The awards, accomplishments, speaking engagements and news of the distinguished faculty at UConn School of Law:
Professor Angel Oquendo has been conferred a distinguished chair in legal theory studies from the Fulbright Foundation for 2020. The Fulbright Distinguished Chair Awards comprise approximately 40 distinguished lecturing and research awards. Oquendo had previously received a Fulbright Hays Research Abroad Award.
Sara Bronin will be a speaker at the virtual Motley Speaker Series: Equity Through Zoning Reform in Connecticut. The speakers will discuss how the structure of land use decision-making in Connecticut can impede policies and decisions that promote racial and economic equity, and will focus on several types of exclusionary zoning regulations; and current efforts to revise state zoning laws to promote desegregation. Register for the event here.
Valeria Gomez spoke on a panel titled "'When All Else Fails' - Relief Under the Convention Against Torture." at the 2020 American Immigration Lawyers Assocation Asylum Conference. The panel, that was live on September 30, 2020, presented an overview of CAT, then address changes wrought by recent case law and strategies for how to deal with them and concluded with a discussion of recently proposed regulations. More information on the event can be found here.
Professor Douglas Spencer spoke at the CBA's Constitution Day Celebration on September 29, 2020. The virtual program discussed the disputed 2000 presidential election, the United States Supreme Court's resulting decision in Bush v. Gore, the roles of the federal and state courts in considering election disputes, and how they are likely to inform court challenges that may arise during the 2020 presidential election.
Professor Leslie Levin discussed the role of the First Amendment and media in this year's election in a virtual event with the League of Womens Voter of Connecticut on October 7, 2020. Levin is an expert on the legal profession, ethical decisionmaking and lawyer discipline, subjects she has examined in numerous scholarly articles, book chapters and presentations. Watch the recording of the event here.
Associate Dean Darcy Kirk will receive the the Edgar Award from the Law Librarians of New England for her contributions to the field of law librarianship. She will be only the eighth recipient of the award since it was established in 1998. The award will be presented on Oct. 16, 2020, during the Fall 2020 Virtual Conference of the Law Librarians of New England and the Southern New England Law Librarians Association, hosted by the UConn School of Law. The Law Librarians of New England is a chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries, which awarded Kirk the Marian Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award, its highest honor, in 2019.
The University of Connecticut Law School Alumni Association will honor current faculty member and former dean, Timothy Fisher, with the Distinguished Service Award next month. Fisher recently joined the faculty after serving as dean from 2013-2020. Fisher previously worked in private practice for 35 years, primarily in the areas of ethics, alternate dispute resolution, commercial transactions, construction law, family wealth disputes and municipal law. The award will be presented virtually during LSAA's Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on October 13, 2020.
Professor Peter Kochenburger was a speaker at the 2020 Connecticut Legal Conference on September 15. The program Kochenburger attended was titled: "Navigating Opportunities and Risks Presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI): Intellectual Property, Data, and Regulatory Challenges." The program discussed the increase in AI-based applications that improve business operations and promote innovation. The conference hosted various programs through September 16, 2020.
The American Bar Foundation has named Professor Peter Siegelman an affiliated research professor. The honorary position recognizes Siegelman's research in mpirical and interdisciplinary legal studies. His initial five-year term began Sept. 1, 2020. Affiliated research professors are invited to visit the foundation to present their work, participate in conferences and to meet with the foundation's faculty and fellows.
Professor Sara Bronin will moderate an event at the University of Pennsylvania's Stuart Weitzman School of Design on September 24, 2020. The panel will discuss how to overcome the racial disparities in benefits from the advances in energy policy and technology. The event will be hosted by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy as part of Climate Week at Penn.
