Faculty Forum: June 2018

Faculty Forum is a monthly feature written by Teri Baxter highlighting the achievements of faculty at UT Law including publications in academia and the media, speaking engagements, interviews, awards, and other accomplishments.

Professor Zack Buck was interviewed for the LA Times story “USC scandal sparks a reckoning in gynecology: How to better protect patients?” Professor Buck “said the recent realizations speak to a power imbalance within medicine. Patients allow doctors to do whatever is medically necessary because they’re experts, but that means patients are left somewhat in the dark — unable to ascertain what’s normal and what isn’t.”

Professor Judy Cornett spoke on “Alternative Facts/Alternative Ethics? The Challenges of Lawyering in the Trump Era” at the Tennessee Municipal Attorneys’ Association annual conference. Professor Cornett analyzed how four lawyers associated with President Trump have faced ethical challenges, and how those challenges would be resolved under the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct.

Professor Glenn Reynolds symposium presentation, Heller: Past, Present and Future, has been published in the Spring, 2018 issue of the Campbell Law Review.

Professor Paula Schaefer participated in the National Conference of Bar Examiner’s MPRE Question Writing Workshop in Madison, Wisconsin in May. Professional responsibility professors from across the country have been invited to learn from the NCBE’s experts about techniques for drafting effective multiple-choice questions.

Professor Schaefer presented a CLE titled “2018 Attorney Ethics Update” to the Tennessee Office of the Attorney General on June 14, 2018 in Nashville.

Professor Schaefer’s article Attorney Negligence and Negligent Spoliation: The Need for New Tools to Prompt Attorney Competence in Preservation has been published in Volume 51 of the Akron Law Review. Professor Schaefer was invited to submit the article for Akron Law Review’s Civil Discovery Symposium.

Professor Schaefer’s article Building on the Professionalism Foundation of Best Practices for Legal Education was recently published in the University of St. Thomas Law Journal. Professor Schaefer was invited to participate in the symposium that celebrated the twenty-five year anniversary of the MacCrate Report and the ten year anniversary of the books Educating Lawyers and Best Practices for Legal Education.

Professor Greg Stein’s article Professors of Real Estate Law: Different Types, Different Needs will be published in volume 53 of the Wake Forest Law Review.

Professor Maurice Stucke was interviewed live recently on BBC Radio’s Today Show. He was interviewed about the DOJ’s attempt to block the merger between AT&T and Time Warner. Listen to the segment here (starting approximately at the 15 minute mark). Professor Stucke was also interviewed by Professor Caron Beaton-Wells for the podcast “Competition Lore.” In the episode, Professor Stucke “explains how our data is powering digital platforms and outlines a regulatory and enforcement agenda for governments to keep a check on their power.” Listen here to Part I and Part II.

Professor Penny White was a featured speaker at the Louisiana Bench Bar Summer School, which took place in Destin, Florida. Professor White delivered three presentations, two that were open to all attendees and a third open only to judges. Her topics included evidence, ethics, and the judicial function in the evidentiary process.

Professor White also taught a four-day program in Wyoming, “Evidence in a Courtroom Setting,” to a class of judges from twenty states, state and federal administrative law judges, and tribal judges.  The course was a part of the National Judicial College (NJC) curriculum for those seeking the MJS (Master of Judicial Studies) degree from the University of Nevada.  Professor White taught all of the sessions on the role of the judge, impeachment, hearsay, and confrontation. During the course, the NJC honored Professor White on the occasion of the beginning of her 25th year as a faculty member at the College.

Professor White was the guest speaker for the June meeting of the Upper Cumberland Legal Association of Women. She presented a CLE program on recent Tennessee decisions in evidence, family law, civil procedure, appellate procedure, and property law. The presentation focused on cases decided by the Tennessee courts from January 2017-May 2018. White also presented a one-hour program entitled “The Informed Negotiator,” which focused on negotiation tactics and negotiation ethics.

Dean Melanie Wilson was selected as a Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation (state-wide honorary society of attorneys) and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (national honorary society of attorneys).

Dean Wilson and her two co-authors, Professor Paul Marcus (William & Mary School of Law) and Jack B. Zimmermann (practicing lawyer) completed the new, Fifth Edition of Criminal Procedure in Practice, which will be published by the ABA later this year.

Dean Wilson served on a panel entitled “How Courts, Law Schools, Law Firms, and Corporate Counsel Are Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession and the Workplace,” with Charles Grant (Baker Donelson), Angela A. Ripper (Unum Group), and Judge Chris Craft (30th Judicial District) as part of the Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women’s Empowerment Conference 2018.  Lucian T. Pera moderated.