DePaul Law News

DePaul students earn runner-up title at national patent law moot court competition

After a demanding six months of preparation for the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition, Nick Restauri’s and Rachel Schweers’ hard work and dedication paid off with a regional first place finish, two best brief awards and the national title of runner-up.

Restauri and Schweers formed a team in November 2011, soon after the release of the competition problem. The brief writing process took them through the end of the year, and in mid-January, they finalized their briefs for the regional competition held in Chicago in March. Unlike most moot court competitions that require participants to write one brief, the patent moot requires students to write briefs for both sides of the argument. Schweers, a patent agent with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and a recipient of the Robert and Clytia Chambers Endowed Prize for Excellence in the College of Law, says, though this requirement made more work for the team at the onset of the writing process, “It also facilitated our ability to more effectively advocate for either side of the issues.”

“Rachel and I spent a great deal of time going back and forth over our briefs,” says Restauri, a third-year student who received the 2012 Allen J. Hoover Memorial Award. “We scrutinized every sentence and rewrote portions multiple times. The process was long and very tedious, but Rachel and I played off each other’s individual writing strengths and eventually arrived at the final products.” The team received awards for best appellant brief and best appellee brief at the regional level, where they competed against 26 teams to win first place and advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C., in April.

To prepare for oral arguments, the team practiced two days a week for seven weeks before the regional, and after winning, continued to rehearse two days a week until the national competition. They also benefited from the assistance and support of DePaul intellectual property law professors, the Center for Intellectual Property Law & Information Technology, and alumni who previously competed in the patent moot.

Students shadow Cook County circuit judges in Bridgeview

As part of the College of Law’s Institute for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution, eight students shadowed judges at the Bridgeview Courthouse, the 5th Municipal District of the Cook County Circuit Court, on Friday, April 13. Students met Presiding Judge Raymond L. Jagielski, and shadowed other judges throughout the day.

Pictured from left to right: Presiding Judge Raymond Jagielski, Victoria Ger, Judge Colleen Hyland, Megan Einsele, Jennifer Gates, Judge Kerry Kennedy, Martha Soto, Kathleen Groark, Lizette Jaramillo, Colleen Glass, Judge Pete Felice, and Marta Tuhchieva-Petit.

“I really enjoyed the day,” says Victoria Ger (’12). “Meeting the judges and hearing their point of view on court proceedings, law practice, and even current events was very insightful.”

The students also had lunch with the judges, and got to meet with representatives of the State’s Attorney’s and Public Defender’s Offices. 

“Thanks so much for the chance to visit the 5th Municipal District Courthouse,” says Susan Ritacca (’13). “It was a productive and interesting trip.” 

Events take place every spring and fall semester. Please contact Natalie Taylor at ntaylor4@depaul.eduor (312) 362-8312 if you are interested in participating in fall 2012.

Panel discusses Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law and what it means for Midwest

What is Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law and what does it mean for the Midwest? A panel sought to answer this question on April 19, which was especially timely because of the Supreme Court oral argument in the Arizona v. U.S. case this week. The panel (pictured right) included moderator Chuck Roth, director of litigation at Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC); Brian Murray, partner at Jones Day who represented NIJC as amicus curaie in Arizona v. U.S.; Maricela Garcia, CEO of Gads Hill Center; and Daniel Morales, assistant professor of law at DePaul University.

Professor Morales began the panel discussion by mentioning some of the controversial aspects of the Arizona immigration law SB 1070 that the Supreme Court would consider. He described how section 2b of the law requires law enforcement officers to verify a person’s immigration status if the officer has a “reasonable suspicion” that the person may be an undocumented immigrant. The concern with this provision is that it opens up too much discretion for officers, and people will be targeted based on the way they look. Professor Morales pointed out that section 3, which the 9th Circuit enjoined, criminalizes being undocumented. Section 5 criminalizes applying or soliciting work if you are undocumented, which is unprecedented for state law. Finally, section 6 authorizes warrantless arrests and deportation based on probable cause. Additionally, citizens can sue local law enforcement for “failing to enforce the law to maximum extent.”

Garcia pointed out that 36 states have filed similar “copycat” laws since Arizona’s, but 31 of those states have rejected those laws. She spoke of a strong pushback in communities across the nation to reject this anti-immigrant sentiment, despite the economic fear-mongering that undocumented immigrants will take our jobs. Garcia illustrated how SB 1070 represents an attack on the Latino community and an invitation to racial profiling. However, Arizona has suffered $740 million in economic loss since SB 1070 was passed because of a significant loss of tax base from people who left the state. Arizona has paid $1.5 million alone in legal fees to defend the bill.

Students help the homeless through a new volunteer legal clinic

(Pictured: Damon Ritenhouse ('11) and students Emily Mannix-Slobig and Goli Rahimi)

 Students and staff started a new program to assist homeless individuals get state identification cards and expunge or seal minor criminal records. The program, Neighborhood Legal Assistance Project (NLAP), takes place every other Saturday at Grace Episcopal Church on 637 S. Dearborn St. Students meet homeless clients at the free breakfast program run by volunteers from The First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple. By helping homeless clients get state identification cards, NLAP helps homeless clients receive public benefits. With their record sealed or expunged, homeless individuals can get housing or employment.  

(Pictured: students Nick Gutierrez and Sam Keen)

NLAP collaborates with several other agencies to make the program work. Franciscan Outreach through St. Peter's Church trained students on getting state IDs. Cabrini Green Legal Aid trained students in expungement and sealing of minor criminal records. The program began on March 17 and will continue every other Saturday. Alumnus Damon Ritenhouse ('11) supervises the clinic. For more information, contact Cheryl Price, Director of the DePaul Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative, at cprice13@depaul.edu

Click here to view the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin's recent piece on NLAP (note that subscription is required to view the article).

The Journal for Social Justice Takes a Look at Occupy

The Journal for Social Justice's tradition of an annual symposium continued on March 28 with  New Battlefronts: Struggles for Economic Justice in the Year of Upheavals.  Over the past year, from Madison to Manhattan and beyond, hundreds of thousands of Americans have taken to the streets, squares and parks of their cities, clamoring against economic inequality, home foreclosures, the erosion of workers rights, and the seeming indifference of an unaccountable elite. The symposium featured a range of lawyers, activists, and organizers and addressed the social and economic grievances that produced Occupy Wall Street and other popular mobilizations.

The event opened with a panel examining intersections between economic injustice and race.  The panel  included Jose Luis Gallardo, an organizer with the Latino Union, Keeanga Taylor, a tenant rights activist and a researcher in the history of housing policy, and Kelli Dudley an attorney and adjunct professor of housing law at DePaul.  Gallardo spoke about the experience of being a day laborer.  Keeanga Taylor gave a historical overview of the racialized history of housing policy in urban America, and provided a background on the 20th-century policies that produced many of the racial disparities observed today in terms of foreclosures rates, loan servicing, etc. Kelli Dudley spoke about the minimal procedural protections extended to homeowners facing foreclosure; she also provided compelling evidence that sinister elements of the banking sector view housing precarity as socially desirable. "This is part of what the right has been fighting for for years," said Dudley.

Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center's annual service project at Cook County Juvenile Detention Center

Fourteen DePaul law students spent their spring break vacation week volunteering at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center as part of the Schiller DuCanto and Fleck Family Law Center's annual service project. The students designed and ran interactive workshops with the juveniles on topics such as the juvenile justice system, juvenile record expungement, courtroom etiquette, job search and interviewing, street law/know your rights, and communication and negotiations. As always, this project was extremely rewarding for both law students and the youth residents at the Juvenile Detention Center.

Students Shadow Cook County Criminal Division Judges

As part of the College of Law’s Institute for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution, nine students shadowed judges at the Criminal Division of the Cook County Circuit Court on Tuesday, March 13th. Students were able to meet and ask questions of Acting Presiding Judge Kazmierski, Judge Hill, and Judge Fox, who runs all nineteen of the specialty courts.

“I thought the day was great,” says Jeffrey Boucher (’13). “I enjoyed speaking with the judges and hearing their thoughts and advice.”

The students also observed a variety of evidentiary and status hearings, a 402 conference, and a felony jury trial.

“I had a wonderful time during the Shadow a Judge trip,” says Samuel Jackson (’13). “It was the first time that I had the opportunity to talk to a judge in his office about the law and the work that goes on in the courtroom. I highly recommend it to anyone who has yet to work in court.”

Events take place every spring and fall semester. Please contact Natalie Taylor at ntaylor4@depaul.edu or (312) 362-8312 if you are interested in participating in fall 2012.

Harvard Law Professor Kenneth Mack to deliver annual Enlund Lecture at DePaul

As DePaul University College of Law's spring 2012 Enlund Scholar-in-Residence, Harvard Law Professor Kenneth W. Mack will deliver a lecture titled "A Civil Rights History in the Age of Obama" on Thursday, April 12 at the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005, Chicago.

Professor Mack will discuss ways to reframe the conventional methods of teaching and writing the history of the civil rights movement, with a particular emphasis on the legal history of the African American civil rights movement. He will suggest that the “Age of Obama” makes such a reframing imperative at our present moment.

The lecture and reception are free and open to the public, but a reservation is required by April 9, 2012. To register, please visit law.depaul.edu/enlund. 

DePaul University College of Law is an accredited Illinois MCLE provider. This lecture has been approved for up to one (1) hour of CLE credit.

DePaul wins American Intellectual Property Law Association’s regional moot court competition, advances to nationals

DePaul law students Rachel Schweers and Nick Restauri won first place in the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Midwest Regional Competition held in Chicago March 16-18, 2012. The team also received awards for Best Appellant Brief and Best Appellee Brief. 

Twenty-six teams, including teams from the University of Chicago, University of Michigan and Indiana University Maurer College of Law, competed in the regional competition. Professor Barbara Bressler, director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law & Information Technology, coached the DePaul team. Professors Joshua Sarnoff and Anthony Volini mooted and consulted with the team.

DePaul is one of only eight teams that advanced to the national competition, which will be held in Washington, D.C. on April 18-20, 2012.

 

DePaul team wins first IP LawMeet

DePaul third-year students Michael Comeau and Julie Krupa won the inaugural national IP LawMeet held at Drexel University on February 23 and 24. The team defeated Northwestern Law in the final round, and also received the Best Draft award for the term sheet that they drafted on behalf of their client.   

The IP LawMeet is an interactive competition that focuses on transactional skills and negotiation. Each participating team represented one of two parties to a proposed transaction involving the transfer of intellectual property rights to a portfolio of social network games.