Faculty Forum is a monthly feature written by Professor Michael Higdon highlighting the achievements of faculty at UT Law including publications in academia and the media, speaking engagements, interviews, awards and other accomplishments.
Professor Robert Blitt joined a comment signed by 230 human rights organizations, faith-based groups, former senior U.S. government officials, and academics rejecting the recently released draft report prepared by the Commission on Unalienable Rights. In a separate commentary published by the Jurist, Professor Blitt warns that the draft “will only strengthen the Kremlin’s longstanding efforts to undercut the international human rights system.”
Professor Sherley Cruz presented a workshop on “Giving Feedback” for Tulane University Law School’s Clinical Faculty’s Summer Pedagogy Series.
Professor Sherley Cruz and Associate Dean Michael Higdon were panelists in a virtual workshop titled “Faculty Development Workshop: The Basics of the FAR Form”and co-sponsored by the Society of American Law Teachers and LatCrit.
Professor Joan Heminway was a participant in five programs at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) annual conference. She moderated a discussion targeted at prospective law teachers on “Mapping Academic Opportunities” and presented working papers in sessions involving corporate board diversity and insider trading regulation (“Perspectives on Board Diversity and California’s New Law” and “Insider Trading: Is It All about the Money?”), also serving as co-moderator of the latter session. In addition, she contributed as a discussant in a group focusing on interdisciplinary engagement within the law academy (“Inter-Topical Problem-Solving: The Curious Case of the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein”) and to a dialogue concerning “International Cooperation and Faculty Student Exchanges.” She authored a blog post on the Jeffrey Epstein discussion group, which can be found here. In addition, Professor Heminway has consented to serve an additional term as Corporate Compliance Officer for the Southeastern Association of Law Schools, Inc., the nonprofit corporation that hosts the conference.
Professor Michael Higdon’s latest article, “(In)Formal Marriage Equality” has been accepted for publication in volume 89 of the Fordham Law Review. He also served on a SEALS panel entitled “Navigating the Hiring Process,” which was part of the prospective law teachers workshop
During SEALS 2020, Professor Becky Jacobs served as a CV/FAR reviewer as part of SEAL’s prospective law teachers workshop.
Professor Brian Krumm was interviewed by News Channel 11 (Kingsport) on matters of Corporate Governance involving a corporation in which Congressional candidate Diana Harshbarger was a corporate secretary.
Professor Krumm participated in a panel sponsored by the University of Indiana/Bloomington, Maurer School of Law’s Center for Intellectual Property Research Workshop on the topic “Software & Technology in the IP Clinics.”He was also a panelist on the topic “Best Practices in Trademark Filing.”
Professor Krumm was a discussant at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools Annual Conference, “Political Polarization in the Classroom.” In addition, Professor Krumm and Professor Jiang dong from Renmin University College of Law in Beijing presented at SEALS on “International Collaborative Teaching.”
Professor Krumm was interviewed by the Knoxville News Sentinel concerning President Trump’s firing of two of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board members.
As part of SEALS 2020, Professor Michelle Kwon moderated the panel “Supreme Court and Legislative Update (Corporate, Administrative, Labor, and Tax Law).”
Professors Don Leatherman and Kwon participated in the panel “COVID-19 and Transaction Tax Planning,” which was part of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Business Law Forum.
At SEALS 2020, Professor Alex Long moderated a discussion group on “Teaching Torts.”
As a member of the American Law Institute’s Members Consultative Group for the UCC and an observer for the Uniform Law Commission, Professor Thomas Plank is participating in the Joint Study Committee on the Uniform Commercial Code and Emerging Technologies, formed in 2019 by the American Law Institute and the Uniform Law Commission to review the Uniform Commercial Code.
Professor Joy Radice helped organize a clinical series for SEALS this year that included three discussion groups. Professor Radice also moderated a discussion on “Confronting Microaggression in the Classroom.”
Professor Greg Stein’s article, “Inequality in the Sharing Economy,” has been published at 85 Brooklyn Law Review 787 (2020).
Professor Maurice Stucke was quoted in Politico’s new tech publication on Fortnite’s lawsuits against Google and Apple —
https://www.protocol.com/epic-games-lawsuit-chances
Professor Valorie Vojdik participated as a panelist on a webinar on the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment sponsored by Stinson LLP.
Professor Melanie Wilson was a discussant on the panel, “The Present, Past, and Future of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment” at SEALS 2020 and also took part in a discussion on “Fighting Microaggressions in the Classroom,” led by Professor Joy Radice.
Professor Wilson also served as a panelist during a discussion of “The Dean as Innovator, Entrepreneur, and Fundraiser” at the 2020 Promoting Diversity in Law School Leadership Workshop (virtual) and moderated a panel on “Navigating Intersectionalities as Dean.”