UNLV Law Magazine 2015

UNLV Law THE MAGAZINE OF THE WILLIAM S. BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW | 2015

LEARNING FROM ‘FABULOUS’ LAS VEGAS LESSONS IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Plus: A LOOK AT THE NEW INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR GAMING REGULATION BOYD EXPANDS HEALTH LAW PROGRAM

“My primary goal is to keep students excited about intellectual property law. I want to show them all the facets of the issues they are interested in.”

UNLV Law

UNLV Law THE MAGAZINE OF THE WILLIAM

S. BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW | 2015

LEARNING FROM ‘FABULOUS’ LAS VEGAS

2015

LESSONS IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Plus: A LOOK AT THE NEW INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR GAMING REGULATION BOYD EXPANDS HEALTH LAW PROGRAM

“My primary goal is to keep students excited about intellectual property law. I want to show them all the facets of the issues they are interested in.”

ON THE COVER

Marketa Trimble, Professor of Law at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law (Aaron Mayes/UNLV Photo Services)

features

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LEADING LAW LIBRARY

The largest law library in Nevada, the WienerRogers Law Library undergoes a redesign to better serve students, faculty, and the public

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LEARNING FROM ‘FABULOUS’ LAS VEGAS

Professor Marketa Trimble uses an unlikely example – the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign – to teach the importance of intellectual property rights

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EYES IN THE SKY

Conversations revolve around drone regulation and reasonable expectations of privacy at a Symposium on UAS in Nevada

departments

1 FROM THE DEAN’S DESK 2 OPENING ARGUMENT 4 CENTERS & CLINICS 12 GIVING BACK 14 WHO KNEW? 28 FACULTY FOCUS 36 THE GALLERY 42 CLASS ACTIONS 44 DONORS

A MESSAGE FROM DEAN DANIEL W. HAMILTON

FROM THE DEAN’S DESK

Reaching New Heights

T

he UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law is one of the top public law schools in the country and is stronger than ever.

The past year brought many significant accomplishments for the law school, its current students, and alumni, and I would like to mention a few.

Once again, this year UNLV was among the top schools in the nation for judicial clerkship placements, ranking 6th among all law schools for state and municipal clerkships. Our graduates successfully competed for clerkships on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Nevada Supreme Court, federal district courts and appellate and trial courts in Nevada and surrounding states. This year, Boyd also enjoyed its highest ever ranking in U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 edition of the best graduate schools, along with continued accolades for its dispute resolution and legal writing programs.

Our accomplished faculty also won awards and recognition for innovative research and scholarship. In a study exploring the scholarly impact of law faculties at the top third of ABAaccredited law schools, the Boyd faculty was ranked 50th among law schools nationwide. Professor Jean Sternlight, who directs the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution, was awarded the 2015 ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work as well as the 2015 American College of Civil Trial Mediators Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, Professor Sara Gordon, Boyd students Gil Kahn and Dawn Nielsen, and University of Nevada School of Medicine Professor of Psychiatry Melissa Piasecki were awarded a national grant to revise mental health laws in Alaska and to propose innovative approaches to health care legislation. Their work contributes to Boyd’s new Health Law Program. Directed by Professor Stacey Tovino, this Program will bring together all the work in health law done by our faculty and create partnerships with health science programs across UNLV and UNR, and in particular our new medical school.

One of our greatest accomplishments in the past year has been the introduction of new opportunities and partnerships in gaming law and regulation. This fall, we are delighted to launch a new degree program, the nation’s first LL.M. in Gaming Law and Regulation. We have students from around the country here on campus pursuing this new degree and we are glad to welcome them to Boyd to be part of our exciting new initiatives in this burgeoning, dynamic and sophisticated area of law. We are also glad to be partnering with the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration as we move forward in creating a new International Center for Gaming Regulation. This Center will be an academic leader in the study of gaming regulation; will serve as a national and international leader in the creation of best practices; and will

enable sustained discussion among regulators, industry and academia.

Our three named lecture series programs continue to attract wonderful and distinguished speakers. This year’s Judge Philip Pro Lectureship in Legal History welcomes Professor Christine Desan, constitutional history professor at Harvard Law School. This year we will hold our third annual Robert D. Faiss Lecture on Gaming Law & Policy, and we are delighted to welcome Scientific Games CEO Gavin Isaacs. And after last year’s great success with Ken Feinberg, we are excited to once again hold the Judge Lloyd D. George Lecture on the Judicial Process.

The past year our students achieved a great deal as well. Our Public Interest Law Association student group, through its annual auction, raised tens of thousands of dollars, enough funding for nine summer internship grants at public interest organizations such as Nevada Legal Services, the Southern Nevada Senior Law Program, and the ACLU of Nevada. In another terrific achievement, Boyd’s chapter of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) won Chapter of the Year at the BLSA national convention, held in March.

During the 2015 Legislative Session, 14 UNLV students served as externs in Carson City to learn the legislative process firsthand.

For the first time, we placed four students in Governor Brian Sandoval’s office. Other placements included the Legislative Counsel Bureau, the Nevada Hispanic Legislative Caucus, Washoe Legal Services, Clark County Public Defenders, and law firms.

And last, but certainly not least, we continue to do important work with our community partners, providing necessary legal services. In our partnerships with Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Nevada Legal Services, we have by now provided free legal help to more than 50,000 Nevadans through free education seminars, our community service program, and with our students working on pro bono cases alongside a practicing attorney.

Thank you for allowing us to share a few of our successes. The UNLV law school has achieved a great deal in a short time, and this is only possible because our faculty, students, and alumni, together with the bench and bar, are committed to building something great together. I am grateful for your interest and support, and our best days lie ahead.

Daniel W. Hamilton Dean and Richard J. Morgan Professor of Law

UNLV LAW MAGAZINE EDITOR CATHERINE BACOS ASSOCIATE EDITOR VANEH DARAKJIAN GRAPHIC DESIGNER CHED WHITNEY CONTRIBUTING WRITERS KANDY DELACRUZ MIKE KALIL MATTHEW KELEMEN TOVIN LAPAN JENNIFER MUJICA LAUNCE RAKE BRIAN SODOMA CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS GERI KODEY AARON MAYES CONNIE PALEN R. MARSH STARKS UNLV PRESIDENT LEN JESSUP ACTING EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & PROVOST NANCY B. RAPOPORT DEAN, WILLIAM S. BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW DANIEL W. HAMILTON SUBSCRIBER UPDATES Update your address and submit Class Actions items at: law.unlv.edu/alumni/ StayConnected READER FEEDBACK UNLV Law magazine welcomes feedback from readers. Submit comments at: law.unlv.edu/magazine UNLV Law magazine is published by the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Office of Communications 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Box 451003, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-1003 (702) 895-3671 law.unlv.edu UNLV is an AA/EEO INSTITUTION.

Learn more: Read Boyd Briefs, a weekly newsletter from Dean Dan spotlighting Boyd faculty, students and alumni. Subscribe at law.unlv.edu/BoydBriefs.

2015 | UNLV Law

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A PROMINENT MEMBER OF NEVADA’S LEGAL COMMUNITY PRESENTS A COMPELLING CASE

OPENING ARGUMENT

GUEST COLUMN | GOVERNOR BRIAN SANDOVAL

Justice in the New Nevada HOW THE REFORMS OF THE 78TH LEGISLATIVE SESSION HAVE ENHANCED NEVADA’S JUDICIARY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME

T

he state of Nevada stands at a historic juncture. We are rapidly and dramatically diversifying and expanding our economy across a variety of sectors, laying the foundation for what I call the “New Nevada.”

With the passage of legislation during the 78th Regular Session and the implementation of new policy reforms, significant and exciting progress has been made in pursuit of the possibilities that will define the New Nevada. They include a modern K-12 education system that prepares students for a competitive, 21st century economy, an elite higher education system that supports a robust and skilled workforce, and a business environment that attracts entrepreneurs and innovators and encourages them to develop transformative ideas and technologies right here in Nevada.

Building the New Nevada will also necessitate a culture of fair, common-sense oversight and regulation that supports a framework of certainty and predictability from our government. And while this is critical for economic growth, business enterprise and industrial development, it is equally important for everyday Nevadans who deserve a government that is efficient and responsive.

An efficient and responsive state government requires a judicial system that ensures access to justice for all of Nevada’s citizens.

The establishment of Nevada’s Intermediate Court of Appeals earlier this year, as well as important legal reforms passed during the Legislative Session, have helped to implement a more refined and effective judicial system in our state. These reforms to Nevada’s legal system will help to ensure that cases are adjudicated more quickly, that the rights of crime victims are appropriately regarded, and that judges have the tools they need to craft fair decisions that reinforce public confidence in the fundamental ideals of equality and justice under the law.

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Sought for more than two decades in Nevada, the Court of Appeals has already significantly lightened the caseload that had bogged down the Nevada Supreme Court, which had previously been required to manage and process appeals in routine cases such as custody disputes, leading to lengthy wait times and delayed decisions in cases with broader legal and policy implications for the state. Nevada’s three inaugural Appeals Court Judges, Chief Judge Michael Gibbons, Judge Abbi Silver, and Judge Jerome Tao have eagerly and expertly worked to alleviate the backlog of cases burdening the state’s court system, and have shown that they are up to the task as leaders of this new Nevada institution. With this newly established intermediate court, and a team dedicated to raising the standard of excellence within Nevada’s legal profession, the state of the law in Nevada will unquestionably be improved and refined, benefiting legal practitioners and their clients as well as legal academia and further reflecting Nevada’s growth and development as a center for innovation in the 21st century.

This year’s regular Legislative Session also produced a number of important reforms that significantly enhanced Nevada’s judiciary. I signed AB 435 into law which established a new district court for the state of Nevada. AB 435 created Nevada’s Eleventh Judicial District, comprised of rural Mineral, Lander, and Pershing counties and led by one District Judge. Prior to the bill’s passage, judges in the Fifth Judicial District had to travel up to 550 miles from Pahrump to Hawthorne to hear cases, which necessitated delays of up to a year in divorce and

criminal proceedings that otherwise could have been processed much more quickly.

The establishment of Nevada’s newest district court alleviated what had been the 4th highest caseload per judge in the state, improving judicial efficiency and creating an environment that is more responsive to the needs of Nevadans, particularly in our state’s rural counties.

With the creation of these new courts and venues through which legal disputes may be adjudicated, we have meaningfully expanded access to justice for citizens across the state. In addition to these improvements, we also implemented important policy reforms that will change how cases and disputes are decided for the better.

Ours must be a judicial system that adopts best practices and approaches with regard to prosecuting criminal acts, reducing recidivism, and providing legal recourse for victims of crime, particularly for our most vulnerable citizens. And where it was clear that our legal system could do better, I took the opportunities presented during this legislative session to modernize and strengthen Nevada’s judiciary as part of our pursuit of the New Nevada.

One of the most significant and memorable pieces of legislation I signed into law this session was AB 212, a unanimously passed bill that increased Nevada’s statute of limitations for prosecution of sexual assault from 4 years to 20 years. Often, children who are victims of sexual assault, especially at an early age, are unaware that they have been victimized until they reach an older age. Under Nevada’s 4-year statute, children who were victimized at a young age and who did not report their abuse, out of fear or simply because they didn’t know where to turn, were left without a remedy.

By extending the statute of limitations for prosecution of sexual assault offenses, AB 212 preserves the right to seek redress for victims who otherwise may have been forced to live as victims with no recourse from their justice system. I also approved AB 52, which provides critical clarifying language enabling the state to hold a facility accountable for neglect, injury, or abuse suf-

“With the creation of these new courts and venues through which legal disputes may be adjudicated, we have meaningfully expanded access to justice for citizens across the state.”

OPENING ARGUMENT

Surrounded by state lawmakers, business leaders, Nevada System of Higher Education regents, and the UNLV community, Gov. Brian Sandoval on June 11 signs Senate Bill 514, Nevada’s major appropriations bill, into law. fered by a child temporarily in the care or custody of that facility. Our justice system can only be as strong as its ability to protect our children from harm, and these two bills represented significant improvements to Nevada’s capacity to provide legal recourse for child victims.

I’m also proud to have signed important legislation that improved Nevada’s judiciary through criminal sentencing reforms. One such reform was AB 267, which eliminated life sentences without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders. AB 267 incorporated the rationale of the U.S. Supreme Court in Miller v. Alabama (132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012)) as well as the recommendation of the American Bar Association with regard to mandatory sentences of life without parole for offenders under the age of 18. The bill, also unanimously approved by the Legislature, empowers Nevada judges to exercise their discretion in considering the differences between juvenile and adult offenders, a policy reform that further modernizes our criminal justice system. With the passage and approval of AB 267, Nevada joins a host of other states that have already eliminated the possibility of sentencing a minor to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

This year we also took action to expand

upon a pilot program established by the Legislature in 2011 that allows courts to order treatment for offenders who violate the terms of their probation due to drug or alcohol dependency or mental health issues.

AB 12, a bill sponsored by my administration, made the program permanent, helping to ensure that criminal offenders in need of treatment will continue to receive the care and attention that they need. This will reduce incarceration costs to the state, and require offenders who break the law as a result of substance abuse to get the treatment that will enable them to lead productive lives.

Equal justice under the law remains a touchstone principle that continues to inform our efforts to preserve an efficient and fair judicial system in Nevada. While the unbiased and impartial prosecution of criminal acts and the enforcement of our criminal laws are critical, Nevada’s citizens deserve the chance to recover expenses in situations when they are unfairly and unreasonably subject to unjustified criminal prosecution. SB 186, a bill that mirrors federal law and that passed the Legislature unanimously, allows citizens subject to a vexatious, frivolous, or bad-faith criminal action, to recover some or all of their at-

torney’s fees and expenses. This measure increases accountability over state government and helps to ensure that criminal prosecutions are not abused or instituted without just cause.

These are only some of the important legal reforms enacted during the most recent Legislative Session. Additional reforms were implemented in the areas of tort litigation and family law, as well as real property law, specifically with regard to foreclosure proceedings. We also helped to modernize the logistical and day-to-day operations of Nevada’s courts, increased the compensation rates for court reporters, and implemented other administrative and housekeeping changes that will allow courts to decrease costs and increase efficiencies to the benefit of litigants.

Of course, Nevada’s judiciary benefits immensely from a top-tier, widely renowned and nationally respected law school that produces dedicated and professional graduates who are ready to assume leadership roles as advocates in the courtroom, innovators in the public policy arena, and as candidates for elected office. UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law has been a game-changer for our state, which is why I increased funding for our state’s law school by more than $3 million over the next biennium. We must continue to invest in this outstanding institution as it continues to produce high-caliber lawyers and practitioners on the frontlines of Nevada’s system of justice.

We have made incredible strides this year toward building the New Nevada, but much work remains before we reach our full potential as a state. It is my hope that 20, 30, even 50 years from now, Nevadans will look back at the reforms of the 78th Legislative Session with pride, knowing that we did our part, in our moment, to seize the opportunities before us to make the necessary changes, embrace the difficult choices, and implement the reforms that paved the way for a stronger, more successful and more vibrant state for generations to come. It is my hope that Nevada’s future generations, the students and young learners of today, will look back at what we’ve accomplished together and conclude that we have taken the critical first steps toward a 21st century education system, a truly diversified and innovative economy, and a judicial and legal environment characterized by a robust and unrivaled commitment to justice, fairness, efficiency, and equality under the law.

2015 | UNLV Law

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UPDATES ON BOYD’S SPECIALTY PROGRAMS

SALTMAN CENTER FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION

CENTERS & CLINICS

Senior Scholars PAT MULROY JOINS BOYD AS A SENIOR FELLOW Pat Mulroy, a leader in the international water community for more than 25 years, has joined the Boyd School of Law as a Senior Fellow for Climate Adaptation and Environmental Policy and also as a Practitioner in Residence for the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution.

Along with UNLV, she shares appointments at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) and the Brookings Institution.

“We are delighted to welcome Pat Mulroy to the UNLV Boyd School of Law,” said Daniel Hamilton, dean of the law school. “She has for decades been a leading authority in our state and around the world on the critical public policy issues surrounding water, conservation and natural resources. We look forward to Ms. Mulroy working with our nationally recognized Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution and to forging new partnerships with DRI and the Brookings Institution.”

In her new role at Boyd, Mulroy’s focus is on helping communities in waterstressed areas throughout the American Southwest and the rest of the world develop strategies to address increased water source volatility and identify solutions that balance the needs of all stakeholders.

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LISA BLOMGREN AMSLER AND HAL ABRAMSON NAMED SALTMAN SENIOR SCHOLARS Professors Hal Abramson and Lisa Blomgren Amsler, both leading scholars and teachers in the field of conflict resolution, were named Saltman Senior Scholars in February 2015.

Director Jean Sternlight explains that “Both Hal and Lisa have longstanding ties to the Saltman Center and Boyd School of Law. Naming them Saltman Senior Scholars will reinforce this close connection and ensure that our program continues to benefit from the association with these two conflict resolution stars.”

Abramson previously visited Boyd for a year and taught a course on mediation advocacy in the Saltman Summer Institute. Blomgren Amsler visited at Boyd for a year and a half, teaching courses on ADR and labor law and also helped to organize a major Saltman Center conference on Democracy and the Workplace. Both Blomgren Amsler and Abramson taught courses in the 2015 Saltman Summer Institute, and their new status as Saltman Senior Scholars ensures their return to Boyd often in future years.

Abramson, a full-time faculty member at Touro Law Center in New York, is an expert in domestic and international commercial mediation, and has given classes and trainings throughout the United States as well as in numerous foreign countries. His award-winning book, Mediation Representation: Advocating as a Problem Solver, now in its third edition, was at the core of Abramson’s Saltman Summer Institute course on mediation advocacy. Abramson says, “It is my honor to have this opportunity to

be formally associated with the innovative Saltman Center and to engage with its excellent faculty and the superb students at UNLV.” Blomgren Amsler is Professor and Keller-Runden Chair in Public Service at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs where she has taught since 1992. Editor of three books on dispute resolution and collaborative governance, and author of more than 90 articles, monographs and book chapters, Blomgren Amsler is particularly known for her work with respect to systems design. Blomgren Amsler notes that while she is “a lawyer by training and practice” she spends most of her time teaching in an interdisciplinary policy school. Blomgren Amsler reports, “It was a gift to be a visiting professor at the Boyd School of Law a few years ago and get to know its great faculty and terrific students. Becoming a Saltman Senior Scholar gives me an intellectual home with people who understand how important and universal the field of negotiation and dispute resolution is for all disciplines.”

“Becoming a Saltman Senior Scholar gives me an intellectual home with people who understand how important and universal the field of negotiation and dispute resolution is for all disciplines.”

SALTMAN CENTER FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION

CENTERS & CLINICS

THE ROLE OF FEDERAL MAGISTRATE JUDGES IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Twice Honored

SALTMAN CENTER DIRECTOR JEAN STERNLIGHT EARNS MULTIPLE AWARDS Maybe this is what happens when you let the world see your gray hair. This year Jean Sternlight has been awarded two major honors in the field of conflict resolution.

The American Bar Association Section on Dispute Resolution named Sternlight its 2015 Outstanding Scholar at its spring meeting in Seattle. Announcing the award, the ABA Section stated, “Professor Sternlight is a rigorous and thoughtful scholar and colleague who has written prolifically and passionately about arbitration and its place in the justice system. She has mentored the next generation of dispute resolvers, dispute resolution scholars, and practitioners; organized special journal issues on dispute resolution topics; participated in organizing

national gatherings; and taken a leadership role on the policy of dispute resolution both within the Section of Dispute Resolution and nationally. Professor Sternlight’s work and efforts have contributed greatly to the field.”

In addition, the American College of Civil Trial Mediators awarded Sternlight its 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual conference held over the summer in California. While Sternlight is not a mediator, she has written extensively and enthusiastically about mediation in both books and articles.

She observes that she is particularly thrilled to get the award as “some of my best friends are mediators!”

“Professor Sternlight is a rigorous and thoughtful scholar and colleague who has written prolifically and passionately about arbitration and its place in the justice system.”

This September the Saltman Center co-sponsored with Duke Law School and Boyd School of Law a conference that examined federal magistrate judges’ contribution to conflict resolution. The conference began as the brainchild of now-retired Judge Philip Pro, former Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of Nevada and current member of the Saltman Center Board of Advisors, who began his judicial career as a federal magistrate judge.

Topics explored by the conference included better understanding of who magistrate judges are, their powers and the functions they perform, and how their role has been changed—and threatened—by recent constitutional jurisprudence.

As Judge Pro has observed, “The Federal Magistrates Act of 1968, which created these judgeships, represented the culmination of years of effort to improve the quality of justice and to expedite the disposition of the growing caseloads in the federal courts.” Among many other duties, federal magistrate judges often develop and staff important ADR programs. In the Ninth Circuit, for example, Magistrate Judge Valerie Cooke established a program where volunteers mediate pro se prisoners’ section 1983 civil rights claims. Often, magistrate judges themselves mediate pending matters, conduct settlement conferences, or provide early neutral evaluations.

The collaboration between UNLV and Duke to put on this conference developed because Judge Pro recently completed an LL.M. in Judicial Studies at Duke, writing a thesis on magistrate judges’ role in the federal court system. Judge Pro, who after retiring from the federal bench joined JAMS as an arbitrator and mediator, argues that “the evolution of the Magistrate Judges System demonstrates the federal judiciary’s capacity to provide an accessible forum in which litigants can receive a fair, inexpensive, and expeditious resolution of their disputes.”

2015 | UNLV Law

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THOMAS & MACK LEGAL CLINIC

CENTERS & CLINICS

Documenting Collateral Consequences FAMILY JUSTICE CLINIC WORKS TOWARD MINIMIZING COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES OF CONVICTIONS IN THE WAKE of President Obama commuting the sentences of 46 drug offenders and the increasing awareness of deaths during encounters with law enforcement, it seems as if the types of reforms sought by entities such as the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law’s Family Justice Clinic (FJC) have never had a better chance at being enacted. But while the president’s unprecedented visit to a federal prison this summer made front-page news, the 46 people behind those sentences still face the collateral consequences of their convictions.

“Regardless of the fact that they’re getting out early and that their sentences have been commuted, they’re still going to encounter the issues that everyone who’s been in prison or has a conviction will encounter,” said Jessica Perlick, an FJC fellow at the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic. “Issues of employment, issues with housing, student loans, if they try to go back to school, background checks. There’s a lot of different issues that arise just from being convicted.”

The FJC, under the direction of Professor Elizabeth MacDowell, is identifying those issues with its Post-Conviction Community Needs Assessment Project. People who have been through the justice system face a variety of challenges, from mandatory minimums and plea-bargaining to being stigmatized by potential employers and being restricted from or refused housing.

These experiences can be especially burdensome on families. A full picture of life after conviction is needed to address the collateral 6

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effects of criminalization, which is how the FJC contributes. Students collect data from people recently released from custody, on parole, or on probation through surveys and interviews.

Once analyzed, the results will be earmarked to inform policy and help identify community priorities.

“At this point we’re trying to put the data together,” said Perlick. “We want people to be aware of the issues that are arising. When we talk about our justice system and we talk about crime and punishment, we assume that you do the crime you do your time. You’re done. That’s what we’ve been led to believe our entire lives, anybody who’s ever watched TV, anyone who watches movies.”

The problems beyond incarceration are more under the radar. While it may be inappropriate for a person convicted of fraud to continue working in finance, a deep background check can keep a reformed convict from working at a dry cleaning service. Lack of employment can lead to non-payment of child support and more jail time. A felon may lose voting rights. Sex offenders may be unable to find housing anywhere but in high-crime areas; and even when they do, their addresses will likely be posted online.

“If you’re talking about a low-level sex offender, you could be talking about someone who urinated in public,” said Perlick. “And that’s ridiculous, because now you’re making that person a pariah because they’re a ‘sex offender,’ but it’s really that they exposed themselves in public – not necessarily to someone, certainly not in an aggressive or lewd manner.

It could be something as simple as that. Or you have issues with individuals who maybe were statutory sex offenders, parents who caught their kids sleeping together and one of them was older.”

Surveys bring the collateral consequences to the surface.

“There are guys I’ve talked to in this survey, they’ve encountered this problem since, let’s say, the beginning of their criminal history,” Perlick said. “They got a conviction in the 1980s, which precluded them from finding work. So then they do something to try to support themselves that’s not necessarily legal and they get arrested for that. Now they get put in prison. They get out of prison. They can’t find housing so now they’re living on the streets.

They do something to survive on the streets.

They get picked up for that. It’s a constant cycle that started years ago, but maybe we just don’t realize it.”

Breaking that cycle may be more possible than ever due to increasing appetites for reform. Efforts such as the Post-Conviction Community Needs Assessment Project are helping set the stage for change, but there is a long road ahead once the data is disseminated.

“In the upcoming year I plan to have students work on the completion of additional surveys, followed by the analysis of our results,” said Professor MacDowell. “Our hope is that by giving individuals with convictions a voice in identifying pressing issues and setting priorities, we can be more responsive to community members most affected by collateral consequences and more effective as a result.”

PHOTO: CANSTOCKPHOTO.COM

“Yet, even where there wasn’t mandatory life without parole, some juveniles were getting really extreme sentences, like two 60-year sentences to run consecutively.”

THOMAS & MACK LEGAL CLINIC

CENTERS & CLINICS

JUSTICE AMERICORPS GRANT RECIPIENTS REPRESENT UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN

‘It might as well be the death penalty for these kids’ JUVENILE JUSTICE CLINIC TAKES ON SENTENCING REFORM MARCUS DIXON WAS JUST 14 when he shot and killed another teenager, landing him in Nevada state prison on a 40-year sentence.

Now 31, Dixon was recently granted parole and has vowed to make the most of his second opportunity.

For the students in the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Juvenile Justice Clinic, Dixon’s story drove home the need for sentencing reform. While Dixon became eligible for mandatory parole after serving 15 years of his sentence, more than 20 Nevada prisoners would never be eligible for parole for crimes they committed when they, like Dixon, were adolescents because they were sentenced to life without parole, also known as death in prison.

Each year students in the Juvenile Justice Clinic work on real cases, advocating for young clients and gaining valuable hands-on experience. This year the clinic participants also had the rare opportunity to join a coalition that successfully lobbied for legislative changes to how juvenile offenders are treated in the Silver State.

Professor Mary Berkheiser, director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic, previously has written on U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding punishment of juveniles. When the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth started an effort for reform in Nevada, led by James Dold (UNLV ’06 B.A. Criminal Justice and Psychology), Professor Berkheiser offered the support of the Juvenile Justice Clinic.

“Studies have shown for a long time that few individuals persist with criminal activity from adolescence to adulthood,” Professor Berkheiser said. “Yet, even where there wasn’t mandatory life without parole, some juveniles were getting really extreme sentences, like two 60-year sentences to run consecutively. It might as well be the death penalty for these kids.”

PHOTO: 15TOLIFETHEFILM.COM

To build momentum for the legislative session, the Boyd School of Law hosted a movie screening and panel discussion about juvenile sentencing on Jan. 22. The film, “15 to Life: Kenneth’s Story,” chronicles the life of Kenneth Young, convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to life in prison at age 14, until the Supreme Court overturned his sentence (outcastfilms.com/15tolifekennethsstory/).

Dixon, freshly paroled, joined the panel discussion with his attorney Kristina Wildeveld.

Now an adult, Dixon admitted he “messed up” horribly when he was 14, and wants to be an example for offering juvenile offenders a chance at redemption.

“Marcus was amazing,” said Erica Nannini ‘15, who worked in the clinic while attending Boyd. “It was powerful to hear him talk about the stupid decisions he made as a teenager, and how grateful he was for a second opportunity.”

During the 2015 session the Nevada Legislature unanimously passed a bill ending life without parole for juvenile offenders. Brian Vasek ’15, one of the clinic students, was posted in Carson City at the time – the boots on the ground providing updates to the rest of the team researching and preparing testimony from Las Vegas.

“Being up there to see it all unfold was fascinating,” Vasek said. “The clinic … going up to the Legislature was for me that quintessential defining moment that showed me what it meant to be a lawyer.”

The bill will be applied retroactively, and the more than 20 Nevada inmates who were sentenced to life without parole as juveniles will have their cases reviewed. Moving forward, juvenile offenders will be eligible for parole after a maximum 15 years in every case except for homicide, where they will be parole-eligible after 20 years.

Children who flee a dangerous homeland to come to the United States as undocumented immigrants typically trade a dire situation for one with simply poor prospects.

Beyond a foreign land and language, they face a legal system where their chances of winning the right to stay in the U.S. without expert legal help are abysmal, regardless of the perilous circumstances they’re trying to escape. And unlike defendants in criminal proceedings, immigrants facing deportation are not entitled to appointed legal counsel if they cannot afford it, regardless of age.

“We have kids who are 7 or 8 who would be going to court by themselves,” said UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Professor Fatma Marouf, who co-directs the school’s Immigration Clinic.

“It’s very difficult to win an asylum case on your own. Having a lawyer who knows how to frame the legal arguments can make a huge difference.”

Now, thanks to two Immigration Clinic lawyers funded by a Justice AmeriCorps service grant, Las Vegas is one of the few places in the nation where unaccompanied children receive free legal representation in immigration court. The Boyd School of Law was one of just seven organizations in the nation — and the only law school — to receive the funding sponsored by the Justice Department and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Boyd alumnae Katelyn Franklin and Alissa Cooley (both ’14) are managing about three dozen immigration cases, with clients ranging in age from 8 to 16.

They’ve implemented a holistic approach in representing their young clientele. Interviews establish trust, identify potential witnesses and key issues to litigate, such as seeking asylum for persecution in their country, or obtaining special immigrant juvenile status for kids who have been abused, abandoned, neglected or endangered by a parent under state law.

“They’re so innocent,” Cooley said. “They didn’t do anything to deserve this. They’re going through stuff American teenagers can’t imagine.”

Some of those issues include non-legal problems, like needing immunizations, but being ineligible for Medicaid. Franklin and Cooley help them find community partners offering free care, easing their acclimation to a new country.

“They experience culture shock, and Alissa and I are really the only consistent figures in the immigration system that they encounter,” Franklin said. “It’s impossible not to become emotionally involved in these cases, not just because they’re kids, but because of where they come from.”

2015 | UNLV Law

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“As the legal market gets more and more competitive, it’s great to find a way to distinguish yourself and find a niche area of law.”

GAMING LAW

CENTERS & CLINICS

GAMING LAW ADVISORY BOARD Anthony Pearl-Chair The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Terry Johnson ’11 Nevada Gaming Control Board

Mike Alonso Lewis Roca Rothgerber

Jacqui Krum Wynn Resorts

Patricia Becker Patricia Becker & Associates

Yvette Landau W.A. Richardson Builders

Bo Bernhard UNLV

Brian Larson Boyd Gaming

Peter Bernhard Kaempfer Crowell

Katie Lever Scientific Games

Jan Jones Blackhurst Caesars Entertainment

Senator Mark Lipparelli Nevada Legislature

Bill Boyd Boyd Gaming

John McManus MGM Resorts International

Senator Greg Brower Nevada Legislature

Kevin Mullally Gaming Laboratories International

Michael Brunet Palms Casino Resort Chairman A.G. Burnett Nevada Gaming Control Board

Jennifer Roberts Duane Morris

Anthony Cabot Lewis Roca Rothgerber

Scott Scherer Holland & Hart

Jacob Coin San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

Frank Schreck Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Bill Curran Ballard Spahr

Jeffrey Silver Dickinson Wright

Mark Dunn Aristocrat

Kim Sinatra Wynn Resorts

Katie Fellows ’06 Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas

Mike Sloan Fertitta Entertainment

Phyllis Gilland American Casino & Entertainment Properties Bud Hicks McDonald Carano Wilson

8

Maren Parry ’05 Ballard Spahr

UNLV Law | 2015

Keith Smith Boyd Gaming Sen. Randolph Townsend Nevada Gaming Commission Ellen Whittemore Whittemore Gaming Group

‘A great opportunity to advance your career’ NEW LL.M. IN GAMING LAW AND REGULATION UNDER WAY The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law in August welcomed the inaugural class for its new Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Gaming Law and Regulation degree.

“I cannot imagine a better charter class,” said Boyd School of Law Vice Dean Ngai Pindell, who oversees the school’s gaming law program. “We have students from around the country, from diverse practice and gaming backgrounds, and each brings a unique perspective to the program. They have quickly bonded as an LL.M. cohort and are wonderfully engaged in gaming law and policy issues.”

A natural complement to Boyd’s existing Juris Doctor program, which already offers students more gaming courses than any other law school in the country, the LL.M. is a 24-credit program focused on training knowledgeable gaming lawyers.

Courses include U.S. Gaming Law, Federal Indian Law, Casino Resort Law, and International Intellectual Property Law, to name a few.

Entering class member Jordan Hollander earned his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law — Camden in 2014. Since, he has clerked for the New Jersey Superior Court.

“Being in New Jersey, we ob-

viously have Atlantic City. And there’s new casinos popping up in New York and Pennsylvania. It’s a growing area,” he said. “Being at Rutgers, I had an opportunity to take a casino law course, and it’s an area of law that I find interesting. I want to learn more about it.”

During law school, Hollander interned with New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, published two articles in the Gaming Law Review and Economics, sat on the editorial board of the Rutgers Journal of Law & Public Policy, served as a fellow at Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics, and took on pro bono projects.

Hollander’s background impressed State Bar of Nevada leaders, who awarded him a scholarship to help defray the cost of earning an LL.M. Hollander will complete the LL.M. program during the fall 2015 semester as a full-time student on the accelerated path. Once he’s earned his degree, he has a position lined up at a New Jersey law firm with a gaming law focus.

“It’s a great opportunity to advance your career. As the legal market gets more and more competitive, it’s great to find a way to distinguish yourself and find a niche area of law,” he said. “Being out in Vegas, what better place to learn about the gaming industry. I’m excited about the program and to be at UNLV.”

PHOTO: ISTOCK.COM

GAMING LAW

CENTERS & CLINICS

“Governor Sandoval has given us a charge to serve as the global intellectual capital of gaming.

This Center answers that call.”

New Center for Gaming Regulation BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW, INTERNATIONAL GAMING INSTITUTE PARTNER TO BUILD ON GAMING EXPERTISE AT UNLV With the signing of an appropriations bill committing an annual allocation of $500,000, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval earlier this year helped jump-start a new International Center for Gaming Regulation at UNLV. The Center — a partnership between the International Gaming Institute (IGI) at the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration and the William S. Boyd School of Law — provides educational programs as well as original research focused on the study of gaming regulation.

“Governor Sandoval has given

us a charge to serve as the global intellectual capital of gaming. This Center answers that call, and the state’s financial commitment is a resounding endorsement of our efforts,” said Bo Bernhard, executive director of the International Gaming Institute.

The new Center would not have been possible without the vision of Professor Bernhard; Anthony Cabot, a partner at Lewis Roca Rothgerber, a leading expert in gaming law and policy, and a UNLV adjunct faculty member; Nevada State Senator Mark Lipparelli, former chairman of the

Gaming Control Board; and Professor Ngai Pindell, director of gaming programs at the Boyd School of Law. The global gaming industry stepped up in support of the Center. Founding donors include Wynn Resorts, the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, and Gaming Laboratories International.

“We are grateful to Governor Sandoval and the Legislature for their investment in this worldclass research center,” said Daniel Hamilton, dean at the Boyd School of Law. “Together, the IGI and the law school will build on the extraordinary gaming expertise inside this university, city and state.”

2015 | UNLV Law

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“It’s true that the government is very heavily regulating the health care industry right now, but it’s also true that it’s been the case for every administration, basically since 1965.”

CENTERS & CLINICS

HEALTH LAW PROGRAM

Members of the Health Law Program, from left: Stacey Tovino, Lehman Professor of Law; Fatma Marouf, Associate Professor of Law; Sara Gordon, Associate Professor of Law; Max Gakh, Assistant Professor (UNLV School of Community Health Sciences); Ann McGinley, William S. Boyd Professor of Law; and Christine Smith, Associate Dean for Public Service, Compliance and Administration

Health (Law) Conscious

BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW EXPANDS HEALTH LAW PROGRAM THERE ARE FEW DEBATES in contemporary America that take up more oxygen than health care and government policy.

From the U.S. Supreme Court to Carson City, from private-sector employers to individual patients, health care legal and regulatory issues are front-and-center from the kitchen table to the halls of Congress.

Stacey Tovino, Lehman Professor of Law at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, pointed out, after all, that few issues are more important to individuals than their health and the health of their loved ones.

That is why the Health Law Program, which Professor Tovino directs, is a young, but quickly growing, concentration at the Boyd School of Law, and an important element of the school’s curriculum. The program is a partnership with the UNLV School of Community Health Sciences, with a mission “to support and promote the dynamic teaching, sponsored research, scholarship, experiential work 10

UNLV Law | 2015

and community engagement that arises by connecting these fields.”

Headlines testify to the importance of the application of law to health issues. Some of the topics that have made national news in the last few years include medical malpractice cases, profound changes in federal medical policy, the mental-health competency of accused mass killers, access to contraception through private-sector health insurance plans, and the emotional debate over childhood-vaccination requirements.

Presidential candidates have proposed fundamental rewrites to the 50-year-old Medicare and Medicaid programs. States have ordered the mandatory isolation and quarantine of health care professionals who have returned from treating disease outbreaks overseas.

The pace of the health issues hitting the news may have accelerated – for example, the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Patient Protection and Afford-

able Care Act of 2010 – but Professor Tovino noted that the courts have been wrestling with medicine and various issues of government regulation since the enactment of national health programs for the poor and elderly during President Lyndon Johnson’s administration.

“It’s true that the government is very heavily regulating the health care industry right now, but it’s also true that it’s been the case for every administration, basically since 1965,” she noted.

Legal and regulatory issues are still a challenge for the private sector, government agencies and patients, which makes the Health Law Program important. With decades of legal and regulatory history now affecting health care, people and companies need access to the law.

“Our goal is to train our students to navigate the different federal and state regulations governing the health care industry,” Professor Tovino said.

The health care industry is, she noted, heavily regulated because health and health care are critically important issues to people: ultimately, a literal issue of life or death.

A total of five faculty members and one administrator are part of the program. Professor Tovino said their scholarship and teaching reflect the huge range of perspectives and the myriad issues of law and health care.

“We have faculty who represent the patient perspective, who are promoting human rights and patient rights,” she said. “We have people focusing on doctors and hospitals and the legal issues they face.”

The scope of the program includes looking at the front end of public health and the back end of the regulatory process and procedures, where companies and individuals need legal help, Professor Tovino noted.

“The one really amazing thing about our program is that we truly have it all,” Professor Tovino said. “We’ve got a very wellrounded faculty. Our Health Law Program faculty members have a depth and breadth of expertise in all aspects of health law that – I am obviously biased! – I think is unparalleled in health law programs across the country.”

For program faculty, a key component is scholarship. The six faculty members of the program have authored at least 30 scholarly works in various publications since 2012, with more already slated for publication next year.

The need for trained law school graduates with deeper knowledge of health issues is

“To me, there is no greater privilege than working with patients, and no higher title than caregiver.”

CENTERS & CLINICS

HEALTH LAW PROGRAM unlikely to wane, she said, in part because the statutes and regulations dealing with the tangled issues of health care are evolving rapidly.

That evolution sometimes means that Health Law Program faculty and students get directly involved in the drafting of new laws.

Professor Sara Gordon is working with the government of the state of Alaska to amend the state’s mental health statutes, for example.

“So we not only interpret and apply and teach the law, but we actually have a hand in shaping the law,” Professor Tovino said.

“And we make sure that our students are involved in that shaping process too. Our students don’t just sit in the classroom and listen to us lecture. They have a wide variety of experiential opportunities during law school so they can hit the ground running after graduation.”

In addition to working with law students, program faculty work

with health care providers.

“Our program faculty members really enjoy serving our community, including the medical schools in our state,” Professor Tovino said. “Not only do we educate law students, but we also seek to educate the community – which includes medical students, medical residents, and other health care providers – on the legal and ethical issues they will face in their professional practices, to give our law students the opportunity to share a common space with physicians and health professionals that some day they will be advising, counseling and representing.”

One example of the program’s connection with the health care community is a lecture series over the fall with Touro University’s Internal Medicine Residency Program. Topics in the series include Mandatory Reporting Laws, Ethical Issues in Clinical Trials Conducted in Developing Countries, Disability Law Obligations of

Health Care Providers and Medical Institutions, and many more.

Engaging the public and medical communities with such a wide-ranging spectrum of topics connecting the law and health care means working with various people in the community, Professor Tovino said.

For example, Professor Tovino participated in a conference in April 2014 on health care disparities in Nevada. She was on a panel with faculty from Boyd, the School of Community Health Sciences, the UNLV School of Dental Medicine, and the UNLV School of Nursing.

Professor Tovino said the program is destined to grow.

“These are topics that are extremely important for the public, for health care providers, and for the legal community, “ she said.

“We feel that we’re in the right place at the right time to connect health care and the law.”

BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW PROVIDES FORUM FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISCUSSION The Nevada Legislature passed laws allowing the establishment of dispensaries for medical marijuana in 2013, fulfilling a longstanding requirement sanctioned by voters years earlier. Within a year, entrepreneurs – including some well-known and well-connected names in the Las Vegas Valley – were lining up to open the dispensaries.

Those haven’t opened yet, but storefronts are ready for the remaining regulatory issues to be settled. But some of the legal, social and cultural issues with medical marijuana might take a lot more work to resolve, as participants at a Continuing Legal Education event, sponsored by the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law and the Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice, learned in May. Dominic Gentile, a prominent criminal defense attorney and Boyd School of Law adjunct faculty member, was one of the primary organizers of Beyond Medicine: The Legal Implications of Medical Marijuana in Nevada. He said that despite years of state and local legal and regulatory preparations, and the legalization of medical marijuana in 23 states (and recreational use in three), there remains a fundamental issue: federal law doesn’t permit the sale, use, transport or cultivation of cannabis.

That doesn’t just mean the obvious legal issue. The federal prohibition raises a host of other conflicts. For example, Gentile notes a recent case in which a Colorado dispensary owner sought federal bankruptcy protection.

“The federal bankruptcy court essentially said it could not help,” Gentile said. “The business was unlawful under federal law. That’s the kind of thing nobody was thinking about.”

Those going into the medical marijuana business expect to make a lot of money, but he said some dispensaries, like any new business, will have difficulties.

“We can expect to see that here. That’s going to happen,” Gentile said.

Panel moderators and speakers at the symposium included Brian Greenspun, president of Greenspun Media Group; Patricia Mulroy, senior fellow for climate adaptation and environmental policy at Boyd; William Horne, former Nevada Assembly majority leader and attorney; Michael Levy, founder and medical director of the Center for Addiction Medicine; and other experts in the ethical, legal and medical implications of medical marijuana.

Gentile said the discussions at the event opened the eyes of local attorneys and regulators to potential pitfalls in the emerging industry of medical marijuana.

“Most of the people in the room were lawyers or people who have an interest in the marijuana industry going forward,” he said. “Knowledge is power, and the law school is the best place to gather that kind of brain trust, to let people speak openly and candidly in an academic environment.

“This should be something we do next year, when we have a few months of experience with boots on the ground,” he said, referring to the expected opening of dispensaries. “It’s probably something that should be done on an annual basis.”

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: BRYN ESPLIN ‘14 Current Role: Fellow in Advanced Bioethics, Cleveland Clinic; Adjunct Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, teaching “International Bioethics Policy and Practice: Public Health in the Netherlands” and “Foundations of Bioethics” While at Boyd: President, Health Law Society; Intern, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health; Health Law Research Assistant What’s next: Esplin looks forward to continuing scholarly and empirical research in bioethics and to developing new courses at Case Western Reserve University in Comparative Health Law and Bioethics.

However, she finds her work in the clinical setting to be the most rewarding.

“To me,” she said, “there is no greater privilege than working with patients, and no higher title than caregiver.”

2015 | UNLV Law

11

A GLIMPSE INTO BOYD’S GOOD WORKS IN THE COMMUNITY

GIVING BACK

PILA AUCTION SUCCESS

PILA Grant

An Advocate for Vulnerable Youth WYNN TASHMAN KNOWS the value of having a supporter and advocate.

“I grew up with a learning disability, and I interned when I lived in Washington, D.C., for the National Disability Rights Network,” Tashman, a UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law student, said. “So I’ve always been really passionate about disability rights advocacy. I have a mom who was a really strong advocate for me in school, and I knew I wanted to play that role for children.”

Thus began his journey in public interest law – an area of law he’s especially thrilled to be pursuing at the Kids’ Court School this summer thanks to a grant from the Boyd School of Law’s Public Interest Law Association.

“This summer I’ve been coordinating the Kids’ Court School clinic under Dr. Rebecca Nathanson’s supervision, and it’s been an amazing experience,” he said. “When the children come in and they’re going to have to testify in court most likely, they’re very scared, 12

UNLV Law | 2015

nervous, worried, even embarrassed. But you can see the positive impact the program has on them. … The smiles on their faces, and being able to see them active, engaged, and able to answer questions – that’s a real impact that you’re having on that child’s life.”

Kids’ Court School, which is based on educational psychology and empirical research, was established to help educate children, between ages 4 and 17, about the courtroom process. The program helps reduce their anxiety before legal proceedings and increase their credibility in court.

“Attorneys do their best to prepare their child clients for court. Kids’ Court School doesn’t prepare them for court; it educates them about court, which is something I think not every attorney has the time to do or maybe even the know-how on what stress techniques will help best,” said Tashman. “So when they come to our program, they’re receiving information that their attorneys might not have been able to provide to them.”

There was a lot of interest in the 16th Annual Public Interest Law Association (PILA) Auction held this year. The auction was the most successful in PILA history, raising $39,000 to fund summer grants for nine UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law students pursuing public interest legal work.

A student organization that raises awareness about public interest work and opportunities available to law students, PILA held its auction at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 19.

“We (were) so excited to see the great things that these students (did) this summer and beyond!

Their commitment to public interest is wonderful, and we hope their passion to serve their community will continue throughout their legal careers,” said Shaina Plaksin, 2014-15 PILA co-president.

“PILA is extremely grateful to all of the donors and volunteers who contributed to the auction’s success this year.”

In addition to Wynn Tashman (see main profile), the following students received grants this year to work in their selected area of interest: Brianna Lamanna, Clark County District Attorney’s Office (Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck PILA Grant Recipient); Michael Viets, American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada (McDonald Carano Wilson PILA Grant Recipient); Heather Armantrout, Nevada Legal Services; Matthew Cook, Nevada Legal Services; Angel Getsov, Southern Nevada Senior Law Program; Chelsee Jensen, Office of the Nevada Attorney General; Haley Lewis, Office of the Nevada Attorney General; and Steven “J.T.” Washington, UNLV Office of General Counsel.

The evening’s festivities also included the presentation of the annual Silver Staircase Honoree award to Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez for her commitment to public interest.

Tashman is a dual-degree (J.D./Ph.D.) student pursuing his Ph.D. through UNLV’s College of Education. He works as a researcher to develop an educational intervention in support of LGBT youth in schools and legal settings, based on the Kids’ Court School model.

“I think of LGBT youth as my main calling card. They’re victimized in schools, bullied and harassed at a rate that’s significantly higher than their non-LGBT peers. But we don’t see them bringing cases to court because they’re not reporting it in the first place,” Tashman said. “So, when we do public interest (work) and try to raise awareness of these issues and advocate for them, then that’s going to … improve the quality of life for these people.”

GIVING BACK

Reaching Out STUDENTS HELP LOW-INCOME TAXPAYERS IF FILING YOUR TAX RETURN wasn’t complicated enough, imagine doing it as a non-native English speaker amidst widespread confusion over new health coverage penalties.

Now, factor in predatory tax preparers who prey on the immigrant community, and you have a terrible set of circumstances for some of Southern Nevada’s most vulnerable families.

“This tax season was particularly challenging for low-income taxpayers because of the Affordable Care Act,” said Professor Francine Lipman, a tax law instructor at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. “Some unscrupulous tax preparers were telling undocumented immigrants they were subject to $600 health care penalties that they actually weren’t and having them make it payable to the preparer. This was theft.”

Anticipating some of these problems, Professor Lipman and Boyd School of Law students teamed up with the Nevada Legal Services Low Income Taxpayer Clinic in the spring to teach a series of free tax education classes in venues around Las Vegas.

The Taxes for Working Families classes were led by six second- and third-year Boyd students.

They focused on familiarizing low-income taxpayers — especially those who speak English as a second language — with income tax filing basics such as filing status, dependency exemptions, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Other class segments explained how Affordable Care Act penalties and credits are figured for 2014, the first year taxpayers ILLUSTRATION: CANSTOCKPHOTO.COM

were required to report health care coverage information as part of their tax returns.

Law students Cory Fielding ‘15, Liberty Ringor ‘15, Janine Lee, Ena Licina, Robert Melcic and Elias Askins only had Boyd’s basic taxation class under their belts as a prerequisite when they signed up for the community service class.

To further prepare, the students attended an intensive, six-hour tax boot camp conducted by Professor Lipman. Each was then assigned a tax topic to present to the general public in 15 minutes.

Open to the general public, the classes were held from February to April at the learning center downtown, Hermandad Mexicana, and

RURAL NEVADA VISIT INSPIRES STUDENTS the West Charleston Library. They drew about 30 people and were covered by Univision locally.

“Attendance was lighter than we would’ve liked, but we think part of that is the intimidation factor and time commitment,” Professor Lipman said. “If you’re a working family in Nevada, you’re focused on getting to work, getting kids to school, putting food on the table, and paying utilities. You don’t have a lot of time to learn about taxes.”

Lessons from this inaugural outreach effort have already shaped Boyd’s future plans for the project in hopes of expanding its impact.

Rather than trying to market the tax classes to individual taxpayers, the school will focus on continuing tax law education for the community advocates who already have dayto-day interaction with the targeted group of taxpayers.

“When you’re dealing with folks who are vulnerable, they often have family law issues and housing issues already being serviced,” Professor Lipman said. “We’re trying to reach out to front-line community service providers who are already working with potential tax clients.”

Still, the most significant community impact likely will be through the students who studied tax issues in such depth that they can discuss them accurately in layperson’s terms before an audience.

“Boyd has the privilege of training future legislators, judges and policymakers, the leaders of the state who need to understand these issues to help Nevadans,” Professor Lipman said.

“So the students got the biggest benefit, but that’s going to pay rich dividends in the community.”

One group of UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law students went out of town for spring break, but not to a tropical location frequented by spring breakers.

The group visited Northern Nevada as part of the third annual Alternative Spring Break, designed to expose students to access to justice needs in Nevada’s rural towns and inspire them to one day return and serve those in need of legal services. The program is made possible by the Access to Justice Commission, a grant from the State Bar of Nevada, and the Boyd School of Law. This year’s program, organized by Nikki Harris, the law school’s professional development and public interest coordinator, included meetings with prosecutors, public defenders, and judges; a tour of the Supreme Court of Nevada; an opportunity to observe the legislative session as well as court proceedings; and more.

Participant Seth Strickland found it beneficial to speak with Boyd School of Law alumni now working for the state legislature.

“It was inspiring to see attorneys working handson for the state,” he said.

For J. Tyler Mowbray, visiting the offices of Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevada offered the most lasting impression about access to justice needs.

“It was very clear that many rural towns have only one judge and an attorney,” he said. “I saw the critical need to provide legal representation to these towns.”

2015 | UNLV Law

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INTERESTING INSIGHTS INTO MEMBERS OF THE BOYD COMMUNITY

WHO KNEW?

“I’ve become more introspective, hearing how people view other people … I like to think I’m more compassionate toward myself and others.” others,”

‘A labor of love’ LOVE IS in the air … and in Lauren Peña’s work.

A 2007 UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law graduate, Peña is a co-founder and certified matchmaker at Project Duo, a matchmaking business in Las Vegas.

Peña began pairing up friends in high school and continued to do so during her time as a UNLV undergraduate studying communications. “[Matchmaking] was completely for fun and a labor of love,” she said. “But … I realized there was a market for it. It just snowballed from there.”

A few years ago, she and longtime friend Steven Peralta started Project Duo. To date, Project Duo has worked with 24 male clients, who pay for the service. The men are matched with women from a list that now tops 600, according to Peña. The 14

UNLV Law | 2015

women join for free and are vetted before a date takes place.

“We’re very hands on up until that first date. Then we let them decide if they want to take it further,” she explained.

One matched couple got married in May, a first for Project Duo. Peña’s surveys indicate a 90 percent satisfaction rate and that 75 percent of the matches lead to multiple dates.

Peña doesn’t compete with massive online dating outlets like Match.com. Her niche is affluent professionals who want to avoid the online grind. The initial consultation involves a one-and-a-half-hour meeting, after which Peña and Peralta make the decision to work with the male client or not.

“Potential clients come in all the time and if we don’t feel a good vibe, we know it’s not going to work,” she added.

To provide the best possible service, Peña

in 2014 gained certification through the Matchmaking Institute, an international organization that hosts seminars with psychiatrists, experienced matchmakers, relationship writers, and others. Peña also studies relationship and personality type research

by Dr. Helen Fisher, a Rutgers University anthropology professor who speaks on human sexuality, marriage and divorce, gender differences, and more.

Peña’s experience in matchmaking has not only pushed her to study the latest research, but to also study herself.

“I’ve become more introspective, hearing how people view other people, and hearing all these different views … I like to think I’m more compassionate toward myself and others,” she said.

WHO KNEW?

“I am here today because of the selfless act of another. If through my efforts, I can do the same for one other person, my time on this earth will have been well spent.”

A Destined Journey AS TYRE GRAY was growing up, his grandmother would tell him, “Want to hear God laugh? Tell Him your plans.”

Gray, who graduated from the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law in December 2014, had originally planned on owning his own music production company.

“My plan was to be a professional musician,” said the accomplished trombonist.

“Having performed in more than 50 cities on three different continents, I was working my plan when … ” When he got news from his doctor that he had focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a chronic kidney disease.

It was during a visit to the emergency room that Gray was inspired to journey

down a new path.

“I noticed countless patients in beds lining the hallways. I figured they were waiting for rooms, and then I overheard a conversation between a nurse and a patient. The patient asked why he was being held in the hallway when there were rooms available. The nurse told him, ‘Your insurance doesn’t cover a semi-private room.’ There, my calling was revealed: helping people secure proper health care through the practice of law.”

Two years later, Gray began his studies at the Boyd School of Law. While sitting in Professor Francine Lipman’s class in the fall of 2012, Gray received the call he’d been waiting on for three years – a kidney was available.

The next morning, he underwent successful

transplant surgery.

Gray postponed law school for the semester; but when he returned, he continued to excel in academics and extracurricular activities. In December 2014, he walked across the stage at UNLV’s commencement ceremony.

“I will definitely use my degree to help people,” said Gray. “My long-term goals include establishing a nonprofit that will provide legal advice to people who are candidates for transplant and major medical procedures.

I believe that I can and will be able to raise awareness about kidney disease and organ donation. I am here today because of the selfless act of another. If through my efforts, I can do the same for one other person, my time on this earth will have been well spent.”

2015 | UNLV Law

15

WHO KNEW?

A BELIEVER IN EDUCATION Jessica Gandy is a teacher by day, student by night. But she’s not just any teacher, and she’s not just any student.

Gandy is an English teacher in a Clark County School District consequence school, which provides education to students who have been expelled from secondary schools by the Board of School Trustees.

Comparing it to juvenile hall, Gandy said, “The only difference between the two is that our students can go home at the end of the day. These students are everything from violent felons to teenagers who made poor choices and got caught.

The 18-year-old awaiting trial for felony assault is in the same classroom with the 15-year-old who smoked marijuana before school and arrived in class high.”

Gandy said her students come in two varieties: scared and not scared.

“Those who are scared do not want to cause any problems or be involved with anyone who does.

They do their work, behave like model citizens, and never cause disruption,” she said.

“Most, however, are not scared. They have seen every corner of the juvenile justice system – many have a piece of it strapped to their ankles – and there is nothing anyone can say or do to convince them that education is an important part of the future.”

But that doesn’t stop Gandy from trying.

“We work hard to get students to see that an educated life is safer than the life they currently live,” she said. “Sometimes it works; other times it doesn’t.”

Though the work is arduous, it hasn’t stopped the part-time evening student from getting involved at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. Gandy currently serves as the vice president (part-time division) of the Student Bar Association. She’s also a mentor for the Center for Academic Success and Enrichment and a staff member of the Nevada Law Journal. During the last academic year, she served as president of the Organization of Part-time and Non-traditional Law Students; vice president of Legally Speaking, a Toastmasters chapter for Boyd School of Law students; and a class representative on the Student Bar Association Board of Governors.

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50 YEARS, 50 MILES

DAWN NIELSEN unashamedly turned 50 this year, and she commemorated the milestone by running 50 miles. Yes, 50.

The genesis of her zeal for physical challenge came about following a critical time in her life. As a mom with two young sons, Nielsen received the daunting news that she had a brain tumor that would require surgery.

“I knew that I had a choice – I could succumb to the fear or I could move forward. I made the decision to dig deep and be as positive about the situation as possible,” she said.

The surgery was a success. Further treatment wasn’t necessary; and her life resumed its course … sort of.

“As my life returned to normal, I found that I had a renewed sense of purpose and gratitude for so many things I previously took for granted,” she said. “One of the things I was grateful for was that I had taken care of my body before the tumor was dis-

covered. I credit my good overall health for my quick recovery, and this is one of the reasons I decided to take my physical fitness to the next level with endurance sports.

“Within a few years, I had competed in triathlons of varying lengths including a half Ironman distance, run half and full marathons, and completed a 100-mile bike ride,” she said.

And on March 8, Nielsen ran a mile for each of her years.

Predictably, Nielsen has channeled her determination into her legal education. Among her many activities at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, she is a student attorney with the school’s Juvenile Justice Clinic.

During her 2L year, she was a research fellow for Professor Sara Gordon – their project involved reviewing and recommending changes to Alaska’s civil and criminal mental health statutes.

While in Alaska, Nielsen completed a half marathon, which spurred a new 50 goal – to run a half marathon in all 50 states. So far, she’s marked Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Utah off her list.

“Seven states down, 43 to go,” she said.

WHO KNEW?

ON THE ROAD TO SERVICE

COMEDIAN TURNED ATTORNEY WHEN ASKED why she attended law school, alumna Kerry Kleiman ‘15 quipped, “It was either this or stand-up comedy, and attorneys have better health plans.”

Medical benefits aside, Kleiman’s decision to attend the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law was no joke. After earning her bachelor’s degree in theater from the University of Southern California, Kleiman spent a few years working in television and as a theatrical stage manager, while working on standup routines in her free time.

“I had no interest in becoming a lawyer,” Kleiman said. “I figured that watching Law & Order marathons was as close as I would get to a courtroom.”

However, all of that changed when Kleiman found herself in a relationship with someone mired in a child-custody dispute.

Private attorneys were too expensive, and the court-appointed attorney didn’t return phone calls or file papers.

“It was the first time in my life that I understood why people said that justice could be bought,” recalled Kleiman, “and, to be honest, I agreed with them.”

After her ex decided to proceed pro se, Kleiman taught herself substantive and procedural law to help draft motions, earning the nickname “Kerry Mason” from her family in the process.

“I couldn’t appear in court, but at least responses were getting filed, so it was progress,” she said. “My experience with my ex in family court was farcical and surreal. It didn’t mesh with my understanding of how this country or the legal system worked. You shouldn’t be able to buy custody of a child,

and that’s essentially what was happening before my eyes. I guess that whole experience gave me the right mix of outrage, righteous indignation, and curiosity to get me to where I am now.”

And where she is now is a pretty good place, indeed.

While at Boyd, she was the editor-in-chief of the UNLV Gaming Law Journal and won both the IAGA 2015 Shannon Bybee Scholarship Award and the 2014 Anthony Cabot Award for Best Student Note for her article on conflicting international anti-money laundering protocols for casinos. As a member of the Society of Advocates, Kleiman was named second best oralist at Fordham University School of Law’s 2014 Kaufman Memorial Securities Law Moot Court Competition, and helped lay the foundation for the upcoming first-annual Frank A. Schreck Gaming Law Moot Court Competition, which will be held at Boyd in early 2016.

She also served as a student attorney in Boyd’s Juvenile Justice Clinic, representing accused juveniles and working to combat the sex trafficking of minors, and helped pass legislation that protects the rights of children in the juvenile justice system.

Upon graduating, Kleiman was awarded the Dean’s Award, which recognizes individual contributions or accomplishments of note to the law school community. She was also accepted into Scribes, The American Society of Legal Writers, which recognizes excellence in legal writing while in law school.

Kleiman is “thrilled” to have been selected by the Honorable Elissa F. Cadish to serve as her law clerk in the Eighth Judicial District Court immediately following graduation.

Kleiman currently sits on the Board of Directors for The Embracing Project, a local nonprofit that helps at-risk youth learn ways to break the cycle of violence in their lives.

When asked how she feels about her decision to attend Boyd, Kleiman responded, “Life sure has a funny way of working out, doesn’t it?”

“The best memories of my childhood are those of the carefree, yet adventurous, weekends on our tribal reservation,” said Kostan Lathouris, a member of the Chemehuevi Tribe. “For me, it was that place where one road was the only road needed to get anywhere.”

The road to Lathouris’ ultimate goal of serving members of his tribe led him to the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. “My objective is not to become a lawyer; it is to be an advocate for my people,” he said. “To me, the realm of law represents the best and most effective way for equal opportunity in productive analysis and discussions for the future.”

While in law school, Lathouris did everything possible to prepare himself to be the best advocate for his people. While at the Boyd School of Law, he served as co-chairman of the Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) and as vice president of the Child Advocacy Law Association. In the summer of 2014, he interned for the Division of Indian Affairs at the United States Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, in Washington, D.C. Earlier this year, Lathouris was part of Boyd’s first team to compete in the National NALSA Moot Court Competition, an event that brings together Indian law students from across the country to argue a problem related to federal Indian and tribal law before a mock appellate panel. Boyd’s chapter advanced to the sweet 16 out of 71 teams. Lathouris was named the second best spoken advocate out of 142 competitors.

“I am proud of our performance because now other students are planning to compete in next year’s competition. I hope that this will help bring awareness and appreciation of Indian Country to Boyd,” he said.

Upon graduating in 2015, he was awarded the Barbara Buckley Community Service Award, which recognizes outstanding commitment to community and public service.

But Lathouris didn’t put his mission of helping his tribe on hold until he graduated from Boyd.

The Chemehuevi Tribal Gaming Commission, the regulatory enforcing body of the tribe’s casino, asked Lathouris to be a commissioner in 2009. He accepted and served as the commission chairman throughout law school.

After graduation, Lathouris accepted a position with the Law Offices of Rapport and Marston, which is dedicated to serving tribal clients, including his own tribe.

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“There’s so much the law library can do to support the community, the university, and, of course, the law school.”

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Leading Law Library WIENER-ROGERS LAW LIBRARY SERVES BOYD COMMUNITY AND BEYOND

BY LAUNCE RAKE

NUMBER OF DATABASES:

200+ NUMBER OF TITLES:

600,000 NUMBER OF VOLUMES:

180,000 AREA, IN SQUARE FEET:

57,400 SEATING SPACES:

407 ANNUAL CIRCULATION:

6,000 DOWNLOADS FROM SCHOLARLY COMMONS:

550,000

I

t’s the setting for many law school dramas, especially the classic 1973 movie The Paper Chase: the dry shelves of the law library, where young, would-be lawyers spend endless hours researching case law in the challenging effort to stay on top of their classwork.

The Wiener-Rogers Law Library at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, however, isn’t a silent, dry and dusty cathedral of law. It is a modern, multimedia venue open to the entire university and the general public, where researchers find information vital to the entire community.

The law library recently updated its furnishings with the goal of making the facility more inviting and comfortable for all users. Some of the changes are obvious — there are collaborative spaces amenable to group projects and study sessions and modern standing desks. Because the library has subscribed to online resources that provide many of the authorities once available only on microform, the library was able to condense its microform holdings. As a result, space became available and the library now includes a lounge reserved for students where they can study collaboratively or relax.

The library space can serve more than 400 users.

Andrew Martineau, research librarian, says the redesign should encourage both collaborative and solo work. “The primary goal of the remodel was to create better and more varied places for law students to study,” he said. “Some of the new spaces, like the lounge and other open areas with comfortable seating and movable white boards, should help facilitate group study sessions. For students who like to study alone, we installed elevated desks that can be used either standing or sitting.“ Chad Schatzle, student services librarian, noted that, “In addition to being a great place to study and perform research, the law library is an inviting space where students can take a break from the pressures of law school. Students enjoy checking out the latest documentaries, attending library open houses, and cuddling up next to therapy dogs as exams approach.”

Jeanne Price, professor of law and director of the Wiener-Rogers Law Library, has been with the Boyd School of Law since 2008. Price, like the research librarians among her 13-person staff, has degrees in both law and library/information science.

A graduate of Yale and the University of Texas law school, Price practiced law in Houston and Qatar.

While overseas, she helped organize English-lan-

guage libraries. Price came to Boyd from the University of Texas School of Law. Price noted that the relative youth of the Boyd School of Law, compared to its peer schools around the country, and its standing as the only law school in Nevada, present many opportunities for the law library to serve different constituencies around the state and beyond.

“There’s so much that the law library can do to support the community, the university, and, of course, the law school,” Price said. Arriving at Boyd seven years ago, she found that her predecessors and all of the library staff – especially founding faculty member and library director Rick Brown, founding library faculty members Jennifer Gross and Sean Saxon, collection development librarian Matthew Wright, and operations manager Cindy Claus – had assembled “an amazing collection in a short period of time.” The strength of the collections meant that Price and her colleagues could focus on new ways to serve students, faculty, the university, and the state of Nevada and on creating new resources. “Our collections serve as the raw materials that we help our patrons use to engage in advocacy and scholarship and to better their lives.”

Jennifer Gross, collection management librarian, noted that the law library has rearranged its collections, bringing together scholarship from different disciplines that relate to faculty, student, and community interest. “Our collections’ strengths reflect our curriculum, our faculty’s scholarship, and issues important to the state. We’ve tried to make those collections as accessible and open as possible.”

One of the law library’s special collections is the Documentary Film Collection, featuring thousands of documentaries on social justice, immigration, labor and employment, gender studies, human rights, environmental rights, and criminal justice: issues that have become topical flashpoints in legal and political debates. These documentaries are used by law school faculty and students, and the collection supports an annual Public Interest Law Film Festival hosted by the law school.

Among other special collections are the archives

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of the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association. The National Bar Association is the country’s largest and oldest organization of African-American attorneys and its Las Vegas Chapter has a rich history. Included in that archive are the oral histories of a number of Nevada’s prominent African-American jurists who share their experiences and memories of the civil rights movement in the state.

The law library is a federal government depository and a European Union depository, receiving government publications at no charge.

While the law library’s physical collections support research locally, it is the library’s digital collections that enable the law school’s work to be shared with new audiences around the world. The Scholarly Commons (http://scholars.law.unlv.edu) preserves and shares the work product of the Boyd School of Law. “The primary purpose of the Scholarly Commons is to archive and showcase the scholarly work of the law school faculty and the law school community,” said David McClure, head of research and curriculum services at the library. That includes faculty-authored articles; every issue of the Nevada Law Journal

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and UNLV Gaming Law Journal, Boyd’s two journals produced by students; conference proceedings; and a number of special collections. The Scholarly Commons is also the repository for summaries – authored

by UNLV students – of Nevada Supreme Court decisions.

The Scholarly Commons is just five years old; already articles and other materials posted on the Scholarly Commons have been downloaded more than 550,000 times by scholars and students all over the world. That number should grow rapidly as the number of articles, which are indexed on Google and other search engines, continues to grow.

The Scholarly Commons is electronic, but it is, as the name suggests, a place where people can gather and learn from Boyd students and faculty. Whether they’re in China or the Ukraine, Denmark or Australia, Seattle or New York, or Reno or Laughlin, scholars around the world read articles and watch videos on the Scholarly Commons. An interactive map shows the location of each download as it happens.

“There is no charge,” McClure noted.

“Everything we’ve uploaded is freely avail-

able and is searchable by anyone with access to the Internet.” In the past year alone, articles on the Scholarly Commons have been downloaded more than 190,000 times. That means that the scholarship and activities of the students and faculty of the Boyd School of Law are widely recognized. Among other benefits, faculty members have been invited to speak at some conferences because scholars have discovered their writings on the Scholarly Commons; law students’ writings are finding new audiences as well.

Among the resources uniquely available through the Scholarly Commons are proceedings of conferences and special events held at the law school, including the 2013 panel discussion Water Law in the West with Patricia Mulroy, the 2011 colloquium Multidimensional Masculinities and Law, and the 2012 Labor and Employment Law Symposium. The Scholarly Commons also hosts an archive of newsletters published by the Society of American Law Teachers and includes an archive of scholarship relating to gender and civil rights authored

by Boyd faculty and by participants in the 2014 U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

“It truly is a great resource,” McClure said. “We’re always looking for input from everyone who’s involved with the repository to make it better and more responsive to the needs of our students and faculty, the legal community of Nevada, and scholars around the world.”

None of these wonderful collections could be put to good use were it not for the expertise of the law library faculty and the skills of the law library staff. Six law library faculty members, including five who have both law degrees and degrees in library and information science, undertake research, provide research instruction, manage the resources of the largest law library in the state, and otherwise support the research and teaching activities at the law school.

Daniel Hamilton, dean at the Boyd School of Law, last year told the Boyd community of the importance of the law library.

“The Wiener-Rogers Library provides access to all of the authorities and resources that law students will need to concoct an argument, structure a transaction or counsel clients,” he said in his message. “Sometimes those ingredients are authorities traditionally used in scholarship and practice,

but ever more frequently, students and faculty alike need access to more exotic resources, like social science research, datasets, historical archives, popular media and foreign and international materials. …

It’s the flavor of the unexpected that distinguishes the Wiener-Rogers Law Library’s collections.”

WHO ARE THE NAMESAKES OF THE WIENER-ROGERS LAW LIBRARY? Louis Wiener Jr. and James “Jim” E. Rogers were longtime friends and business partners whose philanthropy forever changed UNLV. Wiener was a powerful force in the early decades of the desert boomtown that became modern Las Vegas. As a teenager, Wiener moved from his home in Pennsylvania and graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1932. He attended the University of Nevada, Reno and the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. Wiener practiced law in Las Vegas for more than five decades. According to his daughter, former Nevada State Senator Valerie Wiener, her father’s clients included entertainer Frank Sinatra, casino developer Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, and businessman Kirk Kerkorian. For decades, he represented nearly every major casino resort on the Strip and in downtown Las Vegas.

His business interests also included slot-machine operations at McCarran International Airport and regional broadcast television affiliates. He was a charter member of the UNLV Foundation and supported numerous local charitable efforts.

Wiener has a Clark County elementary school named in his honor, and was honored with an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy from UNLV in 1997, a year after his death.

Rogers, a long-time valley resident who graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1956, was a nationally prominent media executive, philanthropist, and education advocate. He earned a J.D. from the University of Arizona Law School and a Master of Laws from the University of Southern California. In 1971 he and Wiener took control of KVBC/KSNV. Eventually, Rogers and Wiener built a network of local television stations across five states. Rogers, named one of America’s Top 12 Philanthropists (Time, 2000), made significant contributions to colleges and universities nationwide, and was instrumental in the push to establish the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. In 1998, the University of Arizona renamed its law school in his honor after he donated $115 million, the largest gift to that date. He served as Chancellor of the Nevada System for Higher Education from 2004 to 2009. Rogers was a tireless, vociferous advocate for education. He died in June of 2014.

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LEARNING FROM

‘FABULOUS’ LAS VEGAS

BY TOVIN LAPAN

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PROFESSOR MARKETA TRIMBLE USES AN UNLIKELY EXAMPLE – THE ‘WELCOME TO FABULOUS LAS VEGAS’ SIGN – TO TEACH THE IMPORTANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.

IT IS A COMMON REFRAIN AMONG THE LEGAL COMMUNITY that law school teaches

students to think like a lawyer, but not necessarily the mechanics of practicing law.

Law professors are constantly challenged to show their students the real-world implications of their studies, a glimpse of what awaits after graduation.

During the spring 2015 semester UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Professor Marketa Trimble found a poignant example of the importance of intellectual property rights just a few miles from the UNLV campus on Las Vegas Boulevard: the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.

Intellectual property law – the world of patents, copyrights and trademarks – can be technical, complicated and at times dense.

Yet, it touches on every aspect of daily life, from the images people see to the apps and products people use. Experts in patent law, thanks to the current pace of technological advancement and the flood of gadgetry on to the market, are in particularly high demand.

Professor Trimble, who alternates teaching the advanced intellectual property law seminar with Professor Mary LaFrance, often brings in guest speakers to help bring the law to life for her class.

“My primary goal is to keep students excited about intellectual property law,” Professor Trimble said. “I want to show them all the facets of the issues they are interested in.”

This year she invited Betty Willis, the designer of perhaps the world’s most famous “welcome” sign. Willis never claimed copyright to her work, and the sign is iconic today, at least in part, because there were never any restrictions on its use. Now, Willis’ work can be found on posters, ashtrays, key chains, shot glasses, shirts, mugs, and countless other items.

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snap a shot in front would stop risking their “In class we talk about creators and the lives scurrying across busy Las Vegas Bouimportance of intellectual property to artlevard. ists, but it is such a rare opportunity to have Willis, who labored over every detail a real artist who can discuss legal issues with from the “Welcome” lettering to the distincus in class,” Professor Trimble said. “Willis tive ring of yellow light bulbs, always said was an absolutely phenomenal artist in our the sign was her gift to the city and never town who contributed so much to the city in considered copyrighting it. Western Neon the specialized area of art signs, facades, and closed down. Given the nebulous nature of other displays.” who owned the creative rights to the sign, Willis died on April 19 at the age of 91, and the students jumped into discussion with by the time of her scheduled presentation to Holland. the class on March 23, she was already bed“I used to be a crime scene analyst for ridden. Willis’ daughter, Marjorie Holland, Metro Police, so I was ready for a grilling like stepped up to fill in for her mother and preI used to get from attorneys in court,” Holsented to the class. land said. “Well, the students didn’t grill me In the mid 1950s Ted Rogich, a salesman like that, but they brought up a lot of good at Western Neon, pitched Clark County and questions and points.” the Las Vegas Resort Association on the First, the students dug into the details idea of a sign to welcome visitors that would of Willis’ work, her contract with Western match the grand marquees of the casinos.

Neon, and who commissioned the sign.

Willis – who also designed the sign for the “I grew up in Las Vegas, and there Moulin Rouge, Las Vegas’ first inis a lot of folklore about the sign,” tegrated casino, and the Blue said Erica Bobak, one of the Angel Hotel – was Western six students in the seminar.

Neon’s lone artist. She de“My primary “I was under the impressigned the sign based on goal is to keep stusion she actually owned Googie architecture and the rights and at some picked the unique horidents excited about point formally gifted it to zontal diamond shape intellectual property the city.” to make it instantly reclaw. I want to show At the heart of the disognizable. The sign was them all the facets of cussion was the balance built and installed for the issues they are between protecting one’s $4,000 in 1959. It would intellectual property and gradually become one of interested in.” how that may impact the the most recognizable imsuccess and dissemination of ages representing Las Vegas, the work. and its ubiquitousness and his“If it had been protected, I don’t tory make it an interesting case study. think the sign would have come to fruition The sign was added to the National Regthe way that it did,” said student Adam Esister of Historic Places in 2009, and Clark trada. “It wouldn’t be on key chains and botCounty has spent nearly $1 million to build tle openers and all that stuff, and it wouldn’t parking around the sign so visitors eager to

Betty Willis stands by her creation, the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.

(Las Vegas News Bureau)

BETTY WILLIS SAW WELCOME SIGN AS GIFT TO THE CITY

W

hen Western Neon handed Betty Willis the assignment to create a sign for the city that rivaled the bright lights of the strip, she immediately recognized the weight of the task. She drove up and down Las Vegas Boulevard looking at signs for inspiration and strove to create something unique and eye-catching.

It was her gift to the city from the moment she started, but even she couldn’t have imagined its longlasting impact.

When it went up in 1959, it was just another sign produced by Western Neon. Willis got as much credit as the welders and glassblowers who worked on its construction, which is to say not much at all.

“My mother called it the little sign that could,” said Willis’ daughter, Marjorie Holland. “It just kept growing and evolved into this symbol of the city.”

Willis and the family never considered copyrighting the sign and never looked into what legal standing she had.

Willis never copyrighted any of her work, including designs she created as a freelance artist.

“If the sign had been copyrighted or protected in some way, it would never have grown to be the symbol that it is,” Holland said.

It wasn’t until The New York Times wrote about Willis in 2005, during Las Vegas’ 100-year anniversary celebration, that she started to get widespread recognition and attention for her contribution to the city’s iconography, according to Holland.

“Later in life she was often invited to give talks and such, and she was always asked why she didn’t copyright it,” Holland said. “She would always say, ‘If I had copyrighted the sign, it probably wouldn’t have been used as much and wouldn’t be as famous. But, it would be nice to have a dime for every time it’s been used.’”

Western Neon might have had the original rights to the sign, but the company closed. Holland acknowledged it is unclear whether or not her mother could have made a claim to copyright the sign, since she created it as part of her job at the company.

seen as ahead of the curve be as recognizable. It’s iconic “The sign is internationally in equal now because using it was so employment. easy.” instantly recog“It was eye-opening Willis was also one of nizable and it’s been in terms of the history very few women who appropriated in every of women in the workworked in sign design, way you could think of, place,” Do said. and the discussion driftso it’s kind of sad she The six students in ed into issues of gender the class all worked on equality in the workplace. and her family retheir own research pa“My mother did lament ceived no financial pers during the course of that she was always paid benefit. ” the semester. Illustrating less than the men doing the the diverse areas that intelsame work,” Holland said. “She lectual property law touches, the always said, ‘Just because I’m a topics included hip-hop music, Korean woman doesn’t mean I don’t have a fampatent law, artificial intelligence, software ily to support too.’” patents, and financial methods.

Elizabeth (Won Hee) Do, a student in the Each student was assigned individual seminar who grew up in Korea, said she was readings tailored to their research topic, and intrigued to hear about issues for working the presentations throughout the semester, women because the United States is often

including Holland’s, helped them see their own subject areas in a new light.

“The sign is instantly recognizable and it’s been appropriated in every way you could think of, so it’s kind of sad she and her family received no financial benefit,” said Bobak, who researched intellectual property law in fashion. “There is a parallel between her story and the fashion industry … Our system is held to be the international standard, but a lot of very important things in fashion fall through the cracks and the creators of original pieces very often don’t get the credit due to them.”

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Eyes in the Sky DRONE REGULATION MAY COME DOWN TO BETTER DEFINING REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS OF PRIVACY BY BRIAN SODOMA

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drone flies over the crowd at a Jimmy Buffet concert as audience members angle for the camera. It’s a light-hearted scenario where people seem unthreatened by the presence of a flying device recording their actions. But at the Los Angeles Kings’ Stanley Cup celebration last summer, a drone wasn’t as well received. Cheers turned to boos and eventually an

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ILLUSTRATION: DREAMSTIME.COM

audience member threw a skateboard at it.

The crowd cheered when the busted device fell to the ground.

UNLV criminal justice Professor Joel Lieberman highlighted these situations in a speech he gave in October of last year at the William S. Boyd School of Law’s Symposium on UAS in Nevada. They are also examples of some of the divergent viewpoints Professor Lieberman is seeing in his survey research on public opinions of drone use.

“People’s support varies greatly depending on the context,” he said.

Professor Lieberman is finding some clarity on those contexts, too. In his recent work, he found people tend to be more accepting of drones, also referred to as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), for government use. Applications like military operations, border patrol, climate and geological work and rescue efforts saw wide public support. But support wanes when drones are put in the private sector’s hands. Crowd monitoring, crime detection, and delivery services saw lower approval levels.

Drones lend themselves to an evolving legal and regulatory quandary about privacy protections. And at the Boyd School of Law’s UAS symposium, conversations often revolved around whether the public’s expectations of privacy in certain situations are realistic or not.

REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS Are we realistic in asking for privacy protections in our backyard or in a public park?

And how is it that we can create regulations that are fair for UAS users and developers while also protecting the public? Legal experts and scholars know the regulatory conversation is a long and uncertain one that is only getting started.

Both the benefit and the potential problem for drones comes from their ability to collect information that, in the past, would have required a human to enter, or trespass, into a space. A panel of scholars, attorneys, and UAS technology experts at the symposium discussed some of these scenarios.

If, for example, someone is sunbathing in his or her backyard, is it reasonable to think others cannot take pictures from the other side of a fence or block wall or, in the case of drone use, from above and from a distance?

What if the sunbather is a suspect in a crime and the surveillance is needed for evidence?

Is it fair to use a drone in these scenarios?

“There’s a tension between great utility and the potential for misuse here,” explained Richard Jost, a director with local law firm Fennemore Craig.

Jost said there is a case currently working its way through the California court system where a person involved in a car accident on a freeway had a candid conversation with an EMT on the scene. The person’s statements were potentially damaging to their case, but the assumption was that it was a private conversation. However, an unmanned aerial vehicle from a TV station flying nearby picked up the conversation through its audio technology.

While the accident occurred on a public

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law, speaks at the Boyd School of Law’s Symposium on UAS in Nevada.

street, where expectations of privacy are largely considered surrendered, the situation lends itself to a bigger conversation, said Jost. Was the person’s expectation of privacy reasonable? Or should the conversation be allowed as evidence in the case?

“We’ll find out what the California supreme court says about her expectation of privacy, and was it reasonable?” Jost added.

THE FOURTH AMENDMENT While the Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful searches and seizures, and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 requires a warrant for police involved in any form of electronic surveillance,

Dean Chemerinsky called privacy “an imprecise term” requiring further definition. He said the California privacy act, passed about 15 years ago – which makes it impermissible to use technology to gain images or sound otherwise requiring a physical trespass – could become “a model for states across the country.”

FUTURE REGULATION But, overall, scholars, attorneys and legislators seem hesitant to establish too much early drone regulation, acknowledging that legal precedent and case law will likely dictate much of future regulation.

“You tend to not legislate ahead of tech-

“IF, FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEONE IS SUNBATHING IN HIS OR HER BACKYARD, IS IT REASONABLE TO THINK OTHERS CANNOT TAKE PICTURES FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF A FENCE OR BLOCK WALL OR, IN THE CASE OF DRONE USE, FROM ABOVE AND FROM A DISTANCE?” there currently are plenty of threats to these protections, said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law and a leading scholar in constitutional law. He calls the current Fourth Amendment protections “grossly inadequate” in the world of UAS. Dean Chemerinsky cited 2013’s Maryland v.

King involving Alonzo King, who was arrested for an assault he admitted to committing. But a cheek swab taken at the scene from King produced a DNA link to an unsolved rape case. He was then sentenced to life in prison.

“It was the first time in American history the Supreme Court allowed a search without probable cause,” Dean Chemerinsky added.

Regarding 1989’s Florida v. Riley, Dean Chemerinsky talked about how police used a low-flying helicopter to peek into someone’s backyard as part of an investigation. The state supreme court ruled 5-4 in favor of it not being a search and no warrant was required.

nology, but, instead, respond to technology,” said John Valery White, professor of law at Boyd and strategic advisor to the UNLV President. “To try to anticipate usage and develop legal rules to regulate that usage is sort of a bad idea. … We can’t guess all the uses.”

Public opinion is also an important factor in regulation. How the public feels about potential privacy invasions should certainly be considered in legislation and rules about drone use, Professor Lieberman said.

“Hopefully policy takes into account the attitudes toward this,” he added. “It certainly shouldn’t be dictated by [the public], but it’s not something you want to ignore.”

Boyd School of Law adjunct professors Stephen Bates (associate professor, UNLV Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies) and Richard Jost (director, Fennemore Craig) taught a course on privacy issues and unmanned aerial systems in the last academic year.

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FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP, PRESENTATIONS, AND OTHER NEWS

FACULTY FOCUS

MCGINLEY WRITES NEW BOOK Professor Ann McGinley’s forthcoming book, Masculinity at Work: Employment Discrimination through a Different Lens, will be published by New York University Press in 2016.

Masculinity at Work proposes the use of masculinities theory to interpret sex discrimination claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Masculinities theorists posit that masculinity is not a biological given, but a social construction of how men should appear and behave. Social views about masculinity cause many men to engage in performances of masculinity to prove their worth to other men.

The book’s approach is both theoretical and pragmatic. It uses examples of media reports and real cases to explain how masculinities theory can help lawyers, judges, and legal academics understand why common sense does not always provide an accurate understanding of workplace behaviors. It encourages courts to understand implicit bias and to use masculinities theory to determine whether illegal discriminatory behavior has occurred. Finally, it discusses how courts should use masculinities theory to help juries interpret behaviors to determine whether sex discrimination has occurred.

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Mental Health in the Last Frontier PROFESSOR BRINGS CRITICAL EXPERTISE TO REVIEW OF ALASKA MENTAL HEALTH STATUTES PROFESSOR SARA GORDON never planned on becoming an expert on Alaska’s mental health statutes.

In the past year, she’s become just that, working with and leading a team that included two UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law students, Gil Kahn and Dawn Nielsen, and a University of Nevada School of Medicine Professor of Psychiatry, Dr. Melissa Piasecki. Together, the team conducted a comprehensive review of Alaska mental health statutes relating to insanity, competence to stand trial, and civil commitment.

In the summer of 2014, Professors Gordon and Piasecki received a grant from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority to review existing state statutes related to mental health.

Upon receiving the grant, the team traveled to Anchorage, where it interviewed stakeholders including judges, psychiatrists, public defenders, district attorneys, and other local attorneys.

“We were trying to get a sense of what was working in the existing system, what wasn’t working, and how to best make improvements that made sense for the state,” Professor Gordon said.

By August 2015, the team had drafted and recommended changes to existing statutes, and drafted language for new statutes relating to juvenile competency and restoration and assisted outpatient treatment.

The team recently returned to Anchorage to present its findings to the Alaska Governor’s Criminal Justice Working Group, whose members include Alaska Supreme Court Justice Joel Bolger and Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott. The Working Group will now consider which changes to propose to lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session.

One of the team’s main suggestions was to implement a new statutory scheme related to juvenile competency and restoration, as the current statute applies adult standards to juveniles, Professor Gordon said. The team also suggested changes to statutes involving civil commitment and the detention of individuals believed to meet civil commitment criteria.

Access to mental health services and evaluation in Alaska can be challenging because of geographical restrictions and provider shortages, Professor Gordon explained.

“We tried to create a more detailed statutory scheme, with greater guid-

ance to courts and built-in protections for individuals with mental illness,” she said.

The group’s other recommendations included: • Employing telebehavioral health — the use of telecommunications to provide mental health services — to offset expenses and mental health provider shortages • Creating sentencing alternatives for mentally ill misdemeanor defendants • Appointing a designated agent responsible for implementing many of the state’s mental health statutory requirements • Revising statutes related to insanity pleas to restore a functioning insanity defense in the state “We made our recommendation based on national best practices, while also taking into account the realities on the ground in Alaska, which are pretty significant,” Professor Gordon said. “It was very important to us and the stakeholders to improve coordination and communication between the various systems and departments that regulate mental health laws in Alaska, and we hope that those improvements will increase the overall quality of mental health care for Alaska residents.”

“I’m fascinated by what makes the commercial effective. How do you get the consumer’s attention, and what message do they take away from the commercial?”

FACULTY FOCUS

BOYD FACULTY PARTNER ON U.S. FEMINIST JUDGMENTS PROJECT

Living in a Material World MARY LAFRANCE’S PATH TO IP LAW WAS ELLIPTICAL BUT PREDESTINED PROFESSOR MARY LAFRANCE can’t make you love intellectual property law, but she makes it easy to understand. Articles such as “A Material World: Using Trademark Law to Override Copyright’s First Sale Rule for Imported Copies” take the mystery out of what may seem like a Byzantine subject area. “A Material World” has been chosen to be part of the 2015 issue of the Intellectual Property Law Review, but Professor LaFrance is already presenting her latest article under the working title “False Advertising Claims Against Product Names and Labels,” and her next casebook is set for publication in September.

“I try to pick topics that have not been extensively written about already,” said Professor LaFrance. “I try to carve out some new ground, and I try to write about topics that have great practical importance.

And then I try to explain the issues as clearly as I can.”

Professor LaFrance’s path to IP law was elliptical but fairly predestined.

“It’s a field that’s actually quite hard to keep up with because things are changing all the time,” said the Duke University graduate. “I came into intellectual property because I had such diverse interests before I went into law school. I took a lot of classes in the sciences. I was an English major, and have always been a bit of a theater geek.”

She also watched television a lot, particularly commercials. At age 10 she wrote one for Band-Aid and sent her idea to Johnson & Johnson.

“I got a very nice rejection letter and a box of free samples,” recalled Professor LaFrance. “I’m fascinated

by what makes the commercial effective. How do you get the consumer’s attention, and what message do they take away from the commercial? I was always impressed by very creative or memorable commercials, and I still am today.”

While Professor LaFrance found IP was “a backwater” area of study when she attended law school, she gradually realized it wound all her interests into a single profession.

“Intellectual property does that because it involves science and technology, and the creative and performing arts. In this field, I’m able to enjoy all those areas of interest,” she said.

There were also few textbooks, which Professor LaFrance would help rectify later via her prolific output. She’s written, co-authored and updated more than a half-dozen titles. Her latest is titled Entertainment Law on a Global Stage.

“I think what distinguishes it from other entertainment law casebooks is that it goes well beyond intellectual property issues, and it covers other issues like labor law, taxes, contracts,” she said. “It also looks at entertainment law from the perspective of international transactions and how differences in other countries can affect how one plans an entertainment transaction.”

“A Material World” is still making waves though and has been presented to audiences as far away as Hong Kong. Professor LaFrance had previously written about trademark owners trying to block parallel imports (domestic products meant for overseas sale) into the U.S. After the Supreme Court ruled that the “first sale” right of copy-

right law allows the importation of any lawfully made copy, Professor LaFrance analyzed how copyright owners could circumvent the ruling through trademark law.

“They were frustrated by the Supreme Court’s international exhaustion decision but then they discovered that they could frustrate parallel importers by using trademark law,” she said.

Material differences between copies, such as bonus content on DVDs or pagination differences in textbooks, can be created and exploited to invoke trademark protection.

“It’s not good for consumers if there are materially different goods floating around the marketplace that look very much alike,” Professor LaFrance said. “As I point out in the article, students could inadvertently buy a textbook that has the wrong pagination.”

Her latest article addresses false advertising, mainly through a case involving a Coca-Cola product designed to compete with Pom Wonderful’s flagship product made with 100 percent pomegranate juice. Coca-Cola’s cheaper product contained miniscule amounts of the pomegranate and blueberry juices prominently listed on its FDA-compliant label, leading Pom Wonderful to sue CocaCola under the federal Lanham Act’s false advertising provisions.

“The Supreme Court held that it is entirely possible for a label to satisfy the FDA requirements and still be misleading for purposes of the federal false advertising laws,” she said. “It makes me wonder what are all the other things the FDA allows on labels that we’ve never really thought about.”

“What would United States Supreme Court opinions look like – and what would their influence be – if key decisions on gender issues were written with a feminist perspective?” This question is posed by the U.S. Feminist Judgments Project, an initiative that has pulled together leading feminist legal scholars to rewrite, using feminist reasoning, the most significant gender justice cases decided by the Supreme Court from the passage of the final Civil Rights Amendment in 1870 to the summer of 2015.

The rewritten opinions – 25 total – will be published in 2016 by Cambridge University Press in a volume titled Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Opinions of the United States Supreme Court.

Linda Berger, Family Foundation Professor of Law at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, serves as co-editor of the book. Leslie Griffin and Ann McGinley, both William S. Boyd Professors of Law, are rewriting decisions for the book.

Professor Griffin, with Mary Ziegler of Florida State University College of Law as the commentator, is rewriting the opinion in Harris v. McRae, 448 U.S. 297 (1980).

Professor McGinley, with Margaret Johnson of University of Baltimore School of Law as the commentator, is rewriting the opinion in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Servs., 523 U.S. 75 (1998).

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FACULTY FOCUS

“A STAY ON DEPORTATIONS” Michael Kagan and Fatma Marouf, associate professors at the Boyd School of Law, with Rebecca Gill (UNLV political science), on Aug. 2 published an op-ed in The Washington Post that appears to have spurred a change in highstakes immigration cases in the Third Circuit.

The article, “A stay on deportations,” was based on the professors’ empirical research about immigration appeals.

The article reads: “If you get a speeding ticket from a traffic cop, you have a right to fight it. And you don’t have to pay the fine until the case is resolved in court.

“But things are different if the Department of Homeland Security seeks to have you deported. In theory, you have the right to fight your deportation, potentially all the way to the Supreme Court. But the DHS might deport you before you’ve exhausted your appeals.”

In their article, the professors proposed that circuit courts issue interim stays of removal as soon as petitioners file motions asking for one.

On Aug. 5, just a few days after the op-ed was published, the Third Circuit issued a standing order enacting the exact change the professors proposed.

The order states, “In order to ensure that petitioners in immigration matters are not deported before the Court has an opportunity to act on a motion for stay of removal ... the Court adopts a policy of granting a temporary administrative stay pending disposition of the motion for a stay ... ” 30

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Wages of Sin City RUBEN GARCIA IS ON THE FRONT LINES OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW WITH THE SOCIAL CONTRACT between employers and the workforce steadily eroding for nearly 50 years, the study and practice of labor and employment law has never been more crucial. Workers are currently subjected to an unprecedented undermining of regulations designed to protect their rights, and their power to collectively bargain is under siege. As Professor Ruben Garcia states in his forthcoming article, “Politics at Work After Citizens United,” there are “seismic changes going on in our political system.”

“This lack of political power that leads to these lesser protections, I think both originates from and is exacerbated by the political imbalance in the country: The growing gap between those who have money to spend on politics – the casino magnates of the world and the Koch brothers of the world – versus those who have the numbers but can’t exercise their power,” said Professor Garcia. “So my latest piece is really about the ways in which individual workers might be able to organize politically to leverage their numbers in the face of these growing political inequalities that come out of Citizens United.”

It’s a subject area for which Professor Garcia makes himself available as a go-to media source and that

he examined at length in his 2012 book Marginal Workers: How Legal Fault Lines Divide Workers and Leave Them Without Protection. But Professor Garcia’s focus on labor and employment law has deep roots.

“I made the decision in law school,” he said. “But I think the reason I made the decision was because I saw some economic or employment injustices in my family when I was growing up, my dad in his career. I thought it was a good area to get into, that I might like in terms of trying to deal with some of those injustices for other people.”

Professor Garcia fought in the trenches after obtaining his law degree from UCLA, practicing in Los Angeles for several years before entering academia and joining the UNLV faculty in 2011. Las Vegas, with 14.4 percent of Nevada’s workforce unionized versus a national average of 11.1 percent and a private sector rate of 6.7 percent, turned out to be a fascinating laboratory for labor law.

“It was a great opportunity to come to a place where there’s a dynamic labor movement,” said Professor Garcia. “The unique issues in gaming and casinos in terms of tips or supervisor status are an incredible opportunity, which I didn’t have in San Diego, to have a voice in the

public sector. … I think there’s a lot of opportunity here to speak out about different issues related to labor law.”

Professor Garcia avidly promotes expanded labor-community partnerships, as he expresses in “Politics at Work After Citizens United,” while in Marginal Workers he advocates for basic rights for workers on par with minimum constitutional and human rights. But it’s the current minimum wage fight, five years after the symbolic flashpoint of Citizens United, that holds the most promise for the growth of future grassroots organizing.

“What you will see at the local level is more of these grassroots campaigns,” he said. “The minimum wage, one of the reasons I’m looking at it, is because it’s become an organizing principle for a lot of different things. The cry in fast food strikes has been ‘fight for $15 and a union.’

There’s backing from the SEIU [Service Employees International Union] and backing from different unions for these campaigns, and they’re trying to make it not just about the minimum wage but greater workplace justice, greater workplace protection.”

Professor Garcia sees a big fight ahead between local movements and “those who prefer a totally unregulated market” who are embedded in state and local legislatures, but the bottom line for him is unions need more numbers and the public sector must be strengthened if the labor movement is going to rebound and reinvigorate. Workers need better protections against a spectrum of anti-labor activities, from exploiting immigrant labor to skirt prevailing wage standards to classifying employees as independent contractors.

“That’s why the fact that the private sector unionization rate at 6.7 percent is a real problem for the enforcement of labor laws, because the traditional way of enforcing these things was through collective action, through collective bargaining,” said Professor Garcia. “But when we have such a small percentage of the workforce actually organized, more and more rights are going to go unenforced.”

FACULTY FOCUS

Lawyering Process Curriculum Faculty:

How did they spend their summers?

LORI JOHNSON

Assistant Professor in Residence

TERRY POLLMAN Professor of Law

“Moving from research connections for 1Ls to lawyers’ use of narratives in contract recitals.”

“Considering ethical questions about contract language to guide attorneys, professors, and rulemakers.”

PETER BAYER

Associate Professor of Law

“Going against current trends by arguing that corporations have the human characteristic of dignity.”

SARA GORDON

Associate Professor of Law

“Revising mental health laws in Alaska and proposing better approaches to forensic mental health testimony.”

LINDA EDWARDS REBECCA SCHARF

LINDA BERGER

“Examining potential invasions of privacy by unmanned aerial systems (known as drones) and accountability for those who use them.”

“Editing re-envisioned Supreme Court opinions for the U.S. Feminist Judgments Project.”

Associate Professor of Law

Associate Dean for Faculty Development & Research and Family Foundation Professor of Law

E.L. Cord Foundation Professor of Law

“Exploring a striking increase in non-party arguments before the Supreme Court and assessing its impact.”

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SCHOLARSHIP & COMMENTARY

FACULTY FOCUS

PROFESSOR ADDIE ROLNICK

On Race and Self-Defense Killings

M

any of the names are probably familiar: Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, Akai Gurley, Jordan Davis, Tamir Rice, Sean Bell, Walter Scott. Others may not be: Belinte Chee, John Williams, Renisha McBride, Rumain Brisbon, Cesar Arce, DeMarcus Carter, Jessica Hernandez, Charley Leundeu “Africa” Keunang, D’Andre Berghardt, Jr., Gabriella Nevarez, John Crawford III, and scores of others.

All are unarmed Black or Brown victims killed by people claiming self-defense.

Some were killed by police; others by civilians. In the majority of the resolved cases, the killer was either not charged or was acquitted in the homicide. As a matter of law, the killings were labeled justifiable.

Is this the story, as some argue, of the law vindicating the claims of individuals who rightly reacted out of fear? Or is it of institutionalized racist violence? In the public discourse, it often comes down to a debate about whether or not each case was “about 32

UNLV Law | 2015

race.” But that is asking the wrong question.

The question is not whether race mattered in each case, but how it did and how the law should respond.

Stranger self-defense cases (whether by police or by civilians) are always about race.

In fact, it is impossible to take race out of selfdefense law. This is because self-defense involves a split-second assessment of whether a stranger is about to kill you. We can rely only on easy-to-see cues to make that determination. Race is an irrevocable part of that mix of cues. We can’t close our eyes and not see it. Race can also influence our best guesses about other factors -- what we think someone is doing, whether we think we see a weapon, whether the person looks out of place. All of that is colored by race.

Of course in self-defense law, the fear has to be reasonable. This is where law is supposed

to operate as a check against irrational people, like racist vigilantes. But race matters at the objective level too because we all share a certain level of bias. As a baseline assumption, we tend to think Black and Brown men are probably up to no good, just like we tend to think White women are probably not a threat.

For example, social psychologists Jennifer Eberhart, Phillip Atiba Goff, Valerie PurdieVaughns, and Paul Davies have noted that “[m]erely thinking about blacks can lead people to evaluate ambiguous behavior as aggressive, to miscategorize harmless objects as weapons, or to shoot quickly, and, at times, inappropriately.” When psychologist B. Keith Payne’s research subjects were shown photos of a person and then asked to make a snap judgment about the identity of an object, they were more likely to mistakenly think the object was a gun if they saw

“Some states are considering laws that would eliminate the ‘reasonableness’ requirement, making a killing justifiable as long as it is based on an honest fear, however unreasonable that fear might be.”

FACULTY FOCUS

SCHOLARSHIP & COMMENTARY

an image of a Black person. Other similar studies have confirmed this “shooter bias” or “weapons bias.”

Because these implicit biases are widely held, a cop, judge, or jury member is more likely to be able to sympathize with fear of a Black or Brown person and to view the killing as justifiable. Under the law of selfdefense, a person’s fear doesn’t have to be correct to justify deadly force; it just has to be reasonable.

This inevitable potential for bias should make us cautious. It should make us want to carefully restrict when self-defense can be claimed and require a lot of evidence to support it. Instead, most states are expanding self-defense, passing new laws to make it available in more circumstances and make it easier to prove. Even as more voices push for oversight and accountability among police, the basic law of self-defense has remained the same or has been expanded. Nevada, for example, recently passed new laws expanding the right of civilian self-defense.

Even the traditional version of self-defense law is broader than many assume. In PHOTO: ISTOCK.COM

most states, it is legal to kill a person who is breaking into your home, even if you are not in fear for your life. It is also legal in many states to kill to stop any forcible felony, not just a deadly assault. It is usually legal for police to kill to stop a fleeing felon who poses a danger to others.

More recent laws expand the doctrine even further. The most widely known version of this is the “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows you to kill without retreating from a conflict, even if you could have escaped danger by walking away. Other provisions extend the right of self- and home-defense to more places, making it legal to kill someone (without retreating) who threatens you in your workplace or is trying to break into an unoccupied car or boat. Some states are considering laws that would eliminate the “reasonableness” requirement, making a killing justifiable as long as it is based on an honest fear, however unreasonable that fear might be.

Some of these laws expand the right of self-defense in practice by making it available under more circumstances or easier to prove. Other laws (such as Nevada’s new law

making homicide justifiable in cases of carjacking) may have very little practical impact because those defendants would have been able to claim self-defense under the old law.

These laws have a symbolic power, however, in the sense that they serve to remind people that killing is legal under the specific circumstances.

Social scientists have demonstrated that race affects our perceptions of dangerousness, our experience of fear, and our response to it. Yet, the law does not recognize racism as a problem unless it comes in the form of hateful, discriminatory statements like the emails sent by police and court staff in Ferguson, Missouri. Unless intentionally racist action is the only plausible explanation of a specific incident, the legal system tends to respond by burying discussion of race. This is what happened when attorneys in the George Zimmerman trial were barred from using the term “racial profiling.” A more nuanced appreciation of the relationship between race and fear is needed to understand the way race matters – and it always does – in self-defense cases.

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SCHOLARSHIP & COMMENTARY

FACULTY FOCUS

PROFESSOR LINDA EDWARDS

in “Advocacy as an Exercise in Virtue: Lawyering, Bad Facts, and Furman’s High Stakes Dilemma,” published in the Mercer Law Review:

“But a lawyer who shares the Justices’ near-certain reaction to these facts can effectively ask the Court to do something hard—that is, to decide that Aikens and others like him should be allowed to live. The lawyers had to do more than tell the Court that the facts were irrelevant. They had to show the Court that we can react to these facts with the ‘deepest human instincts of loathing and repugnance’ and still reject the sentence of death. Only someone who could join the Court in its visceral reaction to these facts could effectively argue that the facts, though horrendous, were irrelevant to the constitutional question. Demonstrating a human reaction to these crimes was, in a sense, the price of admission to this legal conversation.”

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PROFESSOR ERIC FRANKLIN

in “A Rational Approach to Business Entity Choice,” to be published in the University of Kansas Law Review:

“[F]orming a business in the United States was once a reasonably simple decision. But this once simple decision has grown substantially more complicated. Rather than simply choosing between a corporation or a partnership, an entrepreneur in most states will have over a dozen different legal entity forms from which to choose.

These forms include the more familiar (and popular) forms, such as the general partnership, LLC, and corporation, as well as more esoteric forms like the limited liability limited partnership and series LLC. Making matters more complicated, state legislatures continue to add new business entity forms to the already crowded slate of available forms on a near-annual basis. Such entities, like the low-profit limited liability company and the benefit corporation contribute to an increasingly complex array of business entity options for would-be business owners. What was once a relatively straightforward decision has become impossibly complex.”

PROFESSOR THOMAS MAIN

in “The Fourth Era of American Civil Procedure,” co-written with Stephen Subrin (Northeastern University School of Law) and published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review:

In this article we argue that American civil procedure is now in its fourth era.

Conspicuously absent from the commencement of the fourth era is the policy debate that should occur when lawmakers and the public are presented with a choice to pursue a new vision.

Indeed, it is all-too-fitting that the third era itself was denied notice and the right to be heard before it was interred by judges. Meaningful access to courts, necessary discovery, and trials are casualties of this new era. We identify the protean, multidimensional, and overlapping forces that powered the transition from the third era to the fourth. And we undertake to establish a scorecard for evaluating procedural systems.

“Our research, scholarship, and creative activity informs our teaching and our service — it’s all connected.”

FACULTY FOCUS

SCHOLARSHIP & COMMENTARY

PROFESSOR DAVID TANENHAUS

in Juvenile Justice in Global Perspective (NYU Press, 2015), which he edited along with Franklin Zimring (University of California, Berkeley) and Máximo Langer (University of California, Los Angeles):

PROFESSOR NANCY RAPOPORT PROFESSOR LYDIA NUSSBAUM

arguing that statutory mediation mandates are a form of decentralized governance in “Mediation as Regulation: Expanding State Governance Over Private Disputes,” to be published in the Utah Law Review:

“Across the United States, state legislatures are enacting statutory mediation mandates that govern how private parties resolve their disputes. Legislatures embed mediation mandates into specific statutory regimes ranging from foreclosure to healthcare to insurance coverage.

Rather than delegate decisions about ADR design to other state institutions, like courts or administrative agencies, legislatures increasingly retain that authority and formalize the mediation process with legal requirements that regulate parties’ behavior and influence mediation outcomes.”

on UNLV’s Top Tier initiative to become one of the nation’s best public research universities.

Professor Rapoport was named acting executive vice president and provost for UNLV, effective July 1:

“Why should UNLV move in this Top Tier direction? For one thing, as UNLV moves forward, the plan is to get better and better in each of the five goal areas (Research/Scholarship/Creative Activity, Student Achievement, Academic Health Center, Community Partnerships, and Infrastructure/Shared Governance). The journey is as important as the destination.

“We know that a dual system of justice is a near universal in modern nations, with almost only the Scandinavian nations operating without distinctive juvenile courts. But why is this?

In theory, a single institution could coordinate a variety of different policies for offenders of all ages, but no modern nation has chosen to do this. What are the reasons that have made two separate courts for the same behaviors the nearly universal choice of modern governments?”

“Moreover, being a high-functioning, research-intensive university that creates the best possible experience for its students, as well as becoming a great place to work, will give our region the ability to look to UNLV for all sorts of help for all sorts of thorny problems. We’ve already shown that we can do amazing things for our region, like developing a robohand for a little girl, working with the court system to treat juveniles with dignity, and winning national honors in jazz. Our research, scholarship, and creative activity informs our teaching and our service — it’s all connected.”

2015 | UNLV Law

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WHAT HAPPENS AT BOYD ... IN PICTURES

THE GALLERY

KIDS’ COURT SCHOOL MILESTONE

On March 13, the Kids’ Court School at the Boyd School of Law held a milestone celebration to mark its assisting 1,000 children. The event included a demonstration of the program, including a mock trial.

Above: Boyd student Samantha Rice

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JUDGE GEORGE LECTURE

The Boyd School of Law, the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, and the AntiDefamation League together with the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution on Dec. 4 hosted the second annual Judge Lloyd D. George Lecture on the Judicial Process. Kenneth Feinberg (left), managing partner with Feinberg Rozen, LLP, served as the special guest lecturer.

During the event, Feinberg shared experiences and insight into his distinguished career handling many of the nation’s most challenging and widely known disputes.

THE GALLERY

CONVOCATION

On May 15, the Boyd School of Law held its annual law school convocation to honor 129 graduates at UNLV’s Ham Hall.

Justice Nancy Saitta delivered the keynote address; Professor Ian Bartrum delivered faculty remarks; Kerry Kleiman and James Trummell delivered student remarks; and Chelsie Campbell, president of the Alumni Chapter, delivered a message on behalf of alumni.

Above, from left: Geordan Logan, Adam Osman, Mackenzie Hanks, and James Trummell Left: Madeline Arcellana and Joseph Grusman

2015 | UNLV Law

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THE GALLERY

CLINIC 15TH ANNIVERSARY

On Oct. 2, 2014, the Boyd School of Law celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic and the dedication of a newly named professorship: the Joyce Mack Professor of Law. The event honored Joyce Mack and Mary Berkheiser (right, bottom), founding faculty member and director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic, who was awarded the professorship.

Anne Traum (right, top), associate dean for experiential legal education, spoke at the event.

CLINIC FUNDRAISER

On May 28, Ed and Claudia Bernstein hosted at their home a fundraiser to benefit the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic. The event honored U.S. Senator Harry Reid (right) and featured special guest Judge Lloyd George.

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THE GALLERY

BUILDING MAKEOVER

The Boyd School of Law entrance got a bit of a facelift this summer as part of a construction project next door at the Beverly Rogers Literature and Law Building, formerly the James E. Rogers Center for Administration & Justice. The updated entrance includes a new – and newly located – building sign.

FAISS LECTURE

The Boyd School of Law on March 19 hosted the second annual Robert D. Faiss Lecture on Gaming Law & Policy, this year titled Starting from Scratch: Building Careers, Companies and Community in Gaming. The event featured Kim Sinatra (above), executive vice president and general counsel for Wynn Resorts.

MOOT COURT COMPETITION

The 17th Annual Clark County Bar Association/Boyd School of Law Moot Court Competition took place April 25. Above, from left: Nevada Supreme Court Justice Kristina Pickering, Federal District Court Judge Richard Boulware, Boyd School of Law student and victor Michael Viets, and Federal District Court Judge Jennifer Dorsey

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THE GALLERY

ON THE LINKS

The Boyd School of Law community hit the greens Oct. 17 at The Legacy Golf Club in Henderson for an afternoon of competitive fun.

The Alumni Golf Tournament kicked off two days of festivities as part of the 2014 Alumni Weekend. The annual event welcomes back all Boyd alumni as well as the reunion classes – the 2014 weekend celebrated reunions for the classes of 2004 and 2009.

Right, from left: Christopher Alderman ’13, Sunny Jeong ’12, 2L Ashley Lacher, and 3L Noah Duran

SPRING FLING

Boyd School of Law students, alumni, family and friends enjoyed an afternoon of fun at the 6th Annual SPRING FLING barbecue and softball tournament held April 18 at the UNLV Eller Media Softball Stadium.

The event included a softball tournament, a barbecue, and family-friendly activities.

SALTMAN CENTER 10TH ANNIVERSARY

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution on Nov. 1 hosted an event titled Making Peace with Your Enemy: Nelson Mandela and His Contributions to Conflict Resolution.

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THE GALLERY

ALUMNI REUNION

On Oct. 18, Boyd School of Law alumni gathered at the ARIA Resort & Casino. The event featured a reception for the 2004 and 2009 classes and an all Boyd dinner. Former U.S. Senator Richard H. Bryan delivered the keynote address at the dinner.

Above, from left: John Piro ’10; John Valery White, professor of law at Boyd and strategic advisor to the UNLV President; Keith Brown ’05, Alumni of the Year Award winner; Daniel Hamilton, dean at Boyd; Elda Sidhu ’01, Distinguished Alumni Award winner; and Terry Johnson ’11, Young Alumni Award winner Left, top row: Jeff Temple, Kelly Smith ’04, Marissa Temple ’04, and Donny Holmstrom; bottom row: Kristina Holmstrom ’04 and Christine Owen ’04 Below: Derek Rosse, Krystal Gallagher ’09, and Raymond Jereza ’09

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KEEPING UP WITH BOYD ALUMNI

CLASS ACTIONS

CLASS OF 2001 Heidi Almase was elected to the Las Vegas Municipal Court, Dept 3 in 2011, and is currently serving a six-year term. In 2013, she was nominated to serve a two-year term on the Judicial Council of the State of Nevada. In February 2015, Judge Almase was named an Alternate Judicial Member to the Commission on Judicial Discipline. Judge Almase is married to attorney Caesar Almase and together they have three children.

Robert Beyer and his wife, Sandy, welcomed their second son, Ace, last November. They reside in Hoboken, N.J. Natalie Cox moved east with her family. She is now a trial attorney with the Department of Justice, Office of the U.S. Trustee in Wilmington, Del. Michael Higdon is an Associate Professor of Law and the Director of Legal Writing at the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville, Tenn. He teaches constitutional law, family law, legal writing, and sexuality, gender and the law.

Mark Jackson is a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., where he manages the human rights portfolio for Sub-Saharan Africa on child labor and slavery, religious freedom, and disability rights.

He co-manages the portfolio for child soldiers, human trafficking, LGBT issues, and refugees.

Mark serves as the lead for the Bureau of African Affairs and oversees regional human rights program funding and management.

Steven Krinsky opened his own Los Angelesbased criminal defense firm, Law Office of Steven Krinsky, in July of this year.

CLASS OF 2002

Fralick ’03

Norcross ’04

CLASS OF 2004

Whelan ‘06, Deputy Attorney Sally Yates

CLASS OF 2008 Nadin Cutter celebrated the fourth anniversary of her firm, Cutter Law Firm, this year.

She practices family law, business litigation, and personal injury in Las Vegas.

Linda Marie Norcross recently transitioned from private practice to Assistant General Counsel for Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. in Las Vegas.

Marla Hudgens relocated to Arizona, where she continues to maintain an appellate and commercial litigation practice in Phoenix.

Cami Perkins is a partner and shareholder at the Las Vegas office of Holley, Driggs, Walch, Puzey & Thompson.

Richard Rawson earned an LL.M. with a concentration in Business Transactions from the University of Alabama School of Law in August 2015. He is a Managing Partner for Ballard Rawson in Las Vegas.

Shane Young serves as General Counsel for Provident Trust Group, Las Vegas.

CLASS OF 2005 Tina Jagerson received a Master of Library and Information Science from San Jose State University School of Information in May. She currently resides in Alexandria, Va.

CLASS OF 2006

Paola (Armeni) Androvandi is now with the firm Gentile, Cristalli, Miller, Armeni & Savarese.

Timothy Geswein has returned to his family and the practice of law after suffering from a life-threatening illness in 2014. He and his wife Shemilly Briscoe ’06 would like to offer heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the law school and legal community for the continued thoughts, prayers and assistance received during a difficult time. Timothy is an attorney at Frias

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Kerry Doyle and Tyler Crawford ’07 opened their own Las Vegas practice, Thunder Law, earlier this year.

Jeanne Lambertsen practices family law as an associate with Webster & Associates in Las Vegas.

CLASS OF 2003

42

Jacqueline (Jeanney) Bluth is the Chief Deputy District Attorney for the Special Victim’s Unit at the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.

Genie Serrano is the owner of Peaceful Transformations, a mediation firm specializing in divorce, child custody, and asset and debt division. She resides in Las Vegas.

Catherine Mazzeo will be the incoming 2016 President for the Clark County Bar Association.

Daniel Royal has patents pending for

Chernysheva ’09

obtaining pluripotent stem cells from autologous blood. He is the Medical Director at Royal Medical Clinic in Henderson.

Danny Lovell now has his own Las Vegas practice, Law Offices of Dan J. Lovell, specializing in bankruptcy, family law, and criminal law.

Adriana Fralick is Chief Deputy District Attorney at the Office of the District Attorney in Carson City.

Beeson ’07

Nevada State Bar. She is an attorney at the Law Offices of Frank J. Toti located in Las Vegas.

Doyle, Crawford ’07 Transportation Management in Las Vegas.

Karen Whelan was chosen as one of six attorneys nationwide to attend the 2015 International Fellows Program in Washington, D.C. The fellows will conduct research and projects centered on the theme, “Innovative Prosecutorial and Crime Fighting Strategies.” Articles prepared by the group will be presented in New York at the end of the fellowship. Karen is a prosecutor in the Special Prosecutions Division of the Office of the Nevada Attorney General.

In 2012, Karen raised funds for village families under the “untouchable” caste in Nepal to receive electrical power in their homes.

Adam Woodrum is now a partner at Woodrum Law in Las Vegas. He specializes in criminal defense, white-collar crime, appeals, and habeas corpus.

CLASS OF 2007 Maricar Andrade serves as the Public Information Committee Chair for the Nevada Council for the Prevention of Domestic Violence. She is also an alternate Hearing Master for TPO court in Clark County. Maricar coordinates a yearly Asian Pacific American Youth Leadership Symposium with the nonprofit Bamboo Bridges.

Audrey J. Beeson is a Nevada Board Certified Family Law Specialist and a TIP Mentor for the

Bret Meich joined Downey Brand LLP in January. He lives in Reno.

Rachel Silverstein joined Littler Mendelson as a Special Counsel in September 2014. She resides in Henderson.

CLASS OF 2009 Margo Chernysheva has relocated her office, The MC Law Group, to 8942 Spanish Ridge Avenue in Las Vegas, to better accommodate clients. MC Law Group advises and represents clients on matters of business-based and family-based immigration issues. They specialize in I-9 compliance, investor visas, employer-sponsored visas, NAFTA immigration services, sponsorship, and fiancé visas.

The firm is fluent in several languages including Spanish, French, Armenian, Russian, Tagalog, Mandarin and Cantonese in order to assist clients in their native tongues.

Kristie Fischer launched a new website (www. contractguru.us) for her contract drafting and per diem attorney services company, Contract Guru.

Kelley Goldberg joined the Neon Museum Board of Trustees. She is a shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and is the head of the Las Vegas office’s intellectual property and technology department.

Chelsea Pyasetskyy was named a partner at Thenell Law Group in Portland, Ore., where she leads the third-party, PIP and UM/UIM litiga-

CLASS ACTIONS

tion practice. Chelsea is licensed in Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

ning on June 27, 2015. They reside in Las Vegas.

Pyasetskyy ’09

Green ’11

Krystal (Gallagher) Rosse serves as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Nevada in the Las Vegas office.

CLASS OF 2010 Kareema (Mitchell) Allen and Eric Allen are expecting their first child, a girl. They are both practicing attorneys at Allen Legal Services in Salt Lake City.

Christina Mamer is an Associate at the Las Vegas office of Wood, Smith, Henning and Berman.

Amens ’12

Carlyon ’12

Lawrence Hill was named as “Legal Elite 2015”

by Nevada Business Magazine, and “Rising Star Mountain States 2015” by Super Lawyers.

CLASS OF 2011

Kimberly Delmonico joined Eglet Law Group’s mass tort litigation team in October 2014.

Joseph Geller moved to a new office earlier this year. The Office of Joseph A. Geller, Esq., is located on Tropicana Avenue.

Jessica Green was named as “Rising Star-Mountain States 2015” by Super Lawyers. This is the second year in a row that Jessica has received this title. She is an attorney practicing with the Las Vegas office at Lipson Neilson.

Kirk Homeyer joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Las Vegas office earlier this year as an Associate in the firm’s Corporate Department.

Brian John will continue to work for the United States Navy JAG Corps in Bahrain after serving two years as a defense attorney in southern Spain.

Amy Ma founded Paleo Angel, dedicated to providing foods under the guidelines of the Paleo Diet and Autoimmune Protocol. The purpose of Paleo Angel is to nourish and educate individuals about the benefits and impact of whole foods and autoimmune disorders. Amy is an Associate at Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial in Las Vegas, where she specializes in civil litigation.

Kristopher Milicevic opened his own Las Vegas firm, Milicevic & Associates LLC, in April 2014,

Darren Rodriguez is an Associate at Maier Gutierrez Ayon, located in Las Vegas.

CLASS OF 2013 Richard Alan Andrews was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy JAG Corps in September 2013. He is currently stationed at Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. Richard spent 10 weeks earlier this year attending the Naval Justice School in Newport, R.I.

Jennifer Hostetler has left Lewis Roca Rothgerber and is now the Personnel Chief for the Attorney General Office.

Alexis Brown celebrated the first-year anniversary of her Las Vegas firm, Alexis Brown Law, last December.

Matthew Carlyon volunteered as a judge for the Truancy Diversion Project with the Clark County School District. The project is an incentive-based program created to decrease absenteeism in all levels within the district.

From left: Katherine Provost, former chair of the Executive Council of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Nevada; Pickard ’11; Governor Brian Sandoval; and Assemblyman Lynn Stewart where he specializes in personal injury and workers’ compensation.

Keith Pickard was the drafter and principal lobbyist for AB 263, which was enacted in the 2015 Session of the Nevada State Legislature. Deemed “the most significant piece of family law legislation this term” by the Family Court’s general counsel, the bill will harmonize previously conflicting rules regarding the bases for child custody determinations by dropping prior threshold tests based upon gender and prior marital status in favor of a “child-centered” test.

It also adjusted the calculus for relocation cases so that the interests of the child are placed ahead of the tactical goals of a parent. Keith practices family law at his firm Pickard Parry Pfau.

CLASS OF 2012 Debra Amens operates a full-service law firm, Amens Law, which serves rural Nevada. With offices in Battle Mountain and Austin, the firm offers services such as family law, criminal defense, estate planning, environmental law, business formation, trademarks, and more to those residing in remote areas.

Tiffany (Lawrence) Banning married Jesse Ban-

Frank Beninato of Las Vegas received an LL.M. in Taxation at the University of Miami School of Law this year.

Zachary Conine founded Joseph Beare & Company, a management consulting company that specializes in startups and large-scale feasibility work. He resides in Las Vegas.

Amanda Ireland is an Associate at Wilson Elser in Las Vegas.

Ann Sheahan is the Domestic Violence Court Coordinator of the Ada County Domestic Violence court in Boise, Idaho.

CLASS OF 2014 Kandis McClure joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Las Vegas office earlier this year as a Policy Advisor. She focuses on the Nevada state government within the firm’s Government Relations Department.

Shannon Phenix is a Deputy Public Defender for Clark County.

Joseph Sakai is an Associate at Ballard Spahr where he specializes in all phases of litigation.

Rob Telles opened his new firm, Accolade Law, in March. The firm donates a portion of every fee to a nonprofit or charity that operates in Southern Nevada.

Rob currently sits on committees at the Latin Chamber of Commerce, the Clark County Bar Association, the Las Vegas Rotary Club, and A-Tech Academy.

ALUMNI REMEMBERED We wish to recognize the William S. Boyd School of Law alumni recently lost.

Lawrence Ita ’12 Jennifer Stallard ’03 Clarke Walton ’05 BOYD ALUMNI CHAPTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gabrielle Angle ’10 Alison Brasier ’07 Lauren Calvert ’07 Chelsie C. Campbell ’05 Kevin Day ’13 Daron Dorsey ’01 Blake Gross ’05 Kirk D. Homeyer ’11 Amy Ismail ’13 H. Sunny Jeong ’12 Jenny Lee ’12 Danny J. Lovell ’05 Timothy Mott ’12 Ashley C. Nikkel ’12 John J. Piro ’10 Chaz Rainey ’07 Francesca M. Resch ’12 Amber Robinson ’06 Quinton R. Singleton ’07 Raymond Smith ’03 Jaimie Stilz ’14 Mark M. Weisenmiller ’10 Brenda Weksler ’02 Amy M. Yonesawa ’11 Daniel W. Hamilton, Dean Layke Martin, Assistant Dean for External Relations Keith A. Rowley, Faculty Liaison Carolyn Barnes, Director of Alumni Relations Daven P. Cameron, Student Liaison ’16 Jenn Odell, Student Liaison ’16

2015 | UNLV Law

43

RECOGNIZING BOYD’S SUPPORTERS

DONORS

The annual donor report contains the names of those who generously supported the Boyd School of Law through gifts and pledges in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

$1,000,000

* William S. Boyd & The Boyd Foundation

$500,000-$999,999 * Wynn Resorts

$250,000-$499,999

* Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers * Barrick Gold of North America * Estate of Charlotte Fink * Gaming Laboratories International, LLC * MGM Resorts International

$100,000-$249,999 * Fred D. Gibson

$50,000-$99,999

* Lawrence E. Ita ’12 * Samuel and Lexy Lionel & The Lionel Trust

$25,000-$49,999

* Sean K. Claggett ’03 & Louella Claggett * The E.L. Cord Foundation * Daniel W. Hamilton & MaryAnn Winkelmes * Metropolitan Water District of Southern California * Snell & Wilmer, LLP * Denver Water

$10,000-$24,999

* The Brookings Institution * Lynnda G. Brown ’04 * Fennemore Craig, P.C. * Garman Turner Gordon * Marjorie L. Hauf ’02 * Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund * John F. O’Reilly * Porter Gordon Silver Communications, LLC * Michael & Sonja Saltman * Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys

$5,000-$9,999

* Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP * E. Joe Cain ’01 * Justin L. Carley ’06 * Zachary B. Conine ’13 * Miles R. Dickson ’11 44

UNLV Law | 2015

On May 8, the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law and Michael and Sonja Saltman hosted a reception at Park Towers honoring members of the Boyd Society, leadership donors to the school. Above, from left: Sonja Saltman, Dean Daniel Hamilton, William S. Boyd, Doris Lee, Ted Lee, and Michael Saltman * M. Daron Dorsey ’01 & The Honorable Jennifer C. Dorsey * The Honorable Lloyd D. George * Kemp, Jones & Coulthard, LLP * J. Randall Jones & Mark M. Jones * Matthew I. Knepper ’12 * Konami Gaming, Inc. * Casey G. Perkins ’10 * McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP * Nevada Hispanic Legislative Caucus * RESCAP Liquidating Trust * Terina M. Salerno ’01 & Victor J. Salerno * The Honorable Richard F. Scotti * Quinton R. Singleton ’08 * Michael B. Viellion ’04 * Melissa L. Waite ’07 * Brenda Weksler ’02 * Kendelee L. Works ’05

$1,000-$2,499

* Rachel J. Anderson * Joseph M. Asher & Cynthia Asher * Travis N. Barrick, PC * Shelley L. Berkley * Alison M. Brasier ’07 * Barbara Buckley * Anthony N. Cabot * Robert C. Correales & Julia A. Correales * De Castroverde Law Group * The Honorable Kathleen Delaney * Kimball C. Hakes ’04 * Hunterton & Associates * Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer & Fiorentino * Bailey Kennedy * The Honorable Peggy A. Leen

* Livleen Neel Khurana LLC * LVPPA, Inc. * The James and Sharon Maida Foundation, Inc. * Terry A. Moore ’01 * Richard J. Morgan * Billie-Marie Morrison ’01 * Kathia I. Pereira ’03 * Gloria Perry * Becky A. Pintar ’01 * Robert W. Potter ’02 * Jeanne F. Price * Nancy B. Rapoport * Christine L. Smith * Rosa Solis-Rainey ’01 & Dayne E. Rainey * Leon R. Symanski ’01 * Thomas & Mack Company * Trace Publications * Ann E. Ward ’02 * Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial, LLC

$500-$999

* Armstrong Teasdale, LLP * Hannah Arterian * Ballard Spahr, LLP * Mary E. Berkheiser * Dignity Health * Gordon & Rees, LLP * Leslie C. Griffin * Jean-Paul Hendricks ’06 & Kara B. Hendricks ’01 * Cody Knight * Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada * Gregory T.H. Lee & Dana S. Lee * Lee, Hernandez, Kelsey, Brooks,

Garofalo & Blake * Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer & Garin, P.C. * Thomas O. Main * Nevada Legal News * The Honorable Philip M. Pro & Dori S. Pro * Eric P. Roy ’09 * Ryan, Carvalho & White, LLP * Michael S. Shalmy ’06 * Chad R. Sillman ’14 * Daniel S. Simon * Raymond W. Smith ’03 * Jeffrey W. Stempel * U.S. Bancorp Foundation * Valerie Wiener * Wilkes & McHugh, P.A.

$250-$499

* Patricia W. Becker & Steve Ducharme * Linda L. Berger * Bradshaw, Smith & Co., LLP * Keith A. Brown ’06 * Ogonna M. Brown ’01 * Catania Consulting Group, Inc. * Nicholas D. Crosby ’04 * Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 * Stephen J. Dahl * Frank D. Durand & Veronica Durand * Ford & Friedman, LLC * Harlan Goodson * Gerald M. Gordon & Yvonne W. Gordon * E. K. Hansen ’09 * Mark D. Hesiak ’11 * Holland & Hart * Amanda L. Ireland ’13

* The Jansen Family Trust * Raymond A. Jereza ’09 * Herbert M. Jones & Janice L. Jones * Law Office of Robert B. Gould * Joel M. Mann ’02 & Sari Mann ’03 * Cliff W. Marcek P.C. * The Honorable Linda A. Marquis ’03 & Harry Paul Marquis * Pamela L. McGaha ’02 * Macaire K. Moran ’07 * James E. Murphy ’03 & Jessica W. Murphy ’03 * Naylor & Braster * Oronoz & Ericsson, LLC * Steve K. Parke ’10 * Ngai Pindell * John J. Piro ’10 & Leslie Niño Piro ’09 * Benjamin Reitz ’15 * Republic Services * Robinson Law Group * Keith Rowley * Lea A. Sexton * Southwest Gas Corporation Foundation * Jean R. Sternlight * John O. Swendseid * Louis A. Toledo ’06 * Van and Associates Law Firm, PLLC * Colleen M. Varela ’09 * The William R. Boyd Trust * Cayla J. Witty ’12 * Steven B. Wolfson

$100-$249

* David Aberman ’02 * Robert Atkinson * B & G Landscaping * Ian C. Bartrum

DEAN’S COUNCIL FOR THE UNLV BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW Ogonna Brown ’01 Holley, Driggs, Walch, Puzey, Thompson Michael Bonner Greenberg Traurig * Janell R. Bryan ’07 * Richard H. Bryan & Bonnie B. Bryan * James J. Butman ’02 * Carlos Blumberg & Associates * Alva B. Clarke ’10 * Patrick R. Driscoll ’08 * Linda H. Edwards * The Honorable Cam Ferenbach * Adriana G. Fralick ’03 & David R. Fralick * Elias P. George ’11 * John G. George ’04 * Kimberly L. Goodnight ’06 * Sara G. Gordon * Elana T. Graham * Cheryl A. Grames ’12 * Greenberg Traurig LLP * William S. Habdas ’13 * Amy B. Honodel ’01 * Joan W. Howarth * Jarien Cho Law, LLC * Joey Gilbert & Associates, LTD * Lori D. Johnson * Michael G. Kagan * Scott F. Katherman ’06 * Levi Katzoff ’12 * George J. Kunz ’09 * Marketa Trimble Landova * Sylvia R. Lazos * Mark Lerner * Akke Levin ’04 & Ari L. Levin * Francine J. Lipman * Danny J. Lovell ’05 * Layke A. Martin * Ann C. McGinley * Samuel P. McMullen & MaryEllen McMullen * Samantha J. Mentzel ’13 * Angela D. Morrison ’06 & Quint A. Olsen * Priscilla L. O’Briant ’06 * Karlee M. Phelps ’11 * Pintar Albiston LLP * Terrill Pollman * Shawnna Pomeroy * Heather D. Procter ’09 * Jennifer Roberts * Marisa Rodriguez-Shapoval ’13 * Rebecca L. Scharf & Matthew Schneider * M. N. Segel * James P. Shea * Brian Shapiro * Stacy H. Shiroma * Kurt A. Smith ’07 * Doreen M. Spears Hartwell * Brandon J. Squires ’08 * Skillzmadd Inc. * Kelly B. Stout ’10

* Swarts & Swarts CPAs * Cristen C. Thayer ’12 * Stacey A. Tovino * Anne R. Traum * Janet E. Traut ’01 * Vincent J. Vitatoe ’12 * Douglas G. Walker ’03 * Wendy L. Walker ’07 * Willick Law Group * Thomas C. Wright & Dina C. Titus * Amy M. Yonesawa ’11 * Kristopher T. Zeppenfeld ’10

$1-$99

* Emily Allen-Wiles ’14 * Debra M. Amens ’12 * Lisa B. Amsler * Bruce D. Ansteth * Madeline Arcellana ’15 * Catherine A. Bacos * Denise S. Balboni ’07 * Christian T. Balducci ’12 * Stephen G. Bates & Polly A. Bates * Peter B. Bayer * Samantha Bilbao ’15 * Christopher L. Blakesley * Erica A. Bobak ’15 * Alexis L. Brown ’11 * Jesse Brown * Marcy A. Brown * Michael Brooks * Cameron J. Busby ’14 * Maria C. Campos * Candace Carlyon * Jennifer A. Carr * Justina A. Caviglia ’06 * Monica T. Centeno * David Crosby * Robert W. Curtis ’03 * Sean W. Daly ’15 * Vaneh Darakjian * Matilda D. Denny-Sanchez ’04 * Angela H. Dows ’06 * Carolyn C. Ely ’06 * Barbara L. Faiss * Cory Fielding ’15 * Jennifer L. Foley ’04 & LarsDietrich E. Bangen * Dianne K. Fouret * Tanya M. Fraser ’15 * Karla M. Gabour ’13 * Beverly A. Galloway * Michael J. Gayan ’08 & Jennifer R. Gayan * Erin M. Gettel ’15 * Michael J. Gianelloni ’12 * Goldsmith & Guymon, P.C. * Lee H. Gorlin ’15 * Siria L. Gutierrez ’10

* Mackenzie Hanks ’15 * Deshun N. Harris * Saira S. Haseebullah ’14 * Jeffery V. Haywood ’10 * Saman R. Heidari ’13 * Tonya M. Henderson ’15 * Tera B. Hodge ’09 * Joshua O. Igeleke ’14 & Ebony S. Igeleke * Hyungseon Sunny Jeong ’12 * Nadia C. Jurani ’03 * Jennifer I. Kuhlman ’06 * Gayle E. LeDell * Michael B. Lee ’06 * Robert P. Loftus ’15 * Virgilio Longakit ’15 * Annette L. Mann * Jose Martin ’15 * Andrew J. Martineau * David B. Matheny ’02 * David McClure * Brian A. Morris ’08 * Martin A. Muckleroy ’05 & Hilary A. Muckleroy ’05 * Angela T. Nakamura Ochoa ’06 * Christian M. Orme ’06 * Maren Parry ’05 * Sarah A. Gaskill Peacock ’02 * Jonathan D. Peck ’13 * Jessica E. Perlick ’13 * Shaina R. Plaksin ’15 * Sandra Rodriguez * Addie C. Rolnick * Elham Roohani ’10 * Mark A. Sakurada * Carli Sansone ’15 * Chad J. Schatzle * Tasha Schwikert ’15 * Nicole S. Scott ’14 * Amanda L. Stevens ’15 * Kevin R. Stolworthy * Lorie Stoveken * David Tanenhaus & Virginia L. Tanenhaus * Mahogany Turfley ’15 * Julianne Marie K. Unite ’14 * Allison H. Vitangeli ’15 * Taylor L. Waite ’08 * Blaine Welsh * Matthew J. Wright * Edward J. Wynder ’15 * Shane J. Young ’04

SPECIAL GIFTS

* Caesars Entertainment Corporation * Howard Roitman & Associates * Charles C. Rainey

Judge Richard Boulware U.S. District Court

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Gerald Gordon Garman Turner Gordon Brian Irvine Dickinson Wright

Bill Boyd Boyd Gaming

Philip Kohn Clark County Public Defender

Greg Brower Snell & Wilmer (Reno)

Samuel Lionel Fennemore Craig

Joseph Brown Fennemore Craig

Dick Morgan Dean Emeritus

Sen. Richard Bryan Fennemore Craig

Judge Gloria Navarro U.S. District Court

Barbara Buckley Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada

Michael Saltman The Vista Group

Patrick Byrne Snell & Wilmer Jennifer Carleton Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Catherine Cortez Masto Miles Dickson ’11 JABarrett Company Jason Frierson ’01 Surratt Law Practice Kelley Goldberg ’06

Tom Thomas Thomas & Mack, Co. Dan Waite Lewis Roca Rothgerber Melissa Waite ’07 Jolley Urga Woodbury & Little Steven Wolfson Clark County District Attorney Kendelee Works ’05 Christiansen Law

ALUMNI LEADERSHIP CIRCLE The Alumni Leadership Circle is a group of dedicated alumni who have taken a leadership role in supporting the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law and play a vital role in the strategic direction of the school.

Ogonna M. Brown ’01 E. Joe Cain ’01 Justin L. Carley ’06 Sean K. Claggett ’03 Zachary B. Conine ’13 Miles R. Dickson ’11 M. Daron Dorsey ’01 Marjorie Hauf ’02

Terry A. Moore ’01 Billie-Marie Morrison ’01 Casey G. Perkins ’10 Becky Pintar ’01 Robert Potter ’02 Terina Salerno ’01 Quinton R. Singleton ’08 Rosa Solis-Rainey ’01 Leon Symanski ’01 Melissa L. Waite ’07 Brenda Weksler ’02 Kendelee L. Works ’05

Michael Joe ’07 Matthew I. Knepper ’12 2015 | UNLV Law

45

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS WILLIAM S. BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW 4505 S. MARYLAND PARKWAY, BOX 451003 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89154-1003

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID LAS VEGAS, NV

SUPPORT THE DEAN’S SCHOLARSHIP INITIATIVE Scholarships strengthen the law school by attracting and retaining top students, as well as reducing student debt after graduation. This fall, we are launching the Dean’s Scholarship Initiative, with the goal of raising $2 million for student scholarships over three years.

Jonathan Chung, 2L

Support scholarships today: law.unlv.edu/give