Congratulations to Marquette’s 2015 Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Teams

Congratulations to 3Ls Ariel Dade and Keith Reese-Kelly for reaching the quarterfinals of the Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition regionals in Atlanta. 3Ls Brian Brockman and Nathan Cromer also competed, and Professor Kali Murray served as the teams’ faculty advisor. The teams were coached by Attorneys Ryann Beck, Garet Galster, and David Hanson. This year’s competition problem involved two issues: first, the proper definition of a claim, and second, the public availability status of a printed publication.

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Big Games, Big Crowds: A Note on Occupancy Law

Last night, Wisconsin Badger fans and foes alike filled bars and restaurants to watch the final NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game. ESPN Milwaukee reported that nearly five and a half hours prior to tip-off, one Madison bar was already turning people away because the bar was at maximum capacity. But what does that matter? Does “maximum occupancy” serve a purpose? As someone completely unfamiliar with owning or managing property, I went looking for information about occupancy.

A quick Google search led me to an article on eHow.com. The eHow article author noted that local fire marshals are the ultimate authority when it comes to occupancy permits. The fire marshal tip helped me find the Milwaukee’s Department of Neighborhood Service’s page about occupancy permits.

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Israel Reflections 2015 – Day Four: Class at Tzfat

On day four of the trip, we joined Professor Yael Efron’s class at the Tzfat Academic College School of Law for a joint negotiation class.  A close colleague of mine, Yael conducts her class similarly to ours here at Marquette and we were lucky enough to join her on her first day of the semester.   Spoiler alert–the students below describe the card game BARNGA–and I’m happy to share the materials if anyone would like.

Student Marcus Hirsch describes the exercise:

Upon entering the classroom, we were joined at tables by Israeli students, and began mingling.  After introductions, instructions for a negotiation exercise were distributed and a card game commenced.  The game required individual interpretations of the rules, and forbid verbal communication from the participants – in Hebrew or English.  This led to an even greater learning experience, even as it caused massive frustration, confusion, and uncontrollable fits of laughter from the participants.  In the debriefing after the game, the participants not only came to understand how miscommunication and lack of information can lead to problems, but learned that these problems are cross-cultural and cross-linguistic.

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