houck2040/law huggingface dataset:
The Texas A&M University School of Law Advocacy Program is celebrating recent victories from mock trial, negotiation and dispute resolution competitions from the East to West Coast. 
Elizabeth Anderson
2L Elizabeth Anderson won Best Direct Examination at the Lone Star Classic Mock Trial Competition in San Antonio on Oct. 13-15. This is the law school’s first individual mock trial award. 
“I am humbled and proud, but especially thrilled for the school,” she said. “We want to elevate our competitiveness in ​mock ​trial and become a known, respected trial advocacy program.”
Anderson and her teammates 3Ls Ashu Balimba, Greg Franklin and Jessica Lesnau were coached by Justice Lee Gabriel, who is also the mock trial coordinator. This award follows a new 18-hour summer training program implemented by Justice Gabriel this year.
This was Anderson’s first mock trial competition, and although she has experience in public speaking, she said she had a lot to learn.  
“I practiced about 120 hours between Aug. 22 and Oct. 12,” she said. “Nothing works better than constant rehearsal and repetition; Justice Gabriel emphasized the value of practicing each element (direct, cross examination, opening, and closing) as though it was the real thing.”
She said this made a huge difference in her learning and delivery. 
Jonathan Heathman, Diny Chang and Paul Manigrasso
The team of 2Ls Diny Chang and Paul Manigrasso, and 3L Jonathan Heathman, coached by Professor Kay Elliott, won the Best Mediation Award, placing 2nd overall, at the FINRA Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon in New York City on Oct. 15-16. The competition consists of rounds in mediation, arbitration, and negotiation. The complex subject matter at this competition requires intense practice and learning.  
Christopher Hamilton and Jessica Holtman
2Ls Jessica Holtman and Christopher Hamilton, coached by Elliott, placed second at the Sports Law Negotiation Competition in San Diego, Calif. on Sept. 23-25. Other Aggie Law teams finished 6th and 8th respectively, out of 40 teams.
Director of Advocacy Jennifer Ellis said the students and coaches have worked very hard, and she is glad their work was rewarded. 
“Winning our first individual mock trial award demonstrates that our new initiatives and training in mock trial are working,” she said. “And it’s wonderful to have continued success at the FINRA competition, where we won the mediation award in 2014.”
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Professor Neal Newman
Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Neal Newman received the 2016 Distinguished Achievement Award: College Level given by The Association of Former Students.
Faculty members across the Texas A&M system are recognized by The Association of Former Students every fall for their “talent, expertise, and devotion on conveying knowledge to students.”  
Each recipient receives a $2,000 cash gift.
Newman was the only faculty member selected from the law school for 2016. The 2015 recipient was Professor Stephen Alton. 
Newman was surprised to hear the news and is simply “humbled and honored.”
“The faculty here rate with anybody in the country, in my opinion,” he said. “To be selected from that group is an honor of the highest magnitude.” 
He said this recognition is also very affirming. 
“It lets me know that the efforts being made in the classroom have been resonating and have made an impact; [there is] nothing more rewarding as a teacher than that.”
Newman teaches and researches in the areas of securities law, financial accounting, corporate law and transactional law.
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Professor Sahar Aziz
Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Sahar Aziz testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency on Sept. 22, 2016, in Washington, D.C. 
In a Congressional hearing titled “Identifying the Enemy: Radical Islamist Terror,” Aziz offered her expertise on national security and the Middle East. 
She argued that countering violent ​extremism (CVE) programs are fundamentally flawed for being counterproductive, unnecessary and a waste of government resources. 
“As citizens and elected officials we have a responsibility to carefully examine whether the methods we are using to prevent terrorism are effective,” she said. 
As such, Aziz recommended that government programs seeking to build community resilience are most effective when administered by social service agencies with the requisite expertise, not law enforcement agencies.
“The tens of millions of dollars spent on CVE programs are better spent on programs administered through social services agencies with the expertise to assist the multitude of American communities in need of job training, mental health services, domestic violence prevention, English language training, refugee resettlement, youth afterschool programs, tutoring and other services that promote safe and healthy communities,” she testified.
An expanded version of her testimony will be published with the Texas International Law Journal in spring 2017 as a follow-up to her article, “Policing Terrorists in the Community,” published in the Harvard National Security Journal.
Aziz said that, as a professor, it was a privilege to inform Congress about important public policy issues within her area of scholarship and research.

"As we observed in the recent presidential debates, the intersection of national security and civil rights is a topic of national concern,” she said. “I was honored to have the opportunity to use my expertise in this area to inform Congress on how to preserve our security without sacrificing our rights."
On Sept. 15, Aziz also shared her insights when she delivered the Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture at the University of Tulsa College of Law. In a lecture titled, “Global Conflict and Populism in a Post 9/11 World,” she said,  “Let us follow the path blazed by giants like Buck Colbert Franklin to ensure all persons—documented or undocumented, Black, White, Latino, Asian, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, all races and religions—in the United States are treated with dignity, equality and respect.” 

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Cielo Fortin-Camacho
Texas A&M University School of Law 3L Cielo Fortin-Camacho received third place in the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law’s 2016 Student Writing Competition with her article, “Red-Handed Without a Defense: Limiting the Risk of Forfeiture When Leasing to Lawful Marijuana Tenants.”
The article discusses the problem faced by property owners wishing to lease premises to growers, processors, and sellers of marijuana in states that have adopted marijuana provisions and established regulatory frameworks.
“In these states, marijuana-related businesses have been lured from the shadows, leaving property owners unable to meet the requirements of any statutory or common law defense to civil forfeiture,” she said. 
Fortin-Camacho said marijuana has been a subject of intense debate for a couple of years now with 25 states approving some form of medical marijuana legislation and Gallup polls indicating a majority of Americans back legal marijuana use.  
“With all these sudden changes in legislation occurring, it’s easy to forget about the federal government’s unwavering prohibition on marijuana,” she said. “I thought it was important to address the particularly devastating risk property owners face when they enter the marijuana industry.”
Fortin-Camacho won a cash prize, a Real Property, Trust and Estate Law section membership, and will be considered for publication in the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal.
She is very honored by the recognition, but said the best part of it all was the reception from the law school. 
“I’ve received so many kind words of encouragement from everyone on campus.”
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Twenty-three Texas A&M University School of Law students received their Aggie Rings on Friday, Sept. 23, at the Sheraton Fort Worth.
Before the ceremony began, the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Yell Leaders joined us for Yell Practice to #BTHOArkansas. 
Director of Former Students, Alumni and External Relations Kristi Kaiser Trail ’00 welcomed students, faculty, staff, family and friends. She received her ring on April 6, 2000, and wears it with pride.
“My Aggie Ring turned sweet sixteen this past April,” she said. “Ring days are my favorite here at the law school.” 
John Griffin ’09, Texas Wesleyan Law ’12, delivered remarks on the history and tradition of the Aggie Ring and shared his journey with the ring and its purpose. Griffin is corporate counsel for Alliance Data in Plano. While at Texas A&M, he served in the Corps of Cadets and on the Cadet Leadership Council.
He said the Aggie Ring, one of the most recognized symbols in Texas, is a major milestone in [an Aggie’s] life.
“Many of you remember the first time you saw an Aggie Ring,” he said. “Mine was my parents’.” He would often put his dad’s ring on his thumb and imagined getting his own.
“I knew one day I’d be an Aggie, and I couldn’t wait to get my own [ring],” he said. 
Unfortunately, his dad’s ring was misplaced. Though, according to Griffin, it may or may not have been misplaced by him. In 2008, when it finally came time for Griffin to get his Aggie Ring, he said he felt something wasn’t right. 
“It didn’t feel right to receive one knowing my dad didn’t have his anymore,” he said. On the day Griffin was presented with his ring, he was able to deliver a new ring to his dad. 
“So please, try your hardest not to lose your Aggie Ring,” he said.
Dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Dean’s Endowed Chair Andrew Morriss said that the Aggie Ring is a “particularly wonderful thing for lawyers.”
“Lawyers need a network, and you’ve got the best one,” he said. 
Morriss and Terence Cook, Assistant Dean of Admissions, presented the Aggie Rings to students from the classes of ’16 and ’17.
A reception followed, along with a chance to pose with the First Lady of Aggieland, Reveille.
Learn more about the Aggie Ring tradition. The next Law School Ring Day will be held Nov. 4, 2016.

​
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas A&M University School of Law has received a grant from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to start a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic.
The grant is part of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC) program, administered by the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS to make the services of these clinics more widely available, particularly in underserved areas.
This will help the school assist low income taxpayers on tax controversies, which include audits, assessments, collections and disputes before the IRS and U.S. Tax Court.
The clinic also gives students an opportunity to work directly on federal tax controversy cases by receiving provisional admission to represent taxpayers before the IRS. 
Jack Manhire
Jack Manhire, Director of Program Development and Senior Lecturer, will serve as the clinic interim director. Before coming to the law school, he served as Chief of Legal Analysis for the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility and was an Attorney Advisor to the National Taxpayer Advocate.
Lori Rogde, Associate Director for Clinics at Texas A&M Law, was instrumental in this grant award.
Lori Rodge
“If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have the grant,” Manhire said.
Rodge saw the grant as a “great chance” to learn something new, and was glad the law school received it to benefit the community.  
Manhire hopes the clinic can take advantage of cutting edge technology and the Aggie Network to expand beyond Fort Worth in the upcoming years.
“We are very excited to be a part of the LITC community,” he said. “We are fully dedicated to serving the needs of the Fort Worth area and the educational enrichment of our students. We also plan to leverage cutting-edge technology and our Aggie network to represent taxpayers in some of the most underserved communities in Texas.”
The clinic, the law school’s ninth, will be located in the Star-Telegram building in downtown Fort Worth, the home of Texas A&M Legal Clinics.
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Professor Lisa Rich
Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Lisa Rich was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Charles Koch Foundation to open and teach a special criminal justice course in Spring 2017.
The course, Criminal Justice Scholar and Advocate, will be available to five 2Ls and 3Ls who will focus on criminal justice research.  
“The seminar program will also facilitate student attendance/participation in at least one regional or national criminal justice conference per semester related to their work so they can engage with experts in the field and begin their leadership networking,” according to Rich’s draft. “They will also discuss the leadership and coalition building qualities necessary to lead and participate in a public policy setting.” 
The grant will fund the student travel stipend and research budget. 
Rich, who submitted the proposal in June, is very excited for the class and has already spoken to some students who are interested in the course. She is also optimistic of ​it ​continuing for more semesters.
“They’ve [students] given me research ideas they want to focus on,” she said.  “We’re hoping this spring to be the start of an ongoing course,” she said. 
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Gabriel Eckstein will present “Water Scarcity, Challenges, and Opportunities: Lessons from Israel” in College Station on Sept. 15. 
He will also give the same presentation, arranged by the Consulate General of Israel in Houston, at the University of New Mexico on Sept. 14. 
The research will address how Israel withstands and overcomes challenges of water scarcity, climatic changes, and a population and economy with growing water needs, according to Eckstein.
“While other nations in the region continue to struggle, Israel has developed a sophisticated water management regime that has allowed it to maintain a robust economy with thriving agricultural and technological sectors,” he said.  “The purpose is to tell Israel’s success story in water management and to extract lessons that might be relevant to other nations around the world.”
Eckstein will speak from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Gates Ballroom at the Texas A&M University Memorial Student Center. It is free and open to the public. The presentation is being hosted by the Israel Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest, Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas A&M University Water Management and Hydrological Science Program and the The Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX, – This Friday, Sept. 9 from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., The Center for Law and Intellectual Property at Texas A&M University School of Law will host Loot! Looted Art, Cultural Property, and Repatriation. The symposium will take place in the law school’s conference center and is open to the public.
Featuring the nation's top lawyers, museums, auction houses and scholars, the event will focus on repatriation of art looted by the Nazis during World War II. Families worldwide are now seeking the return of Nazi-looted art; one case, addressing the return of five paintings by Gustav Klimt, made its way to the Supreme Court and then to Hollywood in the blockbuster film “Woman in Gold”. At Texas A&M School of Law, top figures in this space will discuss complicated issues surrounding stolen art and repatriation. Participants include Don Burris, whose firm helped Marie Altmann recover the Klimt paintings.
“This is a unique opportunity for the community at large to participate in a discussion about one of the hottest topics in both art and law, said Megan Carpenter, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the law school’s Center for Law and Intellectual Property. “We are honored that such an all-star cast has agreed to convene at Texas A&M School of Law to debate these issues.”
Speakers include:

Don Burris, Senior Founding Partner, Burris & Schoenberg, LLP
Megan Carpenter, Co-Director, Center for Law and Intellectual Property
Monica Dugot, SVP, International Director of Restitution, Christie's
Simon Frankel, Chair of IP, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
Deborah Gerhardt, Associate Professor of Law, University of North Carolina
Jennifer Kreder, Professor of Law, Northern Kentucky University
Shelley Matthews, Fine Art Appraiser, Advisor, Art Historian at SCM Fine Art Consulting; Instructor, Texas Christian University
Marilyn Phelan, Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Law Emeritus and former Professor of Museum Science, Texas Tech University

To learn more and/or register, visit law.tamu.edu/loot.
Download the press release pdf.

Media Contact:
Rebecca C. Walden, Director of Marketing, Texas A&M University School of Law
(O): 817-212-3933
rcwalden@law.tamu.edu
Charles Lincoln ’16 has accepted an offer from the Journal of Legislation at Notre Dame Law School to publish his article, “A Platonic Interpretation of the United States Constitution.”
“There were several other offers, but I ended up with this one,” Lincoln said. 
The major premise of the article is the three part system of the Platonic soul (eros, thymus, logos). The article then lays out the minor premise, the generally accepted division of the three part system of the United States federal government (legislative, executive, and judicial). 
“The gist of the article is the syllogism of superimposing the two on each other,” he said. 
The inspiration of the article came from his undergrad study of philosophy and Ancient Greek.
“It was a lot of fun writing it from citing some of the original Greek and problems of translation to the writings of the U.S. Founding Fathers and recent Supreme Court cases interpreting executive power and the like,” he said. 
While he admits a big part of his experience from college is with philosophy, he is currently enrolled in an LL.M. program at the University of Amsterdam to continue his studies in international tax law. 
“I am extremely interested in tax law and how it plays out on the international scale,” he said. “I hope to continue publishing on philosophy and law but also international tax and law soon too!”
This publication acceptance is nothing new for Lincoln. Last year, he received several offers for his article, “Hegelian Dialectical Analysis of United States Election Laws.” He selected the University of Dayton Law Review for its publication.
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Guest lecturer Tito Alfaro, Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender, Southern District of Texas, Laredo office,​ and Texas A​&M Law professors William Magnuson and Stephen Alton with the​ Borderlands Law ​class students from Texas A​&M School​ of Law and Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M University School of Law Associate Dean and Professor Stephen Alton coordinated and directed the inaugural Borderlands Law course at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) in Laredo this summer.
From May 23 to June 3, 12 students, five from the law school and seven from Texas A&M International University, took the intensive three-credit course that met daily for the two weeks. In addition to their work in the classroom, the students took three class field trips, touring bridges crossing the Rio Grande between the U.S. and Mexico and visiting the offices of the largest law firm in Laredo.
Guest lecturers discussed subjects relating to international law (more specifically, legal issues affecting the U.S.-Mexico border):

background on Mexican history and culture
legal reform in Mexico
immigration
border security
international business transactions
international sales of goods
international secured transactions
international water law

Texas A&M University School of Law professors Angela Morrison, Bill Henning, Gabriel Eckstein and William Magnuson were among the speakers. 
Other speakers included Representative Richard Raymond of Laredo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruben Perez, U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar and more. 

Texas A​&M School of Law's Joshua Romo-Ramirez, Kelsey Fahler, Katie Hawkins, Prof. Alton, Meighan Acre, and Christian Kramer
When the course ended, three of the five law students pursued three-credit, five-week intensive externships in Laredo. 2L Kelsey Fahler was placed with a state district judge; 2L Meighan Arce was placed with a leading immigration attorney; and 2L Katie Hawkins was placed with the local office of Legal Aid of the Rio Grande Valley.
Alton said, "In all, the Borderlands course seems to have been a resounding success for its first time. Both law and TAMIU students benefited from getting to know each other and studying together for two weeks."
He also said the students enjoyed exploring Laredo and discovering its culture and history.
"We are grateful to TAMIU for its cooperation in establishing this course, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with our friends at TAMIU both on Borderlands Law and other projects of mutual interest,” he said.




- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Gabriel Eckstein participated in the 10th General Assembly of the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO) in Merida, Mexico in June. 
The INBO Assembly was organized to further its efforts, activities and programs that respond to global challenges such as population growth, food and energy demand, and adaptation to the effects of climate change, in the basins of local, national and transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers.
At the INBO Assembly Eckstein participated on the International Cooperation Organizations Forum where he introduced the upcoming XVIth World Water Congress planned for Cancun next year and encouraged the INBO and its members to contribute to the Congress program.
He also met with representatives of CONAGUA (Mexico’s national water authority) and ANEAS (Mexico’s non-governmental association for water and sanitation), who will serve as hosts for the upcoming World Water Congress. 
Eckstein said they continued an ongoing dialogue and preparation for the Congress and developed tasks and strategies that will ensure the success of the Congress. They also exchanged proposals for high-level panels, keynote speakers, and coordination with other international organizations.
Eckstein serves as chair of the International Scientific Committee for the Congress and is a member of its International Steering Committee.
“INBO is one of the more important water-management organizations globally, and speaking at their General Assembly was both an honor and a privilege,” Eckstein said.




- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
An Interview with Mike Ware​ of the Texas A&M Law Innocence Clinic
Cassandra Rivera, center, followed by Elizabeth Ramirez and Kristie Mayhugh are led out of the Bexar County Jail by their attorney Mike Ware, right, Monday, Nov. 18, 2013, in San Antonio. It was announced earlier in the day the San Antonio women imprisoned for sexually assaulting two girls in 1994 were expected to walk free Monday after a judge agreed that their convictions were tainted by faulty witness testimony. Vasquez, the fourth, has already been paroled, but under strict conditions. (AP Photo/Eric Gay).
Viewers of the popular real-crime documentary show "Making a Murderer" learned about the Wisconsin Innocence Project, ​that works to free wrongfully convicted individuals. Texas A&M University School of Law ​operates its own similar program, the Innocence Clinic, which works with the Innocence Project of Texas. Here, Aggie Law students have the chance to work on actual cases where convicted criminals claim their innocence.

The Texas A&M Foundation podcast, "The Sound of the Spirit," interviewed adjunct professor and Innocence Clinic director Mike Ware about "Making a Murderer" and another case, the San Antonio Four.

Listen to the podcast here: https://soundcloud.com/texas-am-foundation/justice-in-action.

Ware is the director of the Innocence Clinic at Texas A&M School of Law and executive director and chief counsel of the Innocence Project of Texas. He teaches Post-Conviction Actual Innocence Claims at ​the law school. Ware,​ formerly with the Dallas County District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit, is a criminal defense attorney in Fort Worth. His Aggie Law students benefit from his 30 years of experience in criminal trial, appellate, and post-conviction practice including death penalty cases, in state and federal courts throughout the U.S. 

Ware has been named a Texas Monthly Super Lawyer as both a defense lawyer and a prosecutor. In 2014 Ware received the Percy Foreman Lawyer of the Year award from the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA).

For more information on the Innocence Project of Texas, visit ipoftexas.org.

To learn about the documentary film based on the San Antonio Four, visit southwestofsalem.com.
Texas A&M Law CLIP Co-Director Prof. Peter Yu; Prof. Brian Holland; SBOT IP Section scholarship winner Texas A&M Law 3L Hector Leal-Brol; Shruti Krishnan, current chair of the IP Section’s Diversity Committee, who presented the award; and Prof. Saurabh Vishnubhakat at the Section Awards Luncheon of the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting

Rising 3L Hector Leal-Brol was named the recipient of the State Bar of Texas Intellectual Property Law Section's Women and Minority Scholarship at the Section Awards Luncheon of the Annual Meeting on June 17 in Fort Worth.
According to the ​State ​Bar, the purpose of scholarship “is to facilitate and encourage women and minorities to enter the practice of intellectual property law in Texas, and to become active members of the State Bar IP Section, by assisting these students with their financial needs.”
Extracurricular activities both inside and outside law school are also an important factor in the selection process. 
Professor Peter Yu, Professor Brian Holland and Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat attended the awards ceremony in support of Leal-Brol.
Yu, co-director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property (CLIP), taught Leal-Brol in both the Copyright Law class and the International Intellectual Property Seminar. He said it’s a “tremendous honor” to have one of CLIP’s students recognized by the IP Section of the State Bar of Texas.
“We [the law school] have a longstanding relationship with the bench and the bar,” he said. “Hector has a strong interest in patent law and has performed very well in the classroom. We are proud to have him as part of our IP law program." 
Holland said Leal-Brol was a great fit for the scholarship because it also recognizes potential. 
“In the classroom and beyond, Hector is taking advantage of the many excellent opportunities offered to IP students by Texas A&M School of Law and the DFW legal community,” he said.
Leal-Brol said it was a “great honor” to represent Texas A&M University School of Law at the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting. He said such recognition wouldn’t have been possible for him or anyone else without CLIP facilitating and encouraging students' involvement with the IP community. 
“Moreover, I am forever grateful for the contagious passion for Intellectual Property that Professors Yu, Vishnubhakat, Holland, and the rest of the IP faculty instill in students since it is the driving force behind my desire to succeed in the patent law field,” he said.
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Apprenticeship Network Will Revamp the Traditional First Year After Law School
Texas A&M University School of Law is introducing a new incubator program designed to accelerate recent graduates’ transition from law school to solo and small firm practice.

The program, the first incubator-type launched in Texas, was created in response to the need to train recent law graduates for solo practice and to help bridge the state’s justice gap.
The Texas Bar Foundation approved a grant to support the program, “The Texas Apprenticeship Network: Empowering Solo Practitioners to Help Bridge the Justice Gap.” Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $16 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, The Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitably-funded bar foundation.
The Texas Apprenticeship Program will match recent law graduates with practitioners who share the common goal of helping address the state’s growing need for attorneys to assist pro bono and modest means clients.

The recent graduates, as apprentices, will work in the offices of solo and small firm attorneys who will mentor them in communities and areas of interest in which they want to work after admission to law practice.
Through this process, the apprentices will obtain experience while learning about practice management. The mentors will also commit to connecting them in the community.

The​ apprentices will also complete a practicum on law practice management. In the practicum, they will develop their business plans and tools for their solo practices, and it will provide network and opportunities for innovation.

Professor Susan Fortney, the organizer of the program, stated that the Texas Apprenticeship Network promises to provide high impact at a relatively low cost.

“Instead of sending graduates into the profession and trusting that healthy mentorships will develop organically, we’re formally teaming graduates with practice leaders from day one,” she said. 
She said she also hopes the program will inspire the new attorneys “to learn how to practice law ethically and provide both pro bono and affordable legal services to clients who cannot afford market rates.”
Texas A&M University is supporting experiential learning initiatives, including the Texas Apprenticeship Network. In addition to providing administrative and personnel assistance, the university has matched the Texas Bar Foundation grant.
###
Printer-friendly press release [pdf].
Media Contact:

Rebecca C. Walden, Director of Marketing, Texas A&M University School of Law
1515 Commerce Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
rcwalden@law.tamu.edu
817-212-3933
Professor Sahar Aziz
Texas A&M University School of Law Associate Professor Sahar Aziz attended the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Select Task Force meeting to release a major report on the study of harassment on June 20 in Washington, D.C. 
Aziz is a ​member of the Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace. She said the meeting highlighted five key lessons learned from the task force’s efforts. 

Workplace harassment remains a persistent problem that comprised nearly one third of EEOC charges in 2015. 
Harassment often goes unreported due to employees' fear of retaliation. Therefore, a particular organization's low number of harassment complaints is not necessarily indicative of a harassment-free workplace. 
There is a compelling business case for stopping and preventing workplace harassment. In addition to legal costs, a workplace infected with harassment decreases employee productivity and increases employee attrition both by victims and bystanders.
The Commissioners highlighted the importance of leadership at the highest levels of an organization to create a workplace culture where harassment is not tolerated. 
The Commissioners emphasized that current training programs tend to adopt a one-size-fits all approach that has not been effective in preventing harassment. 

“More research is needed to develop more effective training tailored to a specific workforce and workplace,” Aziz said. 
The Commissioners ended the meeting noting that the report was the first step in a long term strategy to bring together employers, labor, employee advocates and government agencies to make American workplaces more inclusive, respectful and productive.
Aziz said it was an honor and a privilege to serve on the EEOC's Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace. 
“Membership on the task force offered a unique opportunity to collaborate with reputable scholars, lawyers, and advocates committed to upholding civil rights in the workplace,” she said. “Thanks to Texas A&M University's support of faculty scholarship, I was able to use my research to make a substantive impact on timely legal and public policy issues."
Read the complete EEOC Task Force report.

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
What are your rights when law enforcement knocks on your door?

Brandy Roberts Hankins ’14 and adjunct professor Brandon Barnett co-authored an article published in the June 2016 Texas Bar Journal, detailing the 'knock and talk' procedure, the 'plain view' doctrine, and consent. The criminal law article "Knock and Talk: When law enforcement can enter your home," summarizes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit case United States v. Danhach.

Read the article here.

Hankins is a 2014 graduate of Texas A&M University School of Law and a research associate with Barnett Howard & Williams, a criminal defense law firm in Fort Worth.  

Barnett, an Texas A&M Law adjunct professor of military justice, is a founding partner of Barnett Howard & Williams. He also serves as a military judge in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
On May 25 and 26, the Center for Law and Intellectual Property (CLIP) at Texas A&M University School of Law will co-sponsor the 8th Annual Conference on Innovation and Communications Law at the University of Eastern Finland Law School in Joensuu, Finland.

Th​e conference, co-founded in 2008 by CLIP Co-Director Peter Yu, examines the role played by intellectual property (IP) and communications laws in the dissemination of information. The annual event is jointly organized by a consortium of European and U.S. law schools, including Texas A&M, Louisville and Michigan State, as well as Eastern Finland and Turku in Finland. CLIP and Xiamen University co-organized last year's conference in Xiamen, China. 

This year's conference is titled "Fading, Emerging and Flipped Markets: Owning, Licensing or Sharing Technologies?" Among the participants are three IP law experts from Texas A&M University School of Law. 
Professor Glynn Lunney will present a paper on "Copyright and Intermediary Market Structure." Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat will present a paper on "Emerging Technologies and Patent Data: Foundations for Policy Development." And Yu will chair the panels on "Innovation Law" and "Global Challenges to IP Protection." 
"My colleagues and I are very excited to be part of this trans-Atlantic dialogue on intellectual property, innovation and communications law," said Yu. "Countries around the world have introduced different laws to promote creativity and innovation. A sophisticated understanding of these laws will enable us to help our students succeed in a rapidly changing global business environment." 
While in Europe, Yu, who recently served as a visiting professor at Hanken School of Economics and the University of Helsinki in Finland, will present a paper on "Big Data, Intellectual Property and Global Pandemics" at the "Legal Dimensions of Big Data in the Health and Life Sciences" seminar organized by the Centre for Information and Innovation Law at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. At the university's law faculty, he will also deliver a presentation on "The Investment-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights."

CLIP at Texas A&M University School of Law is a leading international hub for research and education in the IP field. Its accessible faculty features leading scholars in all major IP "food groups," including two patent attorneys and a former attorney advisor of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Most recently, peer surveys conducted by U.S. News & World Report have ranked Texas A&M University School of Law among the top 14 IP law programs in the United States.

Texas A&M University School of Law Center for Law and Intellectual Property (CLIP) Faculty
Professor Michael Z. Green
Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Michael Z. Green was the keynote speaker at the symposium, "Out of the Shadows: Implicit Bias, Institutional Responses,” on April 15 at the University of Oregon School of Law. 

Green gave the closing evening lecture, “Civility and Mediation as Workplace Responses to Conscious Disregard of Racially-Biased Behaviors.” The presentation, which also discussed Green’s recent paper, “Negotiating While Black,” was captured via livestreaming and is available on YouTube. 

Professor Jennifer Reynolds, Associate Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Appropriate Dispute Resolution Center at Oregon Law, discussed Green’s “provocative" lecture in the post “Green on Race and ADR,” for the blog Indisputably. Reynolds said Green “pointed out that a rights-based way of thinking often ignores toxic workplace incivility.”

Reynolds also noted how Green questioned whether we should put aside right-based arguments and “strive to behave civilly toward our co-workers and others.” In this respect, Reynolds concluded that “civility acts, as [Green] points out, as a response to implicit bias and conscious disregard of bias” in the workplace.

Green said the presentation “highlighted a number of racial incidents over the last few years at college campuses and workplaces and suggested how focusing on civility and using mediation could have improved the resolution of those matters.” 

Green’s presentation also discussed a preliminary paper resulting from his ongoing scholarship on workplace dispute resolution and race, a topic he is collaborating on with Texas A&M University School of Law Eminent Scholar in Residence and Visiting Professor and Faculty Fellow of the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study, Richard Delgado, as part of a law review symposium on prejudice and alternative dispute resolution scheduled for spring 2017.

Green, a recent recipient of the Paul Stephen Miller Memorial Award, is an elected ​Fellow of ​the College of Labor and Employment Law and an elected member of the American Law Institute.

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas A&M Law IP ​& Technology Clinic students Mary Garner, Jennifer Rackley, Kaylene Garcia, Professor Megan Carpenter, John Hickman, Kirsten King, Nikki Mershams, Yasmine Salem Hamdan, Tave Doty, Alexia Quintero at the USPTO.

Students from the law school’s Intellectual Property & Technology Law Clinic visited the United States Patent and Trademark Office headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 6, 2016, for "A Day at the USPTO." The nine ​Texas A&M University School of Law students, one of the largest student groups participating, were accompanied by Professor Megan Carpenter, Co-Director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property (CLIP) and Faculty Director of the Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic and the Entrepreneurship Law Clinic. The mix of second-year and third-year Aggie Law students represented both of the school’s USPTO certified clinics in Patents and Trademarks.
Students spent the day at the USPTO’s main campus listening to presentations about the workings of the USPTO. Presentations included talks from the Deputy General Counsel for Enrollment and Discipline, the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO, the Chief Administrative Trademark Judge, the Commissioner for Patents, administrative judges for both patents and trademarks, and the Acting Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor.
The program included an opportunity for the students to attend several roundtable discussions with employees from diverse areas within the USPTO: the Patent Quality Initiative, Human Resources, the Office of Enrollment and Discipline, Patent Examiners, and Trademark Examiners. During these roundtables, students from all attending schools were able to ask questions about what it was like to work at the USPTO, planned future initiatives, practicing in front of the USPTO as a trademark or patent attorney, and how to get a job with the USPTO.
In the afternoon the students attended a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board hearing, listening ​to a trademark examiner and the attorney for a potential trademark debate if the trademark should be allowed registration. Afterward the Aggie Law students discussed their thoughts on the hearing and what they had learned from the oral arguments with Professor Carpenter. The day’s program ended with networking opportunities to meet students from other law schools as well as speak further with USPTO attorneys and staff.
While in town, the group was able to meet up with current Aggie Law students working in the nation’s capital as part of the Texas A&M School of Law Residency Externship Program in Public Policy. The students also found some time to visit various monuments across the river in Washington D.C. proper, including a late-night trip to the White House and an afternoon stop at the U.S. Supreme Court.

- Article and photos contributed by Texas A&M University School of Law third-year student Mary Garner.
Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat
Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat, one of the new members of the nationally recognized intellectual property faculty at Texas A&M University School of Law, regularly uses empirical data in his research on the patent system. Data-driven research is now influencing how the media discuss patent issues, how lawyers argue patent cases, and even how courts decide them.

His latest paper, "Strategic Decision Making in Dual PTAB and District Court Proceedings," examines how companies take their patent disputes between administrative proceedings in the Patent Office and litigation in federal court. Vishnubhakat and his co-authors, Duke Law professor Arti Rai and Illinois Law professor Jay Kesan, all previously served as U.S. Patent Office advisors and combine a wealth of experience on the agency’s operations.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has now cited Vishnubhakat and his co-authors in deciding a Patent Office-related case. Judge Jimmie V. Reyna’s concurring opinion relied on the paper to explain important strategic effects of choosing the agency to challenge patent validity.

In recent weeks, the paper has also been cited extensively in U.S. Supreme Court briefs for the pending Cuozzo case. The paper underscored arguments by the case petitioner and by five amici curiae, including the Federal Circuit Bar Association and an industry consortium made up of 3M, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Qualcomm and others.

Just days after the paper went online, the legal news site Law360 interviewed Vishnubhakat for a special report, and the blogs PatentlyO and Written Description featured it as well.

Judges have cited Vishnubhakat’s work before. His very first paper, based on his law review note, surveyed how state defendants were escaping into federal court using a newly popular and controversial loophole. The paper was cited in two federal court decisions in 2013.

“Understanding things empirically is something we all do,” says Vishnubhakat. “We look around us and make inferences and judgments about how the world works. When the law is what’s at stake, it’s important to be more precise in our thinking, and to test our assumptions.”
Co-director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property at Texas A&M University School of Law, Professor Peter Yu, shared his perspective on moral rights protection at a copyright law symposium at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on April 18.
 
Titled "Authors, Attribution, and Integrity: Examining Moral Rights in the United States," the day-long symposium was organized by the U.S. Copyright Office in conjunction with the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property at George Mason University School of Law. 
The event launched the Copyright Office’s analysis on the role of moral rights protection in the United States.
 
Yu's panel examined the current state of protection in the United States, including its unique "patchwork" approach of federal and state laws. The panel featured representatives of the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Alliance, the National Press Photographers Association and the Screen Actors Guild.
 
Also participating in the symposium were Maria Pallante, U.S. Register of Copyrights; Melvin Gibbs, a Grammy-nominated songwriter; Jane Ginsburg, Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law, Columbia Law School; Scott Martin, Executive Vice-President of Intellectual Property, Paramount Pictures; and Scott Turow, best-selling author of Presumed Innocent.
 
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Yu is an award-winning teacher and a world-renowned expert in international intellectual property law. He is the author or editor of six books and more than 100 law review articles and book chapters.
Yu has testified before the U.S. International Trade Commission and has worked closely with Hong Kong legislators on digital copyright reform. He currently serves as the general editor of the peer-edited WIPO Journal, published by the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organization. He also chairs the Committee on International Intellectual Property of the American Branch of the International Law Association.
 
The Center for Law and Intellectual Property (CLIP) at Texas A&M University School of Law is a leading international hub for research and education in the intellectual property field. Most recently, peer surveys conducted by U.S. News & World Report have ranked Texas A&M Law among the top 14 intellectual property law programs in the United States.
Eighty-four Texas A&M University School of Law students received their Aggie Rings on Friday, April 8, at the law school in Fort Worth.
Director of Former Students, Alumni and External Relations Kristi Kaiser Trail ’00 welcomed students, faculty, staff, family and friends. She received her ring on April 6, 2000, and wears it with pride. 
“My Aggie Ring turned sweet sixteen on Wednesday,” she said. 
3L Mark Lister '92,
Lt. Col., USMC (ret.)
3L Mark Lister ’92 delivered remarks on the history and tradition of the Aggie Ring and shared his journey with the ring and its purpose. 
He said that while every ring is identical, they’re also unique. 
“Every ring has a story,” he said. “Your ring has a story. Your story started the day you stepped foot on campus.” 
Lister is a retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel. While in combat, he said the crest of his ring was removed. He made sure to save the crest so it could be placed back on the ring. He wears the same ring to this day. 
Trail said in the unlikely event that your ring is destroyed, no worries, it is under warranty.  
Dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Dean’s Endowed Chair Andrew Morriss said that what every lawyer needs is a network. 
“The Aggie Network is symbolized by that ring,” he said. “It’s a great honor to wear that ring, and it’s also a great responsibility.
Morriss and Rosalind Jeffers, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, presented the Aggie Rings to students from the class of ’15, ’16 and ’17.
Learn more about the Aggie Ring tradition. The next Law School Ring Day ​will be held September 16, 2016.

See all the Spring 2016 Law School Aggie Ring Day photos ​in our Facebook ​photo album.



- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law