Journal-News Feb. 11, 2014
Sheriff Richard K. Jones, director of the Butler County Jail in Ohio, defends actions taken against illegal immigrants presented in a report by the International Human Rights Clinic at John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Jones has been outspoken in his opposition to allowing undocumented immigrants in the country.
DVIDS Feb. 11, 2014
The Veterans Legal Support Center (VLSC) at The John Marshall Law School organized a veterans advocacy training seminar in Chicago, Jan. 23. The day-long program provided attorneys with an overview of laws that apply to veterans' benefits and current legal issues facing service members and their families. The VLSC now has a pro bono roster of 165 attorneys in Illinois.
Constitutional Law Prof Blog Feb. 11, 2014
A D.C. Circuit ruling in Aamer v. Obama that Guantanamo detainees may bring a habeas corpus claim in federal court challenging their forced-feeding by the government is not likely to succeed, but Professor Steven Schwinn says the decision is notable because it's the first time a federal appellate court ruled that the detainees could bring a habeas claim to challenge their conditions of confinement (as opposed to the fact of their confinement).
Scott Petz (J.D. '07) has been elected as one of 11 new member attorneys to the firm of Dickinson Wright PLLC. Petz, who works at the firm's Detroit office, focuses his practice in the areas of commercial and business litigation, class and collective actions, labor litigation, consumer protection, and condemnation and land use.
That Sarah Hess found a passion for bettering the lives of children wasn’t particularly new or surprising. After all, the Chicago native mentored the city’s foster children as their ballet instructor for years.
But through a series of legal internships she secured as a student at The John Marshall Law School, she found a new way to be a children’s advocate – and found herself listed among colleagues who study at Ivy League schools while doing it.
After graduating in May 2014, Hess will dedicate two years working to improve children’s health through a specially designed program that won her a prestigious 2014 Skadden Fellowship.
She will help establish a medical-legal partnership with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the public interest law consortium of Chicago’s key law firms. The project is “really about obstructing the cycle of poverty,” Hess said. She will provide legal services, be an advocate, look at policy issues and possibly work on new legislation or legislative changes.
Her inspiration for the project came when Hess worked as a 2012 legal extern at Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, focusing on early learning for residents 0-5 years old at Altgeld Gardens, a public housing project.
Through her internship, Hess researched programs that can give children relief from the stress of poverty. While the burden of poverty falls on the parent, children feel the weight of problems when, for example, they have no permanent address, a parent may be out of work or threatened with deportation, or there is violence in the home.
“Those kinds of issues took me to child well-being and took me into the realm of social sciences that are showing the effect of poverty on children,” Hess said. “The long-term health effects and the developmental effects of growing up in a low-income household, an extremely low-income household, and those that live below the poverty line, the kind of impact that has on a child’s health is really what became the basis for my project.”
John Marshall faculty and staff encouraged Hess’ dedication to public interest law as she applied for the Skadden Fellowship, a highly selective program underwritten by the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. The award allows recipients to design their own public interest project and provides them a two-year salary and partial law school debt repayment.
She became the first John Marshall student to receive the fellowship, which historically has largely been awarded to students from Ivy League law schools. She was stunned. She said she was excited and grateful to get the news, and believes her project will be a life-changing opportunity for her, and, she hopes for some needy Chicago children.
A former professional ballerina, Hess spent countless hours teaching some of those same needy children to pointe and pirouette.
As a faculty member of the School of Ballet Chicago, she taught children ages 3 through 14 ballet skills, through the Statewide Opportunities for Art and Recreation (SOAR) program. She saw how young children in Illinois’ foster care system were “far more grounded, they had better self-esteem and their academics improved because their focus improved” through the SOAR program. “This program gave these marginalized children an opportunity they otherwise rarely would get,” she said.
Those interactions with children gave Hess insights into what was possible, and how change could improve a child’s life.
“I was really interested in education law and improving education opportunities and education equity based on race,” Hess said, but she found that was too limiting when she began doing social science research on the effects of poverty on children. “The teacher can’t fix problems of the child outside school,” she said. “Children cannot learn unless they have a secure home environment.”
Attending John Marshall allowed her to pursue her enthusiasm for public service, a key point she made when applying for her fellowship.
“I chose John Marshall because I knew I wanted to pursue public interest law,” she told the Skadden selection committee. “What I got from John Marshall was an investment in my dedication to public interest law,” she said. “I felt like John Marshall was choosing me as much as I was choosing John Marshall, and it has been a wonderful experience.”
Phyllis Finney has done a great job putting together the annual display in the library for Black History Month. This year, the display includes pictures and stories celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The display is on the sixth floor of the library.
Students at The John Marshall Law School were among the leaders of a petition drive asking the American Bar Association (ABA) to drop its stipulation that students not be paid for time at externships or internships.
Melissa Soso, president of the Student Bar Association, said students are essentially paying to work because they pay tuition for externship credit. Today’s economics make it necessary for more students to work, reducing their chances for externship experience. The rule essentially makes them choose.
The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar has agreed to review its stipulation that law students participating in externships or internships not be paid for their work. The ABA took the request under advisement after the students’ petition response showed 95 percent of responders say they would participate in externships if they were paid.
(Left to right) Terry McCollum - ESGR Area Chair, Ron Bacci - State Chair for ESGR, 1LT LACY, Jodie, Alex Baird - Principle Deputy Director for ESGR, and Major General Kendall Penn
It is because of the strong support John Marshall has given to those employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve that the law school was honored at the Illinois ESGR Annual Employer Awards Banquet in Springfield the evening of January 24, 2014. This is the second award John Marshall has received in a year from the Illinois ESGR with Assistant Dean Jodie Needham being awarded the Patriot Award this past fall.
The Patriot Award recognizes supervisors and bosses who show support for a Guardsman or Reservist employee. Needham was nominated by Daniel Lacy, a Reservist, who serves as the assistant director for the Academic Achievement Program at John Marshall. Lacy first heard about the Illinois ESGR when he was in basic training.
“I nominated Jodie because she was in constant contact with me and she even checked in on my wife while I was away this past year,” said Lacy. “Even when I got back, Jodie never had any problems with me having to take a day off for medical work, or because I was on duty, and she always made sure there was someone to replace me without penalty when I was gone.”
It was because of Lacy’s first nomination of his supervisor that the Illinois ESGR started looking at John Marshall as a possible nominee for a second award given to employers and organizations as a whole. John Marshall was eventually selected to be a recipient of its own award for the 2013-2014 year. Lacy and Needham attended the awards banquet in Springfield, IL and accepted on behalf of John Marshall.
John Marshall has a long standing tradition of honoring and working with service members through its Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC). In 2006, three John Marshall law students recognized that many veterans were having trouble navigating the Veterans Benefits Administration claims process and were inspired to provide legal assistant to such veterans.
Now in its eighth year, the VLSC has a new home located at the corner of Jackson Boulevard and Plymouth Court in downtown Chicago. The space is specifically designed to accommodate veterans and those who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The VLSC serves our nation’s veterans by providing free legal services and resources, including assistance with health care and mental health benefits, family law issues, housing matters, and employment and education issues.
The Center for Intellectual Property Law is presenting its 58th annual IP Conference Feb. 28, 2014, featuring keynote speaker Maria A. Pallante, U.S. Register of Copyrights.
Pallante has served as the 12th Register of Copyrights and director of the United States Copyright Office, since June 1, 2011. She is held in high regard by Copyright Office stakeholders--from multinational businesses to individual citizens. She has been lauded for her understanding of the role that the Copyright Office plays within the mission of the Library of Congress.
The daylong program, co-chaired by James Muraff of Neal Gerber & Eisenberg and Charles Shifley of Banner & Witcoff, will be divided into sessions.
Panelists for “Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law” are Adam G. Kelly of Loeb & Loeb LLP discussing patents; Janet A. Marvel of Pattishall McAuliffe discussing trademarks; William H. Frankel, of Brinks, Gilson & Lione speaking on copyrights; R. Mark Halligan of Nixon Peabody LLP speaking on trade secrets; and Professor Doris Estelle Long, Center director, giving an update on international IP.
The session “One Man's ‘Patent Troll’ Is Another's ‘NPE’” examining patent issues will feature Kevin May of Neal Gerber & Eisenberg; Anthony Brown of Cascades Ventures; Robert P. Greenspoon of Flachspart & Greenspoon LLC; Ken Rudofski, assistant general counsel for IP at Coriant; and Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.
Robert A. Armitage, consultant for IP strategy and policy, will address “Making Sense of Prior Art Under the AIA,” Michael R. Fleming of Miles & Stockbridge PC and a former chief administrative patent judge at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office joins with A. Justin Poplin of Lathrop & Gage for “Speaking about Post-Grant Trial Proceedings in the U.S. Patent Office.”
Neil C. Trueman of Powell Gilbert LLP in London will address “Transforming European Patent Litigation: What U.S. Patent Prosecutors, Litigators, and Corporate Counsel Need to Know About the Unified Patent Court.”
The discussion on “How to Successfully Prepare and Litigate Trademark Dilution Cases” will feature Monica L. Thompson of DLA Piper; “Sirius Turtles: The Awkward State of Pre–1972 Sound Recordings” presented by Kevin C. Parks of Leydig, Voit & Mayer; “Copyright and New Digital Technologies — A Close Look at WNET v. Aereo” with Steven L. Wiser of Thorelli & Associates; and “The TV Show Format: Is It Just a Glass House?” with Jerry Glover of Leavens, Strand, Glover & Adler.
Sponsors for this program are: Banner & Witcoff; Brinks Gilson & Lione; Lathrop & Gage; Loeb & Loeb; Neal Gerber & Eisenberg; Pattishall McAuliffe; Nixon Peabody LLP; and Patent Docs Blog.
The John Marshall Law School welcomes two new program coordinators. Emma Kate Starling is staffing the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Amy Drespling is staffing the Center for Tax Law & Employee Benefits.
Both have been at John Marshall for some time. They now each have permanent positions.
Starling is involved in scheduling and managing IP courses, helping students in the program, and organizing IP events and speakers. She previously worked for a boutique advertising agency for five years. She received an MFA from DePaul University.
Drespling is working with students and faculty in the tax, employee benefits and estate planning programs. She previously was with Hewitt Associates LLC/AON Hewitt, where she was an administrative operations manager. She has more than 15 years of experience as an administrative operations manager and executive assistant.
When you walk into the State Street building’s fifth floor area, you can’t help but notice the classrooms got a makeover.
During the holiday break, the lighting was improved, the carpeting was replaced and the rooms got new chairs.
The color scheme changed from a soft green to shades of brown. The hallways are much brighter, and acoustic panels were installed in the classrooms to reduce echo.
Chad Harrell of the architectural firm Griskelis Young & Harrell, directed the work. “This project was a good, cost-effective way of updating a space,” he said.
A law degree can be the light that helps alleviate darkness in someone’s life, Chief Judge Ruben Castillo of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois told new graduates of The John Marshall Law School.
“You need to challenge injustice. Injustice, I define as darkness, and there’s plenty of darkness out there, but it can be changed. I challenge you to be part of the brightness that is out there,” Castillo told the graduates at the 196th commencement exercises on Jan. 19, 2014.
On graduation day “your fireworks are going off because the law can be a bright light,” he told the graduates. “(The law degree) can make a difference. I’ve seen it make a difference.”
Castillo advised graduates that their law degrees are one of the best tools available to make society better by exposing issues, whether by pursuing major changes like new laws, or providing pro bono work for someone desperate for representation.
Castillo said often the systems that society has developed can be a part of the problem. This “darkness” can be fixed, he said, if we work to correct ineffective schools, a broken immigration system, our elective process, violence in neighborhoods and a criminal justice system that struggles to adequately provide fairness and equal representation.
“Every single time you exercise that light and make a deal better, make a trial better, make a law better, make a difference in somebody’s life,” he said, “that helps us all.”
George Drost speaks to the graduates after receiving the Adjunct Professor Award. Drost has been teaching Estates and Trusts for nearly 20 years, and has been a lecturer with the Czech/Slovak Legal Institute.
The Spring 2014 members of the Business Enterprise Law Clinic are (seated, from left) Vincent Incopero, Jerica Feller, Timothy Oliver, Caitlin Pabst, Justin Leigh; (middle, from left) Tanvi Sheth, Clinic Director Michael Schlesinger, Jordan Greenberg, Suneet Gautam and (back row, from left) David McGuffey, Patrick Collins, Brian Wendt, Charles Hawkins, Jr., Cullen Baldwin, Matthew Hug, Dibora Berhanu
ACTIVITIES
Associate Dean Ralph Ruebner
The Illinois Supreme Court reappointed him as Professor-Reporter of the Supreme Court Committee on Illinois Evidence for a one-year term expiring December 31, 2014. This is his second term.
Professor Marc Ginsberg
The Illinois Supreme Court has reappointed him as Professor-Reporter to the Committee on Discovery Procedures. He will serve through Dec. 31, 2014.
He accepted an invitation to be a guest blogger for HealthLawProf Blog for 2014.
Professor Celeste Hammond
She moderated the panel “Legal Issues Impacting Real Estate” for the 12th Annual Commercial Real Estate Forecast Conference presented by Real Estate Publishing Group. The program was Jan. 22, 2014, at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago.
Professor Mark Wojcik
He provided an update of international court decisions to the International Courts Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law on Dec. 11, 2013.
He was a panelist at the Feb. 7 ABA mid-year meeting discussing Russia's legal limits on its gay citizens, and will discuss responses to that law, including effects on corporate sponsors of the Olympic Games, and what efforts can be made to improve the human rights situation for LGBT persons in Russia.
Professor Kathryn Kennedy
She was a speaker Feb. 7, 2014, at the 2014 American Bar Association (ABA) Midyear Meeting for the ABA Young Lawyers’ Division discussion on "DOMA Overruled: Implications for Health Care Plans and Other Employee Benefits."
On Jan. 25, 2014, she served as moderator for the ABA Midyear Meeting of the Section of Taxation for its discussion of “Continued Aftermath of the Supreme Court’s DOMA Decision.”
She served as a drafter of supplemental comments by the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law on the proposed extension of Missing Participants Program to Individual Account Plans at its meeting Jan. 13, 2014.
Professor Kennedy was a speaker at the Association of American Law Schools meeting Jan. 4, 2014, in New York City. She addressed “How Can Lifetime Income Be Made a Desirable Retirement Plan Distribution Option?” for the Section on Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation.
She was a co-speaker, with Professor Steven Schwinn, at the Faculty Works-In-Progress series in October 2013. They discussed “Aftermath of the Supreme Court’s DOMA Decisions.”
Professor Ann Lousin
She assisted Sun-Times reporter David McKinney on Feb. 7, 2014, regarding lawsuit issues centering around Florida nursing home in which Illinois gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner is said to have financial interests.
PUBLICATIONS
Professor Kim Chanbonpin
Her article, “‘It’s a Kakou Thing’: The DADT Repeal and a New Vocabulary of Anti-Subordination,” has been accepted for publication in 2014 by the University of California-Irvine Law Review.
She has written the chapter “Legal Writing, the Remix” for the upcoming publication Hip Hop and the Law: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement being published by Carolina Academic Press in 2014.
Her work on larceny and robbery have been published in The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Thanks to the Student Bar Association (SBA), the water fountains now offer the options for drinking and/or refilling bottles.
“We had students complaining about the pressure in the drinking fountains,” said Melissa Soso, president of the SBA. At an American Bar Association meeting, Soso met with other SBA presidents and learned about the filtered water fountains.
With information in hand, she approached Associate Dean Peg Frossard with an informational video. Soso also got the Environmental Law Society behind the initiative because it saves on excess water bottle consumption.
After meetings with Associate Dean William Powers and building manager Mike Graham of MB Realty, the first filtered water fountain was installed on the second floor.
“It was such a success, that Dean Powers and Dean Corkery agreed to install another fountain on the 12th floor,” Soso added.
Now all the fountains have been retrofitted.
While most first year law students worry about studying for an upcoming Torts exam, or drafting their first legal memo, Michael Hastings added another task to his to-do list: running for office. Hastings, who recently graduated from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, was elected state senator for Illinois’ 19th District while enrolled in law school.
“I have wanted to go to law school ever since high school,” Hastings said. “My American Government teacher told us to sit down, write a resume, and include what you want to do and I wrote ‘attorney.’” Hastings recognized from an early age that all of the lawyers he knew were well educated and he admired that about them.
Hastings earned his bachelor’s degree from The United States Military Academy at West Point where he played offensive lineman for the Army football team and later coached. “Going from suburbia Illinois to West Point was a major growing up experience,” Hastings said.
Students at West Point automatically incur a five-year active duty service obligation during their junior year. Hastings considers himself lucky that West Point asked him to teach physical education to freshmen right after graduation. And then, on July 4, 2006, came another assignment altogether: Iraq.
“I look back now at pictures from that time and remember why I am doing what I am doing,” he said.
Once Hastings finished his service obligation, he started a job with Johnson & Johnson. A few months later he went on to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received his MBA. In 2011 Hastings stopped working and decided to run as a senator in the Illinois General Assembly, the same year he started at John Marshall.
“I went to law school because having a law degree gives me another tool in my tool kit to make me a better leader,” said Hastings. “When writing a law, every little thing matters. Being a lawyer gives you a strategic advantage in Springfield because a lot of lawmakers are not practitioners and might not understand how the effects of laws actually happen.”
“People from all walks of life serve in the legislature and bring a real world perspective,” he said. “But lawyers bring an extra tool to the table and look at whether a law is reasonable and functional.”
While studying at John Marshall, Hastings made time to participate in internships and externships. At the Cook State’s Attorney’s Office, in the Civil Law Division, he worked on complaints filed under the Shakman decree, which typically involve people awarding jobs for political favors.
Hastings also worked as a judicial extern for Justice David P. Sterba (J.D. ‘84), a recently retired judge from the First District Appellate Court in Illinois. Justice Sterba presented Hastings his diploma at the Jan. 19, 2014, commencement.
Hastings cited its Loop location and network as key reasons he chose John Marshall.
“The proximity to opportunities in the judicial system is bar none,” Hastings said. “You look at the powerhouses here in Chicago, and where they graduated from, many of them are from John Marshall. I believe that regular people who are going to lead the state of Illinois go to John Marshall, and that is why I came here.”
Hastings also commended John Marshall’s staff and administrators for their flexibility in helping students successfully graduate.
“One thing about John Marshall is they are so accommodating,” Hastings said. “They offer courses online, night classes, summer sessions, and the staff, in general, is just so flexible,” he said. “It was tough for me, at times, because I would have to go to Springfield, sometimes for weeks at a time, but I always felt like the people at John Marshall really wanted me to succeed, and I appreciated that.”
Hastings’s routine now is preparing for the bar exam, and his Senate duties which take him to Springfield for the ongoing session.
Alumni Leonard Amari (left) and Warren Lupel (third from left) offer their congratulations to Lupel & Amari Scholarship winners Nicole Petrarca and Robert Cannatello.
Robert Cannatello and Nicole Petrarca, outstanding students at The John Marshall Law School, are the recipients of the Frank & Jeanne Lupel and Joseph & Katherine Amari Scholarship.
The generosity of alumni Warren Lupel (J.D. ’68) and Leonard Amari (J.D. ’68) has made this scholarship possible. They established the scholarship in the memory of their parents.
“It has been many years since we graduated, but we both believe the education we received at John Marshall was excellent,” said Amari of Amari & Locallo. “Warren and I have had successful careers, practicing law together and then moving into specialty fields of law.” Lupel recently retired from Much Shelist, P.C. “We wanted to find a way to give back by helping the next generation of students at the law school.”
Cannatello received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Illinois at Chicago and practiced in that field for a short time before he began looking for a new challenge. He put his skills to use working as a consultant to the City of Chicago’s Planning Commission.
Once Cannatello began the rigors of law school he realized he was in the right profession.
“I’ve enjoyed a number of classes, and I am happy to give back by serving as a teaching assistant for several professors,” he said. Cannatello’s experience with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has given him a new appreciation for the application of the law. He has worked in the Civil Division with Assistant State’s Attorney Patricia Fallon and will work in the Criminal Division during the summer. When he graduates from John Marshall in May 2015, Cannatello expects to specialize in tax law.
Cannatello also serves as the student representative to the John Marshall Law School Board of Trustees, and is a member of the law school’s chapter of the Justinian Society of Lawyers. Outside of John Marshall, Cannatello is active at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.
Petrarca, a third-year student, worked as a legal extern at the in-house legal department of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago during summer 2013. Catholic Charities then hired her on as a law clerk in August 2013. Through her work Petrarca has gained experience in labor and employment law, fields she hopes to specialize in after graduation.
She aided both the general counsel and senior attorney in drafting new employee policies and updating existing policies. Her work has given her experience in drafting position statements and verified responses submitted to both the Illinois Department of Human Rights and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She has also worked on a variety of issues in the areas of corporate law, litigation and real estate with assistance from staff attorneys.
A graduate of St. Norbert College, Petrarca is a member of The John Marshall Law Review, and serves as co-president of the John Marshall Justinian Society of Lawyers Student Chapter. She also currently serves as co-chair of The Justinian Society of Lawyers' Mentorship Program. In the past two years, Petrarca has volunteered for The Center for Disability & Elder Law's (CDEL) Winter and Summer Benefits, at which money is raised to allow CDEL to provide quality pro bono legal services to low-income seniors and people with disabilities.
A recent U.S. government directive on the use of solitary confinement falls short of protecting the most vulnerable among the country’s detained population.
New research from the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) at The John Marshall Law School details deficiencies in current U.S. detention practices, as well as recommends measures to ensure immigrant detainees are protected and treated humanely.
The report, “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s New Directive on Segregation: Why We Need Further Protections,” details the use of solitary confinement of immigrant detainees, noting that some detention facilities have been found to have the worst record on solitary.
In September 2013, ICE issued a new directive establishing a policy and procedures for reviewing detainees placed into segregation, the report states. The new standard remains weak in protecting detainees, the report notes, and based on past practices, it is unlikely it will be implemented at detention centers uniformly or quickly.
The directive calls for greater attention to the needs of detainees with known mental or serious medical illnesses, for example. But it does not go far enough to ensure that facilities proactively assess detainees for special vulnerabilities prior to segregation, and “allows for willful blindness on the part of the facility,” the report states.
The IHRC report recommends several measures to help ensure immigrant detainees are protected and treated humanely, including:
“As a human rights clinic, we seek to advocate for the humane and dignified treatment of all people, regardless of their immigration status,” Professor Sarah Dávila-Ruhaak, co-director of the IHRC.
The International Human Rights Clinic is one of the newest clinical learning experiences offered at The John Marshall Law School. The clinic offers law students a background in human rights advocacy through the practical experience of working on international human rights cases and projects.
“This report is the result of countless hours of research by our students and clinic staff, and demonstrates the kind of advocacy that John Marshall champions,” said Anthony Niedwiecki, associate dean for Skills, Experiential Learning, and Assessment. “John Marshall is creating more and varied clinical options for students, and the International Human Rights Clinic is a wonderful new addition.”
At John Marshall, all incoming John Marshall students are required to participate in an experiential learning experience. Over their three years, students earn 18 credit hours of such hands-on experience, through various courses and a three-credit mandated clinic or externship. John Marshall is one of few schools across the country that requires students to complete experiential learning hours in order to graduate.
