Leon M. and Gloria Plevin Professor of Law Browne Lewis presented at the Second Wills, Trust and Estates Meets Gender, Race, and Class Conference.  Professor Lewis’ presentation was entitled Beyond Sex: The Inheritance Rights of Children Conceived Using Assisted Reproductive Technology.  The intestacy system was created when families were primarily formed by procreation in a marriage. Therefore, marital children have often been give preferential treatment when it comes to inheriting under the intestacy system.  As a consequence of the availability and use of assisted reproductive technology, families are being created in a variety of ways.  For example, some mothers have been permitted to have sperm extracted from the bodies of their dead sons, so they can conceive their own grandchildren. In addition, some gay men have purchased donor eggs and hired surrogates in order to achieve fatherhood.  The intestacy succession laws have not kept up with the technology.  Consequently, children conceived using assisted reproductive technology may not be afforded the opportunity to inherit under the intestacy system.   As a result, those children may be disadvantaged because of the manner in which they were conceived. State intestacy laws need to be modified to reflect the fact that there is no longer a default “traditional” family. Children are given preferential treatment under the intestacy system because legislators assume that parents want their property to go to their children after they die.  That assumption should not be negated by the fact that a child is not conceived through sexual intercourse.  Persons using assisted reproductive technology are often desperate to have children. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that those persons would want their children to inherit if they die intestate.

Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio will publish her article, “The Karadzic Genocide Conviction: Inferences, Intent, and the Necessity to Redefine Genocide,” in the Emory Journal of International Law.  Professor Sterio’s article analyzes the recent Yugoslavia Tribunal’s conviction of the former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, on genocide charges, and argues in favor of a broader interpretation of the definition of genocide under the Genocide Convention.  Professor Sterio’s article has been accepted, after a blind peer-reviewed paper competition process, for the American Society of International Law Research Forum, which will take place in Seattle on November 10-12 and where Professor Sterio will present this article.

Professor Sterio will also publish an article entitled “‘Frozen Conflicts’ and Secession: The Nagorno-Karabakh Region” in the German Yearbook of International Law (GYIL).  The GYIL is edited by the Walther Schücking Institute for International Law at the University of Kiel, the oldest university institute for public international law, founded in 1914. Professor Sterio’s article will appear in Volume 59 (2016).

Students enrolled in the Civil Litigation Clinic during spring 2016 participated in several important cases and were successful in various litigation efforts, including in the areas of unemployment compensation, consumer law/debt collection, cause lawyering, immigration appeals and alternative dispute resolution.  Student were supervised by professors Ken Kowalski, Doron Kalir, and Joseph Mead.  For a more detailed account, please visit the following link.

Leon M. and Gloria Plevin Professor of Law Browne Lewis published, The Law of Wills, her second electronic book with eLangdell Press.  The book is meant to be used in conjunction with Professor Lewis’ previous electronic book, The Law of Trusts.  The purpose of the casebook is to train law students to think and act like estate planning attorneys. The book’s focus is problem-solving and legal application; the book includes numerous problems, so law students can learn to apply the law they learn from reading the cases. It also contains collaborative learning exercises to encourage students to engage in group problem-solving. The book is divided into three parts to reflect the main types of issues that students will encounter if they practice estate planning law. The book’s organization mirrors the manner in which estate planning law is practiced in the real world. The book is available to law students at no cost and can be downloaded here.

Professor Karin Mika

Professor Karin Mika presented at the following conferences over the summer and spring 2016:

Cultivating Professional Identity Through Personal Connection at the Earliest States of Law School: The Evening Student, presented at the Western Regional Legal Writing Conference, August 5-6, 2016 (University of the Pacific, McGeorge Law School, Sacramento, California).

Amphibious Pitchers, Slaves in Ireland, and Issues with Public Education—The Modern Trend Regarding Carelessness in Communication and How it Affects What We Do in the Classroom, presented at the LWI Biennial Conference, July 10-13, 2016 (Portland, Oregon).

What Brain Games Taught me about Teaching, presented at the Rocky Mountain Regional Legal Writing Conference, March 18-19, 2016 (University of Arizona Law School, Tucson, Arizona).

Professor Deborah Geier was quoted in an article published in Crain’s Cleveland Business regarding C-M’s 3+3 agreements, which permit eligible students from Lake Erie College, Ursuline College, and the University of Findlay to complete both their undergraduate and law degrees in 6 years (rather than 7). The article, “A Bachelor’s and Law Degree in Six Years? Maybe,” can be found here: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20160723/NEWS/160729929/a-bachelors-and-law-degree-in-six-years-maybe.

The article describes the 2014 rule change made by the Ohio Supreme Court that permits Ohio law schools to enter into these agreements for the first time. Professor Geier, who chairs the Admissions Committee, is quoted as saying that C-M was interested immediately in pursuing this option “because the school strives to keep costs low for students.” The program is a “win-win” because “students are able to save a year of undergraduate tuition, while the law schools are able to draw the kind of efficient and organized students attracted to this kind of program…. While employment in the legal field has has taken a hit, she said the students who succeed in an accelerated program are likely to be the kind of students who will do well in the industry…. ” The article closed by saying, “While Geier doesn’t expect these 3+3 programs to produce a large number of law school graduates, she does think it will be a trend going forward. Schools can’t continue to do things the way they’ve always done them, she said. They have to be flexible and open to change so that they can best serve students. ‘Students really are the center of our universe,’ Geier said.”