Office of Academic Administration and Student Affairs:
News & announcements from Asst. Dean Stephen D. Sowle  for the week of November 9, 1998

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Spring 1999 Preliminary Schedule.  The preliminary class schedule for the Spring semester will be distributed during the week of November 9.  Rather than holding scheduled meetings (poorly attended in the past) to discuss the preliminary schedule, I invite you to give me comments by e-mail or by dropping by my office.  The Registration Bulletin and final class schedule will be distributed no later than Tuesday, November 17.  Registration for Spring classes will begin on Thursday, November 19. 

List of Recommended Courses.  A list of recommended upper-level courses, adopted last Spring by the faculty, is linked to this page

Teaching Evaluations.  Teaching evaluations will be distributed during the week of November 16 to elicit students' opinions regarding the quality of teaching at the law school.  Instructors will review the responses to improve the quality of their instruction and courses.  The evaluations are also considered as one important factor in tenure, promotion, and compensation decisions for full-time faculty and are used as a factor in determining the effectiveness of part-time instructors.  They are anonymous and will not be available to professors until after the grades for the courses are recorded. 


NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM PRIOR WEEKS: 

Week of November 2, 1998 

No entries this week. 


Week of October 26, 1998 

No entries this week. 


Week of October 19, 1998 

Summer 1998 Grade Distributions.  The grade distributions for Summer 1998 courses are linked to this page. Copies of the grade distributions are also posted on the second floor bulletin board. 

Call for Papers.  The Asian Law Journal at the University of California at Berkeley has issued a call for papers for publication in its May 1999 issue.  The Journal seeks to publish articles, case notes, student comments, recent development pieces, and book reviews that discuss legal issues affecting Asians in the United States.  The deadline for submissions is November 1, 1998.  Pieces received after that date will be considered for publication in later issues.  Details are available in Dean Sowle's office. 

Fall Final Exams.  The final exam schedule for the current semester is linked to this page.  The Student Handbook requires that you take your finals at the times scheduled, even if you have two exams in a row, or one at 6:00 p.m. and another at 8:30 a.m. the next morning.  Absent extraordinary circumstances, the only exception is if you have three exams scheduled consecutively (which rarely happens) or two exams scheduled at the same time.  If you believe you have an exam conflict or other circumstance justifying the rescheduling of an exam (see Student Handbook sections 7.2 and 7.3), please contact Chris Matheny, the Director of Students Services, by Friday, November 6, 1998. 


Week of October 12, 1998 

Student Awards Luncheon -- Program Available Online.  Congratulations to the students who were honored at the Student Awards Luncheon on October 6.  The luncheon program has been adapted for you to view online. 


Week of October 5, 1998 

More Spring 1998 CALI Award Winners.  Congratulations to the following students, who received the highest grades in the courses indicated.  Other CALI award winners were announced in the August 24, August 31, September 7, September 14, and  September 21 issues of the Record.  If you received an award, your name will appear on the award certificate and in the program for the Student Awards Luncheon as it appears below.  Please e-mail me if you want to make any changes. 

Regulatory Polciy and Practice (Prof. Scales):  Kathryn P. Camp & Stephen Cubbage 
Taxation of Business Enterprises (Profs. Bakal & Surdell): Philip R. Strzalka.

Week of September 28, 1998 

Academic Calendar Reminder. Because of a religious holiday, classes starting at 4:00 p.m. or later are canceled on Tuesday, September 29, and all classes are canceled on Wednesday, September 30. 

Student Awards Luncheon.  As previously announced, the annual Student Awards Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 1998, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Presidential Ballroom of the Midland Hotel, located at 172 West Adams Street.  All students who earned CALI awards during the Fall 1997, Spring 1998, and Summer 1998 terms were mailed invitations from the Dean last week.  If you earned a CALI award and have not received an invitation, please contact me (include the course, instructor, and semester you earned the award). 

Courses Subject to Mandatory Curve for Elective Courses: Correction. In last week's Record, I mistakenly listed Professional Responsibility with Prof. Gross as one of the courses subject to the mandatory curve for elective courses.  Because Professional Responsibility is a required rather than elective course, it is subject to the mandatory curve for required courses instead.  Please see the August 31 issue of the Record for an announcement concerning changes to the mandatory curve recently adopted by the faculty. 


Week of September 21, 1998 

Academic Calendar Reminder. Because of religious holidays, all classes are canceled on Monday, September 21; classes starting at 4:00 p.m. or later are canceled on Tuesday, September 29; and all classes are canceled on Wednesday, September 30. 

Student Awards Luncheon.  As previously announced, the annual Student Awards Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 1998, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Presidential Ballroom of the Midland Hotel, located at 172 West Adams Street.  All students who earned CALI awards during the Fall 1997, Spring 1998, and Summer 1998 terms should receive an invitation from Dean Perritt in the near future.  Please note:  The invitations were initially to go out this week, but have been delayed.  If you earned a CALI award and don't receive an invitation by Friday, September 25, please contact me (include the course, instructor, and semester you earned the award). 

More Spring 1998 CALI Award Winners.  Congratulations to the following students, who received the highest grades in the courses indicated.  Other CALI award winners were announced in the August 24, August 31, September 7, and September 14 issues of the Record.  If you received an award, your name will appear on the award certificate and in the program for the Student Awards Luncheon as it appears below.  Please e-mail me if you want to make any changes. 

Corporate Taxation (Prof. Stephens; LL.M.): Bryan J. Freel & Adam Grais 
Employee Benefit Plans (Profs. Siske, Ewer & Klein; LL.M.): Donald R. Rauschert 
Gift & Estate Tax (Prof. Brzezenski): Lauren R. Alexander 
Tax Accounting (Prof. Palmer; LL.M.): Seonsin Lee 
Tax Planning for S Corporations (Prof. Minear; LL.M.): Chadwick I. Buttell & Jordan 
    Uditsky 
Tax Practice and Procedure (Prof. Conlon; LL.M.): Audrey Young & Donald 
    Gottesman 
Courses Subject to Mandatory Curve for Elective Courses. A list of Fall 1998 elective courses with at least 25 students enrolled, and thus subject to the mandatory curve for elective courses, is linked to this page.  Please see the August 31 issue of the Record for an announcement concerning changes to the mandatory curve recently adopted by the faculty. 

Week of September 14, 1998 

Academic Calendar Reminder. Because of a religious holiday, there will be no classes on Monday, September 21. 

Student Awards Luncheon.  The annual Student Awards Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 1998, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Presidential Ballroom of the Midland Hotel, located at 172 West Adams Street.  All students who earned CALI awards during the Fall 1997, Spring 1998, and Summer 1998 terms should receive an invitation from Dean Perritt in the near future.  If you earned a CALI award and don't receive an invitation by Friday, September 18, please contact me (include the course, instructor, and semester you earned the award). 

More CALI Award Winners.  Congratulations to the following students, who received the highest grades in the courses indicated.  Other CALI award winners were announced in the August 24, August 31, and September 7 issues of the Record.  If you received an award, your name will appear on the award certificate and in the program for the Student Awards Luncheon as it appears below.  Please e-mail me if you want to make any changes. 

Spring 1998 Semester  
Administrative Law (Dean Perritt): Mari H. Franklin 
Capital Punishment & Judicial Process (Prof. Hartman): Kenneth W. LaRue 
Estate Planning (Prof. Rosenberg): Pamela A. Woelfel 
Evidence (Prof. Kling): Krystal Kolojay-Gombrich 

1998 Summer Session  
Advanced Research (Prof. Simons): Nicholas E. Scarpelli 
Advanced Research (Prof. Strzynski): Janessa M. Griffin 
Legal Drafting (Prof. Farber): Timothy J. Vertovec 
Legal Drafting (Prof. Moltz): Brian P. Chan 
Professional Responsibility (Prof. Kling): Christian D. Bigelow 
Professional Responsibility (Prof. Litowitz): Daniel L. Adelman

Bar Registration for First-Year Students 
First-year students who plan to take the Illinois Bar Examination after graduation should register with the Illinois bar examiners.  Registration packets are available in the Registrar's office.  The registration materials must be postmarked by March 1, 1999.  The fee for registering is $175 ($50 to the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar, and $125 to the National Conference of Bar Examiners).  Note:  Although you are not required to register as a first-year student, the advantage of doing so is that you will avoid paying a late fee of $250 imposed on those who register at any point after March 1 of their first year.  If you are uncertain whether you intend to practice in Illinois, you may want to consider waiting to register and paying the late fee should you eventually decide to take the Illinois bar exam.  If you have questions about the application materials, you may call the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar at 217/522-5917.  In addition, we will hold a meeting to discuss the bar application early in the Spring semester. 

The application form is very comprehensive and requires you to provide a significant amount of background information, some of which may be difficult to remember or obtain.  If you do plan to register by the March deadline, you should leave yourself plenty of time to work on it. 

One of the forms in the registration packet is a “Certificate of the Dean of Law School – Proof of 
Commencement of Legal Study.”  We send a Certificate to the Illinois bar examiners for every 
student who began at Chicago-Kent last Fall, so you can discard this form. 

All information you disclose on the bar registration application should be consistent with 
answers to questions on your Application for Admission to the law school.  Please note, 
however, that the bar registration application asks for a considerable amount of information that 
you were not asked to provide on our Application for Admission.  You only need to be 
concerned about the consistency of your answers for questions asked on both forms.  You can 
amend your Application for Admission, if necessary, by addressing a letter to me setting forth 
the details of the omission or misrepresentation and the reason for it. 

First-year students who think that they may practice in another state should contact the bar 
examiners office in that state as soon as possible to determine their registration requirements. 
Booklets with the addresses and phone numbers of state bar examiners offices are available for 
you to consult in the Registrar’s office and in my office. 


Week of September 7, 1998 

Student Awards Luncheon.  The annual Student Awards Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 1998, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Presidential Ballroom of the Midland Hotel, located at 172 West Adams Street.  All students who earned CALI awards during the Fall 1997, Spring 1998, and Summer 1998 terms should receive an invitation from Dean Perritt in the near future.  If you earned a CALI award and don't receive an invitation by Friday, September 18, please contact me (include the course, instructor, and semester you earned the award). 

More CALI Award Winners.  Congratulations to the following students, who received the highest grades in the courses indicated.  Other CALI award winners were announced in the August 24 and August 31 issues of the Record.  If you received an award, your name will appear on the award certificate and in the program for the Student Awards Luncheon as it appears below.  Please e-mail me if you want to make any changes. 

Spring 1998 Semester  
Advanced Research (Prof. Clemons): Michael R. Karnuth 
Advanced Research (Prof. Moss): Sherry A. Mundorff 
American Legal History (Prof. Wilf): Joanna C. Kitto 
Bankruptcy Litigation (Prof. Reibman): William E. Dutton, Jr. & 
    Katherine C. Schroder 
Critical Race Theory (Prof. C. Harris): Bryan P. Diemer & Francelyn Perez 
Immigration Law & Policy (Prof. Kempster): Sita Balthazar-Thomas 
International Law (Prof. B. Brown): Brandy A. Sargent 
Legal Rights of Children (Prof. N. Hablutzel): Christopher J. DeLise & 
    Anne Steele 
Legal Writing 2 (Prof. Gatter): Paul J. Ferak 
Medical Malpractice (Profs. Lavin & Schwartz): Daniel S. Kirschner 
Negotiations (Prof. Davis): No award given 
Negotiations (Prof. Schoenfeld): Carolyn J. Buntin & Timothy J. Vertovec 
Patent Law (Prof. Hulbert): Carole A. Mickelson 
Personal Income Tax (Prof. Chapman): Kathryn J. Banzhof & John B. MacIntyre 
    (this is a corrected entry; Mr. MacIntyre's name was inadvertently omitted 
     from the initial list of CALI winners
Regulations, Enforcement, & Litigation of Hazardous Waste (Profs. Felitti & 
     Warren): Israel B. Marquez 
Sexual Orientation & the Law (Prof. Samar): Natalie Mandelbroyt, 
     Melanie K. Miller, & Mitchell Sered 
Telecommunications Law & Policy (Prof. Kraft): Michael D. Ambroziak 
Trial Advocacy 1 (Prof. McSweeney-Moore): Denise P. Erlich 

1998 Summer Session  
Evidence (Prof. Kling): Susan C. Grune 
Internet Law (Prof. Warner): Nathan Austin 
Remedies (Prof. Huttenhower): John Bretscher 
Law Office Technology (Prof. Blackwell): Carole A. Mickelson

Furniture in Classrooms.  If you have any reason to remove tables, podiums, chairs, or other furniture from classrooms temporarily, please be sure that you return them promptly.  Missing furniture can cause serious inconvenience to instructors and students. 

Week of August 31, 1998 

More CALI Award Winners.  Congratulations to the following students, who received the highest grades in the courses indicated.  Other CALI award winners were announced in the August 24 issue of the Record.  If you received an award, your name will appear on the award certificate and in the program for the Student Awards Luncheon as it appears below.  Please e-mail me if you want to make any changes. 

Spring 1998 Semester 
Advanced Research (Prof. Livingston):  Wendy Butler & Lauren Meyer 
Insolvency and Reorg. (S. Harris; LL.M.):  Robert A. Stearn 
Justice & the Legal System (Prof. Nance):  Steven Edward 
Justice & the Legal System (Prof. Sowle):  Jennifer A. Henrikson 

1998 Summer Session 
Bankruptcy (Prof. Reibman):  Matthew D. Sobolewski & Joseph Stachnik 
Negotiations (Prof. Schoenfeld): Timothy J. Vertovec 
Personal Income Tax (Prof. Chapman): Jennifer A. Henrikson 
Trial Advocacy 1 (Prof. Erickson):  Trina Hardman-Burt 

Change to Mandatory Curve for Elective Courses.  The following memorandum was issued on August 26 by Dean Perritt: 
"At its first meeting of the year yesterday, the faculty voted to change the mandatory curve applied to elective courses with 25 or more students enrolled.  These changes will take effect immediately and thus will apply to Fall 1998 courses. 

"The existing curve required professors to stay within specified ranges for each grade 
increment (A, A-, B+, etc.) and also placed limits on the numbers of grades given cumulatively.  The faculty has eliminated all of the "range" requirements for the various grade increments and all but three of the "cumulative" limits.  The following are the cumulative limits that remain: 

          Grade   Cumulative Limit 
             A-       maximum of 30% 
             B+      maximum of 50% 
             B-       maximum of 85% 

"Thus, for example, a professor may give, cumulatively, no more than 50% A's, A-'s, and B+'s.  One consequence of this is that professors are no longer limited to giving a maximum of 15% A's, but may allocate the highest grades as he or she sees fit between A and A-. 

"The primary effect of these changes will be to give professors greater flexibility in 
assigning the grades they believe are deserved.  There has been mounting concern among many faculty members that the existing curve often forced them to give higher grades than were warranted based on the merits of the exams.  The changes described above help to address that concern by giving professors greater latitude in assigning grades that accurately reflect the quality of the work. 

"I believe that these changes will give more meaning to your grades, because they will not reflect the artificial inflationary effects sometimes caused by the existing curve.  As some of you may know, a survey of law school grades was recently published in the National Jurist.  The data indicated that, among the schools included in the survey, Chicago-Kent had worse grade inflation than all but three other law schools.  Such an impression hurts our graduates by inviting skepticism about honor grades received by Chicago-Kent students. 

"The faculty will be addressing a range of academic issues this year, including the grading system, and additional refinements to the mandatory curve may be forthcoming.  I welcome your thoughts and recommendations as we proceed."

Enterprising Students Wanted for IIT Interprofessional Projects (IPRO's).  IIT has pioneered in offering undergraduate students experience working in team projects to explore solutions for problems provided by industry.  The projects vary widely.  Teams recently have explored how to plan for a new Chicago Bears stadium; whether computer simulations can be designed for easy use in criminal trials; how to create more efficient patient monitoring devices; and the legal dimensions of using solar panel advertising on IIT property.  Please see Prof. Krent (Room 735) if you are interested in working on an IPRO this semester.  Academic credit is available. 

Spring 1998 Grade Distributions.  The grade distributions for Spring 1998 courses are linked to this page. Copies of the grade distributions are also posted on the second floor bulletin board. 

Academic Calendar Reminder.  In observance of Labor Day, there will be no classes on Saturday, September 5 or Monday, September 7. 

Faculty/Staff Team Prevails in Softball Game Against Students.  In an impressive display of athletic acumen, the faculty/staff team defeated the student team by a score of 6 to 5 in the recent softball game sponsored by the Student Bar Association.  As a member of the prevailing team, however, I feel obliged to acknowledge the important assistance provided by several students, who graciously agreed to play for the faculty/staff team upon discovering that there were too few faculty and staff members present to field a team.  There is no truth to the rumor that the margin of victory was provided by a well-timed threat from one of the faculty players to "flunk, flunk, flunk, ha-ha-ha" several members of the student team. 


Week of August 24, 1998 

Welcome new first-year students; and welcome back continuing students.  I hope you had an enjoyable summer and that you have a successful and productive year.  If you would like to see me with a question, problem, or suggestion, please call me at 906-5130 (6-5130 from within the building), come by my office (Suite 320), or e-mail me (SSOWLE; or click on the link at the top of this page). 

CALI Award Winners for Spring 1998 Semester.  The CALI Excellence for the Future Award, sponsored by the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, is given to the student or students who receive the highest grade in each section of each course.  The CALI Award winners for most Spring 1998 courses are linked to this page.  If a section or a course is not listed, that means we have not yet received the name of the award recipient from the instructor; they will be published in a later issue of the Record. 

Congratulations to all of you who received the award -- you should be proud of your achievement.  All recipients of the award will be invited to the annual Student Awards Luncheon, which will be held on Tuesday, October 6, at 12:00 noon.  Formal invitations will be mailed in a few weeks.  Students' names will appear on the award certificate and in the luncheon program as they appear on the list linked to this page.  Please e-mail me if you want to make any changes. 

Initial Class Assignments for Fall 1998 Semester (Advanced Courses).  I mailed a letter to all continuing students in early August with assignments for the first week of Fall classes.  Assignments received after the letter was mailed are posted on the second floor bulletin board.  Copies are also available in the Registrar's office or outside my office (Suite 320).  A copy of the letter is also linked to this page. 

Exam Schedule for Fall 1998 Semester.  The final exam schedule for the Fall semester was published in the Registration Bulletin issued last Spring, and exam times are listed on the Schedule of Classes posted in the lobby and on the second floor bulletin board.  A copy is also linked to this page

The Student Handbook requires that you take your finals at the times scheduled, even if you have two exams in a row, or one at 6:00 p.m. and another at 8:30 a.m. the next morning.  Absent extraordinary circumstances, the only exception is if you have three exams scheduled consecutively (which rarely happens) or two exams scheduled at the same time.  Please note that you are permitted to register for courses with exams scheduled at the same time; one exam will be rescheduled for you.  If you believe you have an exam conflict or other circumstance justifying the rescheduling of an exam (see Student Handbook sections 7.2 and 7.3), please contact Chris Matheny, the Director of Students Services.  The moral of the story is:  check your final exam schedule before buying non-refundable tickets to Madrid! 

Courses Likely to be Offered in Spring 1999 Semester.  A list of courses likely to be offered in the Spring semester is linked to this page.  Please keep in mind that this list is preliminary and subject to change. 

Student Handbook for 1998-1999.  The Student Handbook for the 1998-1999 academic year will be published shortly.  In the meantime, please consult the 1997-1998 issue of the Handbook

Class Ranks/GPA Cut-offs.  The GPA cut-offs as of the end of the Spring 1998 semester are linked to this page. 

Writing Competition Winner: Michael Ambroziak.  Congratulations to Michael Ambroziak, who won first place (and $600) in the Chicago-Kent portion of the Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition sponsored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.  Information about writing competitions appears in the Record each week, or you can visit the comprehensive listing of writing competitions that appears on the University of Memphis Law School website. It can pay to enter the these competitions! 


Week of August 17, 1998 

Welcome to Chicago-Kent! For those of you starting your first year, you chose a terrific law school and we are pleased that you are joining our community.  You have an exciting several years ahead of you. 

What my office does.  In my capacity as Assistant Dean, I supervise three offices that will be an important part of your life at Chicago-Kent. 

  • Registrar's office:  I work closely with the Registrar, Monique Herard, and her staff on scheduling your courses, administering your exams, and maintaining your academic records.
  • Student Services office:  I work with Chris Matheny, the Director of Student Services, on Orientation, academic and personal counseling of students, and applying the academic regulations contained in the Student Handbook.
  • Career Services:  I work with Assistant Dean Stephanie Rever Chu and her staff in making sure that you are provided with the best career counseling services possible.  Under the leadership of Dean Chu, we have developed one of the finest law school Career Services departments in the country.
More generally, my job is to make sure that your life at the Law School remains as free from administrative hassles as possible.  But questions and problems undoubtedly will arise for some of you.  If you think I can be of help, please call me (906-5130), come by my office (Suite 320), or e-mail me (SSOWLE; or click on the link at the top of this page).  If I can't help you, I'll point you in the right direction.  My door is open without appointment, so long as I am not otherwise occupied when you drop by.  I wish you the best of luck at the start of an exciting year. 

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