Celebrate the Constitution of the United States on Wednesday, Sept. 17, by attending a timely discussion about protecting the privacy of U.S. citizens. David Medine, chairman of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, will present “Providing for the Common Defense without Compromising Privacy and Civil Liberties” at noon in the rotunda of UNC School of Law's Van Hecke-Wettach Hall.

"We are honored to dedicate a day to the contemplation and discussion of constitutional issues, particularly as they are relevant to the timely issue of protecting our civil liberties during the United States' ongoing efforts to fight terrorism," says John Charles "Jack" Boger '74, dean and Wade Edwards Distinguished Professor of Law.

Medine has served as chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board since May 2013. Previously Medine was an attorney fellow for the Security and Exchange Commission and a special counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. From 2002 to 2012, he was a partner in the law firm WilmerHale, where his practice focused on privacy and data security. He previously served as a Senior Advisor to the White House National Economic Council from 2000 to 2001. From 1992 to 2000, Medine was associate director for financial practices at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) where, in addition to enforcing financial privacy laws, he took the lead on Internet privacy, chaired a federal advisory committee on privacy issues, and was part of the team that negotiated a privacy safe harbor agreement with the European Union. Before joining the FTC, Medine taught at the Indiana University (Bloomington) School of Law and the George Washington University School of Law. Medine earned his B.A. from Hampshire College and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

Each year on Sept. 17, pursuant to a 2004 federal statute, U.S. schools and colleges take time to celebrate and commemorate the day on which the Constitution of the United States was signed. Constitution Day presents an opportunity to reflect upon the deeper meanings of the Constitution and the hopes it embodies for the future of the country and the world.

For a number of years UNC School of Law has served as host of the campus-wide UNC-Chapel Hill Constitution Day celebration.

Light refreshments will be served.

Review the Constitution and Amendments at http://www.constitutionday.com/.

-August 11, 2014

Sylvia Novinsky, Assistant Dean for Public Service Programs; Kimberly Ann Bart, Assistant Dean for Public Interest and Pro Bono at Duke Law School; and Jodi Schur '14 accept the 2014 Law Student Group Pro Bono Award from Alan W. Duncan, president, N.C. Bar Association.

Most of the UNC School of Law students who participate in the UNC Cancer Pro Bono Project are understandably nervous before their first consultation with patients. Balancing sensitivity with the need to help cancer patients address end-of-life issues is challenging, and it changes students.

“They are scared. But they come out three hours later, and they are different law students,” says Jodi Schur ’14, who started the student-run program with the support of Sylvia Novinsky, UNC School of Law’s assistant dean for public service programs.

Originally called the Duke-UNC Cancer Pro Bono Project, the program received the 2014 Law Student Group Pro Bono Award from the North Carolina Bar Association at the organization’s annual meeting in June. The program, open to current and former oncology patients and their family members, is managed through UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Since the program’s inception in February 2013, dozens of student volunteers have been trained in the law of advanced directives, and in sensitivity issues and legal ethics. Students, supervised by volunteer lawyers, talk at the cancer center with patients and their families about financial and health care powers of attorney and living wills. Patients complete the required forms, which are notarized on site, and leave with legal documents. Students prepare about 30 documents a month.

“We hope this project assists patients’ mental outlook in fighting cancer. The process of preparing these documents enables the patient to think about and decide some of these difficult issues in advance.  This is helpful not only for themselves but also for their families,” Novinsky says.

The cancer center benefits, too. “We now have a relationship established with Lineberger that we didn’t have before. And I think they’re really pleased to have this service provided,” Novinsky says.

The pro bono project will expand to a Lineberger patient support services site in Chapel Hill. The expansion will offer more invaluable opportunities for students to broaden their skills.

“Their confidence level in themselves as law students and future attorneys definitely goes up,” Schur says. “They see the value of pro bono work. It’s one thing to talk about it. It’s another thing to be in an infusion room where a cancer patient is prepped to have chemotherapy, and they’re thanking you for diminishing their stress level because they know they have these legal issues under control.”

Schur plans to start a nonprofit to expand on the work of the cancer pro bono project. Other law schools are interested in starting a similar program.

“I was really clear going in about the benefit a project like this could have for cancer patients and their families,” Schur says. “What I learned that I didn’t expect was the benefit of creating future lawyers who have had a chance to have this kind of practical clinical experience. I also saw  how a unique knowledge-base that attorneys have can make such a big difference.”

-July 11, 2014

Dean John Charles "Jack" Boger '74 officially welcomed the newest students to the Carolina Law family on Thursday, Aug. 21. The entering classes of J.D. and LL.M. students have now begun their first week of classes at UNC School of Law.

Consisting of 201 new J.D. candidates, 68 percent of the class of 2017 is from North Carolina. Students worldwide have also been drawn to Carolina Law, arriving from 25 states, the District of Columbia, Australia and Korea. Members of the incoming class hold diverse degrees from 52 majors earned at 77 undergraduate institutions. Ten percent of the new students already hold graduate degrees.

There are seven students enrolled in the year-long LL.M. program, with law degrees from Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Korea and Wales. This year, 8 international exchange students, hailing from England, France, Germany, Hong Kong and the Netherlands; and approximately 15 international visiting research scholars (per semester) are attending UNC School of Law.

At Thursday's orientation, N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker '69 led the students in the Carolina Law Pledge. Boger welcomed the students and applauded their decision to pursue a legal career.

"You've come to a place where, simply by reaching out, by listening and talking, by diving in with a whole heart," he said, "you can amass a portfolio of ideas and skills, of ways to analyze and understand and help shape the world, an exotic vocabulary and a set of ritual words and practices that will command the attention, and possibly the assent, of some of the most powerful and important people on this planet."

-August 29, 2014

UNC School of Law graduates achieved the highest bar exam passage rate in the state, at 86.79 percent, according to the official July exam results released by the Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina on Sunday, Aug. 31. The percentage of UNC School of Law students who took the exam for the first time and passed was up from 81.29 percent last year.

Since 2013, the average bar passage rate among all North Carolina schools was lower than the historical average. In the July administrations from 2009-11, the passage rate for all North Carolina schools was between 83 percent and 86 percent. Last year, the passage rate was 71.5 percent, and this year the passage rate was 75 percent.

"We are delighted with the strong showing of our graduates," says John Charles "Jack" Boger '74, dean and Wade Edwards Distinguished Professor of Law. "Carolina Law offers its students an outstanding program of legal studies, and we have placed a priority on offering special, curricular and extracurricular preparation for the bar to interested students during their third year of law school."

UNC School of Law's SOAR Bar Success Program, run out of the Writing and Learning Resources Center, provides students with one-on-one bar instruction and counseling, group workshops and a website containing bar support information.

-September 3, 2014

Starting this fall, UNC School of Law students will have a new hands-on learning opportunity: providing trademark counsel to entrepreneurs in conjunction with a program of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

UNC was among 19 schools the USPTO selected this summer to participate in the Law School Clinic Certification Pilot Program. Twenty-eight other law schools currently are involved. North Carolina Central University School of Law is the only other North Carolina school represented.

“Carolina Law students will have the invaluable opportunity to gain real-world experience in the complex area of intellectual property law,” says associate professor of law and director of Clinical Programs Tamar Birckhead. “We will be preparing them to serve as the next generation of lawyers to protect American ideas and support innovation, while providing pro bono legal representation to more communities. Our participation in the program will help ensure that these small businesses will have the resources to grow, create jobs and compete in the global marketplace.”

After an extensive application process, law schools were chosen based on their intellectual property curriculum, support for students’ hands-on learning, pro bono opportunities, case management strength and commitment to community networking.

Students will counsel clients regarding the availability of a trademark, the potential effectiveness of a proposed mark, pros and cons of pursuing registration of the mark, the stages involved in moving forward with registration, possible challenges to the application, and related issues. For students to practice before the USPTO, law school clinics must meet and maintain the office’s certification requirements. 

Under the auspices of UNC’s Community Development Law Clinic, two 3L students will work on trademark cases, and each student will earn a total of six credits over two semesters. UNC School of Law adjunct professor Devon White, an attorney at Wyrick Robbins, will supervise the students. If the initiative is successful, more students may be involved in subsequent years.

White, who teaches a trademark transition-to-practice course at UNC, will develop a student instructional manual, forms, representation standards and case management protocols for these cases.

“Students will gain valuable practice experience in assisting clients with strategies in selecting and clearing trademarks and prosecuting federal trademark applications at the USPTO,” White says. “The benefits of this practical work will enhance student knowledge developed in academic courses and help to develop important client counseling skills.”

To find qualifying clients, UNC will work with entrepreneurial leaders in the community as well as receive referrals from the USPTO. Eight to 10 clients will be served in the first year.

“This program will add a whole new dimension to our intellectual property program,” says assistant professor Deborah Gerhardt, an expert on trademark law who assisted with UNC’s application to the USPTO. “Students will learn how gratifying it is to use their knowledge to help clients navigate complex trademark problems.”

“New entrepreneurs sometimes face trademark bullying by brand owners who overreach in asserting their rights,” Gerhardt says. But new business owners often can’t afford intellectual property counsel, and UNC will help fill that void. 

There’s also an advantage for UNC law students’ future employers. “As with all of our clinical programs, the knowledge and experience that students gain will save firms significant training costs, because our graduates will be ready to work independently on these cases from day one,” Birckhead says. 

-September 9, 2014

Tyler O'Hara 2L introduces panelists Jay Bilas, Barbara Osbourne, Paul Pogge and Ken Hammer.

In a spacious hospitality center overlooking UNC’s football fields, a group of law students, lawyers and scholars gathered to discuss a recent court case that could fundamentally reshape the relationship between universities and their student-athletes.

“The Effects of O’Bannon v. NCAA,” co-hosted by the UNC Law Sports and Entertainment Law Association (SELA) and the Campbell Sports and Entertainment Law Society at Kenan Stadium’s BlueZone on Sept. 10, highlighted the changing landscape of the law surrounding college athletics.

More than 100 attendees, including law students from multiple universities, undergraduates, practitioners and faculty, attended the event. The main feature was a panel discussion on an ongoing antitrust class action lawsuit against the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) alleging that the group’s rules prohibiting universities from paying athletes for the use of their image violates anti-trust statues. In August 2014, a district court judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California found in favor of the plaintiffs, giving student-athletes the possibility of compensation for the first time. The NCAA has already appealed the decision on multiple grounds.

The Blue Zone at Kenan Stadium.

The panel featured ESPN commentator Jay Bilas, also a practicing attorney at the law firm Moore & Van Allen, UNC Sports Administration professor Barbara Osbourne, Campbell University law professor Ken Hammer, and Paul Pogge, a UNC Assistant Athletics Director.

The panelists hotly disagreed on both the reasoning in the O’Bannon case as well as the underlying structure of college athletics.

“I don’t think any reasonable person could argue that this is not a multi-billion dollar business that is professional in every way except in how we pay the athletes,” said Bilas, who also characterized other aspects of NCAA policy as being cartel-like behavior.

Other panelists disagreed with Bilas’ comments.

“I think the NCAA does a lousy job of defending their model — that is not to say that the model isn’t worth defending,” said Osbourne.

-September 15, 2014

The North Carolina Law Review hosts "Vulnerable Defendants in the Criminal Justice System," a symposium to examine the overrepresentation of certain groups within U.S. courtrooms and prisons and to question why conduct is criminalized when it may be the manifestation of a defendant’s vulnerability. The symposium will be held at the UNC Center for School Leadership Development on Friday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students, faculty, staff and the public are invited to attend.

The symposium will bring together scholars and practitioners who are working at the intersection of the disciplines of criminal law, disability law, critical race theory, juvenile justice, immigration law and prisoners’ rights. Against the backdrop of a culture of mass incarceration, panelists will create room for nuanced dialogue regarding the future of the criminal justice system with an emphasis on the vulnerable populations that are drawn into its wake.

UNC School of Law professors Tamar Birckhead and Katie Rose Guest Pryal are the faculty chairs of the conference. "We expect robust interest in the symposium among law faculty as well as practitioners in the triangle and beyond," says Birckhead, symposium faculty co-chair.

The symposium will consist of three sessions. The first session will address immigration law, especially human trafficking and juveniles. The second session will examine race and gender issues in the criminal justice system. The third session will address the treatment of defendants with mental health concerns and physical disabilities in the same context. A portion of each session will focus on the ethical concerns relevant to each group of vulnerable criminal defendants, particularly in regard to practitioners’ professional responsibilities toward members of those groups. The full schedule and registration information is available at http://www.nclawreview.org/symposium/.

The symposium will be live streamed and recorded for subsequent webcast and available through the journal's website. Two-and-a-half hours of CLE credit will be offered.

-September 24, 2014

The annual Dan K. Moore Program in Ethics will be held at the UNC Center for School Leadership Development on Friday, Oct. 24, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The continuing legal education program is dedicated to the legacy of professional ethics left to us by the distinguished life and work of Dan K. Moore, the former governor of North Carolina and a 1929 graduate of UNC School of Law.

The panel will explore the challenges facing law firms in hiring and training attorneys, as well as training provided to law firm lawyers representing their organization, in the current economic and legal climate.

The topic is “Emerging Issues in Privilege and Conflicts of Interest" and includes panels examining on a wide range of issues:

• Work Product and the Business Lawyer;
• Lawyer-Client Disputes and the Privilege for Communications within a Law Firm with the Firm's Own In-House Counsel;
• Attorney-Client Privilege and Conflicts of Interest in Mergers and Acquisitions;
• Conflicts of Interest in a Complex World;
• A review of professional responsibility issues commonly faced by business lawyers.

Program panelists include two in-house counsel – Tammy Stringer, senior vice president/Insurance Division general counsel, and Jennifer B. Venable, general counsel for Capital Broadcasting Company. They are joined by Alison R. Bost, Womble Carlyle's deputy general counsel; William G. Papas, partner and member of the board of directors of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein; and UNC School of Law's Bernard A. Burk.

Burk, along with UNC's Thomas Lee Hazen, Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Law, and Lissa L. Broome, Wells Fargo Professor of Banking Law and director of the Center for Banking and Finance, were co-planners of this year's program.

This program provides four hours of ethics/professional responsibility continuing legal education credit and is aimed specifically at lawyers who regularly advise corporate clients. Conference registration is now open. For more information: http://www.law.unc.edu/cle/dankmoore/.

-September 23, 2014

Bill Lann Lee, a shareholder at Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson P.C. in Oakland, Calif., will deliver the 2014 William P. Murphy Distinguished Lecture at UNC School of Law on Wednesday, Oct. 8. The lecture will take place at noon in the rotunda at the law school.

Lee will speak on “Enforcing the Dream: The Implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

"Our students and faculty will be interested to hear Lee speak about his experience as a lawyer -- someone who moved from Columbia Law into the remarkably interesting public and private practice he has had for the past 40 years," says UNC School of Law Dean John Charles "Jack" Boger '74. Lee will include in his talk a discussion of the unfolding developments of the Civil Rights Act and its expansion and enforcement as it dovetailed with his personal experiences first as a research assistant at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and beyond into his public and private practice.

Lee's career has focused on representing groups of individuals in employment discrimination, disability access and other civil rights cases. He has brought disability access cases against Netflix, to obtain closed captioning on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf, and against Burger King and Walmart, on behalf of individuals who use wheelchairs for mobility. Among employment discrimination cases, he has prosecuted cases against Wet Seal, Costco, Best Buy, Abercrombie & Fitch and McCormick & Schmick’s.

From 1997 to 2001, Lee served as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division in the United States Department of Justice in the Clinton Administration, as the nation’s top civil rights prosecutor. He managed the department’s enforcement of federal civil rights statutes, including pattern or practice enforcement in employment discrimination and disability rights cases, and coordinated overall federal enforcement of the nation’s civil rights laws.

The Murphy Lecture Series was established by the UNC School of Law Class of 1990 to celebrate former faculty member Professor William P. Murphy's teaching and his work in constitutional law, labor law and civil rights. This lecture series is responsible for bringing noted lawyers, political figures and public advocates to the campus. The event is free and open to the public.

-October 2, 2014

UNC School of Law Pro Bono Board 2014

On Oct. 1 the UNC School of Law pro bono student and alumni boards launched a new program through which law school alumni and other attorneys may easily sign up for pro bono opportunities.

The new Pro Bono Alumni Opportunities Portal offers attorneys and legal service providers an online system to post available pro bono opportunities needing attorney volunteers. Licensed attorneys can then view these available opportunities, searchable by geographic locations and areas of law, and sign up to take them on.

“The idea for this initiative was sparked by a group of UNC law graduates who were looking for opportunities to engage with unmet community needs,” Carolina Law 2L Jared Smith, a member of the pro bono board, says. “These types of opportunities were so readily available to them while in law school but not as much so after they graduated.”

While the portal is designed to encourage alumni engagement in pro bono work, it is not limited to UNC School of Law alumni. All attorneys can use this online system to post and sign up for opportunities to meet unmet legal needs in North Carolina and beyond.

For more information, visit the Pro Bono Alumni Opportunities Portal: http://www.law.unc.edu/probono/alumni/opportunities/.

-October 8, 2014

Carolina Law Alumnus Wade Smith ’63 will be among five UNC graduates honored at the annual University Day ceremony Sunday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. University Day is an occasion to remember the University’s past and celebrate its future. The date, October 12, marks the laying of the cornerstone of Old East, the institution’s first building and the oldest state university building in the nation. The Carolina community first celebrated University Day in 1877, after Governor Zebulon B. Vance, as chair of the Board of Trustees, ordered that the day “be observed with appropriate ceremonies under the direction of the faculty.”

Smith has been one of North Carolina’s most acclaimed lawyers for nearly 50 years. Smith was an All-American high school football player with many college scholarship offers, but he chose to accept a Morehead Scholarship to Carolina where he excelled in both academics and athletics. He was co-captain of the football team and was inducted into the Order of the Golden Fleece. In 1964 he and his classmate J. Harold Tharrington founded the law firm of Tharrington Smith. In 2008 the North Carolina Bar Association established the annual Wade M. Smith Award “for a Criminal Defense Attorney Who Exemplifies the Highest Ideals of the Profession.” He has been included in the annual list of Best Lawyers in American for 25 years in succession. Smith served two terms in the North Carolina General Assembly; he has chaired the Board of Directors of the General Alumni Association, is a recipient of its Distinguished Service Medal, and is the permanent class president of the Class of 1960.

Read more about University Day.

-October 9, 2014

Students, faculty and staff gathered in a newly renovated Graham Kenan Courtroom on Sept. 25 to celebrate the reopening and learn about the cutting-edge technology the space now features.

“Our courtroom was ready for an overhaul, not only to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act but to reflect trial practice in a digital age,” UNC School of Law Dean John Charles “Jack” Boger ’74 said at the reception. “We want our students to hone their litigation skills in an environment that mimics the most high-tech courtrooms they might encounter in their practice.”

During summer break, the courtroom was gutted and completely rebuilt to modern standards. Practicing judges and a nationally renowned courtroom design specialist were consulted. The courtroom opened its doors for Trial Advocacy courses in late August, and students and faculty have praised its design and technology.

Generations of Carolina lawyers practiced in the Graham Kenan Courtroom, which was built in 1968. At that time the courtroom was state-of-the-art, but over the course of decades it became outdated and by 2014 was due for a change.

“So much of what comes into the courtroom now comes from cell phones and dash cams. It includes PowerPoint presentations and computer animations,” Richard E. Myers ’98, Henry Brandis Distinguished Professor of Law and faculty advisor for the Broun National Trial Team, says. “All those things require 21st century technology that allows information to be projected to the judge, to the jury and to be made available to counsel.”

At the September reception, Assistant Dean for Information Technology Doug Edmunds illustrated some of the courtroom’s new amenities:

• Flat-screen monitors throughout the jury box, and at the attorneys’ tables, witness stand and judge’s bench
• Two touch panels for the presenting attorney to present electronic evidence
• The ability to do onscreen annotation at the podium, witness stand or judge’s bench
• A pivoting lectern to transition from courtroom to classroom mode

-October 9, 2014

In an article just published by the University of Houston Law Review, Victor B. Flatt, Taft Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law, proposes modifications to the current regulatory trading system for water pollution. While acknowledging that the Clean Water Act and its subsequent amendments have made great strides toward reducing point source pollution — that is, pollution coming from a single point — Flatt maintains that more must be done to combat pollution from multiple sources, or non-point sources, such as lawns, impervious surfaces and farms.

In the article Flatt argues that Congress may be slow to address these issues, but the Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to develop flexible mechanisms to address the nutrient pollution from runoff in lakes, rivers, bays and oceans. One mechanism, trading between sources – where pollution point sources pay non-point sources to stop nutrients from getting into waterways – should be economically desirable, he says.

“The regulatory framework to encourage this type of trading does not currently exist because third party aggregators are necessary to act as ‘market makers,” Flatt says. Flatt’s article explains how the EPA and states can embrace this new market structure to improve the health of the nation’s waters with simplicity, efficiency and integrity.

Source: “C(r)ap and Trade: The Brave New World of Non-point Source Nutrient Trading and Using Lessons from Greenhouse Gas Markets to Make It Work,” www.houstonlawreview.org, Volume 52, Issue 1.

Editor’s Note: Professor Victor Flatt is available for interviews regarding the need to adjust the current approach to combating run-off as water pollution.

-October 31, 2014

UNC School of Law students and faculty, along with other community volunteers, are staffing a toll-free, non-partisan hotline to answer voter questions on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., as part of Election Protection, a national voter advocacy effort.

Voters anywhere in the state can call 1.866.OUR.VOTE (866.687.8683) or 1.888.VE.Y.VOTA (888.839.8682) with questions about their rights and the voting process. The hotline is open now for early voting, and will remain active through the closing of the polls on Election Day.

This November is the first major election after the passage of North Carolina House Bill 589, which significantly changed the voting laws in North Carolina. The Election Protection Hotline will provide resources to support voters at the polling place. Voters can call the Hotline to report any problems they encounter or witness at the polls, verify their registration status, or find their polling location.

The UNC Center for Civil Rights, based in the UNC School of Law, has hosted the North Carolina call center since 2004, and is again coordinating hosting this November’s election hotline.

"This is one of UNC School of Law’s most popular and important Pro Bono Program opportunities, as our law student volunteers enjoy ensuring that every qualified voter gets a meaningful opportunity to exercise their basic civil right to cast a ballot on Election Day," says Mark Dorosin, center managing attorney.

Through the volunteer program, trained advocates, students and attorneys will provide voters with information to help them understand their voting rights. Statewide calls will be routed to Chapel Hill through the national Election Protection system.

Election Protection is the nation's most ambitious nonpartisan program for preventing Election Day disenfranchisement. The coalition of state and national allies seeks to ensure that every eligible voter casts a ballot that counts on Election Day. This year, in an effort for further enhance voters’ ability to effectively participate in the election, Center staff and UNC Law students led a series of community education presentations to provide voters across the state with information regarding registration, absentee ballots, early voting and changes under the state's new voting law.

The UNC Center for Civil Rights is located at 323 W. Barbee Chapel Rd. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For more information about the Center, visit http://www.law.unc.edu/centers/civilrights/.

-October 31, 2014

The annual Carolina Public Interest Law Organization (C-PILO) Auction will be held Jan. 29, 2015, at 7 p.m.,  in the Great Room at Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill. The auction, a signature Carolina Law event since 1997, includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, both silent and live auctions, as well as door prizes and special giveaways for guests. Proceeds fund grants for law students who are working in summer positions in public interest.

Last year, the auction raised $18,000 by bidding out items including a Great Smoky Mountains getaway, Outer Banks resort stay, camping expedition rental, slope tickets to the Appalachian Ski Resort and a trip for four to Disney World. This year, students are partnering with local businesses to include such items such as gift certificates for wine tastings, white water rafting, and performances at the American Dance Festival, as well as tickets to the Carolina Ballet and to various N.C. sporting events.

C-PILO is a student-run group that works in collaboration with UNC School of Law and Friends of C-PILO, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting public interest law at UNC. The organization helps provide grants to students who accept summer internships in the public sector that are low-or non-paying; facilitates a network of support for students interested in pursuing public interest law; exposes the law school community to public interest law; and encourages students to pursue careers in the public sector.

To donate an item or learn more about how you can support this event, contact Annie Kouba at akouba@live.unc.edu. Most donations are tax-deductible.

-November 10, 2014

UNC School of Law Pro Bono Board 2014

On Oct. 1 the UNC School of Law pro bono student and alumni boards launched a new program through which law school alumni and other attorneys may easily sign up for pro bono opportunities.

The new Pro Bono Alumni Opportunities Portal offers attorneys and legal service providers an online system to post available pro bono opportunities needing attorney volunteers. Licensed attorneys can then view these available opportunities, searchable by geographic locations and areas of law, and sign up to take them on.

“The idea for this initiative was sparked by a group of UNC law graduates who were looking for opportunities to engage with unmet community needs,” Carolina Law 2L Jared Smith, a member of the pro bono board, says. “These types of opportunities were so readily available to them while in law school but not as much so after they graduated.”

While the portal is designed to encourage alumni engagement in pro bono work, it is not limited to UNC School of Law alumni. All attorneys can use this online system to post and sign up for opportunities to meet unmet legal needs in North Carolina and beyond.

For more information, visit the Pro Bono Alumni Opportunities Portal: http://www.law.unc.edu/probono/alumni/opportunities/.

-October 8, 2014

First Amendment Law Review Symposium participants, from left, Sarah Morris, Marvin Ammori,
Professor Dawn Nunziato, Professor Enrique Armijo, Professor Kevin Werbach, Professor James
Grimmelmann, Professor Stuart Benjamin, and Berin Szoka.

The days when print newspapers and magazines were the primary sources of news, information and discussion of important topics are long gone. The Internet — via blogs, social media or news websites — is the pipeline for a growing share of speech protected by the First Amendment. The best path for ensuring the Internet remains a conduit for free speech is the topic of heated debate.

At the symposium “First Amendment Networks: Issues in Net Neutrality,” scholars and think tank policy analysts discussed whether the policy known as “Net Neutrality” is the best path forward for regulators. The event was hosted by UNC School of Law’s First Amendment Law Review, the Center for Media Law and Policy and the UNC chapter of the American Constitution Society Friday, Oct. 24.

Net Neutrality advocates argue that the Federal Communications Commission should prevent Internet service providers from blocking or raising prices on different types of online content. They argue that Net Neutrality is necessary to prevent providers from exercising too much control over the shape of the Internet and its contents. Critics of Net Neutrality say that the policies could thwart the growth of the Internet by placing burdensome regulations on an emerging industry and that content providers have not and will not arbitrarily censor content. The topic has First Amendment implications because service providers could argue that the government is requiring them to carry messages that they do not agree with over their networks.

Attendees, including law and journalism students, heard from a broad variety of perspectives. The event started with a keynote address from Marvin Ammori, an attorney and Future Tense Fellow with the New America Foundation. Keeping with the event’s focus on First Amendment issues, Ammori argued that the current First Amendment legal framework is ill-suited to the Net Neutrality debate. Instead, Ammori says, courts should look at Net Neutrality as a way to promote First Amendment values.

“What we want to see is government intervention to encourage or to permit us to communicate in a way that doesn’t prefer one kind of content over another,” Ammori said. 

A morning panel featured think tank analysts Sarah Morris and Berin Szoka and George Washington University law professor Dawn Nunziato. While Morris and Nunziato supported Net Neutrality, Szoka, from the group TechFreedom, said that the proponents have failed to produce evidence of censorship from Internet service providers.

“There is no record,” Szoka said.

The afternoon panel featured discussion from professors Enrique Armijo, Stuart Benjamin, James Grimmelmann and Kevin Werbach on the possible routes the Federal Communications Commission might take in addressing the Net Neutrality issue.

Event organizers and UNC law faculty were pleased with the lively speeches and panel discussions.

“We were really happy to have a variety of interests here because it made for a more lively and nuanced debate,” says First Amendment Law Review Symposium co-editor Robert El-Jaouhari 3L.

“It was a really robust and interesting discussion,” Laura Burkett 3L, First Amendment Law Review Symposium co-editor, says.

“I thought it was a fantastic symposium,” says Professor David Ardia of the Center for Media Law and Policy, who also serves as the First Amendment Law Review’s faculty advisor.

Ardia spoke of the topic’s importance going forward.

“Decisions that we make today regarding how we are going to regulate Internet services are going to have a long-lasting impact on future generations, so it is important that we have a reasoned debate."

-November 12, 2014

More than 40 volunteers at UNC School of Law fielded 928 phone calls on Election Day, Nov. 4, as part of the national, non-partisan Election Protection Hotline. The UNC Center for Civil Rights coordinated the effort to answer questions and address concerns from voters and poll monitors for the 13 hours that polls were open. The UNC office is the only N.C.-based hub for the Election Protection Hotline.

Through the program, trained law students and staff provided voters with information to help them understand their voting rights. Statewide calls were routed to Chapel Hill through the national Election Protection system. The call volume was high for a mid-term election, according to Jennifer Marsh, a staff member at the UNC Center for Civil Rights.

“The number of calls this year was higher than the number we received during the last mid-term election and comparable to the call volume during the last presidential election,” Marsh says.

Mark Dorosin, lead attorney at the center, attributed the increased call volume to the recent change in voting laws in North Carolina after the passage of N.C. House Bill 589.

“Since the last election, voting laws have changed regarding provisional ballots and the ability to vote in a different precinct,” Dorosin says. “There was a combination of factors: in some cases people showed up to vote at the wrong precinct and stood in long lines before being told they couldn’t vote at that particular location. Additionally, some polling places were understaffed and overwhelmed by voter turnout, which led to miscommunications and misunderstandings.”

Dorosin added that another result of seemingly understaffed or under resourced polling locations was an uptick in calls to the hotline regarding accessibility for voters with disabilities. “We had multiple reports of inadequate signage and significant delays related to voters with disabilities,” Dorosin says.

Hotline volunteers participated in a two-hour training program run by UNC Center for Civil Rights staff. The training is a basic primer on national and N.C. election law and also explains the logistics of taking a call and entering information in a national database to be monitored for trends. Volunteers are supplied with resources for answering questions related to polling places, voter registration status, and even what kind of voting machines are being used in different counties. For more complicated questions, center staff and other volunteer attorneys advise students answering calls from voters.

Students from the UNC Pro Bono Program and the Black Law Students Association help with the complicated logistics of planning and staffing the hotline. Shifts are two hours each, and many volunteers work multiple shifts. The hotline is one of the law school’s most popular pro bono opportunities.

The UNC Center for Civil Rights has coordinated the hotline every election year since 2004. Dorosin says it is an enduring and important priority for the Center.

“The ability to participate in the political process is one of the most fundamental civil rights that we all share,” UNC Center for Civil Rights Director Ted Shaw says. “Ensuring that everyone who is eligible to vote can cast a ballot that will be counted is foundational for ensuring equal protection in our community.”

Election Protection is a coalition of state and national allies working to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process. Voters anywhere can call 1.866.OUR.VOTE (866.687.8683) or 1.888.VE.Y.VOTA (888.839.8682) with questions about their rights and the voting process.

-November 14, 2014

Portrait of Henry E. Frye '59 by John Seibels Walker.

More than 100 alumni, community members, students and faculty gathered in the UNC School of Law Graham Kenan Courtroom Nov. 14 to view the unveiling of a portrait of the Honorable Henry E. Frye ’59. The portrait is a gift of the UNC School of Law Class of 2013 and was painted by John Seibels Walker.

Frye, a native of Ellerbe, N.C., became the first African American to pursue to completion three full years of legal study and earn a law degree at UNC. He went on to become the first African American in the 20th century to serve in the North Carolina General Assembly. He was also the first African American to be appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court and to serve as the court’s chief justice.

Under the leadership of class gift committee leaders, Jeremy Collins, Charlie Hiser and Judson Williamson, the class of 2013 voted to commission the portrait as the class gift to honor Frye’s legacy and inspire future generations at the law school.

"He is one of UNC Law's brightest stars," says Collins, 2013 class president, of Frye. "He's a trailblazer."

Current North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin ’88 offered remarks as part of the program. The audience that packed the courtroom included Sarah Parker ’69, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court; present and former Associate Justices Cheri Beasley, Robert Neal Hunter ’73, Paul Newby ’80, Patricia Timmons-Goodson ’79, Willis Whichard ’65; N.C. Superior Court Judge Robert Collier ’59; and Ronald J. Haskell Jr., magisterial district judge for York County, Pa. UNC Chancellor Carol Folt was also in attendance to honor Frye.

Jack Boger '74, Henry Frye '59, Jeremy Collins '13 and Mark Martin '88. Photo by Donn Young.

In his remarks, Frye spoke easily of his history and of the pride he has in his family members, many of whom were in attendance. When he spoke of the portrait, Frye’s words were more halting and emotional. “Thank you very much to all of you, to the class of 2013, to the leadership first and to the rest of the class,” Frye said. “And to all of those who in any way supported this, I'm very grateful and humbled by it.”

After the unveiling, Dean John Charles “Jack” Boger ’74 spoke of the symbolic importance of hanging Frye’s portrait in the courtroom, where generations of law students will pass.

“We are immensely proud to claim you, Chief Justice Frye, as our alumnus,” Boger said in his remarks. “You have given us, given the state, much already. But we want still more. We want you as a perpetual presence for our students, someone who will henceforth oversee this great training ground of all our future lawyers.”

About the Artist
Originally from South Carolina, American painter John Seibels Walker is regarded as one of America’s premier painters of portraiture in the Grand Manner with works in numerous American, British and European collections. An ongoing love and appreciation of Italian art, culture and landscape has led the artist to continue to work, study and teach part of every year at his studio in Lucca, Italy, where the portrait of Frye was completed. When in America, Walker lives and works out of his studio in downtown Charlotte, N.C.

-November 21, 2014

After a presentation to Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Commission and Legislative Council at a symposium in August, Professor Holning Lau received a certificate of appreciation for his years of research on LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) matters there, where gay marriage is illegal.

Through surveys with Hong Kong’s LGBTI residents and the general public, Lau’s research — some conducted with the University of Hong Kong — contradicts claims by the government and others that same-sex marriage is very controversial and lacks public support. His research also refutes the contention that LGBTI rights signal corruptive Western influences. Read more about Lau’s research. 

“I am hopeful research such as mine will help ground policy debates in facts as opposed to popular myths,” Lau says. “My research challenges conventional wisdom about the prevalence of local opposition to LGBTI rights. Opposition is less widespread than is commonly believed, but opponents are a disproportionately vocal and well-funded minority.”

Lau, a professor of comparative law, at UNC School of Law, found that 75 percent of Hong Kong residents support same-sex couples having at least some rights of married couples. In addition, 25 percent of the public supports marriage for same-sex couples, with 12 percent more inclined toward support.

Lau’s research has been published in the American Journal of Comparative Law, the University of Hong Kong Centre for Comparative and Public Law’s briefing papers series and other forums.

At the symposium, Lau also explained how developments with LGBTI issues in the United States could help Hong Kong’s discourse. Some there fear that any law prohibiting LGBTI discrimination would restrict religious freedom. “Policymakers in Hong Kong don’t need to start from scratch. They can draw insights from the debate in the U.S. about strengths and weaknesses of different religious exemptions that exist as well as proposed exemptions,” he says.

Some U.S. judges, meanwhile, could draw insights from South Africa about same-sex marriage, based on Lau’s research there.

South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled in 2005 that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was unconstitutional. The court itself could have legalized same-sex marriage but instead gave the Parliament a year to pass legislative reform. The Parliament, which could have refused to go along with the court, eventually legalized gay marriage.

Lau is researching how the court’s approach — delaying implementation of marriage equality legislation and enlisting the Parliament — has affected public perceptions of government and the judiciary in South Africa.

“My research suggests the one-year grace period helped shield the court from allegations of judicial activism and ultimately enhanced the legitimacy of marriage equality. Conventional wisdom among political realists is that, in other parts of the world, courts have avoided deciding same-sex marriage cases because they fear the backlash that could result from a ruling in favor of marriage equality. South Africa’s approach represents a middle ground,” Lau says.

He will publish his findings in 2016 in time for the 10-year anniversary of marriage equality in South Africa.

“My research contributes to the growing understanding about the ways judges act strategically to avoid backlash,” Lau says.

-November 24, 2014