Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson recently published Strategies and Techniques for Teaching Environmental Law.  The book is part of a Wolters Kluwer law book publishing series on law teaching.  The series intends to provide insight and information for new law teachers generally and for seasoned law professors new to individual subject areas.  The original book in the series was the general guide to law school teaching for new (or not so new) law faculty by Cleveland-Marshall Professor Kevin O’Neill and Legal Educator-in-Residence Howard Katz (who also serves as series editor). 

In addition to the new volume on environmental law, the Strategies and Techniques series includes books on teaching civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, property, torts, administrative law, evidence, criminal procedure, professional responsibility, family law.  It also includes guides to teaching legal writing, academic success, and on integrating diversity and inclusion into core law school courses.  Law professors can access and download the individual books in the series at: https://www.wklegaledu.com/resources/law-school-faculty/law-school-faculty.   

Professor Robertson was selected to produce the volume on environmental law based both on her 1999 Columbia Environmental Law Review article “Methods for Teaching Environmental Law: Some Thoughts on Teaching Law Students to Practice” and her 25 years of experience in the field.  

Professor Milena Sterio has been selected, from a competitive call for papers, to contribute a chapter to the book project, “Reimagining Judging in Interntational Criminal Courts: A Gendered Approach.” The project is run by Professors Louise Chappell (UNSW Sydney, Australia), Rosemary Grey (University of Sydney), and Dr. Kasey McLoughlin (University of Newcastle, UK). Professor Sterio will contribute a chapter titled “The ICC Ongwen Sentencing Judgment Through a Feminist Lens.”  Professor Sterio’s chapter will re-write the ICC’s Ongwen case sentencing judgment from a feminist perspective.  Dominic Ongwen was a Lord’s Resistance Army senior leader in Uganda, and was recently sentenced by the ICC for various charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. 

Information about the project is available here.

Professor Sterio moderated a panel discussion on June 28 convened by the International Criminal Court Moot Court competition organizers. The panel centered around developing the ICC Moot Court problem and was attended by existing and future moot court judges, lawyers, and students.  The panel discussion was hosted by Leiden University Law School (in the Netherlands). 

Professor Sterio also moderated a panel discussion on June 17 entitled “Practicing and Teaching Law in the New Normal.”  This panel discussion was convened by the International Bar Association and centered around issues regarding the practice of international law and international criminal law during the pandemic.  Panelists included Professor Carsten Stahn (Leiden University, The Netherlands), Fabricio Guariglia, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court, and Annalisa Reale, Chiomenti (Italian law firm).

Professor Sterio contributed a book review (by invitation) to the Israel Law Review (a peer-reviewed journal published by Cambridge University Press).  Professor Sterio reviewed a recent book by Professor Timothy William Waters, “Boxing Pandora: Rethinking Borders, States, and Secession in a Democratic World.”

Professor Christa Laser was featured in an extended interview on Cleveland 19 News to discuss the trademark issues involved in the new “Guardians” name selected by the Cleveland baseball team. Potential trademark problems have arisen due to the fact that there is a Cleveland roller derby team called the Cleveland Guardians.

Professor Laser explained that “both sides are trying to position themselves to get the trademark for this Cleveland Guardians trademark.” She observed that the trademark issue will ultimately come down to the question of “which company has the first bona fide use?”

The full interview can be viewed here.

Professor Mark Sundahl has published an op-ed in SPACE NEWS titled “The Success of Artemis Hinges on NASA’s Commitment to Competition.” Professor Sundahl argues that NASA should not rely solely on one company to implement the Human Landing System (HLS), but should grant a second award for the HLS program to ensure ongoing healthy competition. He states, “Our capitalist system, defined by healthy competition, is the greatest advantage that the United States has as other countries, including China and Russia, jostle in space for geopolitical supremacy.”

Professor Sundahl is the director of C|M|LAW’s Global Space Law Center.

Professor Brian Ray and Cybersecurity Center Advisory Board member Kirk Nahra each published articles in the most recent edition of the Seton Hall Law Review. Ray’s article, Just Plain Dumb?: How Digital Contact Tracing Apps Could’ve Worked Better (And Why They Never Got the Chance), discusses how digital contact tracing apps failed in the US and recommends reforms to improve the use of digital tools in pandemic response. Nahra’s piece, The Past, Present, and Future of U.S. Privacy Law, examines the brief history of US privacy law and identifies governing principles and key issues that any federal privacy law should address.

Professor Brian Ray was quoted several times discussing ransomware, the need for training and cyber risk insurance in Crain’s Cleveland Business annual Cybersecurity edition.

Professor Ray is the Leon M. and Gloria Plevin Professor of Law and director of C|M|LAW’s Center for Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection.

Professor John Plecnik recently completed the week-long Ohio Public Leadership Academy at the Glenn College at Ohio State University.  The Academy is a bipartisan program for rising public officials created by the Ohio General Assembly and Ohio State for leadership training. Professor Plecnik serves as a County Commissioner for Lake County.

Professor Plecnik stated, “The opportunity to network and learn from leaders across Ohio is invaluable and I was personally grateful for the chance to meet the Director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and tour the Ohio Emergency Operations Center, learn crisis management from a retired Major General and head of the Ohio National Guard, and talk policy with the Assistant Director of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio.”

Below is a picture of the attendees at the Ohio Public Leadership Academy. Professor Plecnik is in the top left.

Legal Educator in Residence Howard E. Katz made a presentation on Course Design at the AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers on June 3. The conference, normally held in Washington D.C., was on zoom this year. The session, conducted with Dean Michael Hunter Schwartz of McGeorge School of Law, addressed such topics as transparency, sequencing of material, decisions about coverage, assessment, and coursebook selection. Howard also facilitated two small group discussions with attendees, and hosted a session for new Contracts professors.