law.arizona.edu
| Link
July 30,
2014 | |
Greetings,
Countless
times, alumni have told me that our advocacy
training opportunities were a critical part of
their professional preparation. They share stories
about favorites classes, a big moot court win (or
loss), or arguing a case in special competitions.
These are moments they savor, and they are
experiences that we seek to create for all of our
students.
In
last week's Letter of the
Law, we described several of our competition
teams, as well as our recently launched Civil
Justice Initiative and our plan to create
the Tom Mauet Center for Advocacy -- which
generated a number of enthusiastic
responses. This week, we continue to
showcase the advocacy competitions that help our
grads succeed in a keenly competitive work
environment.
Until
the footnotes,
Marc
|
Richard Grand Damages
Argument
Competition |
This
year, we will celebrate 15 years of the Richard
Grand Damages Argument Competition. It is a symbol
of Richard Grand's lasting tradition of "Grand Ideas" for
future lawyers.
The
event is an Arizona Law oral argument competition
that emphasizes the presentation of damages
evidence in personal injury cases. Student
finalists present mock closing arguments on the
issue of how much in damages should be awarded in
a civil lawsuit.
The
competition is funded by the late Richard Grand, a 1958
graduate of the College of Law. Grand began his
practice in Tucson as a deputy county attorney. In
1962, he went into private practice, representing
plaintiffs. On more than 100 occasions he obtained
either a verdict or settlement in excess of $1
million.
Richard Grand passed away
in April 2013. His generosity to the law school
continues through the support of his wife, Marcia
Grand, and the Richard Grand
Foundation.
|
Joseph Jenckes Closing
Arguments
Competition |
 |
Robson Hauser ('14), Professor Tom Mauet,
and Sean Kelly
('14) |
As
another friendly game plays out between the
goalposts each fall, the Jenckes Competition is
the premier (if somewhat
less well known) "north of
Speedway" event. The annual contest with ASU's
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law involves
students working in pairs to deliver a closing
trial argument.
Topics
have included a civil action resulting from a
devastating highway collision between two
tractor-trailer trucks, and a criminal defendant
being tried for murder after a road rage incident
turned deadly.
For
33 years, Professor Tom Mauet has coached
the Arizona Law Jenckes Team, bringing home
the Jenckes Cup time after time. Two-time Jenckes
participant (and two-time champion!) Robson Hauser ('14)
describes his Jenckes team experience:
"Learning
from Tom Mauet is as good as it gets. I've been
using his books since I was a freshman in college,
and to get to learn from him in a one-on-one
setting is incredible. He was a big part of my
decision to come to Arizona. I've received the
best training I could have ever hoped for."
Named
for the late Joseph S. Jenckes ('61), an alum and
prominent Phoenix attorney, the competition is
sponsored and judged by members of the Arizona
Chapter of the American College of Trial
Lawyers (ACTL). Jenckes was a Fellow in the
ACTL. In 2004, citing Tom's outstanding work in
preparing students for trial practice, the ACTL
awarded the prestigious Gumpert Prize to Arizona
Law.
I
am proud to say that Arizona Law has held the
Jenckes Cup for a record four straight years.
And, with all modesty, we have high hopes
for a fifth!
This
year's competition will be held on November 14 at
Arizona Law (5pm in Room 164). Mark
your calendar and support the team!
|
Transactional
LawMeet®Team |
The
Arizona Law Transactional LawMeet® Team, coached
by Professor Billy Sjostrom, offers
students the chance to engage in negotiations and
agreement drafting in real-world business
issues.
The
transactional
competitions, which are relatively new in the
legal education community, feature problems such
as an indemnification agreement, renegotiation of
a stock purchase agreement, and an executive
compensation agreement. In addition to skill
development, students gain visibility with some of
the top business law firms in the country who
sponsor the competition.
Our
Transactional Team works with the faculty in the
Business
Law Program (BLP) to dissect the problem.
Before the competition, students draft an
agreement. On the day of the competition, they
will negotiate and revise their agreements with
the goal of a resolution.
 |
Greg Laver
('14) |
Greg Laver ('14) was
heavily involved in the LawMeet competitions, and
in helping the law school more generally in
expanding our advanced contract drafting
resources.
"The
LawMeet competitions are what I enjoyed most about
law school. The experience drafting, redlining,
and negotiating commercial contracts has helped me
develop the skills necessary for success in my
future career. In fact, my managers and the other
attorneys I work with at Intel often comment on
how effective I've been with minimal supervision
-- a direct result of the practical training I
have had through the LawMeet competitions."
|
Intellectual
Property
LawMeet®Team
|
 |
Will Pew
('14) |
The
Arizona Law IP LawMeet® Team, coached by
Professors Billy Sjostrom, Derek Bambauer, and Larry Hecker, provides
students a meaningful and engaging simulation of a
transactional intellectual property practice.
Students
work in teams to draft a transactional agreement
in which IP rights constitute a key element. Past
topics have included structuring and negotiating a
license agreement, developing a joint
development agreement to explore the commercial
potential of a new technology, and exploring both
the legal and strategic aspects of cross-licensing
deals.
Recent
graduate Will
Pew ('14), an incoming associate at the Hecker
Law Firm, flourished in the competition.
"I
looked forward to negotiating the terms of the
deal. Once you are sitting across the table from
an opposing party, it is all about working with
your teammate to find common ground and move the
deal forward. That requires careful listening and
negotiating skills. It is a great opportunity to
have some 'real-world' experience in this
arena."
Over
the past few years Arizona Law has bolstered its
commitment to Intellectual Property. We welcomed
Professor Bambauer as head of the IP program,
established the Quarles & Brady
Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship
Clinic, and created new internship
opportunities such as the Copyright Fellowship
with the UA
Center for Creative Photography. IP continues
to be an area of growing student interest and high
career demand.
|
Ninth Circuit
Bankruptcy Negotiation
Competition
|
Arizona
Law's Bankruptcy Negotiation Team highlights the
college's strong business law program. The Ninth
Circuit Bankruptcy
Negotiation Competition is one
of the nation's newest competitions. The team is
coached by longtime Adjunct Professor Robert M. Charles, Jr.
('82), who teaches Bankruptcy Reorganization at
the college and is a partner at Lewis Roca
Rothgerber, based in the firm's Tucson
office.
Students
prepare and exchange bankruptcy term sheets prior
to the competition, followed by two rounds of
in-person negotiation. The recent competition
concerned an out-of-court bankruptcy restructuring
between a financially distressed California winery
and an unofficial committee of its unsecured
creditors.
Our
bankruptcy program, under the leadership of
Professor Jean Braucher and
Professor Larry Ponoroff, has a
long history of training creditor and debtor
advocates. From 2011 to 2014, Professor Braucher
led a mortgage clinic where students, in
collaboration with Southern Arizona Legal Aid,
provided real estate related legal services to
Arizona consumers.
Over
the years, many Arizona Law grads have clerked for
federal bankruptcy judges including Jill Perrella ('08),
Steven Schneider
('13), and Michael Digiacomo
('14). And we are proud of the the Arizona
Law grads who are members of the
bankruptcy bench for the District of Arizona,
including Chief Judge Dan Collins ('83), Judge
Brenda Whinery ('85), Judge Eileen Hollowell
('82), and Judge George Nielsen,
Jr. ('69).
With
this strength and this tradition, it is no
surprise that in 2013 Arizona Law students Jeff
Coe ('13), David Obrand ('13),
and Brad Terry ('13) won
the inaugural competition held at the USC Gould
School of Law.
 |
Jeff Coe ('13), Professor Rob Charles
('82), David Obrand ('13), and Brad Terry
('13) | |
Networking
Noshes are Back: Join Us!
Help
Arizona Law students and network! Our talented
students are eager to engage with alumni and
practice their networking skills. Alumni are
encouraged to join us on the second Thursday
of every month for a networking
reception.
Networking
Noshes are held on campus
and provide our students an
opportunity to meet legal and business
professionals, practice their networking skills,
and learn about different practice areas. We
are looking for interested alums who can join us
at the law college for these events. Our first
Networking Nosh will be September 11th. It is an
informal reception and runs from 4:30 to 6pm. If
you are interested in participating, please email
us at alumni@law.arizona.edu.
Coming soon!
Join
Us: Arizona Law in Denver
August
11, 2014
Cocktail
Reception
5:30
- 7:30 pm
The
Corner Office
1401
Curtis St. Denver, CO 80202
RSVP for the reception
here.
*
* *
Join
Us: Arizona Law in Albuquerque
August
12, 2014
Cocktail
Reception
5:00
- 7:00 pm
Seasons
Rotisserie &
Grill
2031
Mountain Road NW
Albuquerque,
NM 87104
RSVP for the reception
here.
*
* *
SAVE
THE DATE - Arizona Law in Las Vegas
September
5, 2014
*
* *
SAVE
THE DATE - Rehnquist Center's Annual
Constitution Day Program at the College of
Law
September
15, 2014
*
* *
SAVE
THE DATE - Centennial Homecoming
Weekend
November
7-9, 2014
For
more
information, visit
our Homecoming 2014
website.
For assistance with hotels
or game tickets, please contact the alumni
office.
*
* *
Great
students come to Arizona Law, and they receive
first-rate training. We have done well in
competitions of all kinds -- but with your
support, we could do more....far more.
We
would welcome individual or law firm sponsorship
and assistance with any of the Arizona Law
competitive teams. It is not inexpensive to
send teams and coaches to competitions throughout
the West and throughout the US -- and there are
international competitions that our students would
enjoy the opportunity to compete in as
well.
If
you would like to take the lead in sponsoring our
legal Wildcats -- the Arizona Law teams described
over the past two weeks, and others -- into
competition, please contact
us.
Warmly,
Marc L.
Miller
Dean & Ralph W. Bilby Professor of
Law
James E. Rogers College of Law
Looking for a way to
make an impact?
Make a donation to our
student scholarship fund. Every dollar
invested produces a solid return and helps to
alleviate the burden of educational debt for a
student.
| |
Online
Giving | law.arizona.edu/give | Link | | | |
Copyright © 2013. All Rights
Reserved.
| | | |