Faculty Focus

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

August, 2006

Darren Bush’s article, Real Estate Antitrust: The Ability of the FTC to Obtain Data on Competition in Real Estate Markets, is now published at 35 Real Est. L. J. 33.  The article was part of an American Antitrust Institute (AAI) symposium on competition in real estate markets.  The AAI also filed a motion to intervene before Judge Sullivan in regards to the Department of Justice’s proposed consent decrees in the SBC/AT&T and Verizon/MCI telecommunication mergers.  In part, AAI offered to have Professor Bush testify as an expert on the Tunney Act.  The motion, mentioned in the National Journal, the Telecom Policy Report, and Legal Times, is available at http://www.antitrustinstitute.org/recent2/520.pdf.  AAI’s reply brief is at http://www.antitrustinstitute.org/recent2/521.pdf.  Professor Bush, along with Professors John Flynn (Utah) and Harry First (NYU) also submitted to Foundation Press the 2007-2008 edition of Antitrust: Statutes, Treaties, Regulations, Guidelines and Policies.  The authors of this statutory supplement express their undying gratitude to Suzanne Clevenger for carefully and meticulously plodding through the text, updating relevant statutes, guidelines, and policies, and for formatting the tome for publication.

 

Lonny Hoffman completed work on two forthcoming papers in May.  They are: The ‘Commencement’ Problem: Lessons from a Statute’s First Year (UC Davis L. Rev., forthcoming 2006).  A draft of the paper is available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=881779; and   Intersections of State and Federal Power: State Judges, Federal Law and the “Reliance Principle” (Tulane Law Review, forthcoming 2006).  A draft of this paper is available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=886725.  Also in May, Professor Hoffman spoke on “Current Developments in Class Actions, Federal Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Supplemental Jurisdiction, Removal, Personal Jurisdiction, and Venue” at the American Law Institute-American Bar Association, Civil Practice and Litigation Techniques in Federal and State Courts in Charleston, South Carolina.  In June, Professor presented “The Allocation of Jurisdiction in the American Federal System” at the American Law Institute-American Bar Association Program on the American Judicial System in Beijing and Shanghai, China. 


In June, Professor Hoffman completed work on two other papers: Access to Information, Access to Justice: The Role of Pursuit Investigatory Discovery (Univ. of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, forthcoming 2006), draft available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=885820; and The Allocation of Jurisdiction in the American Federal Judicial System and Treatment of Interjurisdictional Conflicts  in Developing American Law and Its Impact on China (ALI-ABA 2006).  The paper was prepared for American Law Institute/American Bar Association conference at Renmin University, Beijing, China, and is available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=901473. 

His current works in progress include: In Retrospect: A First Year Review of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (Loyola Los Angeles Law Review (solicited for symposium on CAFA, forthcoming 2006), and The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act: The Legislative Bid to Regulate Lawyer Conduct (The Review of Litigation, solicited for symposium, “The Future of Litigation,” forthcoming 2006).

Professor Hoffman traveled in July to Pan American University in McAllen, Texas, to the University of Texas San Antonio and the University of Texas at El Paso and spoke to students enrolled in summer pre-law programs at each of these institutions. Professor Hoffman was appointed to Supreme Court’s Task Force on Jury Assembly & Administration and named as Reporter for the task force.  The task force is charged with reviewing procedures and recommending modifications for all laws and rules relating to jury administration issues statewide.

 

Jacqueline Weaver taught a new course, “Natural Gas: Domestic and International Legal Frameworks” at the Vermont Law School’s Energy Summer Program in South Royalton, Vermont  from July 24th- August 5th.

 

 

Harriet Richman, Editor