Faculty Focus is a monthly publication documenting the activities, accomplishments, and honors of the University of Houston Law Center faculty. This publication is a service of the Faculty Services Department, O'Quinn Law Library, University of Houston Law Center.
Richard Alderman published the sixth edition to "Know Your Rights!" the most popular law source for the layperson in the state. He also published the Fall 1999 Supplement for the second edition of "The Lawyer's Guide to the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act." He was reelected Chair of the University Athletic Advisory Committee. He presented talks to the Montgomery County Texas Area Shell Pensioner's Club; gave the keynote speech to the 15th Annual Sadie Levitch Memorial Education Workshop; spoke on "Legal Pitfalls for Small Businesses" for the Galveston County Small Business Development Center; gave a presentation to the IBC "Senior Suite" on "Knowing your Legal Rights;" gave a luncheon speech to the National Management Association and served as celebrity auctioneer at the Foundation for Interfaith Research and Ministry "Sweet Charity" Gala.
Rod Borlase’s Legal Research Guides have been selected by the 8th annual National Legal Research Teach-In, sponsored by the American Association of Law Libraries’ Research Instruction & Patron Services’ Special Interest Section, to be used as National Teach-In Instruction Materials.:
He has published two new articles on his “guides” web page:
and a new guide titled: West's Index to Federal Case Law (http://www.law.uh.edu/guides/fed_digs.html)
John Jay Douglass was the moderator for a program on ethics for government and public sector lawyers at the mid-winter meeting of the ABA in Dallas.
David Dow’s letter, “Missing: A Death Penalty Debate,” appeared in the New York Times on February 23rd. His essay “The Real Scandal on Death Row is Inept Lawyers” appeared in the Houston Chronicle on February 24th.
Peter Linzer attended a meeting of the American Law Institute's Members Consultative Group dealing with the proposed revisions of UCC Articles 1, 2 and 2A in Washington, D.C. on March 11. He has been asked to speak on the choice of law provisions of proposed revised UCC 1-301 in New York City on July 9. Later in July he will speak in Ireland at a conference on international labor problems to be held at Trinity College, Dublin. He has also been asked to contribute to a symposium issue of the Saint Louis Law Review on teaching Contracts and has been asked to review three books on contract theory and the theory of obligations for the on-line law review Jurist. Since he is trying to finish his book, The Color of the Constitution, he expects to have a busy spring.
Thomas Oldham will speak about marriage policy at a conference to be held March 9-11 at Brigham Young University.
Michael Olivas delivered a lecture on “Institutional Assessment and Strategic Change” at the University of Virginia. He responded to a Pulitzer Prize winning editor of US News and World Report, David Marcus, in a panel at the University of Houston Department of Communications at his speech on campus, February 21st. He published a book review in The Bilingual Review, a review essay in The Journal of Higher Education, and a book review (on The Shape of the River, by William Bower and Derek Bols) in The Review of Higher Education. The Journal of Legal Education will publish his piece on financing legal education in the next issue. He is serving on an expert witness in a Texas case alleging consumer fraud and violation of federal financial aid regulations by a proprietary college.
Jordan Paust's essay, “The Reach of ICC Jurisdiction Over Non-Signatory Nationals” was published in 33 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 1 (2000) and his essay, “Human Rights Purposes of the Violence Against Women Act and International Law's Enhancement of Congressional Power” was published in 22 Houston Journal of International Law (2000). He also participated in the revision by the Human Rights Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association Draft Convention on Rights of Persons With Disabilities. He also participated in an Affidavit of experts in the Doe v. UNOCAL case in California on freedom from forced relocation under human rights law; and he provided editorial suggestions regarding a brief by EarthRights International, lead counsel in the Bhopal case in New York.
Jon Schultz’s book NAFTA 2000 he co-authored with Bill Manz of St. John's University was released by publisher William S. Hein Co. It supplements the multi-volume Schultz & Reams NAFTA legislative history.
Ira Shepard spoke in December on “Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation” at both the Tennessee Tax Institute in Nashville and the William & Mary Tax conference in Williamsburg. He spoke on “Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation” at the mid-winter meeting of the American Bar Association Tax Section on January 22nd in San Diego. He spoke on “Ethics in Estate Planning” as part of a program put on by the Houston Bar Association Section of Probate, Trusts and Estates on February 4th in Houston. He also spoke on “Recent Developments in Oil and Gas Taxation” at the 51st Annual Institute on Oil and Gas Law and Taxation of the Southwestern Legal Foundation in Dallas on February 18th.
Jeremy Wicker’s
three-volume treatise, Texas Practice: Civil Trial and Appellate Procedure
was just released December 1999 by Lexis Law Publishing. The books provide in-depth
coverage and analysis of all stages and aspects of civil trial and appellate
procedure in the Texas courts. The books contain 24 chapters that include over
1,100 pages of text and over 7,000 footnotes.