Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, the transition back to school, and offers a chance to relax and reflect on the contributions of American workers through the ages. Elected officials traditionally appear at parades and community events in their districts, especially in years when Labor Day precedes Election Day. But how much have today’s elected officials done to protect and support workers?
In this special Labor Day episode of Law in 10, California Western teaching fellow Ari Waldman explores the state and national implications of this week’s decision.
Today was New Student Orientation at California Western School of Law. As part of the day’s events, 1L’s were administered the Oath of Professional Conduct by justice Judith L. Haller ‘75 and judge James F. Stiven (Ret.). The Oath marks students’ commitment to uphold standards of professionalism and ethics while attending the law school.
In November 2013, just three short years from now, these same students will take the Oath again. When they do, it will mark their transition from law school into the legal profession.
As health care costs continue to rise, and more colleges and universities require students to have health insurance as a requirement for enrollment, students must decide what coverage fits their health needs.
In the USA TODAY article, Liang explores students’ options for health insurance and the pros and cons of each.
As new and returning students arrive on the Downtown San Diego campus of California Western School of Law, the law school welcomes two new faculty members.
Andrea Freeman and Ari E. Waldman join the school’s experienced and supportive faculty as Teaching Fellows.
Andrea Freeman Freeman comes to California Western from the Second Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals in New York, where she served as a law clerk. Prior to that, she clerked for Chief Judge Jose A. Fuste in the District of Puerto Rico.
Freeman earned her law degree at University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Her academic interests lie in the overlap of law and underrepresented minority communities.
Ari E. Waldman A graduate of Harvard Law School, Ari E. Waldman joins the faculty of California Western from Winston & Strawn LLP in New York. While there, Waldman led appellate counsel in cases before the Seventh Circuit, Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, Southern District of New York.
Waldman’s primary research interests lie in criminal law, military law, and national security law.
Peruvian lawyers attended a similar Trial Skills Academy at California Western in June, focusing on litigation skills and techniques
Today, attorneys from Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Colombia begin a three-day intensive training on witness cross-examination at California Western School of Law.
The Cross-Examination Trial Skills Academy is sponsored by Proyecto ACCESO, a program that trains legal professionals in Latin America on ways to promote the rule of law in their countries.
Cross-Examination Trial Skills Academy
During the Trial Skills Academy, attendees participate in lectures designed to teach them how to confront all types of witnesses, including police, informants, experts, and fragile witnesses. They become more efficient in trial techniques and strategies through role-playing the witness examination process with an actual police officer and expert witness.
Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8, the voter-approved measure to ban same-sex marriage in California, saying the state has no interest in differentiating between same-sex and opposite-sex couples.
In this episode of Law in 10, California Western teaching fellow Ari Waldman explores the state and national implications of this week’s decision.
On Tuesday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Victoria E. Cameron ’97 to a judgeship in the Riverside County Superior Court.
While attending California Western, she was a member of the Student Bar Association and on the staffs of Law Review and International Law Journal. She also competed in moot court and trial team competitions, and was a member of the Pro Bono Honor Society.
Professor Ruben J. Garcia teaches labor and employment law at California Western School of Law and was recently inducted into the Law Labor Group
California Western School of Law Professor Ruben J. Garcia was recently inducted into the Labor Law Group. The group is made up of 40 international labor law academics committed to developing course texts and materials that accurately reflect the practice of labor law.
Labor Law Group
The Labor Law Group emerged from the 1946 meeting of the Association of American Law Schools. At that meeting, former Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz called for the development of better books and materials for the instruction of law students on labor law.
The Labor Law Group includes 40 active law teachers from the United States, Belgium, Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom, who are prominent scholars in labor and employment law. Professors in the Labor Law Group teach at premier U.S. law schools, such as Georgetown Law School, New York University, University of California, Los Angeles, and Yale University. Previous members have included top-level government officials and a former justice of the Supreme Court of California.
On July 21, The San Diego Daily Transcript’s list of San Diego County Top Attorneys 2010 was published. Of the more 600 nominees for the list, California Western had 11 faculty, staff, and alumni selected.
Associate Director of Career Services Angela Kim was named to the list in the Academic category. Adjunct Professor Bradley Weinreb was honored for his work in Criminal Law. Council of Visitors Member Robert J. Bell was named to the list in the Real Estate & Construction Transactional Law category.
Alumni William M. Berman ’97, Michael C. Harkness ’95, Cynthia M. (Harf) Kaiden ’93, Robert J. Kolodny ’75, Scott D. Levine ’91, S. Michael Love ’72, Wendy L. Patrick ’94, James T. Taylor, III ’96, and Joel S. Weissler ’89 were also named to the list.
Alumna Wendy M. Behan ’98 was named to the Transcript 10, a special list showcasing 10 noteworthy San Diego County attorneys from a mix of practices.
Alex Kannan, a third-year law student at California Western School of Law, worked on writing legislation while interning with Working Hands Legal Clinic in Chicago last year. This morning, Senate Bill 3568 was signed into law by Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn, providing the nation’s stiffest sanctions against employers who steal workers’ wages.
“I worked on this law from the ground up,” says Kannan. “My supervisor entrusted me with a lot of responsibility since he was extremely busy with litigation.”
When he started working on the bill, he helped describe the goals of the law and saw it evolve over the year. He researched best practices across the nation that dealt with enforcing anti-wage theft ordinances. Kannan spoke with advocates, both attorneys and community organizers, to learn how their respective organizations were dealing with the issue. He also drafted legal memoranda addressed to the Illinois Department of Labor and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. After returning to California Western, he charted the progress of the bill, and contributed remotely through e-mail to last-minute drafts, even drafting an initial administrative procedure for the bill.
Wage Theft
’Wage theft,’ in which employers knowingly and willfully steal low-wage working immigrants’ wages, has become an epidemic.
“Employers cut corners to save on costs or take advantage of immigrants’ poor command of English or unknown immigration status to intimidate and harass the workers,” says Kannan. “When the workers would file a demand with the Illinois Department of Labor, the complaint would simply be a piece of paper that had no legal weight.”
Illinois’s new law cracks down on abusive employers more effectively by imposing stronger civil penalties and fines, and criminal penalties for repeat offenders.
Real-World Experience
While working on the historic piece of legislation, Kannan produced a documentary for Working Hands Legal Clinic and the Latino Union. The documentary focuses on police harassing day laborers at street corners in Chicago and has helped inform advocates across the nation of the plight of immigrant workers.
The real-world experience taught Kannan the importance of working with legal and non-legal advocates and providing versatile services to make an impact. He also learned that direct services, legislative and policy work, and community outreach are important to positively impact the community.
“I would love to work in a field where I can do a variety of creative services to help the vulnerable and hard-working members of the community,” says Kannan.
NOTE: Faculty Blogs are not edited by California Western. Views presented here do not necessarily represent the views of the law school or its administration.
Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, the transition back to school, and offers a chance to relax and reflect on the contributions of American workers through the ages. Elected officials traditionally appear at parades and community events in their districts, especially in years when Labor Day precedes Election Day. But how much have today’s elected officials done to protect and support workers?
