Albertus Accolades

November 2016

Editor, Katy Stein Badeaux • Access previous editions of Albertus Accolades here.

Albertus Accolades is a monthly publication documenting the activities, accomplishments, and honors of
the University of Houston Law Center faculty and staff.

Leonard Baynes held “Discussions with the Dean” for full-time and part-time students on October 5, giving them an overview of what is going on at the Law Center. On October 6 Dean Baynes introduced Ricky Raven (’86) at the UHLC Alumni Reception: “Professional Development Series: Path to Partner.” The following day Dean Bayes gave welcoming remarks and attended the 5th Annual State and Local Government Law Works-in-Progress Conference dinner held at the UH Hilton. Dean Baynes gave an overview of Law Center developments at the D.C. Alumni & Friends Reception hosted by Richard Craig Smith (’00) at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. On October 17 Dean Baynes gave a eulogy at the Celebration of Life for the late Professor Emeritus Stephen Zamora. On October 24 he introduced Sondock Jurist-in-Residence speaker Justice Jeffrey V. Brown. The following day, Dean Baynes attended and gave welcoming remarks at a luncheon for Summer Public Interest and Global Fellows. On October 25 Dean Baynes gave an overview of Law Center developments at Mayer Brown LLP in Houston. Dean Baynes attended the Hispanic Law Student Association Wine and Cheese Annual Networking Event at Porter Hedges LLP on October 27. Dean Baynes was a guest of Provost Paula M. Short at an October 31 luncheon hosted by the Greater Houston Partnership featuring Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on “The State Budget and Taxes: Conservative Principles that Keep the Texas Economy Strong.”

Janet Beck served as a judge in the Abrams-Newhouse Mediation Competition at UHLC.

Richard Dole published The Contours of American Trade Secret Law: What Is and What Isn’t Protectable as a Trade Secret, 19 SMU Science & Technology Law Review 89 (2016). 

Janet Heppard worked with Lonestar Legal Aid to coordinate a luncheon presentation on Flood Insurance, FEMA, and fraud prevention for survivors of national disasters in conjunction with October’s designation as both National Preparedness Month AND National Pro Bono Month. The presentation qualified the attendees to volunteer at FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers and to provide needed information to disaster survivors. She also spent one Saturday teaching nature and outdoor activities and STEM activities to Girl Scout leaders who are interested in teaching these types of activities to their Girl Scouts.

Tracy Hester presented his paper on The Law of Direct Air Capture of Greenhouse Gases at the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project meeting in Columbia Law School on October 21. He co-hosted a forum on Energy, Markets and the Environment in conjunction with American University School of Law at the Houstonian on October 25. The highlight of that symposium included a private break-out meeting with UH Law environmental students and William Reilly, the former Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (a fascinating discussion!). Hester then participated in the American College of Environmental Lawyers conference in New Orleans on October 27, where he co-chaired the initial session of ACOEL’s new International Pro Bono and Outreach Committee. On November 4, he took all of the UH Law environmental law classes on a tour of the Valero refinery in southeast Houston for an in-field demonstration of environmental law in action. Last, on November 14 Hester joined the Greater Houston Partnership’s Environmental Advisory Committee meeting for a review of various proposals to protect the Houston coastline from hurricane and tropical storm surge damage (including the Ike Dike).

Geoffrey Hoffman spoke on immigration practice at a panel sponsored by the Hispanic Law Students Association at UHLC, with private and non-profit immigration attorneys. Professor Hoffman was also interviewed by news media concerning sanctuary cities and also regarding the logistics and legality of the post-election deportation plans.

Craig Joyce attended the American Society for Legal History’s Annual Meeting in Toronto, where he reported to the Society’s Board as chair of the Standing Committee on the Annual Meeting and the History of the Society (“HOTS”) Committee. The HOTS Committee is charged with capturing and preserving the history of the history society. The Annual Meetings Committee is charged with continuing the viability of ASLH’s annual meetings tradition of excellence in the face of current higher education financial constraints. The meeting will be held in Houston in 2018. This year’s Craig Joyce Medal was presented to ASLH Treasurer Craig Evan Klafter.

Renee Knake spoke about Legal Ethics and Big Data Analytics at the 49th Annual Transportation Lawyers Association Annual Meeting at the Houstonian on November 4.

Ellen Marrus presented on “Hot Ethical Issues in Juvenile Defense” at the National Juvenile Defender Center Summit held in Atlanta, GA from October 28-30. She also ran a session for future planning for the Southwest Region. During her sabbatical Professor Marrus is visiting at Swansea University where she is helping them develop a street law program and researching information about their juvenile justice system and child's rights education. Professor Marrus also gave a talk at the university about “Gault @50: The State of Juvenile Justice in America” and presented at the joint UH Swansea conference on displaced children on November 18th and 19th. 

Pilar Mensah spoke at the Forum 101 workshop at the Law School Admissions Council Forum in Houston, Texas on October 22. The workshop provides information to prospective students on how to navigate and get the most out of the forum experience. Participants received insider tips on which questions are the most productive and the advantages of attending workshops covering the admissions process, financial aid, and the LSAT. A significant portion of the workshop is dedicated to a Q&A session that allows participants to ask questions regarding the application process and admissions policies. Mensah also spoke on the Diversity Information Panel at the Law School Admissions Council Forum in Los Angeles, California on November 5. The Diversity Information Panel is an opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds to receive general advice about admissions policies and application procedures. Participants gain a better understanding of the specific challenges that students from diverse backgrounds face. 

In his capacity as an Adviser on the ALI project “Principles of the Law:  Compliance, Enforcement, and Risk Management for Corporations, Nonprofits, and Other Organizations,” Professor Douglas Moll attended an Advisers’ meeting in Philadelphia in October. Professor Moll has also been invited to speak at a Texas Bar CLE in Dallas. The program is on the “Essentials of Business Law,” and Professor Moll will be discussing contractual provisions that protect majority owners and minority owners in LLCs. 

John Eekelaar, a distinguished professor of family law from the University of Oxford, decided to organize a book discussing recent developments in family law in the United States and England.  He solicited seven commentators from the United States and seven commentators from England to contribute. Tom Oldham was one of the American commentators invited to contribute. The chapter contributed by Tom was entitled Recent Developments in the Economic Consequences of Divorce in the United States. The book, Family Law in Britain and America in the New Century, was published in October 2016.

D. Theodore Rave attended a symposium at the University of Pennsylvania Law School on “Class Actions and Their Alternatives” on November 11-12. He was invited to speak at the NYU School of Law’s Center on Civil Justice’s conference Rule 23@50, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the modern class action rules, on December 2-3. Professor Rave wrote an op-ed with Andrew Bradt (UC Berkeley) entitled “Judges should have to OK MDL settlements,” which ran in the Daily Journal on November 8 and discussed their forthcoming article, The Information-Forcing Role of the Judge in Multidistrict Litigation. Professor Rave’s article, Fiduciary Voters?, was published in the Duke Law Journal on Election Day.

Jessica L. Roberts presented her paper “Progressive Genetic Ownership” at the Greenwall Faculty Scholars Fall Meeting in Philadelphia on Friday, October 21. On Wednesday November 2, she presented her work for the Football Players Health Study with her co-author Professor Glenn Cohen (Harvard) at the Georgetown Law School’s O’Neill Colloquium. On Friday, November 4, HLPI hosted a symposium on Jessica's forthcoming Cambridge University Press book with Professor Elizabeth Weeks Leonard (Georgia) at the downtown office of Norton Rose Fulbright featuring Professors Brendan Maher (UConn), Jennifer Shinall (Vanderbilt), Jacqueline Fox (South Carolina), and Lindsay Wiley (American) and HHS Office of Civil Rights Regional Manager Marisa Smith for over 50 attendees, including UHLC students and alums. (Special thanks to April Moreno and Elaine Fiala for a successful event!) The papers will appear in the Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review in 2017. Jessica was invited to join the Executive Advisory Committee of the Texas Medical Center's Health Policy Institute. Finally, Nature Biotech accepted her paper “Should you profit from your genome?” co-authored with Amy McGuire and Stacey Pereira (Baylor College of Medicine).

Robert Schuwerk submitted the updates to his co-authored, three-volume Handbook of Texas Lawyer and Judicial Ethics to the publisher in October. His co-author, Lillian B. Hardwick, is a graduate of the Law Center. This is the fifteenth update of this work, which was first published in 2002.

Lauren Simpson has accepted an invitation to present on effective legal writing at the Houston Young Lawyers Association’s Tuesday Lunch CLE series for February 2017. Lauren will also offer practical tips on effectively editing briefs during the Harris County Public Defenders’ appellate seminar on May 12, 2017. And at the November meeting of the North Shepherd Community Alliance, Lauren spoke to local community members about how to create a pollinator paradise at one’s business or home.

Greg Vetter moderated/hosted the 23rd Annual Ronald A. Katz Family Foundation Fall Lecture, put on by the Law Center’s Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law (IPIL) on November 10, 2016, featuring Professor Dan Chow of the Ohio State University College of Law as the lecturer.  

Bret Wells spoke at the University of Florida Graduate Tax Program’s Twelfth International Taxation Symposium held on Friday, October 28. Professor Wells spoke on his article entitled International Tax Reform By Means of Corporate Integration which will be published in a forthcoming edition of the Florida Tax Review. Professor Wells spoke in Dallas on November 3rd and then in Houston on November 4th as part of the 19th Annual International Tax Symposium for the State Bar of Texas. Professor Wells addressed the recently issued final Section 385 regulations and their impact on inbound US tax planning.  

Kellen Zale presented her work-in-progress, Compensating City Council, at the 5th Annual State and Local Government Law Works-in-Progress Conference on October 7, which was hosted by UHLC and organized by Professor Zale. She will also be moderating the State and Local Government Law panel on "Marijuana Law: 2017" at the AALS Annual Meeting in San Francisco. On October 21, she was an invited participant and presenter at the ClassCrits IX conference held at Loyola University Chicago, where she spoke about "Corporate Design in the Sharing Economy."