First Monday - March 3, 2003

In this issue:

• Welcome to "First Monday"
• Mediation Advocacy Team Triumphs in ABA Competition
• College of Law Hosts International Environmental Symposium
• College of Law Participates in Corporate Governance Project
• Faculty Outlines Vision of the Future
• Professor Brings Idaho Constitutional Convention to Life

Welcome to "First Monday"

Borrowing from a popular name for commencement of the U.S. Supreme Court's October term, this new electronic newsletter seeks to connect the College of Law with alumni and friends on the first Monday of each month. We hope you will enjoy a quick look at what's happening in our law school community. We promise to keep the newsletter "short and snappy." For more details, or for updated information, we invite you to visit our Website.

The College of Law is known for its Idaho-style collegiality and sense of professional calling. We are proud of our graduates, and we deeply value the friendships that sustain this remarkable institution. On behalf of the faculty and staff, I extend our warmest wishes. We consider it a privilege to be connected with you.

Mediation Advocacy Team Triumphs in ABA Competition

The team of Mandy Hessing (3L) and Rob Perucca (2L), advised by faculty member Pat Costello, has won the western region of the American Bar Association Mediation Advocacy Competition. Their advance was marked by victories over teams from the University of Washington, Hastings College of Law, University of Oregon, and Seattle University. They will compete in the national finals in San Antonio on March 20-21, 2003.

College of Law Hosts International Environmental Symposium

Through the efforts of Professors Rebecca Bratspies and Russell Miller, and with support provided by UI Provost/Acting President Brian Pitcher, the College of Law will conduct a symposium on "Transboundary Harms in the 21st Century: Lessons from the Trail Smelter Arbitration" in Coeur d'Alene on March 20-21, 2003. Drawing upon the landmark Trail Smelter case, the symposium will gather distinguished lawyers, policy-makers and scholars from the Northwest and Canada.

College of Law Participates in Corporate Governance Project

Professor James Macdonald, with support from the College of Law, the Idaho State Bar Business Law Section, and UI Provost/Acting President Brian Pitcher, has undertaken the lead research and consultation role in an ISB project to examine the ABA Model Business Corporation Act and revise the Idaho Corporate Code. The year-long project will focus in large measure upon current issues in corporate governance. Professor Macdonald is co-chairing the project along with Attorney Paul Street of Boise.

Faculty Outlines Vision of the Future

Declaring that the College of Law "can achieve regional preeminence and national recognition," and can "earn a distinctive place in legal education as the nation's best small state law school," the faculty has adopted an ambitious "Statement of Strategic Direction" for the future. The Statement outlines foundations of excellence, including improvement of the faculty-student ratio in order to reduce class sizes and expand curricular offerings, while also attracting an increasingly diverse and highly qualified student body. The Statement further describes areas of future emphasis, consisting of advocacy and appropriate dispute resolution; business law and entrepreneurship; and environmental law and natural resources policy. The Statement also provides for enriching the curriculum with global perspectives, the impacts of technology on law and legal institutions, and the development of professional skills, values, and civic leadership.

Professor Brings Idaho Constitutional Convention to Life

To a round of standing ovations in both the House and Senate of the Idaho Legislature, Professor Dennis Colson helped open the 2003 legislative session with entertaining and scholarly commentaries on issues framed by the Idaho Constitution. Professor Colson, author of the definitive constitutional law treatise, "The Tie That Binds," delivered his remarks while dressed in the nineteenth century garb of the constitutional convention's presiding officer, William H. Clagett. Professor Colson also displayed (and threatened to use, if necessary!) the actual gavel employed by Clagett during the convention. The gavel, and a comprehensive set of Clagett's papers, are prized possessions of the UI College of Law Library.