Floyd Perkins Named to Board of Trustees
Floyd D. Perkins has been named to a three-year term on The John Marshall Law School Board of Trustees. He will attend his first meeting in September 2009.
Perkins is a partner at Ungaretti & Harris LLP in Chicago. He concentrates his practice primarily in litigating commercial disputes, fraud actions, contested probate matters and chancery and trust contests. He also serves as counsel to not-for-profit corporate boards.
Perkins is replacing Chester Blair who was awarded emeritus status on the board.
"I am excited that Floyd Perkins has agreed to come on the board of trustees," said Leonard Amari, board president. "He has always been willing to help John Marshall with his time and support. Floyd has been an active member of The John Marshall Law School Alumni Association for a number of years and just completed a term on the association's executive committee. I know he'll be a valuable addition to the board of trustees."
Perkins came to John Marshall after receiving an accounting degree from the University of Illinois. He is a certified public accountant. He was awarded a J.D. degree in 1977, and a LL.M. degree in tax law in 1983.
Perkins served for 14 years as the bureau chief for the Charitable Trust Division at the Illinois Attorney General's Office where he was responsible for litigating all the financial, trust and probate actions initiated or defended by the Illinois Attorney General. His duties included trying hundreds of cases, and supervising teams of attorneys and accountants conducting numerous financial investigations and financial fraud matters. He has presented matters before the Supreme Court of Illinois and the Supreme Court of the United States. His work has included presentations to Illinois legislative committees and other government agencies.
In addition to practicing law, Perkins shares his expertise with fellow lawyers as a presenter for CLE programs and various not for profit and legal organizations, he recently co-authored the "Charitable Litigation" section for an IICLE handbook.
He serves on the boards of several charitable organizations and he is chair of the Illinois CPA Society's Not-For-Profit Committee. He has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer from 2005 through 2009 by Law & Politics.
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Health Insurance Requirement to Start in Fall 2009 Semester
Beginning in the fall 2009 semester, John Marshall students taking six or more credit hours will be required to have health insurance. The decision was made by the administration, on recommendation by the Student Bar Association, in order to reduce the number of students who currently are uninsured or have inadequate insurance, as well as minimize the impact the cost of insurance has on students' budgets.
Students will be required to purchase The John Marshall Law School's student insurance plan, unless they can present proof of comparable coverage. In order to assure that each student is properly insured, an initial charge to each student's account will be made for the cost of the Student Injury and Sickness Insurance Plan. It is then each individual student's choice to waive the insurance and remain on a family or individual plan. If a student waives the insurance plan and demonstrates proof of insurance through completion of the waiver card, the initial charge will be removed from the student account. If the waiver is not received by Sept. 4, 2009, the charge will remain on the account.
The Student Injury and Sickness Insurance Plan cost for 2009-2010 is $909 per year for single student coverage, billed at $404.50 per semester. Because the premium is considered part of the cost of attendance, it can be made part of a student's budget for financial aid purposes.
The program selected provides injury and sickness coverage through UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare is also one of the leading providers of health insurance coverage for college students. The coverage begins Aug. 4, 2009.
A full packet of information will be mailed to each student in early July. For more information, contact Associate Dean William B. Powers at 6powers@jmls.edu.
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Deans' Activities
Activities
He was invited by American Bar Association (ABA) President H. Thomas Wells to attend the Presidential Diversity Summit, "Diversity in the Legal Profession - The Next Steps?" June 18 through 20, 2009. While at the summit, Smith served as a subject specialist for the Law Schools and The Academy breakout session. The summit examined next steps for advancing diversity in the profession with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and disabilities. Earlier this year, Smith provided testimony at a hearing of the State of Diversity at the ABA Mid-Year Meeting in Boston. A report from the summit will be made at the ABA Annual Meeting in August.
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Alumni Association Annual Meeting
At the June 12 annual meeting of The John Marshall Law School Alumni Association, Professor Ann Lousin (left) received the President's Award from Judge Cheryl Cesario (right) of the Circuit Court of Cook County, the outgoing president. Lousin has been a member of the faculty since 1975.
The 2009-2010 offices of The John Marshall Law School Alumni Association are (seated, from left) Michael V. Favia, treasurer; Kimberly J. Anderson, second vice president; Judge Cheryl Cesario, outgoing president; and (standing, from left) Anita M. DeCarlo, assistant treasurer; Katherine Amari, president; Baltazar Mendoza, first vice president; and Justice James Fitzgerald Smith, third vice president. Not pictured is Regina A. Scannicchio, secretary.
Judge Cheryl Cesario (left), alumni association outgoing president, presented Norman Lasko (right) (JD '67) the President's Award as a special thanks for all the work Lasko has done for the alumni association. Lasko has taken on responsibility for the association's IRS filings and other financial matters.
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Law School and Student Calendar of Events
June 29, 2009
Rap Around the Bar, Room 608, noon
June 30, 2009
International Negotiation Competition Exec Committee Meeting, Room 608, 10 a.m.
Center for International Law Lunch and Learn, Room 200, noon
Kick the Bar in the Butt, Room 300, noon
International Negotiation Competition Check-In, 3 East, 2 p.m.
Domestic & Foreign Patent, Trademark, Trade Secret &Copyright Documentation, Room 529, 6 p.m.
July 1, 2009
International Negotiation Competition, Room 3 East, 9 a.m.
Rap Around the Bar, Room 608, noon
July 2, 2009
International Negotiation Competition, Room 3 East, 9 a.m.
Distance Education Group, Room 608, 11 a.m.
July 3, 2009
International Negotiation Competition, Jenner & Block, 9 a.m.
July 7, 2009
Domestic & Foreign Patent, Trademark, Trade Secret &Copyright Documentation, Room 529, 6 p.m.
July 10, 2009
Basic Skills, Room 503, 8:30 a.m.
July 11, 2009
Basic Skills, Room 503, 8:30 a.m.
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Student Takes Summer Internship at Hague's International Court
Katarina Durcova, a second-year student at The John Marshall Law School, is spending her summer in The Hague as a legal intern at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
"Since I arrived here May 18, I have been studying, researching and analyzing interesting topics on a daily basis," the second-year law student said. "I am a legal intern assisting Judge Iain Bonomy, the presiding judge, and his team on the Radovan Karadzic case. He was the first president of the Serbian-Bosnian Republic of Srpska created out of the former Yugoslavia. Karadzic was indicted for genocide, inhumane acts, murder and extermination, among other crimes."
Karadzic is said to be the mastermind behind one of the world's worst genocides since World War II. He is accused of ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims. He was arrested in July 2008 in Serbia 10 years after his initial indictment. During the war in the early 1990s, the country of Yugoslavia dissolved.
"My team in Trial Chamber III is supportive and helpful, and filled with individuals passionate about their work," Durcova explained. "I feel very lucky to be able to contribute to the team's mission by drafting orders and memoranda on various topics. I attended the status conference on June 3 for Mr. Karadzic. It was fascinating to be in the same room with him."
She was encouraged to apply for the internship position by John Marshall Professor Shahram Dana, a former associate legal officer at the tribunal. Durcova served as Dana's research assistant during the spring 2009 semester.
"She has shown great aptitude for human rights work," the professor said. "It's a field that demands dedication and tireless effort. The pay is modest and the work endless. But Katarina is fully committed to the cause of protecting the most vulnerable."
Durcova is excited to be doing international work. She has a bachelor's degree in international studies from the University of Iowa with an emphasis on human rights and European studies, and she worked at the Center for Human Rights as a researcher before starting law school.
Katarina Durcova (left) meets with Professor Shahram Dana (right) before leaving the The Hague, where she is a legal intern at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
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Preparing for China Study Program
Students and faculty met for a planning session earlier this month for the China IP Summer Program in preparation for the July 6 through 31 program in Beijing at Peking University School of Law. Participants were (from left) student Betty Donoval; Michele Bridges, executive director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law; student Jessica Godell; Dorothy Li, co-director of the Asian Alliance Program; Professor Richard Gruner, director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law; students Jason Dirkx, Jeanette Lieb, Jacobi Fields, Cole Hardy, Vincent N. Carani; Adjunct Professor and Judge Michael Mihm, U.S. District Court, Central District of Ill. and Adjunct Professor Bill McGrath, associate director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law.
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Faculty Activity and Publications
Activities
She gave a works-in-progress presentation on May 27 at the Emerging Family Law Scholars and Teachers Conference, held at the University of Colorado Law School. Her topic was "Postnuptial Agreements as a Potential Tool for Marriage Equality."
Dolan also taught a CLE class for the City of Chicago Law Department on June 9, on "Pleasant Grove City v. Summum: What the Supreme Court's First Look at Municipal Government Speech Means for City Lawyers."
Activities
On June 6, 2009, he spoke at the Closing Plenary Session of the Fourth Global Legal Skills Conference at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC. He was joined on the closing plenary by Professor Craig Hoffman of Georgetown University Law Center and Jose Robles Flores Fernandez, dean of the Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey.
Wojcik founded the Global Legal Skills Conference in 2005 at The John Marshall Law School, which hosted the conference again in 2007. The conference is the largest of its kind focused on lawyers and law students who speak English as a second language.
On June 12, 2009, he delivered the commencement address, in Spanish, at the graduation ceremony for the Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey. The Facultad Libre is The John Marshall Law School's sister school in Mexico. Professor Juli Campagna served as the law school's graduation speaker in 2008.
Publications
The International Law Institute published the third edition of Wojcik's book, Introduction to Legal English. The book was the first of its kind in the United States to focus on lawyers and law students who speak English as a second language. More information about the book is at www.ili.org/publishing/catalog.htm.
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