houck2040/law huggingface dataset:
On April 15-16, 2016, more than 40 leading intellectual property (IP) scholars will speak at the "Intellectual Property in All the New Places" Symposium at Texas A&M University School of Law.
This symposium will examine new situations in which IP issues may arise. Topics will range from 3D printing to artificial intelligence and from craft beer innovation to post-human inventions.
More information about the symposium is available online.
David J. Kappos, keynote speaker
Serving as the keynote speaker is David J. Kappos, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and former director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Kappos is currently a partner at the New York-based law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.
 
Among the distinguished presenters are leading IP ​faculty from Harvard, Oxford, NYU, Pennsylvania, Virginia, UCLA and Illinois. The symposium also features international scholars from Canada, China, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
  
"My colleagues and I are very excited to welcome all of these luminaries to the Law School," said Professor Peter K. Yu, who organizes this symposium and co-directs the Center for Law and Intellectual Property. "Our students not only will have the opportunity to learn directly from these distinguished presenters, but will also be able to join them in exploring issues lying at the cutting edge of the intellectual property field."
 
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 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 among the top 14 IP law programs in the United States. Texas A&M Law School currently boasts one of the lowest student-faculty ratios in the IP field in law schools across the country.
Texas A&M IP Faculty
2nd Court of Appeals Justice Lee Gabriel, Justice Sue Walker and Justice Bonnie Sudderth
Texas A&M University School of Law welcomed a panel of the Second Court of Appeals, Justice Lee Gabriel, Justice Sue Walker and Justice Bonnie Sudderth, to hear oral arguments on Tuesday, Mar​ch 22.
The court heard arguments in one civil case, Estate of Glenda Rhoades, Deceased, and one criminal case, John St. Angelo v. State, in the Amon G. Carter Lecture Hall in front of law school students, faculty and staff. 
After the court adjourned, the justices and lawyers for both cases held an open question and answer session with the audience. Students asked a variety of questions, from guidance on court presentation to prepping for oral arguments.  
The Second Court of Appeals serves 12 counties in north central Texas and consists of seven justices. The court hears civil and criminal appeals. 
John Murphy, Instructional Associate Professor of Law, said students being exposed to such a panel is beneficial because it’s different than learning about oral arguments and the judicial process from professors. 
“It’s a better, much richer experience for students to see and hear attorneys and justices actually argue and discuss real-world cases, where the results truly matter to the parties involved,” he said. “There is no substitute for this kind of experiential learning, and our students are truly fortunate to study law in a city where the bar and judiciary are eager to demonstrate their courtroom skills.”

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Co-director ​of The Center for Law and Intellectual Property at Texas A&M University School of Law, Prof. Peter Yu, delivered the Second Annual Information Law Seminar at Sussex Law School in the United Kingdom on Mar. 16.

This university-wide seminar was established by the information law cluster at the University of Sussex to bring to the campus an internationally prominent scholar of internet law.
Prof. Peter Yu with Dr. Andres Guadamuz, Dr. Phoebe Li and Prof. Chris Marsden at Sussex Law School
Titled "Towards the Seamless Global Distribution of Cloud Content," Yu's seminar focused on the considerable challenges cloud platforms have posed to copyright protection as well as the geographical restrictions that rights holders have introduced in response to these challenges. 
The presentation called for greater adjustments to the copyright system to promote global content distribution and development of cloud technology.

Later that week, Yu shared his experience on digital copyright reform in Hong Kong at the International and Comparative User Rights in the Digital Economy symposium at American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. His presentation, "The Quest for a User-Friendly Copyright Regime in Hong Kong," is forthcoming from the American University International Law Review.
The symposium featured members of the Global Network on Copyright User Rights, a select group of international copyright experts assembled by the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property at American University. 
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. He currently serves as the general editor of the peer-edited WIPO Journal, published by the UN 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 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 and World Report have ranked Texas A&M Law among the top 14 intellectual property law programs in the United States, tied with Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.
David Stewart, Professor from Practice, Director of Georgetown’s Global Law Scholars Program and Co-Director of its Center on Transitional Business and the Law, had a busy couple of days at Texas A&M University School of Law to talk with faculty, students and local attorneys on international law.

On Wednesday, Mar. 9, Stewart delivered a colloquium for the faculty titled “Is Federalism a Significant Obstacle to U.S. Compliance with its International Obligations?” Later that day in a seminar sponsored by the Office of Career Services, Stewart discussed with students the importance of international law and opportunities for pursuing a career in the field in government service and in private practice. 

He said that there are more jobs for international lawyers today than have existed at any point in his career, and he encouraged students to take international courses and really get to know their professors. 

Moderator Charlotte Ku and panelists David Stewart and William Henning at the international treaties CLE
On Thursday, March 10, he joined Executive Professor William Henning and moderator Professor Charlotte Ku for the CLE panel, “Options for Implementing International Treaties that Affect Areas of Law Traditionally Reserved to the States,” presented to the Fort Worth-Dallas legal community.

The panel explored methods in the context of a number of treaties that would benefit the United States that are currently being considered for ratification.

Stewart teaches international law at Georgetown University Law Center following a distinguished career at the U.S. Department of State and has held top positions in areas of human rights and in private practice. He also serves as President of the American Branch of the International Law Association and is member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law. Learn more.

Henning said Stewart’s visit was a great opportunity for everyone. 

“I’ve received glowing comments about his presentations from students, faculty members, and practitioners alike,” he said. “On the way to the airport, David told me how impressed he was with the law school and that he thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Fort Worth.”

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas A&M University School of Law students joined Bush School of Government and Public Service students in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, as part of a year-long capstone project to study trade barriers in North America and the effects of “Buy America” legislation.

3L Charles Lincoln, 2L Jessica Lesnau, 2L Greg Franklin and 2L Michael Sankey represented the law school ​in Mexico. Eight students represented the Bush school. Executive Law Professor Bill Henning and Dr. Jeryl Mumpower, Professor and Head of the Public Service and Administration Department in College Station, are leading the North American Trade Barriers Capstone project.

The students were divided into two teams. One focused on non-tariff trade barriers and their effects on freight transportation within U.S. and at international borders, and the other focused on the effects of the Buy American Act, using cost-benefit analysis to understand how requirements of the Act and the other arguably pro-American legislation impact consumers and workers. 

“The purpose of the trip was to permit the teams to meet with business and government leaders in the Mexican state of Guanajuato in order to get a Mexican perspective on the issues they’re researching,” Henning said. “It also gave them an opportunity to work together in person.” 

The students also met with representatives from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to learn more about trade between Mexico and the United States. They toured Puerto Interiore, a manufacturing and export center, met with a major agricultural exporter and were provided with an overview of the booming Guanajuato economy by a representative of the state government, said Henning.

“The trip was a great success,” Henning said. “Everyone was enthusiastic.” 

While in San Miguel de Allende, students and faculty from the Bush School and Law School stayed at Hacienda Santa Clara (HSC), a study abroad campus partnering with Texas A&M University. Many of the week’s activities, including the presentations and site visits, were coordinated by the HSC staff, who have a broad array of connections with the region’s cultural, business, and civic leaders.

This is the first time the law school has partnered with the Bush School for a capstone project. The law students are enrolled in a special topics course that meets during the same time and day as the Bush School capstone group. The students meet each week through teleconferencing and occasional joint meetings in both Fort Worth and College Station. 

The Bush School contributed to this article.

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Matthew Pellegrino, Law School Master Maintenance Mechanic, is a 2015-2016 President’s Meritorious Service Award recipient
Texas A&M University School of Law Master Maintenance Mechanic Matthew Pellegrino is one of 25 individual staff recipients of the Texas A&M University’s 2015-2016 President’s Meritorious Service Award (PMSA).

The PMSAs began in 1986 to recognize and reward staff for their commendable service. Currently, these awards are presented to recognize 25 outstanding individuals and two outstanding teams for their meritorious service to the university. Nominations are typically called for during the fall; an anonymous committee appointed by the President selects the recipients.

Associate Professor Carol Pauli said when nomination requests came out, she mentioned Pellegrino to Law School Dean Andrew Morriss because she knew many faculty members would “cheer” his nomination. She submitted a letter that compiled comments from many faculty members.

Pellegrino installing additional enhancements to the student lounge
“They referred many times to his efficiency, ease and cheerfulness,” she said. 

The letter was six pages long, connecting Pellegrino’s work and spirit to the Aggie core values, as the application requests, she said. 

“I’m delighted that Matt got the award.” 

Like Pauli, Pellegrino's supervisors, Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration Margaret Demers and Facilities Coordinator Rebecca Key, composed a letter detailing Pellegrino’s service to the Aggie core values in more than just his job at the school.
“He serves his community, both family and work, church and neighbors selflessly and with respectful graciousness because, again, that’s who Matt is in life,” they wrote. 
Pellegrino said he is “honored and humble to be given the prestigious award, especially knowing there are many hardworking staff at Texas A&M.”

He appreciates his “diverse” role at the law school and says every day is a new adventure. 

Pellegrino volunteering his musical talents at the Public Interest Law Fellowship Dinner
“I could be playing the saxophone at a reception one day and catching bats or plunging toilets the next day,” he said.   

“One of the great things about Texas A&M is the dedication of our staff,” said Morriss. “Matt is an amazing example of the creative problem solving and dedication our staff provide.”

As a recipient, Pellegrino will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize, commemorative plaque and a label pin at the 29th annual PMSA award ceremony on Feb. 29 in College Station. The awards are funded through the generosity of The Association of Former Students and the program is coordinated by Texas A&M Human Resources. The ceremony will kick-off Staff Appreciation Week. 

Pauli said the day the recipients were announced, she heard Pellegrino say that he was looking forward to the ceremony because he wanted to meet and thank those there who have been helpful and kind when he had to call for information or help.

“Typical Matt,” she said.

Click here for the full list of recipients and to RSVP to attend the ceremony.

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
The new office location isn’t all the Texas A&M University School of Law Family Law and Benefits Clinic is celebrating in the new year.

The law clinic is now able to start the Veterans Project thanks to a grant from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. The Veterans Project enables the clinic to represent qualifying low-income veterans in family law cases, Social Security disability cases and veterans disability benefits.

The project came after Professor Charlotte Hughart, Director of the Family Law and Benefits Clinic, wanted to fill the need to serve veterans in Tarrant County.

“At this time when people are beginning to value our veterans for their service, it is especially important for us to contribute to resolving legal problems for veteran clients,” said Hughart.

Veterans Project attorney Lynn Rodriguez

The law clinic is pleased to announce the arrival of its new ​clinic attorney, Lynn Rodriguez. Rodriquez, certified to represent veterans before the Department of Veterans Affairs, will supervise Aggie law students who will be working with the veteran clients.

Rodriguez is a 2004 graduate of Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. After law school, she worked as a fellowship attorney at Wesleyan’s law clinic. She then co-founded the Law Office of Ganoza and Rodriguez, where she practiced family law, probate, real estate law, veterans’ benefits and Social Security disability law.

She decided to join the project because she has many family and friends who are veterans. Her son-in-law has been in the Air Force for 14 years and her father fought in the Korean War.

“I think of them when I assist our veterans in Tarrant County,” she said.

Hughart said she’s very happy to have Rodriguez back on staff because the clinic already knows her work. 

“She is an excellent attorney and a hard worker with extraordinary people skills,” she said. “She will be an asset to our students and staff.”

Rodriguez said she is honored to be working with the law clinic and some familiar faces. 

“That I am able to practice law next to three of the best attorneys in Texas, in my book, Charlotte Hughart, Celestina Contreras and Karon Rowden, is humbling,” she said. 

Read more about how the grant will allow Texas A&M to serve veterans in Tarrant County.

The Texas A&M Legal Clinics, which include the Family Law and Benefits Clinic and the Veterans Project, will be celebrating its grand opening at its new location in the Star-Telegram building, 307 West 7th Street in downtown Fort Worth, on Friday, February 12. Click here for more information.

- 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 received a Diversity Matters seed grant from the Office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity in support of her research on civil rights and Muslims in the United States. The grant will study experiences of Muslim students at Texas A&M University.
Aziz will be working with Shaida Kalbasi, Instructional Assistant Professor in Health and Kinesiology, to conduct empirical research about the experiences of Aggie Muslim students. Kalbasi has a Ph.D. in medical sociology. Her dissertation focused on the experience of minority populations in the health care system.
With the rise of overt anti-Muslim bias, Aziz’s interdisciplinary research is a timely contribution to the legal and sociological literature on discrimination faced by religious and racial minorities. 
Aziz and Kalbasi will examine such factors as national origin, time of immigration (first vs. second generation), clothing, language skills and religion in terms of their possible influence on discriminatory behaviors. The results of the study will provide a better understanding of the discrimination experiences of not only the understudied group of Muslims in America in general but, more specifically, Muslim students on a college campus. 
More importantly, the findings from this study will tie directly to the issue of diversity at Texas A&M University and can be used to help raise awareness among the student body and faculty/staff about the delicate position of this group of students and how they experience discrimination at a time when Islam and Muslims often make national news.

Learn more.

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
The Center for American and International Law (CAIL) Institute for Energy Law (IEL) named Texas A&M University School of Law ​third-year student Brett Miller as the recipient of the 2016 Hartrick Scholar writing award, which includes a $2,500 cash prize, for his paper, “Embracing the Water-Energy Contradiction: The Pebble Mine Conflict and Regulatory Implications Associated with Renewable Energy’s Dependence on Non-renewable Copper.”

Miller’s paper details the contradiction that arises between those who seek to protect vulnerable ecosystems and those who desire to reduce carbon emissions, and was accepted for publication in the University of Denver Water Law Review. 

CAIL works to “improve the quality of justice through the education of lawyers and law enforcement officials in the United States and throughout the world,” according to its website. 

Miller, a 2015-16 Texas A&M Energy Institute Fellow, said he is very excited for his article to be recognized again, especially by IEL.

“I’m honored to receive the Hartrick Writing Award, and I think this highlights the fact that numerous Texas A&M law students are competing, and will continue to be successful, at a national level,” he said. 

Miller said he can’t thank Associate Professor Gina Warren enough for her constant mentorship and for making these opportunities possible for him.

“She did a lot to help me win this award,” he said. 

In addition to the cash prize, the award includes invitations to the IEL’s 67th Annual Oil and Gas Law Conference in Houston this month and the Hartrick Symposium: Career Paths for Young Attorneys in the Energy Sector in Norman, Okla. on April 1 and 2. 

“I’m thrilled to attend the conference in Houston because the Institute for Energy Law provides great opportunities for students to network and interact with leaders in the oil and gas industry,” he said. 

Among the recognized runners-up were students from Southern Methodist University Deadman School of Law, University of Houston Law Center and Texas Tech University School of Law. 

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
3L Jimmy “Dwight” Tom
Third-year law student Jimmy “Dwight” Tom accepted an offer to have his research article, “Easement Come, Easement Go – The Cemetery Access Easement: The Exception to the Right to Exclude Whose Time Has Come to Facilitate the Preservation of Nineteenth-Century Texas Family Cemeteries,” published in Environs: Environmental Law and Policy Journal at University of California, Davis, School of Law. The article will be in the spring issue of volume 39.

Tom’s article explores access to cemeteries on private land. He believes that both private and public owners have an obligation to grant access to and preserve all cemeteries.

“I specifically focused on access to and preservation of post-Native American nineteenth-century Texas burial places.”

Tom was inspired to write the article after he was denied access to a family cemetery in southwest Texas to make a photo log for the Texas Historical Commission.

He said he was very excited to receive an offer from the UC Davis School of Law because it was clear from the offer that the editor understood why the issue was important to him. 

“It felt like a good fit because California has similar cemetery access issues,” he said. 

Tom had the guidance of some Texas A&M University School of Law professors in writing the article. He discussed the issue with Professor Stephen Alton to determine the kind of easement the cemetery access easement is. Professor Susan Phillips served as his faculty advisor, helping with style and structure. Tom said Professor Patrick Flanagan was the last set of eyes on the article.

“I must thank Professor Patrick Flanagan and his Texas Research Practicum that taught me how to research every source of law,” he said. “His expert suggestions and encouragement were a major factor in my decision to submit my paper for publication.”  
This is Tom’s first article to be published, and he’s optimistic for the impact it could have.

“Hopefully this article will start the conversation on preserving all family cemeteries before the Texas Bicentennial in 2036.”

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas A&M Law RMBLSA 2L Mock Trial team:
L-R: Ashu Balimba, Zo Onyeise, coach Matthew Jackson, Lemarcus Henderson, Aaron Cartwright
In Denver this past weekend, the Texas A&M University School of Law 2L Mock Trial team of Ashu Balimba, Aaron Cartwright, Zo Onyeise and Lemarcus Henderson placed second at the Rocky Mountain Regionals of the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition (TMMTC), sponsored by the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA).  
The 2L team secured a spot in the TMMTC national finals to be held March 9-13 at NBLSA’s National Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. The team was coached by Matthew Jackson (’13), who was assisted by Doug Greene. While this was Jackson’s first team to coach, he was regional champion of this competition in 2013 and advanced to the national finals.  
This will be the fifth consecutive year that a law school team has advanced to the national finals of TMMTC. 
The 3L team of Kristinia Anderson, Gregory Franklin, Jerek Hart and Jamillia Wren placed fourth this year, missing the national finals by ​one ballot point. The team was coached by Doug Greene.  
“I am so proud of the effort put forth by all of our students,” said Jennifer Ellis (’05), Director of Advocacy Programs. “They had to practice all during the holiday break, while many other students got to take a rest or travel.” 
Good luck at the national finals!


 

Learn more about the Advocacy Program:

The Advocacy Program at Texas A&M School of Law is a key component of making Aggie law students practice-ready. Directed by Jennifer Ellis ('05), the Advocacy Program consists of three disciplines: appellate advocacy (moot court), trial advocacy (mock trial) and dispute resolution (mediation, negotiation and client counseling).

The Texas A&M Law Moot Court, Mock Trial and Alternative Dispute Resolution teams are nationally recognized. Since the law school’s inception, the program has received 3 international, 11 national, 19 regional and one state championship, 14 best advocate and 13 best brief awards.
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas A&M University School of Law is pleased to welcome professors Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic from the University of Alabama School of Law for the spring semester 2016. 
Delgado, the John J. Sparkman Chair of Law at Alabama, is a Faculty Fellow of the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study with the additional title of Eminent Scholar in Residence and Visiting Professor in the School of Law. He will be working with Professor Michael Green on a law review symposium on the role of race, power and social influence in alternative dispute resolution. He will also interact with faculty and graduate students in the Colleges of Education and Liberal Arts in College Station. 
Widely acknowledged as a founder of critical race theory, Delgado has received six Gustavus Myers Awards for outstanding books on human rights in North America, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and is among the most cited legal scholars in the United States with more than 5,000 citations. 
Stefancic, professor and Clement Research Affiliate, will be joining as a Visiting Professor in the School of Law. Her writing, which focuses on law reform, social change, and legal scholarship, includes numerous articles and books, some co-authored with Delgado, with whom she has shared writing residencies at Bellagio, Bogliasco, and Centrum. Their book, Critical White Studies: Looking Behind the Mirror, won a Gustavus Myers award for outstanding book on human rights in North America. Stefancic and Delgado served as co-editors for the long-running Critical America series (NYU Press). Another book, How Lawyers Lose Their Way, examines how law practice can stifle creativity.
Delgado and Stefancic will be working with student fellows Jessica Lesnau and Miriam Garza.
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
David P. Lopez, General Counsel for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will speak about EEOC’s work, particularly the efforts of its Office of the General Counsel and EEOC cases presented before the Supreme Court, at Texas A&M University School of Law on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, at noon. 

Lopez will discuss “My Year in the Supreme Court: Young v. UPS, Mach Mining v. EEOC, and Abercrombie v. EEOC”  with students, faculty, and administrators. The event, open to the public, will be held in the Law School’s Amon G. Carter Lecture Hall, 1515 Commerce Street, Fort Worth, TX. The presentation is sponsored by the Texas A&M School of Law Office of Career Services. Continuing legal education (CLE) credit for the program is pending.

Lopez will be accompanied by Mr. Robert Canino, Regional Director of the EEOC Dallas District Office. Invited participants include members of the Tarrant County Bar Association (TCBA) and Dallas Bar Association (DBA) Labor & Employment Law Section. The presentation will be followed by a reception in the Law School’s Bernie Schuchmann Conference Center.

On Thursday, Jan. 14, Lopez will be the luncheon speaker at the Advanced Employment Law Course, at 12:35 p.m., at the Westin Galleria Hotel, 13340 Dallas Parkway, Dallas, TX. The event is sponsored by the State Bar of Texas.

EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
Professor Sahar Aziz
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Minority Groups has announced Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Sahar Aziz as the 2016 recipient of the Derrick A. Bell Award.
The annual award is named in honor of the late Derrick A. Bell Jr., the first African-American tenured professor at Harvard Law School. The award “honors a junior faculty member who, through activism, mentoring, colleagueship, teaching and scholarship, has made an extraordinary contribution to legal education, the legal system or social justice.” 
All current professional legal educators are eligible for the award, including administrators, librarians, clinical faculty, legal writing teachers and tenure track faculty, so long as they have not received tenure and have served seven years or less in legal academia, at the time of the award. 
Aziz said there are no words to express how humbled she is to receive such an honor.
“His [Derrick Bell] scholarship and lifetime commitment to social justice has been a driving force in shaping my research and professional identity,” she said. “I hope that I can live up to this honor as I strive to teach the next generation of lawyers who will be the guardians of our nation's democracy."

Dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Dean’s Endowed Chair Andrew Morriss said in Aziz’s short time in the legal academy, she has built a “stellar reputation.”
“All of us at Texas A&M are proud to have such an accomplished colleague and are thrilled to see that others are recognizing her work as well,” he said.
Aziz said this award is a “testament” to the law school’s support as much as it is of her accomplishments.
"I am especially thankful to the university, law school, and my colleagues for creating an environment that emphasizes excellence, integrity and service,” she said.
She will be presented with the award at the section luncheon of the AALS annual meeting in New York City on Jan. 8, 2016. AALS is a nonprofit association of 180 law schools with a mission to “uphold and advance excellence in legal education.”
Aziz’s scholarship focuses on the intersection of national security and civil rights law with a focus on the post-9/11 era. Aziz incorporates critical race theory, feminist theory, and constitutional law into her examination of the disparate impact of post-9/11 laws and public policy on ethnic, racial, and religious minority groups in the United States. Aziz analyzes these issues in various contexts including employment, counterterrorism, criminal justice, and civil rights litigation.
Additionally, Aziz mentors women and students who are the first in their families to attend college.
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Sahar Aziz appeared on MSNBC Live with José Díaz-Balart to discuss the fears of a backlash against Muslims after the San Bernardino shooting. She also examines the problems of anti-Muslim bias and stereotyping in the U.S.

View the MSNBC interview here.
In addition, CNN.com published Aziz's op-ed "Don't collectively punish Muslims," which discussed the importance of holding individuals responsible for their ​crimes, not an entire religious community.

View the CNN op-ed here.
3L Brett Miller accepted an offer to have his research article published in the University of Denver Water Law Review at the Sturm College of Law.
His article, titled “Embracing the Water-Energy Contradiction: The Pebble Mine Conflict and Regulatory Implications Associated with Renewable Energy’s Dependence on Non-renewable Copper,” details the contradiction that arises between those who seek to protect vulnerable ecosystems and those who desire to reduce carbon emissions.
Miller said that Associate Professor Gina Warren’s Energy Law class gave him the opportunity to start his research. 
“However, the summer special topics course in Mexico, Contemporary Issues in Water Resources, gave me the chance to write and explore the real-life implications of this topic in more detail,” he said.
Warren said she feels honored to have Brett as a student, and that he is an exceptional law student and prolific writer.
“His work has earned him significant recognition in the field including a 2015-2016 Texas A&M Energy Institute ConocoPhillips Fellowship,” she said.
University of Denver Water Law Review was the only publication to which Miller submitted his article. He is excited for the opportunity to work with them and chose the publication because Professor Gabriel Eckstein has also published with them.
This isn’t the first time Miller’s work has been published. His first legal article, “Come and ‘Take’ It: Whooping Cranes, Texas Water Rights, Endangered Species Act Liability, and Reconciling Ecological Scientific Testimony Within the Context of Proximate Causation,” will be published in the Spring 2016 issue of the UCLA’s Journal of Environmental Law & Policy. Additionally, his separate graduate work was published in the peer-reviewed science journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.
He is very happy for the chain to continue.
“Any credit is probably more a testament to the value of the topic than anything,” he said.
He also believes that opportunities like this highlight T​exas A&M Law’s “incredible” resources for prospective students. 
“The faculty at our law school is among the best in the country and dedicate themselves to providing exceptional opportunities for law students.”
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
Fifty-five Texas A&M University School of Law students received their Aggie Rings on Friday, Nov. 20, at the law school in Fort Worth. 
Director of Former Students, Alumni and External Relations Kristi Kaiser Trail (TAMU ’00) welcomed students, faculty, staff, family and friends. She still remembers her own Aggie Ring Day, April 6, 2000.
“This is a day you’ll never forget,” she said.
3L Lynne Nash acknowledged that the class of 2016 will be the first graduating class who matriculated as the first Aggie Law students in the Fall of 2013.
Dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Dean’s Endowed Chair Andrew Morriss said there are three things he looks forward to every year as dean: graduation, State Bar of Texas swearing-in ceremony and Ring Day. 
“So thanks for having three [Ring Days] this year,” he said. 
He said he truly appreciates Aggie Ring Day because the Aggie Ring embodies the values of Texas A&M. 
“I wasn’t smart enough to go to A&M, but I was smart enough to marry someone who did,” he said. 

Learn more about the Aggie Ring tradition.
More photos from the November 2015 Aggie Ring Day are available here.


- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
On Dec. 11, 2015, Professor Peter Yu, co-director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property at Texas A&M University School of Law, will share his perspectives on recent international intellectual property developments at a workshop at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.
 
Titled "National and International Intellectual Property Practices and Policies: Assessing the Impact of Political, Economic and Technological Pressures," the workshop will feature national leaders in the field. Specifically, it will focus on the impact of technological changes, social and political pressures and economic forces on the policies and practices surrounding intellectual property in emerging markets, such as Brazil, China and India.
 
Shortly before the workshop, Yu will visit the University of Helsinki and Hanken School of Economics in Finland. He will ​present "The Chinese Intellectual Property System at 35: Transplant, Transformation and What's Next" at their Legal Transplant for Innovation and Creativity Conference. The conference concludes a joint research project, whose book will be published in ​Yu's book series on Intellectual Property and Global Development (Edward Elgar Publishing).
 
​Yu will also deliver two lectures on the impact of the international trade and intellectual property systems on access to essential medicines. These lectures will draw on the research and insights from his book, The Global Governance of HIV/AIDS: Intellectual Property and Access to Essential Medicines (co-edited with Dr. Obijiofor Aginam of the United Nations University and Prof. John Harrington of Cardiff Law School).
Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Sahar Aziz has been invited to present at “The Present and Future of Civil Rights Movements: Race and Reform in 21st Century America” at Duke Law School on Nov. 20-21, 2015. Aziz will present her scholarship on the identity performance and intersectionality theory as it applies to the forms of discrimination faced by Muslim women in the workplace.
More than 60 renowned scholars from across the country will gather to engage on the changing nature of civil rights challenges in 2015 and the unique perspectives on inequalities throughout different facets of modern America. Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, an internationally recognized critical race scholar at UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School, will be delivering the keynote speech.
The conference will address myriad topics affecting the civil rights of all Americans including trends in immigration law and policy, equality in healthcare, challenges for LBTGQ communities, the school-to-prison pipeline, workplace equality, housing disparities and equality in education. Featured speakers include Judge Damon J. Keith (Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals), Dean Kevin ​Johnson (UC-Davis), Richard Delgado (Alabama), Hiroshi Motomura (UCLA) and Darren Hutchinson (Florida),  
Aziz’s scholarship at the intersection of civil rights and national security has been published in the Harvard National Security Journal, Michigan Journal of Race & Law, Gonzaga Law Review and the Hastings Race ​and Poverty Law Journal. Aziz, also an expert on rule of law in the Middle East, has publications on judicial independence in the Penn State Law Review and chapters in three books.
Effective January 2016, six Aggie Law students will participate in the school’s new Residency Externship Program in Washington, D.C.
Placements will be throughout the federal government. The program provides opportunities for students to focus on policymaking that impacts Texas and to practice the Aggie Core values of selfless service, leadership and excellence that are so much a part of a public policy lawyer’s career. 
Specifically, students will be immersed in the role of the government lawyer as policymaker—including promulgation of law, rulemaking, regulation, enforcement and litigation.
Chief Counsel for U.S. Homeland Security on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Stephen R. Viña, will serve as adjunct professor for the program. Students will meet key policymakers and advocates from a variety of agencies and organizations, engage with other Aggies participating in Texas A&M’s Public Policy Internship Program, and learn about the significant issues faced every day by those engaged in public policy through guided coursework and discussion.
Students accepted into the inaugural class are:

Zachery Brown (Fort Worth)
Tom Connally (Blooming Grove, Texas)
Mitchell A. Monthie (Fort Worth)
Avery Ory (Georgetown, Texas)
Kia Pichon (Houston, Texas)
Joseph Vrechek (Grapevine, Texas)

“Given that one in eight lawyers in the U.S. practice in the public sector, this is a tremendous area for our students to explore,” said Lisa Rich, who is coordinating the law school's Residency Externship Program. 
“Nowhere is the study of policymaking more exhilarating or educational than in our nation’s capital. The fact that Washington, D.C. has the highest concentration of Aggies outside Texas is a bonus.”
To learn more about the law school’s Residency Externship Program, including placement and/or housing assistance, please contact Professor Lisa Rich, larich@law.tamu.edu

Media Contact:
Rebecca C. Walden, Director of Marketing
Texas A&M University School of Law
1515 Commerce Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Professor William Byrnes has been invited to take part in the Second International Economic Forum “In Search of the Missing Growth” held at the Financial University in Moscow, Nov. 24 - 25. Byrnes will deliver a paper on cross-border transfer pricing and shoring up the Russian tax base. 
Renowned economists, practitioners and representatives of governmental bodies will make presentations during the first day of the forum. Alvin Elliot Roth, а winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, is scheduled to deliver an open lecture. 
The second day is dedicated to panel sessions where the participants will discuss the priorities in the social and economic development of Russia in the presence of political and economic instability. Russian speakers include K.V. Yudaeva, First Deputy Chairperson, Russian Federation Central Bank; G.A. Tosunyan, President, Russian Banks Association; V.V. Gerashchenko, former Chairman, Central Bank; N. B. Kozlov, Deputy Chairman, Russian Federation Pension Fund; and G. S. Nikitin, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Byrnes is the author of the 3,000 page Lexis treatise, “Practical Guide to U.S. Transfer Pricing,” subscribed by hundreds of large multinational tax risk departments and governments. He completed a three-year transfer pricing fellowship with the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation in Amsterdam.  
Byrnes, executive professor of law and associate dean of special projects at Texas A&M University School of Law, is also an author of seven other Lexis tax and financial law treatises, a nine-volume compendium on trust and company laws for Wolters Kluwer Law & Business and the popular Tax Facts series.
On Nov. 28, 2015, Professor Peter Yu, Co-Director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property, will deliver a keynote address at the Asian Pacific Copyright Association’s 2015 Copyright Law and Policy in the Asia Pacific Conference at the Auckland campus of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. His address is titled "Chinese Copyright Law at 25."
Established in Nov. 2011, the Asian Pacific Copyright Association provides a forum for discussion and for promoting, through legislation, dialogue and education, the maintenance and development of copyright and related rights in the Asian Pacific Region. The association currently has members from Australia, China, Fiji, Japan, Nauru, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and Vanuatu.
Earlier that week, Yu will speak on a panel titled "Intellectual Property Research of the Future" at the 2015 IP & Media Law Conference ​presented by the Centre for Media and Communications Law and the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia at the University of Melbourne in Australia. He will also participate in a roundtable on intellectual property law reform organized by the Productivity Commission of the Australian government.
 
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Yu is a world-renowned expert in international intellectual property law. He 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. He has testified before the U.S. International Trade Commission on intellectual property protection and enforcement in China.
 
An award-winning teacher, Yu is the author or editor of six books and more than 100 law review articles and book chapters. According to a 2014 peer study on legal citation, he is #11 among the most cited intellectual property law scholars in the United States. His scholarly publications have appeared in 10 languages, and his lectures and presentations have spanned more than 25 countries.
3L Charles Lincoln accepted an offer from the University of Dayton Law Review to ​publish his directed research project, “Hegelian Dialectical Analysis of United States Election Laws.”

Lincoln’s research uses Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s dialectical theory to interpret progression of voting laws from the pre-colonial times to present. Hegel’s theory gives an understanding of the concept of self-contradictory conclusions, which Lincoln compared to “existing laws restricting the right to vote.”

“I see the right to vote as paramount in a democracy and one ​of the most intricate and interesting areas of law,” he said.

He received offers from three other publications: Charleston Law Review, Albany Government Law Review for their election law issue and Charlotte School of Law’s Access to Justice Journal. He said it was tough decision, but after conversations with professors, he decided on Dayton. 

Lincoln said he is very excited about this opportunity and gives a lot of credit to Professor Franklin Snyder.

“He’s a really nice guy,” Lincoln said. “He met with me every week for an entire semester to help; he knows his stuff.”

Snyder said Lincoln is a great example of an Aggie Law student. “He’s hard-working, driven, and fun to be around,” he said. “It was a pleasure working with him, especially since I probably learned as much as he did in the course of the project.”

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law
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Texas A&M Law professors Susan Saab Fortney and Saurabh Vishnubhakat will participate as featured speakers during the upcoming 53rd Annual Conference on Intellectual Property Law. Their joint presentation is titled “Recent Ethics/Malpractice Developments for Attorneys Handling Patent Ligation.” 

The conference will take place November 16-17, 2015, at The Center for American and International Law, or CAIL, in Plano, Texas. Established in 2003, the Institute for Law and Technology, part of CAIL, sponsors educational programs for lawyers and other professionals with a principal focus on intellectual property law and practice. 

Fortney is one of the country’s foremost legal ethics and attorney malpractice scholars. She has authored many books and law review articles on these and other topics. She also serves on the editorial board for two American Bar Association journals. During her impressive career, Fortney has also received many awards for outstanding teaching. She comes to Texas A&M from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. She also formerly served as Interim Dean of the Texas Tech University School of Law.

Vishnubhakat writes and teaches in patent law, administrative law, and civil procedure, especially from an empirical perspective. He joined ​Texas A&M School of Law this fall after a faculty fellowship at Duke Law School, where he co-taught patent law and researched administrative law aspects of genomic innovation as well as economic and tort-theory aspects of patent litigation. He began his career at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where he advised the agency’s first two chief economists on a wide range of IP law and policy issues.

Please visit www.cailaw.org/ilt for full details and to register.