MBAWNY Task Force launches Speaker Series event at Bennett High School

The Minority Bar Association of Western New York, Inc. (MBAWNY) Task Force, in partnership with the Buffalo Public School District and the University at Buffalo Law School, are presenting the first of many future Speaker Series panel events at Buffalo’s own Bennett High School. The Speaker Series Event consists of an interactive panel presentation to high school students by various speakers who are current attorneys or legal professionals in the Buffalo/Western New York community.

The MBAWNY Task Force, committed to increasing diversity within the legal, and other professions, has put this program in place to inspire and encourage high school students to take their academic careers seriously so that they may be in good standing to pursue their dreams. It’s our hope that our youth will look to the legal profession and see it as something they themselves can achieve because, we need them!

MBAWNY’s February 8th Task Force Speakers will include:

• Tiffany Perry ‘00, Esq., Assistant County Attorney, Erie County Department of Law
• William F. Trezevant ‘93, Esq., Attorney at Law
• Joseph Brown, Esq., Senior Associate, Hodgson Russ LLP
• Pamela S. Schaller ‘09, Esq., Associate, Hodgson Russ LLP

Details for the Event:
February 8, 2010 at Bennett High School from 9:15am to 10:00am and again from 10:00am to 10:45am in the Bennett High School Courtroom, Second Floor. Special thanks to David Mauricio, Bennett High School Principal, Julie Christiano, and Bennett’s staff for all of their coordination and assistance. Special thanks also goes to Tiffany Perry, Esq., one of our first speakers, who was herself a graduate of Bennett High School’s Law Magnet Program.

While it is the Task Force’s goal to implement the Speaker Series program in all of Buffalo City’s high schools and community groups over time, the Bennett Program will launch this series and we have great expectations for this event. For additional information, contact Julie Christiano at Bennett High School at 445-7500 or for information concerning the Task Force, contact Jessica M. Lazarin, Esq., at 847-0662, ext. 316.

Rochester Attorney Named Chair of Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section of New York State Bar Association

Laurie A. Giordano '96

Laurie A. Giordano ‘96 of Rochester (Leclair Korona Giordano Cole LLP) is the new chair of the Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.

Giordano received her undergraduate degree from the University at Buffalo and earned her law degree from University at Buffalo Law School.

Giordano is a founding member of Leclair Korona Giordano Cole LLP. She focuses her practice in the areas of insurance, including subrogation and coverage disputes, as well as commercial and personal injury litigation. She previously was a partner of Wolford & Leclair LLP.

The recipient of the State Bar’s 2007 Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, Giordano has served on the Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section’s Executive Committee since 2003. Within the section, she served as vice-chair this past year, chaired the section’s CLE Committee from 2003-2007, and was the section’s 7th Judicial District Representative in 2007-2008. She received the section’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award and the section’s Committee Chair of the Year Award in 2005.

Giordano is the president-elect of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys. She also serves on the Monroe County Bar Association’s Board of Trustees and is an active member of the University at Buffalo Law Alumni Association. She also has worked on the Western New York Women in Law Project, memorializing historically significant women in the law from Western New York.

A frequent lecturer on insurance and litigation issues to legal and insurance professionals throughout New York, Giordano has authored numerous articles on insurance coverage and litigation topics for several publications. She was named a Super Lawyer in 2009 and was included in the Insurance Law section of the 2007 through 2009 editions of The Best Lawyers of America Guide. In 2006, she received the “Up and Coming Attorney Award” from The Daily Record.

Vincent E. Doyle, III ‘89 Named President-Elect of State Bar Association

Doyle will assume office on June 1, 2010

Vincent E. Doyle, III '89

NEW YORK – The New York State Bar Association announced today that Vincent E. Doyle, III a partner of the Buffalo law firm Connors & Vilardo LLP, has been named president-elect of the 77,000-member organization. Doyle was elected today by the House of Delegates, the State Bar’s decision and policy-making body and assumes the title of “president-elect” on June 1, 2010. He will begin his one-year term as president on June 1, 2011.

Current President-Elect Stephen P. Younger of New York (Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, LLP) assumes the office of president on June 1, 2010.

A resident of Elma, Doyle is a trial and appellate attorney whose practice includes civil and white collar criminal litigation, and representation of professionals in disciplinary proceedings, as well as advising on legal ethics matters. He received his undergraduate degree from Canisius College and earned his law degree from the University at Buffalo Law School, magna cum laude.

Active in the State Bar for nearly 20 years, Doyle served for four years as a member-at-large of the State Bar’s Executive Committee and on the House of Delegates. He previously chaired the Criminal Justice Section, the Special Committee to Ensure Quality of Mandated Representation, and the Task Force to Review Terrorism Legislation. He also is a member of the Trial Lawyers Section, Committee on Legislative Policy, Membership Committee, Committee to Review Judicial Nominations, Committee on the Tort System, and the Task Force on Wrongful Convictions. He is a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation.

Doyle sits on the Advisory Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure to the Chief Administrative Judge of the State of the Courts of New York, and was appointed by retired Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye to the Commission on the Jury, a blue-ribbon panel charged with formulating ways to improve the jury system in New York. He previously served on the Grand Jury Project, also by appointment by Judge Kaye. He also is a member of the New York State Judicial Screening Panel for the Fourth Judicial Department.

Doyle is an active member of the Bar Association of Erie County, having served on its Board of Directors from 2003-2006. He is the current president of that association’s Aid to Indigent Prisoners Society, which administers the Assigned Counsel Program in Erie County. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Villa Maria College in Buffalo.

Founded in 1876, the 77,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. The State Bar’s programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.

Joseph M. Hanna ‘05 honored for diversity efforts and community service leadership

By Brandon J. Vogel, NYSBA

Joseph Hanna '05

At six years old, Joseph M. Hanna of Amherst discovered that his life’s goal was to become the President of the United States of America.

In the 23 years since, Hanna has made partner at his law firm, Goldberg Segalla LLP, chaired diversity networking events that are being replicated nationwide, and founded a non-profit organization dedicated to providing golf equipment for soldiers serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Wounded Warriors throughout the United States for recreational and rehabilitative purposes.

For his efforts to enhance diversity in the legal profession and effective leadership in community activities, Hanna is the recipient of the State Bar’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. Sponsored by the Young Lawyers Section, the award is presented annually to a young lawyer who has rendered outstanding service to both the community and the legal profession and has a distinguished record of commitment to the finest traditions of the Bar through public service and professional activities. Hanna will receive the award at a reception at 5:15 p.m. today in Murray Hill A on the second floor.

Path to the presidency

Believing that the path to the presidency was through becoming a lawyer, Hanna had law school in mind from an early age. That same drive and focus led him to becoming a partner of Goldberg Segalla LLP at 28. He concentrates his practice in commercial litigation with a focus on sports and entertainment law, construction litigation, and intellectual property law. Within the State Bar, Hanna is a member of the Young Lawyers Section and the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section.

During his career, Hanna has learned several valuable lessons from his two mentors at Goldberg Segalla, Richard Cohen and Christopher Belter: “Act like you’ve been there;” and “The cost of failure is greater than the reward of success.”

Hanna mentors many law students attending the University at Buffalo Law School. “I always tell them that you have to love what you do and do what you love. I love practicing law. I love helping people. I love the prospect of making Western New York a better place,” said Hanna.

Diversity efforts

A graduate of the University at Buffalo and University at Buffalo Law School, Hanna has devoted considerable time to increasing diversity efforts in Buffalo, which has been ranked among the 10 most segregated cities in the U.S. He chairs Goldberg Segalla’s diversity task force and organizes and chairs “Success in the City,” a diversity networking event that brings together business leaders, politicians, and members of minority bar associations to celebrate the successes and importance of diversity in Buffalo’s developing community. The event is now being replicated in cities across the country such as Baltimore, Maryland and Birmingham, Alabama.

“In 2008, we had 140 people attend our inaugural event. This past October, we had more than 300 attendees,” said Hanna. “We have gotten phenomenal feedback on Success in the City from throughout the community. It has been a great success and I only see us growing and benefiting Western New York.”

Hanna is a frequent speaker on diversity issues and has written more than 50 articles and chapters for national and state publications on topics ranging from diversity in the law to sports and entertainment law.

Helping the troops

In 2008, Hanna was watching “60 Minutes” one evening and noticed that one of the stories featured our soldiers hitting golf balls in the desert. Shortly thereafter, he read an article in Golf Magazine that explained that there are numerous makeshift driving ranges throughout Iraq and golf has become a favorite form of stress relief for the soldiers stationed there.

“The least I could do was collect some golf balls and golf clubs,” said Hanna. A short time later, that “some” has turned into more than 800,000 golf balls and 22,000 clubs, with more arriving daily.

Hanna founded and serves as the president of Bunkers in Baghdad, Inc., a Buffalo-based non-profit that collects and ships new and used golf balls, clubs and other equipment to soldiers serving in combat zones. Bunkers also distributes equipment to injured veterans throughout the United States to aid in their rehabilitation, such as Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, Fort Drum, and Fisher Houses throughout the country. The charity works with school children across the country who pack each box with balls, cards and letters they wrote to the soldiers.

The “Bunkers Buddies” program is especially rewarding for the soldiers, and for the students themselves. To date, Bunkers has shipped more than 360,000 golf balls and 8,800 clubs to Iraq and Afghanistan and 415,000 golf balls and 13,000 clubs around the United States. A highlight for Bunkers in Baghdad came when Hanna rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on June 26, 2009.

Sky’s the limit

What’s next for Hanna? “I said at six years old that I wanted to become President of the United States—and that still holds true,” said Hanna.

Vogel is NYSBA’s Media Writer.

NYS Board of Law Examiners Chair Diane Bosse ‘76 Receives State Bar’s Excellence in Public Service Award

Bosse, First Woman on Board, Recognized for Extraordinary Leadership, Professionalism and Integrity

by New York State Bar Association

ALBANY, NY (01/27/2010)(readMedia)– Diane Bosse, chair of the New York State Board of Law Examiners, was honored with the Excellence in Public Service Award from the New York State Bar Association on January 26 during its Annual Meeting at the Hilton New York in Manhattan. The award sponsored by the Committee on Attorneys in Public Service, recognizes individuals who demonstrate a “higher calling” in government through their extraordinary commitment to service, honor and integrity in the public sector.

The committee honored Bosse, of Buffalo, for her dedication to the highest professional standards and her outstanding leadership as chair of the Board of Law Examiners, a position she has held since 2001. Bosse was the first woman to be appointed by the Court of Appeals to the Board in 1998. The Board oversees the New York State bar examination, which more than 15,000 law students take each year. She also is a past chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, having served on the Board from 1999 to 2008.

“Whether it’s advocating for causes that serve the public good, addressing the special needs of our citizens in court, or upholding the highest standards of the legal profession, this year’s recipients of our Excellence in Public Service Awards make a difference each day in the lives of New Yorkers,” said New York State Bar Association President Michael E. Getnick (Getnick Livingston Atkinson & Priore, LLP of Utica and of counsel to Getnick & Getnick of New York City). “The State Bar is proud to recognize their fine work, and I congratulate Diane Bosse for winning this honor.”

Other recipients this year were Hon. Patricia D. Marks of Rochester, the presiding judge of the Judicial Diversion Program Court and the Monroe County Veterans Court, and Peter H. Schiff of Albany, senior counsel to the solicitor general’s office.

Bosse practices law at Bender Crawford & Bender LLP in Buffalo. She served on the Standards Review Committee of the American Bar Association Sections of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and is currently a member of the ABA Law School Accreditation Committee. She is a past president of the Defense Trial Lawyers Association of Western New York, which honored her as Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2006.

“Chairing the board that produces one of the nation’s most formidable bar exams is no easy feat, but Diane Bosse has handled it with aplomb and grace, even as she maintains a busy litigation practice,” said Committee Chair Hon. Peter S. Loomis of Albany (New York State Department of Transportation). “We are pleased to recognize Ms. Bosse for her devotion and effectiveness as a public servant and leader.”

A graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University at Buffalo Law School, Bosse received the University at Buffalo Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for Public Service in 2005. Bosse received the Bar Association of Erie County’s Award of Merit in 2001.

Last year’s award recipients were Anthony J. Annucci of Albany, executive deputy commissioner, New York State Department of Correctional Services; and Denise E. O’Donnell of Buffalo, deputy secretary for public safety and commissioner, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Founded in 1876, the 77,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. The State Bar’s programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.

UB Law Faculty Susan Mangold Named Lead Academic to NIH/NIMH Research Team

Susan Mangold will lead a team of researchers studying whether the type of funding impacts child welfare outcomes.

Release Date: January 25, 2010

BUFFALO, N.Y. — University at Buffalo Law School Professor Susan V. Mangold has been selected the leading academic for one of 15 teams accepted for a cooperative research conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Mental Health.

The conference, to be held in San Jose, Calif., Feb. 6-10, will bring academic researchers and community administrators together in weeklong workshops to examine issues of public health. Mangold, co-director of UB’s Program for Excellence in Family Law and an expert in child welfare law, is the lead academic researcher for a group weighing the impact of local funding strategies on child welfare.

The conference, called the NIH/NIMH Community-based Participatory Research Approaches to Sustaining Healthy Families and Multicultural Communities Research Institute, accepted 15 teams — including Mangold’s — from more than 40 proposals applying for sponsorships from the NIH/NIMH.

Mangold will be joined by Crystal Allan, director of the Public Children’s Services Association of Ohio, who will serve as the lead community partner in the research group, and Greg Kapcar, a colleague at the Ohio agency. Also included in the research team is Catherine Cerulli, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University at Rochester. Roger Ward, representing the State of Ohio, will work with the team via conference calls during and after the February sessions.

“We are looking at whether the type of funding, not the amount, impacts child welfare outcomes,” says Mangold. “Our preliminary findings indicate that local funding with flexibility, reliability and accountability leads to better outcomes.”

Mangold says she and her research team will work at the institute to develop a study to test that hypothesis. Child welfare is funded by federal/state/local matching funds. Ohio uses more local funds than any state; 44 of its 88 counties have dedicated tax levies for child welfare services.

Information on the institute can be found at http://www.rochesterpreventsuicide.org/pdf/suicide_brochure_final.pdf.

New grads at work: UB-minted lawyers start on varied career paths

Are you in a position to hire or discuss opportunities with a 2009 or upcoming 2010 graduate? If so, please call Marc Davies, associate director of the Career Services Office, at (716) 645-3707; e-mail him at mrdavies@buffalo.edu; or visit Career Services.

UB Law School’s Class of 2009 is entering an uncertain economy- and flourishing. Members of this year’s graduating class are taking the skills and knowledge of their first-class legal education into interesting and challenging workplaces. Here are three.

Stefanie Svoren is settling into her job as a trial attorney for the Office of Immigration Litigation-Appellate in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She writes appellate briefs and travels nationally to deliver oral arguments in immigration cases that reach the federal courts of appeals, often pressing the government’s case against granting asylum or withholding of removal. “Usually either the immigrants’ claims fail to meet the requisite legal standards or there are other issues, for example criminal convictions, that further complicate these already complex cases,” Svoren says.

She commutes by train from Baltimore to her justice department office in Washington. The journey from law school to career is an ongoing process.

“In law school, you are taught to evaluate a case from various perspectives,” she says. “But here, I am required to analyze the facts, pick a position and make the best legal arguments I can to be persuasive.”

Noel Mendez is a law clerk in the New York City office of White and Case. He works in the litigation department, doing document review and legal research for commercial litigation cases.

“It’s a lot of effort, but I’m enjoying it,” Mendez says. “Working behind the scenes on cases that people read about in The Wall Street Journal is the most appealing part for me. We often work with clients who help shape the economic landscape. Your work has value. It’s making an impact on a global scale, and that’s satisfying.” Mendez also does pro bono work.

He credits the legal writing courses he took at UB Law and the time-management lessons he learned while working on the Buffalo Law Review with preparing him for work at a big law firm.

Now he’s on a new learning curve. “Even with all that preparation,” Mendez says, “you’re learning on the job.”

Janette Clarke says legal skills are essential to her work as a contract administrator for Amherst Systems Inc., a Western New York company that’s part of defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp.

“We make infrared frequency simulators and radio frequency simulators, devices that test the electronic warfare systems on military aircraft,” she says. “What makes the job so interesting is that in order to do it well, I need to have a broad understanding of the company and the technical capabilities of our systems. In many cases, I act as a liaison between the customer and the engineers, the program managers and everybody in between. I also get to put on my ‘attorney hat’ when negotiating contract terms and conditions or assessing liability clauses.”

She’s also interpreting the arcane language of the Federal Acquisition Regulations and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. “They are the type of documents where it is essential to have a legal background,” Clarke says. “I’ve been fortunate to find a non-attorney position in which a JD is so highly valued.”

Kenneth B. Forrest to receive the 33rd Edwin F. Jaeckle Award in NYC January 29

Kenneth B. Forrest

The Edwin F. Jaeckle Award is the highest honor the University at Buffalo Law School and the UB Law Alumni Association can bestow. This year, it will be presented to Kenneth B. Forrest ’76 for his distinguished contributions to four deans in setting the strategic direction of the Law School. Forrest is a longtime member and past chairman of UB Law School’s Dean’s Advisory Council.

UB Law School Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor Makau W. Mutua will present the award on Friday, Jan. 29, at 12 noon, at the Union League Club, in New York City, in conjunction with the New York State Bar Association meeting.

Previous recipients have included Hon. Charles S. Desmond, Hon. Matthew J. Jasen, Manly Fleischmann, Jacob D. Hyman, Hon. M. Dolores Denman, and William R. Greiner.

According to Dean Mutua, “Ken Forrest is one of UB Law’s most accomplished alumni. He has made significant and lasting contributions to the Law School. Over a span of 18 years, he has been an invaluable advisor and counselor to four deans. His advice has been inestimable, and he is highly deserving of this award.”

Forrest has been a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, one of the world’s leading business law firms, since 1982. He is currently the assigning partner in the firm’s litigation department. He has litigated numerous disputes relating to corporate mergers and acquisitions, including some of the leading decisions in that area of law. He played a leading role in the nationwide effort to obtain judicial approvals for the November 1998 settlement between the states and the tobacco industry.

Born in 1952 in Brooklyn, NY, Forrest graduated from Brooklyn College magna cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree in economics, and from the University at Buffalo Law School magna cum laude in 1976 with a juris doctor degree.

He has served on a number of professional committees, including the Committee on Federal Legislation and the Committee on Professional Responsibility of the Association of the Bar of New York City. He currently serves as a member of the University at Buffalo Law School’s Dean’s Advisory Council. He received Distinguished Alumnus Awards in 2003 from the University at Buffalo Alumni Association and in 2000 from the University at Buffalo Law School Alumni Association.

“This will be the first time since 1976, when the Jaeckle Award was initially presented, that the honor will be bestowed outside of Buffalo,” says Ilene R. Fleischmann, the executive director of the UB Law Alumni Association. To make a reservation, please call the Law Alumni Office at (716) 645-2107.

UB Law in the News – December 2009

Dec. 3
An article in The Wall Street Journal about asbestos abatement trust funds that have come under fire from insurance companies and legal scholars with concerns about their lack of transparency quotes S. Todd Brown, associate professor of law, who said there is a concern that people who get sick in the future may not get paid what they are entitled to because the trusts are using their assets to pay more marginal claims. [Read Article]

Dec. 4
The Buffalo News “On the Record” column reports that James E. Mulka, alumnus, has been named senior facilities planning and projects manager in the facilities department of First Niagara Financial Group. Also reported is John J. Koeppel, alumnus of the Law School, has been named leader of Investment Funds Practice at Nixon Peabody. [Read Article]

Dec. 11
An article on CityTownInfo.com reporting that unemployed lawyers make a difference quotes Robert Granfield, department chair and professor of sociology and Lynn, Mather, professor of law and political science, editors of a book looking at the many social and legal problems faced by the poor. Mather says, “that due to the recession, some firms have increased the number of pro bono hours they provide in order to keep their young associates occupied.” [Read Article]

Dec. 11
Today’s Buffalo News “On the Record” reports that Norton T. Lowe, alumnus, has been named associate at Hogan Willig in the Personal Injury and Malpractice Department. [Read Article]

Dec. 13
An editorial in Sunday’s Buffalo News by Nadi A. Shahram, adjunct faculty at the Law School, examines ‘honor killings’ and domestic violence. [Read Article]

Dec. 14
An editorial in today’s Buffalo News on the fight with the Catholic bishops over abortion in the health insurance bill quotes Lucinda M. Finley, Dean, Vice Provost and professor at the Law School. Finley said “the church might be operating ‘in a gray area’” and “may be at some risk.” [Read Article]

Dec. 15
A State Senate hearing on the Interest on Lawyer Account Fund (IOLA) is reported in today’s edition as taking place in the Francis M. Letro Courtroom in O’Brian Hall on the UB North Campus on Dec. 16 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The IOLA Fund pays lawyer fees for indigent people facing foreclosure, eviction, and also unemployment hearings, fair hearings or other legal actions. [Read Article]

Dec. 16
Today’s “Good morning, Buffalo” column lists today’s State Senate hearing on the Interest on Lawyer Account Fund being held in the Francis M. Letro Courtroom in O’Brian Hall on the North Campus. The event is open to the public. [Read Article]

Dec. 18
A story in today’s Buffalo News on recently acquitted teacher’s aide, John M. Colazzi, quotes Charles P. Ewing, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor at the Law School, who says that “A lot of people will look at an acquittal as not really an acquittal. They think if you’re charged you must be guilty. [Read Article]

Dec. 21
The Buffalo News and numerous local news outlets are covering the death of William R. Greiner, who passed away Saturday at the age of 75. Greiner spent 42 years at UB as president, provost and longtime Law School faculty member. Other news outlets include WKBW-TV, WGRZ-TV, WIVB-TV, WBFO-FM, WNED-AM and Business first. [Read Article]

Dec. 21
Miles Gresham, a second-year law student, was awarded the Marie Nesbitt Promise Prize for exceptional academic achievement and professional promise, by Vikki Pryor, alumna and president and CEO of SBLI USA. [Read Article]

Dec. 31
An article distributed by the Associated Press about a proposal in Rhode Island to close the Republican primary to nonmembers quotes James Gardner, professor of law and a specialist in election law, who said parties, though regulated by state law, are within their Constitutional rights to close or open primaries according to their wishes. The article appeared in news outlets that include the Boston Globe and Charleston Gazette.

Law School class heading to Thailand

Release Date: December 23, 2009

BUFFALO, N.Y. – For the second time, a University at Buffalo Law School class will travel to Thailand to study that nation’s unique legal culture.

Twelve students are scheduled to travel to the Southeast Asian nation, in a region in the foothills of the Himalayas, from Jan. 7 to 24. They will be accompanied by Distinguished Service Professor David Engel, a specialist in interdisciplinary studies of “law and society” in the United States and other countries, who has studied and written about Thai law for more than 30 years, and his spouse, Jaruwan Engel, a professional translator, author and Thai language instructor.

“It helps students to understand the unique features of the America legal system if they can get exposure to a civil law system, which is what most of the world has, as compared with our common law system,” Professor Engel said. “When they see how Thai works in its cultural and social context and see other possibilities, other ways of doing things, it may inspire creativity when they’re working in our legal system.

“No matter what career people pursue, we live in a globalized world and a globalized economy, and we’re going to come into contact with people and organizations that are not U.S.-based. It behooves us to understand how they work and how people from other countries and cultures think. A trip like this changes people’s understanding of themselves. It makes them more confident and more mature.”

The learning experience serves as a “bridge course,” one of the Law School’s January offerings between full semesters. Engel first offered the course in January 2008. In addition to extensive pre-travel reading and study, and a post-trip writing requirement, a key component of the course is a two and a half week residence in Chiangmai, Thailand, where students will engage in structured “conversations” with village chiefs, Buddhist monks, Thai law professors, students, attorneys and representative of non-governmental
organizations. In addition, students will visit important historical and legal sites in northern Thailand. The in-country experience will be arranged in cooperation with the Chiangmai University Law School, which is a longtime exchange partner with UB Law School.

“We try to tailor the course to the interests of the students, and this year we’re including some things we did not include last time,” Engel said. New additions, he said, include a visit to a hill tribe village; a meeting with Burmese refugees to highlight issues concerning refugees and migrant workers; and discussions with the director of an agency that works on human trafficking issues. In addition, because some of the students bring an interest in international business, the course will include a session on foreign direct investment in Thailand and a look at multinational corporations that are establishing factories there.

Professor Engel, who speaks fluent Thai, and Jaruwan Engel are the co-authors of a book about Thai legal culture, Tort, Custom, and Karma: Globalization and the Decline of Law in Thailand, forthcoming from Stanford University Press.