Professor Lydia Nussbaum Presents at the Association of American Law Schools Conference

Lydia Nussbaum is director of the Strasser Mediation Clinic, associate director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution, and associate professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Professor Nussbaum recently attended the Association of American Law School’s 38th Annual Conference on Clinical Legal Education from May 4-7 in California. At the conference, she gave a presentation on “The New Normal of Dispute Resolution Clinics: Pedagogical Lessons and Secrets from Mediation Clinics.”

This year’s conference theme, “Leading the New Normal: Clinical Education at the Forefront of Change,” explored the changes confronting clinicians and how they should lead in the “new normal” of legal education.

Professor Nussbaum’s research interests focus on the benefits and challenges of relying on informal justice, as opposed to formal adjudication, to resolve conflict. As an experienced mediator, she is particularly interested in how alternative dispute resolution processes can be used to strengthen civil society, empowering communities by reducing their reliance on intervention from state institutions.

Scholarship Recipients from Boyd Celebrate Las Vegas Business Academy Anniversary

The Las Vegas Business Press recently spotlighted the Las Vegas Business Academy (LVBA) for an article titled “Las Vegas Business Academy celebrates fourth anniversary.”

The article featured Boyd students and LVBA scholarship recipients Daven Cameron, Keivan Roebuck and Tasha Schwikert, who were on hand along with community leaders to celebrate the nonprofit organization’s commitment to graduate students’ education.

Senior Fellow Patricia Mulroy Writes Guest Column for Las Vegas Sun

Patricia Mulroy is Senior Fellow for Climate Adaptation and Environmental Policy at the Boyd School of Law and a Practitioner in Residence for the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution.

On May 10, she wrote a guest column for the Las Vegas Sun titled “West watching California delta debate.”

In the article, she wrote, “What happens to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta matters in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Denver. From the eastern slope of the Rockies to the edge of the Pacific Ocean, the western United States functions as a vast, interconnected plumbing system. Those who follow water closely in the West are increasingly nervous about what is going on in California.”

Between 1989 and early 2014, Patricia Mulroy served as General Manager of both the Las Vegas Valley Water District, a municipal purveyor serving more than 350,000 accounts, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the regional agency responsible for acquiring, treating and delivering water to two million Southern Nevadans and 40 million annual visitors.

Professor Angela Morrison Writes Guest Blog for Hamilton and Griffin on Rights, Highlighted on SCOTUSblog

Angela Morrison is a visiting assistant professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

On May 5, Professor Morrison wrote an article, titled “The Court’s Decision in Mach Mining Undermines the EEOC’s Ability to Address Systemic Discrimination,” that was published on the Hamilton and Griffin on Rights blog, co-created by Boyd Professor Leslie Griffin. On May 6, Professor Morrison's guest blog post was highlighted in the SCOTUSblog “Wednesday round-up.”

Her article, which criticizes the court’s decision in Mach Mining, LLC, v. EEOC, reads, "The Court’s decision in Mach Mining will stymie the EEOC’s efforts to litigate systemic cases for two reasons. First, the lack of clarity about the level of detail the EEOC must provide in its ‘communications’ to employers may force the EEOC to reveal the identity of all claimants, resulting in fewer people coming forward to report violations and cut off the EEOC’s ability to seek relief for every person affected by the discriminatory practice. Second, allowing employers to litigate the sufficiency of the EEOC’s ‘communications’ in the pre-suit, administrative processing of claims needlessly introduces delays and inefficiencies in the litigation of the merits of the discrimination suit. And, when the process is delayed, the victims of discrimination suffer.”

Professor Morrison graduated from the Boyd School of Law where she was the editor-in-chief of the Nevada Law Journal and was a student attorney in the Immigration Clinic. Professor Morrison teaches in the Immigration Clinic and Employment Discrimination.

May 7 Boyd Briefs Now Available

The May 7 issue of Boyd Briefs is now available.

This week's edition features Judge Jennifer Dorsey, student Mike Branum, and alumna Heidi Almase '01.

As an attorney, Dorsey earned a sterling reputation as one of the bar's preeminent writers and advocates. Appointed as a federal district judge in 2013, her extraordinary writing ability and professionalism fortified our exceptional federal bench. Motivated by an ethic of service, Judge Dorsey now also teaches future lawyers and future judges how to be better writers and advocates.

Branum is an individual who is continuing his full-time career assisting others in peril while about to complete his first year of study in our part-time program. His experience includes volunteer and paid positions in the fire service, emergency medicine, law enforcement, and emergency management. Branum's venture into law school does not necessarily signal a career change; pursuing a legal education is simply an extension of his professional objectives.

Almase, a member of the 2001 Charter Class, currently presides over Las Vegas Municipal Court, Department 3. In 2011, Judge Almase was elected to her first six-year term. While at Boyd, she was managing editor of the Nevada Law Journal and won the Dean's Service Award upon graduation. A long-time advocate of pro bono service, Judge Almase is a recipient of the "50 Hours Club" for her commitment.

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

Professor Linda Edwards' Article Highlighted on Institute for Law Teaching and Learning Website

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

An article written by Professor Edwards for the Journal of Legal Education, titled “The Trouble with Categories: What Theory Can Teach Us About the Doctrine-Skills Divide,” was recently reviewed by a Washburn University School of Law associate professor. The review, highlighted under Article for April 2015, was posted to the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning website, a faculty development resource co-sponsored by Gonzaga University School of Law, Washburn University School of Law, and the University of Arkansas Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.

The review, which praises Professor Edward’s article, reads: “In her recent, stirring article, Linda Edwards points out the ample failings of the ubiquitous skills-doctrine categorization of law school courses and calls for an end to the skills-doctrine divide. …Edwards' case against the doctrine-skills categorization (together with her mini-treatise on the pitfalls of categorization in general) is compelling, and her suggested new conception of categories for law school courses is intriguing.”

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.