada. She is a great addition to our law firm.”

With offices in Las Vegas and Reno, McDonald Carano Wilson is a full-service law firm with 13 specialized practice groups offering a variety of commercial, transactional, litigation, regulatory and tax services to clients.

Boyd Student, Alumnus Win 2014 Shannon Bybee Scholarship Award

On Jan. 30, the International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) announced that Boyd School of Law student Kerry Kleiman and alumnus Michael Roeseler '14 received the 2014 Shannon Bybee Scholarship Award.

The annual scholarship program recognizes the best scholarly research papers written by law students. Submissions are solicited from law students around the world and judged by a committee of IAGA members who practice gaming law. To be considered, submissions must enhance the understanding of gaming law or suggest a beneficial change to gaming law.

Kleiman won for her paper titled, “Keeping Casinos Clean: The Problem with Dirty Money and International Differences in Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Casinos.” Roeseler won for his paper titled, “Taxing Gambling.”

Papers are evaluated on the quality of presentation, quality of footnoting, depth of research, novelty or importance of the subject matter, value to gaming law practitioners or gaming control officials, and value to the study of gaming law.

Past Shannon Bybee Scholarship Award winners from Boyd include Justin Allsop '14; Rick Benito '12; Michael Lafia '12; Miriam Meyer-Thompson '14; John Piro '10; Charles C. Rainey '07; Jaime E. Serrano, Jr. '12; and Evan Simonsen '14.

The Shannon Bybee Scholarship Award was established to honor the memory of Shannon Bybee, one of IAGA’s founders who had a distinguished gaming career as a gaming attorney, Nevada regulator, industry executive, and pioneer in the field of education in casino operations and gaming law.