UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
COLLEGE OF LAW
Dean Charles J. Tabb
Alice Curtis Campbell Professor of Law
Interim Dean
Telephone (217) 333-9857
ctabb@law.uiuc.edu
February 2008
Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, Campus Leaders, and Friends,
This is always the time of year in Champaign when it tends to get a bit cold, the students and professors come back and dive in with enthusiasm (mostly) on a new semester, we think back fondly on our trip to the Rose Bowl (well, not every year), and we take stock of what we have done and what exciting events are in store for the new year. This month's newsletter will highlight some notable recent achievements of some of our great faculty, of whom we all are justly proud. A fuller exposition of faculty achievements would run for about a hundred pages, which might be a bit much, so I have tried to select just a few.
Professor Solum named inaugural Associate Dean for Faculty and Research
Professor Lawrence Solum, the John E. Cribbet Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, has been named the inaugural Associate Dean for Faculty and Research at the University of Illinois College of Law. Professor Solum will oversee mentoring and faculty development, coordinate the lectures, symposia, and workshops held at the College, assist with the activities of the College's Scholarly Programs, and serve on the Promotion and Tenure and Appointments committees. Professor Solum is an internationally recognized expert on Legal Theory, who works on general jurisprudence, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Internet Governance, and a variety of other topics. He is the author of Legal Theory Blog, and recently edited the first anthology on the relationship between virtue theory and the law, Virtue Jurisprudence, with Dr. Colin Farrelly. His current projects include Civil Procedure: Principles and Theory, under contract with Oxford University Press, Semantic Originalism, to be published in the Northwestern University Law Review, and Virtue Jurisprudence: An Aretaic Theory of Law.
At last month's AALS Conference in New York City, Larry participated in the Section on Constitutional Law's panel on the "New Originalism and Its Critics" and presented a paper entitled "Zombies," for the panel on legal personhood organized by the Section on Jurisprudence. His recent conference appearances include the annual conferences of the American Political Science Association, the Law and Society Association, and presentations at Harvard University, the Sorbonne, Stanford University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Three outstanding scholars to join our faculty: Welcome to Professors Nicola Sharpe, Jamelle Sharpe, and Dan Hamilton!
I am delighted to announce that three exciting young scholars will be joining the College of Law faculty next fall. Professor Dan Hamilton will come to Illinois from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, while Professors Jamelle Sharpe and Nicola Sharpe will join us after completing prestigious teaching and research fellowships at the University of Chicago and Northwestern, respectively.
Professor Hamilton received his Ph.D. in American legal history in 2003 from Harvard University, where he was a resident tutor in history and law at Harvard College. He received his J.D. from George Washington University and his B.A. from Oberlin College. He was a Golieb Fellow in Legal History at New York University School of Law during the 2003-04 academic year. His research presentations include talks at the American Society for Legal History, the Law and Society Association, New York University School of Law, and several guest lectures at Harvard Law School. In the fall of 2007, Dan taught a short session course at Illinois on "American Legal History, 1860-1969: From the Civil War to the Warren Court." He received rave reviews from his students, who implored us to hire him permanently – so we did!
Dan researches and writes primarily on American property ideology and the legal and constitutional issues raised by the Civil War. In only four years as a professor, professor Hamilton has written numerous articles and reviews on American legal history, including works in Civil War History, the Chicago-Kent Law Review, the Journal of Supreme Court History, the Journal of American History, the Journal of Southern History, the Journal of Interdisciplinary History, the Journal of National Security Law, and the Law and History Review. His tour-de-force is his masterful book, The Limits of Sovereignty: Property Confiscation in the Union and the Confederacy During the Civil War, which was published last year by the University of Chicago Press. He will teach property, legal history, and constitutional law.
Professor Nicola Sharpe comes to Illinois from the Northwestern Law School faculty after serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor for the past two years. Professor Sharpe earned her law degree from the Yale Law School, and her MBA from the Yale School of Management. After graduation, she was an associate with the antitrust group of Shearman & Sterling LLP, where she counseled corporate clients on a wide variety of antitrust matters. Professor Sharpe then served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Florida Coastal School of Law during the 2005-2006 academic year. She is a member of the New York Bar. Her areas of expertise include Corporate Governance, Business Associations, Antitrust, and Complex Civil Litigation. She recently published "Is Apple Playing Fair? Navigating the iPod Fairplay DRM Controversy" in the Northwestern Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property. She earned her B.A. from Cornell University and her M.B.A. and J.D. from Yale University.
Professor Jamelle Sharpe joins the Illinois faculty from the University of Chicago School of Law, after serving as the Bigelow Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Law. Professor Sharpe received a B.A. from the New York University in 1997. He graduated from Yale Law School in 2003, where he served as the managing editor of the Yale Journal of International Law. Following law school, he worked as a litigation associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City, and then clerked for Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Professor Sharpe's research and teaching interests include Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Complex Civil Litigation, and Federal Courts.
Special thanks and kudos to Professor Bruce Smith, the Faculty Appointments Committee chair, to Stacey Ballmes, who coordinates the work of that Committee, and to the members of the Appointments Committee, Professors Jennifer Robbennolt, Matthew Finkin, David Hyman, and Amitai Aviram, and Associate Dean Ralph Brubaker.
College receives $1.3 million gift in honor of Professor Colombo
Last month, the College received a remarkable $1.3 million annuity trust gift from 86-year old June Michael in honor of her cousin, Professor John Colombo, the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Professor. This wonderful gift will be used to create the John D. Colombo Professorship in Law and several need-based student scholarships, named the June E. Michael and John D. Colombo Scholarships. A native of Herrin, June was married to Dr. Vernon Michael, a family physician, for 48 years until his passing nearly three years ago. She continues to live in St. Louis. A fitting tribute to one of the College's most valued faculty members.
International scholar William Davey receives honorary doctorate in Switzerland
Professor William Davey, the Guy Raymond Jones Chair in Law, was presented with an honorary doctor of laws degree by the University of Berne (Switzerland) at its 173rd Dies Academicus on December 1, 2007. Professor Davey was cited "for his fundamental work in the development and evolution of the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement system, thanks to which numerous trade conflicts were peaceably resolved; for his outstanding academic contributions to the law of GATT and the new WTO in the search for balanced and fair rules for international trade; and for his longstanding efforts to promote knowledge of European law in the United States so as to advance and contribute to the trans-Atlantic dialogue."
Professor Davey, who joined the College of Law faculty in 1984, teaches courses on international trade law, European Union law, and international business transactions. He served as the Director of Legal Affairs of the World Trade Organization from 1995 to 1999. In 2004, Professor Davey received the Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement, the highest award bestowed upon a University of Illinois faculty member for scholarship and service within the international community. Since its founding in 2001, he has been on the faculty of the Masters Program in International Law and Economics at University of Berne.
Another Honorary Doctoral recipient: Professor Thomas Ulen (in the eyes of student Nana Little)
Professor Davey was the second Law faculty member to receive an honorary doctorate in the fall. In October, Professor Thomas Ulen, holder of a University-wide Swanlund Chair, and Director of the College's Program in Law and Economics, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) in Leuven, Belgium. Here is an eyewitness report of the ceremony from current law student Nana Little:
"Professor Ulen was recognized for his pioneering work in the field of Law and Economics, as well as for serving as a bridge between the U.S. and Europe. The ceremony was held in the University Hall – a grand setting of historical significance – followed by a beautiful reception where Professor Ulen was seen constantly surrounded by colleagues and past students who had come to congratulate him. As an exchange student at KUL, I have witnessed the fondness and respect with which the faculty talks about Professor Ulen. I share their admiration, because I have had the pleasure of being a student in several of Professor Ulen's classes at the University of Illinois College of Law. In class, he is engaging and dynamic, which explains why he is in such high demand and his classes become wait-listed. Outside of class, he is friendly and approachable, always welcoming questions and discussions. In short, Professor Ulen is the consummate scholar and teacher, and the honorary doctorate ceremony was a wonderful tribute to such a figure."
Professor Michael Moore saluted in Oxford University Press book on Criminal Law
As a College, we are always pleased to share news of the just recognition of the scholarly contributions our faculty. Professor Michael Moore, holder of the University-wide Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. Chair, and Co-Director of the College's Program in Law and Philosophy, was recently saluted by Rutgers University Professor of Philosophy Douglas Husak in a recently-released book, Overcriminalization: The Limits of the Criminal Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008). Here are a few excerpts:
Acknowledgements (p. ix):
"I owe an enormous debt to the legions of criminal theorists who have influenced and shaped my thought. Three deserve to be mentioned by name. George Fletcher originally sparked my interest in the philosophy of criminal law....My more recent debt -- both personally and professionally -- is to the two greatest Anglo-American criminal theorists on each side of the Atlantic. Michael Moore has something remarkably sophisticated and thoughtful to say about virtually every problem in the philosophy of criminal law, and his influence extends to almost every idea I defend here. Moreover, Moore's contagious enthusiasm for philosophical discussion is shown by his willingness to organize roundtable discussions in many of the most delightful venues in the United States, including his own home. I have had the privilege of attending several of these wonderful sessions, where many of my arguments were tested and refined."
Chapter 4: Alternative Theories of Criminalization (p. 196):
"Legal moralism is perhaps the most important theory of criminalization to rival the view I have defended here....In what follows, I focus attention on the particular account defended by Michael Moore, probably the most eminent philosopher of criminal law in the United States today. His monumental Placing Blame contains the most sophisticated explication and defense of legal moralism ever devised."
Professor Jacqueline Ross receives 2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar Grant
Professor Jacqueline Ross, an authority on international police procedures, is one of 10 University of Illinois faculty and administrative members who have been awarded a 2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar grant, based on academic and professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential in a particular field of study. Professor Ross is currently in France studying policing in immigrant communities. She is comparing France and the United States as part of a larger comparative study of undercover policing in the U.S., Italy, Germany, and France. Professor Ross is a guest researcher at the Institut des Sciences Sociales du Politique at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique de Cachan in Paris until June and recently presented a lecture at the Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature in Paris titled "Les differentes perspectives juridiques sur les infiltrations policieres: Les Etats-Unis, l'Italie, l'Allemagne, et la France," that is, "Different legal perspectives on undercover policing: the U.S., Italy, Germany, and France."
Professor George Bell named Illinois Legal Advocate of the Month
University of Illinois College of Law Professor George Bell was named the "Advocate of the Month" by the Illinois Legal Advocate. Professor Bell is the Director of the College's Civil Litigation Clinic, working with students representing clients in civil litigation matters under close supervision in a model law office setting. Illinois Legal Aid Online has produced an excellent video interview on its website, Illinois Legal Advocate, featuring Professor Bell. You can watch the interview here...
The Civil Litigation Clinic represents low-income individuals and families who do not have the resources to hire an attorney. Professor Bell joined the College of Law in 1996 after working for 20 years in the Champaign office of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance. He teaches classes in all aspects of civil litigation, while supervising the work of the senior law students who practice law with a temporary license from the Illinois Supreme Court. He has also developed and teaches a course in Poverty Law.
Professor Tom Ginsburg receives prestigious Abe Fellowship
Professor Tom Ginsburg, the Director of the College's Program in Asian Law, Politics, and Society, was awarded the prestigious Abe Fellowship by the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. The Abe Fellowship is designed to encourage international multidisciplinary research on topics of pressing global concern and to foster the development of a new generation of researchers who are interested in policy-relevant topics of long-range importance. Professor Ginsburg will utilize the Abe Fellowship to spend time in Korea, Taiwan and Japan during the Summer of 2008, working specifically on the topic "Legal Reform in Northeast Asia."
Professor Jay Kesan earns "Best Paper Award" at International Conference on System Sciences
Professor Jay Kesan, the Director of the College's Program in Intellectual Property & Technology Law and the Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Faculty Scholar, received a "Best Paper Award" at the 41st annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), sponsored by the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Professor Kesan teamed with Rajiv Shah from the University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Communication to publish "An Empirical Examination of Open Standards Development," earning the "Best Paper Award" in the Electronic Government category for E-Government Organization and Management. Since 1968, HICSS has been an internationally-known forum for the substantive interchange of ideas in all areas of information systems and technology. Professor Kesan's work is being funded by the National Science Foundation.
The Ultimate "Player/Coach" – Professor Steve Beckett named "Top 100 Attorney"
Professor J. Steven Beckett, the Director of the University of Illinois College of Law Trial Advocacy Program, was named a 2007-2008 "Top 100 Attorney" by the Leading Lawyers Network in the areas of Civil Rights/Constitutional Law, Criminal Defense Law: DUI, Criminal Defense Law: Felonies & Misdemeanors, and Criminal Defense Law: White Collar. Professor Beckett, a 1973 College of Law graduate and a native of Urbana, has practiced law in Champaign-Urbana since 1973 with a primary focus in litigation and appeals, both criminal and civil. One of the state's best-known defense attorneys, Professor Beckett is currently of counsel to the Urbana firm, Beckett & Webber, P.C., that he founded in 1988.
The lone downstate full-time law professor listed among the state's "Top 100 Attorneys," Professor Beckett also serves as the coach of the College's nationally-competitive Trial Team. Professor Beckett teaches skills training courses in Trial Advocacy and Client Counseling, Fact Investigation and Interviewing (CFI), and teaches substantive law courses in Evidence and White Collar Crime. He has been on the faculty of the College of Law since 1987.
International students enjoy annual trip to Lincoln Presidential Museum
In late November, 44 College of Law LL.M. students, accompanied by Assistant Dean Charlotte Ku and Professors Eric Leach and Victoria Hadfield, had the opportunity to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in nearby Springfield. Now in its third year of operation, the Museum has welcomed more than 1 million visitors from around the world to learn about America's 16th President. Our students also had the opportunity to witness nearly three hours of Illinois Supreme Court proceedings. What a great day to learn about Illinois and U.S. history for our students from Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Cameroon, Greece, Turkey, Mexico, China, Korea, India, and Saudi Arabia.
Chicago attorney Jay Ross '67 receives lifetime achievement award…in Music
Illinois law alumni frequently receive honors and awards for their work by representative bar associations and other legal organizations. Alumnus Jay Ross '67, however, is being honored for his legal work by another profession: Music! Last week, Mr. Ross received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th Annual Chicago Music Awards (CMA). Now celebrating 40 years as a practicing attorney in Entertainment Law, Ross's reputation and expertise have called upon him to consult and supervise negotiations for industry professionals not only in Chicago, but throughout the world. Mr. Ross has negotiated recording, licensing, and publishing agreements with every major record company as well as the most prominent television and film corporations, and was the guiding force behind one of the largest artist shares secured for a pay-per-view event in history (James Brown-Warner Brothers Pay-Per-View).
Mr. Ross has written articles for The Entertainment Law and Finance Newsletter, The Blues Heaven Foundation Newsletter, Hollywood East Magazine, The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Screen Magazine and The Illinois Entertainer, and the NARAS Foundation Quarterly. He has lent his hand to other media, hosting a radio program about Entertainment Law on WYTZ-FM (then Chicago's ABC radio affiliate) for five years, along with producing and hosting the ultimate insider's television show, Backstage with Jay B. Ross. As an educator, Mr. Ross has been a guest lecturer at the College of Law and has also taught Entertainment Law at Chicago-Kent Law School, the Chicago Board of Education, and Columbia College. He has also lectured on entertainment law to the Chicago Bar Association, The National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD), The Rhythm and Blues Convention, The Jack The Rapper Convention, The New Music Seminar, a Billboard Magazine Panel, MIDEM, the Cutting Edge Music Conference (Louisiana Convention, Legal Education), and numerous NARAS (the Grammy Award people) panels. He is the recipient of two Gottlieb Awards (given in conjunction with Columbia College) for Chicago's Best Attorney and Chicago's Best Manager of Musical Talent.
Today, Mr. Ross maintains his presence as a leading Entertainment Attorney from his Chicago office at 840 West Grand Avenue, where often you can hear clients greet him with, "how are you today Mr. Ross?," to which he will always modestly respond, "not bad for a beginner."
College of Law Community donates $39,359 to Campus Community Fund Drive
The College of Law community has once again displayed its benevolent spirit and willingness to donate to those less fortunate by exceeding its Campus Community Fund Drive goal and raising $39,359. The Campus Community Fund Drive provides funding for nearly a dozen local charitable and non-profit service organizations. This year, the overall drive raised $1.344 million for local charities and the College of Law was a big part of the success, increasing its overall giving by nearly 20% from last year. Our sincere thanks and gratitude to Roger "Dee" Shonkwiler, the College's Senior Library Specialist for Acquisitions, for spearheading the fund drive at the College of Law.
College of Law to host major academic conference on Debt – CLE credit available!
The University of Illinois College of Law is partnering with the American Bankruptcy Institute to present a major, multi-disciplinary conference on debt, titled "A Debtor World: Interdisciplinary Academic Symposium on Debt," welcoming scholars from around the world. Among the remarkable array of speakers and presenters are Terence Halliday (sociology, American Bar Foundation); Heidi Hurd (philosophy & law, Illinois); Brian Knutson (neuroscience, Stanford); Stephen Lea (psychology, Exeter); Gerry McNamara (management, Michigan State); J. Craig Muldrew (history, Cambridge); George Ritzer (sociology, Maryland); Amir Sufi (finance, Chicago); Teresa Sullivan (sociology, Michigan); Paul Vaaler (management, Minnesota); Elizabeth Warren (law, Harvard), and Richard Wiener (psychology, Nebraska).
Legal practitioners can earn CLE credit for attending the conference. You can register here…
The keynote speaker will be James Scurlock, Producer of the award-winning documentary film, Maxed Out, a film that takes viewers on a journey deep inside the American style of debt and forces us to face the consequences of our national debt addiction. Mr. Scurlock's film will be presented free to the general public and conference attendees at the University of Illinois' Foellinger Auditorium on Thursday, May 1 at 8 p.m.
Calendar of College of Law Events
February 2008
February 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Pedersen Pavilion: "Black History Month" Kickoff Reception, hosted by the Black Law Students Association. For more information, contact Keyonn Pope, President of BLSA, at kpope2@law.uiuc.edu.
February 12, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Room D: Black History Month Movie and Discussion, "Keys to the Kingdom," a segment of the "Eyes on the Prize" series, presented by the Black Law Students Association. For more information, contact Keyonn Pope, President of BLSA, at kpope2@law.uiuc.edu.
February 14, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Room A: "Reclaiming Hope from the Prison-Industrial Complex" by Professor Stephen Hartnett. The Prisoners' Rights Research Project will host Professor Stephen Hartnett. Stephen Hartnett is a professor in Speech Communication at the University of Illinois. He does work with prisoners, the death penalty, civil rights, and the rhetoric's of punishment.
February 16, 10:00 a.m.- 2 p.m., Max L. Rowe Auditorium: Diversity Law School Preview. This event is geared toward minority students interested in attending law school. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, a mock class will be taught by a law school professor, presentations from Paul Pless, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, and panel discussions with current law school students. Interested students must RSVP by 5 p.m. on February 9. Prospective attendees, please e-mail Ebony Reid (eareid2@law.uiuc.edu) or Jason Patterson (rjpatter@law.uiuc.edu) to provide the required personal information. Students attending will be expected to read the mock case in order to allow participation in the mock class. Materials will be e-mailed upon completion of RSVP process.
February 18, 12:00-1:15 p.m., Auditorium: "Lawyers in Politics" - A panel presentation featuring lawyers who are involved in working in the political arena discussing their careers.
February 19, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Room A: "Transgender Legal Issues" with John Knight, an attorney from the Illinois ACLU in Chicago. Mr. Knight will be presenting a lecture about transgender legal issues.
February 21, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Room C: Lunch with Alumni from Dallas. You are invited to have lunch with visiting alumni for an informal discussion about the Dallas legal market and lifestyle. Lunch will be provided to the first 60 students. For more information contact Sunda Wells at 217-265-5345 or sunda@law.uiuc.edu.
February 21, 4:00-6:00 p.m., Pedersen Pavilion: Peer's Pub: Great American Cities Program featuring Dallas. Students have the opportunity to introduce themselves to visiting alumni and enjoy delicious food and beverages from the Dallas area. For more information contact Sunda Wells at 217-265-5345 or sunda@law.uiuc.edu.
February 27, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Max L. Rowe Auditorium: Black History Month Keynote Speaker – Michael Strautmanis, a College of Law graduate and the current Chief Counsel for U.S. Senator Barack Obama. For more information, contact Keyonn Pope, President of BLSA, at kpope2@law.uiuc.edu.