Our 2007 Commencement speaker is in the news with a profile in the Cleveland Plain Dealer that identifies him as the "face of the Democratic Party's future."

Tim Ryan, who got his law degree here in 2000, was elected to Congress in 2002 and has become a popular campaigner for his party's candidates throughout the country. Ohio leaders in both parties see him as a political comer:

"Ryan's doggedness on behalf of his Akron, Warren and Youngstown-area constituents, coupled with his ability to sound like a regular guy while discussing arcane topics like Chinese currency manipulation, has earned him the reputation of a political up-and-comer who could be a candidate for the U.S. Senate as early as 2010." 

We can't help wondering if he will be campaigning for another Pierce Law grad, Donna Edwards, in her campaign to represent Maryland's 4th District.

We're just a few days away from the start of the Spring semester, and we thought it would be helpful to remind you about important imminent dates on the academic calendar.

• Monday, Jan. 14: Classes begin
• Monday, Jan 21: Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No Classes
• Wednesday, Jan 23: Last Day To Add/Drop Courses
  
• Friday, Jan. 25: Last Day To Elect An S/U Grade
  

And don't forget the week-long Winter break, which starts Saturday, Feb. 23!

You can find the academic calendar, by the way, on the Registrar's pages in the eCampus area of the web site.

The planned outage of student e-mail that began on Tuesday is now over, and you can access your e-mail account again.

However, the servers are working extra-hard to play catch up. As such, things will be slow for a while. All e-mail that was sent to you during the outage will eventually be delivered. We appreciate your patience and hope that you enjoy the much higher storage quota.

Regards,
Marc & Paul,
Computer Services 

Deadlines are fast approaching for applications for some scholarships sponsored by non-profits and agencies outside Pierce Law.  Check the details on the outside scholarships and writing competitions page in the financial aid section of the web site.

Two scholarships have January deadlines: the Mensa Education & Research Foundation Scholarship Essay Contest (1/15) and the Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest (1/31).

Thanks to 8 inches of snow on the first day of the "spring" semester, the Dean has announced all 3pm and evening classes are cancelled today.

Professor Budd's Federal Courts class, which would have met at 1pm, is also cancelled. 

Welcome back for the Spring semester!

We at the Pierce Law Report look forward to keeping students and faculty up-to-date on the happenings at Pierce Law (and occasionally keeping you entertained).

With Spring Semester underway, it's time to start thinking about summer and full-time employment.  The Career Services Office posts job notices as a service to students, graduates and employers.

DEADLINES FOR RÉSUMÉ COLLECTION ARE QUICKLY APPROACHING!

For a list of job opportunities and deadlines, check out www.piercelawjobs.com.  If you have any questions, stop by the Career Services Office.

Pizzeria Uno will be hosting a fundraiser to support the Pierce Law Chapter of Habitat for Humanity this Thursday, January 17.  When you a present a special Habitat certificate to your server, 20% of your check will go to Habitat.  To receive a certificate and learn more information, contact Eileen Chou at echou@piercelaw.edu.  Pizzeria Uno's is located at Fort Eddy Plaza next to Petco and L.L. Bean.

Habitat is a non-profit organization that has built more than 225,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter.  Come support this great cause and enjoy some delicious food  (p.s. Uno's has a great Happy Hour with cheap beer and appetizers)!

The SBA Board of Governors is accepting applications from interested students to join the 2008 Barrister's Ball Planning Committee.

For those new to Pierce Law, Barrister's Ball is the annual "Law School Prom" held each Spring to celebrate the end of the school term (and for some, the end of law school). This is the time for everyone to get dressed up, enjoy great food, each other's company, and have a fantastic time!

This year, Barrister's Ball will be held at the Capitol Center for the Arts on Friday, April 4th, 2008.

The planning committee will be responsible for organizing all aspects of the event including catering (hiring a caterer, not actually making the food), theme/decorations, music, entertainment, tickets, etc. The event can only be as good as the people planning it, so we are looking for organized, motivated, creative go-getters who can have fun while planning a large party!

Anyone interested in being a part of the planning committee for Barrister's Ball, please email the SBA Treasurer, Adam Muller, at sba-treasurer@piercelaw.edu by 5pm on Friday, January 25th.

In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Day, Pierce Law will be closed on Monday, January 21st. Some make-up classes will be held, however, due to the early closing this previous Monday, the 14th.

The campus and the library will remain open for students to use during normal hours, 7:45 am to 12 midnight. The doors to the school will be open from 7am until 5pm except for the main Washington Street student entrance which is open until midnight, following the Library hours.

News

We're delighted to pass along the happy news that former Pierce Law Reporter Nick Barnes JD '07 and current student Rebecca Cotterell are engaged to be married. Mazel Tov!

Barbara Wilson reminds us that deadlines are fast approaching for applications for some scholarship  sponsored by non-profits and agencies outside Pierce Law. See the details about these outside scholarships and writing competitions.

Monday, January 21

Tuesday, January  22

American Constitution Society Meeting. 12 noon to 1 pm, Room 202
All students interesting in joining/ participating in the Pierce Law Chapter of the American Constitution Society should attend this meeting.  We will discuss the upcoming Jan 29th talk with Prof. Carl Bogus from Roger Williams School of Law, who will discuss the 2nd Amendment, the right to bear arms, and the recent decision in Parker v. District of Columbia (478 F.3d 370, D.C. Cir. 2007).  We will have pizza and drinks and will also discuss officer positions in the chapter as the 3Ls need to step down and give the reins to other students!  If you are interested in being an officer in the ACS, please attend.

Wednesday, January 23

Professor Ann McCrackin attends the American Intellectual Property Law Association's Mid-Winter Institute in Phoenix, AZ.

The Sports Club holds its first weekly basketball night.

Thursday, January 24

Working in the Public Interest/Public Service Sector? Paying back student loans? Learn about the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. 12:30 in Room 229. Lunch provided. Please RSVP for lunch to Mary Anne Aspell.

Westlaw training for 1Ls, make-up sessions. Moot Court training at 9:30 in Room 205 and Westlaw training at 12 noon in Room 103

Friday, January 25

SBA Meeting. 6pm in the Rich Room.

Black Law Students Association (BLSA) Meeting. 6pm in Room 102. 

Saturday, January 26

It's Republic Day in India, observing the adoption of the Constitution of India and the transition from British Dominion to republic in 1950. 

Fair dinkum -- put on your glad rags and celebrate! It's Australia Day, too, mate.

Got news for the next Next Week @ Pierce Law? Send your events and notices to pbyfield@piercelaw.edu no later than 12 noon on the previous Wednesday. NW@PL is produced by the Pierce Law Communications Office and distributed to faculty, staff, and students towards the end of each week. 

The Licensing Executives Society presents a lecture on trademark licensing Thursday at noon in Room 203. Professor Karen Hersey will give a lecture entitled "Licensing Smart to Avoid Pitfalls." Refreshments will be provided.

Professor Hersey recently retired as Senior Counsel for Intellectual Property at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she represented MIT's interests on intellectual property matters with a variety of constituencies, including industrial research partners and both U.S. and foreign governments. She publishes widely in the area of intellectual property law as it impacts institutions of higher education. Professor Hersey is a past president of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). In addition to offering courses dealing with technology transfer for nonprofit organizations and intellectual property management in universities, she also teaches U.S. Copyright Law.

This is an SBA-sponsored event. 

The Black Law Students Association will be having a general meeting on Friday January 25 at 6pm in Room 102.

The Black Law Student Association is a professional, nationally-affiliated organization of black law students dedicated to improving opportunities in legal education.

The purpose of the organization is to support, guide and direct Black students in academic, professional and social endeavors.

For more information, visit www.piercelaw.edu/blsa/ or contact Shauna-Kay Hall.

Sunday, January 27

Monday, January 28

Tuesday, January 29

Wednesday, January 30

Thursday, January 31

Friday, February 1

Academic Success will offer a mini bar review for Criminal Procedure. Professor Chris Johnson will use MBE questions to review the subject. 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. in room 205.

Professor Mitchell Simon is a panelist at a CLE for criminal defense attorneys on New Hampshire's new Rules of Professional Conduct and on judicial misconduct.

Saturday, February 2

Also...

Professor Mitchell Simon's most recent ethic article is being published this week. The cite is: Mitchell M. Simon, Discreet Disclosures: Should Lawyers Who Disclose Confidential Information to Protect Third Parties Be Compelled to Testify Against Their Clients? 49 S. TEX. L. REV. 307 (January 2007).

Got news for the next Next Week @ Pierce Law? Send your events and notices to pbyfield@piercelaw.edu no later than 12 noon on the previous Wednesday. NW@PL is produced by the Pierce Law Communications Office and distributed to faculty, staff, and students towards the end of each week. 

The Student Bar Association will be holding an open meeting in the Rich Room on Friday January 25 from 6:00pm-7:30pm.  All students are encouraged to attend.  The SBA is the representative body for all Pierce Law students.  They advocate on students behalf, and they allocate student fees.  Take an active interest! 

For more information on the SBA and Friday's agenda, visit the SBA page on TWEN or e-mail the Governing Board.

With the memory of final exams fading and the spring semester off and running, Pierce Law bids farewell to a few graduate students who graduated in December. This week On the Stand we bring to you one of them, Gerardo Jose Guillén, from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

With an academic background of Bachelor of Sciences and Letters, Gerardo is an attorney in his country. Now specializing in Intellectual Property, he chose this field after observing that Intellectual Property is the most internationalized field of law. It is fast gaining more and more importance in Central America as it has in the rest of the world.

Gerardo was attracted to Pierce Law by its international reputation for excellence in intellectual property and its large faculty of IP professors who are recognized around the world as an authorities on patent, copyright, trademark and other aspects of IP law on the subject all over the world. He says that one of the most extraordinary features of the school is the faculty's helpful and friendly attitude towards students.

Gerardo returns to Honduras to work in the field of intellectual property law, and hopes to start a new IP department in his firm and may pursue an MBA, as well. He is interested in politics and also wants to engage in work with nonprofit organizations, especially those working to help the children and senior citiizens with diabetes problems. We look forward to keeping up with you in the years to come, Gerardo!

The American Constitution Society and the Student Bar Assocation are sponsoring a lecture by Professor Carl E. Bogus from Roger Williams Law School TONIGHT Tuesday January 29 at 5:00 in Room 200. 

The title of Prof. Bogus's lecture is "Gaining Momentum- The Gun Lobby's Selective Reading of the Second Amendment."  Professor Bogus has been teaching law since 1992 and has written several articles on the Constitutionality of the Second Amendment.

All are invited.  Free pizza and drinks will be provided.

Sunday, February 3

Go Pats!

In a strange coincidence, it is Bob Griese's birthday. Griese was the quarterback for Miami Dolphins in their undefeated 1972 season.

Monday, February 4

John Marshall was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States on this day in 1801.

10 Year Ago Today, on a visit to Brussells, Bill Gates was assualted with a cream pie. The pie was tossed by Noel Godin, a Belgian known for similar antics at the annual Cannes film festival.

Tuesday, February 5

Ricardo Alberto Antequera, IPSI '96, and managing partner of the Venezuelan IP firm, Estudio Antequera, Parilli, & Rodriguez, speaks on "The Intersection of the Law & Legal Practice for IP Attorneys: A Case Study on Anti-Counterfeiting Enforcement in Venezuela" at 12 noon in Room 200. A light lunch will be served, so please RSVP to iipo@piercelaw.edu. Sponsored by the SBA and Graduate Programs.

Professor Buzz Scherr is in Atlanta, Georgia, hosting Pierce Law alumni for cocktails and conversation at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel.

Much of the rest of the country gets a chance to select their candidate: It's "Super Tuesday" primary day.

Wednesday, February 6

A delegation of global leaders visits Pierce Law to learn about Intellectual Property rights. The International IP Organization invites interested students to meet with them at a wine and cheese reception in the Rotunda at 12 noon. 

2008 PIC Showcase. Representatives from seven agencies who have hired PIC interns in the past will be at tables in the hallways outside the Rich Room from 12 noon to 1 p.m. to talk to interested law students about summer internship experiences. The agencies are the New Hampshire Public Defender's Office, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, Merrimack County Attorney's Office, Hillsborough County Attorney's Office, Legal Advice and Referral  Center, and the Disabilities  Rights  Center.

The February staff meeting is held at 11 a.m. in Room 205. 

Dean Hutson is in Los Angeles today through Friday, attending the Deans' Conference at the ABA mid-year meeting.  

Professor Emeritus Richard A. Hesse appears on a panel preceding the presentation of "TOP SECRET: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers" at the Capitol Center for the Arts. The Panel is at 6:30 and the performance begins at 7:30. Others on the panel are Mike Pride, Editor of the Concord Monitor and Judge Steven McAuliffe of the United States District Court.   

Thursday, February 7

Friday, February 8

Bar review: MPT practice opportunity with Professor Margaret Sova McCabe, Room 203, 3-6 p.m. Organized by Academic Success.

Lunar New Year celebration. Students from China, Korea, Taiwan and some other countries hold the Lunar New Year Party at the Jury Box at 6:30 p.m.  All students, faculty and staff are welcome! Food (Chinese and Korean) and some little prizes will be provided. An SBA-sponsored event.

Reception for artists featured in the annual exhibit of work by New Hampshire printmakers, 5-7 p.m. This is a public event and all are invited.

Saturday, February 9

Got news for the next Next Week @ Pierce Law? Send your events and notices to Priscilla Byfield at pbyfield@piercelaw.edu no later than 12 noon on the previous Wednesday. NW@PL is produced by the Pierce Law Communications Office and distributed to faculty, staff, and students towards the end of each week.