On February 1, 2010, OCU LAW alumnus Martin Valko ‘02 was appointed by the Government of the Slovak Republic as its Honorary Consul to the State of Texas, his consular district. He will be engaged in promoting Slovakia, its culture, history, tourism, business and the development of economic cooperation between Slovakia and Texas. The consulate is scheduled to open in the offices of the Dallas law firm of Chavez & Valko, where Martin is a partner, in early May 2010. 

Valko, who was born in Levoca, Slovakia, represents his wife, Olympic swimmer and two-time silver medalist Martina Moravcová, as her sports agent. Martina competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The pair live in Dallas, where Martin practices immigration law and sports law, representing NHL star and fellow Slovak Ľubomír Sekeráš.

At the American Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting in January, Associate Professor of Law Danne Johnson was elected Chair-Elect for the Section on Women in Legal Education. 

Professor Johnson’s primary interest is in the area of Federal Securities Law. She worked for six years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Division of Enforcement in New York City. She served as staff attorney, senior counsel, and finally as a branch chief. In the latter role she trained, supervised and guided attorneys who were investigating possible violations of federal securities laws.

In 2000 she moved to Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., while in the Mutual Fund Unit she focused on the registration of the Met Series Fund and its life products, and mutual fund governance. She later moved to the Variable Products Unit and concentrated on the development and registration of variable annuity products, making sure they complied with the relevant securities laws. Meanwhile, she served on the New York Urban League’s Manhattan Advisory Board of Directors and chaired the board of directors for The Miracle Makers, Inc., New York’s largest day-care provider. Professor Johnson is an arbitrator with the National Association of Securities Dealers Dispute Resolution.

 OCU LAW alumnus Fred Morgan ‘80 has been named President and CEO of the State Chamber of Oklahoma, one of Oklahoma’s largest business lobbying organizations. He will assume the office April 1, succeeding long-time Chamber executive Richard Rush.

"Fred will make an exceptional leader for this organization," said Phil Kennedy, chairman of the Chamber. "He ha a long history of supporting business in Oklahoma and has great insight into the needs of business throughout Oklahoma. His leadership skills will lead our organization to a new level of excellence." 

Morgan is managing partner at Reynolds, Ridings, Vogt & Morgan, an Oklahoma City law firm specializing in commercial and small business law. He also served as president of the Oklahoma City Rotary Club from 1995-96. He served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1994-2006 and is currently general counsel and senior policy advisor to the Oklahoma State Senate Leadership.

A story about Morgan’s election to the leadership is available at the OKC Friday website.

Next week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit will hear arguments in the Homsey Family Moot Courtroom. OCU students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the sessions, which begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday, February 10. Please note that early arrival is critical, as each attendant must pass through a security screening. The general public also is welcome. 

Those wishing to attend the sessions should be aware of the following guidelines that must be followed by all attendees:

• Arrive at Sarkeys Law Center no later than half an hour before the session you wish to attend.
• A security screening will be performed by the U.S. Marshals Service. EARLY ARRIVAL IS CRITICAL.
• A photo I.D. will be required for entry into the Homsey Family Moot Courtroom
• Backpacks or book bags will not be allowed inside the courtroom. Students will be allowed to bring one law textbook into the courtroom to study while waiting for arguments to begin.
• Laptop computers, cameras and recording devices will not be allowed inside the courtroom.
• No food or drinks.
• No weapons of any kind, including pocket knives.
• No cell phones are allowed.
• All prohibited items may be left at the OCU LAW Student Services Office on the top floor of Sarkeys Law Center.
• Once the Court begins, no one will be allowed to enter or exit the courtroom until scheduled breaks.

For more information about the Tenth Circuit Court’s visit, contact Jackie Weekley at (405) 208-5197 or e-mail lawevents@okcu.edu.

The morning’s docket is available in .pdf format here.

Summaries of the cases are available for download here.

The briefs in the case are available for download and review:

Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. v. Stidham, Appellant

Appellee’s Brief

Brief in Chief of Appellant

Reply Brief of Appellant

Opinion and Order

United States v. Fox, Appellant

Principal Brief of Defendant/Appellant

Answer Brief of the United States

United States v. Gonzalez, Appellant

Brief of Plaintiff - Appellee

Appellant’s Brief

Appellant’s Reply Brief

Judgement

Jones v. Independent School District of Oklahoma City, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus Curiae

Appellee’s Brief

Appellant’s Opening Brief

Appellant’s Reply Brief

Amicus Brief

Memorandum Opinion and Order

A New York Times feature story this week about downtown Oklahoma City’s continuing development boom included coverage on plans to move OCU LAW downtown:

Oklahoma City University is moving its law school downtown to be closer to the courthouse, legal agencies and law firms. When its $30 million renovation of a former Ford Motor factory is completed in two to three years, it will have doubled its space.

“We just want to be part of the downtown renaissance,” said Tom J. McDaniel, Oklahoma City University’s president.

President McDaniel’s comments came in a larger story that rounded up Devon Energy’s construction of a new 50-story office tower, the recent passage of MAPS 3, and other projects.

The feature traced Oklahoma City’s 15-year trajectory of successful growth, from the beginning of MAPS projects in the 1990s to today.

“Initially, we took a city that was a nice place to live and raise a family, but was not a great place to visit,” Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett told the New York Times. “We’ve now created a city that we want to show off and we’re proud of.”

The law school’s potential downtown move has attracted plenty of local media attention, including a report by CBS affiliate KWTV.

OCU LAW Dean Lawrence Hellman offered a detailed update about the potential move in late November.

OCU LAW Dean Lawrence K. Hellman will moderate a panel discussion at the upcoming Mid-Year Meeting of the American Bar Association to be held in Orlando in early February.

The panel discussion will focus on law school admissions issues related to scholarships, and will be part of the 40th ABA Dean’s Workshop on February 4 and 5. About 120 law school deans will attend the workshop, restricted to deans of ABA-approved schools. The ABA Deans’ Workshop is the largest annual gathering of law school deans.

Participating with Dean Hellman will be the admissions directors from Villanova University, the University of Richmond, and the University of Connecticut.  The panel will discuss "Recognizing Need, Merit, and Diversity through Law School Scholarships."  This discussion will relate to the overall theme of the workshop, which is to assess changes to the legal profession that are occurring because of "The Great Recession" and how those changes are impacting law schools and recent graduates.

The deans will also be briefed on developing changes in law school accreditation standards, the student loan system, bar examinations, and technology’s impact on the operation of law schools and the work of deans.

"Legal educators are trying to stay ahead of the rapid changes taking place in the legal profession so that we can produce lawyers who will be prepared to meet the expectations of employers and clients and adapt to the new ways in which legal services are delivered to institutions and individuals across American and around the world," said Hellman.

OCU LAW alumnus R. Lee Myers ‘76 received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of the highest civilian honors conferred by the state of North Carolina. Myers has served for 18 years as mayor of the town of Matthews, NC., and was honored at a reception at the Matthews Town Hall on Dec. 13. He decided not to seek re-election last year.

North Carolina State Representative Tricia Cotham presented Myers with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine on behalf of North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue. Budd Berro, director of Perdue’s Piedmont Regional Office, read a letter from the governor praising Myers for his years of service. U.S. Congresswoman Sue Myrick also attended the reception and presented Myers with a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol as well as a copy of the Congressional Record which cited Myers for his service to the town and state. 

Myers has practiced law in North Carolina since his graduation from OCU LAW in 1976. From 1976 to 1983 he practiced with his father, the late Charles T. Myers. He currently practices with his son, Matthew Myers at the Myers Law Firm, focusing on civil litigation in the areas of personal injury and family law. He was first elected to the Matthews Town Council in 1987 and served two terms before his election as mayor in 1991. He received his bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University in 1973. 

The third episode of our "Why I Teach" video series, which profiles members of the OCU LAW faculty, features Michael Mitchelson, Clinical Instructor of Law and Director of OCU LAW’s Externship Programs. 

Professor Mitchelson earned his bachelor’s degree from Williams College, his law degree from Columbia Unviersity, and a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Before joining the OCU LAW faculty, Professor Mitchelson worked for the Ford Foundation, the Southern Cooperative Development Fund, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and in private practice. He also served as counsel to the town of Langston, Okla., and as an Administrative Law Judge. 

In 2008 OCU LAW partnered with Oklahoma City firm McAfee & Taft to create the McAfee & Taft Jurist-in-Residence program, which brings respected members of the bench to the OCU LAW campus to meet with students, faculty and members of the Oklahoma City legal community in a unique educational opportunity. The third annual McAfee & Taft Jurist-in-Residence will be Judge Neil M. Gorsuch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, who will visit OCU LAW February 9-11, 2010. Judge Gorsuch will appear as a special speaker in OCU LAW classes, meet with students and faculty, and deliver a public lecture at 5 p.m. Wednesday, February 10 in the Homsey Family Moot Courtroom. 

Judge Gorsuch was nominated to the Tenth Circuit court by President George W. Bush and confirmed by unanimous voice vote in July 2006. He holds a doctorate in legal philosophy from Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall scholar; a law degree from Harvard, where he studied as a Harry S. Truman scholar; and an undergraduate degree from Columbia University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He began his career as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justices Byron R. White and Anthony M. Kennedy, and to Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He was a partner at the law firm of Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, specializing in complex litigation. His matters ranged from antitrust to securities fraud, fiduciary duty to telecommunications. He represented plaintiffs and defendants, and his clients included individuals, non-profits, class actions, small companies and Fortune 500 firms.

Prior to his judicial appointment, Judge Gorsuch served at the U.S. Department of Justice as Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General. There, he helped oversee the Department’s five civil litigating divisions - the Civil, Antitrust, Civil Rights, Environment, and Tax Divisions - together with eight other operating components.

Judge Gorsuch is the recipient of the Edward J. Randolph Award for outstanding service to the Department of Justice, and the Harry S. Truman Foundation’s Stevens Award for outstanding public service in the field of law. He has written on variety of contemporary legal problems, and his work has appeared in various scholarly journals and popular publications. His book, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, was published by Princeton University Press in 2006; a paperback edition was released in 2009.

Judge Gorsuch is an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School. He serves on the Tenth Circuit Judicial Council and the Executive Committee of the Federal Judges Association. He is active in the American Inns of Court, the American Bar Association, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations. He and his wife Louise and their two daughters live in Boulder, Colo.

On December 19, 2009, OCU LAW awarded the juris doctor to its graduating class of December 2009. Delivering the commencement address was incoming Oklahoma Bar Association President Allen M. Smallwood. Video of the ceremony is below:

Photos from the event also are available on the OCU LAW Flickr site. To learn more about how to use Flickr to download photos or order prints, please refer to the OCU LAW Flickr Tutorial.