News & Events

 

05/20/2013

L.L.M. Alumna's Scholarship on Same-Sex Marriage Recently Published

Angelique Devaux, LL.M. ’13, a recent IU McKinney graduate and an attorney in France, saw her recent scholarship on same-sex marriage published on ICONnect, the blog of the International Journal of Constitutional Law, as well as Jurist, a blog supported by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

In the ICONnect piece, Devaux examines the comparative constitutional aspect regarding the case Windsor v. United States, which is currently pending in the United States Supreme Court.

In the piece for Jurist, Devaux looks at same-sex marriage in her native France and the conflict of laws.

05/16/2013

Professor Terry to Take Part in Health Privacy Summit

Professor Nicolas Terry will be among the panelists at the third International Summit on the Future of Health Privacy, June 5 and 6 at Georgetown Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Titled “The Value of Health Data vs. Privacy – How Can the Conflict Be Resolved?” the summit aims to offer high-level, thoughtful discussions about the most urgent national and international privacy issues and solutions concerning the challenges of ensuring personal control over health information.

Professor Terry is the Hall Render Professor of Law and co-director of the William S. and Christine S. Hall Center for Law and Health. Professor Terry’s research interests lie primarily at the intersection of medicine, law and information technology. He is a permanent blogger at the HealthLawProf Blog and at Harvard Law School’s Bill of Health.

05/16/2013

Professor Waterhouse Featured in 50 Under 50 List of Influential Minority Law Professors

Professor Carlton Waterhouse has been named to the 2013 50 Under 50 list of the most influential minority law professors in the nation by the online magazine Lawyers of Color and its inaugural diversity issue.

The magazine cites Professor Waterhouse’s “nationally recognized” work on environmental justice and notes that he is “internationally known for his research and writing on reparations for historic injustices and state human rights violations.”

Professor Waterhouse joined the faculty in Fall 2010. He received his J.D. with honors from Howard University School of Law in 1991, an M.T.S. with honors from Emory University Candler School of Theology, and a Ph.D. with honors from Emory University in 2006.

05/15/2013

IU McKinney Alumna to be First From Law School to Join Top-Ranked IP Firm

Spardha Saroha, ’13, has landed a job with the top-ranked intellectual property firm in the nation, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear, LLP, based in Orange County, California.

“It feels amazing,” to have secured a job as an associate with such a prestigious firm, Saroha said.

She interviewed for the job in Fall 2012. The firm flew her to its California headquarters for an interview, and about 10 days later, Saroha was offered an associate’s position with the firm. She begins her new job in September.

“It will be a lot of learning, initially,” Saroha said she was told of her new duties. She also expects to be writing patents and doing discovery for litigation, in addition to some trademark and copyright cases. She wants to do patent litigation and patent prosecution eventually.

Saroha is originally from New Delhi, and was unsure what course of study she wanted to pursue. She knew she was good at analysis, and proceeded to earn a degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University. She stayed on at Purdue to earn a master’s degree in electrical engineering before turning to the private sector.

She worked as an SAS Analyst at Sony in New Jersey and then moved into the banking industry. Saroha worked as an SAS Analyst for People’s United Bank in Connecticut and as a Senior Analyst for Sovereign Bank in Massachusetts.

Saroha got married while she was working in Massachusetts, and she moved to Charlottesville, to join her husband, Kumar Gaurav, where he was pursuing a Fellowship as a Nephrologist at the University of Virginia.

“Then one fine day he asked me if I wanted to go to law school,” she said, smiling. “I had never told him that I wanted to go, that it was my dream.”

IU McKinney was her first choice for law school. She applied for early decision and was accepted before the winter break. “I thought it was a good place to be because of the location,” she said. The law school’s proximity to downtown enabled her to take on a variety of legal experiences. The full-time faculty and working professionals who teach as adjunct professors as part of the law school’s Center for Intellectual Property and Innovation also were a draw.

Saroha spent the summer after her first year of law school working as an intern for Judge Rudolph Pyle III, when he was on the bench in Madison Circuit Court. She then worked as an intern during the Fall 2011 semester for Judge Michael Rader of the Vigo Superior Court. During the Summer of 2012, Saroha was an associate with Krieg DeVault in the IP department.

She also took advantage of the several opportunities available to McKinney law students through the school. Saroha was Associate Justice of Problem Creation for the National Professional Responsibility Moot Court, and was Executive Articles Development Editor for the Indiana International & Comparative Law Review.

05/15/2013

McKinney Law Student to Golf Across Country

IU McKinney Law’s Luke Bielawski, a December 2013 J.D. candidate, is going to golf his way across the United States this summer. He has set his sights on helping others in a very unique way through his “From Tee to Shining Tee” program.

The 24-year-old Fishers resident has a goal to raise $100,000 to fund 12 scholarships to Providence Cristo Rey High School. The private college prep school caters to students from families of limited means. It combines rigorous academic instruction with a corporate work study program. Students go to school four days a week and work in a professional setting one day a week.

It is Bielawski’s way of giving back; he says he is grateful for the education he received at Cathedral High School, and he wants to help at-risk youth to have the same benefits.

“They do a great job,” at Providence Cristo Rey, Bielawski said, noting that he learned about the high school when he attended Cathedral. “It’s the kind of opportunity everyone ought to have.”

To make that kind of opportunity available to more students, Bielawski will spend this summer striking a golf ball the entirety of the United States , from just south of Ventura, California to Charleston, South Carolina.

Bielawski has conducted a Feasibility Study carried out over long distances and through wooded areas, meadows, fields, tilled acreage, swampy areas, and deserts. The study was tested during periods of tremendous heat, constant rain, and high winds. Further, it was tested by hitting along small country gravel and paved roads, over bridges, railroad tracks, rivers, and highways. Despite all of these challenges, all test conditions were proven to be successful.

His estimated 48,000 swing journey teed off on May 7 in California. Each mile will take approximately 19 minutes to traverse. By extrapolating the Feasibility Study results, the journey is expected to take over 1,000 hours. Enduring 10 hour days, 7 days a week, the journey will take approximately 100 days to complete.

His trek is sponsored by a variety of organizations, companies, and individual donors. Learn more about Bielawski’s efforts online or follow his adventure on Twitter @getonthegreen.

05/15/2013

Law School Celebrates 2013 Graduates

A total of 291 students joined the ranks of alumni of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law on May 11 during commencement ceremonies. In all, there were three doctor of juridical science, 23 master of laws, and 265 doctor of jurisprudence degrees conferred.

It was a day for students to not only hear inspiring words from university leaders, but also to learn one more time from some of their own.

Flavia Martinelli de Medeiros of the LL.M. division encouraged students to be grateful to their supporters, both in the ceremony’s audience as well as those who couldn’t be there, and to “use your influence to make your community a better place.”

Beau Badeaux spoke on behalf of the full-time J.D. division. He summed up the law school experience this way: “Where else do you get dropped into a room full of the smartest people you’ve ever met and get to tell them they’re wrong on a daily basis.” He also spoke affectionately of the camaraderie among his fellow students, saying that instead of intense competition, there was genuine concern to help one another succeed.

The evening program was represented by Matt Olsen, who noted that his class ranged in age from early 20s to age 60 and then some, and that there were physicians, members of the armed forces, entrepreneurs, and scientists among his class mates. “People not only value the evening program students,” he said, “but they make up the leadership of the state of Indiana.”

The commencement address was presented by Mario Joseph, who has led the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, since 1996. BAI filed claims with the United Nations in November 2011 on behalf of 5,000 victims of the cholera brought to Haiti by UN peacekeepers. Joseph and his team at BAI also represented rape victims in seven successful trials in 2012, which demonstrated that the justice system can be compelled to respond fairly and competently to rapes against poor women.

During his commencement address, Joseph talked about lawyers' critical role as rights enforcers for the most vulnerable in society, and encouraged graduates to advocate for rights enforcement no matter where their careers take them.

"As you continue along these different career paths, I would ask you to keep in mind the most vulnerable, in Indianapolis, in Haiti, and elsewhere, and to keep in mind the ways that you can serve as a highly-qualified and sorely-needed Rights Enforcer," Joseph said. That kind of advocacy can take the form of voter, donor, consumer, community leader, or member of a church or civic organization.

05/14/2013

Human Rights Lawyer Delivers Commencement Address for IU McKinney Graduates

Mario Joseph, who has led the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, since 1996, delivered the commencement address for graduates from the Indiana University Robert. H. McKinney School of Law. The ceremony was held on May 11 in the Sagamore Ballroom at the Indiana Convention Center.

During his commencement address, Joseph talked about lawyers' critical role as rights enforcers for the most vulnerable in society, and encouraged graduates to advocate for rights enforcement no matter where their careers take them.

"As you continue along these different career paths, I would ask you to keep in mind the most vulnerable, in Indianapolis, in Haiti, and elsewhere, and to keep in mind the ways that you can serve as a highly-qualified and sorely-needed Rights Enforcer," Joseph said. That kind of advocacy can take the form of voter, donor, consumer, community leader, or member of a church or civic organization.

“In the tradition of attorney human rights advocates like Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, Mario truly embodies our best hopes for how lawyers and the rule of law can remedy the suffering of the poor and disenfranchised,” said IU McKinney Professor Fran Quigley. Professor Quigley has done extensive human rights work in Haiti.

During his more than 20 years of human rights work, Joseph has been a part of many historic human rights cases, including the Raboteau Massacre trial in 2000, which has been called one of the most important human rights cases in the Western Hemisphere. BAI’s cooperation with U.S. immigration officials lead to the deportation of three former Haitian generals, including the highest-ranked officer ever deported from the U.S. on human rights grounds.

BAI filed claims with the United Nations in November 2011 on behalf of 5,000 victims of the cholera brought to Haiti by UN peacekeepers. Joseph and his team at BAI also represented rape victims in seven successful trials in 2012, which demonstrated that the justice system can be compelled to respond fairly and competently to rapes against poor women.

Joseph was awarded the Judith Lee Stronach Human Rights Award from the Center for Justice and Accountability, the Alexander Human Rights Award from Santa Clara University, and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of San Francisco. He is one of three finalists for the 2013 Martin Ennals Human Rights Defenders award, which will be presented in October in Geneva, Switzerland.

05/06/2013

Dr. Gunter Presents at GETed Conference at Harvard Medical School

Dr. Tracy Gunter presented on issues raised by behavioral genetics in antisocial behavior as part of GETed 2013 at Harvard Medical School on April 26. GETed brought together educators from around the nation to brainstorm strategies for raising awareness about personal genetics. This year's focus was on controversial topics in genetics.

The conference was sponsored in part by the Personal Genetics Education Project (pgED), part of Harvard Medical School. The project’s mission is to increase awareness of personal genetics, particularly the ethical, legal, and social implications around personal genome sequencing.

Dr. Gunter is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at IU’s Department of Psychiatry, and an adjunct professor at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law, where she teaches Neuroscience and Law.

05/03/2013

McKinney Law Expands Partnership with IPS Magnet School

IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law continues to grow its partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools Shortridge Magnet School for Law and Public Policy. IU McKinney faculty just completed their second semester of teaching at the high school, where law students also serve as teaching assistants in the classroom with faculty and tutor Shortridge students after school. Law students receive tutoring guidance from Professor Debbie McGregor. In addition, law students also can serve as mentors to Shortridge seniors who are working on their capstone law project necessary for graduation. Law student mentors are overseen by Professor Fran Quigley, ‘87. Shortridge seniors also competed in their first mock trial competition during the Spring 2013 semester, with coaching from Professor Lea Shaver.

This unique partnership between IU McKinney and the magnet school got under way in August 2012 with the aim of introducing IPS 6^th through 12th graders to legal studies and career options in law. (In the photo at left, Shortridge students contemplate their first lessons from Adjunct Professor Priscilla Keith.) The goal of the Shortridge program is to prepare students for their roles as citizens, while providing them with the opportunity to explore legal and social justice careers. Law school faculty members are volunteering their time to teach the high school students and law student teaching assistants will receive academic credit for their work.

While teaching at Shortridge during the Fall 2012 semester, Professor Michael Pitts (in the photo below) brought to life the realities of what it was like to register to vote for African-Americans before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was put into place. After giving a brief lecture on disfranchisement, Professor Pitts divided the class into two groups based on gender and gave them all copies of the multi-page form citizens would have had to complete in order to register to vote.

The girls in the class were treated much in the way whites would have been treated when registering, in that they were given help with their applications. The boys were treated in the way African-Americans would have been at the registration office: they were intimidated; their questions weren’t answered or were ignored; and if they managed to complete the application, they were told their voter registration cards would be mailed to them, which, according to Professor Pitts, seldom happened.

A dozen professors from the law school taught a variety of legal subjects at Shortridge during Spring 2013.

• Professor Carlton Waterhouse: transnational justice and environmental justice
• Professor Eric Dannenmaier: environmental justice
• Professor Jennifer Drobac: sexual harassment law
• Professor Cynthia Adams: contracts
• Professor Florence Wagman Roisman: civil rights law
• Professor Pitts: election law
• Professor Joel Schumm: juvenile justice
• Dean Gary Roberts: sports law
• Professor John Hill: natural law and human rights
• Professor Emily Morris: intellectual property law
• Professor and Vice Dean Antony Page: contracts
• Professor Lahny Silva: criminal procedure.

Law students who assisted in the classroom at Shortridge during the Spring 2013 semester were recent graduate Robert Bercovitz, ‘13; and incoming 3Ls Jennifer Johnson, Stephen Kitts, Salma Qaddourah, Sarah Rodenbarger, Jonathan Rygg, Brooke Smith, and Andia Walker.

“The law studies class has been a huge success,” said Professor Waterhouse, coordinator of the law school’s Shortridge efforts. “The students and the teachers at Shortridge have given our faculty instructors and our student teaching assistants the highest marks. We are all looking forward to running the class again in the fall!”

05/02/2013

IU McKinney Honored Outstanding Alumni

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law honored five outstanding alumni during a special reception May 3.

IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law alumni Andrea Ciobanu, Kenan Farrell, Janet Gongola, Kirby Lee and Mark Roesler will be this year’s honorees at the Evening of Celebration at 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 3, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.

Mark Roesler, Class of 1982, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Roesler, founder, chairman and CEO of CMG Worldwide, is the pre-eminent authority on the valuing, marketing and protecting of celebrities’ intellectual property rights.

In a 2009 segment of “60 Minutes,” television journalist Steve Kroft said, “No other agent in the world represents more famous people than Mark Roesler, stroll down Hollywood Boulevard with him and he’ll point out 62 of his clients who are immortalized with their own stars on the ‘Walk of Fame’ . . .”

The law school graduate has represented and worked with more than 1,000 celebrities, including such icons and legends as Elvis Presley, Norman Rockwell, Sophia Loren, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Jackie Robinson and Amelia Earhart. Roesler and his company represent the marketing and legal interests of his various clients, particularly focusing on establishing their rights of publicity, trademarks and copyrights.

Andrea Ciobanu, Class of 2010; and Kenan Farrell, Janet Gongola, and Kirby Lee, all of the Class of 2003, are recipients of Early Career Achievement Awards.

Ciobanu has her own practice and focuses on civil rights and litigation, education law, ADA compliance, family law, and appellate practice. She also serves as a consultant to the Indiana Supreme Court on its civil law and family law pilot project, and works with the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Family Law Executive Committee.

Ciobanu is a passionate supporter of her alma mater, serving as a permanent host committee member for the school’s Public Interest and LRAP Dinner, and often serves as a guest speaker on various topics, including how to become acclimated to law school life and how to pass the bar.

The law school alumna, who is fluent in American Sign Language, also strives to serve as the legal voice for the deaf community, and deaf rights, and works through the various bar associations to accomplish this goal.

Farrell advises clients on a range of business and intellectual property issues, including copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent and privacy issues, as they relate to technology, new media and the arts.

He has provided legal services to businesses and non-profits in international and domestic transactions, as well as litigation and litigation avoidance counsel in state and federal matters.

Kenan also is an adjunct professor of art and museum law at McKinney School of Law.

Even when he’s not on the clock, he’s working to improve the arts in Indianapolis, currently serving as president of IDADA, the local arts group that organizes the First Friday Art Tour, and secretary of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library.

Gongola is the patent reform coordinator at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In this capacity, she manages all aspects of the agency’s implementation of the America Invents Act. Gongola also is the associate commissioner for patent examination policy and is responsible for developing patent policy for the agency.

Gongola also is an adjunct professor at the George Mason University School of Law and the George Washington University Law School.

Before joining the patent office, Gongola served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Paul R. Michel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Court and for Chief Judge Sue L. Robinson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. In addition, Gongola worked as a patent attorney, patent agent, and research chemist at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis.

Lee is a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice where he represents the federal government in intellectual property disputes, including patent, copyright and trademark matters. Last year, the department’s intellectual property task force selected Lee for a White House detail, and Lee served as senior policy advisor to the intellectual property enforcement coordinator in the Executive Office of the President.

Lee is a visiting fellow as part of the Harvard Law School Wasserstein Fellowship Program for the 2012-2013 academic year. The Wasserstein Public Interest Fellows Program brings outstanding public interest attorneys to the Harvard Law School campus for one or two days during the year to advise law students about public service careers. Wasserstein Fellows are selected based on their public interest experiences, areas of expertise which interest students, and personal qualities that will make them excellent advisers.

04/30/2013

Work of Four from IU McKinney Honored at Civic Engagement Symposium

Landlord-tenant proceedings in Indianapolis have been changed for the better after efforts from three IU McKinney students and one alumna. Their work received special recognition at the 2013 Robert G. Bringle Civic Engagement Showcase and Symposium on April 23 at the IUPUI Campus Center.

December 2013 J.D. candidates Alison Becker and Kim Opsahl, Bethany Nine-Lawson, '13, and Aida Ramirez, ’12, took part in meetings with judges responsible for landlord-tenant proceedings in the nine township courts in Marion County. They addressed issues such as access to court and proceedings for people with disabilities and non-English speakers, as well as application of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act.

“This group caused substantial advances in justice for tenants,” said Professor Florence Wagman Roisman. “This is a wonderful illustration of the important work that our students do with the courts and community in Indianapolis and throughout the state.”

When the presiding judge of Marion County Circuit Court, Judge Louis Rosenberg, established an advisory committee on landlord-tenant proceedings, the students participated by serving on the committee, testifying at hearings, and commenting on proposed amendments to the rules.

“They worked on an amicus brief in the Indiana Court of Appeals. Brienne Delaney, ’12, an alumna who graduated too early to share in this award, co-authored a report on landlord-tenant proceedings,” said Professor Roisman. All of this work was based on reports submitted by students in the Property courses taught by Professors Roisman and Carlton Waterhouse.

04/30/2013

Alumna Creates Job Opportunity with Tennessee Non-Profit

Kelly Poole, ’12, has already jumped feet first into her dream career.

Shortly after taking the bar exam in July 2012, the Tennessee native began volunteering and working as a contract employee with the Tennessee Environmental Council. The organization raised the funding to hire her as a full-time staff member in January 2013.

Poole, who was president of the Environmental Law Society at IU McKinney, spends much of her time on cases dealing with section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the dredge and fill material that can and cannot be dumped into wetlands areas. She also works on cases aimed at improving water quality, often class actions targeting industry users that are violating state-issued discharge permits. But she isn’t just tied down to the office. She often gets to help volunteer groups plant trees along stream banks, as well as give presentations on some of the most critical environmental issues in her state.

Leaning toward health law when she began her studies at IU McKinney in 2009, Poole says she was always interested in conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources, but lacked knowledge of the legal side of the issues to consider a career in environmental law.

“Honestly, when I enrolled at IU McKinney, I was impressed by the fact that the law school had more environmental law classes than the average law school, but still did not realize that concentrating in this area could open up so many viable career options,” Poole said. “I now consider myself extremely fortunate to have ended up at a school with such a strong environmental law program that is host to a wide variety of environmental law specialties and energetic and supportive faculty members.”

One of the first students to earn the Environmental and Natural Resources (ENR) certificate, Poole says it gave her credibility in her job search and the confidence she needed to land her first job.

“I feel like I've started my career out ahead of the game, and was able to accept and succeed in a non-traditional job because of the strong foundation I was able to build through the ENR graduate certificate program,” Poole said. “It's really incredible to me that I was able to just dive into my dream career right out of law school, and I don't think this would have been possible without the foundation laid by the ENR graduate certificate program and the self-confidence that stemmed from obtaining such a thorough knowledge of this area of the law.”

04/30/2013

U.S. Senator Coats Speaks at Ceremony to Break Ground at Site of New IU School

U.S. Senator Dan Coats, ’72, delivered the keynote address at the groundbreaking ceremony for the building that will house Indiana University’s newest school, the School of Global and International Studies.

The School of Global and International Studies, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, will comprise more than 350 core and affiliated faculty members from across the university. The building will be located on 10^th Street near the Herman B Wells Library and the Arboretum in Bloomington. The ceremony was held at the IU Auditorium on April 29. In addition to Senator Coats’ speech, Vice President Joe Biden offered remarks via video.

Senator Coats is an Army veteran, and a graduate of Wheaton College, in addition to being an alumnus of the law school. After completing his legal studies, he worked for a life insurance company in Fort Wayne before joining the office of then-Congressman Dan Quayle, ’74, as a district representative. He ran for office in 1980 and won a seat in the House of Representatives for the state’s 4^th District. When Quayle resigned his U.S. Senate seat after being elected vice president of the United States in 1988, Coats was appointed to complete the term.

Coats stepped down as senator in 1999 in order to keep a term-limits pledge he made to voters. He then worked with the Washington, D.C., law firm Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson & Hand. He was named ambassador to Germany in 2001, a post he held until 2005, where he played a critical role in establishing a strong relationship with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and oversaw construction of a new U.S. embassy in Berlin. After serving as ambassador, he worked at the law firm King & Spalding in Washington, D.C.

In 2010, Senator Coats began his second tenure representing Indiana in Congress and serves on four Senate committees: Appropriations; Select Intelligence; Commerce, Science and Transportation; and the Joint Economic Committee. He also serves on one of the Senate's four original standing committees, the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, where he oversees policies relating to transportation, communications, consumer affairs, science and technology.

04/26/2013

Dean Roberts Honored for Leadership, Service to the Profession

IU McKinney Dean Gary R. Roberts was named a Distinguished Barrister as part of the legal newspaper Indiana Lawyer’s Leadership in Law awards program. He will be honored at a reception on May 2 in downtown Indianapolis.

The newspaper recognized the dean, noting that “six-year tenure at the law school has been called transformational, with the most obvious sign the renaming of the Indianapolis school in 2011 after Robert H. McKinney.” The newspaper also cites the addition of 15 faculty members and a doubling of the student financial aid budget among Dean Roberts’ accomplishments at the law school, along with his volunteer work in the community, including with the Indianapolis Humane Society.

Dean Roberts was honored with the Distinguished Barrister award along with IU McKinney alumni Judge L. Mark Bailey, ’82; David J. Cutshaw, ’82; Michael F. Drewry, ’79; James D. Johnson, ’87; Kevin McGoff, ’80; J. Joseph Tanner, ’87; Richard A. Waples, ’84; Judy Woods, ’87. Two alumni were also named Up and Coming Lawyers: Briana Clark, ’07; and Oni Harton, ’08.

04/25/2013

IU McKinney Celebrates Three Doctoral Dissertation Defenses

Three students of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law received the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science at commencement ceremonies on May 11 in the Sagamore Ballroom at the Indiana Convention Center. Mohamed Arafa; John Bowers; and Ying Chen, LL.M. ’07, successfully defended their dissertations during the spring 2013 semester.

“This is the culmination of years of intensive research and writing for each of these candidates,” said Associate Dean for Graduate Studies James P. Nehf. “The end products were superb works that are already generating publications in law journals. We are very proud to count John, Ying, and Mohamed among our distinguished doctoral alumni.”

Arafa's dissertation was titled "Towards a New Anti-Corruption Law in Egypt: A Comparative Study Between the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Egyptian Anti-Bribery Law, and Islamic Sharie'a Law." He argued that Egyptian anti-bribery and corruption laws are largely ineffective for several reasons, but such illegal practices are also taboo in Sharie ‘ a law because they are considered both grave criminal offenses and great sins. “A successful Egyptian state cannot be secured unless the nation establishes a strong economy, non-corrupt governmental and social institutions, and effective educational systems. Only then will the promises of the ‘Arab Spring’ be fulfilled,” Arafa said.

Arafa is an assistant professor of criminal law and criminal justice at Alexandria University Faculty of Law in Egypt. He taught Islamic law as an adjunct professor at IU McKinney in the fall 2012 semester.

Bowers' dissertation was titled "Slaying the Federal Monster: The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers and Their Role in the Repeal of National Prohibition." He researched thousands of archival documents about the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment that ended the Prohibition era in 1933. An essential chapter in the saga was the contribution of the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers, Inc. (VCL). The VCL evolved from a think tank of corporate lawyers in 1927 into a powerful national force that formulated and implemented the legal strategy using state conventions to repeal Prohibition. He argued that the VCL personifies the lawyer as the often necessary and practical change-agent affecting, at times profoundly, the defining issues of the day.

Bowers is a partner at Theisen Bowers & Associates in Fort Wayne, practicing in labor and employment relations law. He received his J.D. from Mercer University School of Law in 1982, and his LL.M. with distinction in labor law at Georgetown University Law Center in 1989.

Chen's dissertation was titled "Rules for International Trade in Agricultural Products and the Evolving World Food Crisis." She analyzed how trade policies (developed through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) affect world food distribution and contribute to food shortages in underdeveloped countries. She also argued that if access to food was considered a universal human right, trade policies would likely lead to more optimal food distribution.

Chen received her LL.B., summa cum laude, from Yantai University School of Law in China. Her research interests include public international law, human rights law, Chinese law, international organization law, international trade law, World Trade Organization law, food law, law and development, and democracy and justice.

This brings the total number of doctoral degrees the law school has awarded to six. Abdulrahman Abdullah Alkahhal, S.J.D. ’12; Jongho Kim, S.J.D. ’10; and Giancarlo Panagia, S.J.D. ’10; also have received their degrees from IU McKinney.

04/25/2013

Immigration Clinic Students Win Asylum for Couple from Congo

A couple from the Republic of Congo fleeing persecution in their homeland is on the path toward U.S. citizenship because of the work of two students of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Third-year students Anne Kaiser (Photo below, left) and Amanda McIlwain won asylum for the couple as part of their participation in the law school’s immigration clinic, directed by Professor Linda Kelly Hill.

The couple came to the United States after they were severely tortured, imprisoned and interrogated because of the wife’s involvement in a non-violent political party which speaks out against Congo’s longstanding president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, who held power from 1979 to 1992, and has held power a second time since 1997. The female client’s political work included translating for her party’s leaders from French into her native tribal dialect. Her presence and activism were critical when her party travelled into parts of Congo to rally and educate the women of her tribe.

“The culmination of the couple’s persecution occurred,” Professor Kelly Hill said, “when President Nguesso’s officers raided the couple’s home and arrested them upon discovery of a book in the home entitled ‘Sassou Nguesso: L’irrestible ascension d’un pion de la Françafrique,’ which loosely translates as ‘Sassou Nguesso: The irresistible ascension of a pawn of the Françafrique,’ referring to France’s neocolonial relationship with Africa.” McIlwain and Kaiser found the book in IU’s library and introduced it as a key exhibit.

The case involved three separate hearings in federal Immigration Court in Chicago before Judge Craig M. Zerbe – roughly nine hours of trial and a great deal of travel, Professor Kelly Hill said. McIlwain and Kaiser represented the couple at each hearing. Their work included fully preparing the clients, conducting direct examination of both individuals, submitting a 24-page brief and introducing numerous other exhibits. After the hearing, the students and clients celebrated by eating pizza at Chicago’s famous Giordano’s.

“Now that they are on the path to U.S. citizenship, it is time that our clients learn what good American pizza tastes like,” joked Kaiser.

04/22/2013

ABA Task Force to Meet at IU McKinney to Discuss Legal Education's Future

The American Bar Association’s Task Force on the Future of Legal Education will meet at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law on April 24. The task force is chaired by former Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard, who is a visiting professor at the law school, and as executive in residence at the IU Public Policy Institute.

Sessions throughout the day will cover current challenges; licensing, finance and admissions; as well as education delivery, innovation and barriers. Experts from a variety of perspectives will offer their insights, including former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan, now professor of practice at the law school.

Due to space restrictions at the law school, reporters and others interested in the conference are encouraged to view it during the live webcast. The conference is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. and run through 4:15 p.m. To learn more, or to view the conference online during the event, visit the task force’s website.

April 24, 2013 webcast:

Live Stream URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~video/stream/liveflash.html?filename=ABA_Future_of_Legal_Education

Archive Stream URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~video/stream/launchflash.html?folder=video&filename=ABA_Future_of_Legal_Education_20130424.mp4

04/16/2013

Indiana Health Law Review Announces Award Winners, Publication Decisions

Three students were honored for their work on the Indiana Health Law Review during the publication’s annual spring banquet on April 13, 2013.

• Janice Pascuzzi, 2L, received the Eleanor D. Kinney Award for Devoted Service to the Law Review.
• Megan Michelle Smith, a 2013 J.D. candidate, received the Krieg-DeVault Excellence in Editing Award.
• James Banister, 2L, received the Indiana State Bar Association Health Law Section Distinguished Writing Award.

In addition to the awards, the following student learned that their notes will be published in IHLR’s Volume XI:

• James Banister , New Technology and Increased Globalization: Addressing Difficulties Presented in the Current FDA Inspection Process
• Jessica Dugdale, A Plea for Consumer Protection: The Potential Human Health Hazards of the Spray Tanning Epidemic
• Charlotte Fillenwarth , Beyond the Emergency Room Doors: Rejecting Patient Admittance as Satisfaction of Hospital Obligations Under EMTALA
• Megan Smith , Causing Conflict: Indiana's Mandatory Reporting Laws in the Context of Juvenile Defense
• Samuel Dayton , Rethinking Health App Regulation: The Case for Centralized FDA Voluntary Certification of Unregulated Non-Device Mobile Health Apps
• Christopher Anderson, Striking a Balance: Regulation of Raw Milk and a New Approach for Indiana
• Thomas Martin, The Stark Inaccessibility of Medical Care in Rural Indiana: Judicial and Legislative Solutions
• Paul Ho, HCQIA Does Not Provide Adequate Due Process Protection or Improve Healthcare Quality & Is Outdated Under "Obama Care"

04/11/2013

Law School Celebrates 10th Anniversary of LL.M. Program

The law school welcomed returning LL.M. alumni for a celebration of the 10^th anniversary of the school’s Master of Laws Program on April 9, in the Wynne Courtroom. The day’s theme was “International Legal Education in the 21^st Century: Preparing Lawyers to Meet Global Challenges.”

Associate Dean for Graduate Studies James Nehf welcomed participants and provided an overview of the day’s events. Dean Nehf was followed by Associate Dean for International Studies Karen Bravo, who introduced the day’s keynote speaker, the Honorable Patricia Riley, ’74, of the Indiana Court of Appeals. Judge Riley spoke about her travel and work in Kenya as part of the Legal Aid Centre of Eldoret (LACE) program.

Following Judge Riley’s remarks, audience members heard from two panels that explored issues related to the overall theme of the event. The first dealt with the topic, “New Realities and Global Challenges.” Panelists included Professor Frank Emmert, executive director of the law school’s Center for International and Comparative Law; Professor Tom Wilson, director of the Joint Center for Asian Law Studies and the Chinese Law Summer Program; Professor Emily Morris; Professor Nicolas Terry, co-director of the Hall Center for Law and Health; and Professor George Edwards, director of the Program in International Human Rights Law.

The second panel discussed “LL.M. McKinney Law Graduates in Diverse Settings.” Panel participants included Carolina Melean Rashidfarokhi, LL.M. ’05, vice president and assistant legal counsel at Pedcor Investments; Professor Ding Xaingshun, LL.M. ’06, Renmin University of China Law School and Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School; Lumi Nodit, LL.M. ’07, deputy general counsel of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office; and Raio G. Krishnayya, LL.M. ’11, executive director of the Center for Victim and Human Rights.

In the photo above, alumni of the Master of Laws Program joined program faculty and administrators for the anniversary celebration. Shown are: Front row from left: Lumi Nodit (LL.M. ’07 & J.D. ‘10), Carolina Melean Rashidfarokhi (LL.M. ’05 & J.D. ‘10), Gabriela Pereira Castilhos (LL.M. candidate), Solangel Tindera (LL.M. ‘06), Carmen Ledezma (LL.M. ‘07), Associate Dean for International Affairs Karen Bravo, Professor George Edwards, Judge Patricia Riley (J.D. ’74), Ding Xiangshun (LL.M. ‘06), and Mohamed Arafa (S.J.D. ‘13).

Second row from left: Perfecto Caparas (LL.M. ’05), Associate Dean for Graduate Studies James Nehf, Basim Najeeb (LL.M. candidate), Raio Krishnayya (LL.M.’11), Flavia Martinelli De Medeiros (LL.M. candidate), Assistant Director for Graduate Studies Noah Joseph, Avril Rua (LL.M. ‘11), Ibrahim Garba (LL.M. ‘12), Angelique Odette Devaux (LL.M. ‘12), Professor Emeritus Jeffrey Grove, and Adomas Siudika (LL.M. ‘06).

04/11/2013

IU McKinney Collaborates on Inaugural Feminist Law Networking Event

The Feminist Law Society at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of law and the Feminist Law Forum at IU Maurer Law co-hosted the inaugural Gender Equality Happy Hour on March 22, 2013. The event was held in the law school’s atrium.

“It’s important for feminists from the legal community (and beyond the legal community) to stay engaged, build connections, and support one another,” said FLS President Lela McCoy, a 2L. “Gender Equality Happy Hour did just that!”

Over 50 people attended the event, including Professors Jennifer Drobac and Cynthia Baker, which was organized as a networking opportunity for law students and attorneys. The positive response prompted organizers to decide to make this an annual event, and they hope to host it at the IU Maurer School of Law in 2014.

In the photo above, from left, are IU Maurer Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Catherine Matthews, Feminist Law Society President Lela McCoy, Feminist Law Forum Co-President Amanda Stephens, and Professor Jennifer Drobac.

04/11/2013

Professor Roisman's Book on Property and Human Rights Just Published

The book, Property and Human Rights, by Professor Florence Wagman Roisman, has just been published by Carolina Academic Press. The book is designed for use in courses in property, housing, or real estate, and provides material regarding foreclosure, housing discrimination and segregation, tenants’ rights, homelessness, eminent domain, zoning, and human rights in international and domestic contexts, Professor Roisman said.

It includes such landmark decisions as U.S. Bank National Ass’n v. Ibanez, Kelo v. City of New London, Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, U.S. v. Rucker, Jones v. Mayer, Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S., and Government of South Africa v. Grootboom. A servitudes case is based on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The book addresses racial zoning, restrictive covenants, and Veterans Affairs, Federal Housing Authority, public housing, Section 8, and Low Income Housing Tax Credit programs. Housing discrimination is considered with respect to homeownership as well as tenancy, land use regulation as well as individual application, and sex, disability, familial status, and sexual orientation as well as race.

Professor Roisman is the William F. Harvey Professor of Law, and a 2011 Chancellor’s Professor, and a 2011 John S. Grimes Fellow.

04/03/2013

Professor and LL.M. Alumna Publish Article on Will Contests

Professor Margaret Ryznar and LL.M. graduate Angelique Devaux, ’12,have published an article entitled “Au Revoir, Will Contests: Comparative Lessons for Preventing Will Contests” in Nevada Law Journal. Their article considers methods to minimize will contests in the United States by examining the French legal system, which has been far more successful in limiting will contests. The paper is available for download on Social Science Research Network.

Professor Ryznar joined the faculty in fall 2012 and teaches income taxation of individuals, fiduciaries and business associations; trusts and estates; family law; international and comparative family law; and juvenile law. She is an editor for the Family Law Prof Blog and also writes blog entries for the Huffington Post website.

04/03/2013

Schwier Named a Recipient of the Distinguished Master's Thesis Award for 2013

Ryan Schwier, first-year evening student at the IU McKinney School of Law, has been selected by the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) as one of two recipients of the 2013 Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award. The annual award is open to nominations from over 100 universities across 14 states for scholarship and research in any discipline that makes an “unusually significant contribution” to the field. Schwier will present his thesis at the MAGS Annual Conference in Minneapolis on April 10, 2013.

Schwier was previously selected by the Indiana University Graduate School as the recipient of Esther L. Kinsley Master’s Thesis Award. His study examines the history of Indian-settler legal relations in Indiana from the state’s pre-territorial period to the late 19th century. His thesis committee was chaired by Associate Professor of History Elizabeth Brand Monroe, ’02; Professor of History David J. Bodenhamer; and IU McKinney Law Professor Gerard N. Magliocca, who also serves as associate dean for research at the law school.

04/01/2013

McMillian to Deliver Keynote at IUPUI Top 100

Jimmie L. McMillian, ’02, will deliver the keynote address at the event honoring the IUPUI Top 100 at the recognition dinner April 12, 2013.

The event is sponsored by the Student Organization for Alumni Relations, and the IUPUI Alumni Council, and honors the university’s top 100 juniors and seniors. Students are recognized for scholastic achievement, extracurricular activities on campus, and civic and community service. A panel of alumni, faculty, and staff select the top students based on nominations from faculty and staff.

McMillian is a partner at the Indianapolis office of Barnes & Thornburg.

04/01/2013

Indiana Law Review Announces Student Notes Chosen for Publication

The Volume 46 Executive Board of the Indiana Law Review (ILR) recently announced that it will publish 12 student-written Notes. These Notes were selected for outstanding legal analysis and ability to convey insight and analysis through prose. Volume 47 of the ILR will publish the following students’ work:

Jonathan Luke – The Severance of Joint Tenancies in Bankruptcy: Proposals for Maintaining Post-petition Survivorship Rights.

Aleasha Sandley – Confusion or Mere Diversion? Rosetta Stone v. Google’s Impact on Expanding Initial Interest Confusion to Trademark Use in Search Engine Sponsored Ads.

Caitlin Brandon – How a Grocery Store Grounded Air Jordan, and Why Jordan Should Succeed in a Rematch: Redefining Commercial Speech for the Modern Era.

Chris Park – Indiana Children and the Duty to Report: The Double Standard of Child Abuse and Anti-Bullying Laws

Danielle Teagarden – Brewing Tension: Assessing the Constitutionality of Indiana's Sunday Alcohol Carryout Laws in Light of Granholm v. Heald and Recent Seventh Circuit Commerce Clause and Twenty-first Amendment Jurisprudence

Chase Patterson – When Knocking Saves Lives: Eliminating the Tension Between Indiana's Self Defense Statute and No-Knock Warrants.

Ryan Leagre – Community-Based Tax Credits: Tax Credits that Reduce Consumer-Driven Pollution by Encouraging Collective Action.

Shea Thompson – Artificially "Natural": Class Action Lawsuits Attack Misleading "Natural" Claims in FDA's Absence.

Rose Shingledecker – No Good Deed: The Impropriety of the Religious Accommodation of Contraceptive Coverage Requirements in the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act.

Janel Qalliu – Missing the Mark: Implications of Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago American Manufacturing on Trademark Licenses in Bankruptcy.

Zac Karanovich – Say What you Need to Say: A Concurring Opinion Regarding Intra-Religious Hate Crimes After the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and United States v. Mullet.

Danny Lewallen – Follow the Leader: Why all States Should Remove Minimum Employee Thresholds in Antidiscrimination Statutes.

04/01/2013

Oslan Receives IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy Award

Reed Oslan, ’87, a partner at Chicago’s Kirkland & Ellis, received the IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy Award.

Spirit of Philanthropy Awards honor those who have had a profound impact on IUPUI’s growth and development through their gifts and voluntary service.

Oslan credits what he learned from Professor Gerald Bepko’s commercial law class and Professor Larry Jegen’s tax classes with giving him “a foundation that I still stand on today,” he said. “I’ve tried cases all over the country and around the world. I’ve been lucky to have an exciting career.”

His gratitude for this good fortune has led Oslan to increase his previous $100,000 donation to the law school by $50,000. The addition to Oslan’s gift will be evenly divided between the Gerald L. Bepko Endowed Chair, and the Lawrence A. Jegen, III Endowed Chair.

After graduating magna cum laude and as associate editor of the Indiana Law Review , Oslan worked for Ice Miller for about two and a half years before being recruited by several Chicago-based firms and deciding on Kirkland & Ellis. He’s been there ever since and is a senior partner in the litigation group.

The annual Spirit of Philanthropy ceremony and luncheon took place April 2, 2013, at the IUPUI Campus Center. The event is sponsored by IUPUI, Indiana University Foundation and the IU School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.

04/01/2013

Student Organization Award Honorees Announced

The inaugural Student Organization Awards ceremony was held on March 27, 2013, in the atrium, hosted by the Office of Student Affairs.

Winners were:

Best new student organization: Student Outreach Clinic. This student-run legal clinic provides free legal information to the underserved population through a partnership between first-year law students and Indiana Legal Services.

Best collaboration: Diversity Alumni Reception, sponsored by the Black Law Students Association and the Hispanic Law Society. The award is for the program that best demonstrates how meaningful partnerships, teamwork, and synergy can make an impact on the law school or the law school community.

Best service project: Women’s Caucus, for their annual silent auction. This year’s event raised $8,729 to benefit the Hoosier Burn Camp. The funds raised will enable eight children to attend the camp, and will help sponsor events hosted by the organization throughout the year.

Advisor of the year: Professor Lahny Silva for her work with the Black Law Students Association. The award recognized an advisor that best encourages, mentors, and supports a student organization and its members.

Outstanding student leader of the year: Nabeela Virjee, vice president of the Student Bar Association. The award recognized the student who has made significant contributions to enhancing the law school community in a positive way, often going above and beyond the call of duty.

Student organization of the year: Black Law Students Association. The award recognizes the student organization that has made the most significant impact in the IU McKinney community through service, programs, and activities.

04/01/2013

IU McKinney Hosts Second Annual Professional Responsibility Moot Court Competition

The Second Annual National Professional Responsibility Moot Court (NPRMC) Competition took place at IU McKinney March 15 and 16, 2013. The competition consisted of nine teams from across the nation, and was won by Stetson University College of Law.

Preliminary rounds of competition were held at Inlow Hall, with the final round being heard at the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom. The final bench was made up of Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven David, ’82; Professor Frank Sullivan, Jr., retired Indiana Supreme Court justice; and Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Patricia Riley, ’74.

The 2012-2013 NPRMC Moot Court Board is made up of the following students: Hilary Taylor, Eric Hom, Anthony Holton, Anne Berning, Spardha Saroha, Alicia Thompson, and Liz Thatcher.

04/01/2013

Speaker Bosma Offers Overview of Hinrichs v. Bosma to St. Thomas More Society

Brian C. Bosma, ’84, speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, talked about the legislative prayer case, Hinrichs v. Bosma, during a meeting of the St. Thomas More Society on March 25, 2013, at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

Calling the experience “a lesson in the law of unintended consequences,” Speaker Bosma said the case came about shortly after sessions of the House began being broadcast on the Internet in 2005. Prayers had routinely been offered to open the day’s business in the Indiana General Assembly in both chambers since the state’s founding, but the public became aware of the practice after those sessions were widely broadcast. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana ruled that sectarian prayers must not be offered, and that any prayers must not make mention of Jesus Christ. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7^th Circuit ultimately overturned the decision.

Speaker Bosma was first elected in 1986 to represent House District 88, which today encompasses the northeast portion of Marion County, a portion of southern Hamilton County, and the western portion of Hancock County. He is a partner in the Indianapolis-based law firm Kroger Gardis & Regas, focusing his practice in the areas of local government and environmental law. He was a founding director of Bosma Industries for the Blind, Inc., which today employs over 85 blind and visually impaired Hoosiers in Central Indiana.

03/28/2013

Indiana Law Review Board Members Announced

The Executive and Editorial Boards for Volume 47 of the Indiana Law Review have been announced. IU McKinney students will be serving in the following capacities:

Executive Board: Editor-in-Chief Zac Karanovich, Executive Managing Editor Bob Goode, Senior Executive Editor Wendy Burford, Executive Notes Editor Ryan Leagre, Executive Articles Editor Scott Milkey, Executive Articles Editor Lela McCoy, and Symposium Editor Sarah Parkman.

Editorial Board members are as follows:

Articles Editors: Andrew Skinner, Naomi Kwang, Alesha Sandley, Rose Shingledecker, Brittany Smith, Caitlin Brandon; Note Development Editors: Jonathon Luke, Shea Thompson, Keenan Wilson, Danielle Niedzielski, Danielle Teagarden, Danny Lewallen; and Associate Editors: Jessica Hawkins, Chase Patterson, Scott Conner, Jeramy Ferguson, Robert Jorczak, Christopher Park, Janel Qualliu, and Erin Radefeld.

03/28/2013

Professor Orentlicher's Latest Book Advocates for a Dual Presidency

IU McKinney Professor David Orentlicher’s latest book, “Two Presidents are Better than One: The Case for a Bipartisan Executive Branch,” has been published by NYU Press.

According the NYU Press description of the book: “Analyzing the histories of other countries with a plural executive branch and past examples of bipartisan cooperation within Congress, Orentlicher shows us why and how to implement a two-person, two-party presidency. Ultimately, Two Presidents Are Better Than One demonstrates why we need constitutional reform to rebalance power between the executive and legislative branches and contain partisan conflict in Washington.”

Professor Orentlicher is a Samuel R. Rosen Professor of Law, and co-director of the Hall Center for Law and Health. He served in the Indiana General Assembly as a member of the House of Representatives from 2002 through 2008.

03/28/2013

Assistant Dean Pryor Receives 2012-2013 IUPUI Multicultural Impact Award

Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Johnny Pryor received the 2012-2013 IUPUI Multicultural Impact Staff Award. Pryor received the recognition at the university’s annual Employee Recognition Convocation on March 6, 2013.

The award recognizes a staff member who makes contributions toward promoting a campus climate where diversity is valued and accepted, energizes the understanding and appreciation of cultures from across the world, or champions social justice for all who work and learn at IUPUI. The winner is awarded $1,000.

Pryor joined the law school in January 2011. A 2002 graduate of IU Maurer School of Law, he served as an assistant prosecutor in Clark County, Ohio, where he worked primarily in the civil division, providing legal counsel to county boards, departments, and elected officials. In addition, he handled criminal matters ranging from adult felony cases to juvenile matters. While working as an assistant prosecutor, Pryor also served as a volunteer coach for Wittenberg University, his alma mater where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English and political science. He coached the university’s first mock trial team. Inspired by his work with students, he decided to pursue a career in high education administration.

03/27/2013

IU McKinney Staff Honored at Chancellor's Employee Recognition Convocation

Two members of the IU McKinney staff were honored for their service to IUPUI at the Chancellor’s Employee Recognition Convocation on March 6, 2013.

Susie Agnew, assistant director of Student Affairs, was honored for her 30 years of service to the university. As assistant director of Student Services, Agnew is responsible for all aspects of student record-keeping, including registration, grades, class ranks, graduation, and state bar eligibility.

Janice White was honored for her 15 years of service. She works as a faculty assistant to Professors Cynthia Adams, James Dimitri, Allison Martin, Deborah McGregor, Joan Ruhtenberg, Joel Schumm, and Maggie Tsavaris.

03/27/2013

Professor Drobac Offers Commentary on Same-Sex Marriage Cases

IU McKinney Law Professor Jennifer Drobac offered commentary March 26, 2013 on the same-sex marriage cases that appeared in a story in the Indianapolis Star. The story was about Hollingsworth v. Perry, the challenge to California’s ban on same-sex marriage that was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 26, 2013; and United States v. Windsor, the challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, argued on March 27, 2013.

“For a state that prides itself on being family friendly, Indiana is penalizing people who are choosing to dedicate themselves emotionally and financially to mutual advancement and support,” Professor Drobac said in the article. “It’s bad for families and business. That’s why major corporations in the state have raised concerns about a possible state constitutional amendment that would make Indiana’s ban even tighter.”

Professor Drobac is known for her scholarship in the area of family law and adolescents. Her latest book, titled Worldly But Not Yet Wise, concerns adolescent neurological and psychosocial development and the law. It will be published in 2013 by University of Chicago Press.

03/27/2013

IU McKinney to be Site of Inaugural Indiana Eco Student Summit

The inaugural Indiana Eco Student Summit will be held on March 30 , 2013, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the IU McKinney School of Law.

The Summit is the first opportunity for Indiana's environmentally-minded students and faculty from all academic disciplines to gather for a day of idea sharing and community building. Panel discussion topics and workshops will cover balancing economic interests with environmental protection, Indiana food issues, and environmental justice, among others.

The event is presented by the publication Indiana Living Green, and the law school’s Environmental Law Society. After the event, the publication will host its annual "Earth Hour" party at the Indianapolis City Market – an event complete with art, music and celebration. To learn more, visit the registration website http://www.indianalivinggreen.com/event/summit2013/ for the event.

The Environmental Law Society is one of three student organizations related to environmental law that are available to students at IU McKinney. The law school also offers a Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, which is designed for students who wish to concentrate in the field and gain the advantage of a dedicated program that will prepare them for specialized practice.

03/27/2013

Professor Drobac to Present at University of Pennsylvania

Professor Jennifer Drobac will present on the issue of consent, neuroscience and law at the 14^th Annual Society for Evolutionary Analysis in Law (SEAL) Conference, April 5 and 6, 2013, at the University of Pennsylvania. The conference is co-hosted by Penn Law and the Penn Center for Neuroscience & Society. Her presentation is slated for April 6.

Professor Drobac received the Indiana University 2010 Sylvia E. Bowman Distinguished Teaching Award. Her latest book, which concerns adolescent neurological and psychosocial development and the law, is titled Worldly But Not Yet Wise. It will be published in 2013 by University of Chicago Press.

03/27/2013

Professor Terry Takes Part in Symposium on Electronic Medical Records

Professor Nicolas Terry will take part in a symposium at Case Western Reserve University School of Law on April 5, 2013, on the topic “Balancing Privacy, Autonomy, and Scientific Progress: Patients’ Rights in the Use of Electronic Medical Records for Non-Treatment Purposes.” He is slated to be part of a panel that will discuss privacy and autonomy.

Professor Terry also has traveled recently to Bloomington, and Washington, D.C., for presentations.

He delivered a lecture titled “Patient Centered Care and Personal Health Technologies” at the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions at IU Bloomington on March 21. Professor Terry’s presentation examined the disruptive effects of health information technologies and inquired into the potential for such technologies to improve patient engagement and drive more patient-centered or shared care.

Professor Terry then traveled to Washington, D.C., on March 22, where he spoke at the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center on the topic “The Future of HIPAA and The Cloud.”

Professor Terry is the Hall Render Professor of Law and co-director of the William S. and Christine S. Hall Center for Law and Health.

03/27/2013

Huffington Post Blog Features Commentary on Recent Cases by Professor Ryznar

Professor Margaret Ryznar recently addressed in the Huffington Post the oral arguments in the following U.S. Supreme Court cases: Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (which held that non-Indian parents could not adopt an Indian child without complying with the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act), United States v. Windsor (regarding the Defense of Marriage Act), and Hollingsworth v. Perry (regarding Proposition 8, the California constitutional amendment that allows only opposite-sex couples to marry). Professor Ryznar also addressed the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Chafin v. Chafin, an international child custody case. The case commentaries are available at Professor Ryznar’s Family Law Prof blog on the Huffington Post website.

Professor Ryznar joined the faculty in fall 2012, and teaches income taxation of individuals, fiduciaries and business associations; trusts and estates; family law; international and comparative family law; and juvenile law.

03/26/2013

Wells Named to Ameriana Bancorp Board

Michael Wells, ’79, has been named to the board of directors of Ameriana Bancorp. A magna cum laude graduate of IU McKinney, Wells is president of REI Investments Inc., and the manager of REI Real Estate Services LLC. He also is a member of the law school’s Board of Visitors.

Wells previously served on the board of First Indiana Bank until it was purchased by Marshall & Ilsley Corporation. He was on the M&I Advisory Board until Bank of Montreal (BMO) bought M&I.

Prior to joining REI, Wells practiced law in Indianapolis, where he specialized in real estate and tax-exempt financing. He has been involved in many significant real estate projects in Indianapolis, including the JW Marriott, Marriott Place, Circle Centre Mall, and the WellPoint, and Emmis headquarters. Along with his development work, Wells manages the portfolio of real estate investments owned by REI Real Estate Partnership.

In addition to his business interests, Wells is active in the community. He’s president of the Indianapolis Airport Authority, and immediate past chairman of the Indianapolis Zoo, the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, and the Crossroads Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He also serves on the executive committee of the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis and the Building Owners and Managers Association, and is a member of the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site board of directors and the American Pianists Association.

Ameriana Bancorp is a bank holding company. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ameriana Bank, the company offers banking services and provides investments and securities products through banking centers in central Indiana.

03/21/2013

Health Law Society Donates to IU Student Outreach Clinic

The Health Law Society, a student group at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, donated $200 to the IU Student Outreach Clinic. The clinic, which operates out of Neighborhood Fellowship Church at 3102 E. 10^th St., serves the low-income population in the surrounding area. The money will be used to pay for birth certificates for clinic clients. The Indiana State Department of Health visited the clinic during two Saturdays in March 2013 to print birth certificates for clients, and Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles staff members were available to answer client questions about getting photo identification.

The clinic has been serving the Indianapolis Near Eastside since 2008, serving between 25 and 30 clients each Saturday. Since its beginning, the clinic has taken on other partners to expand the kinds of services it offers to the neighborhood. Students from the Butler University School of Pharmacy provide medications free of charge. The IU School of Dentistry and the IU School of Social Work also provide services. And IU McKinney Law students work with Indiana Legal Services to meet the neighborhood residents’ legal needs.

03/21/2013

Health Law Event Examines Patient Responsibility

Various aspects of patient responsibility, consumerism, and blame were considered during the Indiana Health Law Review Symposium on March 8, 2013, at the law school.

Speakers throughout the daylong event offered a look at the extent to which patients are trusted as emerging models of health care and health care financing place greater emphasis on patient choice and engagement. For example: Should patients be more responsible for the cost of their health care? Will emerging technologies and health care models result in patients acting more like consumers? To what extent should patients exercise greater control and assume greater responsibility for their own health such that blaming or shaming patients becomes accepted strategies for improving health?

The day began with a welcome from Professor and Vice Dean Antony Page, and opening remarks from Professor Nicolas Terry, co-director of the Hall Center for Law and Health. Professor David Orentlicher, co-director of the Center for Law and Health, introduced the day’s keynote speaker, Professor George Loewenstein, Herbert A. Simon Professor of Economics and Psychology, Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. Professor Loewenstein’s topic was “Are We Willing to Trust Patients? Models of Responsibility, Consumerism and Blame.”

The program featured three panel discussions. The first, “Responsibility for Health Care Costs,” was moderated by IU McKinney Law Professor Robert A. Katz, and featured Professor Gregg Bloche, co-director of the Georgetown-Johns Hopkins Joint Program in Law and Public Health; and Professor Christopher Robertson of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.

The second panel, “Consumerism, Self-Diagnosis and Self-Treatment,” was moderated by the law school’s Professor Emily Morris. She was joined by Professor Jessica Berg, associate director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Law; and Dr. Tracy Gunter, associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the IU School of Medicine, and adjunct professor at IU McKinney.

The day’s final panel examined the topic “Personal Responsibility for Wellness.” This discussion was moderated by IU McKinney Professor Diana R.H. Winters. She was joined by Professor Leonard M. Fleck of the Michigan State University Center for Ethics, and Professor Lindsay F. Wiley of the American University Washington College of Law.

03/19/2013

Professor Winters Discusses Soda Ban on National Radio Show

Professor Diana R.H. Winters was a guest on the WBUR Radio program “On Point, with Tom Ashbrook,” on March 12, 2013, discussing New York City’s ban on fountain drinks over 16 ounces. The ban was declared invalid on March 11, 2013, by Justice Milton Tingling of the New York State Supreme Court. Justice Tingling ruled that Mayor Michael Bloomberg had overstepped his authority by sidestepping the City Council and putting the issue before the city’s Board of Health. Justice Tingling also called the ban, which would limit the size of beverages containing sugar served in restaurants in the city to 16 ounces, “arbitrary and capricious.” The ban was to take effect on March 12, 2013. The mayor has said he will appeal the ruling.

Professor Winters called the justice’s ruling flawed. The ruling doesn’t apply to convenience stores, which was part of the reason the justice called the ban arbitrary and capricious, because those are regulated by the state. “The main issue here,” Professor Winters said on the program, “is that the city has the authority to regulate the public health through the board of health.” The radio show can be accessed online. 

Professor Winters joined the IU McKinney faculty in August 2012. She was a visiting assistant professor at Boston University School of Law, where she also was the Health Law Scholar. Professor Winters teaches health law, torts, and FDA law. She is part of the law school’s Hall Center for Law and Health, which is home to the Indiana Health Law Review, frequent guest presentations by leading academics, judges, bioethicists and health law practitioners, and major conferences.

03/19/2013

Klein Named Dean of the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Chancellor and IU Executive Vice President Charles R. Bantz have announced the appointment of Andrew R. Klein as the dean of the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

Klein will begin his new position July 1, pending approval of the IU Board of Trustees. Klein, 50, has served in the Chancellor's Cabinet as chief of staff since 2010 and took on additional responsibilities as associate vice chancellor for academic affairs in 2012. As chief of staff, Klein handles a range of campus-related responsibilities, including oversight of the IUPUI intercollegiate athletics program.

Klein, who will be the 12th dean of the McKinney School since it became part of IU in 1944, has been a member of the school’s faculty since 2000 and will be responsible for providing its overall strategic vision and leadership. Additionally, he will work to advance research, education and civic engagement.

"Andy has made exceptional contributions to both the McKinney School of Law and the development of the IUPUI campus during his tenure, and his expertise, leadership and experience make him an outstanding choice as the next dean," McRobbie said. "The McKinney School has educated many of the state's political and professional leaders, and I am confident that the school will continue to play a critical role in legal education in Indiana under Andy's guidance."

The McKinney School of Law is one of two law schools within the IU system. Located in downtown Indianapolis, IU McKinney School of Law has prepared students for legal careers for more than 100 years, as evidenced by the presence of alumni in the judiciary and other branches of government, business, civic leadership and law practice. The school’s 11,000 graduates reside in every state in the nation and several foreign countries and constitute half of the practicing lawyers in Indiana.

“By conducting a national search with excellent candidates, it became crystal clear that Andy Klein has everything a law dean needs," Bantz said. "He is a recognized scholar, a devoted teacher, an experienced law school administrator and a member of national professional organizations, and he has tremendous educational experience.

"Not only has he been a day-to-day supervisor of intercollegiate athletics and my 'go-to' for tough issues, he has served more than four years on the Carmel-Clay School Board. His intelligence, experience, maturity and strength of character make him the right person to be Dean of the McKinney School.”

Klein is the Paul E. Beam Professor of Law and served as associate dean for academic affairs from 2004 to 2007. He has received numerous awards during his tenure, including five teaching awards, three faculty leadership awards, two outstanding administrator awards and the IU Trustees Teaching Award. His teaching and research focus on tort and environmental law.

In 2007, Klein was a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall and a Visiting Scholar on the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. Before his affiliation with IU, Klein was on the faculty of Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Ala., from 1992 to 2000. He was an associate at Sidley & Austin in Chicago from 1989 to 1992 and clerked for Judge Joseph W. Hatchett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, from 1988 to 1989.

“I am honored for this this opportunity,” Klein said. “The McKinney School of Law is one of Indiana’s most important assets -- a training ground for so many of our state’s leaders, and for outstanding lawyers around the world. I plan to do everything in my power to earn the trust that Indiana University has placed in me. And I am excited about working hand in hand with a tremendous faculty, excellent students and many loyal alumni who share my enthusiasm for our school.”

Klein is a member of the American Law Institute, a Distinguished Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation and a member of the Illinois Bar. Additionally, he serves as reporter for the Civil Jury Instructions Committee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and is on the executive committee of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Torts and Compensation Systems.

Locally, Klein is a board member of the Madame Walker Theatre, the National Art Museum of Sport and Play Ball Indiana. He served on the Carmel Clay School Board of Education from 2008 to 2013, holding the office of president from 2009 to 2010.

Klein received his Juris Doctor with Distinction from Emory University School of Law in 1988, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and served as editor-in-chief of the Emory Law Journal. He received his Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in journalism and economics from the University of Wisconsin, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

03/13/2013

Senior Reagan Administration Official to Speak at Symposium on Law and the Financial Crisis

Peter J. Wallison, the Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, is among the distinguished group of national academic, government, and business leaders who will make presentations at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law’s national symposium on “Law and the Financial Crisis” in Indianapolis on April 5, 2013.

Wallison, who served as general counsel for the Department of the Treasury and later White House Counsel during the Reagan administration, will participate in a panel slated to examine law’s role in causing the financial crisis. Wallison also served on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, created as part of the 2009 Fraud and Enforcement Recovery Act. His recent scholarship includes: “Did the ‘Repeal’ of Glass-Steagall Have Any Role in the Financial Crisis? Not Guilty; Not Even Close.”

Presenting a counterpoint to Wallison on the panel is Professor J. Robert Brown, Jr., Chauncey Wilson Memorial Research Chair at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, whose recent work includes “The ‘Great Fall’: The Consequences of Repealing the Glass-Steagall Act.” They will be joined by Professor Arthur Wilmarth, Jr., executive director of the Center for Law, Economics and Finance at The George Washington University School of Law, who will offer a talk titled “Citigroup: A Case Study in Managerial and Regulatory Failure.” This panel will be moderated by IU McKinney’s Vice Dean Antony Page.

The Symposium will be preceded by a dinner on Thursday, April 4, at which Kevin T. Kabat, vice chairman and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp, will provide “Perspectives on the Financial Crisis.” Kabat has won praise for his guiding of Fifth Third through the financial crisis. The dinner will begin at 7 p.m. in the law school’s Atrium.

Former Indiana Senator Evan Bayh will present the keynote address at 8:30 a.m. to begin the symposium, titled “Law and the Financial Crisis,” on April 5 in the law school’s Wynne Courtroom. Senator Bayh’s lecture will focus on his experience as a member of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs during the financial crisis.

Other panel discussions during the event will examine the connection between law and the financial crisis by pursuing law’s effectiveness in addressing the crisis; and law’s potential in preventing the next one.

The symposium is sponsored by the Indiana Law Review , a legal periodical edited and managed by students of IU McKinney Law that publishes scholarly articles by professors, judges, and practitioners from throughout the country. Andrea Kochert is editor of a special issue of the Law Review that will contain the proceedings of the symposium.

To purchase tickets to the dinner on April 4, or to the symposium with CLE credit on April 5, register online.

03/13/2013

Neuroscience and Law Class Tours IU Health's Goodman Hall

Students from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law toured Goodman Hall, the site of IU Health’s Neuroscience Center as part of the Neuroscience and Law class being taught during the spring 2013 semester by Dr. Tracy D. Gunter. The students made the tour on February 5, 2013.

Students visited several research and clinical areas at the site. During the clinical part of the tour, students learned how patients are helped to again learn how to walk, maintain their balance, and recover fine motor skills with the assistance of highly advanced robotics. A tour of the center’s magnetic resonance imaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging facilities, and an opportunity to learn how those images help surgeons in real time in the operating room, was also part of the class. Students then got to meet with Dr. Andrew J. Saykin for the research portion of the tour. Dr. Saykin’s work surrounds early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, and the basis of chemotherapy induced cognitive changes in the brain in cancer patients.

Phase I of the Neuroscience Center opened in August 2012 and is where patents can see all their specialists and receive all of their diagnostic imaging in one visit. Phase II of the center, which will include the completed research portion of the facility, is scheduled to open in 2014.

Dr. Gunter is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry, Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry at the IU School of Medicine, in addition to teaching as an adjunct professor at the law school. IU McKinney is one of the few law schools to offer a course in this rapidly emerging field. The Hall Center for Law and Health will sponsor two national research conferences on October 4, 2013, and March 28, 2014, to further encourage collaboration, education, and research in the area of neuroscience, health care, and law.

03/08/2013

IU McKinney to Offer Graduate Certificate in Criminal Law

A new Graduate Certificate in Criminal Law is now being offered at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

“We are excited to be able to offer this Criminal Law Certificate program to our students,” said Professor Yvonne Dutton, who will oversee the program. “It will enable students interested in careers in criminal law to focus their studies and obtain the expertise necessary to excel in their chosen field. It will also help them demonstrate their criminal law expertise to potential employers."

The law school has many criminal law course offerings that are taught by faculty with a scholarly interest in the field as well as practical criminal law experience. Included within the upper-level course offerings are seminars in criminal sentencing, cybercrime, white collar crime, the death penalty, and law and forensic science. Students may also choose to take advantage of many clinical opportunities in criminal law. Those clinic offerings include the Wrongful Conviction Clinic, Criminal Defense Clinic, and Appellate Clinic. The law school also offers students several externship placement opportunities through the Program on Law and State Government.

Finally, the school boasts a rich alumni base of criminal law practitioners with whom students may also connect in order to learn more about practicing in the field. Notable alumni practitioners include former U.S. Attorney and current U.S. Representative Susan Brooks ’85; Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry, ’78; John Pistole, ’81, head of the Transportation Security Administration; well-known criminal defense attorneys James H. Voyles, ’68, and Linda Pence, ‘74; and noted death penalty defense attorney Monica Foster, ’83.

The certificate will serve as a gateway for students pursuing practice in the criminal law field. That practice may include opportunities to work in prosecution, defense, government agencies, and nonprofit institutions. In fact, about 42 percent of the lawyers who work in the Indiana Attorney General’s Office are graduates of IU McKinney.

Among alumni with a thriving criminal law practice is Mary Zahn, ’01, who focuses primarily in criminal defense. She clerked at her firm, Voyles Zahn & Paul, for two and a half years. She began as an associate after passing the bar exam. Her father practiced criminal defense law, so Zahn knew this was the area she wanted to focus on, but her “real world” experience came from the law school’s Criminal Defense Clinic.

“I still remember meeting my first client from the clinic,” Zahn says. “I met him back in the lock-up behind the court room. It was very enlightening.”

Another graduate working on the other side of the aisle is Brienne Delaney, ’12, who became a Marion County deputy prosecutor in January 2013, where her sole responsibility is prosecuting misdemeanor cases. She began in the prosecutor’s office as communications director in May 2011 after completing her second year of law school as a full-time student. After beginning her work as communications director, she switched to the evening program to work full time. In addition to her coursework, she said her externship with the Marion Superior Courts was helpful in preparing for her future vocation.

03/08/2013

SJD Candidate Mohamed Arafa Presents Latest Scholarship

Arafa presented on his latest article at the third annual “Workshop on International and Comparative Law” at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, March 1-2, 2013. The article titled “President Mursi’s Egypt Arab Spring: Does Egypt Continue to be a Civil State or under the Umbrella of Islamic (Sharie’a) Law and Islamism?” The article was published in the United States-China Law Review , Vol. 9, No. 6 (2012).

He then traveled to Washington, D.C., for “Tunisian Legal Reform: Justice Sector Reform in Tunisia Symposium” on March 8, 2013, at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building. He presented a talk titled “Corruption as a Universal Crime and Ways to Combat it in the Arab Spring Revolutions.” The talk was based on his work in progress titled “Conventional and Unconventional Corruption in Post-Revolution Egypt: Time and Way to Reform.” Arafa also presented this work at Harvard Law School’s “Institute for Global Law and Policy” in January 2013 in Doha, Qatar.

Arafa is an assistant professor of criminal law and criminal justice at Alexandria University Faculty of Law in Egypt. During the Fall 2012 semester, he taught as an adjunct professor of Law at IU McKinney. He also was named to the editorial board of the United States-China Law Review as an honored reviewer.

03/08/2013

Indianapolis Legal Aid Society Fundraiser to Feature Big Names from Bench and Bar

The Indianapolis Legal Aid Society (ILAS) will host a continuing legal education seminar titled “Timeless Tips from the Bench and Bar” on April 23 that will feature well-known members of the bench and bar, including several IU McKinney Law alumni and professors.

In order of appearance, the speakers will be the Hon. Randall T. Shepard, who also is a visiting professor at the law school; the Hon. Terry A. Crone; the Hon. Michael P. Barnes, the Hon. Nancy H. Vaidik; the Hon. Tanya Walton Pratt; the Hon. James Kirsch, ’74; the Hon. Paul D. Mathias; the Hon. Edward W. Najam, Jr.; former IU McKinney Dean William F. Harvey; former Indiana Supreme Court Justice and IU McKinney Professor Frank Sullivan, Jr.; the Hon. Cale Bradford, ’86; the Hon. Theodore R. Boehm; Samuel R. “Chic” Born, II; the Hon. Patricia Riley, ’74; Thomas L. Davis; G. Michael Witte, ’82; and James H. Voyles, Jr., ’68.

Since 1941 the ILAS has provided free attorneys to the poor. Each year over 14,000 people make appointments. ILAS’s eight attorneys meet with 8,000 people, and appear an average of three times per day in court, making ILAS one of the busiest law firms in America.

The CLE fundraiser will be held at the Indianapolis Marriott North, and cost is $300 for six hours of CLE and one hour of ethics credit. Find a link to the agenda and registration materials on the website of ILAS board member Curtis Shirley, ’91.

03/08/2013

SJD Candidate Mohamed Abdelaal Takes Part in Conference at Columbia University

Mohamed Abdelaal, an SJD candidate at IU McKinney, took part in “Paradigmatic Conflict and Crisis” a conference sponsored by the Columbia University Department of Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS).

The conference was held February 28 through March 1, 2013, in New York City. The MESAAS conference brought together graduate students working on the social and intellectual traditions of those three regions for constructive exchanges in a welcoming and stimulating environment. Through those exchanges, students are offered the opportunity to capitalize on the participants’ very diverse range of backgrounds by exploring common theoretical and methodological challenges and concerns, and by being exposed to new insights that could be of value to their graduate-level work and future academic careers.

03/08/2013

Cane Award Honorees Announced

IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law students have chosen faculty and staff to honor with the annual Cane Awards for 2013.

The Velma Dobbins White Cane Award to the most outstanding administrative staff member goes to Carlota Toledo, associate director of Student Affairs. Toledo was appointed to her post in January 2010, and is responsible for academic advising and helping students improve their performance in law school. In addition, she helps students adapt to the demands of law school, mange time and stress, and apply and prepare for the bar exam, among other duties.

The recipient of the Red Cane Award for the most outstanding professor who has been with the law school for three years or less is Professor Lahny Silva, who joined the law faculty in summer 2011. A Dean's Fellow at IU McKinney, Professor Silva received her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law, and her LL.M. from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. She has received two CALI awards from the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, one for Advanced Constitutional Law Freedom of Speech and one for Contemporary Issues in Criminal Law. Professor Silva teaches criminal law, criminal procedure: adjudication, and criminal procedure: investigation.

The Black Cane Award for most outstanding professor was given to Professor Eric Dannenmaier. Professor Dannenmaier is the director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, and is a Dean’s Fellow. He received his J.D. from Boston University, an LL.M. from Columbia University, an M.St. from Oxford University, and a J.S.D. from Columbia University. He teaches environmental law, natural resources law, water law, energy law and policy, property, constitutional law, administrative law, and international environmental law.

03/08/2013

State Representative Brian C. Bosma, '84, to Speak to St. Thomas More Society

Brian C. Bosma, ’84, speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, will offer an update on the current session of the Indiana General Assembly during a meeting of the St. Thomas More Society on March 25, 2013, at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. 

In addition to crafting the biennial budget for the state, the General Assembly’s goals are to expand educational opportunities and provide more potential for job creation by addressing the skills gap for Indiana workers.

Speaker Bosma was first elected in 1986 to represent House District 88, which today encompasses the northeast portion of Marion County, a portion of southern Hamilton County, and the western portion of Hancock County. He is a partner in the Indianapolis-based law firm Kroger Gardis & Regas, focusing his practice in the areas of local government and environmental law. He was a founding director of Bosma Industries for the Blind, Inc., which today employs over 85 blind and visually impaired Hoosiers in Central Indiana.

The event is free and open to the public, and features one hour of continuing legal education credit (pending approval). The lecture will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the law school’s Wynne Courtroom, with a reception following at 6:30 p.m. in the Atrium.

03/08/2013

U.S. Attorney Hogsett to Speak at IU McKinney Symposium on Law and the Financial Crisis

Joe Hogsett, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, is among the distinguished group of academic, government, and business leaders who will make presentations at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law’s national symposium on “Law and the Financial Crisis” in Indianapolis on April 5, 2013.

Hogsett, the federal government’s chief law enforcement officer for central and southern Indiana, will participate in a panel slated to examine law’s effectiveness in addressing the financial crisis. With Barnes & Thornburg partner Mark Stuaan, Hogsett will discuss the role of criminal and civil enforcement actions in combatting financial misconduct. They will be joined on the panel by Professor Cheryl Block of Washington University School of Law, who will offer insights on the Dodd-Frank Act’s contribution to addressing problems identified during the financial crisis. The panel discussion will be moderated by Professor Tod Perry of the IU Kelley School of Business.

The Symposium will be preceded by a dinner on Thursday, April 4, at which Kevin T. Kabat, vice chairman and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp, will provide “Perspectives on the Financial Crisis.” Kabat has won praise for his guiding of Fifth Third through the financial crisis. The dinner will begin at 7 p.m. in the law school’s Atrium.

Former Indiana Senator Evan Bayh will present the keynote address at 8:30 a.m. to begin the symposium, titled “Law and the Financial Crisis,” on April 5 in the law school’s Wynne Courtroom. Senator Bayh’s lecture will focus on his experience as a member of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs during the financial crisis.

Other panel discussions during the event will examine the connection between law and the financial crisis by pursuing law’s role in causing the crisis; and law’s potential in preventing the next one.

The symposium is sponsored by the Indiana Law Review , a legal periodical edited and managed by students of IU McKinney Law that publishes scholarly articles by professors, judges, and practitioners from throughout the country. Andrea Kochert is editor of a special issue of the Law Review that will contain the proceedings of the symposium.

To purchase tickets to the dinner on April 4, or to the symposium with CLE credit on April 5, register online.

03/06/2013

Fifth Third Bancorp CEO Kevin Kabat to Kickoff ILR Symposium

Kevin T. Kabat, vice chairman and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp, will present his “Perspectives on the Financial Crisis” at a dinner on April 4, 2013, kicking off the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law’s national symposium on “Law and the Financial Crisis.”

Kabat, who has been Fifth Third’s CEO since 2007, has won praise for his guiding of Fifth Third through the financial crisis. Kabat received his bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Purdue University. Fifth Third is a major presence in the central Indiana banking market and its employees are active participants in the life of the community. Fifth Third Bank and Fifth Third Foundation provided a $5 million gift for the Eskenazi Health Capital Campaign. The new facility is expected to open in December 2013.

The dinner will begin at 7:00 p.m. on April 4 in the Law School Atrium. The Symposium will follow the next day, also at the Law School.

Former Indiana Senator Evan Bayh will deliver the keynote address to begin the symposium, titled “Law and the Financial Crisis,” on April 5 in the law school’s Wynne Courtroom. Senator Bayh’s lecture will focus on his experience as a member of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs during the financial crisis.

Panel discussions during the event will feature distinguished national academic, government, and business leaders and examine the connection between law and the financial crisis by pursuing three inquiries: (1) law’s role in instigating the financial crisis; (2) law’s effectiveness in addressing the financial crisis; and (3) law’s potential in preventing the next financial crisis.

The symposium is sponsored by the Indiana Law Review, a legal periodical edited and managed by students of IU McKinney Law that publishes scholarly articles by professors, judges, and practitioners from throughout the country. Andrea Kochert is editor of a special issue of the Law Review that will contain the proceedings of the symposium.

To purchase tickets to the dinner on April 4, or to the symposium with CLE credit on April 5, register online.

03/04/2013

Symposium Tackles Great Lakes Natural Resource Governance

Invasive species, hydraulic fracturing, and emerging challenges were among the topics covered at the 2013 Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program spring symposium titled “Great Lakes Natural Resource Governance.” The event was the work of the Indiana International & Comparative Law Review, the Environmental Law Society, the Environmental Law Forum, and IU McKinney’s environmental law alumni. The symposium was March 1, 2013, in the Wynne Courtroom.

The day’s keynote lecture, titled “Great Lakes Priorities and Policy Initiatives,” was given by Cameron Davis, senior advisor to the administrator for the Great Lakes at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. Davis talked about the different factors that go into good governance, including making forward-looking decisions that are based on good science.

Emerging challenges was the topic for panel one, made up of Jessica Dexter, staff attorney of the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago; and Nick Schroeck, executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center in Detroit.

Panel two – made up of Scott McKenzie of Shields Mott Lund LLP in New Orleans; and Cole Atlin, master’s candidate at Western University in London, Ontario – discussed invasive species and the threat they bring to the Great Lakes.

Hydraulic fracturing was the subject of panel three, discussed by Christopher Henkel, associate professor at Mississippi College of Law in Jackson, Mississippi; and Joanna Glowacki, an environmental attorney in Chicago.

Panel four discussed ethical governance and the role of rights. This panel was made up of Saby Ghoshray, president of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Study in Houston; and Jacqueline P. Hand, professor at Detroit Mercy Law School in Detroit.

An update and perspective on changing legal regimes was offered by Joseph Dellapenna of Villanova University School of Law, and Davis.

The fifth and final panel of the day looked at comparative models. This topic was covered by Mark S. Davis, director of the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy in New Orleans; Gina Warren, associate professor of law at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth; Richard Paisley, director of the International Waters Governance Initiative in Vancouver, British Columbia; and Reed Benson, professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

The day’s final presentation, “Prospects for Future Governance,” was offered by Professor Eric Dannenmaier, director of the law school’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program.

03/01/2013

Professor Andrew Klein to Speak at Symposium Honoring Former Chief Justice Shepard

Professor Andrew R. Klein will be part of a panel discussion at the Valparaiso University Law Review Symposium on April 19, 2013. The symposium will cover the topic “Diversity in Legal Education and the Legal Profession,” and will honor former Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard.

Professor Klein’s panel will begin the daylong symposium with the topic, “Assistance in Action: CLEO’s Contribution to Diversity in the Legal Profession.” Professor Klein will be joined by Robyn Rucker, ’02, associate director of career planning at Valparaiso; Michael Hunter Schwartz, associate dean for faculty and academic development at Washburn University School of Law; and Maria Pabon Lopez, dean and the Judge Adrian G. Duplantier Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Dean Lopez was a professor at IU McKinney from 2002 through 2011.

Indiana’s Conference for Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) was established in 1997 at the urging of Chief Justice Shepard with the aim of helping college students in need to pursue a law degree in Indiana. The program consists of a Summer Institute to introduce the new CLEO Fellows to the program and an annual stipend provided the students remain eligible. Over 400 students have successfully completed the institute and over 300 have graduated from law school. Former Chief Justice Shepard is a visiting professor at IU McKinney.

Professor Klein is the Paul E. Beam Professor of Law, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Chancellor, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at IUPUI.

03/01/2013

Professor Terry Speaks on the Role of IT in Healthcare Reform at ACLM Meeting

Professor Nicolas Terry delivered the S. Sandy Sanbar Lecture on the topic "Assessing Whether Information Technology Can Be a Positive, Disruptive Force for Healthcare Reform" at the American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM) meeting in Las Vegas on February 23, 2013.

The Sanbar Lecture is named for a former president of ACLM. The organization promotes the professional advancement through education, research, publications, and interdisciplinary and collaborative exchanges of information among its members, more than half of which hold medical and legal degrees.

Professor Terry is the Hall Render Professor of Law and co-director of the William S. and Christine S. Hall Center for Law and Health. Professor Terry’s research interests lie primarily at the intersection of medicine, law and information technology. He is a permanent blogger at the HealthLawProf Blog  and at Harvard Law School’s Bill of Health.

02/25/2013

Professor Emmert Makes Presentations in Italy, India

Professor Frank Emmert made a presentation on "An Economic Analysis of Islamic Law" at the conference "Crossroads East and West: Visions of the Economy in the Islamic and Western Legal Traditions" at International University College of Turin in Italy on February 4, 2013. He taught a series of lectures on European integration at Symbiosis International University in Pune, India, February 17-21, 2013.

He also is again chairing an international expert commission for the accreditation or re-accreditation of several law programs in Lithuania this semester and traveled to Lithuania for site evaluations in late February 2013. In early April, Professor Emmert will co-chair a conference at American University Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in the context of the Soros Foundation Higher Education Support Program.

He will also travel to Chisinau, Moldova, for an evaluation of the new post-graduate program in international human rights law at Moldova State University, and he is planning to attend the 25th anniversary celebration of the European Law Moot Court at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on April 12, 2013. After having taught "WTO Law" in the law school's program in Cairo, Egypt in January, he will return there to teach "European Union Law - Doing Business in and with the Internal Market" in April and May.

Professor Emmert is the John S. Grimes Professor of Law. He teaches European union law, comparative law, international business transactions, international commercial arbitration, international trade law, legal systems in transition, world trade organization law.

02/25/2013

Professor Winters Presents at Food Law Colloquium

Professor Diana R. H. Winters took part in the 2013 Food Law Colloquium on February 23. Titled “Local Food|Global Food: Do We Have What It Takes to Reinvent the U.S. Food System?” the event was hosted by the Maine Law Review and the University of Maine School of Law.

The panel Professor Winters was part of was given the topic “Flaws in Federal Approaches to Food Regulations, and Proposed Fixes.” She was there to talk about “How Reliance on the Private Enforcement of Public Regulatory Programs Undermines Food Safety in the United States: The Case of Needled Meat.” Other subjects addressed during the event concerned the intersection of the food movement and the First Amendment, obesity prevention policies, food choice, sustainable food systems, food and climate, and future food policy.

Professor Winters joined the IU McKinney faculty in August 2012. She was a visiting assistant professor at Boston University School of Law, where she also was the Health Law Scholar. Professor Winters teaches health law, torts, and FDA law.

02/25/2013

Graduate Studies Lecture Series Examines Rwandan Genocide

The genocide in Rwanda and that nation’s struggle to reconcile its citizens with one another was the topic of the fourth installment of the Graduate Studies Lecture Series.

Dr. Ian McIntosh, Director of International Partnerships of the Office of International Affairs at IUPUI; and Kizito Kalima, survivor and co-founder of the Amahoro Project for Forgiveness and Reconciliation, delivered lectures on the subject in the Wynne Courtroom on February 5, 2013.

The genocide in Rwanda happened in 1994 when the rival ethnic Hutu and Tutsi peoples clashed for control of the government. Death toll estimates over the approximately 100 days of the genocide range from 500,000 to 1,000,000, as much as 20 percent of the population.

Dr. McIntosh talked about Rwandan efforts to create an ethnic free society, where the use of the names Hutu and Tutsi are curtailed, save for commemoration of the genocide. He outlined some of the stages of reconciliation the government has put in place for its people, in addition to the elimination of ethnic distinctions, including the granting of partial amnesty for crimes in exchange for the truth of what happened during the genocide, and the mandating of apologies on the part of the perpetrators of the crimes and the acceptance of those apologies by those harmed by crimes.

Kalima talked about how he survived the genocide, which began in April 1994 when he was a freshman in high school. He is Tutsi, and survived a blow to the head from a man wielding a machete. Kalima said he was determined from that point that if he had to die, it would be by a bullet. He ran from people with guns every time he was rounded up and while he was shot at, the bullets never hit him. He eventually hid in a banana plantation until peace was restored in July 1994.

Sports were a refuge for him, Kalima said, and he eventually found solace and stability at school in Uganda. He immigrated to the United States, and moved to Indianapolis for work in 2006. His mission is to help other young genocide survivors. He believes that the Rwandan plan for reconciliation “looks good on paper” but that “genuine reconciliation has to come from the heart.”

02/25/2013

MMK Honoree Seeks to Understand Bioethical Challenges through Theatre

A look at how issues of bioethics are dealt with through plays staged since the 1960s was the topic of the McDonald Merrill Ketcham (MMK) Lecture at the law school on February 7, 2013. This year’s MMK honoree was Karen H. Rothenberg, J.D., M.P.A., Marjorie Cook Professor of Law and founding Director of the Law & Health Care Program at the University of Maryland School of Law. She served as that law school’s dean from 1999-2009.

The McDonald Merrill Ketcham Lecture and Award in Law and Medicine brings leading scholars and policy makers in the fields of law and medicine to the IUPUI campus for presentations at both the law and medical schools.

Following Rothenberg’s lecture, a panel discussion lead by Janet Allen, artistic director of the Indiana Repertory Theatre, also examined the MMK lecture topic. Other panelists included Dr. Margaret Gaffney and Dr. Peter Schwartz, both of whom are faculty investigators at the IU Center for Bioethics, and Professor William Schneider, director of Medical Humanities at IUPUI.

02/25/2013

IU McKinney International Moot Court Teams Show Promise

IU McKinney School of Law has two internationally focused moot court teams, and both have hopes of expanding on their successes.

The Jessup Moot Court team finished in the top eight among 22 teams at regional competition in Chicago during the weekend of February 2 and 3, 2013. In the run up to the competition, the team faced a set of circumstances that would have knocked a lesser team out of making the trip to the competition in the first place, team members said.

One team member had to bow out at the last minute due to the flu, meaning the team that argued at competition was made up of only three members – the only three-member team in the competition. Despite the obstacles, they beat law school teams from the University of Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and IU Maurer. This year’s team is made up of 1L Paul Babcock, 2L Devin Hillsdon-Smith, 2L Keenan Wilson, and 2L Amanda Miller.

The Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world's largest moot court competition, with participants from over 550 law schools in more than 80 countries. The competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations.

IU McKinney has its first team for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition, which will be held in Vienna, Austria, March 21-28, 2013. Team members are Hillsdon-Smith, 3L Mary Ladd, 3L Sam Kerkhoff, and 3L Mike Blackwell.

The goals of the Vis competition are to foster the study of international commercial and arbitration laws and encourage the resolution of business disputes by arbitration. The problem for the competition is always based on an international sales transaction subjected to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

02/25/2013

International and Comparative Law Review Boards Announced

The Indiana International & Comparative Law Review has announced its Volume 24 Executive and Editorial Board members. This group of students will lead the publication during the 2013-2014 academic year, formally taking the reins after commencement in May 2013.

Volume 24 Executive Board:

• Editor-in-Chief: Sukrat Baber
• Executive Managing Editor: Zachary Ahonen
• Executive Articles Editor: Sean Denault
• Executive Notes Editor: Sarah Harrell
• Executive Symposium Editors: Emma Mahern (Live Symposium Coordinator); David Dickmeyer (Publication Editor)
• Executive Notes Development Editor: Alyssa Taylor
• Executive Articles Development Editor: Nicholas Johnston
• Executive Production Editor: Tarah M.C. Baldwin

Volume 24 Editorial Board:

• Jon Burns
• Andrew Emhardt
• Kyle Forgue
• Katelyn Holub
• Marianne Luu
• Patrick Mcintyre
• Keaton Miller
• Lane Tuttle
• Vanessa Woolsey
• Graham Youngs

02/25/2013

SJD Candidate Published Article on Religious Constitutionalism in Egypt

Mohamed Abdelaal, an SJD candidate at IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law, recently, published an article about the phenomenon of religious constitutionalism and constitutional rhetoric in which he cites Egypt as an example. The article, titled “Religious Constitutionalism in Egypt: A Case Study,” appears in the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs , Vol. 37 (2013).

Abdelaal is a lecturer of constitutional and administrative law at the Alexandria University Faculty of Law.

02/25/2013

Professor Cynthia Adams' New Book to Be Released in March 2013

Lamenting the lack of a book for non-English speaking law students to assist with teaching contract drafting, Professor Cynthia Adams,’83, and her co-author, Professor Peter K. Cramer, decided to write one.

That book, Drafting Contracts in Legal English: Cross-Border Agreements Governed by U.S. Law, will be published in March 2013. Professor Adams is a clinical professor of law at IU McKinney who teaches contract drafting, legal analysis and communication, integrated contracts, civil procedure, trusts and estates, and legal process at the law school. Her co-author, Professor Cramer, is a non-native English speaker and a linguist. He also is assistant dean for graduate programs at Washington University in St. Louis.

“The language of business internationally increasingly is English,” Professor Adams says, “and knowledge of how to draft contracts in English is a skill that is highly in demand.” The first part of the new book details the pitfalls practitioners may fall into, while the second part of the book describes different kinds of provisions in contracts, with an international spin to them. Chapters outline preliminary drafting concerns, word choice and sentence structure, and the importance of clear and concise writing. The work also takes into account phrases that non-native English speakers may hear and not be familiar with and translates or explains as many of those as possible.

Professor Cramer, a native of Germany, has taught as an adjunct professor at IU McKinney’s program at the University of Cairo.

Professor Adams is known for her passion for teaching law students whose native language is not English. She most recently presented on the topics of drafting contracts for non-native English speakers, the methodology of clinical instruction, and academic writing strategies in Costa Rica, Kenya, and South Africa.

02/25/2013

Inter-country Human Rights Topic of International Student Speaker Event

Students from Australia, Brazil, and France talked about inter-country human rights during the February 21, 2013, installment of the International Student Speaker Series. The event was held in the law school’s Faculty Lounge.

LL.M. students Sarah Kathleen Dunkley of Australia and Gabriela Pereira Castilhos of Brazil, and Angelique Odette Devaux, LL.M. ’12, of France gave presentations on the topic.

The event is organized and sponsored by Associate Dean for International Affairs Professor Karen Bravo and the Master of Laws Association.

02/25/2013

IU McKinney Student Wins New International IP Writing Competition

Pervin Taleyarkhan, a 2013 J.D. candidate at IU McKinney, has won first prize and $500 in the inaugural Pondering Intellectual Property Competition, an international writing contest.

Taleyarkhan’s paper, titled “Intellectual Property: Protecting the Intellect or the Property,” was part of the competition sponsored by the National University of Juridical Sciences, the Intellectual Property and Technology Society, and Spicy IP.

The topic for the competition was "Should the process of creating an invention or work determine its protectability as an intellectual property?" In her paper, Taleyarkhan argued that the process involved in the creation or invention stages should not determine a particular invention or work's protectability. In doing so, she analogized IP to Warren Buffet's investment philosophy: "Price is what you pay, value is what you get," which stresses the crucial difference between price of company stocks and the company's ultimate value. The link with IP is that the "price paid" is the process of arriving at an innovation, while the Buffet concept of "value" is how much society values a particular innovation. Taleyarkhan points out that the two are wildly different and thus one should not depend on the other.

The competition was judged by experts from around the world, including: Professor David Vaver of Osgoode Hall Law School; Professor Lionel Bently, director of the Centre for IP Law, University of Cambridge; Professor Graeme Dinwoodie, director of the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Center at the University of Oxford; Professor Shamnad Basheer, MHRD Chair Professor in IP law at the National University of Juridical Sciences, India; and Judge Randall R. Rader, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

“I was truly honored by this, mainly because it is a field in which I am gaining ever-increasing interest,” Taleyarkhan said of the win. “It was encouraging to hear that my work in IP law is worthy of recognition on an international level. The judges included Judge Radar, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). I hear about the CAFC constantly in my IP courses so Judge Radar in particular is more like a celebrity to me. Again, it was truly an honor and I am pleased beyond measure that I could make IU McKinney proud.”

Taleyarkhan lives in Lafayette, and graduated in 2009 from Purdue University with a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering. Throughout her undergraduate studies, she worked as a student researcher, conducting studies in cardiovascular engineering under the mentorship of the late Professor Leslie A. Geddes, a pioneer in electrical/biomedical engineering and recipient of the National Medal of Technology in 2006.

Upon graduation, Taleyarkhan, who also is editor-in-chief of the Indiana Health Law Review , plans to work in IP either at a law firm or on her own, with a 10-year-goal of working in-house for a business. “ I enjoy being involved with a process/endeavor throughout its progression. Plus, I am fascinated with the inner workings and rapid decision-making processes that businesses have to make to stay afloat (and prosper), and would love nothing more than to be a part of that.”

02/25/2013

Student's Law Review Note to Be Published in Wests Intellectual Property Law Review

Reanna L. Kuitse, 2013 J.D. candidate at IU McKinney, will see her note about Christian Louboutin’s “Red Sole Mark” reprinted in Thomson Reuters (West) 2013 edition of the Intellectual Property Law Review. It first appeared the Indiana Law Review, 46 Ind. L. Rev. 241.

The note examines whether a trademark, such as Louboutin’s distinctive red lacquered sole with which he marked all of his high-heeled shoes, can be based solely on color in the fashion industry. Yves Saint Laurent put red soles on the bottoms of its high-heeled shoes in 2011, and Louboutin filed a motion for an injunction, which was denied by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Louboutin appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which found the District Court’s reasoning for denying the injunction was inconsistent with case law.

“I am extremely excited about the news and I would like to thank everyone who helped make the piece possible including the Indiana Law Review , my friends and my family,” Kuitse said. She is executive articles editor for the law review.

After graduating and taking the bar exam, Kuitse will be an associate at the law firm Rothberg Logan & Warsco in Fort Wayne. She currently is an intern with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

02/25/2013

McKinney Law Symposium to Examine Potential to Prevent a Future Financial Crisis

The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law will host a major national symposium on “Law and the Financial Crisis” on April 5, 2013.

One of the panels slated for that day will examine the potential for the law to prevent the next financial crisis. Professor David Herzig of Valparaiso School of Law will moderate a panel made up of Professor M. Todd Henderson of the University of Chicago School of Law, and Professor Lisa Nicholson of the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. Professor Henderson has private sector experience counseling clients on business and regulatory strategy, and he will speak about new strategies for regulation. Professor Nicholson has securities and commercial litigation experience and will speak on the subject of corporate governance.

Former Indiana Senator Evan Bayh will present the keynote address to kick off the event. Senator Bayh’s lecture will focus on his experience with the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs during the financial crisis.

The symposium is sponsored by the Indiana Law Review , a legal periodical edited and managed by students of IU McKinney Law that publishes scholarly articles by professors, judges, and practitioners from throughout the country. Andrea Kochert is editor of a special issue of the Law Review that will contain the proceedings of the symposium.