John Newman Professor Newman is currently researching “Procompetitive Justifications”, a key defense raised in most civil antitrust litigation. His paper on this topic was competitively selected for presentation at the NYU/ABA Next Generation of Antitrust Scholars Conference, the Midwestern Law & Economics Association’s annual conference, and the 2018 Loyola (Chicago) Antitrust Colloquium. His commentary on contemporary antitrust issues was recently featured in the New York Times. He has also joined Dr. Thibault Schrepel as a co-author of “Revue Concurrentialiste,” a widely read blog covering international competition law. In January 2018, Professor Newman gave a TEDx Talk on the dangers posed by “free” digital apps and services.
David S. Romantz Professor Romantz’s recent article “Reconstructing the Rule of Lenity” will be published in the Cardozo Law Review. In the article, he argues that courts have misapplied the venerable rule of lenity and for the rule to survive, courts must focus more on the due process implications of the doctrine. Professor Romantz and his co-author, Professor Kathleen Elliott Vinson of Suffolk University Law School, were awarded a contract to publish the third edition of their popular book, “Legal Analysis: The Fundamental Skill” (Carolina Academic Press). Last spring, the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar asked Professor Romantz to serve on a special ABA fact-finding mission to a law school seeking ABA accreditation; this spring, he will serve on an ABA Accreditation Team for a law school’s seven-year sabbatical visit. Professor Romantz serves on the Dean’s Advisory and Academic Affairs Committees.
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Daniel Schaffzin Professor Schaffzin has devoted significant time this year to providing national level training and consultation on strategies for resolving property vacancy and abandonment. He recently served as senior faculty for a first-ever Strategic Code Enforcement Academy hosted by the University of Memphis School of Law, where he provided training to delegations from seven cities. In November, Professor Schaffzin traveled to Providence, Rhode Island as part of a team from Neighborhood Preservation, Inc. to provide technical assistance to the mayor and law division related to the city’s strategy for addressing vacant and abandoned properties. Also active as a leader in the national clinical teaching community, Professor Schaffzin is now completing his first year as a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools’ Clinical Section. Notably, Professor Schaffzin was elected to serve as the Vice President (2018) and President-Elect (2019) of the Clinical Legal Education Association. This fall Professor Schaffzin also began serving as a member of the board of directors for the University Neighborhood Development Corporation and was elected as a Fellow of the Memphis Bar Foundation. Professor Schaffzin serves on the Faculty Recruitment and Curriculum Committees.
Faculty Accomplishments
Kate Schaffzin Professor Schaffzin assumed the role of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs this past July. She continues to teach Civil Procedure I and II to first year law students while also serving on the University’s Board of Trustees. She has two articles forthcoming: “Is Evidence Obsolete?,” to be published in the Review of Litigation and “First Generation Students in Law School: A Proven Success Model,” which will appear in the Arkansas Law Review early this spring.
Jodi Wilson As Director of Legal Writing, Professor Wilson successfully transitioned the law school to a full time legal writing program model this past fall. Professor Wilson serves as the current President-Elect of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD). Additionally, Professor Wilson’s article, “Proceed with Extreme Caution: Citation to Wikipedia in Light of Contributor Demographics and Content Policies,” was cited by the Supreme Court of Texas in the case of D Magazine Partners, L.P. v. Rosenthal. Professor Wilson serves as Chair of the ABA Standards Committee.
Christina Zawissa Professor Zawisza’s latest article, “MLK 50: Where Do We Go From Here?: Teaching the Memphis Civil Rights Movement Through a Therapeutic Jurisprudence Lens,” has been accepted for publication in Vol. VI of the Belmont Law Review. It is also abstracted today in: LSN Law & Society: The Legal Profession e-Journal, Vol. 13, No. 19.