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UH LAW CENTER CELEBRATES IP LAW SCHOLARS EXCHANGE

DEAN BAYNES’ FIVE YEARS IDEAS DURING NATIONAL

OF SERVICE WITH PORTRAIT WORKSHOP AT UH LAW CENTER

UNVEILING More than 70 intellectual property law professors from across the
world shared their latest scholarship at the 2019 Works-in-Progress
University of Houston Law Center alumni, faculty, staff, friends and Intellectual Property Colloquium (WIPIP), hosted by the University of
families filled the Albertus and Hendricks Heritage rooms in December Houston Law Center’s Institute for Intellectual Property & Information
for the annual Holiday Coffee event. Law in March.
The celebration marked the five-year anniversary of Leonard M. Baynes’ Presentations included a variety of topics including patents, trademarks,
deanship, and his dean’s portrait, painted by artist Jon R. Friedman, was copyright and more. The two-day event offered an opportunity for
formally presented. intellectual property law scholars to present their works-in-progress
“It has been a great pleasure to serve the Law Center for five years,” and receive early and in-person feedback from their colleagues.
Baynes said. “This portrait is important for many reasons. I am the first The event was organized by Law Center IPIL faculty members Dave
person of visible African-American descent to be put on the wall. It’s Fagundes, Paul Janicke, Craig Joyce, Sapna Kumar, Andrew Michaels
already a diverse wall, with a woman and a person of Hispanic heritage. and Associate Dean Greg R. Vetter. Hosted at a different law school each
Now it is even more diverse. It is important for faculty, staff, students, year, 2019 is the second time the Law Center has hosted WIPIP.
“We are grateful to have hosted WIPIP in 2019 and in 2012,” Vetter said.
“We love to show the community of IP scholars the wonderful aspects of
Houston and our Texas hospitality while promoting the advancement of
thinking about IP.”

RACISM HARMS HEALTH, UVA

SCHOOL OF LAW EXPERT SAYS AT

UH LAW CENTER TALK

A University of Virginia School of Law professor drew a direct parallel
between racial injustice and chronic health issues during a lecture in
April at the University of Houston Law Center.
Professor Dayna Bowen Matthew spoke on the topic “Preventive
Lawyering: Empirical Evidence That Medical Legal Partnerships
University of Houston Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes Improve Lives,” as part of the Health Law & Policy Institute’s 2018-19
commemorated his five years with the school as his official Speaker Series.
portrait was displayed for the first time.
“One of the things that we care most about is the intersection between
and alumni to look up to this wall and see themselves represented. They health and justice, between health and human rights,” Matthew said.
will know that they too can do anything!” “Martin Luther King was famously quoted for saying, ‘Of all the forms of
inequality, health inequality is among the most inhumane.’”
Jarvis Hollingsworth ’93, a former Chair of the University of Houston
System Board of Regents, and general counsel at Kayne Anderson Matthew elaborated that the reason why health is integral to justice and
Capital Advisors, presented Baynes’ portrait. human rights is because it enables people to participate as a member of
society.
“While I was Chair of the Board, I remember spending a few hours with
Dean Baynes when he was interviewing, and I knew he was the right “People who are victims of racial discrimination, or perceive that they
person to lead the Law Center,” said Hollingsworth. He noted that under are, have a different allostatic load,” she said of health effects caused by
Baynes administration, the median LSAT and GPA of the Law Center’s chronic stress. “Their immune system is compromised,” she said.
entering class have been higher that it has ever been while also being its Matthew proposed that although health outcomes may rely significantly
most diverse. on race, they depend on five social determinants as well: housing, food,
The 2019 Holiday Coffee was generously underwritten by Richard Craig school, criminal justice and environment.
Smith LL.M. ’00, a partner at Quinn Emanuel & Sullivan, LLP. “Social determinants of health actually matter much more than, let’s say,
clinical, even biological influences on health outcomes,” she said.

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