UNIVERSITY OF AKRON SCHOOL OF LAW

Akron Law news archive

 

6/24/2014
Akron Law duo earns highest ranking for 2L team in Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition
Two law students from The University of Akron School of Law placed sixth overall in the Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition, held June 5-8, 2014. The invitation-only Top Gun competition is sponsored by Baylor Law School and is limited to 16 of the best law schools in trial advocacy. The University of Akron has been invited every year since the tournament's inception in 2010.     Akron Law second years Justin Workman and Scott Kamenitsa represented Akron Law, arguing a case involving copyright law. Workman was selected to be lead counsel and was in charge of presenting both sides of the case. Kamenitsa played a key role in preparing material and making in-trial adjustments.     The duo, coached by Dan Leister ('12) of Sutter O'Connell, went up against some of the top teams in an already stellar field of competition. They won their first two cases 3-0 against Chiacago-Kent and 2-1 against South Texas, before losing their next two in highly contested rounds, including a case against Yale in round 3 that was decided in a split decision by a single point. Akron Law's sixth place finish was the highest ranking for a 2L team. Congratulations to Justin and Scott! Well done!
6/17/2014
School of Law ranked ‘Best Value’ again!
Akron Law has repeatedly been named a "Best Value," including for the last three years consecutively.
5/23/2014
Akron Law Teams with Federal Judicial Center to offer Patent Course for Federal Judges
The University of Akron School of Law is once again teaming up with the Federal Judicial Center to offer a course for federal district court judges on patent litigation. The program will be held June 30-July 1, 2014 in Menlo Park, California.  A similar, highly successful, program was held last April in Charleston, South Carolina. The course is designed to provide federal trial judges with a better understanding of the many issues they will face in presiding over patent infringement suits.  The program includes sessions on the legal and economic issues in patent litigation, settlement, case management conferences, claim construction, discovery, helping the jury, and post-trial proceedings. The curriculum was designed by Professor Robert C. Kahrl, the Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at the University of Akron School of Law, and is taught by leading patent litigators from around the country, as well as by retired jurists with long experience in presiding over patent suits and appeals. Approximately 50 federal judges have been invited to participate in the upcoming program, many of whom are participating in the current pilot program that allows judges to elect to preside over patent suits. The Federal Judicial Center is the research and education agency of the federal judiciary.
5/6/2014
Prof. Thomas invited to moderate 2015 AALS Panel
Tracy Thomas was invited to moderate the 2015 AALS panel, “Engendering Equality: A Conversation with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and New Voices in Women’s Legal History.”  This is a joint program of the Women in Legal Education section, the Legal History section, and the Constitutional Law section featuring remarks by Justice Ginsburg and new scholars in women’s legal history.
4/15/2014
Akron Trial Team wins National Championship
April 16, 2014 The University of Akron School of Law Mock Trial Team is National Champion once again! In the recent four-day American Association for Justice’s Student Trial Advocacy Competition in Santa Monica, CA, the Akron Law team of advocates Joseph Darwal and Justin Workman, along with their witnesses Elizabeth Emanuel and C. Adam Carro, competed against the top trial programs in the United States. When all was said and done, Akron Law was crowned national champions for the fourth time in eleven years. The Akron Law team’s climb to the top began in March when they participated in a hard fought regional competition that narrowed the field from 224 teams down to the top 14. During that regional competition, Akron Law bested a field of teams from Case Western Reserve Law School, Michigan State, Cleveland State, Thomas Cooley, University of Cincinnati, Capital University, and the University of Toledo. That win entitled Akron Law to compete in the national competition. Over the first two days of the national competition in Santa Monica, the Akron Law team lost its first two trials to the eventual #1 and #3 seeded teams, New York University and Duquesne University, in 2-1 decisions that were decided by the narrowest of margins. The disappointing early results meant that, in order to make the cut to the final eight, the Akron Law team would need to sweep all three judges in its round against South Texas College of Law, nationally recognized as one of the top five trial advocacy program in the country. And, that is exactly what they did. From that point on, the Akron Law team could not be stopped. Joseph Darwal and Justin Workman consistently won the jury over during opening statement, witness examination and closing argument, while witnesses Elizabeth Emanuel and C. Adam Carro laid out Akron’s case on direct examination and confounded opposing counsel on cross. Regardless of which side of the case Akron presented – plaintiff or defense - the results were the same. Together, the team swept through the quarterfinal and semi-final rounds against the Charlotte School of Law and Stetson University setting up a championship round against Syracuse University. In the end, Akron Law won over every member of the championship round jury panel, consisting of Los Angeles’ most prominent trial attorneys, in a 3-0 decision that capped off an unprecedented comeback from the preliminary rounds. The victory was the well earned by all four members of the competition team. The team was coached by Akron Law graduates Larry Sutter (’89) and Kevin Kita (’11) with the law firm of Sutter O’Connell, and Tony Wise (’13), with the Stark County Public Defender’s Office.
4/14/2014
School of Law Faculty's Recent Scholarly Achievements
Betsy Shaver accepted an offer to publish her article, Can the States Ban the Use of Non-Positive Interventions? Re-Examining Positive Behavior Supports under IDEA, in the Steton Law Review. Kristen Barnes’ proposal, Race Conscious Admissions in Higher Education in the European Union and the United States, was accepted for a paper presentation at the AALS Mid-Year Workshop on Transnational Perspectives on Equality Law, to be held in Washington, D.C. on June 22-24, 2014. Sarah Morath accepted an offer to publish her article, The Farmer In Chief: Obama’s Local Food Legacy, in the Oregon Law Review. Please send additional scholarship news to vacca@uakron.edu.
4/9/2014
Professor Jack Sahl to speak at the Combating Threats to the International Financial System: The Financial Action Task Force symposium
Combating Threats to the International Financial System:
The Financial Action Task Force
When
Friday, April, 25, 2014, 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
The event will be followed by a wine and cheese reception Where
New York Law School Auditorium
185 West Broadway, New York, New York 10013 Register Today
Registration is available here for $60
($50 for ACTEC members and NYLS alumni;
No charge for Law School and College & University students with valid ID;
no charge for NYLS Faculty and Staff)
Registration includes 6 CLE credits (Transitional and Non-Transitional; 3.5 in Areas of Professional Practice and 2.5 in Ethics); continental breakfast, lunch, and reception
4/7/2014
Professor Huhn to speak on WAKR about Ohio's same sex marriage ruling
Current news – Professor Will Huhn to speak on WAKR about the upcoming Ohio same sex marriage ruling that will be handed down on April 14 -- Read more here.
4/4/2014
Fresh from regional win, Akron Law team hopes to bring home national title
The University of Akron School of Law with join schools from around the U.S. at the American Association for Justice’s national Student Trial Advocacy Competition in Santa Monica April 10-13.
4/1/2014
Akron Law Civil Litigation Clinic presents at the International Institute for Refugees from Burma and Bhutan
Yesterday, the Civil Litigation Clinic's students conducted a Landlord-Tenant presentation at the International Institute for Refugees from Burma and Bhutan, read more at Asian Services in Action's website.


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