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FACULTY
FORUM
University of Tennessee
College of Law
Vol. 8 ◊ March 2023
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Eric Amarante
On March 3, Professor Amarante served as a panelist on an ABA webinar entitled "Representing Immigrant-Owned Businesses." The webinar explored the legal aspects of immigrant entrepreneurship and outlined best practices for lawyers representing immigrant-owned businesses. The presentation covered the relationship between work authorization and business ownership, minimizing risks to immigrant entrepreneurs, and the use of co-op legal structures for immigrant-owned enterprises. The panel was moderated by Lauren Rogal, Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School, and Professor Amarante was joined on the panel by Gowri J. Krishna, Professor of Law, New York Law School.
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Brad Areheart
Professor Brad Areheart’s article, "The Bias Presumption," will appear in Volume 112 of the Georgetown Law Journal. In the Article, he and co-author Adjunct Professor Dave Hall (‘20) argue that Congress should amend Title VII by inserting language into the statute that shifts nearly all burdens of proof and persuasion away from employees in suspect classes who have experienced adverse outcomes, and onto employers. This change would ensure that a plaintiff’s prima facie claim of discrimination creates a rebuttable presumption of discrimination, which is then the employer’s burden to show did not occur.
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Teri Baxter
On March 2, Professor Teri Dobbins Baxter gave a talk at the University of Tennessee College of Law titled: "Racial Disparities in Healthcare: Black Women’s Maternal Mortality Rates." The talk was sponsored by the group If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. A week later, Professor Baxter participated in the “'Deeply Rooted': Discussing the Aftermath of Dobbs" symposium sponsored by the Tennessee Journal of Race Gender & Social Justice. Professor Baxter spoke about the potential impact of the decision on the constitutional rights of minors as part of the panel titled: “The Impact of Dobbs on Marginalized Communities.”
Professor Baxter’s article "Child Sacrifices: The Precarity of Minors’ Autonomy and Bodily Integrity After Dobbs" has been accepted for publication in volume 26 of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law.
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Sherley Cruz
Professor Sherley Cruz was a co-panelist with Dr. Javiette Samuel, Associate Vice Chancellor of UTK’s Division of Diversity and Engaged, at UTK’s 2023 Innovative Teaching and Learning Conference. Their session, entitled "It Starts with Us," discussed how faculty wellness informs student wellness and the importance of supporting historically under-represented faculty in all areas of campus life.
As a faculty fellow for the Office of Community Engagement and Outreach, Professor Sherley Cruz is also working with Dr. Samuel to co-design and co-facilitate UTK’s inaugural Faculty Women of Color Circle (“WOCC”). WOCC is a brave space for UTK women of color faculty and administrators to build community and support each other’s professional development and scholarship. It launched in February of 2023. Monthly sessions include dedicated writing sessions, peer-led teaching rounds, and discussions on topics that impact faculty women of color.
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Joan Heminway
On March 17, Professor Joan Heminway spoke on a panel addressing Corporate Governance and Blockchain at “ESG and Blockchain: Seeking Clarity Through Radical Transparency,” a symposium hosted by the Wake Forest Journal of Business & Intellectual Property Law at the Wake Forest University School of Law. A week later, on March 24, she presented her draft essay, "Representing Elon Musk," at a symposium at Stetson University College of Law on “Elon Musk and the Law.” The essay will be published in a future volume of the Stetson Law Review, which hosted the symposium. The symposium principally featured members of a discussion group Professor Heminway organized for the Southeastern Association of Law Schools 2022 Annual Conference.
Professor Heminway also was quoted an article published in Agenda, a journalistic resource for corporate boards of directors and managers. The article, “Lawsuit Brings Scrutiny to Board Compensation at Meta” (access requires registration), focuses on a novel fiduciary duty action brought in the Delaware Chancery Court. Among other things, Professor Heminway notes “There are some shareholders in the market who are being ignored by directors who are merely seeking long-term or short-term profit for a particular firm . . . . [L]itigation like this challenges the board’s fiduciary duty to the firm and is really asking the courts to reinterpret what that means in the context of the current investor base.”
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Michael Higdon
On March 10, Associate Dean Michael Higdon co-taught (with Professor Mingzhou Jin, Industrial and Systems Engineering) a session entitled "Starting and Sustaining the Mentor-Mentee Relationship" as part of the University's Faculty Mentoring Certificate Program.
On March 26, Associate Dean Higdon
presented "Editing 101" as part of the National Conference for Law Review Editors, which was presented virtually by Scribes: The American Society of Legal Writers.
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Lucy Jewel
On February 10, Professor Lucy Jewel participated in webinar symposium hosted by Creighton Law School. The symposium was organized around "Race Unequals" by Teri McMurtry-Chubb, a recent book connecting legal history, the plantation economy, and contemporary culture. Professor Jewel discussed the essay she wrote about the book, which is forthcoming in the Creighton Law Review.
On March 23, Professor Jewel participated in a roundtable discussion on Artificial Intelligence and Writing at the Innovation in Teaching and Learning Conference, hosted virtually by UT’s Teaching and Learning Center.
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Glenn Reynolds
Professor Glenn Reynolds' article, "Pulsed Nuclear Space Propulsion and International Law: Some Preliminary Observations," is ranked #2 on the all-time downloads list in Nuclear Engineering on SSRN. The article was coauthored with alumna Leigh Outten, who has a master's in Nuclear Engineering from MIT.
Also, an article by Professor Reynolds, coauthored with alumnus Professor Brannon Denning, "Retconning Heller: Five Takes on New York Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen," is now #6 on the SSRN Top Legal Downloads list. It will appear in the William & Mary Law Review.
Professor Reynolds also appeared on Sky News Australia on Thursday, March 16, talking about happenings at Stanford Law School and the politics of legal education in America.
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Dean Rivkin
Professor Emeritus Dean Rivkin was recently awarded the Svitlana Kravchenko Environmental Rights Award. The award is given to a person who exemplifies the ideals and work of Professor Kravchenko: "having exquisite qualities of both head and heart; mixing academic rigor with spirited activism; and speaking truth to power, while exhibiting kindness toward all."
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Greg Stein
Professor Emeritus Greg Stein has been invited by the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) to serves as its Observer on the Uniform Law Commission’s Study Committee on the Uniform Marketable Title Act. The Study Committee will examine the existing Uniform Act and decide whether it needs to be revised and updated. ACREL’s Observer will participate in the discussions, represent the views of ACREL, and report back to ACREL on the substance of the discussions. Professor Stein has been a Fellow of ACREL since 2006 and previously served on its Board of Governors.
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Valorie Vojdik
Professor Valorie K. Vojdik gave a noon hour Zoom presentation, "Feminist Jurisprudence," to the Office of General Counsel at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) on March 20, 2023. The talk was sponsored by the Office of General Counsel - DEIA to celebrate Women’s History Month. Over 70 attorneys from around the NASA’s offices around the nation attended virtually.
Professor Vojdik was a panelist at "Reproductive Healthcare and Our Rights," a forum on March 29, 2023 sponsored by the Commission on Women here at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in the Student Union.
Professor Vojdik also was a guest speaker on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health for Professor Penny Andrew’s course on gender and the law at the New York Law School, taught by Zoom on March 29, 2023.
Professor Vojdik also presented her paper, "The Violence of Dobbs," at the symposium sponsored by the Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice ("RGSJ"), "'Deeply Rooted': Discussing the Aftermath of Dobbs," on March 9. She also introduced and moderated the keynote speech delivered by Professor Mary Zieglar, and offered concluding comments at the close of the symposium. Professor Vojdik is the faculty advisor to RGSJ and worked closely with the student symposium editors, Vada Newman and Breana Query, to help organize the symposium, which was attended by over 280 students, faculty, and lawyers.
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