law school

Judge Who Axed J&J Bankruptcy Move Handed Biden a Vacancy

When Tom Ambro got a call from a friend in 1990 who mentioned “eleven-ten,” he thought it was a reference to the time rather than the section of the bankruptcy code that covers airplanes.

Ambro, then a transactional lawyer at Richards Layton & Finger in Wilmington, Del. agreed to represent aircraft financiers in Continental Airlines’ second bankruptcy.

That case, which he later argued before the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, altered the trajectory of Ambro’s career, pivoting his focus to bankruptcy. He ultimately returned to the Third Circuit as a judge, where he is perhaps the foremost authority on bankruptcy law sitting on any federal appeals court.

“He’s probably forgotten more bankruptcy than many circuit judges will hope to learn,” said Bruce Markell, a former bankruptcy judge who now teaches at Northwestern University.

Ambro, 73, is still making a mark even after recently taking senior status, penning the decision that struck down a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary’s bankruptcy earlier this year.

He may not have semi-retired at all if not for the election of fellow Delawarean Joe Biden, who had shepherded Ambro’s nomination through the Senate 20 years ago. By taking senior status, Ambro handed his

… Read the rest
July 22, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Exeter attorney makes first-ever SCOTUS appearance: ‘Every lawyer’s dream’

For Exeter attorney Terrie Harman, appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time on April 24 was exhilarating.

It’s a great privilege and a rare opportunity to appear before SCOTUS, and that is not lost on Harman.

“It’s every lawyer’s dream to go to the U.S. Supreme Court,” she says. “It was incredibly exciting. I can hardly believe that I went.”

Terrie Harman holding the brief for the case of Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, et al v. Brian W. Coughlin, her first appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Terrie Harman holding the brief for the case of Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, et al v. Brian W. Coughlin, her first appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Harman graduated from Franklin Pierce Law School in 1978 and began working at Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Bangor, Maine. There, she learned about bankruptcy law while representing indigents and developed a passion for the Bankruptcy Code. In the 1980s, she started her own firm, Harman Law Offices, where she was heavily involved in bankruptcy litigation and later became a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee.

Nowadays, her practice is mostly focused on probate litigation, estate planning, and general civil litigation, but it was one of her old bankruptcy cases that caught the eye of Boston lawyer, Richard Gottlieb, leading to a phone call that would place

… Read the rest
June 2, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Tamara F. Lawson named dean of the School of Law

News releases

July 5, 2022

Tamara F. Lawson has been named to the next Toni Rembe Endowed Deanship of the University of Washington’s School of Law, Provost Mark A. Richards announced today. Her appointment, set to begin Aug. 16, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.

Lawson will replace UW Professor Elizabeth Porter, who has served as interim dean since the beginning of the calendar year.

Lawson comes to the UW from her position as dean and professor at St. Thomas University College of Law in Miami. Prior to becoming dean, she was the associate dean for academic affairs and associate dean for faculty development. She is the chair of the Law Professors Division of the National Bar Association and a board member of the Law School Admission Council. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Governors for the Society of American Law Teachers.

“Dean Lawson brings a wealth of experience and expertise in enrollment and student success, financial management, fundraising, and diversity and inclusion in the field of law, as well as impressive scholarship in criminal law,” Richards said. “We expect that, under Dean Lawson’s leadership, the UW School of Law will

… Read the rest
July 12, 2022 by LAW

Mary Mancusi wins 2022 Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition | News | The Law School

Marilynmancusi

Notre Dame Law School’s Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion has announced that rising third-year student Marilyn “Mary” Mancusi is the winner of the 2022 Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition.

Mancusi’s paper, “Attorneys, E-Discovery, and the Case for 37(g),” addresses the concern that federal courts do not have a reliable and uniform system that allows them to impose sanctions on attorneys who violate e-discovery obligations.

Addressing the fact that much more evidence and information is now found through various electronic forms, and that attorneys play such a major role in the discovery process, Mancusi’s paper proposes a new rule be added to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The rule defines a uniform, reliable system for federal courts to impose sanctions on attorneys who participate in e-discovery misconduct. 

Her paper also discusses the rise of e-discovery as digital technology became more prevalent, the ethical and common-law expectations that attorneys currently have in e-discovery, and the ways that federal courts have previously sanctioned attorneys for their role in e-discovery abuse.

Professor Veronica Root Martinez, director of the Law School’s Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion, said, “Mary’s submission stood out for its timely topic, analytical rigor, and reasoned proposal. I am

… Read the rest
June 21, 2022 by LEGAL

Law School Decides To Install Trump Advisor As New Dean
President Trump Calls Prime Minister Of Ireland From Oval Office

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

It takes a lot of planning and effort to start a new law school. High on the priority list is securing faculty and leadership for the burgeoning school. High Point University, a private school in North Carolina affiliated with the United Methodist Church, announced earlier this year they’re opening up a law school in 2024. Earlier this week, HPU revealed its choice for founding dean of the law school, and it is a… peculiar one.

HPU has hired Mark D. Martin as its law school dean. Martin previously served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, as an Associate Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and was dean and professor of law at Regent University School of Law. All of which are seemingly excellent qualifications for law school dean, so why is this anything more than a perfunctory article noting the hire?

Well, that’s because Martin lent his expertise to former President Donald Trump after he lost the 2020 election. According to a report by the New York Times, Martin was the legal mind behind the theory that the Vice President could just decide not to certify the election

… Read the rest
June 17, 2022 by LAW
April 2024
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930