Whittington is staff member of the year
by Natashia Gregoire

To Joyce Whittington, UM Law School career services director, law students are her “kids.” She knows most of them by name and she can ramble off information about students and alumni without hesitation.

For her enthusiasm, dedication and outstanding service, Whittington was again named staff member of the year by the Law School Student Body Senate. The first recipient of the award when it was established in 1987, she has been employed with the university since 1973 and with the law school since 1978.

“We came to the conclusion that because of all the work she does with the (law school) and the scholarships and just generally helping out students that she is deserving of this award,” said Michael Shane Painter, president of the law student body.

The $700 award is funded by the Law Alumni Chapter. Whittington also received an engraved plaque.

“There is something quite extraordinary about those of us in administration here at the law school that many people don’t realize — all of us have been here forever, it seems, from 18 years to over 30 years,” Whittington said. “And we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the law students we serve.”

At the 2003 Mississippi Bar convention Whittington was surprised with an award recognizing her 25 years of service to the law school, its alumni and the Mississippi Bar.

“We all genuinely like what we’re doing, and receiving recognition for what we do is very much appreciated,” Whittington said. “It’s something we can think about when we’re up here at 7 p.m. trying to meet whatever deadline is next.”

Back to top

Reigning Czar: Law Students Choose Czarnetzky as Professor of the Year
by Meredith Crowson

At the UM Law School there is only one “Czar,” and for the third time law students have voted him Outstanding Professor of the Year.

John Czarnetzky, who emerged as the clear favorite in the write-in election, was recognized at the law school’s annual awards ceremony, held April 1 this year.

“To be recognized by students is the greatest award one can receive,” said Czarnetsky, an associate professor who currently teaches debtor-creditor law, international trade and civil procedure.

“Professor Czarnetzky engages students on issues that they should care about,” said Shane Painter, president of the law school’s student body. “He is very student-friendly and desires for students to be informed about decisions that could affect their life at the law school.”

Czarnetzky, who’s known as the “Czar” among both students and colleagues, said he hopes he can convey the skills of a great lawyer by teaching the importance of communication in the law profession.

“Being a lawyer is about being willing to work with other people without going to war,” he said. “I hope I can pass that on to my students.”

Passing on knowledge to law students is something Czarnetzky considered doing for a while before he actually changed careers. Although he enjoyed practicing law, he always imagined he would eventually become an academic, he said.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Czarnetzky earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of Virginia. He practiced law for five years before returning to academia. He began teaching at the Ole Miss Law School in1994 and quickly became a student favorite, winning outstanding law professor honors in 1997 and 1999.

For Czarnetzky, his job is all about the students in his classroom. Interacting with them and enjoying their senses of humor is crucial, he said.

“Being in the classroom and having a good time is the best part of my job. I enjoy seeing the students develop as lawyers. That’s why we’re here.”

Although his winning teaching style has made a lasting impact on his students, his popularity extends beyond the student body.

“He has a wonderful sense of humor and a keen intellect, and that combination has served him well in his teaching,” said Samuel Davis, law school dean. “He brings the material to life, and anyone who can do that with bankruptcy law deserves our admiration and awe.”

After receiving the award for outstanding professor, Czarnetzky gave half the $2,000 prize back to the law school to be used for scholarships.

“John is just that kind of person,” Davis said.”

Meredith Crowson is a senior English major from Hernando.

Back to top

Sobotka Bids Farewell to Law School
by Natashia Gregoire

From archives to architecture, former assistant dean John Sobotka had answers to almost every question about the UM Law School.

After 26 years of service, Sobotka, who worked quietly behind the scenes as the law school’s archivist, retired from the university in June.

“Laying to one side the contributions of men such as professors Thomas Ethridge, Aaron Condon, Guff Abbott and other professors no longer with us, the retirement of John Sobotka ranks as one of the most significant losses during my tenure,” said longtime law professor George Cochran. “Words can never adequately describe what he has meant to this institution. And, without fear of contradiction, I know I speak for all who have been blessed to know him.”

Sobotka’s retirement was marked by an emotional reception at the law school as faculty, staff and students gathered to bid him goodbye. Also present at the ceremony were Sobotka’s wife, Jeannette, and their children, Elizabeth from New York; Greg and John from Portland, Ore.; and Anne Lincoln and her husband, Chris, from Jackson.

“Deans may come and deans may go, but some people truly are irreplaceable,” said law school dean Samuel Davis. “John Sobotka is one of those people.”

At his reception Sobotka was showered with gifts, including a rocking chair, a Bose radio and a metal detector. And he was praised for thinking of things no one else did, such as covering desks and computers with plastic wrap to protect them from leaks and standing on the law school’s roof to warn of approaching funnel clouds.

“It’s been a very rewarding experience to have been associated with the law school and the university for 26 years,” Sobotka said. “I’ve met many fine and interesting people, and I hope that things are a little bit better for me being there.”

Sobotka plans to spend time traveling with his wife, visiting their children and taking on a new research project.

Back to top

Bell is Outstanding Woman Lawyer of the Year
by Mary Stanton

For nearly 30 years, the Mississippi Women Lawyers Association has recognized outstanding women representing all facets of the legal profession, including those in private, corporate and government practice; members of the judiciary; law professors; and law students. This year the MWLA’s Outstanding Woman Lawyer Award went to UM law professor Debbie Bell.

The award recognizes those who have significantly contributed to the legal profession during the previous year, either through specific legal accomplishment, extensive involvement in professional legal organizations or participation in other legally oriented activities. MWLA President Mary Jacq Easley said that Bell “was absolutely a natural for the award.”

“Debbie has contributed to the law profession in numerous facets throughout her career,” Easley said. “She has trained so many lawyers and has done so much in the area of family law. In the past year, she worked in conjunction with the legislature on a bill that requires sex offenders to reveal their status to volunteer organizations in which they would work closely with children.”

UM Law School Dean Samuel Davis agreed wholeheartedly with Bell’s selection.

“There are many outstanding women in Mississippi who are deserving of the Outstanding Women Lawyer Award, but I can think of no one more deserving that Debbie Bell,” Davis said. “She is an excellent teacher and scholar, and she is engaged in numerous public service activities. Yet, for all of her accomplishments, she is completely unassuming. She is an outstanding role model for our students.”

Diala Chaney, a former student of Bell’s and now a practicing lawyer, nominated Bell for the award. Chaney said she did so not only because of how much she and her former classmates admire their teacher but also because of Bell’s extensive work in setting up numerous clinics that help the public with family law issues.

“She’s a great inspiration because she makes the practice noble and honorable,” Chaney said. “(Bell) understands the abstract nature of the law, but she’s also aware of the impact it can have on people’s lives.”

Bell said that she feels greatly honored to have been chosen for the MWLA award.

“As an academic it is gratifying to be recognized by an organization composed primarily of practicing lawyers,” she said. “Also, many of the members are former law school classmates or former students.”

Bell was nominated for the award along with Donna Brown Jacobs, Susan Shands Jones, and Commissioner Lydia Quarles.

“(The nominees) are all very fine lawyers with an impressive history of service to the state,” Bell said. “I was very honored to be a nominee with them.”

Prior recipients of the Outstanding Woman Lawyer Award include UM Provost Carolyn Ellis Staton, Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Lenore Prather (JD ‘55), Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Mary Libby Payne (JD ‘55), Constance Slaughter-Harvey (JD ‘70) and Joy Lambert Phillips (JD ‘80). ”

Back to top

Write Stuff
Write Stuff highlights books or book chapters authored by UM law faculty.

“Disability Civil Rights Law and Policy: Cases and Materials” (West, 2005), by Michael Waterstone, assistant professor. Waterstone also wrote a chapter on political participation in the forthcoming book, “Critical Perspective on Human Rights” (Brill Publishers, 2005).

“Rights of Juveniles: The Juvenile Justice System” (West, 2005), by Samuel M. Davis, dean and Jamie L. Whitten Chair of Law and Government. This new edition offers extensive coverage of juvenile law, including procedural rules; analysis of constitutional, statutory, and decisional law; case surveys; and recent developments.

“Children in the Legal System, Cases and Materials” (Foundation Press, 2004), by Samuel M. Davis, dean and Jamie L Whitten Chair of Law and Government, with Elizabeth S. Scott, Walter Wadlington and Charles H. Whitebread. The third edition of the book focuses on the ways in which the law relates to minors, including private law, school law, child custody, adoption, neglect and abuse, and juvenile delinquency.

“Trial by Fury: Restoring the Common Good in Tort Litigation” (Acton Institute, 2004), by Ronald J. Rychlak, associate dean and professor. The book explores how the tort system no longer serves as an arbiter of justice and in service of the common good but distorts responsibility into blame and human dignity into parasitic opportunism. The monograph not only points to the gravity of the moral effects of tort law but also attempts to lay the groundwork for restoring the common good in tort litigation. Rychlak also wrote a chapter in “The Pius War” (Lexington Books, 2004).

“Mississippi Criminal Trial Practice” (West, 2004) by Marc M. Harrold, professor, and Ronald J. Rychlak, associate dean and professor. This revised edition serves as a handbook for attorneys practicing at all levels of the Mississippi criminal court system. It deals with the general prosecution and defense of criminal matters in the state. The book will be updated annually and an accompanying book of forms will be published in the near future. Both books are designed as a practical reference for the lawyer’s desk and the courtroom.

“Directory of Law Reviews” edited by Michael H. Hoffheimer, professor. The 2005 directory was mailed via LexisNexis to all faculty teaching at accredited law schools.
The 2005 supplement to the casebook

“Intellectual Property: Cases and Materials” (West, 2005), by Gary Myers, professor; David Lange; and Mary LaFrance. The 250- page supplement to the second edition covers a wide range of new developments in patent, copyright and trademark law, as well as related state law claims. Myers is also conducting research on a new book dealing with the intersection of antitrust law and intellectual property.

“Bell on Mississippi Family Law” (Nautilus Publishing, 2005), by Debbie Bell, professor. This book is a comprehensive treatise on Mississippi family law and includes a discussion of national trends. The book also includes chapters on rights and duties during a marriage, divorce grounds, property division, alimony, child custody, child support, marital agreements, attorney fees, tax, adoption, termination of parental rights, paternity, jurisdiction and procedure. It is designed as a research tool for attorneys, with a detailed table of contents for quick location of relevant sections.

“The Place of Arbitration,” book chapter by Charles H. Brower, Croft Associate Professor of International Law, in “Foreign Investment Law and Arbitration: Leading Cases from the NAFTA, the ICSID, and Customary International Law” (Cameron May, 2005). Brower’s article “NAFTA’s Investment Chapter: Initial Thoughts about Second-Generation Rights” will soon be included as a chapter in “Globalization and International Investment” (Ashgate).

Back to top

Faculty News

Professor John R. Bradley chairs the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council, a statutory advisory body to the Workers’ Compensation Commission.

As part of the National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law’s Criminal Appeals Program, led by professor Phillip W. Broadhead, the Court of Appeals of Mississippi sat in special session on April 13 at the law school to hear oral arguments in a murder case from students in the Criminal Appeals Clinic. Following the proceedings, the court engaged the general student body in a panel discussion on the topic of appellate practice. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Leslie D. King has requested that the special session at the law school become an annual event.

Charles H. Brower II, Croft Associate Professor of International Law and Jessie D. Puckett Jr. Lecturer, was elected to a three-year term on the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law. Brower also became a corresponding editor of International Legal Materials, one of the ASIL’s principal publications. During March and April, he spoke about “Torture and U.S. Foreign Policy” in three venues: at George Washington University, the Croft Institute for International Studies at UM, and the ASIL’s 99th annual meeting.

By invitation, the American Journal of International Law published Brower’s commentary on Republic of Austria v. Altmann, the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent decision interpreting the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

Assistant professor Mercer Bullard’s article “The Mutual Fund as a Firm: Fund Arbitrage, Frequent Trading and the SEC’s Response to the Mutual Fund Scandal” was selected for presentation at the 2005 Stanford/Yale Junior Faculty Forum and will be published in the Houston Law Review in January 2006.

In January Bullard was invited to be Executive in Residence at the University of Richmond, where he delivered an address and visited with faculty and students. Also in January, he was invited to present his working paper “Fund Fee Analyses as Political Discourse” in the Roundtable on Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds, sponsored by the Center for Corporate, Securities and Financial Law at Fordham University School of Law. In March Bullard delivered the keynote address at the national policy conference for the North American Association of Securities Administrators, and he served on two panels at the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries 401k Summit.

In April Bullard was invited as a commentator for two panels at the Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds and Institutional Investors Conference, sponsored by the Institute for Law and Economic Policy and Washington University School of Law. His comments will be published in the Washington University Law Quarterly. Also in April, he was a guest lecturer at Vanderbilt Law School. He was the invited presenter of a working paper on state-sponsored 529 plans at a roundtable in May sponsored by the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance. He has been invited to visit Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Mo., where he will be teaching during the fall term.

Bullard continues to be one of the country’s most-quoted securities law professors in national print, television and radio media. He was featured in the March issue of On Wall Street (“Mercer Bullard Puts the Bite on Broker Issues”) and appeared in a May 30 NPR special on mutual funds.

Professor George Cochran was invited to speak on the use of sanction in labor law cases at the AFL/CIO convention in San Francisco, May 12-13. He is the lead counsel on several cases involving sanctions against lawyers before the United States Courts of Appeals.

Samuel M. Davis, dean and Jamie L. Whitten Chair of Law and Government, was selected for inclusion in the ninth edition of “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers,” the third time he has been so honored. He was also selected for inclusion in the 2005 editions of “Who’s Who in the South and Southwest” (31st edition) and “Who’s Who in American Education” (seventh edition) and in the 2006 edition of “Who’s Who in American Law.” He serves as vice-president and as a member of the board of directors of the Mississippi Children’s Justice Center, and he also serves on the boards of directors of the Mississippi Equal Justice Foundation and North Mississippi Rural Legal Services. He continues his service as an elected member of the American Law Institute and as a member of the Professionalism Committee of the Mississippi Bar. He is serving this year as vice-president of the Fellows of the Young Lawyers of the Mississippi Bar.

Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz, professor and director of the National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center, traveled to Vienna, Austria, in April to address the 44th Session of the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on “The 1986 U.N. Principles and Current State Practice in North America.” In March Gabrynowicz presented “Remote Sensing Law: Status Update” to an American Academy of Arts and Sciences Committee on International Security Studies workshop on the Evolving Rules of Space: Military and Civil/Scientific Interactions. In November she traveled to Rio de Janeiro, where she made the presentation “Invited Comments Regarding ‘Space Law and Remote Sensing Activities’: A Discussion Paper by Prof. Maureen Williams” to the U.N./Brazil Workshop on Disseminating and Developing International and National Space Law: The Latin American and Caribbean Perspective.

In the past year Gabrynowicz has served as editor for two issues of the Journal of Space Law. Her article “Space Law: Its Cold War Origins and Challenges in the Era of Globalization” appeared in the Suffolk University Law Review (2004). Along with Jacqueline E. Serrao, senior research counsel at NRSSLC, Gabrynowicz co-authored the article “An Introduction to Space Law for Decision Makers,” for the Journal of Space Law (2004).

Tim Hall, professor and associate provost, led law and literature ethics CLEs for the New York, Seattle and Minneapolis offices of Dorsey and Whitney during the spring and summer. Hall uses literary texts about lawyers and the law to lead discussions about legal ethics. He is completing the book “Religion in America: An Eyewitness History,” scheduled to be published in 2006 by Facts on File.

Michael Hoffheimer, professor and Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association Distinguished Lecturer, had his article “Lesser Included Offenses in Mississippi” published in the Mississippi Law Journal. His article “The Rise and Fall of Lesser Included Offenses” will appear in the next issue of Rutgers Law Journal. He has been commissioned to write entries on Clarence Darrow, Medgar Evers, Thurgood Marshall and Ida B. Wells for the new “Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties”.

Professor Gary Myers is conducting research for a new book dealing with the intersection of antitrust law and intellectual property. He is serving on the Members Consultative Group for the American Law Institute’s International Intellectual Property working group.

Jack Nowlin, assistant professor and Jessie D. Puckett Jr. Lecturer in Law, had his article “Constitutional Violations by the Supreme Court: Analytical Foundations” accepted for publication by the University of Illinois Law Review (fall 2005). Nowlin’s article “The Unborn Victims of Violence Act as a Model for State Legislative Reform” is forthcoming in Engage: The Journal of the Federalist Society’s Practice Groups.

In May, Nowlin taught trial judges Fourth Amendment law as part of the training program “The Fourth Amendment: Comprehensive Search and Seizure Training for Trial Judges,” sponsored by the National Judicial College and the National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law and held at the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada, Reno. This summer Nowlin will be an invited participant at the Lewis Lehrman Summer Institute, sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, to be held at Princeton University. He also plans to attend the Southeastern Association of Law Schools annual meeting and will serve on a panel addressing “The Jurisprudence of Antonin Scalia.”

Nowlin also served as coach to the law school’s First Amendment Moot Court Team, which participated in February’s National First Amendment Moot Court competition at Vanderbilt University Law School and the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center. UM students Barber Boone and Meaghin Burke ranked eleventh among the 36 teams from across the nation.

Assistant professor Paul M. Secunda was the featured speaker at the University of Kobe Graduate School of Law in Kobe, Japan, in March. He presented two papers concerning “Pedagogical Methods for Teaching Arbitration Law in the Classroom.” In April he delivered an ethics CLE presentation as part of the Ole Miss Law Alumni Reunion Weekend. He represented the law school at the annual Association of American Law Schools meeting in San Franciso in January as a member of the AALS House of Delegates. He will continue to be active in the AALS by serving on the Executive Committee of the Employment Discrimination Section this year and will help set up next year’s employment discrimination law panel at the annual AALS conference in New Orleans.
He traveled to Boston in March to view new law school buildings as part of the UM School of Law’s new building committee initiative. He delivered the paper “A Reparative Approach to Resolving De-facto Segregation in the Public Schools of the Mississippi Delta” at the Southeast/Southwest People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference on May 6 in New Orleans.

Secunda produced six articles in the past year. Of note, his paper “A Public Interest Model for Applying Lost Chance Theory to Probabilistic Injuries in Employment Discrimination Cases” was accepted in the Wisconsin Law Review and will be published in June 2005. His paper “At the Crossroads of Title IX and a New ‘IDEA’: Why Bullying Need Not Be a ‘Normal Part of Growing Up’ for Special Education Children” was published in the Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy in May 2005. His paper “Lawrence’s Quintessential Millian Moment and Its Impact on the Doctrine of Unconstitutional Conditions” appeared in the March issue of the Villanova Law Review. He is working on a paper tentatively titled “Public Employment and Unconstitutional Conditions in a Post-Lawrence World,” which discusses the possibility of increased constitutional privacy protections for public employees when they are away from work.

Assistant professor Michael Waterstone’s article “The Untold Story of the Rest of the Americans with Disabilities Act” will be published in an upcoming issue of the Vanderbilt Law Review. His article “Lane, Fundamental Rights and Voting” will appear in a soon-to-be published issue of the Alabama Law Review. For the Information Technology and Disabilities Journal, Waterstone wrote “Disability and Voting — The (As of Yet) Unfulfilled Potential of the ADA and Rehabilitation Act.”
Waterstone also wrote the following editorials: “Asking for Trouble: Despite the Relatively Smooth 2004 Election, Our Voting System Is Ripe for Another Debacle,” UM Lawyer; “Medicaid Cuts to Face Legal Difficulty,” The Clarion-Ledger; and “In ‘Lane,’ Court Finally Sees Disabilities Act as Civil Rights Tool,” The Los Angeles Daily Journal.

Waterstone was named senior researcher for the Law, Health Policy, and Disability Research Center at the University of Iowa. In January he attended the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as a nongovernmental actor delegate. He was a contributor to the online conference Voting Accessibility: Equal Access to Software and Information, and he took part in Southern Justice — Racial Reconciliation and the Civil Rights Movement held at UM in February. He presented “Re-opening Civil Rights Murders” at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries in March. And in May he presented “Racial Reconciliation and Civil Rights Murders” at the Southeast/Southwest People of Color Conference.

This summer Waterstone will present “Restoring Balance to the ADA Debate” at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools annual meeting. He has been invited to the Oxford Round Table at St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford for the Conference on Education Law: Individual Rights and Freedoms, where he will speak on “Disability and Higher Education.” He has also been invited to moderate “Reflections on the 15th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act: The Impact and Future of the ADA and People with Mental Disabilities” at the Association of American Law Schools annual meeting in January 2006.

Back to top

Law Professor Named to Academic Fellowship in Terrorism Studies
Plans to introduce class on terrorism and law
by Natashia Gregoire

Back to top