December 2001 - January 2002

By way of apology to Professors Krause and Weaver for accidentally dropping them from last month’s (November’s) Faculty Focus, we begin with their activities:

          Professor  Joan Krause  spoke on November 29^th at the  Third Annual National Institute on the Civil False Claims Act & Qui Tam Enforcement  in Washington, D.C., addressing recent developments in materiality analysis.  Prof. Krause presented her conference paper,  “Materiality, Causation, and the Quest for Fraud That ‘Counts’,” and her article,  "Health Care Providers and the Public Fisc:  Paradigms of Government Harm Under the Civil False Claims Act,"  was published in the Fall 2001 issue of the  Georgia Law Review.

          Professor Jacqueline L. Weaver  spoke at the National Association of Royalty Owners Annual Institute  in Houston on November 5^th,  presenting a judicial and legislative update on issues affecting royalty payments.

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American Association of Law Schools Annual Conference  (A.A.L.S.),

 U.H.L.C.  Attendees  &  Participants     (New Orleans, LA - First Week of January 2002)

Professor  Richard Alderman,  Director,  Consumer Law Center,  attended AALS Sessions and represented the University of Houston at the AALS’ House of Representatives’  Second Session.

Professor  Mary Anne Bobinski,  Director,  Health Law & Policy Institute,  attended AALS Sessions and chaired the meeting of the AALS Committee on Curriculum & Research.

Director of Alumni Affairs Ann Chai  attended AALS Sessions.

Professor Seth Chandler  attended AALS Sessions.

Professor  David Crump,  Director,  Continuing Legal Education,  attended AALS Sessions and made a presentation for the  Federalist Society on his new book,  How to Reason.

Professor  Meredith Duncan  attended AALS Sessions on Professional Responsibility and Legal Ethics, plus various minority oriented meetings and sessions.

Professor Sanford Gaines  attended AALS Sessions and was elected Chair of the  Environmental Law Section.

Assistant Dean for External Affairs Deborah Hirsch  attended AALS Sessions.

Professor  Lonny S. Hoffman  attended AALS Sessions.

Professor  Craig Joyce,  Co-Director,  Intellectual Property  &  Information Law Institute,  attended AALS Sessions, a Law Center dinner and reception for UHLC alums in New Orleans, and was honored by the AALS at a reception for having won UH Teaching Awards.

Professor  Joan H. Krause  attended AALS Sessions.

Professor  Peter Linzer  attended AALS Sessions and became AALS’ Contracts Section’s Chair, attending the Section's two programs on e-commerce and the  Breakfast Workshop for Section Leaders.

Professor  Douglas Moll  attended AALS Sessions and headed (as co-founder) the well-attended new  AALS New Law Teacher Section.   Prof. Moll’s talk at this first annual conference was on  “Why Do We Need a New Law Professors Section?”

Professor  Geraldine S. Moohr  attended AALS Sessions, organizing an AALS Session on  The Role of Criminal Law in Regulating Use of Information and Intellectual Property.   Prof. Moohr presented a paper at this session,  "Two Unintended Consequences of the Economic Espionage Act -- And Their Results,"  which builds upon an article that will be published this spring by the  University of North Carolina Law Review.

Professor J. Thomas Oldham,  Associate Dean for Faculty Development,    attended AALS Sessions on Family Law.

Professor  Michael A. Olivas,  Director,  Institute for Higher Education Law  &  Governance - Prof. Olivas presented a paper on  “Academic Freedom and Employment in the Academy”  at the  AALS Annual Meeting sponsored by the Labor Relations & Employment Law Section.  Prof. Olivas attended a meeting of the ABA Governmental Relations Committee, on which he serves, and which was held in conjunction with the AALS meeting. Prof. Olivas, along with Professors Sidney Buchanan and Craig Joyce were also honored by the AALS at a reception for having won UH Teaching Awards.

Professor  Nancy B. Rapoport,  Dean,  University of Houston Law Center,  attended AALS Sessions, spoke to the  AALS’ Student Services Section  on the changing face of deanship, and hosted a Law Center reception at Pascal Manale's for alums, faculty and staff.

Assistant Dean for Law Advancement  Greg Robertson attended AALS Sessions.

Professor  Joseph Sanders  attended AALS Sessions.

Professor  Richard Saver  attended AALS Sessions.

Professor  Jon S. Schultz,  Associate Dean  for Information Services  attended AALS Sessions.

Professor  William P. Streng  attended AALS Sessions on Tax Law and Estate Planning, and a commemorative meeting remembering our former (Fall 1998) Tax Law Visiting Professor Rebecca Rudnick.

Professor  Sandra Guerra Thompson,  Associate Dean  for Academic Affairs  attended AALS Sessions, Chaired the  Criminal Justice Section’s  sessions, including four panel discussions and a luncheon, and spoke on a panel entitled  "Is the Drug War De-Escalating?"   Prof. Guerra Thompson’s remarks will be published this spring in the Federal Sentencing Reporter.

Director of Annual Giving  Marilyn Watkins  attended AALS Institutional Advancement Session.

Professor Jacqueline L. Weaver  attended AALS Sessions on  Natural Resources Law  &  Environmental Law.

Professor Stephen Zamora  attended AALS Sessions and was elected Chair of the AALS Section on North American Cooperation,  was a panelist on  "Globalization," as part of the Workshop on The Challenges of Connecting with 21st Century Students,  spoke on  "Legal Education and Cooperative Programs as Factors in Economic  &  Social Development”  in the  Workshop on “Continuing Progress in Internationalizing Legal Education,”  and gave a presentation about our  North American Consortium,  NACLE,  as a member of a panel on  “Boosting Cooperation Among Law Schools in North America.”

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          Professor  Richard Alderman  published the 2002 edition of  The Lawyer's Guide to the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act  and, at  38 Houston L. Rev.  101 (2002), published his article,  “Pre-Dispute Mandatory Arbitration in Consumer Contracts:  A Call for Reform.”  Prof. Alderman also spoke to the  National Association of Consumer Advocates’ Annual Meeting,  and to the  National Association of Legal Administrators,  the  Houston Association of Legal Assistants,  Money Management International,  and to the  Fundamentals of Good Credit.   Prof. Alderman appeared several times on the nationally syndicated Tom Martino radio talk show, and was quoted in the  Houston Chronicle,  the  Texas Lawyer,  and the  Associated Press  regarding liabilities of social hosts and tenants.

          Professor  Mary Anne Bobinski  recently contracted to produce a new edition of  Health Care Law & Ethics  (Aspen Publishing)  with her co-authors.

          Rod  Borlase  added the following web essays to the  Law Library & Legal Research Guides:   “West's New Reporter: Federal Appendix"  &  “Using Proper Writing Voice.”

          Professor  David R. Dow’s  op-ed article,  “The Scandal of the State of Texas vs. Andrea Yates” (p. 21A)  was published in the  Houston Chronicle  on January 10^th 2002.

          Professor  Meredith J. Duncan  has been asked to speak at the  Civil  &  Criminal Investigation Course Seminar  presented by the  Learning Center for Private Investigation  on the  “Ethical Responsibilities of Lawyers in Exercising Jurisdiction Over Privately Conducted Investigations.”

          Professor  Paul M. Janicke  has accepted invitations to teach a Master Class in Patent Law in March (2002) at  John Marshall Law School (Chicago)  and, for  Tulane University Law School,  a summer course in patent law in Amsterdam.

          Professor  Craig Joyce  published two entries in  American National Biography  (Oxford University Press, October 2001 Update),  one each on  William Cranch  and  Henry Wheaton.

          Professor  Peter Linzer’s  work on revision of the  Corbin On Contracts  volume on the  parol evidence rule  is going into high gear.

          Professor  Douglas Moll’s  interview on  Fox Business News  about the  Enron vrs. Dynergy  dispute aired late December 4^th & early December 5^th on our local Fox Channel 26.

          Professor  Geraldine Moohr  appeared on Channel 11 KHOU-TV to comment on the plight of Enron employees who have lost their retirement funds, and discussed the same topic with reporters from Channel 2 KPRC-TV.

          Professor  Raymond T. Nimmer   has been listed in the  International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers  and was previously and remains listed in the  International Who’s Who of Internet Lawyers  and in  Who’s Who in America.

          Professor  J. Thomas Oldham  will publish the 29^th Supplement next month for his book, Separation and the Distribution of Property,  New York Law Publishing.

          Professor  Jordan Paust  was interviewed on  CNN Live  on December 13^th  and on National Public Radio on December 27^th respecting the war on terrorism and international law, and was featured among other law professors in a  New York Times  December 26^th op-ed  by  William Glaberson,  entitled  “Critic’s Attack on Tribunals Turns to Law Among Nations”  (p. B1; Prof. Jordan’s photograph, B6).   Other articles featuring Prof. Paust’s comments were in  the  Los Angeles Times,  December 14^th  and  U.S.A. Today, December 20^th and 31^st.

          Dean  Nancy B. Rapoport’s  article,  “Of Cat-herders, Conductors, Tour Guides,  &  Fearless Leaders,”  was published in  33 University of  Toledo Law Review 161 (2001).  Dean Rapoport was interviewed on local TV Channel 2's January 7^th 10 p.m. late news regarding the Enron bankruptcy and the New York hearing to move proceedings to Houston.

          Professor  Richard Saver  has been awarded funds from the University of Houston's New Faculty Research Program for an upcoming research project concerning legal restrictions on the use of gain-sharing and other financial incentives between hospitals and medical staff physicians.

          Associate Dean  Jon  S. Schultz obtained new avenues of expertise from Tropical Storm Allison.  Dean Schultz addressed conferences at  Rice University  and  Yale University  on emergency preparedness and recovery.   His two-hour presentation at Yale was sponsored by the  North East Document Conservation Center  and the NELLCO library consortium,  following a presentation at Rice's  Fondren Library.   Dean Schultz provided interviews for  National Public Radio,  Texas Public Radio, and for various library associations, bar association and industry publications and news media.  On December 24^th, Dean Schultz strapped on the requisite padding and spent Christmas eve as Santa Claus for a local rehabilitation mission.  Dean Schultz has been appointed to the ABA team of visitors for the inspection of the law school at UCLA.

          Professor  Ira B. Shepard  spoke on  "Current Developments in Federal Taxation" to the  Wednesday Tax Forum  and on  "Circular 230: The Non-Tax Shelter Amendments"  to the  Houston Tax Roundtable  in early January 2002.   In late January, Prof. Shepard will speak at a  Mini-Program of the  American Bar Association Tax Section’s Midwinter Meeting  in New Orleans on  "Recent Federal Income Tax Developments"  (with Professor Martin J. McMahon, Jr. of the University of Florida Law School) and at the  South Carolina State Bar Meeting  in Charleston on  "The 2001 Tax Act"  (again, with Professor McMahon).   Prof. Shepard’s paper on  "Recent Oil  &  Gas Tax Developments" (co-authored by Professor McMahon) was published  in the  Proceedings of the Southwestern Legal Foundation Fifty-Second Annual Institute on Oil  &  Gas Law  &  Taxation  (Matthew Bender, 2001).

          Professor  William P. Streng  was photographically immortalized by the  Bureau of National Affairs  publishing house as its  December 2002  distinguished author in a calendar promoting  BNA’s Tax Management Portfolios,  something short of a centerfold, but quite dapper nonetheless.   Prof. Streng has authored multiple  portfolios  for BNA, most recently on  Estate Planning  (no.801-1^st)  and  Choice of Entity  (no. 700-2^nd).

          Professor  Ronald Turner’s  review essay on Professor Jeffrey Rosen's proposal to abolish the Title VII hostile-environment sexual harassment cause of action has been published at  4 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor  &  Employment Law 243 (Fall 2001).  Prof. Turner’s essay,  “When the Court Makes Law and Policy (With Special Reference to the Employment Arbitration Issue),  will be published in a forthcoming issue of the  Hofstra Labor  &  Employment Law Journal.   Prof. Turner’s article “Reactions of the Regulated: A Federal Labor Law Example”  will be published in the next issue of  The Labor Lawyer.

          Clinical Professor  Joseph Vail  will speak on  “Pro Bono Representation of Asylum Seekers in Immigration Court Proceedings”  at the  Houston Asylum  Pro Bono  Program  here at the  Law Center  on January 26^th 2002.

          Health Law Institute Director  Barbara Williams   was interviewed by KTRH Radio on January 8^th 2202  the rights of employees after the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Toyota v. Williams.

Rod Borlase, Editor