August 2003

Lonny Hoffman edited and published the summer issue of The Advocate, the quarterly journal of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas. The issue is a symposium devoted to the subject of Non-Binding Dispute Resolution. Professor Hoffman also began work on the journal's next issue, due out in October, which will be devoted to an examination of the civil action reforms enacted by the 78^th Texas Legislature. Earlier in the month, Professor Hoffman attended the meeting of the Civil Procedure section of the AALS in New York. He also conducted several pro bono mediations, following training received through the HarrisCounty Dispute Resolution Center.

Joan H. Krause spoke on the topic of "Current Developments in Health Law: Patients & Health Care Fraud" on July 22 at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting, Amelia Island, Florida. Professor Krause was interviewed by the BNA Health Law Reporter for a July 17th story regarding False Claims Act cases against hospitals based on medical errors. She was also appointed to the Ethics Committee of the Houston Hospice & Palliative Care System.

Tom Oldham was on the planning committee for the International Society of the Family Law Conference at Eugene, Oregon in June, and presented a paper (with Canadian and English law professors) on comparative aspects of child support. Professor Oldham is working on a new edition of his West's Family Law Text and an annotated Texas Family Code.

Nancy Rapoport spoke at several conferences in July and wrote a short piece on Enron for the Texas Lyceum.

Richard Saver presented "Financial Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Research" at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools 2003 Annual Meeting in Amelia Island, Florida in July. He also lectured on "Legal Issues and the Geriatric Patient: Advance Directives" on July 28, to a combined geriatrics class of medical and pharmacy students at the Texas Medical Center.

Tobi Tabor and Kate Brem spoke at the Lone Star Legal Writing Conference held at the University of Texas Law School on May 30^th. The conference dealt with "Teaching Legal Writing and Research in Texas in 2003," and Professors Tabor and Brem spoke on an innovative legal research and writing project that incorporated pro bono work. They will speak on the same topic at the Central Region Conference on the Teaching of Legal Research, Analysis and Writing in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 13^th.

Sandra Guerra Thompson moderated a panel discussion at an event hosted by the Texas General Counsel Forum. The panel discussion addressed whistle-blowing and lawyer's professional responsibilities to report the wrongdoing of their corporate clients. The 2003 supplement to her treatise, The Law of Asset Forfeiture, co-authored with Jimmy Gurule and Michael O'Hear was published by Lexis Publishing. She also gave an interview for Channel 24 News aired July 28^th on the overrepresentation of African-Americans in the prison population.

Jacqueline Weaver was the speaker at the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute's lunch for Natural Resources  Professors in San Diego, California on July 24th. Her speech was titled "Can Energy Markets Be Trusted?"