Law School's Litigation Skills Week March 8-12
February 22, 2005
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.6190
The University of Baltimore School of Law will celebrate its annual Litigation Skills Week March 8-12 with a number of events highlighting the effect of the law on everyday life, as well as a glimpse into the future of legal education. Featured events include the unveiling of the newly renovated Venable Baetjer Howard Moot Court Room (Tuesday, March 8, at 5:30 p.m.); the hosting of a working session of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in oral arguments (Wednesday, March 9, beginning at 9 a.m.); the induction of six inductees into the School’s Legacy of Excellence in Education (Saturday, March 12 at 6 p.m.); and a series of seminars on various aspects of current law and the changing needs of law students (various times and dates, beginning March 8). Unless otherwise indicated, all events will be held at the John and Frances Angelos Law Center and are free and open to the public.
Activities get underway on March 8 with the first public unveiling of the School of Law’s new Venable Baetjer Howard Moot Court Room. This facility, which serves as an auditorium, classroom and a courtroom for experiential learning for students, alumni, faculty and special guests, is essentially the “living room” of the law school. During the past 18 months, with a generous gift from Stephen L. Snyder, J.D. ’70, the facility has been redesigned to reflect the evolving direction of legal education and provide a proper setting for the future of the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Snyder has been recognized by the National Law Journal as one of “Ten of the Nation’s Top Litigators” in 2002 and as one of “Maryland’s Top Lawyers” by Baltimore magazine. In May 2000, he established the Stephen L. Snyder Center for Litigation Skills at the University of Baltimore School of Law. The former assistant state’s attorney for Baltimore began his private practice of law specializing in complex tort and business litigation.
Immediately following this event, the first of four Litigation Skills Week Seminars begins at 6 p.m. in the moot court room with “The Effect of Reform on Medical Malpractice Litigation.” This American College of Trial Lawyers panel discussion will be moderated by Kathleen Howard Meredith, J.D. ’78, of Iliff & Meredith.
On March 9, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals will meet in session to hear oral arguments for a case on appeal, again in the moot court room. The audience will be seated beginning at 9 a.m.; oral arguments will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
On Thursday, March 10, a seminar called “Entertainment Law and Handling High-Profile Cases” will take place in the moot court room beginning at noon. Dennis Greene, professor in the University of Dayton School of Law, and Joseph Murtha, attorney with Miller, Murtha & Psoras LLC, will discuss the intricacies of representing high-visibility clients in matters that receive national media attention.
Also on March 10, “The Law School of the 21st Century: Training for Future Challenges” will be held beginning at 6 p.m. in the moot court room. Deans Patricia Mell of the John Marshall Law School and Gilbert A. Holmes of the University of Baltimore School of Law will join a representative from the University of Maryland School of Law to discuss the fluid nature of legal education. Understanding decades of case law remains a basic tenet of legal education, but new legal frontiers in areas such as the Internet and disabilities law require legal scholars and educators to “go the extra mile” in preparing students for a very different kind of profession.
On Friday, March 11, “Litigating the Fourth Amendment: The Supreme Court,” will take place beginning at noon in the moot court room. This panel discussion will feature Stephen E. Harris, J.D. ’63, Snyder Center Distinguished Attorney in Residence and former public defender for the state of Maryland; and Thomas K. Clancy, professor in the National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
On Saturday, March 12, the School of Law will host the Legacy of Excellence in Litigation 2005, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. Inductees include the Honorable Delawrence Beard, J.D. ’70, chief judge for the Montgomery County Circuit Court; Stephen E. Harris, J.D.’63; Read K. McCaffrey, J.D. ’69, partner with Patton Boggs LLP in Washington, D.C.; Anne K. Pecora, J.D. ’73, professor in the UB School of Law; and Edward Yodowitz, J.D. ’69, partner with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP of New York, NY. The 2005 Charles Hamilton Houston Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Albert D. Brault, partner with Brault, Graham, Scott & Brault LLC of Rockville. (This event is by invitation only.)
Parking for all School of Law events will be available in the Maryland Avenue Garage, located at the corner of Maryland Avenue and Chase Street. Attendees are asked to park above the third level. Shuttle service will be available for transportation to the School of Law.
The University of Baltimore is an upper-division, graduate and professional university. UB—the state’s career-minded university—is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Robert G. Merrick School of Business.