Everardo came to Chicago-Kent with a background in engineering, drawn by the strong reputation of our IP and legal writing programs. He took advantage of the flexibility of programs like 1L Your Way and the evening division to find more professional opportunities as a student. Beyond the classroom, his experiences with local bar associations and student organizations helped him build relationships both as a mentor and mentee in the legal field. Continue reading “Meet Everardo Tapia Vergara, Class of 2019”
Meet Michael McGee, Class of 2020
Michael McGee gained an early introduction to Chicago-Kent and Chicago’s legal community through the PLUS program as an undergraduate student. As a law student, he quickly found ways to engage in programs that fit his goals. We’re glad he also finds time to share his skills as a Student Advocate and a leader of our Student Bar Association. Continue reading “Meet Michael McGee, Class of 2020”
Event Recap: Family Separation
By Victoria Lozano, JD Candidate
On October 16, Chicago-Kent’s ACLU student chapter and the Immigration Law Society partnered to bring together Professor Carolyn Shapiro and Ed Yohnka, the director of communications for the ACLU of Illinois, to discuss misinformation surrounding immigration at our border and the use of family separation as a scare tactic to inhibit immigrants and asylum seekers from entering our country.
Over 40 students and faculty attended the event to hear how the ACLU is challenging the Trump administration and to gather more insight into how the administration plans to handle future immigration issues. Continue reading “Event Recap: Family Separation”
Event Recap: 3D-Printed Guns and the 1st & 2nd Amendments
On October 9, 2018, our Federalist Society hosted an event with Professor Josh Blackman of South Texas College of Law and Chicago-Kent’s Professor Mark Rosen to discuss the constitutional merits of using the First and Second Amendments to address 3D-printed guns.
Professor Blackman has represented Defense Distributed, the company that developed and released the files for the Liberator gun design, as they’ve been litigating the case over 5 years.
The full video of this event is embedded below, following the discussion section. Continue reading “Event Recap: 3D-Printed Guns and the 1st & 2nd Amendments”
Event Recap: White Nationalism & Immigration
On October 10, Our Immigration Law Society invited Professor Jack Chin of UC Davis School of Law to share research from his book Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965: Legislating a New America.
Looking over the history of immigration, he contrasted narratives of white nationalism with civil rights reforms that reduced racial discrimination in American citizenship. Continue reading “Event Recap: White Nationalism & Immigration”
Event Recap: What is IP Law?
By Victoria Lozano, JD Candidate
On September 20, 2018, Chicago-Kent’s Intellectual Property Law Society invited Chicago-Kent IP professors Greg Reilly and Graeme Dinwoodie to provide inspirational and important information for those who are interested in practicing intellectual property law.
Meet Andrew Willis, Class of 2019
Third-year student Andrew Willis enjoys creating space for in-depth discussion of current legal topics. As a student leader, he has partnered across organizations and worked with faculty to bring in influential speakers for events. He is also active as a legal blogger and has shared his views on legal podcasts and social media.
- Class year: 2019
- Division: Full-time day
- Hometown: Homer Glen, IL
- Academic Background: B.S. in Paralegal Studies, Liberty University
- Find him online:
Miranda Rights Warnings Project
Over the spring and summer of 2018, Illinois Tech contributed to a collaborative project — involving the ABA Center for Innovation, the IIT Institute of Design, IIT’s Computer Science program and a Chicago-Kent student — that created an innovative new solution to convey Miranda warnings consistently and accurately across language divisions.
Since Miranda warnings started being used routinely more than 50 years ago, after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Miranda v. Arizona, no one has formally made uniform translations available to ensure that Miranda rights are being communicated accurately to non-English speakers. The ABA’s Hispanic Commission took on the project of creating a solution for Spanish speakers, and their work led to this project. Continue reading “Miranda Rights Warnings Project”
Bridging Legal History and Current Events
Professor Felice Batlan began writing her most recent article, Deja Vu and the Gendered Origins of the Practice of Immigration Law: The Immigrants’ Protective League, 1907-1940, the day after President Trump’s “travel ban” went into effect. After spending multiple days protesting at O’Hare airport, she began pondering the question of when the practice of immigration law began and who represented migrants before World War II, when “immigration law” became a recognized legal specialty.
Professor Batlan’s article explores how Chicago’s Immigrants’ Protective League, founded in 1908 and always run by women, provided advice to tens of thousands of migrants and their families facing immigration problems before World War II. This occurred as Congress passed increasingly strict immigration laws in the 1920s and officials engaged in practices that could quickly change, requiring the women of the League to become experts at improvising law.
Continue reading “Bridging Legal History and Current Events”
Event Recap: Fair Use Avoidance in Music Cases
On August 29, 2018, the Center for Empirical Studies of Intellectual Property hosted a talk by Professor Edward Lee on his study of fair use as a potential defense to copyright infringement in music cases.
Professor Lee began with a case study of the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision against Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke upholding a district court ruling that their song “Blurred Lines” infringed the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up.”
Professor Lee explained that instead of arguing only that there was no infringement, the defendants should have asserted a fair use defense, a rare tactic in music cases.
This recap includes the video from this talk along with links to Professor Lee’s recent publications on the topic of fair use in music cases.
Continue reading “Event Recap: Fair Use Avoidance in Music Cases”