Faculty Focus is a monthly publication documenting the activities, accomplishments, and honors of the University of Houston Law Center Faculty.
David Dow's Innocence
Network was organized in April, 2000. The Network is a law student team
helping prison inmates who claim their innocence. It was written up in the Monday,
February 19, 2001 Dallas Morning News.
Mary Anne Bobinski was accepted to a two week program on higher education management sponsored by the Harvard Graduate School of Education which she will attend in June, 2001. As the new Director of the Health Law and Policy Instituteshe was interviewed in the January 25, 2001, UH Daily Cougar. She was quoting as stating that "her first action will be to try to expand its reach to the general community, a pioneer idea for the Institute."
Rod Borlase's new essays in the Borlase Law Library & Legal Research Guides include "So You're Thinking to be an 'International Lawyer'?" at http://www.law.uh.edu/guides/IntLaw.html and "Natural Language Searching--Just Say 'No!'" at http://www.law.uh.edu/guides/Natural%20Language.html.
The website received recognition from new Dot.com for legal research professionals at http://www.lexnotes.com/articles.shtml and http://www.lexnotes.com/tips.shtml.
Ellen Marrus began her term as President of Gulf Coast Legal Foundation (GCLF) on January, 2001. The Foundation provides legal services to the indigent population. On January 29th she testified both orally and in writing before the State Jurisprudence Committee in Austin, Texas. The testimony related toSB 140 which will allow a rebuttable presumption that a perpetrator of violence against the other parent, spouse or child would not be appointed as joint or sole managing conservator. On February 23rd she will be presenting a paperat the AALS Equal Justice Colloquium, "Legal Education and Access to Justice" in Austin, Texas. She will be moderating and speaking on a panel entitled "Clinical Collaborations with the Equal Justice Community." Other panelists included Randolph N. Stone of University of Chicago Law School, Catherine Greene Burnett of South Texas Law School and Sue Bentch of St. Mary's Law School.
Douglas Moll's articles, "Shareholder Oppression in Close Corporations: The Unanswered Question of Perspective," 53 Vanderbilt Law Review 749, and "Shareholder Oppression v. Employment at Will in the Close Corporation: The Investment Model Solution" 1999 University of Illinois Law Review 597, were cited favorably in recent decisions from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of South Carolina, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Court of Appeals of Washington. Also on December 15th he spoke to the Litigation Section of the Houston Bar Association on "Shareholder Oppression in Texas Close Corporations: Majority Rule Isn't What it Used to Be."
Tom Oldham is preparing a manuscript on "Regulating Unmarried Partners in the 21st Century" for the Unmarried Partners Symposium being organized by the Notre Dame Law Review. Other contributors are Mitt Regan from Georgetown, David Westfall from Harvard, David Chambers from Michigan, Ira Ellman from Hastings, Peg Brinig from Iowa, and Grace Blumberg from UCLA.
Michael Olivas spoke in January on "Evaluating State 10% Plans" at the LBJ School, University of Texas at Austin, and delivered the MLK lecture on "Higher Education Admissions and the Law," at the University of Michigan Law School. He also published a review essay in the Review of Higher Education, on the Bowen and Bok book, The Shape of the River, andanother volume, Crafting a class. He also edited a special issue of the Journal of College and University Law with papers from last year's IHELG and IPIL conference, "IP Issues on Campus" and wrote an introductory article for the issue.
Jordan Paust was a judge during the final round of the Jessup International Moot Court competition held at Tulane University on February 10th.
Nancy Rapoport has two articles accepted for publication: the first by Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics (2001) entitled "Presidential Ethics: Should a Law Degree Make a Difference?" and the second by California Bankruptcy Journal (2001) entitled "Customer Choice is Coming: Have You Hugged Your Utilities Lawyer Today?" with Jeff Van Niel. She also will be participating in the Deans' Workshop at the ABA Mid-Year Meeting, talking about the use of alumni boards.
Robert Schuwerk as chair of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Committee of the State Bar of Texas completed its rewrite of Rules 1.05-1.13 governing client confidentiality and conflicts of interest, a project that has taken about six years. There will be a long period of review and comment by the various sections and committees of the Bar, as well as a comprehensive review by the Supreme Court of Texas before the rules go to referendum hopefully in 2002. He also gave a presentation on the proposed new rules on February 9th to the Advanced Civil Trial and Evidence Course sponsored by the State Bar.
Sandra Guerra Thompson was appointed by Dean Mary Kay Kane, President of the Association of American Law Schools, to serve on the Scholarly Papers Committee. This committee selects awards from papers submitted by law faculty members. She was also invited to serve as guest editor for an issue of the Federal Sentencing Reporter, a publication of interest to federal judges, probation officers, practitioners, and academics. The issue will address the effect of recent civil asset forfeiture law reform on federal sentencing. Also U.S. Supreme Court certiorari petition she filed on behalf of a federal inmate was granted and the Circuit Court decision reversed and remanded for further consideration.
Jacqueline Weaver visited Chicago-Kent School of Law on February 13th and 14th, to meet the students enrolled in the Energy, Economics and Environment course which she is co-teaching with Fred Bosselman via long-distance simultaneous video transmission. Meanwhile, Professor Bosselman met with UHLC students in the class here in Houston. In essence, the professors just switched classrooms for a week. She also spoke to two classes, the Environmental Law Society, and invited alums on the topic of "A Texas Independent Oilman's Views on Energy and the Environment: What a Bush Presidency Might Bring."