Law School Briefs – Oct. 9, 2013

Law School Briefs highlights news from law schools in Indiana. While Indiana Lawyer has always covered law school news and continues to keep up with law school websites and press releases for updates, we gladly accept submissions for this section from law students, professors, alumni, and others who want to share law school-related news. If you’d like to submit news or a photo from an event, please email it to Marilyn Odendahl at [email protected], along with contact information for any follow-up questions at least two weeks prior to the issue date.

IU McKinney associate dean presents book in Washington

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law Associate Dean of Research Gerard Magliocca presented a lecture on his book about the leading antislavery lawyer and Ohio Congressman John Bingham at the National Constitution Center in Washington, D.C., Oct. 4.

In “American Founding Son: John Bingham and the Invention of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Magliocca profiled Bingham and his role in writing the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Magliccoa argued that transformed the Constitution with the same ingenuity that the framers used when creating the document in the 1780s.

This is Magliocca’s third book. Magliocca teaches courses on torts, constitutional law, intellectual property, legal history and admiralty.

Valparaiso to examine legal issues through Lutheran lens

Valparaiso University Law School will be taking a closer look at religion and the law during a special two-day conference in March 2014.

The goal of the event, which will examine Lutheran perspectives on contemporary legal issues, is to begin a conversation among lawyers and judges as well as Lutheran theologians and pastors. Participants will talk about how Lutheran tradition does and should inform critical issues of law and justice in the world.

The conference is scheduled for March 27 and 28, 2014, at the law school’s Hyde Park venue at the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Chicago, in Chicago. Martin E. Marty, Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the History of Modern Christianity at the University of Chicago Divinity School, will give the keynote address.

Papers presented at the conference will be included in a forthcoming book on Lutheran perspectives on secular law.

Notre Dame Chicago program opens newly renovated space

The Notre Dame Law School has opened the doors of the new headquarters for its Chicago program. The program moved into the renovated second floor of the historic 17-story building at 224 S. Michigan Ave. in the downtown Chicago Loop.

The new quarters include a conference room and a classroom with videoconferencing capability.

Students studying in Chicago work four days each week in a nonprofit agency, government law office, judicial chambers or corporate counsel office. Then they spend one day in class, reflecting on their experience in the workplace.

Notre Dame is planning to showcase the new space at a reception Nov. 14.

Indiana Tech students to take ‘Oath of Professionalism’

Indiana Tech Law School students will be taking an “Oath of Professionalism” during a special ceremony on Oct. 10. U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Indiana Senior Judge William Lee will administer the oath to the students in the school’s courtroom.

The ceremony is part of the school’s emphasis on ethics and professionalism. During their course of study, students are required to take three courses and participate in mini-workshops that focus on teaching them about being part of the legal profession.

Prior to the ceremony, students will work together to draft the oath that captures and reflects their understanding of professionalism. After the oath is administered, faculty will present each student with a “scales of justice” pin as a welcome to the profession.

New Valparaiso law programs offered at Hyde Park campus

Starting in January 2014, Valparaiso University School of Law will be offering its first master’s programs.

The three new programs are a master of health law, a master of business law and a master of criminal law. Dean Ivan Bodensteiner touts the programs, which split the curriculum between classroom and online work, as being aimed at working professionals who are seeking additional education in the field of law for their own professional development.

The programs will all be taught at the school’s Hyde Park Campus in Chicago. They have been approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.•