Barnett appointed to ACUS

barnett picHosch Associate Professor Kent Barnett has been appointed to the Administrative Conference of the United States as a public member, serving a two-year term.

ACUS is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research and providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for federal agency procedures. Barnett is one of 40 public members and one of approximately 25 academics in the conference.

Barnett’s research focuses on the separation of powers in the federal administrative state, administrative adjudication and the judicial review of agency action. His forthcoming publications include “Regulating Impartiality in Agency Adjudication” in the Duke Law Journal and “Chevron Abroad” in the Notre Dame Law Review. He previously served as the reporter for the working group that promulgated ACUS’ 2018 Revised Model Adjudication Rules for federal agency adjudications.

Barnett, who joined the School of Law faculty in 2012, is currently serving as chair of the Administrative Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools through January 2021.

Bruner publishes corporate sustainability handbook

bruner picStembler Family Distinguished Professor in Business Law Christopher M. Bruner co-edited and published The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Consisting of 50 chapters by 60 contributors from around the world, the handbook is described as an “essential reference” regarding “how corporate law and governance have exacerbated global society’s most pressing challenges, and how reforms to these fields can help us resolve those challenges and achieve sustainability.”

Bruner’s scholarship focuses on corporate, securities and financial law, including international and comparative dimensions of these fields. His other titles include Corporate Governance in the Common-Law World: The Political Foundations of Shareholder Power (Cambridge University Press, 2013) and Re-Imagining Offshore Finance: Market-Dominant Small Jurisdictions in a Globalizing Financial World (Oxford University Press, 2016).

He is currently writing a new book exploring the nature of the corporate form and its potential to contribute to environmental, social and economic sustainability.

Bruner joined the School of Law faculty in 2017.

Burch remains authority on mass torts

burch picA nationally recognized authority on class actions and mass torts, Callaway Chair Elizabeth Chamblee Burch’s research and scholarship continue to be in demand.

She recently published “Nudges and Norms in Multidistrict Litigation: A Response to Engstrom” in the Yale Law Journal Forum, had a recent piece titled “Judicial Adjuncts in Multidistrict Litigation” (with M.S. Williams) accepted for publication in the Columbia Law Review and shared her expertise on the state of the opioid litigation with the National Governors Association. Burch also presented on her book Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation to a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia Advisory Committee, at the ABA’s Environmental & Energy, Mass Torts, and Products Liability Litigation annual meeting, and at Cardozo Law School’s Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law.

A law school faculty member since 2011, she has published more than 30 articles in respected journals and has delivered over 70 lectures at research institutions across the globe. Burch is also frequently quoted by national and international media outlets. In the last year, she was featured in Associated Press and Reuters articles as well as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Law360, The Economist, Time, Fortune, The Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor and USA Today.

Mayson makes mark on role of risk assessment and bail reform

mayson picAssistant Professor Sandra G. “Sandy” Mayson’s scholarship explores the intersections between criminal law, constitutional law and legal theory, with a focus on the role of risk assessment and preventive restraint in the criminal justice system.

Her scholarship has appeared in prestigious journals such as the Yale Law Journal, the Stanford Law Review and the Notre Dame Law Review, among other places. Her most recent piece titled “Detention By Any Other Name” was published in the Duke Law Journal.

Last year, Mayson was presented with the Association of American Law Schools Section on Criminal Justice Junior Scholar Award for her Yale Law Journal article titled “Bias In, Bias Out.”

She presently serves as an associate reporter for the national Uniform Law Commission on a “model bail” act with the goal of creating a uniform law addressing pretrial release and detention to be implemented across the nation.

Mayson joined the law school faculty in 2017.

Ringhand becomes ALI member, Rusk Center interim leader

ringhand picEarlier this year, Hosch Professor Lori A. Ringhand was awarded membership in the prestigious American Law Institute. The ALI is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize and otherwise improve the law.

Ringhand also agreed to become the interim leader of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, the law school’s international law and policy nucleus for education, scholarship and other collaborations among faculty and students, the law school community, and diverse local and global partners. (The center’s former director, Kathleen A. Doty, embarked on a new career at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in December.)

A nationally known U.S. Supreme Court scholar and co-author of the books Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings and Constitutional Change and Constitutional Law: A Context and Practices Casebook, Ringhand joined the law school faculty in 2008. She served as the law school’s associate dean for academic affairs from 2015 to 2018. Last spring, she served as a visiting professor at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland due to her receipt of a Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award.

Watson receives Hall of Fame Award

watson picDirector of the Law Library Carol A. Watson (J.D.’87) has received the American Association of Law Libraries’ Hall of Fame Award.

This honor recognizes those who have made significant, substantial and long-standing contributions to the profession of legal information management, including writing for legal publications, serving in AALL leadership roles, working with outside organizations on behalf of the profession or serving as an exceptional role model for colleagues.

Watson has been a member of the Alexander Campbell King Law Library team since 1987 and assumed its top post approximately 10 years ago.

She has written extensively and presented frequently on the topic of institutional repositories. Her work in this area earned her the AALL Academic Libraries SIS Outstanding Article Award in 2015 and her recognition as a bepress Institutional Repository All-Star in 2013.

Previously, she served as chair of the AALL Continuing Professional Education and Annual Meeting Program committees, as president of the Southeastern Chapter of the AALL and as chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Law Libraries and Legal Information.

Five faculty honored by graduating class

faculty award winners

Award-winning faculty for 2019-20 are: (top, l. to. r.) Cleveland Distinguished Chair Lonnie Brown, University Professor & Caldwell Chair Dan Coenen, (bottom row, l. to r.) Legal Research and Writing Instructor Patrick Conner, Assistant Professor Sandy Mason and Clinical Professor Carol Morgan.

The Class of 2020 selected five faculty to be recognized for their commitment and dedication.

Assistant Professor Sandra G. Mayson was presented with the O’Byrne Memorial Award for Significant Contributions Furthering Student-Faculty Relations and the Ellington Award for Excellence in Teaching. She was also named a graduation faculty marshal.

Cleveland Distinguished Chair of Legal Ethics and Professionalism & Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor Lonnie T. Brown Jr. received the Student Bar Association Professionalism Award.

University Professor & Caldwell Chair in Constitutional Law Dan T. Coenen was selected as a graduation faculty marshal.

Legal Research and Writing Instructor Patrick D. Conner (J.D.’98) was named Outstanding Legal Research or Writing Professor.

Clinical Professor & Business Law and Ethics Program Director Carol Morgan (J.D.’79) was given the Lanier Award for Excellence in Clinical Education.

Notably, the last two awards were presented for the first time this academic year.