First Monday - March 5, 2007

In this issue:

• "Free Trade or Fair?" International Law Symposium Illuminates Global Trade Issues
• Students Earn Recognition in National Environmental Moot Court Competition
• Law Review Symposium to Focus on Land Use Planning and Urban Growth

“Free Trade or Fair?” International Law Symposium Illuminates Global Trade Issues

Faculty from 16 American law schools as well as law schools in Canada, Germany, Brazil, and India came together with lawyers and policy-makers – including Idaho’s U.S. Senator Larry Craig – to examine global trade issues at the UI College of Law Fifth Annual International Law Symposium in Coeur d’Alene on March 1-3, 2007. Entitled “Free Trade or Fair? The Softwood Lumber Dispute and Beyond,” the symposium drew upon the U.S.-Canada softwood lumber dispute and its recent settlement – in which Senator Craig played a prominent role -- as a foundation for examining regional and international trade frameworks, national sovereignty issues, and the question of whether trade regimes should be treated as international law.

In an opening keynote address, Frank J. Garcia, professor of international and comparative law and director of the Law and Justice in the Americas Program at Boston College Law School, described how forces of globalization have transformed and extended social interactions and economic relationships beyond national boundaries, forcing a reconsideration of traditional notions of international law. In the closing keynote address, Senator Craig, who was introduced by UI President Timothy P. White, recalled the history of the softwood lumber dispute, its effect upon Idaho sawmills, and the challenge of reaching an agreement that could accommodate both the American private market-based approach to timber management and the Canadian public development and employment-based approach.

The symposium, organized by UI law professor Russell Miller in collaboration with former UI law professor Rebecca Bratspies (now at the City University of New York), featured not only the presentations of academics, practitioners, and policy-makers, but also those of selected UI law students: Mikela French, Daniel Stone, and Amanda Ulrich. Additional students, coordinated by the UI International Law Students Association, also attended. Moreover, the symposium provided an opportunity for the UI College of Law to establish collegial relations with the Canadian consulate in Seattle and with law faculty and students from the University of Alberta, who made important contributions to the program. Financial support for the symposium was provided by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, a multi-national company headquartered in Pullman, Washington. Further information about the symposium is available on the College of Law website or from Professor Miller.

Students Earn Recognition in National Environmental Moot Court Competition

The College of Law Environmental Moot Court team, sponsored and underwritten by the Lewiston law firm of Creason, Moore & Dokken, advanced to the quarterfinals in a field of 73 teams participating in the National Environmental Moot Court Competition held at White Plains, New York, in February, 2007. The UI team consisted of Lance Fuisting, Ryan Poole, and Matt Sonnichsen. Mr. Poole also received a “best oralist” designation in one of the competition rounds. The team was coached by UI law professor Professor Barbara Cosens and by attorney Brian Knox, an associate with the Creason law firm. Further information about the environmental moot court competition may be obtained from Professor Cosens at bcosens@uidaho.edu.

Law Review Symposium to Focus on Land Use Planning and Urban Growth

“Getting Bigger Better: An Analysis of Urban Growth Solutions” is the title of the 2007 annual UI Law Review Symposium, to be held on Friday, March 30, at the Doubletree Hotel Boise-Riverside. Coming to Boise will be experts in land use and development from the University of Maryland (National Center for Smart Growth), University of Pennsylvania, University of Hawaii, and Auburn University. They will join UI law faculty and Idaho practitioners in addressing topics that include the economic effects of zoning ordinances, transportation and air quality, funding urban growth, and legislation on public takings in the post-Kelo era. Many of the presentations will be amplified in articles published in the annual symposium issue of the Idaho Law Review. Members of the bench and bar, as well as other professionals in the field of land use planning and urban growth, are invited to attend. Further information about the symposium and registration may be obtained at Idaho Law Review. Questions may be directed to law student Amber Ellis, Symposium Managing Editor.