ARCHIVE FOR SEPTEMBER 2009

September 30, 2009

George Washington Law School Forms Foreign Relations and National Security Degree

After gaining school approval last December, 12 George Washington University Law students are on the path to receive a degree in National Security and U.S. Foreign Relations Law, the program’s latest specialization.

With an eye toward the school’s backyard, the program is primarily designed for future military or government employees.

“This is for students who are interested in everything from counterterrorism measures to military policy to laws regulating our intelligence services,” said Gregory Maggs, the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, in an article by the GW Hatchet.

Though it is officially a new addition for GW, the program essentially builds off existing curricular offerings, as Maggs indicated that only one course, on intelligence law, has been created this semester.

Maggs further pointed out that the program’s impetus was student input, as graduates who had studied national security wanted a distinctive degree.  The program’s website also suggests that interest in such courses has been on the rise since 9/11.

Two foundational courses - Foreign Relations Law and National Security Law - are first required for the GW program.  Electives including Homeland Security Law and Policy and the Law of War, and topics such as electronic surveillance, are also offered.

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# posted by admin @ 3:00 am in Law School News, School: George Washington University

September 28, 2009

Yale Law Center Finds Unique Partner in Online University

Yale Law School’s Information Society Project (ISP) announced on Tuesday that it has entered in a research partnership with University of the People (UoPeople), a nonprofit, tuition-free online academic institution.

In keeping with its focus on the implications of new information technologies, and as part of the partnership, ISP plans to take on research, advocacy and network-building responsibilities to improve UoPeople’s democratic education and make the platform more accessible.

Though ISP has established a new partnership, the initiative itself is nothing new: The Law School group helped to found the Dynamic Coalition of Digital Education in early 2008.

In a school press release, Jack Balkin, ISP’s Director, expressed excitement about the partnership’s social possibilities.

“Digital networks and social software platforms allow people to produce valuable information goods at an increasingly low cost,” said Balkin. “[And], affordable education is a crucial ingredient for human development and human freedom.  Harnessing new technologies to deliver low-cost education to people around the world is a daring venture.  It is also the kind of experiment that everyone should want to succeed.”

UoPeople is the world’s first such organization, and consists of volunteers.  Currently, two online courses are available: Business Administration and Computer Science.

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# posted by admin @ 5:49 pm in Law School News, School: Yale

September 21, 2009

U. Virginia Law School Makes Two More Clinics Official

The University of Virginia Law School has opened its 2009 fall semester with two newly certified program additions:

Detailed recently in The Cavalier Daily, the Family Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic offers mediation services for low-income families.

Two weeks earlier, in a press release, the Law School introduced the Nonprofit Clinic, which matches students with local nonprofits for “legal health checks.”

With the quick succession of announcements, the school has made two existing pilot programs official, starting this semester.  Both pro bono alternatives previously, the pair adds to UVA’s list of for-credit clinics.

The Dispute Resolution Clinic will deal entirely with family law cases, pertaining mostly to issues of child support, child visitation rights and property disputes.

“It’s incredibly difficult for low-income clients with family law issues to find representation,” said Kimberly Emery, the clinic’s co-instructor. “Pro bono attorneys hesitate to take family law cases, particularly custody cases, because they can be quite emotionally draining and [time-consuming].”

Law School students will partner with existing regional mediation and legal aid groups for the Dispute Resolution Clinic, and three undergraduate psychology students will also assist.

The Nonprofit Clinic is open to six 2L or 3L students who want to focus on transactional work.  The “health checks” include a review of the partner organization’s policies, founding documents and tax status.  The students will also be present at the nonprofit’s board meetings.

“[The Nonprofit Clinic] helps the students do something for charities and nonprofits but simultaneously has the benefit of being very instructional,” said Allen Hench, the program’s co-instructor.

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# posted by admin @ 8:00 am in Law School News, School: University of Virginia

September 17, 2009

Pittsburgh Law Alum Leads Innovation Institute

Sensing a market shift among businesses to more small ventures and start-ups, the University of Pittsburgh recently created the Innovation Practice Institute (IPI).  The IPI, through interdisciplinary coursework and planned symposia, lectures and company outreach, aims to prepare attorneys to counsel this growing generation of burgeoning businesses.

The primary impetus for IPI was Law School alum Max Miller, a member of the school’s Alumni Board who has worked as a corporate counselor, a brand manager and, perhaps most appropriately, has started his own marketing venture.  After suggesting the Institute, Miller has since been named its initial director and has been hired as an adjunct professor.

“The marketplace is changing,” said Miller. “Businesses are under pressure to reduce costs, and they are deciding whether they should be paying $400, $500, or $600 an hour for the services of an attorney. When it comes to skill sets, lawyers need to prepare for that new marketplace.”

In its early stages, the IPI is centered on two classes this fall semester: Commercializing New Technologies and Understanding the Legal Services Marketplace.  The former is open to both JD and Pitt’s MBA students, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the IPI and the integrated functions that accompany this evolving business marketplace.

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# posted by admin @ 7:18 am in Law School News, School: University of Pittsburgh

September 10, 2009

HLS `06 Josh Rubenstein Named New Dean for Admissions at Harvard Law School

It’s been eight months since Toby Stock, Harvard’s admissions dean of a little over three admissions cycles, departed Cambridge for a job in Washington D.C. and left Associate Director of Admissions Karen Buttenbaum in charge of conducting phone interviews for most of the past admissions season.  But on Tuesday – only weeks before the admissions committee begins reviewing applications for the 2009-2010 cycle – HLS introduced the new Assistant Dean for Admissions, Josh Rubenstein, on the school’s official admissions blog HLS In Focus.  Rubenstein is a 2006 graduate of HLS who has worked on Capital Hill and for a leading management consulting firm and, according to the blog post, intends to “increase transparency of the HLS admissions process” during his tenure as admissions dean.

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# posted by admin @ 4:27 pm in Law School News, School: Harvard

September 8, 2009

Michael Schill Assumes University of Chicago Deanship

On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 8, the University of Chicago announced the appointment of nationally-renowned property law scholar Michael Schill to the position of dean of the University of Chicago Law School.  Professor Schill, who graduated from Princeton University and Yale Law School, has held tenured positions at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, NYU and UCLA School of Law, and was the first director of NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy prior to his most recent role as dean of UCLA School of Law.  As UCLA’s law school dean for the past five years, Professor Schill oversaw a period of expansion, drawing world-renowned scholars to campus to teach, increasing philanthropic donations to the law school, and adding three research centers to extend UCLA’s reach in the world of legal academia.

Professor Schill takes over the Chicago Law School deanship from longtime Chicago professor Saul Levmore, who in February announced his intention to return to full-time scholarship.  Professor Schill is slated to take office at Chicago on January 1, 2010, with the intention of using the intervening four months to aid UCLA with the transition to a new dean.  The University of Chicago is one of three leading U.S. law schools to appoint a new dean this summer.  In May, Harvard appointed Professor Martha Minow to the HLS deanship, and in June Yale appointed Professor Robert Post.

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# posted by admin @ 4:01 pm in Law School News, School: Chicago, School: Harvard, School: New York University, School: UCLA, School: University of Pennsylvania, School: Yale

September 7, 2009

Berkeley Improves Public Interest Loan Forgiveness Program

Buoyed by federal modifications, the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law announced Thursday that it will lessen the financial burden of alumni participating in the school’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP).

After passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act in July, LRAP was able to “piggyback” its program onto the government bill to provide assistance to more graduates at a lower cost.

Beginning in 2010, the reformed LRAP will offer up to ten years of unlimited assistance for Boalt alumni making less than $65,000 a year at non-profit public interest or government positions.  This assistance applies to law school debt and some undergraduate debt.  Currently, LRAP is capped at $100,000 of assistance and applies to alumni making less than $58,000.

In a press release Thursday, the School of Law’s Dean, Christopher Edley Jr., spoke highly of LRAP’s expanded resources.

“This latest improvement further enables our public-minded graduates to pursue their career passions unburdened by debt,” said Edley.  ”It’s imperative that we give them the financial freedom to help the disadvantaged and to contribute to the advancement of the broader community.”

LRAP’s expansion also provides participants with up to six months of support for family leave.  In addition to graduates toward the bottom of the pay scale, alumni making between $65,000 and $100,000 will continue to be eligible for proportional repayment.

While LRAP can be applied to a wide swath of positions, including public defenders, legislative staff and multi-year clerkships, Berkeley also added one-year clerkships to the list of jobs that qualify for repayment, provided that graduates work in qualifying employment for three years afterward.

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# posted by admin @ 7:59 am in Law School News, Public Interest Career Resources, School: Berkeley / Boalt

September 2, 2009

NYU Student Group Launches Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Publication

With digitized content so drastically altering creative industries, it’s fitting that NYU School of Law’s newest publication is an online publication.

Launched by the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Society (IPELS), the IP and Entertainment Law Ledger will feature editorial contributions on legal aspects pertaining to intellectual property and the art, entertainment and sports industries, including issues of how those industries have been affected by the internet and other evolving technologies.

Debuting this semester, the Ledger’s content will come from professionals such as IP and entertainment lawyers, agents, managers and studio executives.  A student-run editorial board will solicit and notate the professional commentary.  The NYU Docket has not made any Ledger publication schedule clear.

With the School of Law’s first online publication, NYU is joining peer programs, such as Harvard Law School with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, in an increased examination of emerging internet and entertainment legal concerns.

In addition to the Ledger, IPELS will host a four-part colloquium during the 2009-2010 academic year entitled, “The Future of Entertainment Law in the Digital Era: Emerging Issues in Publishing, Film, Music and Software.”  Also this year IPELS will offer panel discussions on independent film, the art market and sports stadium construction.

Apart from the student group, NYU’s Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy and its sponsored Information Law Institute are two further outlets for IP and entertainment law research.

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# posted by admin @ 3:29 am in Law School News, School: New York University