Professor Francine Lipman to Present at Indiana University Maurer School of Law

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

On April 10, Professor Lipman will present her work on the complexities of the premium tax credit for middle and lower income individuals at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Symposium for the Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality.

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 Linda Edwards and Linda Berger to Present at Michigan State Law Review Symposium

From left: Linda Berger and Linda Edwards

Linda Berger is the Family Foundation Professor of Law at the Boyd School of Law.

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

On April 10, Professors Berger and Edwards will present at the Michigan State Law Review Spring Symposium, titled Persuasion in Civil Rights Advocacy. Professor Berger will present a paper titled, "The Color-Blind Constitution: Thinking Through the Unanticipated Consequences of Brief Writing." Professor Edwards will speak on "Hearing Voices: Legitimate Uses of Non-Party Narratives in Abortion & Gay Rights Litigation."

Professor Berger's research, writing, and teaching converge on the study and practice of legal rhetoric, drawing on cognitive psychology as well as composition, rhetoric, metaphor, and narrative theory.

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.

Professor Addie Rolnick Writes Guest Column in Las Vegas Sun

Addie Rolnick is an associate professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

On March 15, Professor Rolnick penned a guest column in the Las Vegas Sun titled “Expansions to Nevada’s self-defense law are unnecessary and dangerous.”

In the article, Professor Rolnick discusses Nevada’s current “stand your ground” law and examines the implications of the legislature’s consideration of a new bill that would expand Nevada’s self-defense law to make it available in more circumstances and easier to prove.

Professor Rolnick says, “Expanding self-defense law is both unnecessary and dangerous. …There is also no reason to change the process. Prosecutors have discretion, so if the self-defense claim seems solid, the prosecutor may choose not to file charges at all. Changing the presumption would take these cases away from a jury and would tie a prosecutor’s hands, leaving little or no safeguard to prevent people from killing out of vengeance or unreasonable fear.”

Professor Rolnick's scholarship focuses on bridging gaps between civil rights, Critical Race Theory, federal Indian law, and indigenous rights.

Professor Addie Rolnick Quoted in Las Vegas Review-Journal

Addie Rolnick is an associate professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Rolnick was interviewed for a March 25 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal titled “Ayden McKinnon, charged with attempted murder at 14, is a boy among men in jail.” 

The article discusses the case of a 15-year-old charged with attempted murder and the change in Nevada Revised Statutes regarding teens charged with felonies.

Professor Rolnick commented on the system and how it has reversed course on how to prosecute young defendants.

“The juvenile system in general is built around the idea that kids are more capable of rehabilitation, to correct wayward behavior as opposed to punish,” she said in the article. “A system that is mostly intended to provide services is a very different animal than a system that is mostly intended to punish. …With most kids, what’s going on with them is going to be better dealt with through treatment. Adult jails tend to turn kids into worse criminals. That’s not to say that you wouldn’t want to punish a kid. In a perfect world we would think more carefully about why we’re doing it.”

Professor Rolnick's scholarship focuses on bridging gaps between civil rights, Critical Race Theory, federal Indian law, and indigenous rights.

Professor Francine Lipman Shares Message on ImmigrationProf Blog

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

On March 14, Professor Lipman issued a warning about tax preparer fraud on the ImmigrationProf Blog. 

An excerpt of her message reads, “At an ESL tax education and outreach event last night with six outstanding UNLV law students we heard repeated reports of tax preparers in immigrant communities collecting the Shared Responsibility Penalty (ACA noncoverage penalty) from undocumented immigrants who do not qualify for ACA coverage and, therefore, are NOT subject to the SRP penalty. …And, of course, any taxpayer who is subject to the SRP… should never pay this amount to her tax preparer, but rather with any additional tax liability to the U.S. Treasury.”

The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law and the Nevada Legal Services Low Income Taxpayer Clinic have created a new class, titled Taxes for Working Families, to offer free income tax education to the Southern Nevada community. The Boyd students who attended the event were: Elias Askins, Cory Fielding (who presented in fluent Spanish), Janine Lee, Ena Licina, Robert Melcic, and Liberty Ringor.

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.

March 26 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The March 26 issue of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Professor Mary LaFrance, student Stephanie Getler, and alumnus Rob Beyer '01.

An article by Professor LaFrance was judged one of the best law review articles related to intellectual property law published within the last year, and it will be included in the 2015 anthology of the Intellectual Property Law Review. As further indication of her renown, appreciate that this is the third time that her work has been selected for this distinction.

Among the many student organizations that keep student life here at Boyd vibrant and engaging is our chapter of Phi Alpha Delta (PAD), the national law fraternity established over a century ago. Our PAD chapter organizes and delivers a variety of intellectual, service, and social activities, often working collaboratively with other student groups. Leading PAD's efforts this year is its Justice, i.e., its president/CEO/leader of the pack, second-year student Getler.

Beyer was a member of the charter class at Boyd, graduating magna cum laude. He currently serves as a director of debt and equity finance at Mission Capital Advisors, a real estate capital raising firm in New York City. Beyer also serves as the executive vice president, secretary and general counsel of The Siegel Group, a real estate investment and management company in Las Vegas.

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

Professor Ruben Garcia Quoted in Ars Technica Publication

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

Ars Technica recently interviewed Professor Garcia for a March 26 article titled “Startup workers sue to be recognized as employees, not mere contractors.” 

The article, which talked about labor disputes between start-up service companies and workers, includes comments from Professor Garcia.

The article reads, “Similarly, Ruben Garcia, a labor law professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, told Ars that someone like a plumber who is employed on a one-off basis by customers is an obvious independent contractor, but someone who is consistently spending long hours working for the same company is more likely to be considered as an employee under the law. ‘Are these workers subject to the control of an employer?’ he asked. ‘It doesn't matter if the employer is on site, is in your home, is telling you how to do every part of your job. If they exert sufficient control or the right to control they can be considered as employees. The problem or the issue with these companies is that they want to exert a certain amount of control and yet the more they do, the more they look like employers that have to pay benefits and all the things that come with being an employer.’”

Founded in 1998, Ars Technica is a source for technology news, tech policy analysis, and breakdowns of the latest scientific advancements, gadget reviews, software, hardware, and related topics.

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 Francine Lipman to Present at Western Decision Sciences Institute

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

Professor Lipman will travel to Maui to attend the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Western Decision Sciences Institute (WDSI) from March 31 to April 3. At the meeting, she will present her paper titled ”Reconciling the Premium Tax Credit: More Complexity for Lower and Middle Income Taxpayers.” 

A regional division of the Decision Sciences Institute, the WDSI serves its interdisciplinary academic and business members through the organization of its annual conference and the publication of its Journal of Business and Management. Both encourage the sharing of information and research related to education, business and organizational decisions.

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 Ruben Garcia Attends Conference in Vegas, Gives Opening Remarks in Durham and Co-Chairs Meeting in Chicago

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

During the month of March, Professor Garcia attended three meetings/conferences: 

He attended the HR in Hospitality Conference on March 18 in Las Vegas. The conference attracts HR, employment and labor relations professionals from all sectors of the industry and provides hospitality-focused HR and legal guidance sessions.

On March 19, Professor Garcia traveled to Durham, N.C. to deliver opening remarks at the Southeast-Southwest People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference Breaking into the Legal Academy Workshop at North Carolina Central University.

Then on March 20, he flew to Chicago, Ill. to co-chair the Spring Board Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Society of American Law Teachers in his capacity as co-president of the organization.

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 Jeffrey Stempel Attends Advisors Meeting

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

On March 25, Professor Stempel traveled to Philadelphia to attend the Advisors Meeting for the American Law Institute Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance. In his capacity as an advisor, Professor Stempel will participate in the project to develop a preliminary draft of the restatement. 

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 Ruben Garcia Talks Collective Bargaining in International Business Times

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

Professor Garcia recently spoke to the International Business Times for a March 25 article titled “Nevada 'Union Armageddon' Bill Targets Public Sector Collective Bargaining.” 

The article, which talked about proposed legislation that would introduce changes to collective bargaining in the public sector, included comments from Professor Garcia.

Responding to the changes, Professor Garcia said, “It’s stopped short of prohibiting collective bargaining entirely, but would make it so onerous that the system as it has functioned would grind down.”

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.

Boyd School of Law Highlighted in Las Vegas Review-Journal Education Notebook

On March 20, the Las Vegas Review-Journal featured the Boyd School of Law in its “Education Notebook, March 26-April 1, 2015” article.

The roundup included news about Boyd’s Kids’ Court School milestone. The article reads, “The Kids’ Court School at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law recently celebrated the milestone of assisting 1,000 children. The Kids’ Court School, a 2012 Harvard University Bright Idea Award winner, is a nationally recognized program that educates children and youths about the judicial process and teaches strategies to reduce system-related stress.”

The article also mentioned a free income tax class Boyd students will teach on April 16 in partnership with Nevada Legal Services.

Professor Mary LaFrance's Article Selected for 2015 Intellectual Property Law Review

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

Professor LaFrance's article, titled "A Material World: Using Trademark Law to Override Copyright's First Sale Rule for Imported Copies," was recently selected as one of the best intellectual property law review articles of the year by Thomson Reuters. It will be published in the 2015 anthology of the Intellectual Property Law Review by Thomson Reuters.

The article originally appeared in Volume 21, Issue 1 of the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review.

In the article, she writes, "When the Supreme Court held that the first sale rule of copyright law permits the unauthorized importation and domestic sale of lawfully made copies of copyrighted works, regardless of where those copies were made, copyright owners lost much of their ability to engage in territorial price discrimination. Publishers, film and record producers, and software and videogame makers could no longer use copyright law to prevent the importation and domestic resale of gray market copies ... However ... Copyright owners can invoke trademark law to prevent unauthorized parallel imports of lawful copies of their works as well as domestic distribution of those imported copies, thereby achieving an end-run around copyright’s first sale rule."

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

Boyd Students Honored with Awards at Research Forum for UNLV Graduate Students

Several students from the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law earned awards at the March 21 Graduate & Professional Student Research Forum, hosted jointly by the UNLV Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA) and Graduate College. The event allows graduate and professional students to share research with peers and faculty at UNLV and experience the breadth of scholarship generated by graduate and professional programs across campus.

Bailey Bortolin received the 2014 GPSA Service Award, which honors individuals who display outstanding dedication and service to UNLV and the Las Vegas community. Bortolin is co-president of Boyd’s Public Interest Law Association as well as a Public Interest Fellow. During her time at Boyd, she has served as a student attorney in the Family Justice Clinic and events coordinator for the Child Advocacy Law Association. Through Boyd’s Externship Program, she currently works as a lobbyist for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Washoe Legal Services in Northern Nevada.

At the Research Forum, several Boyd students won for presentations they made based on research conducted during the law school’s International and Comparative Human Rights Practicum, a winter course that takes Boyd students to New Delhi for three weeks to advance the human rights of some of the world’s most vulnerable workers.

Stacy Newman, Lindsay Liddell, and Katerina Chadliev won first place in the Social Science and Law Poster Session A for their research on "Bonded Tenancy."

Keivan Roebuck and Craig Friedel won second place in the Social Science and Law Platform Session D for their presentation titled, "Assembly Line of Broken Fingers: A Roadmap to Combatting Health and Safety Hazards in the Manesar Auto Industrial Belt."

Ms. Betty Willis: Her Famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” Sign and Her Artistic Legacy in Las Vegas Neon

Photo (c) 2015 Gary A. Trimble

On March 23, 2015, Ms. Marjorie Holland, the daughter of Ms. Betty Willis, visited the Boyd School of Law to speak to Boyd students, faculty, and guests about her mother, a beloved artist who shaped the history of Las Vegas neon sign design. Ms. Willis, now 91, is most well known for her iconic sign “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas,” which she designed in 1959; the sign still welcomes visitors on Las Vegas Boulevard at the south end of the “Strip” today. But Ms. Willis’ legacy includes many other signs, including the famous sign for the Moulin Rouge Casino, which opened in May 1955 as the first desegregated hotel and casino in Las Vegas, and the sign for the Blue Angel Motel.

Photo (c) 2015 Gary A. Trimble

Ms. Holland's talk was co-organized by the Wiener-Rogers Law Library and Professor Marketa Trimble, and gave students from Professor Trimble’s Advanced Intellectual Property Seminar an opportunity to learn about Ms. Willis’ artistic legacy, career, vision, and concerns, and also a practical background for considerations of legal protection and the limitations of legal protection that apply to artists and their art, particularly in the context of art created for public places.

Photo (c) 2015 Gary A. Trimble

The Advanced Intellectual Property Seminar, offered at Boyd each year by either Professor Mary LaFrance or Professor Marketa Trimble, is designed for students who complete at least one of Boyd’s foundational intellectual property law courses and want further specialization in an area of intellectual property law. The Seminar expands students’ knowledge of intellectual property law and policies that affect the law by building on the students’ knowledge from the foundational courses. Students write an extensive research paper for the Seminar that explores an advanced intellectual property law topic of their choice. For example, the students in the Seminar this year are writing research papers covering topics such as the patenting of computer programs, the patenting of financial business methods, the patenting of artificial intelligence, parodies made of fashion brands, copyright and creativity in hip-hop music, and recent amendments to the Korean patent law.

March 19 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The March 19 issue of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Professor Linda Edwards, student Collin Jayne, and alumnus Ryan McInerney '11.

Professor Edwards has written at length about curricular design in legal education. Her other scholarly works bring some of the most abstruse theories to bear on the lawyer's most practical and concrete task: writing for a judicial audience.

Jayne holds a B.A. in Architectural Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and will graduate from the Boyd School of Law in May.  While at Boyd, he has served as executive managing editor of the Nevada Law Journal, social media coordinator for Boyd’s Phi Alpha Delta chapter, and an extern for Judge Adriana Escobar of the Clark County Eighth Judicial District Court.

McInerney serves as deputy research director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington, D.C. He manages a team of political and public policy researchers, providing strategic messaging guidance and support to U.S. House campaigns throughout the country.

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

Black Law Students Association at Boyd Honored at Organization’s National, Regional Conventions

Members of Boyd's BLSA at the organization's national convention
in Portland, Ore. From left: Steven "JT" Washington, Crislove Igeleke,
Tasha Schwikert, Scott Morris, Loline-Marie Djidade, and Mahagony Turfley.

It may only be three months into the year, but it has already been an incredible one for the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at the William S. Boyd School of Law. It has been win, win, and then win some more for the organization.

Members of Boyd’s BLSA recently returned from the National Black Law Students Association 47th Annual National Convention held March 11-15 in Portland, Ore., having experienced a night to remember. The chapter earned one of the evening’s most prestigious honors – 2014-2015 Chapter of the Year.

Chapter of the Year Awards are given to chapters that have demonstrated a high standard of excellence in their work to improve their law school and local community, as well as to help eliminate national problems, such as educational inequity in low-income communities. Boyd was recognized for its accomplishments throughout the year, including: community service events, such as packaging hygiene kits for disaster relief and packaging and delivering food to the elderly and indigent in the Las Vegas community; mentoring elementary, middle, and high school students and 1Ls; hosting pre-law events for undergraduate students; hosting “Know Your Rights” panel discussions on campus and in the community; and organizing leadership empowerment and social events for the Boyd community.

“This is the first time in the history of our law school that an award of this magnitude has been achieved by the Boyd BLSA,” said Professor Rachel Anderson, BLSA advisor. “This award recognizes not only BLSA's successes but also many other qualities demonstrated by the members of our local chapter: ability, dedication, and, above all, excellence. This national recognition increases the visibility of the William S. Boyd School of Law among law students around the country and will surely open more pathways to opportunity and success.”

The recognition follows on the achievements of BLSA at the organization’s 47th Annual Western Regional Convention held earlier this year in Long Beach, Calif.

BLSA winners with their awards at the Western Regional Convention
earlier this year in Long Beach, Calif. From left: Crislove Igeleke,
Mahogany Turfley, Scott Morris, Steven “JT” Washington, and
Loline-Marie Djidade.

At the regional level, the chapter walked away with several awards, including: Western Region Chapter of the Year for its outstanding contributions to the law school and the Las Vegas valley; President of the Year to Scott Morris, chapter president and newly elected sub-regional director; Sister in Service Award (for service to Boyd and the community) to Crislove Igeleke, chapter vice president of operations and philanthropy; Brother in Service Award to Steven “JT” Washington; and Best Respondent Brief of the Year in the Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition to the team of Loline-Marie Djidade, chapter secretary, and Mahogany Turfley.

The evening was, however, more than just about winning. It was about peer recognition and validation that hard work pays off.

“Being recognized and honored at the convention felt good,” said Morris. “They handed the awards out at the dinner and it got to the point where they were repeatedly calling the Boyd School of Law up for awards. And this was in front of people we’ve known for a long time … law students from Whittier Law School, UCLA, USC, and we were number one … it felt good to just be in front of your peers and recognized on that level because we put in a lot of hard work, strategy, time, and planning making things happen so I think it was a big boost of confidence for our chapter and affirmed we were on the right track.”

The chapter returned triumphant with more than half of the evening’s awards, a regional convention success, said Igeleke.

“​We were all very thrilled with the success of the team and our BLSA chapter, but even more grateful to be part of a law school that has prepared us academically and greatly supports leadership and service in the community,” she said. “Our success is a reflection of this great law school community we have here at Boyd.”

Morris echoed Igeleke’s sentiments, adding it even “engaged membership because they could see how planning evolved into a successful showing at the convention.”

More importantly, the organization’s success was a way to represent Boyd, Morris said.

“I think it was a good way to represent the Boyd School of Law because we have so many good things here: so many great programs, so many great students, so many great people, and professors. I think it was time for us to be recognized on a regional scale – not just here in Las Vegas, because we have a very good reputation here – but I think it was time to highlight the good things that we’re doing on a broader level … We’re known for our legal writing, and for Loline-Marie and Mahogany to receive the Best Respondent Brief of the Year just highlights and gives more credibility to the fact that we have a fantastic writing program here.”

The Western Region of the BLSA includes law schools in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The National Black Law Students Association is the largest student-run organization in the nation, with six regions representing more than 6,000 members.

Professor Ruben Garcia Attends ABA Council Meeting

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

In his capacity as Co-President of the Society of American Law Teachers, Professor Garcia recently traveled to San Francisco to attend a meeting of the American Bar Association’s Council of the Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar on March 13-14.

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 Marketa Trimble's Article Published in Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal

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

Professor Trimble's article, titled "The Multiplicity of Copyright Laws on the Internet," was recently published in the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal, Volume XXV.

The article abstract reads, "This Article posits that the multiplicity of applicable national copyright laws on the Internet is not as significant a problem for law-abiding Internet actors as some commentators fear. What makes the multiplicity workable for Internet actors are the realities—or inefficiencies—of cross-border copyright enforcement that de facto limit the number of potentially applicable national copyright laws. This Article reviews the solutions that have been proposed to address the multiplicity problem and examines the objections to the proposals that have already been or could be raised. The Article then analyzes the current realities of copyright enforcement on the Internet and contrasts the realities with the anticipated workings of the proposed solutions."

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

March 12 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The March 12 issue of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Professor Ann McGinley, student Christian Augustin, and alumna Sarig Armenian '09.

As dozens of her books and articles evince, Professor McGinley is an internationally recognized scholar in the areas of employment law, employment discrimination, and disability law. She is especially renown for her work over the past decade bringing masculinities studies into legal contexts.

After turning down law school in 2000 to teach and coach volleyball, Augustin began his law school career at Boyd in 2011. Thanks to Boyd's part-time evening program, he continues to teach and coach, and he will graduate in May.

Armenian is an employee relations and compliance specialist for Holy Cross Health, a mission-based Catholic health system serving the greater Washington, D.C. community. In her free time, she mentors law students and serves as a guest lecturer at American University Washington College of Law, where she earned an LL.M. degree in Health Law & Policy.

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

Professor Marketa Trimble's Article Published in Maryland Law Review

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

Professor Trimble's article, titled "Advancing National Intellectual Property Policies in a Transnational Context," was recently published in the Maryland Law Review, Volume 74, Issue 2.

In the article, she writes, "This Article argues that because of the rising importance of cross-border IP activities and the increasing need for clear territorial delineation of IP laws, it is important for legislators to give equal consideration to cross-border and single-country scenarios when drafting legislation and to calibrate the territorial scope of national IP laws with conflict of laws rules to achieve the desired territorial reach of national IP policies." 

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

Professor Rebecca Nathanson to Present at American Psychology-Law Society Conference

Rebecca Nathanson, Ph.D. is the James E. Rogers Professor of Education and Law and the founder of the Kid’s Court School at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Nathanson will attend the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) Annual Conference 2015 in San Diego on March 20 where she will present a paper titled “The Effects of the JCCS Curriculum on Juveniles’ Legal Knowledge and Competency to Stand Trial.” 

The AP-LS is a division of the American Psychological Association and is comprised of individuals interested in psychology and law issues.

Professor Nathanson’s research focuses on examining the capabilities and limitations of child witnesses with disabilities.

Director Jennifer Carr Honored with 2015 Nevada Regents' Academic Advisor Award

Jennifer Carr '06 is director of the Academic Success Program at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Carr was recently honored with the 2015 Nevada Regents' Academic Advisor Award. The award, established by the Board of Regents in 1998, honors outstanding academic student advising. Recipients are given a $5,000 stipend.

As director of the academic success program, Professor Carr provides individual counseling on academic matters, bar examination preparation, and group presentations on necessary legal analysis skills. She works with students to help them manage the rigors of law school, bringing balance to their legal education.

Professor Rebecca Nathanson Attends Family Law Conference

Rebecca Nathanson, Ph.D. is the James E. Rogers Professor of Education and Law and the founder of the Kid’s Court School at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

On March 6, Professor Nathanson presented a paper titled “Children as Witnesses: A Dialogue” at the Family Law Conference of the State Bar of Nevada in Ely, Nev.

Professor Nathanson’s research focuses on examining the capabilities and limitations of child witnesses with disabilities.

Professor Nancy Rapoport Interviewed by Las Vegas Review-Journal

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

On March 9, Professor Rapoport was quoted in a Las Vegas Review-Journal article titled “Some ex-Caesars employees lose retirement income because of bankruptcy” discussing the loss of retirement income for employees under a Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan (SERP) as a result of Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s bankruptcy restructuring.

The article reads, “Nancy Rapoport, who specializes in bankruptcy matters, said it’s too early in the process to determine if the SERP creditors will receive any portion of the retirement funds.”

She added, “A lot depends upon how much value is in the estate and what is left over for the unsecureds. I have seen bankruptcies where the unsecureds are paid in full, but it’s rare.”

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

Boyd Assistant Dean for External Relations Layke Martin Quoted on San Diego Source Website

Layke Martin, William S. Boyd School of Law assistant dean for external relations, was recently quoted on the San Diego Source website in an article titled “Growth of legal incubator movement on display at conference.”

Martin attended the conference on “Enhancing Social Justice Through the Development of Incubators and Residency Programs” at the California Western School of Law Feb. 27-28 in San Diego.

The goal of the conference was for individuals from institutions already overseeing incubators to share their experiences and lessons, while encouraging others to launch new ones.

Regarding Martin, the article reads, “the conference showed her that incubators can not only train lawyers to provide affordable legal services, but also be a place where law graduates test out new or niche practice areas.”

Speaking highly about the conference, Martin said, “There were so many people doing exactly what we want to do and who were willing to share their experience, their information, their tools and their budgets — all the stuff you need to get one of these up and running. That was tremendously helpful.”

The San Diego Source website features news focused on everything that happens in San Diego.

Professor Stacey Tovino Delivers Keynote at American College of Legal Medicine

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

Professor Tovino recently attended the American College of Legal Medicine’s (ACLM) 55th Annual Meeting Feb. 26 to March 1 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. At the meeting’s Annual Awards Banquet, she delivered the keynote address on the topic of “Gambling Disorder and Health Law.”

The ACLM is the most prominent professional society in the U.S. concerned with addressing issues that arise at the interface of law and medicine. Fellows of the ACLM, which comprise more than 50 percent of its membership, have degrees in law and a health science, with the majority having both MD and JD degrees.

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

Mar. 5 Boyd Briefs Now Available

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

This week's edition features Professor Jennifer Roberts, student Dawn Nielsen, and alumna Maryann Furman '06.

Professor Roberts, formerly of Lionel Sawyer and now a partner at Duane Morris, is a prominent gaming law expert who has taught as an adjunct faculty member at the law school for many years. The students appreciate that she knows how to integrate her vast experience into effective teaching.

Nielsen unashamedly turned 50 this year. How exactly does she intend to commemorate this milestone? She's going to run 50 miles. While that may sound horrifying to some of our readers, it's right in Dawn's wheelhouse, and, predictably, she has channeled this determination into her legal education.

Furman is the owner of her own law firm, The Nurse Lawyer, P.A. Her practice focuses solely on personal injury litigation and trial work where she lives in New Port Rickey, Fla. She has tried more than 50 jury trials and achieved many multi-million dollar verdicts. She was rated one of Super Lawyers Rising Stars for the years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

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

Professors Gordon, Marouf and Tovino to Attend 2015 SAHMS Conference

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

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

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

Professors Gordon, Marouf and Tovino will attend the 17th Annual Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science (SAHMS) conference March 12-14 in Jackson, Miss.

At the conference, Professor Gordon will speak on the topic of “Assisted Outpatient Treatment: Access and Coercion;” Professor Marouf will talk about “U.S. Reliance on Foreign Physicians and Nurses: The Development of Visa Programs that Ignore Ethical Concerns,” and Professor Tovino will present “A History of Medicare Financing of Graduate Medical Education: 1965 to Present.”

The mission of the SAHMS conference is to promote awareness at colleges and universities in the South of the importance and usefulness of the history of medicine and science, and provide a means for the exchange and sharing of research, ideas and interest related to history, science and technology.

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

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

Professor Jean Sternlight Receives 2015 ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work

Jean Sternlight, Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution and Michael and Sonja Saltman Professor of Law at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, is the recipient of the 2015 American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Dispute Resolution’s Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work. The award is given to individuals who significantly contribute to the field of dispute resolution through scholarship.

“Professor Sternlight is a rigorous and thoughtful scholar and colleague who has written prolifically and passionately about arbitration and its place in the justice system. She has mentored the next generation of dispute resolvers, dispute resolution scholars, and practitioners, organized special journal issues on dispute resolution topics, participated in organizing national gatherings, and taken a leadership role on the policy of dispute resolution both within the Section of Dispute Resolution and nationally. Professor Sternlight’s work and efforts have contributed greatly to the field,” according to an ABA announcement about the award.

A distinguished leader in the field of dispute resolution for two decades, Professor Sternlight is recognized for her scholarship, teaching, and law reform activities nationally and internationally. She has co-authored leading casebooks and other texts on alternative dispute resolution, arbitration, and mediation, and most recently on the relationship between psychology and lawyering. Her most recent book, Psychology for Lawyers: Understanding the Human Factors in Negotiation, Litigation and Decisionmaking (with Jennifer Robbennolt) was published by the American Bar Association in 2012. She has also published numerous articles in many journals, including the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Stanford Law Review, Law and Contemporary Problems, and the Journal of Legal Education.

Professor Sternlight received her B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa and High Honors) from Swarthmore College and her J.D. (cum laude) from Harvard University, where she served as editor in chief of the Harvard Civil Liberties - Civil Rights Law Review. She then clerked for federal judge Marilyn Hall Patel in California and subsequently practiced plaintiff-side employment law in Philadelphia.

After teaching at Florida State University School of Law and the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, where she was the John D. Lawson Professor of Law and also a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution, she joined the Boyd School of Law faculty in 2003.

Watch a video of Professor Sternlight's acceptance speech at an award ceremony on Saturday, April 18 below. 



See photos of the award ceremony below.

 

 

Boyd School of Law Names Saltman Senior Scholars

The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law congratulates Harold Abramson and Lisa Blomgren Amsler on being named Saltman Senior Scholars.

Hal Abramson is a full-time faculty member at Touro Law Center, New York, where he teaches, trains, and writes about how attorneys can effectively represent clients in domestic and international mediations. He also taught full-time for one year at UNLV’s Boyd School of Law, as a visiting professor, and is now a Senior Scholar at UNLV’s Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution. He is an experienced domestic and international commercial mediator and has taught or trained throughout the United States as well as in Australia, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, India, Israel, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, South Africa, and Turkey. He currently serves as the first Scholar in (virtual) Residence of the International Academy of Mediators (IAM), serves as a member of the planning committee for the ABA Asian-Pacific International Mediation Summit in Delhi, and is contributing to the work on the international treaty for enforcing mediated settlements pending before UNCITRAL. He served as Chair of the ABA Committee that drafted its mediation representation competition rules and assisted the ICC in Paris in launching its international mediation representation competition. He also served as co-chair of the IMI Task Force in The Hague that designed an Inter-Cultural Mediator Certification Program. Abramson’s publications include two books, Mediation Representation-Advocating as a Problem-Solver (3d ed., 2013, and Recipient of CPR 2004 Book Award) and International Conflict Resolution-ADR Consensual Processes (2005). Professor Abramson also served for nine years as Vice Dean responsible for academic programs, faculty development and international programs and has taught a range of courses including international business transactions, sales, and business organization. He currently teaches courses on dispute resolution and remedies.

Lisa Blomgren Amsler (formerly Bingham) is Professor and Keller-Runden Chair in Public Service at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs where she has taught since 1992. She is also a Senior Scholar at UNLV’s Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution. She was Director of the Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute from 1997 to 2007. She has held visiting faculty, scholar, or lecturer positions at the University of California Hasting College of Law, Indiana University School of Law, University of Aberdeen School of Law, and University of California Berkeley Center for the Study of Law and Society. She practiced labor law from 1979 to 1989 at Shipman and Goodwin, where she was a partner from 1984-1989. She has authored over ninety articles, monographs, and book chapters, and edited three books on dispute resolution and collaborative governance. Amsler's research has received awards from the American Bar Association, the Association for Conflict Resolution, the American Society of Public Administration, and the Labor and Employment Relations Association. In 2007, she received the Rubin Theory-to-Practice Award from the International Association for Conflict Management and Harvard Project on Negotiation for research that makes a significant impact on practice. She is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. In 2014, she received the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution's Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work. 

Boyd Students Win Regional Client Counseling Competition

Stephen Davis (left) and Sean Young

UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law students Stephen Davis and Sean Young recently took first place in the 2015 American Bar Association (ABA) client counseling competition in region 12. The ABA Law Student Division Client Counseling Competition is a simulation of a law office consultation where students conduct an interview with a client and then explain how they would proceed.

Davis and Young competed in Eugene, Ore. Feb. 7 and 8 against law students from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Wyoming. They now will advance to the national competition in Durham, N.C. March 13 and 14. The topic of this year’s competition is family law.

Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution Graduate Fellow Jae Barrick ’13 as well as Boyd School of Law Professors Lydia Nussbaum, Rebecca Scharf, and Jean Sternlight coached the team.

Davis is a second-year student who began law school with 15 years of experience in construction management. During his time at Boyd, he has assumed leadership roles in a variety of student organizations – he is president of Legally Speaking, the school’s chapter of Toastmaster's International; vice president of the Organization of Part-time and Non-traditional Law Students; and treasurer of our student chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He is also a junior staff member on the Nevada Law Journal.

Also in his second year, Young serves as secretary of the Asian Pacific Law Students Association. He brought with him to law school experience in the business world. For more than eight years, Young and his family have owned and operated a dog grooming business in Las Vegas. Dealing with applicable state regulations of the family enterprise and developing operational policies and procedures sparked his interest in the law and prompted his decision to apply to Boyd.

Professor Ann McGinley to Participate on Searle Center Roundtable

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

Professor McGinley will travel to Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago to participate on a two-day roundtable March 12-13. Presented by Northwestern’s Searle Center on Law, Regulation and the Economy, the roundtable will discuss “Women in the Workplace: Perspectives from the Academy and the Corporate World.”

The Searle Center is a nonprofit research and educational organization committed to the study of the impact of laws and regulations on economic growth. Roundtable participants include leaders in the corporate world, as well as leading academics in the field of gender and work.

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 Nancy Rapoport to Give Keynote Speech in Colombia

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

Professor Rapoport will travel to Bogota, Colombia on March 9 to attend a meeting of the Superintendency of Companies and deliver the keynote address on ethics and social science to corporate boards. 

The Superintendency of Companies is a Colombian regulatory agency that governs all types of business associations in Colombia. The agency is organizing a seminar on D&O liability and corporate law and ethics.

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

3/12 Update: Read Professor Rapoport's blog post about her trip here.

Boyd Alumnus Bret Meich ‘08 in Reno Gazette-Journal

Boyd alumnus Bret Meich ‘08 was profiled in the Reno Gazette-Journal’s “People on the Move: March 1” feature highlighting new hires, promotions and achievements in Northern Nevada.

Meich recently joined the litigation practice of Downey Brand, based out of the firm’s Reno office. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, providing strategies and tactics to business and government clients.

Downey Brand, a leading law firm in California, advises and represents clients in more than 25 areas of civil practice.

Boyd Alumnus Derek Armstrong Speaks to The Rebel Yell About Campus Conceal and Carry

Boyd alumnus Derek Armstrong ’10 was recently interviewed by The Rebel Yell, UNLV’s newspaper, about two legislative proposals addressing guns on Nevada System of Higher Education campuses. The article, titled “Campus conceal and carry: Self-defense is a right,” ran on the newspaper’s website March 1.

Armstrong, a freshman Republican Assemblyman, said “I think the belief that absolutely no one ever brings a weapon onto campus under the current restrictions is naïve.” According to the article, he also points out “CCW permit holders visiting UNLV, students or otherwise, are forced to leave their weapons in vehicles parked off-campus where they are more likely to be broken into.”

Hearings for both bills – Speaker John Hambrick’s AB2 (allows guns to be locked in vehicles) and Michele Fiore’s AB 148 (allows CCW permit holders to carry their firearms) – are set to take place March 5.

Professor Ann McGinley to Attend Feminist Legal Theory Conference

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

Professor McGinley will travel to the University of Baltimore School of Law to attend the “8th Annual Feminist Legal Theory Conference: Applied Feminism and Work” March 5-6. 

At the conference, Professor McGinley will present a paper titled “Bullying Masculinities” as part of a panel addressing the topic of “Reducing Harassment, Violence and Retaliation in the Workplace.”

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 Marketa Trimble to Present At Santa Clara University School of Law

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

On March 7, Professor Trimble will attend the “Fifth Annual Internet Law Works-in-Progress Event” at Santa Clara University School of Law. At the conference, she will present her forthcoming book chapter titled Extraterritorial Enforcement of National Laws in Connection with Online Commercial Activity.

The conference is co-sponsored by the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law and the Institute for Information Law and Policy at the New York Law School. Created for Internet law scholars, the conference enables them to receive feedback about in-progress papers and projects from their academic peers.

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