We know lawyers bill time in six-minute increments. In this new virtual program, Nebraska Law faculty and administrators will present different areas of work or research each week, individually only lasting 18 minutes. The presenter will have 12 minutes to present their material, then attendees will have six minutes to ask questions.
This series is open to students, alumni and friends. All sessions are held virtually and begin at 12:30 CT. We hope you'll take time out of your busy schedules to learn what Nebraska Law is doing to solve problems, impact policy and advance justice with their work.
To join, please register in advance so that we can share timely instructions for each Zoom connection.
Questions? Feel free to contact Katie Pfannenstiel
| DATE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| January 27, 2021 |
Tasha Everman, Assistant Dean and Director of Career Development |
Tell Me About a Time... |
| February 3, 2021 |
Gus Hurwitz, Associate Professor of Law, The Menard Director of the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center, and Co-Director of Space, Cyber, and Telecom Law Program |
Introducing the Governance and Technology Center |
| February 10, 2021 |
Elsbeth Magilton, Executive Director of Technology, Security, and Space Law Initiatives Ashlee McGill, Class of 2023 |
STRATCOM, NSRI, and Legal Research |
| February 17, 2021 | Michelle Paxton, Adjunct Law Professor and Director of the Children's Justice Clinic | Advocacy from the Inside Out |
| February 24, 2021 | Kristen Blankley, Professor of Law | |
| March 3, 2021 |
Kala Mueller, Director of Public Interest Programs |
|
| March 10, 2021 |
Ryan Sullivan, Clinical Associate Professor of Law |
|
| March 17, 2021 | Eric Berger, Earl Dunlap Distinguished Professor of Law | |
| March 24, 2021 | Molly Brummond, Assistant Dean for External Relations and Strategic Initiatives | |
| March 31, 2021 | Colleen Medill, Robert & Joanne Berkshire Family Professor of Law | Reuniting Retirees with Their Pension Money |
| April 7, 2021 | Adam Thimmesch, Professor of Law | State Taxes in Times of Fiscal Distress |
| April 14, 2021 |
Matt Novak, Professor of Law Library and Reference Librarian, Marvin & Virginia Schmid Law Library Sandy Placzek, Associate Director and Professor of Law Library, Marvin & Virginia Schmid Law Library |
When was the last time you visited the Schmid Law Library? |
| April 21, 2021 | Anna Shavers, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Cline Williams Professor of Citizenship Law | Human Trafficking is a Domestic Legal Issue |
| April 28, 2021 |
Anthony Schutz, Associate Dean for Faculty and Associate Professor of Law Jessica Shoemaker, Professor of Law |
Rural Resilience |
| May 5, 2021 |
Kyle Langvardt, Assistant Professor of Law |
|
Program Descriptions
January 27, 2021
Tasha Everman, Assistant Dean and Director of Career Development
Tell Me About a Time...
Behavior-based interviewing is becoming more prevalent in the legal field. Why should you consider using more of these questions in your hiring? How can you best prepare to answer these questions as an applicant? In twelve minutes Assistant Dean Tasha Everman will provide context for the popularity of behavioral questions as well as the best strategy to approach answering them.
February 3, 2021
Gus Hurwitz, Associate Professor of Law, Menards Director of the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center, Co-director, Space, Cyber, & Telecom Law Program
Introducing the Governance and Technology Center
The University and Nebraska Law launched the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center this past fall. Professor Gus Hurwitz, director of the Center, will discuss the important work of the new Center, including how it will benefit the law school, our students, and the state.
February 10, 2021
Elsbeth Magilton, Executive Director of Technology, Security, and Space Law Initiatives
Ashlee McGill, Class of 2023
STRATCOM, NSRI, and Legal Research
Elsbeth Magilton will discuss the College of Law's history with U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), our University Affiliated Research Center managed by the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI), and the unique nature of traditional funded research in the legal field. Student Ashlee McGill will talk about her summer as an intern with NSRI and transitioning to law school with a national security and defense interest.
February 17, 2021
Michelle Paxton, Adjunct Law Professor and Director of the Children's Justice Clinic
Advocacy from the Inside Out
If you thought you checked your emotions at the door to study law, you were wrong! Lawyers do have feelings, which left unexamined can negatively impact their work. This session explores how using reflective practice helps participants be mindful of their internal processes and improves their advocacy.
February 24, 2021
Kristen Blankley, Professor of Law
Restorative Justice: Reducing Stigma
An alternative to the traditional criminal justice system, restorative justice seeks to restore both the offender and the victim back into society, thus reducing the stigma of certain crimes, ensuring that proper restoration is made, and reducing recidivism though these efforts.
March 3, 2021
Kala Mueller, Director of Public Interest Programs
The Pro Bono Fellows Program
Developed in 2019 with the hope of supporting pro bono work and providing a useful resources, the idea encourages more attorneys to engage, while simultaneously allowing law students to gain meaningful experiences. Since its inception, Nebraska Law students have assisted with 20 different legal matters across Nebraska and in Pine Ridge, SD.
March 10, 2021
Ryan Sullivan, Clinical Associate Professor of Law
The Tenant Assistance Project
Renters were among those hardest hit by the pandemic and the ensuing financial crisis. Many of them lost their jobs or had their hours cut, and as a result, found themselves on the verge of being evicted and homeless in the midst of a global pandemic. The Tenant Assistance Project was created last April as a grass roots program made up of volunteer attorneys and law students who provide legal representation to renters facing eviction.
March 17, 2021
Eric Berger, Earl Dunlap Distinguished Professor of Law
The Lethal Injection Stalemate
Federal courts have been consistently deferential to states in cases challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection protocols. States, however, continue to have serious difficulties assembling a viable lethal injection protocol. Courts have blamed these difficulties on “activists” waging “guerilla war” on capital punishment, but, in reality, a variety of mostly uncoordinated actors motivated by distinct norms has contributed to states’ lethal injection woes.
March 24, 2021
Molly Brummond, Assistant Dean for External Relations & Strategic Initiatives
Leveraging Strengths for the Benefit of Your Organization
A GALLUP Certified Strengths Coach, Dean Brummond will share three strategies for using a strengths assessment of any kind to help lead and manage an organization of any kind.
March 31, 2021
Colleen Medill, Robert & Joanne Berkshire Professor of Law
Reuniting Retirees with Their Pension Money
Every year, pension plans send checks to retirees that are never cashed. Although most of these checks are under $5,000, the annual total exceeds $100 million, and the backlog of unclaimed checks held by pension plan exceeds $500 million (estimates vary up to $1 trillion). In 2019, the Department of Labor commissioned its ERISA Advisory Council to study the possibility of using state unclaimed property systems to improve the odds that retirees will find and claim their pension money. Professor Medill served as a member of the ERISA Advisory Council during this time and will explain the causes of the uncashed check problem and discuss the Council’s findings regarding the feasibility of using state unclaimed property systems to reunite retirees with their pension money.
April 7, 2021
Adam Thimmesch, Professor of Law
State Taxes in Times of Fiscal Distress
State tax revenues are highly susceptible to change based on prevailing economic factors. States' taxing practices also expose their tax revenues to risk of federal law changes that trickle down to their own tax codes. Professor Thimmesch will present his research evaluating how states have been severely impacted by both of these factors during the pandemic and outline his policy recommendations for states to help them better manage during fiscal crises.
April 14, 2021
Sandy Placzek, Associate Director and Professor of Law Library, Schmid Law Library
Matt Novak, Professor of Law Library and Reference Librarian, Schmid Law Library
When is the last time you visited the Schmid Law Library?
Although you’re probably familiar with major legal research services such as Westlaw and Lexis+, there are many other online research resources you may find useful in your practice. Curious about what those might be and the types of information you can access? The Schmid Law Library has an extensive collection of online resources – both legal and nonlegal - available for you to use in the library.
April 21, 2021
Anna Shavers, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Cline Williams Professor of Citizenship Law
Human Trafficking is a Domestic Legal Issue
It is important to recognize that human trafficking is not limited to situations where victims cross international borders. The legal system needs to develop various methods, such as problem solving courts, to address criminal charges brought against survivors. Identifying the risk factors that make minors vulnerable to human trafficking can help reduce the number of victims.
April 28, 2021
Anthony Schutz, Associate Dean for Faculty and Associate Professor of Law
Jessica Shoemaker, Professor of Law
Rural Resilience
Bringing academic focus to rural communities, Professors Schutz and Shoemaker use a resiliency framework to gain a better understanding of what rural policymaking (or lack thereof) has done and should do. Scholars from across the country will be speaking at a seminar series this spring, showcasing the important work and embarking on this important project.
May 5, 2021
Kyle Langvardt, Assistant Professor of Law
Big Tech and the Constitution
Today's biggest tech companies aren't state actors, but they regulate public life in ways that implicate constitutional values. Does fidelity and democracy require us to regulate these companies more closely? And, is it possible to do so without invading tech companies own constitutional rights?