For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, PLANNING, INTERNATIONAL, SPORTS, BUSINESS, CITY DESK, FEATURES AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO–March 25, 2008–Chicago-Kent College of Law and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss current issues. To reach any of our experts, call Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, at (312) 906-5251. Press releases and earlier advisories are available on our Web site: www.kentlaw.edu/news/advisory.
Motorola will become two publicly traded companies in 2009. The Schaumburg-based company will separate its struggling mobile devices unit from Motorola’s more profitable divisions. The announcement came this week after an internal strategic operations review and continued pressure by Carl Icahn, Motorola’s second-largest shareholder. Shares of Motorola are trading at a five-year low and the company’s cell phone business faces stiff competition for market share from Nokia and Samsung. Joel Goldhar, Stuart School of Business professor of operations and technology management, has been studying Motorola for more than two decades.
Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty were indicted this week on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and official misconduct. More than 14,000 text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty on specialized messaging devices were obtained by the Detroit Free Press under a Freedom of Information Act request. The messages indicate the two may have perjured themselves about the nature of their relationship in sworn testimony given last year during a whistle-blowing suit filed by two former Detroit police officers. If convicted, Kilpatrick could be removed from office and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Kilpatrick’s attorney, Dan Webb, says, "Under the federal Stored Communications Act, those messages absolutely should not have been produced in civil litigation. Because of that, everything since then, including the prosecutor's use of them, is clearly tainted, because the initial production was illegal." Experts are available to discuss personal privacy issues and the federal Stored Communications Act.
The federal fraud trial of a businessman and political fundraiser Tony Rezko continues. Chicago-Kent experts are available for interviews.
The World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals will play the Cleveland Indians in Major League Baseball’s first "Civil Rights Game." The game will be held March 31 in AutoZone Park in Memphis. The city is the home of the National Civil Rights Museum and where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 40 years ago. According to Commissioner Bud Selig, the game commemorates the civil rights movement and underscores "the role that Major League Baseball played in the movement, beginning with Jackie Robinson’s entry into the big leagues on April 15, 1947." Sports attorney and adjunct professor Eldon L. Ham is the author of Larceny and Old Leather: The Mischievous Legacy of Major League Baseball.
Whole Foods will discontinue the use of disposable plastic grocery bags effective April 22. The grocery store chain announced in January it would stop distributing the bags on Earth Day 2008 to protect the environment, encourage shoppers to adopt "the reusable bag mindset," and conserve resources. Professor George P. Nassos, director of the Stuart School of Business’ Center for Sustainable Enterprise and an expert on environmental management, is available for interviews.
A2J Author™ 2.0 is the upgrade of the award-winning software tool developed by Chicago-Kent’s Center for Access to Justice & Technology, in partnership with the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI), that helps non-technical personnel from the courts, clerk’s offices, legal services programs, and Web site editors rapidly build and implement customer-friendly Web-based legal assistance. The A2J Guided Interviews™, created with A2J Author™, remove many of the barriers faced by self-represented litigants, allowing them to easily complete court documents that are ready to be filed with the court. A2J is used in 22 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Ontario, Canada. A2J Author™ 2.0 is available at no charge on the A2J Author community Web site (www.a2jauthor.org) to anyone using the software for non-commercial purposes. Ronald J. Staudt, a Chicago-Kent professor and IIT associate vice president for law, business and technology, is available for interviews about the project.
Downtown Campus Events:
March 31: "Anatomy of a Trial: To Kill a Mockingbird, the Scottsboro Boys and the Jena 6." Horton Foote’s writing has earned him a Pulitzer Prize, two Oscars and an Emmy. But Foote is perhaps best known for his 1962 screenplay of the Harper Lee novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. As part of its 2008 Horton Foote Festival, the Goodman Theatre will juxtapose reel-life and real-life in a discussion of racially charged trials. Using excerpts from the film, a distinguished panel of historians and social activists discuss the political landscape of other noteworthy trials, including the Scottsboro Boys and the recent prosecution of the Jena 6. Panelists include Chicago-Kent Distinguished Professor Sheldon H. Nahmod and Chicago-Kent alumnus Joel Daly. The program will begin at 7 p.m. in the Goodman’s Albert Theatre. Admission is $5 for the general public and free for Goodman subscribers and donors. For more information, please call (312) 443-3800.
April 8: 30th annual Kenneth M. Piper Lecture. Cynthia Estlund, Catherine A. Rein Professor at New York University School of Law, will address the topic "Corporate Self-Regulation and the Future of Workplace Governance." Presenters include Marshall B. Babson, a partner at the New York City law firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, and Ron A. Bloom, special assistant to the president of the United Steelworkers. The program is free and open to the public. For more information, call (312) 906-5090 or visit www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle.
April 18: "Diabetes: Solutions for the 21st Century -- Research, Economics, Policy and Ethics." IIT’s Center for Diabetes Research and Policy will host a one-day conference that will explore a variety of issues--including lifestyle approaches, social factors and minority incidence--that challenge policymakers working to reduce the impact of diabetes. Experts will discuss these issues and review the latest developments in research, clinical practice and public policy for diabetes. Conference speakers include leaders from the Pan American Health Organization, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Public Health Economics Program and several other highly recognized organizations, as well as scientists from IIT and Northwestern University, who will share cutting-edge research focusing on health economics approaches and ethical implications. Chicago-Kent professor Edward Kraus will discuss "Disability, Diabetes and the Law." Professors Elie Geisler and Nilmini Wickramasinghe of Stuart School of Business’ Center for the Management of Medical Technologies will discuss "Technology-Enabled Solutions for Monitoring of Chronic Diseases: The Case of Diabetes." The program will be moderated by Nigel M. de S. Cameron of IIT’s Center for Diabetes Research and Policy. The conference is free, but registration is required. To register, please contact Heather Keil at hkeil@kentlaw.edu, diabetes@kentlaw.edu, or call (312) 906-5337. Lunch will be provided and a reception will be held after the conference.
April 24-25: 25th annual Conference on Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation. This two-day seminar provides a comprehensive update, presented by leading practitioners and legal scholars, on liability arising out of Section 1983 and other civil rights statutes. Police misconduct, sexual harassment, municipal liability, individual immunities and procedural defenses, and recent and forthcoming cases before the U.S. Supreme Court are among the topics to be explored. For more information, call (312) 960-5090 or visit www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle.
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