1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Moot Court Team Wins Florida Workers' Compensation Competition
Faculty
and Staff News
Law Day '98March 14, 1998 featuring keynote address Also featuring the following Class Reunions: |
Alumni Events 1998 2/12 - Law Alumni Lunch, Plimsoll Club, Hyatt Regency, Savannah Riverfront Hotel2/12 - Law Alumni Reception, St. Simon's Island2/13 - Law Alumni Lunch, Statesboro2/19 - Law Alumni Lunch, Columbus3/13 - Law Alumni Reception Hay House, Macon3/14 - Law Day Luncheon, 12:30 p.m., Class Reunions3/19 - Mercer Connection, Columbia, S.C.4/2 - Mercer Connection, Jacksonville, Fla.4/9 - Law Alumni Lunch, Charlotte, N.C.4/21 - Law Alumni Lunch, Sarasota, Fla.4/22 - Law Alumni Reception, Ft. Myers, Fla.4/23 - Mercer Connection, Orlando, Fla.5/9 - Law School Commencement6/15 - Mercer Connection, Chattanooga, Tenn.6/17-20 - State Bar of Georgia Meeting, Atlanta |
Moving from one side of the fence to another can be an interesting transition. After 17 years associated with the somewhat independent flow of teaching classes, Mike Sabbath is learning life from the administration side. While still teaching a full load of classes this semester and continuing his enjoyment of outside speaking, the result has been some challenges in managing his time.
Sabbath was named associate dean for academic affairs at the Law School in July. He came to Mercer in 1978 as an assistant professor after working three years as an associate at Jones, Bird & Howell (now Alston & Bird) in Atlanta.
"I have been here 19 years but now I fully appreciate our curriculum. I also understand the big picture. As a teacher, I did not see all of the system at work. Now, I am learning every day how important the senior administration is to the Law School. They are educating me as we go along," Sabbath said.
Sabbath also enjoys mingling with Mercer Law School alumni and giving talks to various groups outside the University. A very personable individual, Sabbath takes pride that he knows most Law School graduates by name.
In his new role as associate dean for academic affairs, he says he can’t always do what students want him to do, yet they are understanding. "I am surprised how willing they are to reason," he said.
He said working with the senior administrators and Dean Larry Dessem is "a real pleasure. We are lucky to have Dean Dessem. He lets me do my job and then supports me all he can. He is awfully easy to work with," Sabbath said.
Sabbath said some of the challenges of his new position are dealing with students in the capacity of general counseling. "This job is more than pushing paper. Sometimes, I am resolving some sort of dispute, trying to find a common ground. I have learned how complex our Woodruff Curriculum is, trying to keep it running smoothly. As a teacher, I didn’t fully appreciate it," he said. "I am now more a believer in the system. I know my decisions can have a ripple effect."
Sabbath said his long-range goals "depend a lot on what the dean would like. This year, I’m concentrating to master the internal items. However, I still enjoy working with alumni and speaking on the outside and I don’t want to give that up. I want to become more competent in-house to free up time outside. I realize our alums are our real public relations because they are out in the field. They are our ambassadors out there. I want to continue to let them know how much we appreciate them."
Sabbath received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1972, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 1975, where he served as an editor of the Emory Law Journal and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He earned an LL.M. degree from Columbia University School of Law in 1985. Since October 1996, he has been the Walter Homer Drake Professor of Bankruptcy Law.
Mercer Moot Court Team Wins Florida Workers' Compensation Competition
Mercer law students Stephanie Pass and Ricky Barrage, oral arguments and brief, and Jason Long, brief, won first place Sept. 13 in the Florida Workers’ Compensation Moot Court Competition. Pass, from Gainesville, Ga., and Barrage, originally from Great Britian, defeated a strong team from the University of Florida in the final round that included the best oralist in the competition. Some 300 persons witnessed the final argument before a three-judge panel from the Florida Court of Appeals.
Ironically, Mercer was one of the few teams of the 11 competing not from the state of Florida. David Walter, one of the Mercer team coaches, said not being as familiar with Florida law was a disadvantage. However, students from the Walter F. George School of Law have dominated the Florida competition for the past 10 years. This is especially gratifying to Law School alumnus David Parrish ’71, whose firm of Parrish & Smejkal sponsors the Mercer team. "Mercer sets the standard for this moot court competitionin Florida," Parrish said.
Another Mercer team, Neil Halverson and Jason Manton, oral arguments and brief, and Doug Lineberry, brief, won preliminary oral arguments but missed advancing to the semi-finals by only three points.
Judges and the competition director described this year’s oral arguments as the best they had heard in several years.
Mercer student coaches for this year’s team were Mary Burnett and Suzanne McMillan. Faculty coaches were Jim Fleissner and Walter.
Faculty and Staff News
Tony Baldwin, professor, served on a panel that discussed the impact of uncapping mandatory retirement age on law school faculty at the Southeast Region Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting in Asheville, N.C., on July 30.Mary Donovan, assistant dean, has been appointed as a member of the Committee of Law Related Education of the State Bar of Georgia for the 1997-98 year.
Linda Edwards, professor, made four presentations at the Chicago conference of the Association of Legal Writing Directors in July. She presented her papers, "The Convergence of Analogical and Dialectical Imaginations in Legal Discourse," and Mercer’s "New Certificate Program in Advanced Legal Writing, Research and Drafting." Her other presentations were titled, "Legal Writing Scholarship" and "Long Term Institutional Planning." The presentations will be the basis of articles to be published in the conference proceedings.
Jim Hunt, assistant professor of legal writing and analysis, presented a paper at the annual meeting of the American Society for Legal History in Minneapolis in mid-October.
Stephen Johnson, associate professor of law, recently completed a chapter on wetlands permits that will be included in a Wetlands Deskbook to be published by the ABA Section on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law later this year. He also completed a Web (Internet) version of his handbook, Toxics in Your Community, that describes how to get information about the amount, types and sources of toxic and hazardous substances and waste that are being released into the environment in a community. Find it at: http://www.mercer.edu/econet/steve.html.
Sheri Lewis, associate librarian for research services, was an instructor at a workshop titled "The Complete Internet Researcher: Advanced Strategies and Techniques" in July at the annual meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries in Baltimore, Md.
Adam Milani, assistant professor of legal writing and analysis, defended his alma mater in a letter published in the Aug. 15 edition of the Wall Street Journal. The Journal had characterized Notre Dame as being only a "football school."
Jack Sammons, professor, presented a paper titled "Legal Ethics as Tradition" at the Conference on Professional Ethics and Public Discourse sponsored by the Philosophy Department at the University of Nebraska. He recently conducted a joint seminar with the Council of Superior Court Judges and the Executive Committee of the State Bar on "The Lost Lawyer." His most recent article, "The Radical Ethics of Rhetoricians," will be published in the Valparaiso Law Review in December.
Chris Wells, associate professor, was lead speaker at the ICLE Program, "Representing Small and Start-Up Business," in Atlanta on Sept. 5. As reporter and principal drafter of the recent State Bar publication, "Engagement Letters in Transactional Practice," he spoke on the use and content of engagement letters.
James P. Fleissner, associate professor, in September appeared on PBS’s Newshour with Jim Lehrer. Fleissner provided commentary and analysis on the Terry Nichols’ trial. He also appeared on Fox-24 television news on Sept. 29. Fleissner previously provided expert commentary on Newshour and various MSNBC programs during the Timothy McVeigh trial. McVeigh and Nichols were charged in connection with the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.