Alumni News
McManus to Respond to Explosion in ITC Intellectual Property Caseload
WASHINGTON - The Dallas law firm of McKool Smith, P.C., is announcing a new firm office in Washington, DC, and the addition of veteran international trade trial attorney Michael G. McManus, a 1994 graduate of the University of Arkansas School of Law.
The firm's expansion into the nations capital marks McKool Smiths first office outside Texas. The new office will provide the firm with additional expertise in cases involving international trade issues, as well as commercial and intellectual property litigation.
"According to its own estimate, the number of patent disputes before the ITC has soared since 2000," says firm founder Mike McKool. "We're very excited to be moving into Washington where the ITC is headquartered, and working with two seasoned litigators like Michael. Our clients stand to benefit from his expertise in the international arena."
McManus, who joins the firm as a Principal, has an extensive background in international trade and intellectual property litigation. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and previously handled chemical, pharmaceutical and petroleum tariff classifications for the U.S. Customs Services Office of Regulations and Rulings.
"McKool Smith enjoys a well-deserved national reputation for excellence and for representing some of the finest companies in the world," says McManus. "I'm thrilled to help establish a new frontier for the firm in DC."
McManus also worked as an international trade facilitator for From2 Global Solutions. Most recently, he handled international trade and intellectual property matters at Washington, D.C.-based Adduci Mastriani & Schaumberg LLP where he was a partner. McManus earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a Master of Science degree in chemistry from Georgia State University.
The U.S. International Trade Commission is an independent, quasi-judicial federal agency charged with protecting U.S. industries from illegal imports and unfair competition. Most of the complaints investigated by the ITC involve intellectual property rights, including patent infringement and trademark infringement by imported goods.
McKool Smith has more than 90 attorneys handling commercial and intellectual property litigation for national and international clients. The firm is recognized as one of the premier litigation law firms in the United States, having earned significant courtroom victories for clients such as Electronic Data Systems, BearingPoint, Ericsson, Cisco Systems, Medtronic Inc. and National Instruments.
For more information, please contact Gary Eden at 214-978-4000 or Mike Androvett at 800-559-4534 or mike@legalpr.com.
UA School of Law Honors First Alums
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Arkansas School of Law recognized its alumni who graduated between 1934 and 1957 during a celebration on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Fayetteville Town Center. The event honored graduates who have dedicated 50 or more years of service to the legal profession.
"These alumni have spent a lifetime serving their communities through their legal education." said Malcolm McNair, Director of Alumni Relations at the School of Law. "The law school community looks forward to hosting this event each year."
Among the honorees were the Honorable George Chase, the oldest living Law School alumnus, and Norma Lea Beasley and the Honorable William H. Enfield, two of the namesakes of the new additions to the Law School building.
The exclusive event was hosted by Dean Cyndi Nance and included a cocktail reception and dinner.
"The School of Law is proud to commemorate our alumni and their lasting contributions to the legal profession and to the Law School,"Nance said. "This event is not only a time to recognize those who graduated at least 50 years ago, but it also is a time to remember how far our institution has come since opening its doors."
The University of Arkansas School of Law was established in 1924 and has more than 5,500 active alumni working across the world.
Contact
Macey A. Panach, director of communications
School of Law
(479) 575-6111, panach@uark.edu
In Memory of Jordana Johnson, '06
A little more than a year after graduating from the School of Law, Jordana Johnson, '06, passed away.
Jordana died July 8 after battling cancer and will be greatly missed by the class of 2006 and others who knew her at the University of Arkansas School of Law.
During her third year in law school, Jordana underwent chemotherapy but was still active at the School of Law as a member of the Arkansas Law Review and a participant in the Client Counseling Competition. In May 2006, she graduated magna cum laude with her J.D.
After graduating, Jordana hoped to start her career at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to fighting for civil rights. She moved to Alabama in fall 2006 to spend time with her brother, nieces and sister-in-law. Unfortunately, it was difficult for Jordana to obtain healthcare, and her condition worsened. When she was again treated with chemotherapy in the spring, she still seemed to be in good spirits, said Chuck Thompson, a law classmate and friend.
A week before her death, Jordana went to the movies with her family. That same week, however, she suffered liver failure due to her advanced cancer. Her health declined, and, on the evening of Sunday, July 8, she passed away.
The family is planning a memorial for later in the year. Jordana did not leave written instructions, but the family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Southern Poverty Law Center, where Jordana had hoped to start a career, or to a cancer research charity of one's choice.
Her family also requests that those who knew her in law school, including professors, students and others, share their memories and stories about Jordana and thoughts on what her future as a lawyer could have been.
Chuck Thompson asks that these memories and stories be sent to him, so he can assemble them and pass them on to the family. Chuck can be reached at cethomps@yahoo.com.
Jordana will truly be missed, and her family and friends are in the thoughts of the law school community.
Pay tribute to Jordana by making a donation in her honor to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Spring 2007 Arkansas Law Record
The Spring/Summer 2007 Arkansas Law Record alumni magazine has been printed.
Alumnus Gov. Mike Beebe, '72, shares his experiences at the School of Law, the importance of education and his career in public service.
Also in this issue, Professor Al Witte recounts his love of the law and teaching as he completes 50 years as a School of Law faculty member.
Articles from this issue include:
Gov. Mike Beebe, '72: A Product of Arkansas' Public Education
Professor Al Witte Celebrates 50 Years at the School of Law
First Black Female Graduate: Sharon Bernard, '69
Read the whole issue in pdf here.
Sach Oliver, '06, Accepts Best Oral Advocate Award in London
Sach Oliver, '06, was honored in London at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Oliver accepted the George A. Spiegelberg Award as the winner of Best Oral Advocate. During the conference, he spoke about how the college competition helped him realize his true potential.
At the London-Dublin meeting, Oliver said:
“I am deeply grateful that the American College of Trial Lawyers sponsors this competition. Without your organization this learning process would not be possible. The competition literally propels students years ahead of those students who do not participate. Imagine if after every trial you were in the jury stayed afterwards and gave you constructive critique. After enough critiques you would have a grasp of all of your strengths and weaknesses to make you a better trial lawyer. What I described is exactly what we experience as competitors. You cannot place a value on that experience, and there is no law school in the nation that offers that extensive trial experience in their curriculum. I hope all of you will seek out to volunteer your time and continue to judge a regional or national competition.
“[W]hat did . . . my mentor teach me that I think distinguished me? He has taught me how to present myself with confidence and humility in the same stroke, and I am trying to make that a practice in my life, as I have been able to portray that when I am giving a presentation. He has taught me that it is one thing to accomplish greatness. It is another to share your greatness, share your accomplishments, your stories and hardships. I beg of you seek out a young legal mind that you believe has potential and remember: without someone like you as a mentor, someone such as myself may never realize their true potential.”
Capt. Kees Fights to Improve Iraqi Legal System
May 24, 2007
Alumnus Capt. Duane Kees, brigade judge advocate, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, is serving in Kirkuk, Iraq. One of his most pressing responsibilities is to instill legitimacy in the dysfunctional Iraqi legal system and improve the country's rule of law. He believes this mission will be a cornerstone to a better future for Iraqi citizens. Read more on Kees' legal mission in the U.S. Army at Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Tab Turner, '84, Visits School of Law
April 9, 2007
Tab Turner, a North Little Rock attorney internationally known for winning law suits against auto and tire manufacturers in sport utility rollover cases, visited with University of Arkansas School of Law students April 9.
When Turner graduated from the School of Law in 1984, he didn't have a concrete idea of what he wanted to do, only that he wanted to be a trial lawyer, he told students. Fate led him to the cases he handles today and the success of his practice, Turner & Associates, P.A. Turner has represented clients in more than 150 rollover cases across the country. The first case came to him through a secretary whose brother had been brain damaged in a Ford Bronco II rollover. From that first case sprang Turner's future in law.
Turner started his own practice on a card table in his garage after leaving a large Little Rock law firm. Now his practice extends from Arkansas to Florida, California, Dallas and St. Louis, and he set a record for receiving the highest jury verdict ever in Arkansas -- $20.1 million. Turner goes where the cases are and chooses his travel destination based on which one of his 120 cases is “hot and heavy” at the time, he told students.
Turner also explained how he follows cases and wins them, even though his corporate opponents can outspend him. “You have to be very creative,” he said. He might conduct one $300,000 test on a Mitsubishi Montero, for example, and then use the test results in perhaps 15 current cases and more future ones.
Turner also discussed the adverse reputation of the plaintiff bar, and that it's not well understood that the lawsuits they bring serve to protect the public. “Folks like me become the arbitrator of what regulations should be,” Turner said. Verdicts force manufacturers to meet standards that are higher than the federal minimum safety requirements for vehicles, and in that way, they protect the public.
Christy Jones, '77, Named One of World's Top 10 Product Liability Lawyers
Christy Jones is one of the Top 10 product liability lawyers in the world, according to the 2007 Guide to the World's Leading Product Liability Lawyers. Jones is Chair of the Healthcare Industry Department at Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens, & Cannada, LLC. (Butler Snow), based at the firm's Jackson, MS headquarters. Jones graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Arkansas in 1974, She's a 1977 graduate of the UA Law School where she served as Managing Editor of the Arkansas Law Review. Jones is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. The Best Lawyers in America 2007 named her in the categories of Personal Injury Litigation and Product Liability Litigation. A recent survey of Fortune 1,000 general counsels cited Butler Snow as one of the national firms most recommended by legal decision makers in the pharmaceutical industry.
Matt Durrett, '98, Elected Bar President
Matt Durrett, '98, was elected the 2007 president for the Washington County Bar Association. Matt is a long-time supporter of the University of Arkansas School of Law, including his pro-bono work with the Legal Clinic and advisor for the School of Law traveling student competition teams.
Donald Jenkins, '94, Elected as Justice-of-the-Peace and Van Buren City Attorney
Donald Jenkins, '94, a partner in the Jenkins Law Firm of Alma, Ark. was re-elected to his fourth term as a Justice-of-the-Peace on the Crawford County Quorum Court and was elected Van Buren City Attorney. Jenkins also serves as city attorney for the cities of Kibler, Dyer and Chester, all in Crawford County, and is beginning his third year teaching in the master's program at Webster University, Fort Smith campus.
David Boling, '91, Visits Antitrust Class
After 10 years with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, alumnus David Boling,'91, returned to the University of Arkansas School of Law to share his experience with antitrust students on Friday, Oct. 13. Boling said he enjoyed the antitrust law class when he was a student, and after he graduated, he went to work with the Department of Justice and the antitrust subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He explained to students the structure of the Department of Justice and how they handle investigations of mergers and criminal violations of antitrust law. Last year, Boling moved back to Little Rock and joined the firm of Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, PLLC.
Lindsay Edwards, '06, Joins Omaha Law Firm
A University of Arkansas School of Law alumna has joined the Omaha, Neb., office of Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin. Lindsay K. Edwards joins the litigation department. She earned her J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law (2006) and her B.S. from the University of South Dakota (2003).
Blackwell Sanders, a commercial-based law firm with 320 attorneys, is recognized nationally for its transactional and litigation practices. Each year since 2001, Corporate Board Member magazine has named Blackwell Sanders one of the best corporate firms in America, and since 2003 Chambers USA has named Blackwell Sanders among the top law firms in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. The Best Lawyers in America 2007 named 56 Blackwell Sanders' attorneys to its list.
George W. Haley, '52, and Rodney Slater, '80, Honored
The University of Arkansas honored 10 African Americans for their contributions to the University of Arkansas, the State of Arkansas, the nation and the world at a black-tie event held on April 28, 2006. Two of the recipients were University of Arkansas School of Law graduates.
The Honorable George W. Haley of Silver Spring, Md., is the former U.S. ambassador to the Republic of the Gambia. He is among the "Six Pioneers" who were the first six African American students to enter the University of Arkansas Law School. He graduated in 1952 and was the second African American graduate from the UA Law School. He has a distinguished career as an attorney in international law and has been involved in every presidential administration from Nixon to the present administration. In addition to his ambassadorship, Haley's presidential appointments include chairman of the Postal Rate Commission, service on the United States delegation at the Twenty-Second General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris and an appointment to the United States delegation to the Second International Conference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa in Geneva, Switzerland. He received his bachelor's degree from Morehouse College in 1949 and honorary doctoral degrees from Utica College and the University of Arkansas in 2003.
WLSA, H.L.A. Hart and BLSA Welcome Sharon Bernard, '69
Sharon Bernard,'69, was honored on September 28 at a dinner sponsored by the Women's Law Student Association, H.L.A. Hart and the Black Law Student Association. WSLA awarded Ms. Bernard the Gayle Pettus Ponce Award . The Association gives the award annually to a woman who has achieved excellence in the legal profession. When Ms. Bernard graduated, she was one of three female graduates, and at the time there were no female instructors. She was excited to `return` and see the progress at the School of Law,including the appointment of Dean Cyndi Nance, the first female and first black dean at the Law School. "With this dean, you'vegrown so much," Ms. Bernard said. "I'm so proud of this University for taking this step."
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