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IP
Program Launches Creative and Innovative Economy
Center | Government
Contract Event Examines the Defense Authorization
Act | Assessing
the State of Labor Unions | High
Rankings | Scholarship
Supports Procurement Law | Harvey
Pitt Delivers Manuel F. Cohen Memorial Lecture | Weinglass
Speaks on National Security Issues | Jim
Moran in the House | Fun
on the Yard | Three
Win Finnegan Prize | Kovacic
Named FTC Commissioner | In
Recognition of Service | Law
School Expands To Lisner Hall; Food Vendor
Added | Schooner
to be Academic Affairs Dean | Public
Interest Corner | International
Update | GW
Law in History | Faculty
File
IP Program Launches
Creative and
Innovative Economy Center
CIEC Director Michael P. Ryan; Ambassador Rita Hayes, deputy director
for the World Intellectual Property Organization; and GW Law IP Co-Director
Professor Robert Brauneis at the Creative and Innovative Economy
Center launch event at the Cosmos Club in Washington in March.
Claire Duggan
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GW Law’s intellectual property program
has established a major research and education
center with a mission of studying the impact
of and promoting innovation in international
economic development. Launched in January, the
Creative and Innovative economy Center is collaborating
with other universities worldwide, the World
Intellectual Property Organization, the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office, the National Institutes
of Health Office of Technology Transfer, and
major companies.
The CIEC conducts research and educational initiatives
on all aspects of creativity in the world economy.
The premise is that all countries, including
developing countries, should be able to reap
the economic benefits that come from creative
ideas and technological innovation and advancement.
Toward that end, the center is focusing on six
areas: biomedical and information technology
innovation; drugs and health security; informational
and cultural creativity; public policy, administration,
and international diplomacy; enforcement, judiciary,
and dispute settlement; and trademark and brand
management. Programs are being conducted at GW
Law, the Munich Intellectual Property Center
(a consortium of the Law School and the Max Planck
Institute), Munich Technological University,
and the University of Augsburg.
More than 200 members of the Law School community
joined with global ambassadors, representatives
from nongovernment organizations, educators,
and corporate executives at the Cosmos Club in
Washington in March to celebrate the center’s
launch.
“We expect the center to serve as a model
for how academic and private sector partnerships
can have a significant impact on important global
economic and public policy issues,” says
Dean Frederick M. Lawrence. “This is an
exciting development for the Law School and for
GW. The goals and activities of the center not
only complement our longstanding strengths in
the area of intellectual property law, they also
create valuable opportunities for collaboration
with other schools at the University.”
CIEC Director Michael P. Ryan says the center’s
projects are aimed at promoting creativity and
innovation as essential tools for driving economic
development. Ryan is an international political
economist who has taught at Georgetown University
and the University of Michigan and is the author
of Knowledge Diplomacy: Global Competition and
the Politics of Intellectual Property (1998)
and Playing by the Rules: American Trade Power
and Diplomacy in the Pacific (1995).
In 2006, the center will address biomedical
innovation in Brazil and Jordan, software in
India, music in Southeast Asia, health security
in Africa, technology commercialization in
Korea, and intellectual property public administration
in the Middle East.
Ryan worked with Professors and IP Program
Co-Directors Martin Adelman and Robert Brauneis
to establish the center. Ryan says the CIEC
and its initiatives have been embraced by the
global IP community and will make a significant
impact on international law and business.
“Our roundtables and programs educate government
officials, attorneys, and educators, and international
judges,” Ryan says. “By sharing ideas
and information, we are encouraging growth and
prosperity in developing countries and fostering
a better understanding of complex IP issues.
In these regards, the center’s impact
is far-reaching.”
In June, the CIEC led a roundtable discussion
on in Geneva, Switzerland, with representatives
from 12 countries who discussed strategies
to promote knowledge in developing countries.
In April, CIEC members, the WIPO, and members
of Congress met on Capitol Hill to celebrate
World Intellectual Property Day and discuss
issues related to Nigeria’s “Nollywood” motion
picture industry, the third largest film industry
in the world but one that is plagued with piracy
issues. In February, Ryan and the CIEC released
a research paper about positive changes in Brazil’s
biomedical industry.
Looking ahead, the CIEC is conducting research
for a study on India and the impact of India’s “Bollywood” motion
picture industry on international law and
business, which will be released in September.
Government Contract Event
Examines the Defense Authorization Act
GW Law Professor Fred Lees speaks to the audience before Jeff Green,
LLM ’06 (House Armed Services Committee), Judge Stephen Daniels
(General Services Board of Contract Appeals—BCA), Judge James
Stern (Transportation BCA), and Robert Burton (Acting Administrator,
Office of Federal Procurement Policy).
Claire Duggan
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GW Law’s Government Procurement Law Program,
the Boards of Contract Appeals Bar Association,
and the Federal Bar Association co-hosted a colloquium
at GW Law in April called, “Consolidation
of the Civilian Boards of Contract Appeals: New
Legislation’s Impact on Practice Before
the Boards.”
The most recent Defense Authorization Act will
consolidate all of the Civilian Boards of Contract
Appeals, a shift which will have a profound impact
on those practicing before the boards. This colloquium
of judges and experts reviewed the purpose and
likely impact of the new legislation.
Panelists for
the event were: Robert Burton, acting administrator,
Office of Federal Procurement Policy; Jeffery
Green, counsel, House Armed Services Committee;
Judge Stephen Daniels, chairman, General Services
Board of Contracts Appeals; Judge James Stern,
chief judge, Department of Transportation Board
of Contract Appeals; and GW Law Professor Fred
Lees. Christopher Yukins and Steven Schooner,
GW Law professors and co-directors of the Law
School’s Government Procurement Law Program,
moderated the event.
Assessing
the State of Labor Unions
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Charles
H. Goldstein, JD ’64, created
the Charles H. Goldstein Labor
Law Symposium as a way to bring
eminent speakers, scholars, and
lawyers in the field of labor
law together for timely discussion.
Abdul El-Tayef/WPPI
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Are
labor unions still relevant in the 21st
century? That was the question posed during
the Charles H. Goldstein Labor Law Symposium
in the Jacob Burns Moot Court Room at GW
Law in February. The Labor Law Symposium,
created by Charles H. Goldstein, JD ’64,
was created as a way to bring eminent speakers,
scholars, and lawyers in the field of labor
law together. The event featured a series
of panel discussions, a luncheon address,
and a closing reception by several experts,
including GW Law’s Lyle T. Alverson
Professor of Law Charles Craver.
Dean Fredrick M. Lawrence opened the symposium
by introducing the symposium’s
benefactors, the Goldstein family, which,
in addition to Charles and wife Francine,
includes 2002 GW Law graduates Jonathan
and Joseph Goldstein. He also welcomed
alumna Wilma Liebman,
JD ’74, a member of the National
Labor Relations Board who participated
in the event.
Goldstein came to GW Law in the early 1960s
as an ardent supporter of labor unions.
He expressed during the symposium that
much has changed during the past four decades
to alter his view of unions and that he
now sees different sides to union issues.
It is his hope that the symposium will
continue to help explore the issues in
this most dynamic field of contemporary
law. “I’m glad to be able to
endow this program to look into these important
issues,” he said. |
High Rankings
GW Law School is ranked 19th in this year’s
U.S. News & World Report list of 180 accredited
law schools—up one spot from last year.
Individual areas of study also placed high: For
the second year in a row, the intellectual property
law program was named the country’s third
best, while the international law program moved
up three spots to sixth. The environmental law
and clinical training programs placed 12th and
15th, respectively. GW Law also scored high in
terms of student diversity and its graduates’ eventual
earning power.
Scholarship Supports Procurement Law
Professor Steven L. Schooner, Crowell & Moring Partner Kent R. Morrison,
and Dean Frederick M. Lawrence present 3L Adelicia Cliffe Taylor with
the Roger Boyd Scholar award, which provides a stipend
to the editor-in-chief of the Public Contract Law
Journal.
Claire Duggan
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Professor Steven L. Schooner, Crowell & Moring
Partner Kent R. Morrison, and Dean Frederick
M. Lawrence presented 3L Adelicia Cliffe Taylor
with the Roger Boyd Scholarship at the annual
Government Contracts Luncheon in February. The
award provides a stipend to the editor-in-chief
of the Public Contract
Law Journal and is
named after Crowell & Moring Partner Roger
Boyd, who passed away in 2003. The scholarship
is made possible by donations from the firm,
his loved ones and friends, and GW Law alumni.
The firm describes the scholarship as a commemoration
of the “continuation of Roger’s lively
and serious interest in procurement law, his
support of the government contracts curriculum,
and students at The George Washington University
Law School.”
Harvey Pitt Delivers Manuel F. Cohen
Memorial Lecture
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Claire Duggan
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Harvey L. Pitt, CEO of global business
consulting firm Kalorama Partners and former
chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, delivered the 26th Annual Manuel
F. Cohen Memorial Lecture on April 5 in
the Michael K. Young Faculty Conference
Center. The event was presented in partnership
with the SEC Historical Society.
The endowed lecture was created by friends
and colleagues of Manny Cohen—a leader
in securities law, former chairman of the
SEC, and Law School instructor—in
1979. |
Weinglass Speaks on National
Security Issues
Leonard Weinglass, BA ’55
Claire Duggan
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Civil rights attorney Leonard Weinglass, BA ’55,
discussed matters of national security and screened
the documentary Mission
Against Terror, in which
he is interviewed, in an Enrichment Series lecture
in March.
The focus of the lecture and the film was the
group known as the Cuban Five, men who were arrested
in 1998 in the United States while attempting
to gather intelligence on extreme right-wing
organizations based in South Florida that they
allege have carried out violent actions against
Cuba. They were sentenced to between 15 years
and double-life-plus-15 years in prison for their
alleged crimes of conspiracy to commit espionage
and related charges.
Weinglass, represented one of the Cuban Five
in appeals. He asserted that the Cuban Five were
working to prevent violence against Cuba, not
to perpetuate violence in the United States.
Professor Alberto Benitez, director of GW Law’s
Immigration Clinic, said he was pleased to give
students the opportunity to hear about Weinglass’ many
years of expertise as a criminal defense lawyer.
Jim Moran in the House
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Claire Duggan
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Congressman Jim Moran (D.-Va.) visited GW April
2 to judge the final round of the National Animal
Law Legislative Drafting and Lobbying Competition
of GW Law’s Student Animal Legal Defense
Fund. Moran judged the competition and remained
at the Law School for more than an hour to answer
questions and give advice on lobbying.
First place in the competition went to Rutgers
School of Law’s Robin Bernstein. GW Law
3L
J. Alexander Harman won Best Bill.
Fun
on the Yard
The deans, faculty, and staff
of the Law School broke out
their casual wear for Dean’s
Jeans Day in April. The event
traditionally offers students
a barbeque served by the deans,
faculty, and staff. Also this
year, thanks to the planning
of the SBA, Dean’s Jeans
Day offered the “GW Law
Games,” complete with
a moon bounce, giant slide,
and other air-filled activities
on the University Yard. |
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Dave Zvenyach, JD ’06, spans the giant slide in a single bound. |
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Bungee-clad Professors Steven Schooner and Todd Peterson square
off in a racing game. |
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In his first Dean’s Jeans Day appearance, Frederick M. Lawrence takes a
break from his burger-flipping duties with Associate Dean Alfreda Robinson. |
Photos by
Claire Duggan
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Three
Win Finnegan Prize
Associate Dean Roger Trangsrud, second place winner Eric Hinkes, first
place winner Zvi Rosen, and Doug Henderson pose in front of a portrait
of Marc Finnegan at a reception in honor of this year’s Finnegan
Prize winners. Not pictured is third place winner Peter J. McVeigh,
who was unable to attend the event.
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In its 24th year, The Finnegan Prize commemorates
the life and work of internationally-known intellectual
property attorney and GW Law professorial lecturer
Marcus B. Finnegan, LLM ’57. The competition,
which encourages excellence in legal writing
on intellectual property subjects for GW Law
students, is funded by the Finnegan family, friends
of Marc Finnegan, and the partners of Finnegan,
Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner.
Three students won awards of $5,000, $2,000,
and $1,000, respectively in this year’s
competition. First, second, and third place went
to Zvi S. Rosen, LLM ’06; summer 2006 LLM
candidate Eric M. Hinkes; and Peter J. McVeigh,
JD ’06, respectively. A committee of GW
Law professors and Finnegan partner Brian G.
Brunsvold, JD ’67, made the winning selections.
A reception in honor of the winners was held
May 16 at the Finnegan, Henderson offices.
Kovacic
Named
FTC Commissioner
In December, the U.S. Senate confirmed GW Law
Professor William E. Kovacic as commissioner
of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington,
D.C. A recognized expert in the fields of antitrust
law and government contracts law, Kovacic is
the Law School’s E.K. Gubin Professor of
Government Contracts Law.
Kovacic was the FTC’s general counsel from
2001 through the end of 2004. He earlier worked
at the commission from 1979 to 1983, first with
the Bureau of Competition’s Planning Office
and later as an attorney advisor to former Commissioner
George W. Douglas. After leaving the FTC in 1983,
Kovacic was an antitrust associate with the Washington,
D.C., office of Bryan Cave, where he practiced
in the firm’s antitrust and government
contracts departments until entering academia
with a position at George Mason University 1986.
Earlier in his career, he spent one year on the
majority staff of the Subcommittee on Antitrust
and Monopoly of the U.S. Senate Committee on
the Judiciary.
Kovacic is co-author of Antitrust Law in Perspective:
Cases, Concepts and Problems
in Competition Policy (2002) and Antitrust
Law and Economics in a Nutshell (5th ed. 2004). He has written
numerous articles on antitrust and the FTC
and has served as an adviser to numerous
foreign governments about competition and
consumer protection issues.
In
Recognition of Service
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Claire
Duggan
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In April, the GW Law faculty and staff
celebrated the careers of Professor
Lewis D. Solomon, Dean Robert V. Stanek,
and Dean Roger H. Trangsrud at the
Ronald Reagan Building and International
Trade Center. Stanek and Solomon retired
and Trangsrud is stepping down from
his dean position this summer to resume
his position as faculty member. Pictured
from left: Professor Robert W. Tuttle,
Trangsrud, Stanek, Solomon, and Dean
Frederick M. Lawrence. |
Law School
Expands To Lisner Hall; Food Vendor Added
Lisner Hall, the center building on the G Street side of the University
Yard, will house the Law School on five of its six floors. Highlights
for students include the addition of a food vendor and a student
conference center.
Edmund Stawick
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In February, the Law School began its planned
expansion into Lisner Hall, the building adjacent
to Stuart Hall on the G Street side of the University
Yard.
New windows
are being installed throughout the building,
and interiors will coordinate with areas of the
Law School that have already been renovated.
The project also includes reworking the patio
behind the building for better access to the
University Yard, as well as the streetscape on
G Street.
“This is a major undertaking, but we expect
minimal disruption to the daily life of the
school during the construction,” says Associate
Dean Thomas A. Morrison.
The Law School, which currently houses its
alumni and advancement offices in Lisner, will
assume occupancy of floors 1, 2, 4, 5, and
6 of the building. The Biology Department will
continue to occupy the 3rd floor as well as
its “Bone
Lab” on the 1st floor.
This latest round of Law School expansion will
have a significant impact on student life,
with the addition of a food vendor on the first
floor and a student conference center on the
second floor. The food vendor, a café-type establishment,
is slated to be open for breakfast, lunch, and
dinner starting the first week of September.
It will offer coffee, smoothies, hot and cold
sandwiches, bakery goods, and salads.
“This is something that the students have
wanted for a long time, and we finally have the
space to provide it,” Morrison says. I
think this will really enhance the time our students
spend at the School.”
The student conference center will provide
a location for student-sponsored events during
the day and evening. It will be designed to
be flexible and configurable to accommodate
a number of event types, similar to the Michael
K. Young Faculty Conference Center on the 5th
floor of the Burns Library. When not in use
as an event venue, the conference center will
serve as student lounge.
According to Morrison, adding a student conference
facility and a food vendor will change the
flow in the Law School as much as the “break
through” across the second floor of the
complex did in 2004. “Right now, we’re
heavily weighted on the Lerner side in terms
of facilities usage. Once completed, this project
will create more balance throughout the complex.”
The expansion
will provide academic benefits to the school
as well. Six new student study rooms, which will
be available as breakout rooms for classes such
as Negotiations and Trial Advocacy, are part
of the plan. Fifteen faculty offices will also
be added on the 5th and 6th floors.
The remainder of the Lisner space will be dedicated
to administrative offices, with the Law School
alumni office on the 2nd floor and advancement
on the 4th floor.
—Gina Harris
Schooner to
be Academic Affairs Dean
Effective in August, Steven L. Schooner, associate
professor and co-director of the government procurement
program, will assume the role of senior assistant
dean for academic affairs, a position previously
held by Roger H. Trangsrud. Schooner has been
a member of the faculty since 1998. He is a fellow
of the National Contract Management Association
and faculty adviser to the American Bar Association’s
Public Contract Law Journal.
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