November Speakers & Events
The College of Law invites you to attend the following public lectures and conferences. For more information about any of these events, contact the Law Communications Office at 419.530.2712.
November 5 – Justice Jack Jacobs, Delaware Supreme Court, "The Responsibilities of Directors in the New Millennium"; Noon; UT College of Law Auditorium
Justice Jack B. Jacobs was appointed to the Delaware Supreme Court in 2003 after spending 35 years as an attorney and jurist in the corporate law setting. From 1985 to 2003, Justice Jacobs served as Vice Chancellor on the Delaware Court of Chancery, widely recognized as the preeminent forum for the determination of disputes involving Delaware corporations and other business entities. He began his career in 1968 in Wilmington, Del., practicing corporate and business litigation, and is a nationally known speaker on matters of corporate law.
Justice Jacobs holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago (B.A., 1964, Phi Beta Kappa) and a law degree from Harvard University (LL.B., 1967). In addition to his judicial activities, Justice Jacobs serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law and at the Widener University School of Law. Justice Jacobs is a member of the American Law Institute, where he serves as an Advisor to its Restatement (Third) of Restitution. He is also a member of the Delaware and American Bar Associations (where he served on the Committee on Corporate Laws of the ABA Business Law Section) and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
November 16 – Seventh Annual Great Lakes Water Conference; 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; UT College of Law auditorium; Application has been made to the Supreme Court of Ohio for 4.5 CLE
The University of Toledo College of Law will bring together experts from across the region and beyond to examine some of the issues most compelling to the Great Lakes region. The Seventh Annual Great Lakes Water Conference will feature speakers from a broad range of backgrounds to talk about invasive species, the challenges and opportunities presented by ethanol, and the most recent developments in efforts to ratify the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin Compact, created in part to guard against the diversion of Great Lakes water to other parts of the world.
Speakers will include representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Great Lakes Ports Association, the Great Lakes Commission, Ohio Audubon, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Registration and CLE information.
November 19 – Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series: Danny Bogden ‘81, "Starting Over: An Insider View of the Attorney General Firings"; Noon; UT College of Law Auditorium
The featured speaker in the Distinguished Alumni Speakers Series will be former U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden, a 1981 UT Law alumnus. He will speak about his distinguished career path in public service after graduating from UT Law. He will also offer insights about his recent experience as one of the eight U.S. Attorneys dismissed, in a highly controversial decision, by former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez.
Daniel G. Bogden is a partner in the law firm of McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP, practicing primarily in the areas of litigation, administrative agencies, appeals, government relations and criminal law. He began his law career in 1982, while serving as a member of the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Office. From 2001 to 2007, he served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada. A long-time prosecutor and dedicated government employee, Mr. Bogden has tried more than 100 state and federal jury trials and argued numerous cases before the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Under the direction of the U.S. Attorney General, Mr. Bogden was the chief federal law enforcement officer for the District of Nevada, responsible for prosecuting individuals who violated federal law, coordinating multiple-agency investigations, and prosecuting or defending all civil lawsuits or proceedings in which the U.S. was concerned.
New York Alumni Reception Invitation
The University of Toledo College of Law
Invites you to join
Dean Douglas E. Ray and members of the Faculty
for cocktails & hors d’oeuvres
Thursday, January 3, 2008
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Hilton New York
1335 Avenue of the Americas
New York City
No charge. Please respond by December 17, 2007
419.530.2628 or ann.elick@utoledo.edu
Student-Alumni Connection: BLSA Invites you to Meet with Students on Nov. 1
The Black Law Students Association would like to invite alumni to a Minority Law Mixer on Thursday, Nov. 1, at Jackson's Lounge & Grill. Spend time after work with law students who would love to hear about life as a lawyer. Jackson's is located at 233 N. Huron St., Toledo. The mixer will run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. No cost for alumni. RSVP to Joshua Peterson, BLSA President, at joshuaspeterson@yahoo.com.
Save the Date: Second Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction to Benefit UT Law Summer Public Interest Fellowships
Are you interested in learning about wine from a professional sommelier and sampling carefully selected appetizers from Diva Restaurant? How about bidding on many unique items at a one-of-a-kind silent auction? Make plans now to join fellow College of Law alumni for the Second Annual Public Interest Law Association Wine Tasting and Silent Auction in February.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Secor Gallery, Downtown Toledo
This event promises to be a great way to network, meet friends, and enjoy an evening with the UT Law community. All proceeds from the event will be used to provide fellowships to law students who would like to dedicate their summers to working in a public interest position. Last year this event was a great success, but we need your help to fund even more law students who would like to dedicate their summers and possibly their careers to the public interest. An invitation with further details will be sent to alumni in early December. Further details will also be posted at that time on the College of Law website.
If you would like more information about this event, or are interested in donating an item for the Silent Auction, please contact Jessica Mehl, Pro Bono Coordinator, at 419.530.4996. Thank you for your support of public interest at The University of Toledo College of Law.
Alumni Spotlight: Mike Walker ’77 to Serve as Keynote Speaker at the Seventh Annual Great Lakes Water Conference
Mike Walker ‘77, senior attorney with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in D.C., often poses a hypothetical to illustrate the importance of environmental regulation. As you sit at your table in a restaurant, a waiter pours you a glass of water. The waiter’s thumb is submerged in the water as he tips the pitcher, resulting in a glass of water with potentially harmful substances. Would you drink the water?
“There are a lot of unknowns relating to what we pour into the environment,” Walker says. “One of the things we have to avoid is experimenting with our children and our grandchildren.”
Walker has found great satisfaction in being part of a deterrent force field put in place with the creation of the U.S. EPA in 1972 to protect the environment. His experience as senior enforcement counsel with the U.S. EPA makes him especially well-suited to kick off the Seventh Annual Great Lakes Water Conference on Friday, Nov. 16 at The University of Toledo College of Law. The annual College of Law conference brings together experts from across the region and beyond to examine some of the environmental issues most compelling to the Great Lakes region. This year’s conference will cover the problems of invasive species, challenges and opportunities presented by ethanol, and updates on efforts to ratify the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin Compact, created in part to guard against the diversion of Great Lakes water to other parts of the world.
Walker’s career portfolio has included a continuous conversation with the regulated community about national environmental goals and policies. He’s worked in every statutory area that the EPA has to offer and has served as an advisor in the litigation of countless administrative and civil cases. He is, to say the least, committed to upholding the mission of the EPA and says he has seen great strides in the realization of this mission over the course of his 28-year career.
“There’s a reasonable expectation that if members of the regulated community get caught, they’re going to be prosecuted and the prosecution is going to be fair and transparent,” he says. “We’re not in the business of putting business out of business, but we are in the business of making sure the regulated community is putting the time, money and energy into doing things right.”
David Smith-Watts ’08 spent his summer as an intern at the U.S. EPA. Photo by Hilary Schwab |
Walker also supervises the U.S. EPA internship program and has enjoyed watching law students grow and flourish. This summer, UT College of Law student David Smith-Watts ’08 completed an internship with the U.S. EPA in D.C. working on cases and EPA policies in the hazardous waste division (Superfund). “It’s one thing to learn issues in environmental law classes, but to be able to attend meetings and work on these issues first-hand was a great experience,” Smith-Watts says.
Law students and lawyers interested in environmental law today have an ever-growing number of options, Walker says. Former U.S. EPA interns have gone on to work for private corporations in the area of hazardous waste regulation or developing green procurement policies, as well as for various state and federal agencies like the U.S. Postal Service and correctional agencies that must now pay attention to the environmental hazards posed by aging facilities.
“The EPA isn’t the only environmental game in town,” says Walker.
Mike Walker ’77 (right), senior enforcement counsel with the U.S. EPA, in costume for a non-speaking role with the National Opera, with fellow opera enthusiasts, including NPR’s Nina Totenberg (center). |
To Walker, being an environmental lawyer isn’t the only game in town either. Walker devotes some of his spare time to playing non-speaking, non-singing roles at the National Opera, an endeavor that has led him to rub elbows with U.S. Supreme Court Justices who share his passion for the opera, and other Washington dignitaries. He has played more than 40 roles and has cultivated a stage presence that allows him to continue to land roles as a character actor who can help move the story along without speaking.
Walker has a definite speaking role, though, when it comes to advising law students and young lawyers about the trajectory of their careers. “A law degree opens many wonderful doors, but it also opens doors to rooms you may not want to go into.” Whatever you do, he says, make sure you’re choosing the door that’s right for you.
The Toledo Transcript is Now Online
If you didn’t receive your complimentary copy of the College of Law’s annual alumni magazine, the Toledo Transcript, please call the Law Alumni Office at 419.530.2628 or send an e-mail to lawcommunications@utoledo.edu.
This year’s issue celebrates the many alumni who have devoted their careers to the public interest and recounts College of Law news and events of the past year.
The magazine is now available online.
President Signs Law That Partially Forgives Federal Student Loan Debt for Public Interest Attorneys
Sept. 27, President George W. Bush signed into law the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. The Act serves to reduce the amount that public interest attorneys must repay toward federal student loans. Equal Justice Works, an organization dedicated to fostering participation in public interest law, provides online resources with further details on the benefits of the Act, who is covered by the Act, and its effective dates.
