The Sidebar

April 2018

A memorial service in honor of Texas Tech School of Law Professor John Krahmer was held on Wednesday, April 25 at the Law School.

Many reflected on the impact he had on their lives and shared treasured memories including, Walter Huffman ’77, Charles P. Bubany, Dean G. Pawlowic, Brian Shannon, Gerry W. Beyer, Richard D. Rosen, Sally McDonald Henry, Texas Bank Lawyer 2L Editor Cassy McGinnis ’19, and 3L Editor Julia Wisenberg ’18. Professor Krahmer’s three children, Alyssa ’95, Ana and Ben, also paid tribute to their father.

Professor Krahmer will be remembered as an intellectual giant in commercial and banking law, someone who loved a good joke, and someone who was deeply committed to his students. You can find his full obituary here.

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April 2018

Texas Tech Law hosted 70 accepted students and their guests for the 2018 Admitted Students Weekend.

A two-day program provided an opportunity for students to mingle with professors and potential classmates while getting a feel for Texas Tech Law School. Participants attended panel discussions where they heard the perspectives of notable alumni, a mock class taught by Professor Gerry Beyer, and a reception where they had an opportunity to meet faculty and current students. Also featured were presentations from career services and financial aid, along with an information fair where they learned more about law school programs, including the advocacy programs, the clinics, and dual degree programs.

The weekend concluded with the Student Bar Association Annual Chili Cook-Off giving our accepted students a taste of Texas Tech Law’s community. We are excited to welcome the Texas Tech Law Class of 2021 in August!

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April 2018

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April 2018

Professor Arnold Loewy and the Texas Tech Law Review hosted the 12th Annual Criminal Law Symposium on April 13, 2018. The symposium focused on the laws surrounding capital punishment. University of Chicago School of Law Professor Richard H. McAdams served as this year’s keynote speaker. Judge Danny Boggs of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals moderated and criminal law professors from around the country participated in panel discussions. The three panels focused on policy reasons for keeping capital punishment, reasons to abolish it, and how the Supreme Court is likely to resolve the issue.

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April 2018

John B. Walker, Texas Tech Regent and CEO of EnerVest, Ltd., was the Terry Lee Grantham Memorial Energy Law Lecture Series speaker on Monday, April 9. He discussed “The Outlook for the Oil & Gas Industry.”

Walker is also the Executive Chairman of EV Energy Partners, L.P. He is a member of the National Petroleum Council and All-American Wildcatters. Walker’s civic activities include having served as chairman of the Board of Stewards of Chapelwood United Methodist Church and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He received the Silver Beaver Award in 2001 and the Distinguished Eagle in 2007 from the Boy Scouts of America.

In 2004, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus at Texas Tech.  In 2012, he was appointed to the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System and served until January 2015. In 2015, he was named as a National Finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2017, he was again appointed to the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System for a six-year term.

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April 2018

Texas Tech’s Center for Biodefense, Law, and Public Policy held the 17th Annual Global Biosecurity Symposium on April 5 in the Lanier Auditorium.

The symposium featured presentations from several Texas Tech Law students on a variety of topics including vaccinations, biological weapons and agroterrorism.

Kevin McClaran, Epidemiologist and Surveillance Supervisor for the Texas Department of Health Services, delivered the keynote speech on Epidemiology and the Law in Texas.

The symposium concluded with Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development Victoria Sutton recognizing the outgoing Journal for Biosecurity, Biosafety, and Biodefense board of editors. The newly appointed 2017-19 board of editors were also introduced.

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April 2018

John Ellis was recently elected to serve as the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Representative for District 25, representing South/Central Texas. For this two-year term, Ellis will serve as the liaison between the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (YLD) and the seventeen young lawyer affiliate organizations across south and central Texas.

Ellis has served in various leadership roles in public service for many years, and he is currently completing his second term as an elected member of the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA). He has served on the TYLA board of directors since 2014, where he has helped create and implement a wide variety of service projects benefitting the legal profession and general public.

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April 2018

Jason Enright joined Winstead’s Business Restructuring/Bankruptcy Practice Group as an Associate in the Dallas office.

Enright focuses on corporate restructuring and bankruptcy matters, including representing debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, unsecured creditors’ committees, trustees and buyers of distressed assets in bankruptcy cases throughout the United States.

Before entering private practice, Enright served a two-year term as the judicial law clerk for Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald B. King in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas. He also served as a judicial law clerk for U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Scott Frost in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

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April 2018

Michael McCabe was selected as one of D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas for 2018. McCabe is the co-chair of Munck Wilson Mandala’s employment and labor law practice and leads the firm’s employment litigation cases.

Among his peers, McCabe is consistently honored as a top lawyer in employment law and litigation. Annually he is selected as a Texas Super Lawyer and he has been listed among the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Texas and Top 100 Super Lawyers in DFW since 2014. McCabe has also been listed as a Best Lawyer in America since 2016 and he was named an Appellate Lawyer of the Week by Texas Lawyer in 2016.

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April 2018

Mike Springer joined Cain & Skarnulis PLLC as a Partner. His work primarily focuses on general business and commercial real estate matters, including financing, acquisition and development, and leasing.

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April 2018

Read more for an update on Faculty Media & Scholarship. Read more…

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March 2018

We have a lot of good news to share! Read more…

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March 2018

On Saturday, March 3, more than 270 Texas Tech Law alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends gathered for the 14th Annual Scholarship Gala at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center. Read more…

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March 2018

Texas Tech Law hosted its annual Diversity Week to celebrate the importance of diversity from March 5-7, 2018. Faculty, staff, and students gathered throughout the week to hear from great speakers presenting on a variety of topics dealing with diversity in the legal profession. Read more…

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March 2018

3Ls Davinder Jassal, Kristen Gavigan, and Rachel Holland-Hadjis, won the regional rounds of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Boston this month. The win extends Texas Tech Law School’s streak to ten straight years of ABA NAAC regional victories—the longest of any school in the country. The team will now move on to the national rounds of the tournament in April in Washington, D.C.

The competition also saw a total of four Texas Tech Law advocates receive top-ten speaker awards. Of nearly 70 students, 2L Stephen Grant was named the region’s Best Advocate, Kristen ranked fourth, 3L Ryley Bennett ranked fifth, and 2L Michael Collier ranked eighth.

A big thank you to co-coaches Larry Doss (’99), Drew Robertson (’15), and Kristen Vander-Plas (’16) and good luck to Davinder, Kristen, and Rachel at nationals!

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