Faculty, Students of @ASUCollegeofLaw To Present in Germany at U.N. Climate Change Meeting

The climate is changing, along with the increasing impressiveness of law students.

I recall law school as periods of intense work surrounding by longer stretches of incomprehensible reading, periodic nervous gazing at my checkbook register, and coffee. Much coffee.

So when I heard about another approach, I had to take notice.

This week and next, a group of ASU Law School students will be in Germany, where they will present their own research on climate change as it relates to the law and international agreements.

And while they’re doing this, they will blog.

ASU Professor Daniel Bodansky

Did I mention I was good at drinking coffee?

In any case, the students and their faculty members will be abroad from June 3 to June 14.

Here is how the law school’s own Janie Magruder describes the exploits of these talented people:

“A group of professors and students from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University will present their research on international legal regimes at a global climate change negotiation organized under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on June 3-14, in Bonn, Germany.”

“The law students—Daniel Crane, a May 2013 graduate, 3Ls Evan Singleton and Michael O’Boyle, and Ashley Votruba, a student in the J.D./Ph.D. Social Psychology program—will address participants on June 5. They will be accompanied by Professor Daniel Bodansky, the ASU Lincoln Professor of Law, Ethics, and Sustainability, and Daniel Rothenberg, a Professor of Practice in the ASU School of Politics and Global Studies, and the Lincoln Fellow for Ethics and International Human Rights Law.”

ASU Professor Daniel Rothenberg

“The students’ work resulted from an independent research project this past spring, taught and supervised by Bodansky and Rothenberg, housed in the College of Law’s Center for Law and Global Affairs, and funded by the ASU Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics. They were chosen from 20 applicants for ‘The Future of Climate Change Negotiations Project,’ during which they learned about the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and other elements of the larger effort to use international law and regulations to address global climate change.”

Both of those professors are amazing scholars, so I’m sure the students are getting the learning experience of a lifetime.

Read more about the trip here.

And as I said, they’ll be posting on a blog throughout their time in Germany. Why don’t you bookmark their page to keep tabs on them. Who knows; they may even allow comments and questions (giving us all a pen pal abroad!).

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Book-Signing, Reception With CNN’s @JeffreyToobin at @ASUCollegeofLaw

Jeffrey Toobin at John Jay College

Here is some pretty cool news from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU: Jeffrey Toobin will be in Tempe on Thursday for a book signing and reception.

His new book is titled The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure to meet Toobin and hear him address a gathering at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. He is an impressive thinker, and I always jump to his article when I spy one in a new New Yorker.

Here is more information from the law school:

CNN senior analyst Jeffrey Toobin, one of the nation’s top experts on politics, media and the law, will sign copies of his newest book at an event, hosted by the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, on Thursday, May 9, in Tempe. Toobin’s appearance is the 2013 Willard H. Pedrick Society Event, named for the founding dean of the College of Law.

The book-signing is at 4:30 p.m., followed by a reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Abbey Room at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, 60 E. Fifth St.  Earlier in the afternoon, Toobin will deliver the keynote address at the College of Law’s convocation at Gammage Auditorium on ASU’s Tempe campus.

Toobin’s book, The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court, is a sequel to his best-seller, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. The Oath is a gripping insider’s account of the momentous ideological war between the John Roberts Supreme Court and the Obama administration.

Toobin, a staff writer for The New Yorker, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, and is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Ticket prices for the event, which include a copy of The Oath, are $50 for general audiences, $30 for Pedrick Society members and $20 for students. To obtain tickets, visit here.

For more information, email law.development@asu.edu or call (480) 965-3096. (And click image below for larger version of flier.)

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Paul Schiff Berman Exits Dean Position at @gwlaw

Paul Schiff Berman

Let me keep today’s post pretty short and a little less than sweet.

Something odd happened back east to a law school dean. And that former dean has ties to the Grand Canyon State.

Anyone up on updates regarding the ASU Law School probably learned this weeks ago, but for everyone else, it may be news that Paul Schiff Berman has exited the deanship at the George Washington University Law School.

Berman, you may recall, helmed the ASU Law School for a time (you can read our interview with him here). But he headed east to lead GWU Law, which was announced in April 2011. That, however, didn’t last long. By summer 2012, discontent was evident. By January 2013, he had left the law school, and the university named him vice provost for online education and academic innovation.

More than ever before, law deans have proven to be a transitory bunch. But even in a world in which deanships are rarely calculated in decades, Berman’s exit is noteworthy for its speediness. And according to the university newspaper, his departure was welcomed by a majority of law school professors. The story, titled “Law faculty plotted to oust dean,” opens:

“Faculty say they launched a near coup to remove the former dean of the GW Law School, who unexpectedly announced last fall he would resign after holding the position for just 18 months.”

“Paul Schiff Berman stepped down in January and moved to a new vice provost position after professors drafted a petition to reject his leadership, citing staff tensions and poor decision-making about how to restore a reeling legal education system, The Hatchet has learned.”

Yes, the independent student newspaper is called “The Hatchet.” Draw your own conclusions.

If you want another take on the dean’s departure, be sure to read Above the Law.

A hat tip to Arizona lawyer (and ASU Law alum) Ruth Carter for sharing the news. If there is a followup or more of a response from Professor Berman, we’ll share it.

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Roe v. Wade Speaker Panel at @ASUCollegeofLaw

Larry Hammond

I should have shared this before, but at noon today, the ASU Law School is the site for what looks to be a compelling speaker panel.

“Then, Then & Now: Reproductive Rights Before and After Roe and In Our Future” is the second installment of a three-part speaker series. Organizers say the discussion “will focus on the social and legal impact of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, in honor of its 40th anniversary.”

(I wrote about the panel last year.)

Among those who will speak is attorney Larry Hammond, law clerk to Justice Lewis Powell at the time Roe was decided.

Where: The Great Hall at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU.

When: Noon – 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 5

Food: Yes! Lunch will be catered by Carolina’s Mexican Food.

The event is open to the public and no RSVP is necessary.

More detail is here.

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Symposium at @ASUCollegeofLaw To Address Criminal Justice Challenges

Today, some news from a noteworthy journal at the ASU College of Law:

“On March 1, join the Law Journal for Social Justice for a daylong symposium featuring attorneys, judges, community advocates, and legal scholars as we examine how to transform an inherently unfair criminal justice system into one that values fairness and efficiency.”

“Featured speaker Paul Charlton, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, leads off the day with a discussion about ethics and sentencing reform. Other panel topics include vulnerable populations in the criminal justice system, the mental health crisis within the criminal justice system and ways to reform the system in a more fair and efficient way.”

More information on speakers, the agenda and a link to register are here.

And be sure to follow the journal on Facebook here.

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.@UCILaw Dean Erwin Chemerinsky To Deliver @ASUCollegeofLaw Lecture

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky

At noon today, the annual Willard Pedrick Lecture will be delivered at the ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

The speaker will be Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the UC–Irvine School of Law. His topic will be “Rethinking Privacy and the Fourth Amendment.” It’s likely too late for you to reserve one of the free seats, but it may be worth a shot to drop by anyway (many of the seats reserved for students are still not taken).

I had the chance to interview Dean Chemerinsky early in 2012 for a Q&A in Arizona Attorney. I’m confident his lecture will be worth hearing.

That’s why I’m disappointed to note that I’ll be unable to attend today’s lecture. But I’d love to hear from someone who was there. If you do attend and are interested in guest-writing a blog post about his remarks, please write to me at arizona.attorney@azbar.org.

Here is some background about the dean, as provided by ASU Law School:

“Chemerinsky is one of the nation’s top experts in constitutional law, federal practice, civil liberties, and appellate litigation. He is the author of seven books, the latest being The Conservative Assault on the Constitution. Chemerinsky’s casebook, Constitutional Law, is one of the most widely read law textbooks in the country. He has also written nearly 200 law review articles in journals, such as the Harvard Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Northwestern Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Stanford Law Review and Yale Law Journal.”

“Chemerinsky frequently argues appellate cases, including matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals, and regularly serves as a commentator on legal issues for national and local media. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.S. from Northwestern University.”

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Foreclosure Mediation Unit of @ASUCollegeofLaw Earns Award

Arizona State University was recently recognized internationally for its work in alternative dispute resolution. Specifically, its Foreclosure Mediation Unit was honored.

The recognition came from a “New York City-based nonprofit think tank and alliance of global corporations, law firms, scholars and public institutions dedicated to the principles of commercial conflict prevention and alternative dispute resolution.”

As Tom Orewyler at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU describes it:

“The Foreclosure Mediation Unit at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University has received the 2012 Outstanding Practical Achievement award from the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution for its innovative work in the field of alternative dispute resolution.”

“Established in 2011, the Unit was created by the College of Law’s Lodestar Dispute Resolution Program to provide impartial mediation services between lenders and residential borrowers facing foreclosure. Law students in the program learn commercial mediation skills and work with Unit staff to prepare for and conduct mediations. The Unit currently is administering a program to assist the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona in the management of bankruptcy cases that involve disputes concerning residential mortgages and foreclosures.”

“‘We are grateful to the Institute for recognizing our unique work in creating dispute resolution avenues for lenders and for borrowers facing foreclosure,’ Dean Douglas Sylvester said. ‘This prestigious award is a testament to the innovation of our Foreclosure Mediation Unit specifically, and our clinical programs, generally. This honor would not have been possible without the tireless effort and student-focused leadership that our world-class faculty regularly exhibit.’”

Congratulations to those who have worked very hard to make the Unit an agent for change in a tough economy. You can read the complete story, including remarks by Tim Burr, the Unit’s director, here.

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Law Degree From @ASUCollegeofLaw Could Open Door to Canadian Practice

O Canada. Are you the next big legal market for American lawyers?

I had to wonder as I read this article regarding the upswing in mergers among U.S. law firms and law firms abroad. As Ashley Post writes:

“Experts are seeing a trend in which more law firms are pursuing cross-border mergers to create megafirms comprising thousands of lawyers. The Wall Street Journal reports that in the past couple months, there have been three deals that will create huge firms with up to 3,800 lawyers.”

She goes on to explain that 2012’s biggest legal merger in the world—in the world!—was one that was just announced in November and will result in a 3,800-lawyer firm. Although that merger involved a Houston-based firm and a U.K. firm, the lure of a welcoming Canadian market may be a strong one for American lawyers.

That’s why the December announcement from ASU Law School caught my attention: The school is creating a “North American Law Degree” to prepare graduates to practice in both the United States and Canada. The school continues:

“The J.D. at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law will now prepare students from the U.S. and Canada to seek bar admission in both countries, expanding the job market for new attorneys and creating new opportunities for international law practice.”

Dean Douglas Sylvester

“The North American Law Degree will allow students to graduate, within three years, with a J.D. designed to allow them to immediately seek licensure in Canada without further coursework, in addition to qualifying them for bar admission in the U.S., making the College of Law’s J.D. program unique among U.S. law schools. Dean Douglas Sylvester, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada and a graduate of both Canadian and U.S. schools of higher education, believes the degree will be an invaluable opportunity for future attorneys.”

The initiative was spearheaded by Dean Doug Sylvester, who is Candian-American.

You can read the whole announcement here.

And here is some background on a few of the trends affecting law firms in Canada (as of 2011).

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Event at @ASUCollegeofLaw Hosted by @citizenshipcnts To Feature Two Remarkable Women

This coming Saturday, Dec. 1, we have the opportunity to hear from two remarkable women on a variety of topics. Billed as an “inspiring conversation,” Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Gerda Weissmann Klein will sit down for a moderated discussion. The event is sponsored by Citizenship Counts. (I wrote about Gerda and Citizenship Counts here.)

As the organization says, “Both of these amazing women will share personal anecdotes and stories from their lives, as well as speak about the importance of education and giving back to the community.”

Former ASU President Lattie Coor will moderate the event, which will be held at the Sandra Day O’Connor ASU College of Law, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. It will be in Armstrong Hall.

Reserve your spot by clicking here.

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Lonnie Williams Delivers Morris Lecture at @ASUCollegeofLaw

Last week, attorney Lonnie Williams, Jr., delivered ASU Law’s John P. Morris Memorial Lecture. His title: “What is your personal responsibility in addressing the challenges of diversity in our multicultural society?”

That’s an excellent question, and I was sorry I was unable to attend. Fortunately, there’s a news story that describes his lecture.

Lonnie Williams Jr., Arizona Attorney, Oct. 2001

Among the life lessons Williams imparted:

“If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can’t be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley.”

Back in 2001, we featured Williams in the pages of Arizona Attorney, where he was similarly eloquent. You can read the article here.

Congratulations to Lonnie, and to the law school for its excellent selection of honoree.

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