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

June 2010

Editor, Dan Baker djbaker2@central.uh.edu

Previous editions of Faculty Focus can be accessed here.

Erma Bonadero was a cast member of the Houston Bar Association’s “Night Court 2010: Legal Holidays” -- an original production written and performed by lawyers, with an orchestra and crew full of lawyers. This year’s show ran June 9-12 at the Wortham Center. Proceeds benefit local charities, including the charitable works of the Houston Bar Foundation.

Aaron Bruhl attended the American Association of Law Schools Mid-Year Meeting in New York City. His 2008 NYU Law Review article on the Federal Arbitration Act has recently been cited in seven amicus briefs in two pending Supreme Court cases, including briefs filed by both business interests and consumer groups.

Marcilynn A. Burke's article, “The Emperor’s New Clothes: Exposing the Failures of Regulating Land Use Through the Ballot Box”, which was originally published at 84 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1453 (2009), has been selected for reprinting/publication in Volume 41 of the Land Use & Environmental Law Review. "Each year, the country's top professors and practitioners select the best of hundreds of articles appearing in the past year's law review literature. The resulting anthology represents the most insightful thinking on a wide range of current and emerging land use and development issues." Prof. Burke's article was chosen as one of the top four land use articles for 2009.

Seth Chandler's article, “The Architecture of Contemporary Healthcare Reform and Effective Marginal Tax Rates”, has been submitted for publication in Volume 29 of the Mississippi College Law Review; it follows his talk there in February 2010 at the school's symposium on Diagnosing American Health Care:  Economic Stakeholders and Bioethical Considerations. His work, “Long Term Care: The Next Healthcare Frontier”, has been published at 19 Annals Health L. 19 (2010). Professor Chandler will be chairing the American Bar Association's Site Team Visit at the University of Nebraska in March 2011. He has been named a keynote speaker for the 10th International Mathematica Symposium in Beijing, China this July. The Little League team he has been assistant-coaching this spring, The Naturals, completed their season undefeated and won the AA league championship tournament.

Adam Gershowitz presented his paper, “12 Unnecessary Men: The Case for Eliminating Jury Trials in DWI Cases”, at the Law and Society Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago on May 29th.

Julie A. Hill presented her paper “Divide and Conquer: SEC Discipline of Litigation Attorneys” at the American Bar Association’s National Conference on Professional Responsibility in Seattle.

Geoffrey Hoffman gave a talk along with Diana Velardo at the Ninth Annual Center for Children Law and Policy Advocacy Conference held at the UHLC on May 20, 2010. Prof. Hoffman discussed appellate immigration litigation as well as other issues involving immigration law and children.

Craig Joyce organized and moderated the Institute for Intellectual Property & Information Law’s 2010 National Conference in Santa Fe, NM. This year’s conference celebrated the 300th anniversary of the first-ever copyright statute, England’s 1710 Statute of Anne. Attendees included both distinguished U.S. copyright scholars and the two foremost legal historians of the subject from the U.K.

Ellen Marrus presented the keynote address on ethics at the ninth Zealous Advocacy=Best Interests conference for attorneys representing juveniles in the southwest region. She also presented the Believer Award to Bryan Stevenson for his work on behalf of children; Prof. Stevenson had represented one of the defendants in the recent juvenile life without parole case that the Supreme Court recently decided. Prof. Marrus also presented “Anatomy of a Juvenile Confession” at the Arizona Public Defender Association annual conference. The meeting is attended by over 1500 public defenders and is held in Tempe, Arizona. She also attended a meeting of the National Juvenile Defender Center to participate in the short and long term strategic planning for the organization.

Jordan Paust’s draft article on “Self-Defense Targetings of Non-State Actors and Permissibility of U.S. Use of Drones in Pakistan” has had over 500 downloads from the SSRN website before it has been set for publication.

Diana Velardo was presented with a Proclamation from the Mayor’s office recognizing the commitment and work of the Immigration Clinic for victims of crimes. Prof. Velardo was also a co-speaker and a presenter at the Zealous Advocacy 2009 Conference: At the Crossroads of Delinquency and Dependency, hosted by the Center for Children Law and Policy and Southwest Regional Juvenile Defender Center. She co-presented on “Immigration and Appellate Work”, and was the Presenter on a session on “Immigration and Juvenile Specific Issues”. She was a Presenter at the Annual Catholic Charities VAWA Training, presenting on “VAWA Self-Petitions and How to Make Your Case”. Furthermore, she was the Speaker at a training for pro bono attorneys at Lone Star Legal Aid of Galveston titled “Immigration Law Basics: Navigating Public Benefits for Your Immigrant Clients and Addressing Complications in Custody Cases”. Finally, she was the Speaker at Lemm Elementary with a presentation tailored for children, “The Benefits of Becoming an Attorney and the Rewards of Being a Pro Bono Attorney”.

Jacqueline Weaver taught a 2-credit hour course in the Catolica University LLM program in International Business Law, in Lisbon Portugal. She also presented a public lecture on the “Future of the Petroleum Industry under Global Warming” at the Electricity Museum in Lisbon. The 3rd edition of International Petroleum Transactions, with chapter contributions by Prof. Weaver, is now in print.

Stephen Zamora lectured for two days on June 3 and 4 in the annual Academy of American and International Law that is sponsored by the Center for American and International Law in Dallas/Plano. The six-week Academy brings foreign lawyers to Texas for 6 weeks of courses on U.S. and international law taught by experts from throughout the United States. This year’s Academy participants included 65 lawyers from 24 different countries around the world. My lectures are on International Civil Litigation in U.S. Courts – essentially, a mini-course in U.S. Conflicts of Law. This was the 47th annual Academy, and the 21st consecutive year that I have been asked to lecture to the foreign lawyers in the Academy.