| UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
JAMES E. ROGERS COLLEGE OF LAW |
JULY 19, 2023 | | |
|
Greetings,
This week, we spotlight some of our many excellent faculty. University of Arizona Law recently recognized our annual Faculty Research Award winners, and three of our faculty also were honored at the Arizona State Bar Association Annual Convention.
We also recognize recent accolades to alumni, and catch up with Habib Pierce-Byrd (BA ’97, MA ’02, JD ’02), recent Legal Aid Attorney of the Year winner.
| |
|
Until the footnotes,
Marc
| |
University of Arizona Law Announces 2023 Faculty Research Award Winners | |
|
The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law has named the 2023 Faculty Research Award winners. The awards highlight the scholarly achievement of University of Arizona Law faculty. This year’s winners are:
Distinguished Legal Scholar Award: Sergio Puig
Distinguished Early Career Scholar Award: Diana Simon
Distinguished Public Service Scholar Award: Tara Sklar
Associate Dean for Research and Milton O. Riepe Chair in Constitutional Law Andrew Coan served as this year’s Faculty Research Awards Committee Chair. Chris Griffin, director of Empirical & Policy Research; Shefali Milczarek-Desai, director of the Workers’ Rights Clinic and co-chair of the Bacon Immigration Law and Policy Program; and Simone Sepe, Chester H. Smith professor of law and finance, joined Andrew in this year’s Faculty Research Awards Committee, tasked with reviewing applications from the University of Arizona Law community and recommending this year’s award winners.
“This year’s award winners exemplify the excellence, diversity and impact of faculty scholarship at Arizona,” said Andrew. “Sergio Puig is among the preeminent scholars of international trade and investment law in the world. If that weren’t enough, his recent book and articles have helped to create the entirely new field of international indigenous economic law. Tara Sklar’s wide-ranging work on aging, technology and marginalized populations has appeared in leading journals around the world and sparked numerous collaborative partnerships across colleges and industries. She comments frequently on these issues in national and international media. Diana Simon has written an innovative guide to grammar, punctuation and style in legal writing, and she is working on a first-of-its-kind legal writing casebook, forthcoming from Carolina Press in 2024. This is in addition to numerous influential articles spanning legal writing, pedagogy, employment law and more, with a special attention to cross-cultural differences. It is an honor and a privilege to call all three of them colleagues.”
| |
Sergio Puig is Evo DeConcini Professor of Law. He is the Director of the International Trade and Business Law Program at the University of Arizona as well as the Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of International Economic Law. Puig is the co-founder and current Vice-President of tradelab.org, an organization to facilitate assistance in international trade and investment law matters by law school clinics. He is the author of “At the Margins of Globalization: Indigenous Peoples and International Economic Law” as well as many articles in specialized journals and books chapters.
| |
Diana Simon is Associate Clinical Professor of Law at the University of Arizona where she currently teaches legal writing, analysis, persuasion, and advocacy. Simon has been teaching at the law school for over 20 years and brings with her over 25 years of experience as a practicing attorney and has worked in Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Tucson. During those years, she developed an expertise in entertainment-related litigation, including copyright and trademark, as well as other areas, including general contract litigation, insurance coverage, and employment law. She is also currently Chair of the Ombuds Committee for the University and will continue in that capacity next year.
| |
Tara Sklar is the Faculty Director of the Health Law & Policy Program at Arizona Law. She holds appointments as Associate Director of Telehealth Law & Policy at the Arizona Telemedicine Program, with the University of Arizona College of Medicine and as a Senior Advisor for Innovations in Healthy Aging with the University of Arizona Health Sciences. She currently serves as an expert on telehealth legal issues with the Department of Health and Human Services. Sklar’s teaching and research examines legal, regulatory and ethical issues that arise in adapting to a diverse aging population, with a focus on digital health equity.
| |
Faculty Receive Arizona Bar Awards | |
|
During the State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention in June, three University of Arizona Law faculty were honored:
Award of Special Merit: Professor Emerita Barbara Atwood (’76) received the Arizona State Bar Association’s Award of Special Merit for significant contributions to the furtherance of public understanding of the legal system, the administration of justice, and confidence in the legal profession. Barbara has been a Commissioner with the Uniform Law Commission since 2006 and Judge Pro Tem for the Tohono O’odham Nation since 2013. She continues to serve on the boards of nonprofit organizations devoted to social justice and to participate in law reform efforts at the local, state and national levels. In her academic writings, Barbara has explored topics at the intersection of civil procedure and family law with a focus on issues of voice and representation, family dispute resolution, Native child welfare and jurisdictional conflicts.
John J. Bouma Philanthropy Award: Professor Emeritus Andy Silverman (’69) received the Arizona Bar Foundation’s John J. Bouma Philanthropy Award, which is awarded for demonstrating an understanding of the importance and commitment to raising support for justice in Arizona. “Andy’s generosity extends beyond the gifts of time and talent he dedicates as a member of many nonprofit boards,” stated the announcement of his award. “His financial support, coupled with his educating others about the organizations he cares about, is truly admirable.”
Top 50 Pro Bono: During the Arizona Bar Foundation luncheon, Kristy Clairmont (’15), the program coordinator for the Legal Paraprofessional Program, was recognized as one of the top 50 pro bono attorneys in the state.
Congratulations on the well-deserved recognition!
| |
Q&A with Arizona Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Habib Pierce-Byrd | |
|
The Arizona State Bar Association also awarded Triple Wildcat Habib Azizz Pierce-Byrd (BA ’97, MA ’02, JD ’02) with the Sharon A. Fullmer Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award. The award recognizes the legal services lawyer in Arizona whose service to low-income people encompasses both aggressive advocacy on behalf of individuals in extreme need as well as impact advocacy designed to address systemic issues affecting significant numbers of low-income people.
Habib has been with Southern Arizona Legal Aid since 2007 and represents members and residents of the Gila River Indian Community.
Habib shared with us recently about his work, the award and his ongoing involvement with the LawCat community:
What brought you to the University of Arizona in the first place?
I conducted a thorough analysis of schools which offered a comprehensive criminal justice and law program and the University of Arizona checked all the boxes. Additionally, I was a huge supporter of the University of Arizona men’s basketball and football teams and I knew I wanted to be a part of the most loyal alumni and fans in the country.
How did your experience at the University of Arizona Law prepare you for your current work?
The outstanding faculty at the James E. Rogers College of Law taught me to be an active and engaged listener which requires an attorney to be empathetic to your client’s situation. Being an active listener also allows you to uncover secondary issues outside of what the client is initially seeking your assistance.
Tell us about your work with Four Rivers Indian Legal Services?
Four Rivers Indian Legal Services is a division of Southern Arizona Legal Aid Inc. (SALA) which is located in Tucson. SALA’s Sacaton Office is located on the Gila River Indian Community. My job as Senior Staff Attorney comprises me assisting members and residents of the Gila River Indian Community with legal matters including but not limited to family law, wills and estates, juvenile dependency and delinquency and representation of the vulnerable population in adults in need of care and mental health cases.
What does receiving the Legal Aid Attorney of the Year mean to you?
I am extremely humbled because it means that the work I do for the underprivileged and marginalized populations were noticed by my peers that I respect.
How do you stay involved in the University of Arizona community?
I stay involved by being an active member of the University of Arizona Alumni Association and the board of the Law College Association. I am a board member of the East Valley Cats. I am also a mentor in the Wildcat Mentor Society.
| |
Sakall Is Arizona Judiciary Judge of the Year
Congratulations to Professor of Practice and Pima County Superior Court Judge Greg Sakall (’01), who was selected for the Judge of the Year Award in the 2023 Arizona Judicial Branch Distinguished Service Awards.
The Distinguished Service Awards honor those who have made outstanding contributions to improving public trust and confidence in the Arizona courts system. The Judge of the Year is selected by the justices of the Arizona Supreme Court.
| |
Article by Prof. Sklar, 3L Katherine Barnett Published by Health Law Association
The American Health Law Association's Post-Acute and Long Term Services Practice Group recently published an article co-authored by Faculty Director of the University of Arizona Health Law & Policy Program Tara Sklar and rising 3L Katherine Barnett.
The article, “What Does Talevski Tell Us About Future Nursing Home Litigation?,” dicusses the Supreme Court's June 2023 decision in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski, which affirmed residents’ rights under the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act (FNHRA) to bring federal court claims against Medicaid-funded nursing homes when they violate FNHRA care requirements.
| |
Join Us for Phoenix Mixer August 1 | |
|
Arizona Law employers, alumni and friends are invited to network with Arizona Law students and administrators in Phoenix during summer interview week. Appetizers and drinks will be provided.
When: Tuesday, August 1, 5-7 p.m.
Where: AC Hotel Phoenix Downtown, 414 North 5th Street, Phoenix, Arizona
| |
Do You Have News?
Your success is the college’s success and we want to celebrate with you! If you have landed a new job, received an award or recognition, stepped into a leadership role or have good news in general, let us know.
| | |
|
While faculty balance teaching, scholarship, mentorship and service throughout the year, for many summer is traditionally a particularly important time for sustained research and writing. We all see the product of those efforts in shared drafts and workshops throughout the fall, in submissions, especially in the key spring window, and then together we champion the work as it appears in student- and peer- edited law journals, book chapters, monographs, casebooks, essays and other settings.
Within that substantial library and its many forms, it is rewarding for us all to stop and read and celebrate some of the most distinctive, original and high impact writing internally with faculty awards.
| | | | |
.gif){kind=small}
