UNC School of Law professors David Ardia and Anne Klinefelter have received a $43,000 award from the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and Microsoft Corp. for seminal research on an emerging privacy concern: sensitive information contained in court records.

As courts nationwide digitize records for online public access, questions have surfaced about the balance between the public’s right to know and the release of sensitive information.

“The move to online access to these records opens a Pandora’s box,” says Ardia, co-director of UNC’s Center for Media Law and Policy and assistant professor of law.

The United States has a long history of providing open and public trials, which Ardia notes are essential “for the public to have faith in the fairness in our courts.” However, with the advent of online publishing of court records, there is an active debate going on about whether some information in court records should be redacted when the records are posted online in order to protect the privacy of individuals.

“Our research will provide a first-of-its-kind empirical study of the frequency of sensitive and private information in court records,” Ardia says. “Our work will be valuable to courts around the country and to libraries and other archivists doing this digitization.”

The privacy issue is relevant to UNC’s Kathrine R. Everett Law Library, which is in the midst of a project to digitize copies of briefs submitted to the North Carolina Supreme Court before the process became electronic. These materials are regularly consulted by North Carolina lawyers, so the library has plans to post them online for easier access. There’s no clear guidance about whether or how libraries should redact sensitive information that could cause harm to people identified in records.

“Like many modern activities, digitization of older court records occupies a space in the law that is unclear, particularly because privacy law in the United States is piecemeal and evolving fairly slowly,” says Klinefelter, UNC Law Library director and associate law professor.  

For help, Klinefelter is consulting North Carolina laws about identity theft and state Supreme Court rules regarding electronic filing of court briefs, and exploring the option of redaction. “We’re still working on our final approach to balancing access and privacy,” she says.

Court records can contain a lot of sensitive information: Social Security numbers, names of rape and child abuse victims, credit card and bank account numbers, health-related data such as HIV status and more.

Even information that may seem mundane could cause harm if it is combined with other online information. About a dozen law students will help Ardia and Klinefelter search for 125 different types of data that could be contained in court records, including information about sexual history, financial accounts, student records, video rental history and borrowed library books, all of which receive protection under various federal and state privacy laws.

Abuse of the records could lead to identify theft, compromised financial information, discrimination based on health or disability, and stigma for crime victims.

“The expectation is that Google will crawl these records,” Ardia says. “As barriers to access go down … the potential for privacy harms increases.”

The lack of guidelines about disclosure complicates the matter. Their research will inform policy decisions about balancing the public’s right to know and privacy concerns, and may help court officials and archivists establish redaction protocols.

“Part of why this work is so important is that, regarding the harms that come from disclosure of private and sensitive information, we are grasping in the dark as a society. We stumble into harms that people didn’t anticipate, and then we reactively try to protect that information,” Ardia says. “A study like ours is an effort to be proactive, to see what is coming down the road as court records become digitized and available to the public.”

Ardia and Klinefelter stress that their project is not about elevating privacy over public access.

“The challenge we face is how to ensure public access in an age when everything is going online. To do that, we need to have a better sense of what is in these records so that we can carefully consider the tradeoffs that come from different forms of online access,” Ardia says. “This is very much a topic that’s a national conversation.”

The UNC project was one of six proposals to receive awards. The results will be presented at the 2015 Berkeley Technology Law Journal Spring Symposium, “The Privacy, Security, Human Rights and Civil Rights Implications of Releasing Government Datasets.”

-January 21, 2015

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.

Learn more about the auction and buy tickets at http://studentorgs.law.unc.edu/cpilo/auction/.

-November 10, 2014

UNC School of Law held its inaugural Law School Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 5, as part of the pilot UNC School of Law Leadership program. Leaders for this project were Sam Williams 3L, AC Locklear 2L and Danielle Bernard 2L.

Students volunteered at The Jackson Center, a public history and community development center located at the gateway to the historic African American Northside neighborhood in Chapel Hill. Students took a walking tour of the neighborhood, which allows visitors to listen to neighborhood residents talk about the area in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Students then transcribed recorded histories from neighborhood residents, picked up trash in the neighborhood and removed leaves. Students helped restock the center’s food bank, called Heavenly Groceries, the only certified food bank in North Carolina that allows its patrons to make their own food selections from the available choices.

“I really enjoyed hearing the stories of the people who lived in this historic black neighborhood in Chapel Hill,” Bernard says. “But most of all I liked providing a little labor to help a neighbor take care of her garden. It was nice to help someone else and not think about law school”

Students also spent part of their day volunteering at The Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill, where they helped clean the facility and met with some of the patients.

-January 27, 2015

Sarah E. Parker '69

John C. "Jack" Boger '74

Christopher Brook '05

UNC School of Law will honor three exceptional graduates at its annual Law Leadership and Awards Dinner May 1, 2015.

The awards recognize members of the UNC School of Law community who embody the law school’s mission to serve the legal profession, the people and institutions of North Carolina, the nation and the world with ethics and dedication to the cause of justice.

Three Alumni Association Awards will be presented:

• The Honorable Sarah E. Parker ’69, of Raleigh, N.C., retired chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, will receive The Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifetime career that has been highly distinguished and whose achievements and contributions are widely recognized as significant and outstanding in her field.
• John Charles “Jack” Boger ’74, of Chapel Hill, N.C., dean and Wade Edwards Distinguished Professor of Law at UNC School of Law, will be presented with The Distinguished Alumni Award for accomplishments and contributions that have enhanced the school and the profession of law at the local, state, national and international level.
• Christopher Brook ’05, of Chapel Hill, N.C., legal director of ACLU of North Carolina, will receive The Outstanding Recent Graduate Award, for achievements that have brought credit to the school, the legal profession or society.

“We are tremendously excited to honor this year’s exceptional alumni,” says Kris Jensen Davidson, associate dean for advancement. “This event, which annually highlights Carolina Law’s outstanding alumni, students and faculty, will be also be, in part, a farewell to Dean Boger, as he completes his tenure as dean.”

Read more about this year’s alumni award winners. Tickets will go on sale in mid-February. For more information about the Leadership and Awards Dinner, contact Kelly Mann at kmmann@email.unc.edu or 919.445.0170.

-January 29, 2015

As a senior post-conviction attorney at North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Allison Standard ’09 has facilitated the release of inmates from prison because of sentencing errors and wrongful convictions.

“When I went to law school, I had no grand illusions of six-figure salaries, a large house or a fancy car. I wanted to find a career that matched my skill set with my passion for helping underrepresented people,” Standard says.

She started her career with the help of UNC School of Law’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), which provides a short-term forgivable loan toward repayment of qualified law school education loans for eligible graduates who enter public service.

The program, which began in 2010, supports a facet of UNC School of Law’s mission: to allow students to enter public service employment, which typically offers lower salaries than the private sector. Already, LRAP has awarded over $1.3 million to more than 125 alumni.

As members of each new graduating class become eligible, the program receives more applications for limited funds which come almost entirely from tuition revenue. Although the program has a strong financial core, increased private funding is needed to help the law school continue to support qualifying graduates in a substantial and meaningful way.

“At LRAP’s inception, we could not have anticipated the success of the program,” says Vanda Chou, director of law school financial aid. “For alumni and friends who are interested in supporting the school’s mission, this is a significant program which impacts not only our graduates but also the communities in which they serve.”

For more information about LRAP, visit http://www.law.unc.edu/admissions/financing/lrap/.

-February 16, 2015

The following is a statement from Dean John Charles "Jack" Boger '74 in response to the recommendation by the working group of the UNC Board of Governors to close the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

Long before recent generations came to love the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill because of Dean Smith and basketball, an earlier generation learned to love it for the virtues that Smith exemplified in his exceptional life -- courage, vision, openness to change and a belief in the worth of every person. President George Taylor Winston, who led Carolina in the last decade of the 19th century, declared that “there is nothing narrow or restricted about university culture. It is as broad as life.” His successor Edward Kidder Graham famously observed that the university’s boundaries were coterminous with those of the state, and he energetically linked the campus to campaigns for good roads, public health, city and county planning, and rural economic development.

When President Harry W. Chase brought Professor Howard W. Odum to Chapel Hill to launch a new Department of Sociology, the bold Odum created controversy by recruiting a generation of young faculty members who pioneered research on tenant farming, mill villages, the chain gang, sharecropping, and convict leasing -- all social systems that had long held back poor and non-white North Carolinians. Professor Odum faced bitter attacks against these studies that laid bare the appalling poverty of North Carolina life. Rather than hold aloof from the controversy, President Chase shared the facts Odum had uncovered with the public, braving political blowback in a conservative state in order to fulfill the University’s core mission to be a catalyst for change. When a legislative bill in the General Assembly sought to curb the teaching of evolution, President Chase condemned it as an abridgement of freedom of speech. Warned that the University’s appropriations were still before the General Assembly, President Chase shot back: “If the university doesn’t stand for anything but appropriations, I, for one, don’t care to be associated with it.” The bill failed on a close vote.

The President who followed Harry Chase was Frank Porter Graham. Even as a young faculty member, he had spoken out strongly to defend the special qualities of Chapel Hill: “Freedom to think, freedom to speak and freedom to print are the [university standard] . . . . Lux & Libertas is cut with native chisel deep in the stones quarried from local soil.” Graham advocated tirelessly for working people’s interests; he drafted an “industrial bill of rights” that sought to reduce the prevailing 60-hour work week, abolish night work for women, and improve child labor. Named the University’s President despite his disputes with the state’s industrial leaders, he continued to champion academic and service efforts that would address the most pressing needs of North Carolina’s people.

Thirty years later it was President Bill Friday and the brave and decent Chancellor William B. Aycock who took on the unwise legislative choice to enact a Speaker Ban Law, ostensibly to protect the students of Chapel Hill from ideas too radical to be heard. In scores of meetings across the state, Friday and Aycock reasoned with citizens about why curtailing free speech hurt, not helped, the interests of the people and the University.

These leaders exemplify what I’ve always understood to be the real meaning of the “Carolina way”: the unfaltering faith that light and truth, set free without fear or favor in a university setting, will eventually provide keys to meeting the deepest human needs.

Yet now a special committee of the University’s Board of Governors appears to be veering from that way. On Feb. 18 the committee announced its recommendation to discontinue the Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity, housed in the UNC School of Law. That center is a clear successor to earlier efforts by Edward Kidder Graham, Howard Odum, Frank Porter Graham, and other forbears. It has been steadfastly supported, despite a barrage of criticism, by Chancellor Carol Folt, who today expressed her disappointment in the committee’s recommendation and reaffirmed her determination that UNC-Chapel Hill continue its efforts to address the pressing problem of poverty in our society.

The BOG special committee rests its recommendation on no genuine reason beyond a barely concealed desire to stifle the outspokenness of the center’s director, Professor Gene Nichol, who continues to talk about the state’s appalling poverty with unsparing candor. The committee’s original charge was to cut funds to centers that spent too much and to redirect their state aid toward other projects. On that basis, targeting the Poverty Center makes no sense at all. The center hasn’t taken state tax dollars since 2009, and its modest staff -- a few earnest post-JD law graduates and an army of dedicated student volunteers -- are housed in three small rooms nestled in an off-campus building and paid through private sources.

In prior decades, the University of North Carolina won the hearts and the gratitude of the state’s people by combatting the scourges of peonage and child labor, of woefully inadequate medical care and appallingly bad public education. These earlier faculty-led initiatives drew fierce opposition from those who managed to benefit from others’ poverty and oppression. Yet the University pressed ahead, fulfilling what Dr. Frank Graham once celebrated as “a tradition of our people”: that in Chapel Hill they would find “a place where there is always a breath of freedom in the air . . . and where finally truth shining like a star bids us advance and we will not turn aside.”

The Special BOG committee would constrict that breath of freedom. It would order the Poverty Center to turn aside from investigating conditions of human misery in our state that cry out for greater attention, not less. Several of its members, indeed, raised hostile voices against the work of the UNC Center for Civil Rights, wrongly claiming that the center staffers’ salaries are paid by state taxpayers (they aren’t) and any suit by a state or local official against another state official is inappropriate. (It’s done routinely in state criminal law trials and appeals and in legal clinics across the land. Indeed, our Governor, a state official, has sued the General Assembly, state employees all, apparently without BOG objection.)

Bob Dylan famously asked, “How many times must a man turn his head, and pretend that he just doesn’t see?” For a great University, one time is one too many. To be sure, the University’s other centers -- including the Carolina Women’s Center, the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History and even the UNC Center for Civil Rights -- have thankfully survived review and will continue their important work. Chancellor Folt and Provost Jim Dean have promised other interdisciplinary work to combat poverty. And Gene Nichol himself remains a respected colleague and tenured member of the UNC School of Law. We will support his efforts in every way possible going forward. Yet those who love UNC-Chapel Hill, who believe that free speech and open inquiry are indispensable tools in addressing society’s greatest problems, cannot fail to see in today’s recommendations made to the full BOG, a betrayal of the University’s finest historical traditions and its future promise.

The full Board of Governors meets next Friday, Feb. 27, in Charlotte. Would that I spoke for the University on that day, but I am obliged to say that I do not.

John Charles Boger
Dean & Wade Edwards Distinguished Professor of Law

-February 18, 2015

The State of Things: UNC Board of Governors Close Academic Centers http://wunc.org/post/unc-board-governors-close-academic-centers
WUNC - 3/2/15

Board of Governors Meeting Attracts Protesters http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_bce21c66-c0a0-11e4-a8cf-b7452ca35c14.html
Technician Online – Raleigh, NC – 3/2/15
After five months of intensive review of all 240 centers and institutes in the UNC System, the Board of Governors unanimously recommended three centers for discontinuation, including the UNC-Chapel Hill Law School’s Center on Work, Poverty and Opportunity, NC Central University’s Institute for Civic Engagement and East Carolina University’s Center for Biodiversity.

UNC Board Kills 3 Centers https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/03/02/unc-board-kills-3-centers-amid-criticism-action-violates-academic-freedom
Inside Higher Ed – 3/2/15
Jack Boger, dean of the law school at Chapel Hill, issued a statement in which he cited the scholarly and teaching record of the center and went on to say that he did not believe the board members who claimed to be making an apolitical decision. He and others have noted that the center has operated in recent years without state funds, so there is no evidence that this move will save money.

UNC Board of Governors May Have Violated State’s Open Meeting Law http://www.indyweek.com/news/archives/2015/02/28/unc-board-of-governors-may-have-violated-states-open-meeting-law
Independent Weekly – 3/1/15
NC Student Power Union were demonstrating against the Board of Governors’ decision to close three UNC System centers: UNC Chapel Hill’s Center on Work, Poverty and Opportunity, N.C. Central University’s Institute for Civic Engagement and East Carolina University’s Center for Biodiversity.

A Deadly Assault on Academic Freedom http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-r-stone/a-deadly-assault-on-academic-freedom_b_6776322.html
The Huffington Post – 3/1/15
Recent events in the state of North Carolina pose a serious threat to academic freedom in our nation. America's universities are, by any measure, the best in the world. What has made that possible is our deep commitment to academic freedom. The recent decision of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina to close the University of North Carolina Law School's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity is a blatant and dangerous instance of political interference with academic freedom.

Board Kills North Carolina Poverty Center Amid Protests http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/02/27/3511207/board-kills-north-carolina-poverty.html
The San Luis Obispo Tribune – Charlotte, NC – 3/1/15
The University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted Friday to disband the think-tank run by Gene Nichol, a law professor and former Democratic congressional candidate from Colorado. About two dozen protesters demonstrated against closing the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Some were told to leave and led out by UNC-Charlotte campus police.

Editorial - A narrow view of higher ed http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20150301/ARTICLES/150309979
Wilmington Star News – 3/1/15
But the dean of the UNC law school, 64 law professors and many law students disagree, saying the center has provided valuable training as well as …

The World According to Rucho http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/28/4589982/the-world-according-to-rucho.html
News and Observer - 2/28/15

University of North Carolina Board Closes 3 Centers http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/us/university-of-north-carolina-board-closes-3-academic-centers.html
New York Times – 2/28/15
The center’s director, Gene Nichol, a law professor, has been an outspoken critic of the state’s Republican leaders, including Gov. Pat McCrory, in columns he has written for a Raleigh-based newspaper, The News & Observer.

Gene Nichol's statement on closing of UNC poverty center http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/27/4587459/gene-nichols-statement-on-closing.html
News and Observer – 2/27/15
I have no words to match the gratitude I feel for the astonishing support the poverty center has received, in recent weeks, from thousands across North …

It's all about the Nichol, not the dollar http://www.jeffersonpost.com/news/opinion/152094652/Its-all-about-the-Nichol-not-the-dollar
Jefferson Post - 2/27/15
Director Gene Nichol still has his university job (even though UNC whistleblower Mary Willingham doesn't). Even when Nichol likened Governor …

Amid Protests, U. of North Carolina Board Votes to Close Poverty Center http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/amid-protests-u-of-north-carolina-board-votes-to-close-poverty-center/94795?cid=megamenu
Chronicle of Higher Education - 2/27/15
The University of North Carolina system’s governing board has unanimously approved a proposal to close a center on poverty at the Chapel Hill flagship, a move critics have called politically motivated, The Charlotte Observer reports.

Protests Erupt Over UNC Board's Decision to Shutter Poverty Center http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/27/university-of-north-carolina-poverty-_n_6770870.html
Huffington Post - 2/27/15
University of North Carolina students and faculty raucously protested the board of governors' vote Friday to disband a poverty-focused think-tank led by a critic of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and the GOP-controlled state legislature.

UNC governors vote to close 3 university-based centers http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/27/4587457/unc-governors-vote-to-close-3.html
News and Observer – 2/27/15
Even though it's closing, Nichol said he would continue to work on poverty issues as part of the UNC law school, thanks to a new fund.

UNC board votes to kill poverty center, protesters led away http://www.wral.com/unc-board-votes-to-kill-poverty-center-protesters-led-away/14478718/
WRAL – 2/27/15
The poverty center is headed by law professor Gene Nichol, who was the law school's dean when he helped create the center ahead of Democrat John Edwards' 2008 campaign.

It's Final: UNC Board of Governors Votes to Close Academic Centers http://wunc.org/post/its-final-unc-board-governors-votes-close-academic-centers
WUNC - 2/27/15

UNC BOG Chairman Explains Decision to Close Centers http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/27/4588179_unc-bog-chairman-explains-decision.html?rh=1
News and Observer – Raleigh, NC – 2/27/15
However, after careful review of the Center on Poverty – which included an opportunity for the center director to fully describe its work – the board concluded the center was unable to demonstrate any appreciable impact on the issue of poverty.

Faculty Respond to Board of Governors Decision to Close Poverty Center http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/02/fac-council-feb-27
Daily Tar Heel  - Chapel Hill, NC – 2/27/15
Chancellor Carol Folt raced to Friday’s Faculty Council meeting from the Board of Governors meeting in Charlotte, where members decided to close UNC School of Law’s Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity and two other UNC-system centers.

UNC Board Orders Closure of Poverty Center http://www.heraldsun.com/news/showcase/x1271337253/UNC-board-orders-closure-of-poverty-center
Herald-Sun – Durham, NC – 2/27/15
UNC’s Board of Governors voted unanimously on Friday to order the closure of three campus centers or institutes, among them UNC-Chapel Hill’s Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity.

UNC Board of Governors Votes to Close 3 University-Based Centers http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/article11341625.html
Charlotte Observer – Charlotte, NC – 2/27/15
As nearby protesters chanted slogans about freedom and democracy, the UNC Board of Governors voted Friday to close three university-based centers as part of a sweeping review of institutes across public campuses in North Carolina.

UNC Board Votes to Kill Poverty Center, Protesters Led Away http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/27/4586977/unc-board-may-disband-poverty.html
News and Observer - Raleigh, NC – 2/27/15
North Carolina public university leaders decided Friday to kill an anti-poverty center headed by a sharp critic of Republican lawmakers and Gov. Pat McCrory, taking their vote after protesters disrupted their meeting and were led out by campus police. The University of North Carolina Board of Governors, which consists almost entirely of Republican appointees, voted to disband the think-tank created to help launch John Edwards' presidential campaign and run by a law professor and former Democratic candidate for Congress from Colorado.

UNC Board May Disband Poverty Center Led By Sharp GOP Critic
Associated Press
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/27/4586977/unc-board-may-disband-poverty.html
2/27/15
North Carolina's public university board is thinking about eliminating an anti-poverty center headed up by an outspoken critic of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and other Republican lawmakers he accuses of doing too little to help the poor.

A Contrary View on Gene Nichol and His Poverty Center
Charlotte Observer
2/27/15
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article11264981.html
Director Gene Nichol still has his university job. Even when Nichol likened Gov. Pat McCrory to racist governors Wallace, Faubus and Maddox and ...

National Group Speaks out on Review of Centers, Institutions
The Daily Tar Heel
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/02/national-group-speaks-out-on-review-of-centers
2/26/15
It follows a statement signed by more than 60 UNC law faculty in opposition to recommendations to close the poverty center and curtail the activities of ...

UNC Board of Governors moves closer to closing centers, raising tuition
News & Observer
2/26/15
http://www.newsobserver.com/welcome_page/?shf=/2015/02/26/4585024_unc-board-of-governors-moves-closer.html
The UNC Board of Governors moved closer Thursday to closing three ... Outgoing law school dean Jack Boger wrote that closing the centers would ...

National Professors' Group Calls on UNC Leaders to Keep Poverty Center Open
The Progressive Pulse
2/26/15
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2015/02/24/national-professors-group-calls-on-unc-leaders-to-keep-poverty-center-open/
The majority of the faculty at UNC Law School have also signed a similar statement opposing the expected closure of the poverty center and criticisms ...

The GOP's Attack on Universities and Free Speech
The Independent Weekly
http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/the-gops-attack-on-universities-and-free-speech/Content?oid=4345126
2/25/15
Thus, Nichol's center had to go, like UNC President Tom Ross, no fiery ... The UNC center, allied with the law school, does precisely that, publishing ...

N.C. GOP Leadership Likes to Bully Opposition
Smoky Mountain News
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/15169-n-c-gop-leadership-likes-to-bully-opposition
2/25/15
The intended victims were the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill, and its eloquent and outspoken liberal director, law professor Gene Nichol.

National Group Opposes Closing Of UNC Poverty Center
WFDD
http://wfdd.org/post/national-group-opposes-closing-unc-poverty-center
2/25/15
The association joined UNC law Dean Jack Boger, who last week issued a letter defending the center, and 64 professors at the law school who signed ...

UNC System Professors Afraid - Just the Way the Board Wants It
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/23/4578469/unc-system-professors-afraid-just.html
News & Observer - 2/24/15
So you can imagine how educators feel about a University of North Carolina Board of Governors panel recommending the elimination of three university centers, including one that's run by an outspoken critic of Republican policies in the state, Gene Nichol.

Gannon: Plight of Poor Spotlighted
https://www.reflector.com/opinion/other-voices/gannon-plight-poor-spotlighted-2801727
Greenville Daily Reflector - 2/24/15
Nichol is an outspoken and fierce critic of those who elect the board's members, the Republican-led ... Gene Nichol couldn't have said it better himself.

Law Faculty Take Stand on Poverty Center's Potential Closing
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/02/law-faculty-take-stand-on-poverty-centers-potential-closing
Daily Tar Heel - 2/24/15
More than 60 UNC law faculty have signed onto a statement asserting that the UNC Board of Governors' recommendations on the future of two centers ...

AAUP Condemns Proposed Closure of U. of North Carolina Poverty Center
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/aaup-condemns-proposed-closure-of-u-of-north-carolina-poverty-center/94569
The Chronicle of Higher Education - 2/24/15
... disappointed” if the Board of Governors approved a recommendation to close the UNC School of Law's Center on Poverty, Work, and Community.

National Group Joins Chorus Opposed to Closing UNC's Poverty Center
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/24/4580212_national-group-joins-chorus-opposed.html?rh=1
News & Observer - 2/24/15
The national association weighed in Tuesday, saying that a recommendation to abolish the UNC law school's Center on Poverty, Work and ...

Wealthy, Vindictive, Republican UNC Board of Governors Silences Law School's Poverty Center
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/23/1365990/-Wealthy-vindictive-Republican-UNC-Board-of-Governors-silences-law-school-s-Poverty-Center
Daily Kos - 2/23/15
In a move that surprised no one, last week a working group of the Republican-stacked University of North Carolina Board of Governors recommended the closing of the UNC Chapel Hill law school's Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity.

A Martyr to Applause
http://www.carolinajournal.com/daily_journal/display.html?id=11813
Carolina Journal - 2/23/15
If the recent review of campus-based centers by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors was all an elaborate ruse to silence a critic of state Republicans, it would probably qualify as the most improbable, elaborate, and ineffective conspiracy in North Carolina history.

Opinion: Mary Carey: What would Dean say?
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2015/02/23/4575368/mary-carey-what-would-dean-say.html
Chapel Hill News - 2/23/15
Since hearing of the center's possible demise, I have been wondering what is it about the poor that makes us want to look away.

Powell: Now It's the Board of Governors' Turn to Upend NC http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/21/4570952_dwane-powell-now-its-the-board.html
News & Observer - 2/23/15
Former N&O editorial cartoonist Dwane Powell returns to lampoon lawmakers and other folks in the great North State.

Opinion: The Center for Civil Rights Requires Autonomy
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/02/opinion-the-center-for-civil-rights-requires-autonomy
Daily Tar Heel - 2/23/15
The Center for Civil Rights has a legitimate place at this university and performs essential acts of public service for the people of North Carolina. To do so, the center requires the ability to perform its most essential mission: litigating violators of individuals' civil rights, whoever they are.

Letter: Civil Rights a Crucial Component of Law
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/02/letter-civil-rights-a-crucial-component-of-law
Daily Tar Heel - 2/23/15
Those of us - and there are many - who pursue public interest law are attracted to the UNC law school not only because of excellent faculty and classes but because of the education and training we will receive at the Center for Civil Rights. Perhaps the working group of the current Board of Governors is not interested in students - and future lawyers - like us.

UNC Professors Criticize Move to Close Poverty Center
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/02/23/unc-professors-criticize-move-close-poverty-center
Inside Higher Ed - 2/23/15
Sixty law professors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have issued a statement objecting to plans by the University of North Carolina System board to close the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, which is led by a UNC law professor.

UNC Law Professors Speak Out Against Proposal to Close Poverty Center
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2015/02/23/unc-law-professors-speak-out-against-bogs-possible-closure-of-poverty-center/
The Progressive Pulse - 2/23/15
Nearly four dozen faculty members of the University of North Carolina's School of Law signed a statement late Friday denouncing recommendations from a special committee of the university system's governing board to cut a poverty-focused academic center.

UNC Center for Civil Rights Faces Board Scrutiny
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x1707096155/UNC-Center-for-Civil-Rights-faces-board-scrutiny
Durham Herald Sun - 2/23/15
The fate of UNC Chapel Hill's poverty center may be getting the headlines now, but a long-term controversy is shaping up over the future of a legal-aid group based in the university's law school. The same Board of Governors work group that favored closing ...

Threat Goes Beyond Gene Nichol http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/02/22/5528395/threat-goes-beyond-gene-nichol.html
Charlotte Observer - 2/22/15
Flatt is director of the Center for Law, Environment, Adaptation and Resources (CLEAR) at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Law.

Op-Ed: Kirk Ross: Back on – Or Back of? – the Bus Again http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2015/02/22/4575058_kirk-ross-back-on-or-back-of-the.html?rh=1
Chapel Hill News - 2/22/15
It was a rare bit of downtime on another leg of what turned out to be a 2,000 mile tour of North Carolina's hardest hit communities, with hundreds face to face interviews with the people in our state living in poverty.

Christensen: Nichol is Latest Academic Freedom Case
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/21/4572556/christensen-nichol-is-latest-academic.html
News & Observer - 2/21/15
Gene Nichol incurred the wrath of the Republicans with his criticisms of GOP Gov. Pat McCrory and the legislature's rightward turn of state government ...

Op-Ed: A Little BOG Clarity, Please, on What Constitutes 'Political Advocacy' for UNC Professors
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/20/4571160_a-little-bog-clarity-please-on.html?rh=1
News & Observer - 2/21/15
Joseph E. Kennedy is a professor of law at UNC.

Law Faculty Accuses UNC Panel of Attempting to Chill Free Speech
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/02/21/law-faculty-accuses-unc-panel-of-attempting-to-chill-free-speech/
Washington Post - 2/21/15
Now, scores of members of the law faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill have signed a statement deploring the recommendation to close the poverty center and are also pushing back against another recommendation by the panel. . . .

Fighting Poverty and Politics in North Carolina
Huffington Post - 2/21/15
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebecca-todd-peters/fighting-poverty-and-poli_b_6720874.html
In his role as director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, Nichol became active in the Moral Monday movement. As an outspoken advocate for the poor, he challenged the actions of the state government in opinion columns for the News and Observer.

Republicans Want to Shut Down Poverty Research in North Carolina
Washington Post - 2/21/15
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/21/republicans-want-to-shut-down-poverty-research-in-north-carolina/
The head of the poverty center, Gene R. Nichol, a law professor, said that Republican lawmakers had made it known to him, through university officials, that they would shut the center if he did not stop criticizing them and Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, in his columns for The News & Observer of Raleigh.

Effort to Close UNC Poverty Center Prompts Free-Speech Concerns
WRAL - 2/20/15
http://www.wral.com/effort-to-close-unc-poverty-center-prompts-free-speech-concerns/14460399/
Nichol, who also is a professor at the UNC School of Law, said the decision reeks of politics. He said he has been warned that his op-ed columns in newspapers that criticized Gov. Pat McCrory and legislative leaders for policies such as cutting unemployment benefits and changing elections laws were making lawmakers angry and that he would be targeted if he didn't pipe down.

Ideology Seen as Factor in Closings in University of North Carolina System
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/us/ideology-seen-as-factor-in-closings-in-university-of-north-carolina-system.html?_r=0
New York Times - 2/20/15‎
An advisory panel of the University of North Carolina's Board of Governors has recommended closing three academic centers, including a poverty center and one dedicated to social change, inciting outrage among liberals who believe that conservatives in ...

UNC Poverty Center Maneuver a Betrayal of University's Past and Its Promise
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/19/4568523/unc-poverty-center-maneuver-a.html
News & Observer - 2/20/15
John Charles Boger is dean and Wade Edwards distinguished professor at the UNC School of Law. He does not speak for UNC.

UNC Board of Governors Committee Slaps Nichol - and Free Speech
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/19/4568696/unc-board-of-governors-committee.html
News & Observer - 2/20/15
The director of that center, law Professor Gene Nichol, has become a well-regarded authority on poverty and has written regularly on the subject for ...

Debate deepens over possible closure of 3 UNC system centers
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/19/4568753/debate-deepens-over-possible-closure.html
News & Observer and Charlotte Observer - 2/20/15
UNC-Chapel Hill's outgoing law school dean has crafted an impassioned response about a UNC Board of Governors panel's recommended closure of ...

The Biggest Cut Facing UNC
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/02/19/5526082/the-biggest-cut-facing-unc.html
Charlotte Observer - 2/20/15‎
Academia can be annoying. It's full of people who ask difficult questions, sometimes loudly. They take what's comfortable and roll it around their fingers, looking for flaws. It's disconcerting. It's supposed to be. It's how we learn. So you can imagine how ...

Opinion: The Biggest Cut Facing UNC
http://www.thestate.com/2015/02/19/3999036_opinion-the-biggest-cut-facing.html?rh=1
The State ‎- 2/20/15
It's full of people who ask difficult questions, sometimes loudly. They take what's comfortable and roll it around their fingers, looking for flaws. It's disconcerting. It's supposed to be. It's how we learn. So you can imagine how educators feel this week about a ...

Former W&M President Nichol Embroiled in Controversy at UNC Chapel Hill Poverty Center
http://www.vagazette.com/news/va-vg-former-wm-president-nichols-embroiled-in-controversy-at-unc-chapel-hill-poverty-center-20150219,0,3301779.story
Virginia Gazette - 2/20/15
Former William & Mary President Gene Nichol has again landed in the news. Nichols released a scathing statement to the News & Observer in ...

Effort to Close UNC Poverty Center Prompts Free-Speech Concerns
http://www.wral.com/effort-to-close-unc-poverty-center-prompts-free-speech-concerns/14460399/
WRAL - 2/20/15
UNC law school Dean Jack Boger also has said the closure recommendation is clearly political retribution for Nichol's outspoken criticism of ...

Who Is Being Political? https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/19/unc-board-panel-wants-shut-down-center-poverty-led-faculty-member-who-criticizes
Inside Higher Education - 2/19/15
There is wide agreement in North Carolina that Gene Nichol is an articulate and forceful advocate for the impoverished of his state, unafraid to criticize political leaders …

UNC Poverty Center Facing Closure, As University System Leaders Finish Review of Centers
http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2015/02/19/unc-poverty-center-facing-closure-as-university-system-leaders-finish-review-of-centers/
NC Policy Watch - 2/19/15
The Center on Poverty … was the most well-known among the three centers singled out for closure … comments made during Wednesday's meeting were directed at another group in Chapel Hill's law school, the Center for Civil Rights …

Opinion: Chancellor Folt Must Take Stands Where Necessary
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/02/opinion-chancellor-folt-must-take-stands-where-necessary
The Daily Tar Heel - 2/19/15
Now that the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity and other centers across the state are likely being forced to close for political reasons …

Poverty Center Among 3 Targeted for Closing
The Robesonian - 2/19/15
Its director, Gene Nichol, has written opinion pieces critical of the governor. Chapel Hill campus leaders required Nichol to include a disclaimer in his ...

Boger, Nichol Remind Us of Why They Are Heroes (And Why the Right Is So Fearful of Their Criticism) http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2015/02/19/boger-nichol-remind-us-of-why-they-are-heroes-and-why-the-right-is-so-fearful-of-their-criticism/
2/19/15
The Progressive Pulse
... read the statements issued yesterday by UNC Law School Dean Jack Boger and Professor Gene Nichol in response to the the recommendation of a ...

No More Poverty in North Carolina? UNC Panel Wants to Close School's Poverty Center http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/02/19/no-more-poverty-in-north-carolina-unc-panel-wants-to-close-schools-poverty-center/
Washington Post (blog) - 2/19/15
John Charles "Jack" Boger, dean of the law school at UNC-Chapel Hill, issued ... Nichol, who is a law professor at UNC, condemned the decision in a ...

Watch UNC BOG Member Steven Long Criticize Chapel Hill-based Center for Civil Rights
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/02/19/no-more-poverty-in-north-carolina-unc-panel-wants-to-close-schools-poverty-center/
The Progressive Pulse - 2/19/15
Though the closure of the poverty center has garnered much of the news coverage from Wednesday's meeting, the most contentious aspect, by far,  was discussion about another center, the Center for Civil Rights in UNC-Chapel Hill's law school.

WSSU Research Center Told to Find Funding Elsewhere
http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/wssu-research-center-told-to-find-funding-elsewhere/article_a4faa350-b89b-11e4-bca4-43e1c7c13fc7.html
Winston-Salem Journal - 2/19/15
The committee recommended closing three centers on UNC campuses, including the UNC Chapel Hill's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, and N.C. Central University's Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change.

Closure Recommended For Poverty Center
http://wfae.org/post/closure-recommended-poverty-center
WFAE - 2/18/15
The poverty center's director Gene Nichol said Republican leaders are retaliating against him for his published criticism of the governor and other ...

UNC Panel Recommends Closing 3 University Centers http://wfae.org/post/closure-recommended-poverty-center
Charlotte Observer - 2/18/15
A panel at the University of North Carolina panel is recommending the elimination of three university centers, including one whose director has been an outspoken critic of Gov. Pat McCrory and GOP lawmakers. Multiple media outlets ...

Poverty Center One of Three Groups on UNC Board of Governors' Chopping Block
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2015/02/18/uncs-poverty-center-and-other-groups-on-unc-board-of-governors-chopping-block/
The Progressive Pulse - 2/18/15
Scroll down to read UNC law professor Gene Nichol's response to the expected closure of the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

BOG Committee Recommends Shutting Centers at UNC http://chapelboro.com/news/unc/bog-committee-recommends-shutting-centers-unc/
WCHL - 2/18/15
The UNC Board of Governors Working Group … met Wednesday morning to discuss recommendations … include closing the Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity at UNC in the next 12 months.

Panel Favors Closing UNC Poverty Center
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/showcase/x2133899646/UNC-panel-favors-eliminating-poverty-center
Durham Herald Sun - 2/18/15
A UNC Board of Governors working group says campus leaders should begin working "to discontinue" UNC Chapel Hill's Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity and two other issue-based centers elsewhere in the system. The recommendation goes to the full ...

Report Proposes Closing 3 UNC Centers, Ban on Advocacy
http://www.wral.com/report-proposes-closing-3-unc-centers-ban-on-advocacy/14455396/
WRAL - 2/18/15
"I struggle to see how the poverty center fits with the academic mission of the UNC law school to train the next generation of lawyers," Holmes said.

Gene Nichol's Response to Recommendation by UNC Board of Governors' Group to Close UNC Poverty Center
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/18/4565101/gene-nichols-response-to-recommendation.html
News & Observer - 2/18/15
Here is a statment from Gene Nichol, the center's director: Poverty is North Carolina's greatest challenge. In one of the most economically vibrant ..

UNC Panel Recommends Eliminating Poverty Center, Two Others http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/18/4565209_unc-board-panel-recommends-elimination.html?rh=1
News & Observer - 2/18/15
A University of North Carolina Board of Governors panel has recommended the elimination of three university centers, including UNC-Chapel Hill's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, whose director has been an outspoken critic of the Republican political leadership.

Poverty of The Spirit: North Carolina's Invisible Poor http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a33167/poverty-of-the-spirit-north-carolinas-invisible-poor/
Esquire - 2/17/15
The Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity was formed by Edwards-the son of a mill worker-and UNC Law School Dean Gene Nichol with a stated mission to "advocate for proposals, policies and services to mitigate poverty in North Carolina." Edwards used the center to hone his "Two Americas" platform for 2008, and an early bipartisan event featured former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp. Then Edwards left to run for president.

Results of UNC Centers and Institutes Review Could Be Revealed Soon http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2015/02/16/results-of-unc-centers-review-coming/#sthash.2T7wssD5.dpuf
The Progressive Pulse - 2/16/15
Gene Nichol, a tenured law professor who heads the poverty center,  questioned whether the review aimed to muffle points of view contrary to those of conservative state leaders. Nichol has rankled some for critical newspaper editorials he's written about Republican state leader

The War on the War on Poverty http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121062/north-carolina-republicans-battle-uncs-gene-nichol-poverty-center
The New Republic - 2/15/15
The Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity was formed by Edwards-the son of a mill worker-and UNC Law School Dean Gene Nichol with a ...

Work At UNC System Centers a Matter of Libertas, Not Liberals http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/13/4554126/work-at-unc-system-centers-a-matter.html
News & Observer - 2/13/15
Members of the Board of Governors have made it clear that these two academic and programmatic centers of the UNC School of Law remain on the ...

UNC's Board of Governors is Threatening to Silence Gene Nichol and Close His Poverty Center http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/13/4554126/work-at-unc-system-centers-a-matter.html
Creative Loafing Charlotte - 2/4/15
The Poverty Center was founded in 2005 by former senator John Edwards and UNC's School of Law, where Nichol was dean. During his unsuccessful ...

-February 23, 2015

The University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors today used its residual statutory powers to order the discontinuance of the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, which has been housed within the UNC School of Law since 2005. In doing so, great damage has been done to two of the state’s finest and most precious assets, the university’s freedom and its academic reputation.

The outcome is a dismaying decision by the BOG. Its special working group, despite an ostensibly thorough investigation, never identified any serious reason to justify this action. Closing the Poverty Center to achieve the BOG’s initial objective -- finding $15 million in savings that could be redirected to other University objectives -- makes no sense at all. The Poverty Center has not received State taxpayer funds since 2009 and takes up no campus building space at all. Other purported reasons -- that “the Center did not provide a wide-range of alternatives for addressing poverty,” that UNC-Chapel Hill “is working on other, multi-disciplinary poverty efforts,” and that “there is insufficient explanation of how the activities of this center meet the educational mission of the School of Law” -- have no basis in the record before the BOG.

The Poverty Center has a clear and powerful educational mission within the School of Law. It has provided to hundreds of law and graduate students meaningful research, analytic and writing experiences that have led to important published reports on poverty in North Carolina. It has introduced them to one of North Carolina’s most serious public policy issues. It has brought students into moving, first-hand encounters with lower-income and non-white communities and families, struggling to obtain shelter, adequate health care, a sound basic education for their children, and meaningful employment. The idea that the presence of other poverty work is underway at Chapel Hill makes this Center unnecessary states no reason why this effort should be shuttered, unless other efforts have been so very successful (plainly not) that no additional work to combat poverty is needed.

The Poverty center has also produced a trove of academic writings, including two books, nearly a dozen law review articles, and a host of empirical reports, which examine the challenges of poverty, especially in North Carolina, from a variety of perspectives. Its scholarly and academic contributions have been commendable.

It is evident, then, that the BOG closed this center, neither because it has failed to serve an educational purpose nor for any failure to carry out a serious scholarly agenda, nor because the center is redundant. Instead, the BOG has surely closed this center because it does not approve the writings and speeches of Professor Gene Nichol, who speaks and writes on poverty in North Carolina with unsparing candor. That motive contravenes core principles of academic free speech and inquiry. It threatens First Amendment values. It is a sad day for the great University of North Carolina, witnessing as its current Board of Governors yields to pressures that besmirch the University of North Carolina’s wonderful reputation, justly earned over the past century, for forthrightly exploring societal issues of greatest importance to the state, the region and the nation.

The motto of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has long been "Lux et Libertas" -- Light and Liberty. The BOG decision today acts to darken the light that shines forth from Chapel Hill. It would diminish the liberty of those who work and study there. I hope that voices of moderation and reason will act soon to restore the reputation of this great university and more faithfully serve the people of the State of North Carolina.

Jack Boger, Dean
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law

-February 27, 2015

The UNC Board of Governors voted unanimously on Feb. 27 to approve the full recommendations of its special working group on centers and institutes, which directs the closing of the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, and requests a report within a year on the work of the UNC Center for Civil Rights.

Read a statement from Gene R. Nichol, Boyd Tinsley Distinguished Professor of Law and director of the Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity, in response to the center closing.

Read a statement from Ted Shaw, Julius L. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Law and director of the Center for Civil Rights, regarding the required further review of his center.

-February 27, 2015

For two centuries, governments and the investors who buy sovereign bonds have struggled with the problem of how to help countries get debt relief without inviting excessive borrowing and undisciplined lending. Contract-based reform has been the most common attempt to address the issue, but due to the limits of that approach, the system for restructuring government debt remains flawed.

Those were among the points made in testimony by UNC School of Law associate professor Mark Weidemaier before the United Nations General Assembly, which has created a committee to study ways to reform sovereign debt restructuring processes. The session, on Feb. 5 at U.N. headquarters in New York, was convened to discuss a legal framework for restructuring.

One drawback to contract-based reform is that it often is out of step with changes in sovereign bonds.

“Many government bonds now give creditors the power, at least potentially, to interfere with the government’s use of property needed for basic financial, diplomatic, and even military activities abroad. Giving private creditors that kind of power can cause international conflict,” says Weidemaier, Ralph M. Stockton Jr. Distinguished Scholar.

Yet contract reform efforts don’t address that scenario.

“Countries cannot file for bankruptcy, which means their debts last forever. This makes it hard for over-indebted countries to regain their financial footing. The problem is compounded by the fact that a small group of investment funds has made a business buying debt issued by financially-distressed governments and then suing the governments to enforce the claims. These lawsuits can frustrate a restructuring approved by the vast majority of a government’s creditors and can even destabilize sovereign debt markets,” says Weidemaier, who spoke on a panel on the political economy of debt restructuring.

The debt crises in Greece and Ukraine underscore the need for a solution to government debt restructuring challenges and are keeping the issue top-of-mind for policymakers. Although Greece restructured its debt in 2012, the nation remains deeply indebted, and it’s unknown whether Greece will be able to stay in the eurozone.

The current method for restructuring government debt entails separate negotiations with official and private creditors and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Ideally, there would be a mechanism for coordinating these negotiations, deciding how to structure any program of debt relief, and making this decision binding on all affected parties. Most observers agree that this is a desirable goal. But there is no political consensus as to what such a mechanism should look like,” Weidemaier says.

The lack of consensus carries risks with broad implications.

“Individual creditors wield disproportionate power. This threatens to make restructurings more difficult and protracted, and that makes everyone — not just a country’s citizens, but also most of its creditors — worse off,” Weidemaier says.

Potential solutions include creating a system within the U.N. or IMF or periodic improvements to bond contracts.

“Everyone agrees the system is flawed. The disagreement is about how to improve it,” Weidemaier says.

-March 3, 2015

In its 2016 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” released on March 10, 2015, U.S. News & World Report ranked UNC School of Law No. 34.

In the specialty areas ranking, UNC was ranked No. 25 for environmental law and No. 35 for clinical training. UNC was listed as No. 14 in legal writing. The law school enhanced its Research, Reasoning, Writing and Advocacy (RRWA) program in 2011, expanding it to a full-year, six-credit program with nine full-time writing faculty members.

“We are pleased our newly expanded writing program is now recognized as one of the strongest in the country,” says UNC School of Law Dean John Charles “Jack” Boger ’74.

According to U.S News, UNC maintains its strong reputation among legal professionals. This year the law school ranks No. 19 in reputation among lawyers and judges and No. 21 among peers and scholars. In a category that U.S. News introduced last year, UNC School of Law was also listed among “the most diverse law schools.”

“We know the rankings can be one helpful measure among many to prospective students as they compare law schools,” says Boger. “Yet we consider this U.S. News ranking only one measure of our success as a law school. We are hard at work every day building the nation’s finest public law school.”

UNC ranked No. 27 among law schools that placed the highest percentage of graduates at the largest 250 law firms in the U.S., according to a ranking published this month from the National Law Journal.

-March 10, 2015

Sarah E. Parker '69

John C. "Jack" Boger '74

Christopher Brook '05

UNC School of Law will honor three exceptional graduates at its annual Law Leadership and Awards Dinner May 1, 2015.

The awards recognize members of the UNC School of Law community who embody the law school’s mission to serve the legal profession, the people and institutions of North Carolina, the nation and the world with ethics and dedication to the cause of justice.

Three Alumni Association Awards will be presented:

• The Honorable Sarah E. Parker ’69, of Raleigh, N.C., retired chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, will receive The Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifetime career that has been highly distinguished and whose achievements and contributions are widely recognized as significant and outstanding in her field.
• John Charles “Jack” Boger ’74, of Chapel Hill, N.C., dean and Wade Edwards Distinguished Professor of Law at UNC School of Law, will be presented with The Distinguished Alumni Award for accomplishments and contributions that have enhanced the school and the profession of law at the local, state, national and international level.
• Christopher Brook ’05, of Chapel Hill, N.C., legal director of ACLU of North Carolina, will receive The Outstanding Recent Graduate Award, for achievements that have brought credit to the school, the legal profession or society.

“We are tremendously excited to honor this year’s exceptional alumni,” says Kris Jensen Davidson, associate dean for advancement. “This event, which annually highlights Carolina Law’s outstanding alumni, students and faculty, will be also be, in part, a farewell to Dean Boger, as he completes his tenure as dean.”

Read more about this year’s alumni award winners. Tickets will go on sale in mid-February. For more information about the Leadership and Awards Dinner, contact Kelly Mann at kmmann@email.unc.edu or 919.445.0170.

-January 29, 2015

Photo credit: Shooheima Champion, Unisa

Thokozile Masipa, a judge at the Johannesburg Division for the Gauteng High Court in South Africa, will deliver the 2015 William P. Murphy Distinguished Lecture at UNC School of Law on Monday, April 6. The lecture will take place at noon in the rotunda at the law school.

Masipa was the second black woman admitted to the Bench in South Africa and was the presiding judge in the high-profile trial of Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp. Among other topics, Masipa will speak about her experience being a black female lawyer in South Africa.

"Our students and faculty will be interested to hear Masipa speak about her experience under apartheid and then as a lawyer and judge in South Africa," says UNC School of Law Dean John Charles "Jack" Boger '74.

Prior to attending law school at the University of South Africa, Masipa was a crime reporter whose stories often told of the indignities of life under apartheid, and she went on to become an advocate in her late forties. In 1977 she was arrested and imprisoned for her advocacy against apartheid.

After practicing law for seven years in Johannesburg, in 1998 Masipa was appointed as a judge in the Transvaal Provincial Division (as it was then known) of the High Court of South Africa, becoming the second black woman to be appointed as a judge in the High Court. Masipa has also served in Gauteng's consumer court tribunal, the Estate Agents Board and the Electoral Court of South Africa. She is one of the seven female South African judges featured in Courting Justice, a 2008 documentary film directed by Jane Lipman.

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.

-March 26, 2015

The search committee responsible for choosing the next dean of UNC School of Law announced the final round of candidates to visit campus for interviews during the month of April. The following five candidates have accepted invitations to visit campus:

• Robert Ahdieh, vice dean and K.H. Gyr Professor of Private International Law, Emory University School of Law
• Michelle Anderson, dean and professor of law, CUNY School of Law
• Sam Bagenstos, Frank G. Millard Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
• Martin Brinkley, partner, Smith Anderson Law Firm
• Daniel Crane, associate dean and Frederick Paul Furth Sr. Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School

“These remarkable people emerged from the search process as the strongest candidates,” says Dean Search Committee Chair Mike Smith ’78, dean of the UNC School of Government. “We have moved as quickly as possible to identify, recruit and schedule visits by these candidates before the end of the academic semester. Our goal is to give everyone in the Law School community, including alumni, the opportunity to meet these candidates and offer feedback to the search committee.”

An interview schedule and the candidates’ curricula vitae are available on the Dean’s Search page.

-March 27, 2015

Jenny Rivera, a judge on the New York State Court of Appeals, will deliver the Commencement address for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. The law school Commencement service will take place at 10 a.m. May 9 in Carmichael Arena.

UNC School of Law Dean John Charles Boger will preside during the ceremony. Rivera was chosen by a committee of law students from the graduating class.

Rivera was appointed to the Court of Appeals in February 2013. She has spent her entire professional career in public service. Rivera clerked for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor, in the Southern District of New York, and she also clerked in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals Pro Se Law Clerk's Office. She worked for the Legal Aid Society's Homeless Family Rights Project, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (renamed Latino Justice PRLDEF), and was appointed by the New York State attorney general as special deputy attorney general for civil rights. Rivera has been an administrative law judge for the New York State Division for Human Rights and served on the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Prior to her appointment, she was a tenured faculty member of the City University of New York School of Law, where she founded and served as director of the Law School's Center on Latino and Latina Rights and Equality. Rivera received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her LL.M. from Columbia University School of Law.

Learn more about UNC School of Law's 2015 Commencement.

-March 31, 2015

Back row, from left: Dean John Charles Boger; Professor Alexa Chew, AALSA Advisor; Rachel Brunswig 2L; Josephine Kim 1L; Julie Chen 2L; Caroline Keen 2L; Kathy Hirata Chin, Partner Cadwalder; Honorable Judge Denny Chin, 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals; Joshua Bennett 1L; Yishi (Mike) Yin 1L. Front row, from left: Charlotte Ke, Duke ’15; Sharon Lin 1L; Hillary Li 1L.

UNC School of Law’s Asian American Law Student Association (AALSA) hosted the inaugural Asian American Civil Rights Conference March 21, 2015. The conference, “Defining the Movement,” examined the historical roots of the Asian American Civil Rights Movement.

The conference featured a dramatic presentation of “Building Our Legacy: The Murder of Vincent Chin,” based on a script written by the Asian American Bar Association of New York and Frank H. Wu, chancellor and dean of UC Hastings College of the Law. Following the trial reenactment there was a panel discussion including Judge Denny Chin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; independent filmmaker Edward Lee; South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) Executive Director Suman Raghunathan; and UNC School of Law Assistant Professor Catherine Kim.

The lunchtime keynote was by Chin and his wife Kathy Hirata Chin, a partner at Cadwalader in New York, and focused on Asian American legal history. The conference was punctuated with workshops that provided a hands-on exploration of current Asian American civil rights issues.

“It was a great day for the Asian American Law Students Association and for Carolina Law,” says Eric Muller, Dan K. Moore Distinguished Professor of Law in Jurisprudence and Ethics. “It was a day that brought much-needed attention to an often overlooked thread in the tapestry of American civil rights history.”

According to Caroline Keen 2L, president of AALSA and the executive director of the conference planning board, about 70 people attended the conference, including undergraduate and graduate students, lawyers, professors, faculty, deans and administration.

“It is only through collaboration in the Carolina community that we can continue to contextualize and complete the American civil rights narrative. Collaboration is the key to making a change,” Keen says.

Other students who were involved in the conference planning include AALSA members Josephine Kim 1L, Julie Chen 2L, Rachel Brunswig 2L, Hillary Li 1L, Yishi (Mike) Yin 1L, Sharon Lin 1L, Joshua Bennett 1L, and Duke University students Charlotte Ke and Richard Cao.

-April 1, 2015

Photo credit: Shooheima Champion, Unisa

Thokozile Masipa, a judge at the Johannesburg Division for the Gauteng High Court in South Africa, delivered the 2015 William P. Murphy Distinguished Lecture at UNC School of Law on Monday, April 6. 

Masipa was the second black woman admitted to the Bench in South Africa and was the presiding judge in the high-profile trial of Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp. Among other topics, Masipa spoke about her experience being a black female lawyer in South Africa.

"Our students and faculty were interested to hear Masipa speak about her experience under apartheid and then as a lawyer and judge in South Africa," says UNC School of Law Dean John Charles "Jack" Boger '74.

Prior to attending law school at the University of South Africa, Masipa was a crime reporter whose stories often told of the indignities of life under apartheid, and she went on to become an advocate in her late forties. In 1977 she was arrested and imprisoned for her advocacy against apartheid.

After practicing law for seven years in Johannesburg, in 1998 Masipa was appointed as a judge in the Transvaal Provincial Division (as it was then known) of the High Court of South Africa, becoming the second black woman to be appointed as a judge in the High Court. Masipa has also served in Gauteng's consumer court tribunal, the Estate Agents Board and the Electoral Court of South Africa. She is one of the seven female South African judges featured in Courting Justice, a 2008 documentary film directed by Jane Lipman.

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. 

View the video of Masipa's talk.

-March 26, 2015

Caline Hou 2L and Prof. Beth Posner at UNC Public Service Awards 2015

UNC School of Law’s Domestic Violence Action Project (DVAP) was awarded the Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award at UNC’s annual 2015 Public Service Awards April 7, 2015. The Domestic Violence Action Project is a student-run organization that provides free legal representation to victims of domestic violence and sponsors speakers and programs to educate the university community about domestic violence.

The DVAP program being recognized is the Ex Parte Project, launched in 2013, in which students work directly with victims of domestic violence, assisting them with filing for Ex Parte Domestic Violence Protective Orders. The project initially began in Orange and Chatham counties, and in its second year the project’s partnerships are with the Durham County Courthouse and the Durham Crisis Response Center. Volunteers assist victims with all requisite paperwork and accompany them to their initial ex parte hearings to request emergency orders of protection. Twenty-nine students participated in DVAP’s Ex Parte Project training during the inaugural year of the project, and an additional 22 students participated this academic year.

“Students in DVAP have worked thoughtfully and efficiently to respond to a critical unmet legal need in our area, have built connections with community partners, and have provided consistent and accessible support to victims of domestic violence,” said Assistant Dean for Public Service Programs Sylvia Novinsky in her letter nominating DVAP for the award.

Caline Hou 2L, co-coordinator for the Ex Part Project along with Lindsey Brown 2L, accepted the award for the organization at the ceremony.

"We are grateful for the support the Ex Parte Project has received from the Carolina Law and Carolina communities,” says Hou. “The opportunity to utilize the legal education we have been fortunate to receive from UNC Law to serve survivors of domestic violence has added invaluable meaning to our education. Through this project, we hope to continue fostering an enduring relationship among students, the university and our community partners to provide advocacy to survivors of domestic violence."

Beth S. Posner, clinical assistant professor of law at UNC School of Law, is faculty advisor for DVAP. She says the Ex Parte project is an important educational opportunity for students and a significant help to people in crisis.

“I have no doubt that this project could be replicated in other counties,” says Posner. “Trained law students, motivated by a desire to meet the needs of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, are in a unique position to alleviate the burdens of our courthouse personnel and social service providers while meeting the needs of a very vulnerable group of litigants.”

The Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award recognizes individual students, faculty, staff and organizations at UNC for extraordinary public service and engagement. In addition to recognition at the awards ceremony, the honor includes a cash award and framed certificate. The award honors the memory and accomplishments of alumnus Robert E. Bryan ’26 of Newton Grove, N.C., who worked his way through the University to become a successful businessman, entrepreneur and public servant.

-April 8, 2015

The Pro Bono Board awarded the 2015 recipients of the Pro Bono Publico Awards at the annual Public Interest Celebration April 8. This year's award recipients included:

• Sylvia K. Novinsky Award - Anna Orr 3L
• 3L Student of the Year - Sawyer Lucy 3L
• 2L Student of the Year - Alison Melvin 2L
• 1L Student of the Year - William Norrell 1L
• Group Pro Bono Project of the Year - Hispanic/Latino Law Students' Association
• Faculty/Professor of the Year - John Charles "Jack" Boger '74, Dean and Wade Edwards Distinguished Professor of Law
• Alumni of the Year - Margaret Ann Anderson '81 and Landon S. Eustache '08

Learn more about the award winners. Award nominations may be submitted by alumni, legal organizations, or any member of the UNC Law community.

-April 8, 2015

Attendees gather around the newly unveiled portraits of Robert Browning '66 and Jack Lewis '61, which were hung in the superior courtroom at the Pitt County Courthouse on June 6, 2014. (Aileen Devlin/The Daily Reflector)

Two UNC School of Law alumni and former North Carolina appellate court judges were honored last summer by having their portraits hung in Superior Courtroom Number One in the Pitt County, N.C., Courthouse. The June 6 event recognized former N.C. Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert R. Browning ’66 and former N.C. Court of Appeals Judge John Baker “Jack” Lewis Jr. ’61 for their service as lawyers in Pitt County and on the bench.

The event was considered “a double bi-partisan (portrait) hanging,” according to Lewis, because he went to UNC as an undergraduate and Browning went to Duke University as an undergraduate. The two former judges are also of different political parties.

Browning, a resident of Greenville, was appointed to the state superior court and became the highest-ranking appellate judge from Pitt County as a justice on the Supreme Court. Browning is also the first Republican to have a portrait hung in the Pitt County courthouse.

“I thought the courthouse foundation might tremble, but so far so good,” Browning said after his portrait was unveiled. Lewis, a native of Farmville, practiced law with his father John B. Lewis Sr. ’30 until Governor Jim Hunt appointed him to the bench in 1982 as a special superior court judge. Governor Jim Martin then reappointed him in 1987. “It doesn’t get more bi-partisan than that,” said Lewis. Lewis was elected to the N.C. Court of Appeals in 1988. He retired from the appellate court in 2000 and completely retired from recall judicial status in the fall of 2014.

The event also focused on the similarities between the two UNC lawyers.

“Bob and I were both born in Pitt County, and we are both only children,” said Lewis. “We both have two sons, we went to the same law school and were both in the Navy. And we served in the same Naval reserve unit for nearly 20 years.”

“We have been friends and colleagues for a long time,” said Browning. “And that is one similarity that will never change.

-April 21, 2015