Law School // Law School

Thomas R. Curtin, ’68 J.D.

2012-02-09T15:00:00-05:00

Thomas R. Curtin has been elected to the ABA Board of Governors with a 3-year term beginning in August 2012. Tom will serve as Governor for District 3, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

John H. Bemis, '84 JD

2012-02-09T08:00:00-05:00

The New Mexico State Senate has confirmed John H. Bemis has been confirmed as Secretary of the Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources Department. Bemis is a former assistant commissioner for oil, gas and minerals at the State Land Office.

Professor Mark McKenna Argues Major Trademark Case in Eleventh Circuit

2012-02-08T11:40:00-05:00

Professor Mark P. McKenna argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit Feb. 2 in a landmark trademark infringement case. Professor McKenna appeared as an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) in support of sports artist Daniel Moore, who has been locked in litigation with the University of Alabama regarding the sale of Moore’s paintings of Alabama football games and merchandise bearing reproductions of those paintings.

Prof. McKenna’s amicus brief is available here.

The New York Times article describing the case and quoting Professor McKenna is available here.

Professor McKenna is widely recognized as a leading scholar in the trademark area. More information about him is available here.

Professor Snead Publishes Wall Street Journal Op-Ed on Komen Foundation and Planned Parenthood

2012-02-08T08:00:00-05:00

NDLS Professor Carter Snead co-authored an Op-Ed about Planned Parenthood and the Susan G. Komen Foundation that was published in the Wall Street Journal Feb. 6. Professor Snead is the future director of the Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame. His co-author, Robert P. George, is professor of jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program at Princeton University.

The full Op-Ed is available here
More information about Prof. Snead is available here.
More information about Prof. George is available here.

George Ng, ’02 J.D.

2012-02-08T08:00:00-05:00

George Ng is a new partner at Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. in Orange County, CA. Ng has extensive domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions experience. He has held various senior management roles with publicly-traded, global biotechnology companies.

3Ls Excel at National Immigration Law Moot Court Competition

2012-02-06T14:00:00-05:00

3Ls Ryan Raybould and Caitlin Shetter recently competed in the Fifth Annual UC Davis Asylum and Refugee Law National Moot Court Competition. Ms. Shetter and Mr. Raybould made it to the finals and placed fifth out of 22 teams nationally, earning Notre Dame Law School a plaque and a Top 8 placement in Notre Dame’s first year participating in this moot court competition.

The team earned top marks from the judges and high praise for Notre Dame.

The UC Davis Asylum & Refugee Law National Moot Court Competition is the only competition in the nation devoted exclusively to the topic of asylum and refugee law. The competition provides law students from across the country the opportunity to participate in a hypothetical appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Competitors wrote a brief as either respondent or petitioner on an issue related to asylum and refugee law. Shortly after submitting their briefs, the students participated in oral arguments. Students’ briefs and oral arguments were judged by prominent judges, attorneys, and scholars who specialize in the areas of immigration law or appellate advocacy.

Main Reading Room Light Bulb Replacement Policy

2012-02-03T16:00:00-05:00

Let there be light! After almost a year of consultations and visits by electricians both on campus and off, the lamps in the law library reading rooms are now fully operational.

It is the opinion of the electrician that a combination of the lamp design and an improper bulb prevented adequate ventilation, which caused the fluorescent bulbs to overheat and burn out very quickly. A special adapter is now installed with each fluorescent bulb which extends the length of the attachment, allowing better ventilation. We are keeping our fingers crossed!

Light bulb replacement procedure: please DO NOT REMOVE THE BULB from the lamp. Notify a staff member at the Circulation Desk—they will replace the bulb for you.

Dr. Sean Seymore, ’06 JD, ’01 PhD

2012-02-03T11:00:00-05:00

Sean Seymore has been awarded tenure as a full professor at Vanderbilt University Law School beginning Fall 2012. His research interests include patent law and law and science.

Prof. Mark McKenna quoted in New York Times on Free Speech vs. Infringement in Suit on Alabama Artwork

2012-02-01T11:00:00-05:00

Free Speech vs. Infringement in Suit on Alabama Artwork
New York Times
The case is of great interest to “artists all over the country whose free speech rights should not be subject to licensing arrangements by colleges and universities,” said Mark P. McKenna, a law professor at Notre Dame who was part of a group of professors that wrote a friend-of-the-court brief to the Appeals Court on Moore’s behalf.

Nathan A. Hall, ’03 J.D.

2012-02-01T10:00:00-05:00

Nathan A. Hall has been named a partner at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP. Hall is a member of the litigation practice group in the Toledo, Ohio office and represents individual and business clients in commercial matters, including contract claims and business torts.

Nelson O. Ropke, ’03 J.D.

2012-01-30T13:00:00-05:00

Nelson O. Ropke has been elected a principal of the law firm of Miller Canfield. Ropke has expertise in state and federal commercial litigation and practices in the firm’s Detroit, Michigan office.

Free CALI Course: Topics in Digital Law Practice

2012-01-27T09:00:00-05:00

The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) is offering a FREE online course called Topics in Digital Law Practice starting Friday, February 10, 2012 at 2pm ET.

This course is designed to provide an overview of the changes that are occurring in the practice of law today, especially with respect to technology. It will introduce law students for real-world situations that they will encounter in the job market and point law professors to new avenues to cover in their courses.

The course will run for one hour a week for nine weeks and will feature a different guest speaker each week. Each class will be delivered via webcast and will have a 30 minute lecture presentation followed by a question & answer period and an online, interactive homework assignment for all course students to complete. There will be no formal assessment like midterms or a final exam.

The audience for this seminar is primarily law students and law faculty who will be given priority. Anyone else can join the course for one or all of the sessions. The presentations will be recorded and posted to the course blog.

The Seminar is FREE to all registered attendees.
More information and to register go to http://tdlp.classcaster.net/ .

Todd Hembree, ’91 J.D.

2012-01-27T08:55:00-05:00

Todd Hembree has been confirmed as attorney general for the Cherokee Nation. Hembree has over 20 years of experience as an attorney and has served as independent counsel for the Cherokee Nation’s legislative branch for 12 years.

Mary Ellen O'Connell quoted on NPR & WBUR on Obama's Military Tactics: Risky Missions, Elite Units

2012-01-27T08:00:00-05:00

Obama’s Military Tactics: Risky Missions, Elite Units
National Public Radio WBUR
Rescue is “the category I’d like to put it in, because it’s a limited use of force under international law,” says Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor of law at Notre Dame.

Prof. Mark McKenna quoted in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Kohler trademark suit

2012-01-25T13:40:00-05:00

Kohler Co. steamed over Arizona firm’s name
Salon school makes change to avoid trademark suit
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

People have no hard and fast right to use their name on their business if someone else already has trademarked it, said Durst and two academic experts – Mark McKenna of the University of Notre Dame Law School and J. Thomas McCarthy, senior professor at the University of San Francisco.

McKenna, however, called Kohler Co.’s assertions “a pretty aggressive use of their trademark rights.”

He said infringement requires the likelihood that consumers will be confused, in this case thinking Kohler Academy was connected to Kohler Co. That doesn’t strike McKenna as an obvious conclusion.

“Although Kohler’s a pretty well-known trademark, most people – at least my sense is – that they associate it with plumbing, with faucets,” he said. > Read Article

Michael J. Hays, ’02 JD

2012-01-25T10:20:00-05:00

Michael J. Hays recently joined Tuesley Hall Konopa, LLP as Of Counsel. Michael is practicing in the areas of general business, commercial litigation and employment law.

Assoc. Dean Lloyd Mayer quoted in Bloomberg Businessweek on Romney Tax Returns

2012-01-25T08:10:00-05:00

Romney Tax Returns Show $7 Million in Donations Over 2 Years
Bloomberg Businessweek
It isn’t unusual for high earners like the Romneys to funnel money into charitable foundations that they control, said Lloyd Mayer, an associate dean at the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Don’t Stop at SOPA

2012-01-23T15:00:00-05:00

SOPA and PIPA are (almost) dead. Now can we talk about the law that already exists?

By Mark P. McKenna

Slate.com, January 20, 2012

Why Obama's 'targeted killing' is worse than Bush's torture

2012-01-20T16:00:00-05:00

Opinion by Mary Ellen O’Connell

The Guardian, January 20, 2012 > Read Article

Jock Smith, ’73 J.D.

2012-01-19T15:00:00-05:00

Jock Smith passed away on January 8, 2012. Smith was a former assistant attorney general for the state of Alabama and a partner at Cochran, Cherry, Givens & Smith P.C. He also served as political science professor at Tuskegee University. The Trial Lawyer Magazine recently recognized Smith as one of the 100 most influential trial lawyers in America. Smith was also author of “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder: From Queens to Tuskegee: A Trial Lawyer’s Journey on Behalf of ‘the Least of These,’” a book about his father, an attorney in New York who represented black activists and entertainers before he was shot and killed by a client when Jock was 8 years old. Smith’s professional memberships included the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association and the National Bar Association.