Akron Law Current News

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor to Speak at Akron Law Commencement May 19

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:10:00 EDT

The University of Akron School of Law will hold its 89th Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 19 at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall. The 2013 UA School of Law commencement speaker will be Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor.

“Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is an exemplar of the lawyer as public servant. Her deep and wide experience in high-level executive and judicial roles have enabled her to advocate effectively for improving the administration of our justice system and access to justice,” says Interim Dean Elizabeth Reilly. “We are honored that she will speak at our commencement as our graduates make the transition from student to professional.”

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is the tenth Chief Justice in Ohio history and is the first woman to lead the Ohio judicial branch.

She first joined the Supreme Court of Ohio as an associate Justice in January 2003. She was re-elected in November 2008 and was elected Chief Justice in 2010. Her first statewide judicial election in 2002 made her the 148^th Justice to the Court, the sixth woman to join the Court.

Born in the nation’s capital, but raised in Strongsville and Parma, Chief Justice O’Connor’s career in public service and the law spans three decades and includes service as a private lawyer, magistrate, common pleas court judge, prosecutor, and Supreme Court Justice.

She earned her bachelor of arts at Seton Hill College in 1973 before going on to earn her law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1980.

While gaining experience in practice as an attorney during the early 1980s, Chief Justice O’Connor created a home for her family and her legal career in Northeast Ohio. Appointed a magistrate in Summit County in 1985, she served in that capacity until becoming a common pleas court judge in 1993. As a busy trial judge, Chief Justice O’Connor was selected by her peers to serve as the administrative judge — a testament to her ability to build coalitions and maintain collegiality while administering to the business of the courts.

She resigned from the bench to become the Summit County prosecuting attorney in 1995. There, she aggressively prosecuted repeat offenders, violent criminals, and public officials who committed ethical violations or improprieties, and lobbied for tougher laws on rape and gang-related offences. Her untiring work received accolades from victims’ rights groups and educational institutions, and earned awards from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Cleveland State University. As prosecutor, Chief Justice O’Connor also lobbied the General Assembly on important criminal justice reforms.

In 1998, she was elected lieutenant governor — the second-highest official in the state. She became the governor’s chief advisor on criminal justice issues, serving as director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, and as chair of Ohio’s Security Task Force and the State Building Security Review Committee.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, she led the state in its response to new threats of terrorism by working with law enforcement, Ohio EMA and The Department of Homeland Security, efforts that garnered the praise of federal homeland security officials.

Chief Justice O’Connor also has raised two adult sons, Alex and Ed Kipp, who both married lovely intelligent women, much to her surprise and delight.

Since being sworn in as Chief Justice in January 2011, Chief Justice O’Connor has pursued an extensive agenda for strengthening the third branch of Ohio government in a number of key areas including budget, diversity, death penalty, impartial courts, community involvement, internal effciencies, CLE, and commercial dockets.

Learn more about Chief Justice O’Connor at http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/SCO/justices/oconnor/default.aspx .

About The University of Akron School of Law

The University of Akron School of Law promotes justice, the protection of individual liberty and the rule of law through commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. The law school features renowned programs in intellectual property, professional responsibility and trial advocacy, and is home to one of four Constitutional Law Centers in the United States, established by the U.S. Congress in 1986.To learn more, visit www.uakron.edu/law.

Retirement Celebration to be Held for Professors Aynes, Carro, Koosed and Richert on April 25

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:54:00 EDT

The University of Akron School of Law will honor four faculty members, who will retire from the School of Law at the end of spring semester, with a reception in the law school atrium on Thursday, April 25 from 4 – 6 p.m.

Professor Richard L. Aynes has been with the School of Law for 37 years. He earned Bachelor and Juris Doctor degrees from Miami University and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law before joining The University of Akron School of Law in 1976 as coordinator of the Appellate Review Office and a Lecturer. He was Associate Dean from 1984 - 1993 and has held the rank of Professor since 1986. He served as UA's interim athletics director in 1993-94 and returned to Akron Law where he held the John F. Seiberling Chair of Constitutional Law for the balance of 1994. Professor Aynes was appointed Dean of Akron Law in 1995, a position he held through 2007. Beginning in spring 2008 he returned to the faculty as holder of the John F. Seiberling Chair of Law and Director of the Constitutional Law Center. For Aynes’ full bio, visit here .

Professor J. Dean Carro joined the law school 35 years ago after he graduated from the School of Law in 1978. He is currently the Dean's Club Professor of Law, Professor of Clinical Education, Director of the Appellate Review Office and Director of the Legal Clinic. He received his B.A., cum laude, from State University of New York at New Paltz. Professor Carro teaches Clinical Seminar: Criminal Law, Appellate Advocacy, Trial Advocacy, and Criminal Procedure. His areas of research include prisoner civil rights actions, post-conviction (state and federal), criminal and appellate (state and federal). He is admitted to practice in Ohio and before the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. For Carro’s complete bio, visit here .

Professor Margery M. Koosed has been with the School of Law for 39 years. She is the Aileen McMurray Trusler Professor Emeritus at the School of Law. Her writing focuses on death penalty litigation issues. She teaches Criminal Law, Constitutional Criminal Procedure, and seminars in criminal process, capital punishment litigation and mistaken convictions. Professor Koosed received her B.S., cum laude, from Miami University and J.D. from Case Western Reserve University. A member of the Akron Law faculty since 1974, she served initially as a Lecturer in Law and Coordinator of the Appellate Review/Legal Clinical Program, and later as a Visiting Professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. For Koosed’s complete bio, visit here .

Professor Paul Richert, who is also the law librarian, joined the law school 36 years ago in 1977. He received his A.B. and M.S. at the University of Illinois and J.D. at Tulane University. He focuses his research on legal research topics and currently teaches international human rights. His professional memberships include the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Bar Association and the Akron Bar Association. Professor Richert created and maintains the Law Scout Web site, which is a database that links to legal pathfinders at about 100 law schools. For Richert’s complete bio, visit here .

About The University of Akron School of Law

Akron Law to Co-Sponsor IP Program in China May 17-19

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:18:00 EDT

The University of Akron School of Law, in conjunction with Peking University Law School, the Washington, D.C. law firm of Sughrue Mion and the Beijing law firm of Tongshang, is sponsoring a program in Beijing, China May 17-19, 2013 on issues relating to U.S. intellectual property law. The focus of the program will be on the recent changes to U.S. patent law set forth in the America Invents Act. The program also will include sessions on U.S. trademark law and Section 337 practice.

The sessions will include speakers from both the U.S. and China. Speakers from China include representatives of the judiciary, the Chinese Patent Office, practicing attorneys, and law professors. The U.S. Embassy's Economics Minister Counselor, Hanscom Smith, will deliver a luncheon address.

The program was organized by the director of Akron Law's IP program, Professor Jeffrey M. Samuels, along with attorneys from the Sughrue Mion firm and Professor Yang Ming, of Peking University, who served as a visiting professor at Akron Law last winter.

The University of Akron School of Law and Peking University Law School signed a memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation in the area of intellectual property law in 2011. Professor Samuels will be teaching a course at Peking University later this spring. He will also be making a presentation at the program with Jody Haller Drake, partner at Sughrue Mion.

The IP Center manages the Intellectual Property Law Program at Akron Law. Nationally respected, The Center administers one of the most comprehensive intellectual property programs in the country, offering over 20 courses in the field. The Center also administers the law school’s Master of Laws in Intellectual Property program and the joint J.D./LL.M. program in intellectual property law. The latter program enables students to earn both degrees in three years of full-time study, plus at least one summer session. In addition to the annual Symposium, the Center also invites distinguished speakers to campus and sponsors an annual IP Scholars Forum and other events. Learn more at uakron.edu/law/ip .

Akron Law Alumni Association to Honor Outstanding Alumni and Faculty on May 17

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:13:00 EDT

The University of Akron School of Law Alumni Association will hold its annual Alumni Awards and Class Reunion Dinner at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 17 in the Student Union Ballroom. The honorees were chosen for their achievements in the legal profession and their communities.

The 2013 Outstanding Alumni Award honorees are Joseph M. Gingo (’71),chairmen, president and CEO of A. Schulman; Kevin C. Krull (’77) vice president of business operations and general counsel of International Data Group; The Honorable Elinore Marsh Stormer (’82), Summit County Probate Court; and William T. Whitaker (’72), William T. Whitaker, Co., L.P.A.

Other awards being presented are:

John R. Quine Award for Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member: Robert C. Kahrl, Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence
Faculty Scholarly Publication Award: Elizabeth A. Reilly (’78), Interim Dean and C. Blake McDowell, Jr. Professor of Law, “When Law and Conscience Collide: The Draft Nonregistration Case of United States vs. Mark Arden Schumaker” in “Justice and Legal Change on the Shores of Lake Erie: A History of the Northern District of Ohio” (Paul Finkelman & Roberta Sue Alexander, eds. 2012)
Faculty Practical Publication Award: Tracy A. Thomas, Aileen McMurray Trussler Professor of Law, “The War on Women,” in “Women and the Law” (West 2012).
Faculty Blog Award: Wilson R. Huhn, C. Blake McDowell, Jr. Professor of Law,
April 5, 2012. “Suppressed 2006 Zelikow Memo Against Torture Released” (http://akronlawcafe.com/2012/04/05/suppressed-2006-zelikow-memo-against-torture-released)
Faculty Book Award: Wilson R. Huhn, C. Blake McDowell, Jr. Professor of Law,
“ObamaCare: (The Protection and Affordable Care Act): Is It Necessary, What Will It Accomplish, Is It Constitutional,” (Carolina Academic Press 2012), published in Kindle format
Alumni Scholarly Publication Award: Jeffrey L. Gower (’02), “H1-B Visas,” in Debates on U.S. Immigration (October 2012)
Alumni Practical Publication Award: Robert L. Kinder (’03), “Securing Insurance Coverage for Patent Infringement Lawsuits under CGL Insurance Policies Could Save Millions,” Intellectual Property Today (March 2012)

Tickets for the dinner are $30 per person; $200 per table of eight. For registration information, visit here or contact Sue Staats at 330-972-7246 or staats@uakron.edu.

About The University of Akron School of Law
The University of Akron School of Law promotes justice, the protection of individual liberty and the rule of law through commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. The law school features renowned programs in intellectual property, professional responsibility and trial advocacy, and is home to one of four Constitutional Law Centers in the United States, established by the U.S. Congress in 1986.To learn more, visit www.uakron.edu/law.

Record Attendance at 15th Annual Richard C. Sughrue Symposium on Intellectual Property Law and Policy

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:26:00 EDT

Nearly 300 people packed the John S. Knight center in downtown Akron for the 15^th Annual Richard C. Sughrue Symposium on Intellectual Property Law and Policy. The Symposium was geared towards updating IP professionals on the latest developments in intellectual property law and how those developments will impact future IP practices.

The keynote address was given by the Hon. Teresa Stanek Rea, the Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Ms. Rea discussed the agency's implementation of the “America Invents Act” (AIA), including those provisions that went into effect on March 16, in particular, those relating to implementation of the Act's first to file provisions. Ms. Rea also reviewed the state of PTO operations, including the backlog of unexamined applications and appeals.

Professor Timothy Holbrook, of Emory Law, addressed recent patent law developments; Robert W. Clarida, of Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt LLC, spoke on the latest copyright law developments; and Professor David Welkowitz, of Whittier Law School, spoke about trademark law developments. Topics included a review of the Supreme Court's patent docket, the scope of the copyright law's fair use doctrine, and the trademark law's functionality doctrine.

The program also included a presentation on ethics in a post-AIA world, and panel discussions on the first inventor-to-file system and pending IP-related Supreme Court cases.

The luncheon speaker was Jim Tressel, the University’s Vice President for Strategic Engagement, who discussed the importance of not only student success, but success as it relates to business. “Success is the peace of mind of knowing you did the best you could do for you and for your team,” said Tressel. The luncheon was sponsored by Ulmer & Berne, LLP.

For interested individuals who were unable to attend, a copy of the full symposium materials is available for $50. Please contact Michele Novachek at manovac@uakron.edu or at 330-972-6363 for more details.

Akron Law live-tweeted the symposium. Follow us on Twitter at @AkronLaw or search the IP Symposium hashtag #akronlawip for more information about the symposium, as well as Akron Law news and events.

The symposium was co-sponsored by The University of Akron School of Law's Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology and the law firm of Sughrue Mion, PLLC. For more than 50 years, Sughrue Mion has served clients, both domestic and foreign, in the areas of patent, trademark, copyright, Internet, trade secret and unfair competition law. The sponsorship is in memory of founding partner Richard C. Sughrue.

MBC Center to Hold Symposium on Navigating the Practice of Law in the Wake of Ethics 20/20

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:40:00 EST

The Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Center for Professional Responsibility will hold a symposium on April 4 and 5 titled Navigating the Practice of Law in the Wake of Ethics 20/20: Globalization, New Technologies, and What it Means to be a Lawyer in These Uncertain Times.

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 has undertaken a comprehensive review of the profession’s current ethics rules in light of major changes to the practice of law, including new technologies and the globalization of the delivery of legal services. This intensive review has taken more than three years and the first set of the Commission’s recommendations were adopted by the ABA in August 2012. It is anticipated that all of the Commission’s work will be submitted to the ABA by February 2013.

The Ethics 20/20 and Uncertain Times Symposium will not only assess the work of Ethics 20/20 – in terms of both process and substance – but will also examine the current landscape for the delivery of legal services in the United States and elsewhere. International and national experts in the professional responsibility field, including persons involved in the Ethics 20/20 Commission’s work, ABA staff counsel, and a diverse group of lawyers, in-house counsel, academics, and judges will present papers assessing the Commission’s work and examining related questions.

The symposium is chaired by Frank E. Quirk, director and Jack P. Sahl, faculty director. 8.5 CLE hours has been requested. Cost to attend is $150; $125 for Akron Law Alumni; and $125 group rate for two or more from the same organization. Register online here or email manovac@uakron.edu or call 330-972-6363.

About the Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Center for Professional Responsibility

The Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Center for Professional Responsibility at The University of Akron School of Law is dedicated to enhancing public trust and confidence in the legal profession and the judicial system by:

Pursuing programs and academic endeavors to promote access to justice and to enhance ethical awareness and performance of attorneys, judges, law teachers and students;
Advocating the enhancement of professionalism of those who practice, adjudicate, teach and study the law;
Reaching out to other professions to identify and pursue areas of common professional interest; and
Examining, reporting on and suggesting improvements in the disciplinary systems for lawyers and judges.