Centered on sustainability

Photo by Greg Brave / iStock.com

KU Law faculty research addresses environmental concerns

Sustainability is a global issue. As sustainability concerns and environmental threats occupy an ever-growing role in international affairs, KU Law faculty have placed an emphasis on scholarship, policy work and course offerings in this area.

“We see sustainability as a core focus of our international and comparative law programs,” said Virginia Harper Ho, associate dean for international and comparative law. “These issues cross not only geographic boundaries but also legal disciplines from environmental law and natural resources, to intellectual property, jurisdiction and finance, to immigration and national security.”

More than one-third of the law school’s faculty are engaged in teaching or research on international and comparative law issues. Of that group, a growing number are working on projects related to sustainability issues and impacts.

Below are highlights of recent faculty scholarship in the broad field of global sustainability.

Virginia Harper Ho: Green finance

Virginia Harper Ho

Companies and investors are increasingly concerned about the financial impacts of climate risk and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns.

Professor Virginia Harper Ho’s research offers new evidence and policy solutions to help corporate boards, investors and regulators confront those challenges. Her work focuses on corporate governance, sustainability and finance from a comparative perspective, with recent projects covering green finance and shareholder activism around ESG issues and ESG disclosure reform for publicly traded companies.

“Over 60 governments around the world, and international organizations from the United Nations to the G20’s Financial Stability Board, are also developing standards that can help companies be more transparent about climate risk and help financial markets do better about taking those risks into account,” Harper Ho said.

Several of Harper Ho’s recent articles focus on the financial incentives for large investors to shape how companies address climate impacts and environmental risks. In 2017, she authored a brief report on investor priorities for The Conference Board, a global business think tank. Several of her recent articles have received research awards.

“My latest work presents empirical evidence of where the views of investors and business groups align – or not – on how the Securities and Exchange Commission should revise public company reporting rules to address ESG risks,” Harper Ho said.

Harper Ho is also an expert on contemporary Chinese legal reform. Her most recent projects shed light on how China is implementing its national policy framework for sustainable finance. Harper Ho’s article in the Cornell International Law Journal is one of the first to look at Chinese banks’ efforts to introduce green lending practices. In 2018, she was a visiting research fellow at the Central University of Finance & Economics’ International Institute of Green Finance in Beijing. While there, she joined local scholars at the Institute in conducting field research on Chinese policy proposals to align financial systems with sustainable development goals.

Harper Ho has presented her work at the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment annual academic conference and at leading universities in the U.S. and abroad.

John Head: International law and environmental protection

John Head

Climate change poses challenges to global production. Meeting those challenges will require legal and institutional reform on a global scale.

That’s where John Head’s research comes in. Head is three books in on a four-book series about the intersection of international law, agricultural reform and environmental protection. In 2016, he received a Fulbright fellowship – the third in his career – from the U.S. Department of State, to further his scholarship in the area.

Head’s research aims to examine and contribute to efforts at reforming global agriculture in ways that will help address crises in the areas of climate change, ecological degradation and food insecurity. Reflecting his international law specialization, his work gives special emphasis to concepts of sovereignty, global governance and the public trust doctrine.

“My overall aim is to design new legal and institutional frameworks to facilitate a transformation of agriculture to a sustainable system,” Head said.

Head presented on the topic at the Institute for Comparative Federalism in Bolzano, Italy, during a fall 2018 research semester.

Uma Outka: Energy law and environmental law

Uma Outka

Professor Uma Outka’s research focuses on the intersection between energy systems and the environment.

“The transition to low-carbon energy sources is underway around the globe as nations strive to meet the goals of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change,” Outka said. “My work engages this transition from multiple angles, considering legal pathways and barriers to decarbonization.”

In recent work, Outka has studied the evolving role of the consumer on the electric grid. The work considers large corporate consumers’ demands for clean power on the one hand and the place of low-income households in energy law on the other, she said.

Outka traveled to India in May 2018 to explore climate change solutions rooted in renewable energy law and policy with Indian students and faculty. She co-taught a course at the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law in Kharagpur, India. She taught the course with Professor Uday Shankar.

“Collaborating on the course deepened our understanding of the context for scaling up renewable energy in the U.S. and India,” Outka said. “Climate change is a global issue, and every country has to approach climate mitigation in ways that work for its unique circumstances.”

The course was funded by the Global Initiative for Academic Networks, an effort by the Indian government to foster international connections through its higher education system. Shankar invited Outka to provide international context for India’s renewable energy law policies and to offer comparative legal perspectives.

“This is a really interesting time for energy law. Virtually every country in the world shares a goal to decarbonize the electricity system and shift to low-carbon sources,” Outka said.

— By Ashley Golledge and Margaret Hair

Mediation Clinic teaches law students how to ask the right questions

3L Hannah Lustman participated in KU Law’s Mediation Clinic. Photo by Ashley Golledge.

The first three semesters of my law school career often focused on answering questions: making sure I considered as many arguments in favor of my position as possible, considering the counterarguments, and then articulating why my arguments were better supported by the law.

Then, 18 months into my time at KU Law, I joined the first cohort of students in the Mediation Clinic. As a clinic student with an aspiration to litigate, I had a lot of breakthroughs over the course of the semester about how I can best represent my future clients when we get to mediation (where, undoubtedly, we will spend more time than a courtroom). But my first breakthrough was this: I’d spent so much time in law school answering questions, that I hadn’t thought about how to ask them.

The Mediation Clinic trains law students to serve as mediators, and good questions are a crucial tool for any mediator. Throughout my time in the Mediation Clinic, I learned how to come into a conflict I had very little background on and help the parties reach a meaningful solution. To do so, I would ask the parties alternating questions – starting broad and open-ended, then moving toward specific – so I could ascertain my own sense of the case. This was so challenging to me, but valuable. In an adversary environment, we teach ourselves to be zealous advocates for one client. This means we often don’t think enough about the merits of the other side’s argument. As a mediator who is ethically bound to be neutral, I couldn’t simply treat one side’s position as a counterargument to be torn down. I had to test my patience and critical thinking to explore the problem until I had a comprehensive sense of how both sides viewed their positions and how they envisioned a positive outcome. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to help them!

And while asking great questions was a critical skill for serving as a mediator, I know it will also serve me well in my attorney role. Professor Shawn Watts, director of the Mediation Clinic, likes to tell us that a lawyer, “can make or break a mediation.” Having learned about the mediation process, and seen in dozens of situations what it takes to make a deal, I will be confident going into a mediation that I can zealously protect my client without being obstructive to the resolution process. To do this, it will be critically important to know the true strengths and weaknesses of my client’s case – both legally and factually. My first step toward doing so will be in-depth interviews with my client designed to get as comprehensive a picture of a case I attempt to get as a mediator. In the long run, I will protect better by knowing all sides of the story, rather than just the best version of her side of the story.   

—   3L Hannah Lustman

101 things to know before coming to law school

Members of the First Generation Professionals organization meet in Green Hall. Photo by Ashley Golledge.

(Front row) Peter Qiu, Professor Jean Phillips, Ashley Reece, Marisol Garcia, Misbah Karamali, Adeline Tolle, Mary McMullen, Saber Hossinei. (Back row) Michael Tuttle, Nancy Donahue, Zachary Beach, Valeria Carbajal, Kristen Dvorak, Claudia Chavarria, Austin Stout.

First Generation Professionals seeks to promote a positive atmosphere at the University of Kansas School of Law for law students who are first generation college students or first-generation law students. Our objectives are to build community among aspiring first generation legal professionals, promote strong ties between the organization, other student organizations, law faculty, students and staff and the legal community at-large through outreach and networking events, and to provide members with professional etiquette and to encourage members embrace their unique background.

Congratulations on beginning or continuing your journey towards becoming a lawyer! We hope this list and our presence in Green Hall can help alleviate some of the stresses associated with law school. Good luck with the semester and Rock Chalk!

  1. Don’t rent your Bluebook! Go ahead and buy it. You’ll use it throughout your time in law school.
  2. Most events during the lunch hour offer free lunch.
  3. Come in with an open mind.
  4. Get involved with organizations you’re passionate about.
  5. Get to know your professors, staff and the Office of Career Services.
  6. Go to office hours!!
  7. Don’t be afraid to talk to upperclassmen (they were once in your shoes).
  8. Bring ALL your business casual clothing with you to law school.
  9. Have a nice suit for interviews and networking events.
  10. Go to Student Bar Association sponsored events — you’ll get to know a lot of your peers!
  11. No one knows what they’re doing either.
  12. The open-door policy is REAL.
  13. If you don’t know what imposter syndrome is, look it up and know that EVERYONE feels the same way.
  14. Go to networking events.
  15. It’s okay to take a night off.
  16. Watch your drinking at events.
  17. People will have different political opinions than you … and that’s okay.
  18. You don’t need to feel obligated to state your opinion on everything.
  19. This is a competitive environment, but not everything needs to be a competition.
  20. Be cautious of your reputation in the law school — it sticks with you.
  21. Green Hall has a Keurig, so you can bring K-Cups.
  22. Highlights are your best friend.
  23. Get to know your peers … it could potentially be very helpful when looking for a job in the future or with life.
  24. Don’t feel down if you don’t have a job for the summer. Classes are just fine.
  25. Make sure you have extra headphones in Green Hall.
  26. HIGHLIGHTERS
  27. Make sure to buy ear plugs for finals week.
  28. Find something that helps you de-stress from law school (working out, coloring, talking with friends, etc.)
  29. Don’t be afraid to raise your hand in class … chances are there are more people with the same question.
  30. The DeBruce Center is tempting …
  31. Try to meet someone with the same laptop charger as you because you might forget yours at home.
  32. Beware of the Starbucks vending machine.
  33. Make sure to buy your parking pass as soon as you are able to!
  34. Don’t be afraid to turn people down.
  35. It’s helpful to review outlines from older students, but you learn more when you make your own outline.
  36. Some people like studying for finals in groups. Some people do better on their own. Find what works for you.
  37. You don’t need to dress up every day.
  38. Try to get a hold of an outline early in the semester to review.
  39. Reading cases DOES get easier.
  40. You don’t need to buy supplemental books, free access online.
  41. Do your best to not procrastinate.
  42. DO take breaks and find a balance for yourself.
  43. Take advantage of extracurriculars early.
  44. Do traffic court early on. You tend to have more time first semester.
  45. Be on time to classes. Professors notice when you are consistently late.
  46. Don’t get discouraged.
  47. If you want to save money on books, try buying used books from upperclassmen or online.
  48. Try to review exams with your professors after first semester.
  49. When the weather is nice outside, try to find a table on campus and do some homework. (This gets you away from Green Hall for a while and you still get to enjoy our beautiful campus!)
  50. Participate in class! Professors will notice and appreciate when you do.
  51. Participate in the Bluebook Relays!
  52. Keep a planner (electronic or paper).
  53. PAY ATTENTION IN RESEARCH LAB!!
  54. Read the notes after the cases (they’ll help you understand concepts, give you some more insight).
  55. Keeping a baby stapler in your backpack helps (and will make you a very popular person, especially when everyone has to turn in assignments).
  56. TABS (from Amazon, Walmart and Target).
  57. SBA sells some really cool KU Law swag.
  58. Take notes in class! It will really help when you’re reviewing before your exam and in making your outline.
  59. If you like coffee shops, Mass Street is the place to go.
  60. Time blocking/to-do lists help, especially when you have a really busy week.
  61. The Lawrence Public Library is a really cool study spot and super underrated.
  62. Keep an extra pair of headphones in your backpack, locker, etc.
  63. Take a walk on campus if you ever feel like you need a break from the building (it’s a good workout too!)
  64. Don’t forget to treat yo’self.
  65. Appreciate your TA’s! Especially in Lawyering Skills.
  66. Go to the exam reviews!!! Seriously, can’t stress this enough.
  67. You can reserve study rooms for yourself or if you have a study group getting together.
  68. Bring some extra dry erase board markers (the ones already in the room aren’t always reliable).
  69. Be nice to the library faculty! They can be a huge help.
  70. If you have an upcoming meeting, make sure you set a reminder on your phone so you don’t forget.
  71. Brush up on your grammar.
  72. Color code your highlighting, so it’s easier to pick out relevant information during class.
  73. Buy your favorite pens in bulk.
  74. Don’t forget to check out Course Reserves before your exam (they have a lot of test prep materials).
  75. If you want to look at supplemental materials, some professors will have some that students can check out so you don’t have to buy them.
  76. You don’t have to do your studying at Green Hall! A change in scenery can really help.
  77. Take advantage of the other libraries at KU.
  78. The School of Engineering, Watson Library and Anschutz Library also have study rooms you can book.
  79. Watson is quieter than Anschutz.
  80. If you’re willing to make the trek, “The Underground,” located in Wescoe Hall on Jayhawk Boulevard also has multiple food options.
  81. Take little breaks!
  82. Do traffic court.
  83. If you have a pet, invest in them.
  84. Buy scrunchies (very popular in Green Hall).
  85. Pantyhose are your friend (for on-campus interviews or when you have to dress business professional).
  86. Invest in a steamer!!
  87. Get a lint roller.
  88. Put big events/final exam times in your planner.
  89. As you approach finals, make a study schedule and stick to it.
  90. Check your email!
  91. Keep an extra sweater at the school (it gets chilly sometimes).
  92. Layers are the way to go. Some rooms are hot, and others will be freezing.
  93. Pay attention to the orientation events during the school year because it will give you a lot of useful information for interviews (and there is food).
  94.  Keep track of deadlines.
  95.  Get a head start on revising your resume over winter break.
  96.  Go to McLain’s when it’s nice outside!
  97. When you start studying for finals, find a way or someone to hold you accountable to your schedule.
  98. Don’t buy a physical Bluebook. Buy an e-version, so you can Ctrl-F.
  99. Don’t get caught up in the competitive aspect.
  100. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask.
  101. YOU WILL MAKE FRIENDS!

— List compiled by the members of KU Law’s First Generation Professionals organization.

Medical-Legal Partnership provides legal services to those in need

Since its launch in 2008, the KU Law Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) has provided free legal assistance to thousands of low-income patients at area hospitals while offering hands-on training to law students.

Lou Mulligan, Earl B. Shurtz Research Professor and director of the MLP program, said the MLP benefits its host sites, its patient-clients and its student interns.

“Our patient-clients lives have improved, and our students receive a high-caliber and unique live-client educational experience,” Mulligan said.

Students participating in the KU MLP at KU Medical Center.

Staffed by licensed attorneys and KU law students, the MLP provides assistance to patients referred by medical partners in Kansas City at the University of Kansas Medical Center, University of Kansas Hospital, University of Kansas Cancer Center, the JayDoc Free Clinic, and in Lawrence at LMH Health. The program is part of a national movement of hospitals integrating legal services into patient care.

A supervising attorney and participating students meet with referred patients to assist with a broad range of civil legal needs. The MLP assists with dozens of different case types, including: advanced care planning, federal and state benefits denials, guardianships, protection from abuse orders, expungements, immigration matters, and housing issues, among others.

Growth in referrals

The program has seen rapid growth in patient referrals since it started in January 2008 as the first MLP in Kansas. During the 2018-19 fiscal year, the KU Medical Center (KUMC) clinic received 940 referrals, a 10% increase from the previous year.

In the past three years, the KUMC-based MLP has received more than 2,500 referrals. The program expects to top 1,000 referrals for the first time in the coming year, said Lindsey Collins, L’14, MLP managing attorney for the KUMC location.

“The MLP has established itself as an enduring partnership within the health system and, every day in our work, the need for pro bono legal services continues to reveal itself,” Collins said. “More and more, people need access to affordable, quality legal services to improve their health and wellness outcomes. The MLP helps meet that need.”

Referral numbers provided by managing attorneys with the KU Medical-Legal Partnership.

In 2016, the project expanded to LMH Health in Lawrence. From its launch in August 2016 through July 2019, the LMH program received nearly 800 referrals for over 1,000 different legal needs, with referrals increasing each year.

In 2018, the MLP at LMH received 330 referrals for patients with 400 different legal needs, an increase of 75% from the previous year. This year, the MLP expects the referral count to reach 450.

MLP student intern experience

Each KU Law intern commits upward of 200 hours for each semester they’re enrolled in the MLP field placement. Third-year law student Blair Bohm describes her MLP field placement as “one of the most meaningful experiences of law school.” During her internship, Bohm drafted documents, strengthened her research and writing skills, and directly interacted with patients.

Blair Bohm
Blair Bohm

“Many of the clients at the MLP are experiencing significant hardships,” Bohm said. “During these desperate situations, the thought of having to seek help or hire an attorney could bring someone a substantial amount of added stress. Through the MLP, we have the opportunity to step in, help meet those clients’ needs and offer the services at no cost.”

The MLP is supported with funds from private donors, as well as gifts from LMH Health and the University of Kansas Health System. Those donations fund three staff attorney positions, plus supplies and professional development costs. They also cover needs such as phone interpretation services to assist clients who speak English as a second language.

To make a gift online, include “Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic” in the “other purpose” field.

— By Margaret Hair

KU Law professor directs intellectual property department at the Broad Institute

Andrew Torrance

Dr. Andrew W. Torrance is leading the intellectual property department at the Eli and Edythe Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, which is often referred to as the Broad Institute. Torrance is on temporary leave from his position as the Paul E. Wilson Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Kansas School of Law.

The Broad Institute is a biomedical and genomic research center located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Biological scientists at the Broad Institute aim to improve human health through the study and advancement of the human genetic code and the genetic basis of disease.

“The Broad Institute is perhaps the leading scientific institution in the world. It is home to some of the most influential biologists in the world,” Torrance said. “As Senior Director of Intellectual Property, I lead a team of attorneys and other legal professionals who protect technologies with patents, or where appropriate, open source them, so their benefits are widely disseminated around the world.”

Torrance began this role on Aug. 26, 2019, and is on leave from KU Law to pursue this challenging and exciting position.

When the Broad Institute reached out to Torrance to offer him the position, he was eager to accept.

“It really was the professional opportunity of a lifetime for me,” he said. “I am extremely grateful to Dean Stephen Mazza, Chancellor Douglas Girod, Vice Provost for Faculty Development J. Christopher Brown, and others in the KU administration for their generous support of me in this new adventure.”

In his new role, Torrance looks forward to immersing himself in guiding the Broad Institute in making sound intellectual property decisions that further the Institute’s mission to benefit the public good through improved understanding of biology and enhanced treatment of disease.

“This experience is thoroughly disrupting my entire understanding of intellectual property.  It is certain to transform the way that I think about my field,” Torrance said. “This will make me a better source of information and experience for everyone – including students – in the future.”  

As the head of intellectual property, Torrance will help guide legal, bioethical, and business decisions relating to the Broad Institute’s impressive portfolio of technologies, including gene editing.

“One of the interesting aspects of the job will be to combine business, ethics, scientific strategy, policy, and legal considerations of some of the technologies that will quite literally change humanity in the future, and to do so in a responsible manner,” Torrance said.

At the Broad Institute, Torrance hopes to develop a unique perspective on intellectual property law that he can pass on everyone, including KU students, in the future.

Torrance joined the KU Law faculty as an associate professor in 2005 and was promoted to tenured professor in 2011. He teaches and conducts research in patent law; intellectual property law; food and drug law; and biodiversity law.

He has given more than 100 scholarly presentations at numerous universities, research organizations, governments and intergovernmental agencies. He has also published more than 25 scholarly works. His scholarship has appeared in such journals as the Yale Journal of Law and Technology, Stanford Technology Law Review, Columbia Science and Technology Law Review and Berkeley Technology Law Journal.

Torrance has a B.S. from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada and an A.M., J.D. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Before coming to KU Law, Torrance taught at Harvard University, the University of Washington School of Law, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. He has also served as Fellow in Law, Innovation, and Growth at Northwestern University School of Law and as a Manza Scholar at the DePaul University College of Law. In 2008, Torrance served as a policy advisor to then-presidential candidate Barack Obama on his Technology, Media and Telecommunications Committee.

— By Ashley Golledge

David Simon joins KU Law faculty as visiting assistant professor

David Simon has joined the KU Law faculty as a visiting assistant professor. He is teaching torts this fall, and will teach courses in criminal law and patent law this spring.

David Simon

Simon said he’s looking forward to the potential for interdisciplinary work at a large research university, and the chance to connect with students at KU Law.  

“There’s opportunity for interaction with students on a one-to-one basis. That was important to me, making sure I can connect with the students and really engage them while I’m teaching,” he said.

Simon recently completed a Ph.D. in law at the University of Cambridge, where he was a Cambridge International Scholar. He earned an LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 2011 and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2008.

His research focuses on the intersection of health and intellectual property, as well as examining authors’ rights in copyright. Current projects include examining how trademark law can potentially improve public safety, and how physicians’ prescribing practices can identify new uses for existing medications without the need for patent rights.

An interest in intellectual property combined with experiences with the healthcare system drives those research projects, Simon said.

“Part of intellectual property’s appeal is its subject matter. It’s about fun stuff. It’s about books and movies and Coca-Cola and all the things that everybody knows. Intellectual property is something that everybody can get their head around because they interact with it on a daily basis,” he said.

“I became interested in health law through personal experience in the healthcare system. Navigating the medical system motivated me to understand how we can improve it, though various legal regimes such as intellectual property law, tort law and evidence law. The medical system is so large and complex — perhaps too large for the average patient — that no single legal regime could, by itself, adequately regulate it.”

Simon has taught at Harvard University, the University of Navarra, the European School of Economics, and Greenbriar Elementary School. Before coming to KU Law, he practiced law in Chicago, first at a commercial litigation firm and later at his own firm, simon law group llc.

— By Margaret Hair