Faculty Focus is a monthly publication documenting the activities, accomplishments, and honors of the University of Houston Law Center Faculty.

September 2007

 

Christine Agnew was elected to the Council of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation. In addition, she has been asked to take a leading role in updating and upgrading TAXI. TAXI is an interactive computer program that is designed to educate U.S. taxpayers on basic income tax principles. Professor Agnew published a column in the Journal of Passthrough Entities which discussed, among other things, recent legislation that altered the tax return preparer rules.

 

Richard Alderman has completed two articles with an international perspective on consumer law: “The Future of Consumer Law in the United States – Hello Arbitration, Bye-bye Courts, So-long Consumer Protection”, was accepted for publication in the Yearbook of Consumer Law 2009, an international referred journal; and “A Few Suggested Steps Toward Increased Credit Card Use in Nigeria”, has been accepted for publication in Nigeria’s Consumer Journal. He published the 2007-08 edition of Texas Consumer Law: Cases and Materials, and submitted manuscripts for the 2008 edition of Consumer Credit and the Law, published by Thomson/West, and the 2008 Supplement for the Lawyer’s Guide to the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, published by Lexis Law Publishing.

 

Aaron Bruhl published two articles this month: “If the Judicial Confirmation Process is Broken, Can a Statute Fix It?”, 85 Nebraska Law Review 960 (2007); and “Against Mix-and-Match Lawmaking,” 16 Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 349 (2007).

 

Darren Bush over the summer was quoted in numerous Austin American Statesman articles regarding the Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger. His article with Salvatore Massa, “Rethinking the Potential Competition Doctrine,”  2004 Wisconsin Law Review 1035, was cited in an American Antitrust Institute amicus brief filed before the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia in the same matter. The brief can be found at:

http://www.antitrustinstitute.org/archives/files/aai-%Whole%Foods,%20Wild%20O,%20amicus%20as%20filed%207-31-07_080120070922.pdf

He was also quoted in a Houston Chronicle article concerning antitrust issues concerning practices at Memorial Hermann Hospital, as well as a Chronicle article concerning the Houston Port Authority’s use of outside counsel. In August, he presented on a panel concerning, “Antitrust Issues and Intellectual Property Licensing,” at a Law Seminars International conference in Seattle. He was also quoted in a www.enetnews.com story concerning the Supreme Court’s decision in Credit Suisse v. Billing. Along with coauthor John Connor, he submitted his article, “How to Block Cartel Formation and Price Fixing: Using Extraterritorial Application of the Antitrust Laws as a Deterrence Mechanism.” The article has been accepted in a law review whose name will be revealed at a later date. The basis of the article was an amicus brief filed before the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief has been downloaded over 4,300 times at http://www.aei-brookings.org/publications/abstract.php?pid=728. He also completed a draft of an article with Betsy Gelb and Jill Sundie titled, “The Shift in Consumer Protection: Wise Move? Or Counterproductive?” The article will be submitted to a peer-reviewed business and public policy journal. He has been invited to speak at the American Public Power Association Conference in Seattle in October concerning recent Supreme Court antitrust decisions.

 

David R. Dow was elected to membership in the Houston Philosophical Society. On August 30, 2007, he received the Third Annual Clarence Darrow Award, given by the Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association. His op-ed piece dealing with President Bush’s commutation of Lewis Libby’s sentence appeared in the Houston Chronicle. With Craig Smyser, he published the 2006-07 supplement to his treatise, Contract Law, which is part of the Thomson-West Texas Practice Series.

 

Barbara Evans’ article, “Finding a Liability-free Space in Which Personalized Medicine Can Bloom,” is appearing in the October issue of Nature Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, available in advance on-line publication September 15 at www.nature.com/clpt. Prof. Evans participated in a September 5 meeting of the Oversight Task Force of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society, which is preparing recommendations for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on appropriate regulatory oversight of genetic testing products and services. Prof. Evans presented a paper, “Why Bioethics Fails to Produce Constitutional Rights,” at the Health Law Scholars Workshop, sponsored by the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics and St. Louis University, on September 8 in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

Victor Flatt’s working article, “Act Locally, Affect Globally,” made SSRN’s top ten downloads in four different categories. Professor Flatt will also be featured in an online presentation for the University of Houston’s Constitution Day, discussing the Constitution and Gay Marriage. Professor Flatt will make a presentation concerning renewable energy and climate change at the Houston Bar Association’s Environmental Section meeting, and will speak on new trends in environmental regulation for the American Constitution Society and the University of Houston’s Environment and Energy Law Society.

 

Gidi taught courses and made several academic presentations in Brazil this summer. He also made a presentation in Rome, Italy and taught Comparative Law in the Master’s in Laws Program at the University Agostinho Neto in Luanda, Angola.

 

Leslie Griffin’s Case Studies in Law and Religion volume has been accepted for publication by Aspen.

 

Craig Joyce organized and moderated the National Conference of the Law Center’s Institute for Intellectual Property & Information Law (IPIL) in Santa Fe, NM (“Copyright in Context”), and chaired IPIL’s Fourth Annual Baker Botts Lecture in Houston (“The Rule of Intellectual Property Law in the Internet Economy”). Prof. Joyce also published the Cumulative Supplement and Teacher’s Manual to his latest edition of Copyright Law (7th Ed. 2006).

 

Joan Krause’s article, “Ethical Lawyering in the Gray Areas: Health Care Fraud and Abuse,” 34 Journal of Law Medicine and Ethics 121 (2006), was reprinted as,”The Ethical Health Lawyer: Healthcare Fraud Abuse,” in 5:3 of the Icfai Journal of Healthcare Law.

 

Douglas Moll submitted chapters for two books. He contributed a chapter on attachment for an upcoming West book entitled, “A Student’s Guide to Article 9,” and he contributed a chapter on Donahue v. Rodd Electrotype, Inc. for a West book entitled, “Iconic Cases in Corporate Law.” He is currently working on a treatise on closely held corporations to be published by Aspen in 2009. He has also agreed to serve as a visiting professor at the University of Texas in the spring of 2008.

 

Gerry Moohr wrote an article,”Of Bad Apples and Bad Trees: Considering Fault-Based Liability for Complicit Corporations.” The article will be published this fall by the American Criminal Law Review as part of a symposium issue on Corporate Criminality. She also wrote, “Securities Law and its Enforcement: The Case of Martha Stewart.” This piece will appear as a chapter in Insider Trading: Regulation and Analysis, edited by Paul Ali and Gregory Gregorious. Her article, “The Prospects of Deferring Corporate Crime,” has been published by Maryland’s Journal of Business and Technology Law. The article is a part of a symposium issue on the criminalization of corporate law. This piece was listed as a top ten download in SSRN’s criminal law category. Prof. Moohr co-chaired the organization of a panel, White Collar Crime in the Post-Enron Era, for the SEALS conference in August. The on-line newspaper, Corporate Board Member, interviewed her and will feature her work in an article on the widened scope of federal criminal fraud prosecutions and aggressive prosecutorial methods.

 

Michael A. Olivas participated in three Constitutional Week programs in September, speaking about Hernandez v. Texas at Houston Community College, Sam Houston State University, and the University of Texas at Austin. He also spoke about the case at the Federal Bar Association, San Antonio. Also in September, he spoke at a MALDEF commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Plyler v. Doe, on a panel with the lead attorney from the case. His article, “Immigration-Related State Statutes and Local Ordinances: Preemption, Prejudice, and the Proper Role for Enforcement,” will appear in 2007 University of Chicago Legal Forum 27, an issue on immigration law and policy. With permission, a revised edition, “Immigration-Related State Statutes and Local Ordinances: Preemption, Prejudice, and the Proper Role for Enforcement,” appeared in 12 Bender’s Immigration Bulletin 901 (July 15, 2007).

 

Jordan Paust is a panelist offering U.S. perspectives during a conference at the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on “Taiwan’s Application for UN Membership,” on September 14, in Taipei, Taiwan.

 

Diana Velardo was appointed by the Texas Supreme Court to serve on the Unauthorized Practice of law committee. In addition, Diana, as part of her work as the Chair of the Coalition Against Human Trafficking (CAHT), has also launched a new website www.cahthouston.org. The third week of September was designated as Human Trafficking Awareness Week by the Mayor of Houston. The Immigration Clinic students will be participating in several activities relating to Human Trafficking issues during that week. Diana’s work with the Coalition Against Human Trafficking is made possible by the CVCLS and OVAG grants the Immigration Clinic receives.

Helen Boyce, Editor