For
more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director
of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL,
PLANNING, BUSINESS, AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO-- August 23, 2004--Chicago-Kent College
of Law, the Stuart Graduate School of Business and the Center
for Financial Markets have experts available to discuss current
issues. To reach any of our experts, call Gwen
Osborne, director of public affairs, at (312) 906-5251. Copies
of press releases and earlier advisories are available on our
Web site: http://www.kentlaw.edu/news/
Back to school. Chicago-Kent has experts available to
discuss a variety of legal issues related to elementary and secondary
education, including school disciplinary policies, the No Child
Left Behind Act, prayer in schools, contract disputes and privacy
issues.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters are expected to converge
on New York City during the Republican convention. The Secret
Service is overseeing security efforts by federal, state and local
law enforcement groups. State-of-the-art surveillance technology
will be used, and authorities have limited public access to only
a few areas near Madison Square Garden and elsewhere in the city.
Chicago-Kent experts are available to discuss privacy issues and
the tensions between the First Amendment and public safety.
A former employee of Dr. William Kennedy Smith last week filed
a civil lawsuit claiming he sexually assaulted and harassed
her. Dr. Smith, who has denied the allegations, was tried and
acquitted of rape charges in 1991. Professor Katharine
Baker, author of What Rape Is and What It Ought Not
Be and a number of other legal articles on sexual assault,
is available for interviews.
Monday, September 6, is Labor Day. Faculty experts from
Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Workplace
are available for interviews. They can discuss a number of legal
issues, including changes governing overtime pay for white-collar
workers, labor unions, employee benefits programs, executive compensation,
age and sex discrimination, the Americans with Disabilities Act,
workers' compensation, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
It's in the job description. Changes governing overtime
pay for white-collar workers went into effect August 23. Employees
who earn less than $23,660 a year automatically are entitled to
overtime pay. The new Department of Labor rules include guidelines
to help businesses determine which employees in other categories
are entitled to overtime based on their job descriptions. Professor
Laurie E. Leader,
an expert on wage-hour issues, can discuss which duties qualify
for overtime and which are exempt. Professor Leader is the author
of Wages and Hours: Law & Practice.
Jury selection has begun in the Kobe Bryant case. The
Los Angeles Laker star is accused of raping a female employee
of a Colorado resort where he was staying. Bryant has pleaded
innocent and says that sex with the woman was consensual. If convicted,
Bryant could receive from four years to life in prison and a fine
of up to $750,000. The case has been complicated by the defendant's
celebrity, several news leaks and a recent civil suit filed by
the victim. Chicago-Kent experts are available for interviews
about the case.
The NCAA has denied wide receiver Michael Williams' request
to reinstate his college football eligibility. At the end
of his sophomore year, Williams withdrew from the University of
Southern California, hired an agent and announced his intent to
turn pro. His actions were inspired by former Ohio State player
Maurice Clarett's successful challenge of the NFL's draft eligibility
rule, which prohibits players from entering the draft until they
have been out of high school for three seasons. Although Clarett
won in the lower court, an appellate court overturned the decision.
Michael Williams returned to summer classes at USC and filed for
reinstatement. While the NCAA ruling ends Williams' collegiate
football career, the NFL last week announced that he is eligible
for the 2005 draft. Adjunct professor and sports attorney Eldon
L. Ham, the author of The 100 Greatest Sports Blunders
of All Time, is available for interviews.
How does the chief information security officer help a corporation
comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements? The law was enacted
two years ago, in the aftermath of several high-profile business
scandals, as a way to restore investor confidence in publicly
traded companies. Under provisions of the law, CEOs and CFOs face
civil and criminal penalties and fines for filing inaccurate corporate
statements. Although chief information security officers are not
directly accountable for the accuracy of the information contained
in filings required by Sarbanes-Oxley, they are responsible for
implementing policies, practices, and systems necessary to ensure
compliance with the law. Sharon O'Bryan, a former senior
vice president, chief information security officer and chief privacy
officer at ABN AMRO, currently is president of O'Bryan Advisory
Services. She is available to discuss the role of chief information
security officers with regard to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. O'Bryan
is also available to discuss Chicago-Kent's new CPE Certificate
Program in Technology Law.
Chicago-Kent's Family Law Clinic. Cook County residents
with domestic relations disputes, including matters of legal separation,
divorce, child support, child custody, visitation and guardianships,
may qualify for representation through Chicago-Kent's Family Law
Clinic. Spanish- and Chinese-speaking attorneys are available.
Clients will pay on a sliding-scale fee basis, depending on their
financial circumstances. Students assigned to cases will work
under the supervision of Professor Ira
Feldman. He is available for interviews about the program.
Chicago-Kent's Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic is seeking taxpayers
who have disputes with the IRS. Those who meet certain income
criteria may qualify for free assistance with their tax disputes,
including collection matters, audits, appeals and litigation before
the Internal Revenue Service, United States Tax Court, and United
States District Court. Students work under the supervision of
Professor Jonathan
Decatorsmith. The program Web site at www.kentlaw.edu/academics/clinic/tax
has information about the program. Professor Decatorsmith is available
for interviews about the program.
Downtown Campus Events:
September 1: Internet Privacy and Security Law Update.
A panel of legal, information technology and law enforcement experts
will discuss recent developments in the area of Internet privacy.
Presenters include Chicago-Kent professor Richard
Warner, Sharon O'Bryan, president of O'Bryan Advisory
Services, Inc., and Assistant Illinois Attorney General Edward
Carter. Registration is required for this program which will
be held from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (312)
906-5090 or visit www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle.
September 10: "Who Guards the Guardians?: Monitoring
and Enforcement of Charity Governance" is the topic of
a one-day symposium sponsored by the Chicago-Kent Law Review.
The program will be held from
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Gov. Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium. For
more information call, (312) 906-5190.
September 15: Major General William L. Nash, U.S.
Army (Ret.) will discuss post-conflict capabilities and lessons
learned from recent engagements in the Balkans and Iraq. Nash
is the General John W. Vessey senior fellow for conflict prevention
and director of the Center for Preventive Action at the Council
on Foreign Relations. He has extensive experience in peacekeeping
operations, both as a military commander in Bosnia-Herzegovina
and as a civilian administrator for the United Nations in Kosovo.
Nash led U.S. troops into Bosnia after the Dayton accords, and
later served as regional U.N. administrator in Kosovo. He retired
in 1998 after 34 years of service. The program is free but reservations
are requested. Please R.S.V.P. to Nena Heard at nheard@kentlaw.edu
or (312) 906-5134.
September 23: "25 Years under the Civil Service Reform
Act: The Good, the Bad and the Unfolding" is the theme
of Chicago-Kent College of Law's 22nd annual Federal Sector
Labor Relations and Labor Law Program. The morning portion
of the program features two keynote panel discussions by nationally
recognized leaders in the federal workplace. In the first panel,
John S. Carr, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers
Association, AFL-CIO; Steven R. Cohen, senior advisor for
Homeland Security, U.S. Office of Personnel Management; Peter
Eide, general counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority;
and Professor Joseph E. Slater of the University of Toledo
College of Law will discuss the first 25 years of the Civil Service
Reform Act of 1978. In the second panel, Ronald J. James,
chief human capital officer of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, and John Gage, National President of the American
Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, will examine "The
Future of Federal Sector Labor Relations." The plenary session
will be followed by concurrent workshops, providing participants
with the opportunity to discuss specific issues with experts in
the federal labor relations field. Neil Anthony Gordon McPhie,
acting chairman of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, will
deliver the luncheon address. Sponsored by Chicago-Kent's Institute
for Law and the Workplace, the program is the longest running
conference on federal sector and postal labor relations and labor
law held outside of Washington, D.C. For more information, call
(312) 906-5090.
September 30: 16th annual Henry Morris Lecture in International
and Comparative Law. Mirjan R. Damaska, Sterling Professor
of Law at Yale University, will address the topic, "The
Uncertain Self-Identity of International Criminal Courts."
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information,
call (312) 906-5090.
October 25: The Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will deliver the eighth
annual Charles Green Lecture in Law and Technology. Judge
Gajarsa will address the topic "The Role of En Banc Review
at the Federal Circuit." The lecture will be preceded by
the inaugural Federal Circuit roundtable. The roundtable will
become an annual event at which a panel of prominent Chicago-area
practitioners who are former Federal Circuit clerks will discuss
current developments in patent law. The two-hour roundtable will
begin at 1:30 p.m. Judge Gajarsa's lecture will begin at 4 p.m.
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information,
call (312) 906-5090.
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