First Monday - May 4, 2009

In this issue:

• Centennial Year Graduates Receive Accolades for Academic Achievements and Pro Bono Service
• Law Students Devote “Alternative Spring Break” to Unselfish Service
• Dispute Resolution Training Takes Center Stage at Moscow and Boise
• Symposia Bring Native American and Multidisciplinary Perspectives to Regional Water Issues

Centennial Year Graduates Receive Accolades for Academic Achievements and Pro Bono Service.

The Idaho Legislature’s Senate Majority Leader, Bart M. Davis (UI Law ’81), delivered the keynote address at the Class of 2009 Celebration Dinner on April 18 in Moscow. Senator Davis emphasized the importance of reputation and a “commitment to civility” in a “noble profession.” Recalling that he, like this year’s graduates, had received his law degree during a national economic recession, Senator Davis attested to the value of his legal education “from this fine institution [which] has stood the test of time … against the best [and] brightest.” Looking to the future, he told the graduates they would be tested in their careers:

I promise that the practice of law will strengthen or weaken you. Your vision will either be cleared or blurred. Inspired ambition can lead to many of life’s rewards, but naked ambition corrupts and rusts your soul! Do not let success be measured in dollars or victories alone. Let that success include service to others, to family, to friends, and to community, which is the hallmark of this graduating class.

The Senator’s reference to service as a hallmark reflected the distinctive place of the Class of ’09 in the law school’s history. It is the first graduating class to fulfill the College’s universal pro bono legal service requirement. The graduates, their guests, and faculty applauded the individual contributions and achievements made by all members of the class -- including twenty-four students who were recognized for extraordinary pro bono legal service. The Spirit of the Class and Outstanding Student Service awards, selected by the graduates, were presented to Christopher Smith and Jordan Taylor, respectively. Recipients of the Spirit of the Clinic award, selected by the clinic faculty, were Charissa Eichman and Elizabeth Schwantor. Mr. Taylor was also honored with the Pro Bono “Above and Beyond” Award in recognition of his dedication and leadership during law school, which has best exemplified the college’s commitment to pro bono service.

The commencement ceremony for the 2009 graduating class will take place on Saturday, May 16, in Moscow. Further information about the class and about graduation-related events may be obtained from Anne-Marie Fulfer (amfulfer@uidaho.edu), Director of Career Development.

Law Students Devote “Alternative Spring Break” to Unselfish Service.

The ethic of public service starts early at the College of Law, as demonstrated by the way many law students, organized by the College’s Public Interest Law Group, recently chose to spend their week on spring break.  For example, Patrick Berkshire, Ben Pratt, and Brandi Archer worked in the National Veterans Legal Services Program at the Veteran’s Affairs Administration in Washington, D.C., helping veterans’ secure the benefits provided to them by law. In Idaho, Jennifer Chadband, Chip Giles, and Megan Marshall assisted qualifying immigrants in the Nampa and Twin Falls areas with their preparation and submission of applications for naturalization and U.S. citizenship. And in San Diego, student Sam Nelson assisted victims of domestic abuse in obtaining restraining orders; he also helped a homeless person obtain assistance for mental disability. In prior years University of Idaho law students also have devoted their spring breaks to assisting the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita with their legal needs. Further information about the “alternative spring break” and pro bono service at the College of Law may be obtained from the Pro Bono Program Director, Jack McMahon (johnjmcmahon@cableone.net).

Dispute Resolution Training Takes Center Stage at Moscow and Boise. Now entering its thirteenth year under the leadership of UI law professor (and founding director) Maureen Laflin, the Northwest Institute for Dispute Resolution is reaching out to audiences in Boise, as well offering courses in mediation and arbitration in Moscow.  Here is the line-up of programs for lawyers, law students, and other dispute resolution professionals:

• At Boise, in partnership with the U.S. District Court, District of Idaho, the Northwest Institute will present “Breaking through Impasses:  Enhancing Your Settlement Rate and Market Share in Employment, Personal Injury, and Professional Liability Disputes.” The three-day program will be conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, May 27-28th from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Friday, May 29th from 8:00 am to noon, at the James A. McClure Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 550 West Fort Street, Boise, ID. This highly interactive course in Advanced Civil Mediation, taught by Tracy Allen and Eric Galton, will move beyond basic mediation theory and technique, and into the realm of how highly experienced mediators from around the country handle the difficult dimensions unique to these subject matters.
• In Moscow, the Northwest Institute will present the following programs at the University of Idaho:
  • “Basic Civil Mediation,” taught by Kimberlee Kovach, on May 18-22. This 40-hour course explores conflict resolution, negotiation and mediation theory through lectures, discussions, demonstrations, exercises, and role-plays.
  • “Role and Techniques of Effective Arbitration,” taught by Merlyn Clark. This is an exciting new course for 2009. Arbitration today is most commonly used for the resolution of commercial disputes, and sometimes used to enforce credit obligations. It is also used to resolve other types of disputes, such as labor disputes, consumer disputes or family disputes, and for the resolution of certain disputes between states and between investors and states. The three-day course will be taught on Wednesday, May 20th from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and on Thursday and Friday, May 21-22 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
  • “Basic Family Mediation,” taught by Bob Collins. This course is designed for those who wish to practice family mediation or to become better equipped to counsel and represent people in family matters. It is structured as a comprehensive, practical, and dynamic blend of lectures, discussions, exercises, and role-plays. The course will be taught from May 18 through May 22.

Further information may be obtained from Todd Bowman (toddb@uidaho.edu), Office Services Supervisor at the College of Law Legal Aid Clinic. Registration is available on-line.

Symposia Bring Native American and Multidisciplinary Perspectives to Regional Water Issues

The College of Law, increasingly known in American legal education for its curricular emphases in natural resources/environmental law and Native American law, recently presented two major symposia on issues of water law and policy affecting the Pacific Northwest:

• “Soothing Waters: Tribal Protection & Stewardship,” organized by UI law professor Angelique EagleWoman, featured Native American natural resources law expert Judith Royster, tribal judge Fred W. Gabourie, and other speakers on topics ranging from Native water rights 100 years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Winters decision, to problems of federal-state-tribal jurisdiction, sacred sites along waterways, enforcement of environmental laws on reservations, environmental protection issues concerning Coeur d’Alene Lake, and law-science approaches to basin-wide water resource issues. The program was presented on March 27 at the College of Law courtroom.
• “Transboundary River Governance in the Face of Uncertainty: The Columbia River Treaty, 2014,” was organized principally by UI law professor Barbara Cosens, and held in Coeur d’Alene on April 2-4. The program, developed in collaboration with other faculty in the University of Idaho “Waters of the West” program, as well as with faculty at Oregon State University, the Thomas S. Foley Institute at Washington State University, the University of Montana, and the University of British Columbia, attracted scholars from Columbia University, the University of California/Berkeley, and a host of other national and international institutions. Participants also included state and federal regulators as well as representatives of private sector and nonprofit entities. The symposium brought law-and-science perspectives to questions of sustainable development in the Columbia River basin, which is governed by a treaty that is subject to renewal in 2014.

Further information about these symposia, and about curricular emphases in Native American law and natural resources/environmental law at the University of Idaho, may be obtained from Professor EagleWoman (eaglewoman@uidaho.edu) and Professor Cosens (bcosens@uidaho.edu).