November 2009 Faculty Notes

Professor Len Biernat appeared on WCCO TV on October 13, 2009 during the 6:00 p.m. newscast in connection with a story about Denny Hecker's divorce.

LRW Instructor Mary Dunnewold published the article "Alternative Dispute Resolution:  What Every Law Student Should Know" in the October 2009 issue of the ABA Student Lawyer.

Professor Ken Fox, was a session panelist at the 95th Annual National Communication Association meeting in Chicago. The panel session, "Conflict Coaching: A Communication Process for Changing Campus Conflict Systems" focused on the emerging process of "conflict coaching" that supports parties in their own constructive conflict work. Fox's presentation focused on incorporating conflict coaching into law and business courses and drew on his experience teaching conflict coaching as part of an ADR course at Deusto University in Spain.

Professor Kimberly Holst and Professor Brenda Tofte presented at various Regional Legal Writing Conferences.  Holst presented at the Northwest Regional Legal Writing Conference in Portland, Oregon on using well-known fairytales to teach legal advocacy and Tofte participated in the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) Scholar's forum at the same conference.  Additionally, Tofte presented on teaching professionalism and cultural competency to law students at the Southeast Regional Legal Writing Conference held at Stetson University in Gulfport, Florida.  At the same conference, Holst presented on using ESL techniques in the legal writing classroom and participated in that conference's ALWD Scholar's forum.

Professor Lucinda Jesson and Professor Katrina Pagonis will conduct a CLE on consumer health care issues on November 18. The CLE is sponsored by the Ramsey County Bar Association. Earlier this month on Nov. 6, Professor Jesson presented at a National Health Policy Forum on Workplace Wellness at George Washington University.  

Professor David Larson made a presentation on January 10th at the Association of American Law Schools 2009 Annual National Meeting in San Diego, CA. Professor Larson's presentation was titled "Technology Mediated Dispute Resolution (TMDR) - ADR in the 21st Century," and it was a part of the Section of Alternative Dispute Resolution's program "Envisioning Dispute Resolution in 2050 (or Even 2025)."

Professor Marilynne Roberts, Professor Tom Romero and Professor Sharon Sandeen presented at the "Legal Education at the Crossroads v. 3.0 Conference on Assessment" at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, on September 13, 2009. Their presentation, titled: "Getting Buy-in From Your Colleagues: The Challenges and Triumphs of Assessment Planning" examined how to develop an institutional assessment plan.

Professor Sharon Sandeen presented her work-in-progress, "The Trade Secret Implications of Cloud Computing," at the annual Works in Progress in Intellectual Property (WIPIP) conference hosted by Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey on October 2, 2009.  On November 20, 2009 she will be presenting in New York at the Fordham University Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal's 20th Anniversary Symposium titled: "Functionality: At the Crossroads of IP."  She will be a panelist with Roger Milgrim and George Graff on the panel titled: "Trade Secrets and Other Avenues for Protection of Advanced Technology."

LRW Director Mary Trevor and LRW Instructor Mary Dunnewold gave a presentation at the Central Region Legal Writing Conference on October 9-10, 2009, entitled "Adding an ADR simulation to the First-Year Legal Writing Class."