Pitt Law eDocket: Volume 4 Issue 1 - August 25, 2008
DEANS’ OFFICE
Attendance Records to be Available Via the Extranet
Dean Wang
This is a friendly reminder that the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools and the policy of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law require regular and punctual class attendance in order for a student to satisfy residence and credit hour requirements. Accordingly, the Law School requires that students attend at least eighty percent of regularly scheduled classes for any course (“the 80% rule”). The full policy is available at: http://www.law.pitt.edu/students/policies/attendance.
As in the past, each student is responsible for maintaining his or her own records of attendance. As a courtesy, the School will be making available the attendance records for each student via the Law School Extranet. (Each student will have access only to his or her own records and will be able to view the record for each class in which the student is registered.) Records will be maintained beginning with the second week of the semester (i.e., the week of September 2, 2008 for the fall semester and the week of January 20, 2009 for the spring semester). Students will receive no other notice or warning regarding their attendance records unless the student violates the 80% rule (i.e., exceeds the maximum allowable number of absences) in a particular class. In that event, the student will be certified out of that class and the Deans’ Office will send a letter to the student’s Law School mailbox notifying the student that he or she has been certified out of the class.
CLASS CHANGES, CANCELLATIONS & ASSIGNMENTS
Current Issues in Health Law I, Professor Meisel: There is an organization meeting of the Health Law Certificate Program on the first day of classes, Monday, August 25, at 6:30 p.m. in Room G12. This meeting will last no more than one hour. All second-year students enrolled in the Health Law Certificate Program or intending to enroll in it must attend. For further information on the Health Law Certificate Program, go to http://www.law.pitt.edu/students/courses/announcements/2008/fall/health-....
Current Issues in Health Law II, Professor Meisel: The first class meeting is on Monday, September 8, at 6:30 p.m. in Room G12. Please note new meeting time.
CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION
Gina Clark, Program Administrator
Foreign Visitors Welcome Reception
Please join CILE in welcoming the LL.M. Class of 2009 and other visitors to the University of Pittsburgh on Thursday, August 28 at 4:00 p.m. in the Alcoa Room, 2nd floor of the Barco Law Building.
1L International Interest Meeting
Thursday, August 28, Room 107
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Introductory meeting for any 1L students interested in international law, international moot court opportunities, study abroad, or overseas internship programs, and more. The meeting will provide students with information about the Center for International Legal Education and what opportunities are available to 1Ls through the Center. The International Law Society will also be present to answer questions and discuss their programs for the academic year. A CILE calendar of events will be distributed along with refreshments.
ADMISSIONS/FINANCIAL AID
Welcome/Attention 2L and 3L Students—Tour Guides Needed!
Allie Linsenmeyer, Director of Admissions Welcome back everyone! All of us in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid are excited to see our continuing students and the new faces of our entering class. We hope you had a wonderful summer and are looking forward to starting the new school year!
As our new admissions cycle begins, we will soon be welcoming many prospective students to Pitt Law. The Office of Admissions needs 2L and 3L student volunteers to help with Law School Tours and other recruiting events throughout the academic year. Would you like to be an ambassador for Pitt Law? If you enjoy meeting prospective students and sharing your Pitt Law experiences and can offer a bit of time during the school year, then this may be for you! If you are interested in being a tour guide and want more information, please join us for a pizza lunch in the Alcoa Room on Tuesday, September 16 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. We know you have much going on so feel free to join us for all or just some part of the hour as your schedule will allow. Please RSVP to Allie Linsenmeyer at alinsenm@pitt.edu. We hope you will be able to join us to learn more about our Pitt Law Ambassador Program and look forward to seeing you soon!
CAREER SERVICES
Pamela Day, Assistant Dean for Career Services
Federal Judicial Clerkship Workshop
Tuesday, August 26, Room 111
1:00-1:45 p.m.
CSO staff will be on hand to answer any last minute questions about the Federal Judicial Clerkship application process for 3Ls, including troubleshooting OSCAR, researching judges, preparing for interviews, and strategizing about offers received. For individuals with OSCAR questions, it is recommended that you bring your laptop with you as we will walk through the system together.
Interview Skills Workshop
Tuesday, August 26, Room G12
1:00-2:30 p.m.
This will be a two-part panel program. The first part will feature a panel discussion with experienced attorneys from law firms discussing how to best present yourself effectively in a typical initial (screening) interview. The second part will feature a panel discussion with third-year law students discussing their experiences with call-back (second) interviews and providing useful tips and suggestions on how to succeed in your job search. Students who have class conflicts should feel free to arrive late or leave early as needed.
Federal Government Application Skills Workshop
Thursday, August 28, Room 107
1:15-2:00 p.m.
Repeat Session Thursday, September 18, Room 107
1:00-1:45 p.m.
This workshop is for students who are applying for federal government positions. We will review resume requirements and tips for crafting effective KSAs (essays). The deadline for the 2008 US DOJ Attorney General’s Honors Program and Summer Law Intern Program is Tuesday, September 2. Applications must be submitted online by midnight, Eastern Time. Deadlines for other Federal Honor’s Programs begin to fall shortly after this program and run into the Fall; we will discuss strategies for completing an effective application. Please note that we will repeat this program on Thursday, September 18
REGISTRAR’S OFFICE
Beth Liberatore, Registrar
Final Add/Drop
The final add/drop period for the fall term is Monday, August 25 — Friday, August 29. There is no charge for add/drop. You can download enrollment forms for add/drop at the University Registrar’s web page at the following link: http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~sisint/courses/ENROLLMENT_FORM.pdf. If you are unable to access the online form, copies will be available at the Registrar’s Service Window.
Summer Externship Registration
Students who participated in summer externships are reminded to register for the externship during the final add/drop for the fall term, Monday, August 25 — Friday, August 29. If you do not register for the course, you will not receive credit for the externship on your University transcript and will be charged a fee by the University to add it at a later date.
Student Address/ Information Update Forms
If you have had an address or telephone change, or if you do not want your student information published in the online Student Directory, you MUST come to the Registrar’s Office Service Window and complete an update form by Friday, September 5. Information in the Law School Student Registration system is used for the production of the online Student Directory on the Extranet. If you do not submit an update form, the information that is currently on file in the Law School will be used for this year’s online Student Directory.
If you have updated your information with the University in PeopleSoft and have not notified the Law School, your records here will not be updated because the University does not notify individual schools when a student makes a change. In order for your Law School records to also be updated, you must first submit your request here. Once the update is made in the Law School records, the change will be sent to the University.
December Graduation
Students who will graduate in December, 2008 must submit an application for graduation to the Registrar’s Office by 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 10. Applications are available at the Registrar’s Service Window. Applications submitted after this date will be subject to late fees charged by the University. If you are a certificate student, you must indicate which Certificate Program you are in at the top of the Graduation Form in order to graduate with the certificate. Joint degree students must indicate their joint degree at the top of the form. You will also be required to download the Graduation Requirements Checklist form from the Registrar’s web page, complete it and submit it with your Application for Graduation. The Graduation Requirements Checklist is available on the Registrar’s web page: http://www.law.pitt.edu/registrar/graduation/requirements. You can submit the documents to the Registrar’s Office beginning Monday, August 25.
Student Mailboxes
All students are assigned a new mailbox each year. The mailbox list for 2008/09 is posted on the ground floor on the bulletin board near the mailboxes.
ID Cards
Students who have not received their University ID can pick up their ID Card at Panther Central located in the lobby of the Litchfield Towers. Please visit the following website for more detailed information: http://www.pc.pitt.edu/card/index.html.
Lockers
Returning students: If you have misplaced or forgotten your locker number and/or combination, please go to the Reception Desk of the Administrative Offices on the second floor.
Announcement of New Independent Study Opportunity with Professor Lobel
Professor Lobel
Professor Lobel will offer a 3 credit independent study opportunity for up to four upper-level students to study a case, and write a student brief in that case, which he is currently litigating before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Professor Lobel is co-counsel on an important case challenging the Bush Administration's policy of extraordinary rendition of suspected terrorists to countries which are known to use torture in interrogating detainees. He represents Maher Arar on behalf of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Arar is a Canadian citizen who was born in Syria. He was traveling home to Canada and had a stopover at Kennedy Airport in New York when he was detained by U.S. officials based on a tip provided by the Canadian Royal Mounted Police that Arar may have had some connection to Al Qaeda. He was detained in N.Y. for 2 weeks and interrogated intensely and then sent by CIA plane to Syria despite his protest that he would be tortured if sent to Syria. He was tortured in Syria and imprisoned there for a year, and then finally released. A Canadian Commission of Inquiry has found that Arar was totally innocent of any connection to terrorism, and Canada has apologized for its role and paid Arar 11 million Canadian dollars in compensation. Arar has sued the United States officials who sent him to Syria in Federal Court in a case entitled Arar v. Ashcroft, and the federal defendants moved to dismiss the case on various grounds. The District Court granted the motion to dismiss and the dismissal was affirmed by a split panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals by a 2 1 vote. Several weeks ago, the full Court of Appeals took the extraordinary and rare decision sua sponte — before the plaintiff had even filed a petition for rehearing en banc — to rehear the case en banc before the entire court.
The Second Circuit has set the following schedule. The plaintiff’s brief is due September 23, the defendants’ briefs are due on October 28, and the plaintiff’s reply brief is due on November 4. Argument before the full Second Circuit Court of Appeals will be on December 9 at 3:00 p.m. in NYC. This is an extraordinary rehearing en banc. The issues are novel, complex and extremely important in testing the Administration’s tactics in its war on terror.
The proposed independent study for up to 4 students will involve the following. In September and October the students will read the District Court decision and the now vacated Court of Appeals panel decision and discuss with Professor Lobel the various constitutional and international law issues involved. We will meet several times, most likely either early afternoon on Tuesdays, or late morning or early afternoon on Thursdays. The issues are complex, and the students will need to be well prepared, having thoroughly read the opinions and background cases assigned by Professor Lobel. The meetings will discuss not only broad constitutional and international law issues, but litigation issues normally covered in a course on Civil Rights Litigation. We will also discuss the plaintiff’s brief, which will be filed by September 23. By October 28 the students should be well versed in the case and in the underlying doctrines and issues in dispute. When Professor Lobel receives the defendants’ briefs on that date, each of the students will be required to draft a reply brief addressing at least some of the issues raised by the defendants. Those student briefs will be “filed” with Professor Lobel on November 4, the same date that the plaintiff’s actual reply brief is due to be filed with the court. The students will then be required to read the other students’ briefs and evaluate them, and we will have several sessions discussing the briefs, and possibly have moot court arguments. Those students who are available can attend the oral argument on December 9 in New York, where Professor David Cole of Georgetown Law School will argue the appeal, and we will discuss the argument.
The students will receive a pass/fail grade for the independent study. It will involve a good deal of reading, thinking and writing on complex, difficult and important constitutional issues.
Upper-level students who are interested in participating should submit a resume by Wednesday, August 27 at 5:00 p.m. to Professor Lobel’s secretary, in Room 514C. Professor Lobel will select students to participate in the independent study project based on the following criteria: a) interest in and demonstrated commitment to public interest/human rights/civil rights work, and b) willingness and ability to undertake hard, challenging assignments and to work hard.
MOOT COURT INFORMATION
Moot Court
Matthew Wendler, Moot Court Board
If you want to sharpen your advocacy skills and enlarge your social network, moot court at Pitt is for you. Come to our information session on Thursday, August 28 at 12:00 p.m. in Room 109 to hear from students, meet our new coach and learn all about what you can get out of the appellate and trial moot courts. Any questions? Come to the information session or e mail mrw39@pitt.edu for more information. Otherwise, make sure to sign up in the lobby of the law school during the week of Tuesday, September 2.
You can sign up on Tuesday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. and on Friday from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. The cost of participating in either of the competitions is $20 and those who participate will receive a credit for doing so during the Spring semester.
STUDENT NOTICES
JURIST 2008 Recruitment
Professor Hibbitts
Pitt Law’s award-winning legal news service is accepting 1L applications for newswriting (“anchor”) positions. Anchors research and write for Paper Chase, JURIST’s domestic and international real-time news stream. Anchors are responsible for in-depth research and analysis of primary legal materials under time pressure, and the news stories they write based on that work will be read by thousands of people worldwide each day. Successful applicants must demonstrate writing skill, a strong work ethic, responsibility, attention to detail, ability to take criticism, and interest in current legal developments. The ability to read a foreign language is a plus. Prospective anchors will undergo a rigorous and competitive selection process, including an audition and interview. Visit http://jurist.law.pitt.edu to learn more about JURIST.
To apply, submit a resume and letter of intent in Word format via e mail to JURISTrecruitment@gmail.com. An information session will be held Thursday, September 4 at 12:00 p.m. in Room G12. The deadline for application materials is Monday, September 8 at 5:00 p.m.
POSITIONS AVAILABLE
Research Assistants
Professor Bratman is seeking a 2L or 3L to serve as research assistant for the fall semester. Duties will include legal research and data collection for the law school’s new bar exam webpage and for articles on topics related to bar exams, as well as research in support of 1L legal writing assignments. A or A in Legal Writing preferred. Send short e mail indicating interest and the name of your legal writing professor to beb9@pitt.edu by Tuesday, September 2.
Professor Madison is looking for an energetic and multi-talented RA for the Fall, to research property theory, organizational theory, and to do some web design (php experience preferred). Two out of three isn’t bad; an interest in information policy is helpful. Please submit a resume and a one-paragraph statement summarizing your property/organizational/web design interests and skills to Melissa Shimko in Room 314 by Friday, September 5 or e mail them directly to madison@pitt.edu.
Professor Stella Smetanka is seeking a research assistant in the Fall Semester to assist her in a research and writing project, as well as to provide research assistance in special Health Law Clinic cases. Please e mail her at sls6@pitt.edu if you are interested, with a copy of your resume and Fall 2008 course load. Applications close by Friday, August 29, at 4:00 p.m.
CONTESTS, COMPETITIONS & SPECIAL PROGRAMS
See Angela Scolieri in Room 202 for more detailed information:
The Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association is announcing its James E. Beckley Writing Competition. The submission may address any aspect of Securities law; Securities arbitration; The Federal Arbitration Act; Title 9, U.S. Code, Section 1 14; or FINRA Code of Arbitration, effective April 16, 2007 and any changes or proposed changes to that Code. The writing can be based in theory or practice, but should ultimately advocate a position on the topic area chosen. Deadline for submissions: September 26. Prizes range from $250 $750.