This section includes information on selected programs, conferences, and symposia scheduled for 2007-2008. Unless otherwise noted, all events will be held at the Law School.

2009-2010 Tax Policy Colloquium Series

SMU Dedman School of Law hosts a series of discussions on the implementation of tax policy with leading academics, students, lawyers and members of the business community. The series is co-organized by SMU Dedman School of Law Professors Christopher H. Hanna and Henry J. Lischer, Jr. For further information, please contact Chris Hanna at channa@mail.smu.edu. See Colloquium Schedule for a list of speakers and topics scheduled in 2009-2010.

Justice For All: Perceptions of Racial and Ethnic Bias in Our Courts - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 ( 8:30 am - 5:00 pm)

This one day conference will explore perceptions of racial and ethnic bias in the courtroom. Panels of distinguished judges, academics, and attorneys will address perceived bias of decisionmakers, its impact on prosecutorial discretion, and how language and cultural differences may impact outcomes in litigation. For more information, please e-mail: kristyo@smu.edu

SMU Law Faculty Forum

The SMU Law Faculty Forum is an ongoing series of presentations of works-in-progress by scholars from the Dedman School of Law and from law schools around the country and the world. The Faculty Forum provides an opportunity for new ideas to be explored through informal discussion between the presenter and SMU faculty. As part of its commitment to scholarship, Dedman School of Law sponsors these forum presentations throughout the academic year. For further information, please contact Carolyn Yates at cyates@smu.edu. See Faculty Forum Schedule for a list of speakers and topics scheduled in 2007-2008.

Fall 2008 Colloquium on Law & Citizenship

The SMU Dedman School of Law is pleased to announce the Fall 2008 Colloquium on Law and Citizenship, a series where we will examine the ways in which law and citizenship intersect to construct, influence and shape the meaning, boundaries, definitions, domains, rights and obligations of citizenship. Various leading scholars who are engaged in citizenship studies as well as scholars who examine the impact of their work on the meaning and rights of citizenship will present their work to faculty and students. The overarching goal of the Colloquium is to have discussions not only about the theoretical and substantive notions of citizenship but also their normative implications on law and policy. For further information, please contact SMU Dedman School of Law Professor Rose Villazor at rvillazo@smu.edu. See Colloquium Schedule for a list of speakers and topics scheduled in 2007-2008.

2008 International Law Symposium: The Rise of Transnational Networks - November 7, 2008

In the last few decades, judges, legislators, prosecutors, and agency officials have increasingly been coordinating policy and decision-making across borders through informal networks. Such coordination has often occurred without formal legal sanction and is especially prominent in areas of cross-border regulation, including banking, antitrust, environmental protection, and securities law. But it also occurs in more politically charged areas, such as constitutional law, national security, law enforcement, and human rights.

This Symposium will review the record of transnational networks and the promise they hold for deeper and more effective international cooperation. Under what conditions are transnational networks likely to arise and how do they function? What are their advantages over traditional diplomacy and international organizations, and in what circumstances are networks most likely to be successful? What are some of the main obstacles to their legitimacy and effectiveness, and how can these obstacles be overcome?

This Symposium will begin at 8:00 a.m. (registration and breakfast) and will conclude at 4:00 p.m. It will be held in the Hillcrest Room of the Underwood Law Library. For more information, please contact Patricio Noboa at pnoboa@mail.smu.edu.

Oxford 25th Anniversary Celebration - July 11, 2008

SMU Dedman School of Law, in association with University College, celebrates the Silver Anniversary of the Oxford study-abroad program in Oxford, England.

2008 Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues – March 28, 2008

This Symposium will address the latest theories and practices important to the development of intellectual property law and explore emerging intellectual property law through discussions with distinguished academics, jurists, and leaders in the industry. Session topics include: (1) Patent Protection, Litigation and Licensing Latest Challenges: At Home and Abroad; (2) Second Life, Avatars and Social Networks: Opportunities and Liabilities; (3) The Federal Circuit and Licensing Law Jurisprudence: Its Nature and Influence; (4) Trade Secrets and the Internet: Protection, Policy and Conflicts; and (5) Outsourcing Services, Information and Technology: Present and Future Business Practices and Legal Concerns.

This Symposium will begin at 8:00 a.m. (registration and breakfast) and will conclude at 4:15 p.m. It will be held in the Hillcrest Room in the Underwood Law Library. For more information, contact Professor Xuan-Thao Nguyen at xnguyen@smu.edu. For more information about this event, go to Symposium.

Lecture: The New Public Face of the Supreme Court - November 14, 2007

The New Public Face of the Supreme Court: Under Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., the Supreme Court is stepping out more and more -- with justices giving speeches and television interviews, and the Court issuing argument transcripts and making itself more accessible in ways big and small. What is this new posture telling us about the Court, and is there a down side to openness?

Join us for a lecture by Tony Mauro who is the Supreme Court correspondent for Legal Times, American Lawyer Media, and law.com. He joined ALM in January 2000 after covering the Supreme Court for USA TODAY and Gannett News Service for the previous 20 years. He is the author of Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court, published in its second edition in December, 2005 by Congressional Quarterly Press. He also has written several law review articles and contributed chapters to several books: A Year in the Life of the Supreme Court, which received the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award; Reason and Passion, on Justice William Brennan Jr.; The Burger Court, edited by Bernard Schwartz, A Year at the Supreme Court; and the Biographical Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court.

The lecture will be held at noon and 5 p.m. in the Hillcrest Classroom. Lunch will be provided.

The Court of Appeals for the Eighth District of Texas - November 15-16, 2007

The Court of Appeals for the Eighth District of Texas will sit at the SMU Dedman School of Law on Thursday, November 15 and Friday, November 16, 2007. Chief Justice David Wellington Chew (SMU Law ’78), Justice Ann Crawford McClure, and Justice Kenneth R. Carr will hear 9-10 cases during the two-day visit. Thursday and Friday morning oral arguments will be held in the Hillcrest Courtroom. On Thursday afternoon, the arguments will be heard in the Godwin Gruber Trial Courtroom in Florence Hall (Room 204), where seating capacity is limited to approximately 30 students