Conference of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools

Dear Friends,

We are pleased to announce the 2010 Conference of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools, scheduled for March 18-19, 2010, on the beautiful campus of the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. This is a time when you can enjoy both a Rocky Mountain spring time and world class skiing, if you wish.

The theme of this conference is "Blessing the Lives of Our Law Students: Opportunities and Challenges." Please note the following program and the registration information:

Program

J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University

Room 472

Thursday, March 18, 2010

9:00-9:15 am Introduction
    Kif Augustine-Adams, Associate Dean and Charles E. Jones Professor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School
9:15-10:15 am Plenary Session
    H. Reese Hansen, President, Association of American Law Schools and Howard W. Hunter Professor Law, Brigham Young University Law School
10:15-10:30 am Break
10:30 am-12:00 pm Panel: The Role of Ministering As Well As Administering in the Law School Community
  • Scott Cameron, Associate Dean of External Relations and Professor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School (Chair)
  • Lindsay P. Watkins, Project Manager, Law School Survey of Student Engagement
  • Wendy C. Archibald, Assistant Dean of Student and Internal Relations, Brigham Young University Law School
12:15-1:30 pm Lunch: Wilkinson Student Center
Welcome: James Rasband, Dean and Hugh W. Colton Professor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School
1:45-3:15 pm Panel: Sacred Texts Part I: The Role of Sacred Texts and Traditions in Informing Our Understanding and Engagement of Jurisprudence
  • David Dominguez, Professor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School (Chair)
  • John Welch, Robert K. Thomas University Professor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School
  • Steven Goldberg, James and Catherine Denny Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Mark L. Movsesian, Frederick A. Whitney Professor of Contract Law, St. John's University Law School
3:30-3:45 pm Break
3:45-5:15 pm Panel: Judges, Kings, Prophets, and Lawyers in Biblical and American Perspectives
  • Samuel Levine, Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law (Chair)
  • Zachary Calo, Assistant Professor of Law, Valparaiso University School of Law: Catholic/Anglican Perspective
  • David Flatto, Assistant Professor of Law, Pennsylvania State University Law School: Jewish Perspective
  • Robert Cochran, Director, The Herb and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics and Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law
  • Mark Graber, Professor of Law and Government, University of Maryland School of Law
5:30 pm Tabernacle Choir Rehearsal in Salt Lake City
    5:30 pm     Vans depart from the J. Reuben Clark Law School
    6:15 pm     Buffet Dinner, Kirtland Room, Joseph Smith Memorial Building
    8:30 pm     Tabernacle Choir Rehearsal in Conference Center
    9:45 pm     Buses return to Provo

Friday, March 19, 2010

8:15-9:00 am Continental Breakfast, Brigham Young University Law School
9:00-10:30 am Plenary Session: Relevant and Reliable Rankings Criteria for Religiously Affiliated Law Schools
David Thomas, Rex E. Lee Chair and Professor of Law, Brigham Young University
10:30-10:45 am Break
10:45 am-12:15 pm Sacred Texts Part II: Texts, Law and Life
  • Thomas Folsom, Professor of Law, Regent University School of Law: "Nearly 95 Theses: Disintegrating Norms in Cyberspace, Future Law and the Relevance of Ancient Sacred Texts (Is There a Common Morality for a Global/Tech Era)"
  • Collin Mangrum, Professor of Law, Creighton University School of Law: "Religious Text as Authoritative Sources for Legal Reasoning: The Israeli Experience"
  • Hank Chambers, Professor of Law, Richmond University School of Law: "Interpreting Sacred Documents and Ignoring Sacred Text"
12:30-2:00 pm Lunch: Hinckley Alumni Building
2:15-4:00 pm Practicing Religion in the Classroom, Court Room, and Marketplace
  • Cheryl B. Preston, Edwin M. Thomas Professor of Law, Brigham Young University: "Religiously Trained Lawyers, Judges, and Legislators and the Problem of Internet Pornography"
  • Kristin Gerdy, Teaching Professor and Director, Rex E. Lee Advocacy Program, Brigham Young University Law School: "Clients, Empathy, and Compassion: Introducing First-Year Law Students to the ‘Heart’ of Lawyering"
  • Bill Piatt, Professor of Law, St. Mary’s University School of Law: "Catholicism and Constitutional Law: More Than Privacy in the Penumbras"
  • Rodney Dale Chrisman, Assistant Professor of Law, Liberty University School of Law: "Seeking Filthy Lucre: The Historic Christian Teaching on the Goodness of Commercial Activity as the Overarching Purpose of the UCC"
4:00-4:15 pm Break
4:15-5:00 pm Closing Session/Idea Exchange for the Future

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Optional Activity Tour of LDS Humanitarian Services Center Exchange in Salt Lake City

 

 

Registration

The cost of the conference is $175.00 per person, which will cover the lunches, dinner and continental breakfast, and the Thursday excursion to Salt Lake City. Guests may attend and participate in the meal and excursion functions for a fee of $75.00. You may register online by clicking here, or you may download a printable PDF, and send it with your check (made out to Brigham Young University Law School) to:

Adrian Selle
Room 405
J. Reuben Clark Law School
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah 84602

 

Accommodations

The Provo Marriott Hotel has a block of rooms reserved for conference attendees. Each room has a king-size bed and may be reserved for our conference rate of $95.00 per night. Please call in to make your own reservations: 801-377-4700 or toll free at 888-825-3162. Ask for rooms in our group block by the group name: Religiously Affiliated Law Schools. Our contact person, if needed, at the Provo Marriott is Nancy Clayton, who can be reached at 801-370-3522 (direct line) or at the web site: nclayton@sunstonehotels.com.

Many other hotels and inns are also near the BYU campus in the Provo-Orem area.

 

Transportation and Parking

Most major airlines schedule flights to Salt Lake City International Airport. You may rent a car or arrange an airport shuttle from the airport to the Marriott Hotel in downtown Provo or some other nearby accommodation. For shuttle service you may visit the Express Shuttle web site at www.expressshuttleutah.com or telephone at 800-397-0773 (toll free) or 801-596-1600. The one-way standard shuttle fare from Salt Lake City International Airport to Provo is $33.00 per person.

Most of you will probably take a commercial airport shuttle to get from the Salt Lake International Airport to the Marriott Hotel in Provo. BYU Law School will provide shuttle service from that hotel to the law school on Thursday and Friday, Mar. 18-19, 2010. Shuttle service from the Marriott Hotel will begin at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday morning and 8 a.m. on Friday morning.

If you rent a car to drive from Salt Lake Airport to Provo and from your Provo hotel to the BYU law school, included are maps which will help you. If you wish to park your car on campus, you should park in Lot 26, east of the law school, either in the rows marked "A" (for faculty and staff) or "G" (for graduate students). Once parked you should quickly proceed to the law building and pick up your registration materials in the lobby on the third level (one floor above the parking lot level). There you should also report the license plate number of your car, which we will then give to the university parking enforcement staff. (Parking enforcement vehicles now electronically "read" license plate numbers.)

Driving Directions from Salt Lake City Airport to BYU Law School

  1. From the airport follow Interstate 15 south approximately 45 miles to exit 269 (University Parkway).
  2. Turn left on University Parkway, drive east toward the mountains for approximately five miles. This will take you onto the BYU campus.
  3. Drive past the BYU Football Stadium, which will be on your left. Proceed about one mile to 900 East, and turn right. Proceed about one more mile to Heritage Drive (BYU Creamery on Ninth will be at the corner on your right), and turn right.
  4. Take the next left, which is the entry into Parking Lot No. 26.
  5. The following link provides a map of the campus: http://map.byu.edu/campusmap.pdf

 

Beverages and Smoking

Please be aware that smoking is not permitted on the BYU campus. Also, coffee is not available and not served on the campus. During our refreshment breaks on Thursday and Friday, hot water and herbal teas will be available.

 

Optional Saturday Activity

For those who wish, we are providing a tour on Saturday morning to the "Welfare Square" and Humanitarian Center of the LDS Church. These two facilities are located near one another in Salt Lake City. Welfare Square is the international center of the church's operations to provide basic commodities and services to its members worldwide who are in temporary need, in operation since the 1930s. At the Humanitarian Center one can see the headquarters operation of the church's enormous effort to provide basic relief commodities to people of all faiths in disaster-stricken areas anywhere in the world. Each locale provides a short film and guided tour of about one hour. Participants would be back in Provo by noon on Saturday.

For questions or further information about the conference, please contact:

David A. Thomas
Rex E. Lee Endowed Chair and Professor of Law
428 JRCB
J. Reuben Clark Law School
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
Telephone: (801) 422-3210
E-mail: david_thomas@byu.edu

or

Adrian Selle
405 JRCB
J. Reuben Clark Law School
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
Telephone: 801-422-4278
E-mail: sellea@lawgate.byu.edu