June 2007 News
Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law Gerry W. Beyer will be the lead-off speaker for the 31st Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course sponsored by the State Bar of Texas in San Antonio on June 6, 2007. Prof. Beyer's presentation is entitled Case Law Update during which he will discuss recent judicial developments relating to the Texas law of intestacy, wills, estate administration, trusts, and other estate planning matters.
Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law Gerry W. Beyer, has recently published his book entitled Wills, Trusts, and Estates: Examples & Explanations (4th ed. 2007)
Assistant Professor of Law Jarod S. Gonzalez became a member of the Executive Council of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Texas at the Section’s annual meeting in San Antonio on June 21, 2007. The meeting was held in conjunction with the State Bar of Texas annual convention. The Section studies and reports on laws, decisions, and governmental regulations affecting employment and labor relations and promotes the fair and just administration of such laws and regulations. The 16-member Executive Council supervises and controls the affairs of the Section.
Professor Jennifer Horn has been appointed to a three year term as a member of the State Bar of Texas standing committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. The committee concerns itself with: mobilizing the legal profession in the fight against child abuse and neglect, educating the public about related legal and social problems, and recommending necessary legislation in connection with child abuse and neglect issues.
Brian Shannon, associate dean for academic affairs of the Texas Tech University School of Law, will serve as the next president-elect of the Lubbock County Bar Association. Shannon will fill a one-year term in the office, becoming association president once the term of the incoming president, Lubbock attorney and Texas Tech Law School alumnus , Les Hatch, expires. “We are pleased that the School of Law has had such a great relationship with our local attorneys and courts,” Shannon said, “and I’m honored to continue that relationship.” The approximately 700-member association is open to Lubbock County members of the Texas Bar; Shannon has been a member since 1988. “This election is not only a personal tribute to Shannon and the esteem in which he is held by his peers, but also another positive indication of the unique, mutually supportive relationship that exists between Texas Tech’s School of Law and the Lubbock Bar,” said School of Law Dean Walt Huffman.
Associate Dean Nancy Soonpaa spoke at the Association of Legal Writing Directors Conference in Denver CO, on June 15. She was invited to speak on a panel discussing “Wearing Many Hats,” to address the challenges and rewards of holding multiple administrative positions simultaneously.As a contributing editor for the ABA’s recently published Sourcebook on Legal Writing Programs, she also led a roundtable discussion on the topic of one of her chapters—making effective pedagogical choices.
Associate Dean Nancy Soonpaa spoke at the Institute for Law School Teaching Conference in Boston, on June 8, 2007. Her presentation was on “Syllabus Construction.”
Associate Dean Brian Shannon will be speaking at the 30th International Congress on Law and Mental Health in Padua Italy, on June 30, 2007. The conference organizers asked him to develop a panel for the conference. That panel will present on the topic, “Diversion of Offenders with Mental Illness - Building Bridges between the Criminal Justice System and the Public Mental Health System.” See http://www.ialmh.org/template.cgi.
Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law Gerry W. Beyer was recently named as one of the directors of the South Plains Trust & Estate Council for 2007-2008. The SPTEC consists of professionals from a variety of fields relating to estate planning and wealth management such as attorneys, CPAs, trust officers, financial planners, and insurance underwriters.
Innocence Clinic director, Jeff Blackburn, quoted in a New York Times article. Students from Texas Tech's Innocence Project Clinic will be conducting an historical review of over 400 DNA cases in Dallas County. In conjunction with students from the Wesleyan Innocence Project at Texas Wesleyan School of Law, students will, over the course of this summer and next year, review cases in which DNA testing was requested, but routinely denied. A New York Times article from Sunday, June 3, 2007 explains how Dallas DA Craig Watkins agreed to let the Innocence Project of Texas (which includes students from Texas Tech, Texas Wesleyan, UNT, UT-Arlington, and St. Thomas) conduct the review. Read the article.
Assistant Dean Amy Jarmon will be a presenter at the LSAC 2007 Academic Assistance Training Workshop, June 20-June 22. Her topic is "Understanding and Using Learning Styles in Academic Support Programs (ASP)".
Associate Dean Nancy Soonpaa, Director of the Legal Practice Program, has been invited to participate in the Conference on the Pedagogy of Legal Writing for Academics in Africa. The conference will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, and will include legal academics from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. The American delegation includes conference organizers, Professors Laurel Oates (co-founder of the Legal Writing Institute) and Mimi Samuel of Seattle University School of Law, as well as program directors and professors from top legal writing programs throughout the United States.
The 20 US and 40 African participants will spend three days discussing topics such as models for teaching legal writing, the product and process approaches to teaching legal writing, and the contribution of clinical education to teaching effective legal writing. Prior to the conference, the participants will also have the opportunity to visit local courts and tour nearby sites such as a women’s cooperative, the Karen Blixen Museum, the Giraffe Centre, and an open-air market.
Jennifer Bard and Marilyn Phelan have been invited to present a paper for the Oxford Round Table to be held August 5-10, 2007, at Oxford University, Oxford, England. The topic of the round table is: Ethics in Government: The Waning of Trust in Government.