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 Eric Franklin Amarante served as a panelist at the 2019 Transactional Clinical Conference on a panel entitled “Representing Undocumented Entrepreneurs” in Berkeley, California. Along with colleagues from Harvard, Michigan, and Western New England, Professor Amarante discussed the ethical, criminal, and transactional issues that arise when representing entrepreneurs without citizenship status.
Professor Bach recently did two presentations on her forthcoming book, Criminalizing Care. She spoke in Memphis at a research briefing sponsored by SisterReach, and was an invited speaker at the University of Cincinnnati College of Law in the faculty speaker series.
In April, Professor Robert Blitt organized a one-day CLE on the Nuremberg trials and participated on a panel discussion addressing the current state of international criminal law and the International Criminal Court.
Also in April, Professor Blitt delivered an invited lecture to a delegation of Humphrey Fellows participating in a three-day workshop on Global Women’s Empowerment sponsored by the US Department of State at University of Tennessee Knoxville. Professor Blitt’s talk focused on economic and gender-related aspects of international human rights law.
This month, Professor Blitt participated in a roundtable discussion on freedom of religion or belief in the context of the ongoing Ukrainian-Russian Conflict. Blitt’s presentation focused on challenges related to applying the International Religious Freedom Act to nonstate actors including those operating in eastern Ukraine. The roundtable was part of the Association for the Study of Nationalities’ (ASN) three-day World Convention at Columbia University. The ASN meeting is the largest international and inter-disciplinary scholarly gathering focused on issues of nationalism, ethnicity, ethnic conflict and national identity.
UT Clinician presentations at the 42nd Annual Conference on Clinical Education:
Professors Wendy Bach, Eric Franklin Amarante, Brian Krumm, Becky Jacobs, and Joy Radice gave a presentation, entitled “Harnessing the Collective Capacity of Clinics, Pro Bono, Alumni, Courts and Our Rural Communities,” focused on the UT clinic’s efforts to bring legal services to rural areas in Tennessee that have virtually no affordable legal services.
As a new Bellow Fellow, Professor Eric Amarante presented his project: Unregulated Charity, an empirical study of the organizational documents of Streamlined Application filers. This study will expand the National Taxpayer Advocate study by reviewing the organizational documents of all Streamlined Application filers in Tennessee. Professor Amarante also presented a session, Stimulating Simulations: Framing and Debriefing Provocative In-Class Roleplays, that engaged participants in how to add content to simulations to bring out controversial issues and how best to frame, prepare students for, and debrief simulations to maximize constructive student learning.
Professor Wendy Bach, in collaboration with colleagues at American University, Washington College of Law, presented Lawyer as Truth Teller? Narrative and Fact Investigation in the Shadow of Alternative Facts, a concurrent session to provide a framework for engaging clinic students on questions related to truth telling, fact investigation, and narrative. Professor Bach also co-facilitated the Scholarship Support Workshop to support new and emerging scholars in identifying scholarly topics, developing writing strategies, gaining feedback on writing, and publishing.
Professor Sherley Cruz, the newest member of the UT faculty, led the Clinicians of Color Workshop which aimed to deepen both the relationships and professional support systems of clinicians of color while providing support for advancement in the legal academy. She also presented a session, Race, Identity, Competency? Expanding Our Understanding, to explore strategies for teaching cross-cultural competency in the current racial atmosphere and how to address the specific challenges of discussing race and gender with students who are hostile to them or who did not anticipate such discussions in clinic.
Professor Lucy Jewel was the discussion leader of the Appellate Clinic Working Group and presented the session, Red–Bottom Shoe Activism: Privilege, Power, and Pedagogy where panelists engaged attendees with interactive learning models to think critically about what they bring to teaching during divisive times and the role our law students may have in addressing the divisive America in which we reside.
Professor Joy Radice was invited to participate an intensive paper feedback session in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure as a paper discussant.
Professor Dean Rivkin presented a session on Intergeneration Change in Clinical Education: Our Work, Our Lives, Our Programs, Our Communities that discussed the transitional moment when the generations that launched the clinical movement are retiring.