2007 News Index
Professor Aïda Alaka's article "The Supreme Court Lowers the Bar on Unlawful Retaliation Claims in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White," has been published in the November/December 2007 issue of Journal of the Kansas Bar Association. In this article Professor Alaka discusses the U.S. Supreme Court's 2006 decision in the Burlington case. Lower federal courts have disagreed over whether retaliatory actions in the workplace violated federal anti-discrimination employment laws, and in particular, the prohibitions against retaliation contained in those laws. In its decision the Court adopted a broad standard for federal courts to use when analyzing claims that employers have retaliated against employees who exercised rights protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also settled the split in the federal courts regarding how harmful an employer's action must be to be actionable and whether employee conduct outside of the workplace can violate Title VII. Professor Alaka's article addresses the controversy that preceded the Burlington decision, the decison itself, and concludes that the decision may further advance the purposes of Title VII and other employee-rights legislation. (Posted December 5, 2007)
The Center for Excellence in Advocacy hosted Tony Mattivi, Class of 1994, on Thursday, November 29, 2007. Mattivi recently returned from a six-month assignment with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Baghdad, Iraq. There he was assigned to DOJ's Regime Crimes Liaison Office as an advisor to the Iraqi High Tribunal, the Iraqi court responsible for trying the members of Saddam Hussein's regime for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mattivi is an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Kansas, where he prosecutes mostly complex drug trafficking cases and violent crimes. See also the Topeka Capital-Journal article. (Posted December 3, 2007)
Professor Nancy G. Maxwell's article "From Facebook to Folsom Prison Blues: How Banning Laptops in the Classroom Made Me a Better Law School Teacher" has been published at 14 Richmond Journal of Law & Technology 4 (2007) (262 KB PDF). In this article Professor Maxwell reports on the recent scientific research, as well as summarizing data that was collected on the use of laptops in several Washburn Law classes during the 2006 spring semester. Professor Maxwell's decision to adopt a no-laptop policy was the genesis of a more contemplative approach to teaching. Consequently, her article also discusses how adopting a no-laptop policy led her to examine her teaching methods, resulting in the implementation a variety of teaching techniques, based on learning theory and findings about good teaching. (Posted November 30, 2007)
Righter Distinguished Professor of Law Linda D. Elrod's article "Client-Directed Lawyers for Children: It is the "Right" Thing To Do" has been published in 27 Pace Law Review 869 (2007). The article discusses the history of rights for children and urges the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to join the rest of the world in recognizing the child as a rights-holder with right to a voice in any proceeding concerning custody. She advocates for a trained, client-directed lawyer for a child who is the subject of a high conflict custody dispute or in the child welfare system. The article examines the various attempts at standards, guidelines and rules for lawyers who represent children and notes the growing consensus in the child advocacy community for lawyers, not best interest lawyers, not guardians ad litem, but client-directed lawyers for children. (Posted November 25, 2007)
Judge William S. Sessions will visit Washburn University School of Law as a 2007 Distinguished Visiting Jurist on October 5, 2007. In his public talk, "Lawyering in the 21st Century," Judge Sessions will present his views on current key issues in law practice. The talk will be in Room 102 at the law school. Judge Sessions served as FBI Director from 1987 to 1993. He won praise for broadening the FBI to include more women and minority staff. Currently, he is a partner with Holland & Knight, L.L.P., focusing his practice on alternative dispute resolution procedures and corporate governance and compliance law. Before his service with the FBI, Judge Sessions practiced law in Texas then served as the Section Chief of the Government Operations Section of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He also served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas and as Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Judge Session's visit is sponsored Washburn Law's Center for Excellence in Advocacy and Business and Transactional Law Center. Learn more about Judge Sessions. (Posted September 25, 2007)
Dean Thomas Romig and Professor Bill Merkel will participate as panelists at Washburn University's observance of Constitution and Citizenship Day. The forum, "Congress, the President and War," will be Monday, September 17 from 7-8:30 p.m. in room 100 of Henderson Learning and Resources Center. Other panelists are David Freeman, professor, political science and Bill Roy, adjunct, political science. Members will discuss "Article II versus Article I: Executive War Powers vs. Congressional War Powers." The United States Constitution's system of checks and balances effectively divides the war power between Congress and the president. While Congress has the authority to "declare war," and "raise and support armies," the president is commander in chief. The discussion will explore and analyze these concepts. The event is free and open to the public. (Posted September 13, 2007)
Richard Righter Distinguished Professor of Law Linda Elrod received a Chair's Award for her work as Editor of the Family Law Quarterly at the annual awards luncheon of the Family Law Section on August 11,2007. She also attended the Family Law Council meeting and the Children's Breakfast sponsored by the ABA Child Custody and Adoption Pro Bono Project for which she chairs the Advisory Committee. These activities were part of the American Bar Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco. (Posted September 3, 2007)
The 6th edition of Family Law: Cases, Comments and Questions, coauthored by Righter Distinguished Professor of Law Linda Elrod with Professors Marsha Garrison from Brooklyn Law School and Tom Oldham from Houston Law Center, was published in early August by Thomson West Publishing. Continuing to emphasize practical skills and contextual analysis, the new cases, statutes, and notes in the 6th edition reflect judicial and legislative developments across the country. This edition also includes materials on the 2005 amendments to the bankruptcy code and two new uniform laws. The original text was written by Harry Krause, University of Illinois Law School. This is the third edition for collaboration of these authors. See publisher's web site for further description and ordering information. (Posted September 3, 2007)
Tax-Free Swaps: Using Section 1031 Like-Kind Exchanges to Preserve Investment Net Worth, authored by Professor Bradley T. Borden, will be published later this fall by DNA Press. This work about the "people's tax shelter" explains how property owners can compute the tax benefit section 1031 provides, allowing them to make an educated decision as to whether to proceed with a section 1031 exchange. See publisher's website for further description and ordering information. (Posted September 3, 2007)
Three individuals were honored at the Washburn Law School Association's annual awards luncheon Friday, June 8, 2007. Richard C. Hite, managing partner, Hite, Fanning & Honeyman LLP, Wichita, Kan., received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Washburn University School of Law Interim Dean Bill Rich is this year's recipient of the Honorary Life Member Award, and Bernard "Bernie" Bianchino, president and chief executive officer of Jaguar Telecom LLC, Overland Park, Kan., received the Distinguished Service Award. See the full story. (Posted June 8, 2007)
Washburn University School of Law held its Center for Excellence in Advocacy Annual Awards Banquet on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 at the Bradbury Thompson Center on the Washburn University campus. Lynn R. Johnson, of Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman, CHTD, gave the keynote address. See the full story. (Posted June 22, 2007)
Twenty Washburn Law students from the Business and Transactional Law Center visited the Hinkle Elkouri Law Firm in Wichita, Kansas on Friday, April 13, 2007 to spend the day working with transactional attorneys. In addition to exploring the substantive and practical aspects of a purchase and sale, each attorney in the Hinkle Elkouri team spent time discussing their personal development as an attorney, their work as a transactional lawyer, and their professional perspective on the practice of law. See the full story.
William H. Neukom, President-Elect, American Bar Association, spoke to students and faculty at Washburn Law about "The Rule of Law" Thursday, April 12, 2007. Mr. Neukom was the first in-house counsel for Microsoft. During his 17 years as lead counsel for Microsoft, Mr. Neukom led the company's efforts to establish, distribute, and protect intellectual property rights around the world. He was instrumental in securing the landmark legal victory in the Apple Computer v. Microsoft Corporation case, which spanned 1988–1995. He also led Microsoft's defense of antitrust claims brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice and the European Union, which culminated in consent decrees in 1994 and in 2001. Under his direction, Microsoft's community affairs program initiated a number of key corporate giving strategies, including the Microsoft Giving Campaign, the Microsoft Matching Gifts program, the Microsoft Volunteer Program, and several national scale projects, including Libraries on Line. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Neukom was a partner of Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, where he had a general practice with emphasis on litigation, commercial law, and nonprofit organizations. He rejoined the firm in the fall of 2002 from his position as Executive Vice President of Law and Corporate Affairs at Microsoft. Mr. Neukom's visit to Washburn Law was arranged through the efforts of Judge Christel Marquardt '74. (Posted April 10, 2007)
Business and Transactional Law Center Board of Advisors Skills Committee, chaired by Sue Jean White '80, completed its report "Skills Needed for First Year Lawyers and Lawyers Early in Legal Career." Findings of the report will be used to improve the law school's effectiveness in preparing Washburn graduates for the practice of law. The report identifies a number of "basic lawyering skills," plus skills of particular importance for the business and transactional lawyer. The preliminary findings of the report have been shared with the faculty and the Center will begin implementing recommendations as part of the Center's programming for the 2007-2008 academic year. The report will also be used as the faculty works through the self-study and strategic planning processes associated with next year's American Bar Association accreditation visit.
Students had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with the "brothers Cavanaugh" on Monday, April 2, 2007 as Steve Cavanaugh (BA '71, JD '80) teamed up with brother David Cavanaugh (BBA '87) at the Business and Transactional Law Center program "Representing the Start-Up Business: The Initial Client Interview, Selecting and Creating the Proper Business Entity, and Related Tax Considerations." This was one of the Center's "bring your documents and tell us how you do it" programs. Steve provided students with detailed client interview checklists as well as sample documents used to create and operate various forms of business entities. David provided the tax and accounting input so important for creating the optimum business structure. Steve provided students with important insight into not only business law, but also the "business of law." Steve and David both exhibited the professionalism that guides their client-centered careers to provide the best service possible to their clients. Steve Cavanaugh is with the law firm of Cavanaugh, Smith & Lemon, P.A. and David Cavanaugh is with the CPA firm of Cavanaugh & Porter, P.A.
The annual John F. Kuether Memorial Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Washburn Student Bar Association, was held Saturday, March 31, 2007 at the Lake Shawnee Golf Course in Topeka, Kansas. More than 110 students, alumni and friends of Washburn Law joined together for a round of golf, followed by lunch, socializing and awarding of prizes. See the full story. (Posted April 10, 2007)
The Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing (LARW) Program at Washburn University School of Law has been recognized as a leading legal writing program, ranking in the top 25 out of a field of 184 accredited law schools in the U.S. News & World Report's 2008 edition of America's Best Graduate Schools. See the full story. (Posted April 5, 2007)
The Jewish Law Society hosted Rabbi Michael Merdinger on Wednesday, March 28, 2007. Rabbi Merdinger spoke about the moral and ethical dilemmas of legal professionals. As a rabbi and a lawyer, Rabbi Merdinger addressed situations he himself has experienced, and those that Jewish commentators use as examples for deciding what moral and legal obligations one has in the world. He challenged students to be both stewards of morality and legal advocates, but explained that there is no simple solution to this everyday dilemma. Rabbi Merdinger received his B.A. with honors from Yale Law School, his J.D. from New York University School of Law, and his rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. (Posted March 28, 2007)
The Center for Excellence in Advocacy at Washburn University School of Law presented "Writing to Win: The Art of Advocacy" on Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10, 2007. Organized by Professor J. Lyn Entrikin Goering, director of the Legal Analysis, Research and Writing Program at Washburn Law, and Professor Michael Kaye, Director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy, the symposium offered valuable information to litigators who need to write persuasively for trial and appellate court audiences and served to highlight Washburn Law's special commitment to effective legal writing. Attendees included practicing lawyers, judges, faculty members and law students. Washburn Law faculty joined panel discussions during the symposium as participants and as moderators. Following the symposium members of the Legal Analysis, Research and Writing Program presented a CLE program on persuasive writing techniques, focusing on presentation of factual statements, effective issue formulation and other brief writing skills. See the full story. (Posted March 16, 2007)
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy hosted Professor David Forte on February 19, 2007. Professor Forte spoke to around 35 students and faculty about the Ten Commandments and the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. As part of his remarks, Professor Forte argued that the Establishment Clause was never meant to bar government support of religion, as almost every state in the union had some sort of state recognized religion. Instead, the Establishment Clause was intended to reserve to the states the power to establish a state religion if it so chose. In addition, the founders intended that government would support, not interfere with religion, as religion sought to better society. It was Professor Forte's opinion that if a Ten Commandment display was posted by a local government body for the purpose of making society mindful of its history and traditions there was nothing wrong with the display being present on government property. (Posted March 13, 2007)
Jeff Goodman, manager of the legal division of Spencer Reed Group, spoke to members of the legal fraternity Phi Delta Alpha and other Washburn Law students on February 22, 2007. Goodman's presentation to 40-60 first, second and third year students covered issues they will face after graduation. His speech included such topics as how to interview, first year expectations, non-lawyer positions and salary ranges. Lindsey Patmon, Phi Alpha Delta justice, helped organize the event and said "Mr. Goodman's presentation to the law students was very informative. I don't think many of us were aware that such a legal placement service existed, let alone that the costs of his services are covered by the employers and not imputed to those searching for employment." Goodman has been working in the placement business for eight years. (Posted March 5, 2007)
Former Washburn University School of Law Dean John E. Howe died Feb. 4, 2007, in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the age of 88. See the full story. (Posted February 6, 2007)
Washburn University School of Law presents a tax law colloquium on February 9, 2007, in Topeka, Kansas. See the full story. (Posted February 6, 2007)
The Business and Transactional Law Center hosted Tom Loftus '80, as a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence on January 25 and January 26, 2007. Loftus, Senior Counsel to Chevron U.S.A. Inc. in Houston, Texas, met with students and faculty and presented several programs over the two-day period. See the full story.
The Washburn University Board of Regents on January 26, 2007 confirmed the appointment of Thomas J. Romig, Major General, US Army, retired, as dean of Washburn University School of Law, effective July 1. See the full story. (Posted January 25, 2007)
Kyle Steadman addressed the Washburn Business Law Society on Thursday, January 25, 2007 about medical malpractice and litigation. Mr. Steadman graduated in 1995 from Washburn Law School and is from Foulston Siefkin in Topeka, Kansas, where he defends medical malpractice and complex litigation cases. His speech included litigation tips such as understanding the case better than your opponent, learning pattern instructions, practicing writing to tell a story, and not being afraid to fail. (Posted February 9, 2007)
