Southwestern Welcomes New Adjunct Faculty

Three Southwestern alumni have joined the adjunct faculty for Summer 2008.

Steven R. Lowy '76 - The Music Publishing Industry

Professor Lowy, a member of the law firm of Isaacman, Kaufman & Painter P.C., will teach The Music Publishing Industry during the 2008 Summer Session. He earned his B.S. degree, cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles and his J.D. degree from Southwestern. He specializes in catalogue acquisitions/sale agreements, recording, publishing, licensing and personal management, and touring agreements for a wide range of clients in the music, film, television, multimedia, fine art and related areas. He also represents a number of independent filmmakers, producers, directors, writers, distributors and foreign licensing agents in addition to handling the financing, production and distribution agreements for films. Professor Lowy acts as a Senior Arbitrator for the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) Attorney/Client Relations Committee and a Judge Pro Tem for the Beverly Hills Municipal Court, and he is a member of the ABA Intellectual Property Committee and Forum Committee on Entertainment and Sports Industries; California Copyright Conference; National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS); and Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP). He has also been active on the boards of the Malibu Strawberry Creek Music Festival, Wild Ginger Philharmonic Orchestra, Southern California Students of Performing Arts Foundation, and California Institute for the Preservations of Jazz.

Lawrence M. Lebowsky '91 - Survey of Federal Income Tax

Professor Lebowsky, a private attorney and State Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, will teach Survey of Federal Income Tax during the 2008 Summer Session. He earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, his J.D. degree from Southwestern, and his LL.M. degree in Taxation from Boston University. He specializes in income tax planning; estate planning; compensation; and other federal, state and local tax issues for tax-exempt organizations, individuals and business entities. He also advises public charities, private foundations, fraternal organizations, charitable trusts, and various nonprofit organizations on related issues. He is appointed as legal counsel and as a Guardian ad litem by the Los Angeles Superior Court as a member of the Court's Probate Volunteer Panel in conservatorship, probate and trust cases, as well as a volunteer Temporary Judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court for Small Claims and Civil non-jury matters. Professor Lebowsky is a regular speaker on tax and corporate law issues concerning exempt organizations and other related topics for organizations such as the State Bar of California, State Board of Equalization, and Public Counsel. Additionally, he is currently chair of the LACBA Tax-Exempt Organizations Committee.

Bridgette M. de Gyarfas '94 - Defenses in the Law

Professor de Gyarfas, owner of Law Coaches, LLC, and Assistant Dean of Students and Professor of Legal Analysis and Writing at Concord University School of Law, will co-teach Defenses in the Law with Adjunct Professor Timothy Weiner during the 2008 Summer Session. She earned her B.S. degree in Computer Information Systems from Arizona State University and her J.D. degree from Southwestern. She specializes in working with students to provide individualized counseling and tutoring based on students' specific learning styles, and assists students with general law school needs. Prior to joining Concord University, she was a sole practioner, as well as an associate with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, L.L.P., specializing in general commercial litigation with expertise in bankruptcy law. Professor de Gyarfas also held positions as a Judicial Extern for the Honorable Kathleen P. March of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California; Law Clerk for Marilee Marshall & Associates; and Judicial Law Clerk, again for Judge March, as well as for the Honorable Alan M. Ahart and the Honorable Vincent P. Zurzolo, of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California.

FACULTY ACTIVITIES

• Lecturer (with Professor Michael Frost), Judicial Opinion Writing Seminar, National Judicial College, Orlando, FL

• Admissibility of Evidence to Prove Undisputed Facts: A Comparison of California Evidence Code Section 210 and Federal Rule of Evidence 401, 36 SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 879 (2008)
  
• Commentator, "Experiments with Jury Trials in Argentina," Abandoning the Inquisitor: Latin America's Criminal Procedure Revolution, Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas Symposium

• Welcome Remarks and Commentator, "International Influences and International Law," Abandoning the Inquisitor: Latin America's Criminal Procedure Revolution, Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas Symposium
• Interviewed regarding IBM employees being reclassified from salary to hourly, "Marketplace," NPR

• Presentation, "Opening the Box: Navigating Through Site Evaluation Materials," New Site Evaluators Workshop, ABA Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Chicago, IL
• Presentation, "Faculty: Numbers and Beyond," Workshop for Law School Representatives, ABA Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Chicago, IL
• Participant, Accreditation Committee Meeting, ABA Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Tucson, AZ

• Commentator, "Experiments with Jury Trials in Argentina," Abandoning the Inquisitor: Latin America's Criminal Procedure Revolution, Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas Symposium

• Panelist, "Can Attorneys Go Undercover: Ethical Issues in Intellectual Property Pretext Investigations?" Young Lawyers Division; Section of Intellectual Property Law; Section of Science and Technology Law; and the Center for Professional Responsibility, ABA Midyear Meeting, Los Angeles
• Quoted, "Aguirre's actions place focus on limits to authority," San Diego Union Tribune

• Lecturer (with Professor Paul Bateman), Judicial Opinion Writing Seminar, National Judicial College, Orlando, FL

• 2007 Supplement to EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE, 3rd ed. (with E. Imwinklereid; Lexis-Nexis, 2007)

• The Changing Social Role of Urban Law Schools, 389 SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 36 (with J. Sterling and R. Dinovitzer, 2007)
• "Profile," Bar Brief, Beverly Hills Bar Association
• Participant, Deans' Workshop, ABA Mid-Year meeting, Santa Monica
• Participant, AALS Planning Committee Meeting, January 2009 AALS Annual Meeting Workshop on "Empirical Research on Gender and Race in Legal Education and Profession: What to Do and How to Get Money," Washington DC

• Composed Community Property question included in February 2008 California Bar Exam by invitation of Bar Examiners

• Panel Moderator, "Experts and Forensic Evidence," Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Cures, Southwestern University Law Review Symposium

• Presentation, "Contract Formation and the Formation of Power," International Contract Law Conference, McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento

• Panelist, "The Importance of Transparency in a Democratic Society," in conjunction with docudrama "Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers," Sunshine Week, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Skirball Cultural Center
• Panelist, "New Paradigms in Entertainment and Media Law," ABA Midyear Meeting, Los Angeles
• Panelist, "Hot Issues in Entertainment Law," ABA's Forum on Communications Law Annual Meeting, Boca Raton, FL
• Appointed, Member of Nominating Committee, ABA's Forum on Communications Law

• Speaker, "Land Use Planning, Social Cohesion and Sustainability," 17th Annual Mountain Land Use Institute, University of Denver, CO

• Moderator, "Pathways to Careers in International Law", ABA Section of International Law, Southwestern
• Presentation, "Trends of Chinese International Arbitration," Section of International Law Panel, ABA Midyear Meeting, Los Angeles
• Presentation, "The Opportunities and Challenges of a Global Legal Market," National Association of Bar Presidents Meeting, Century City
• Presentation, "Current Directions in International Trade in Services," Council of the ABA Section of International Law, Century City
• Meeting Chair, ABA Task Force on the International Trade in Legal Services, ABA Midyear Conference, Century City
• Appointed Co-Editor, Volume celebrating 130th Anniversary of the ABA Section of International Law

• Organizer and Commentator, "The Mexican Reform Process," Abandoning the Inquisitor: Latin America's Criminal Procedure Revolution, Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas Symposium
• Panel Moderator, "Race, Informants, and False Confessions," Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Cures, Southwestern University Law Review Symposium

• Commentator, "The First Wave of Reforms," Abandoning the Inquisitor: Latin America's Criminal Procedure Revolution, Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas Symposium

• Do the Different Approaches to Business and Official Records Found in the CEC and FRE Tell the Whole Story?: Exploring the Differences, Exposing the Expansive Hearsay Exception Hidden in General Applicability Provisions, and Questioning the Efficacy of Unified Evidentiary Rules in Civil and Criminal Cases, 36 SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 677 (2008)
• Organizer and Opening Remarks, "Wrongful Convictions - An Overview," Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Cures, Southwestern University Law Review Symposium
• Panel Moderator, "The First Wave of Reforms," Abandoning the Inquisitor: Latin America's Criminal Procedure Revolution, Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas Symposium
• Member, Planning Committee and Meeting Participant, ABA Youth at Risk Commission Roundtable on youths aging out of Foster Care, Los Angeles
• Advisor, study of prior victimization and access to services of female offenders by the Illinois Department of Corrections
• Interviewed re: issues raised at Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Cures symposium, KPFK

• Participant, Debate (with. Professor J. Yoo) regarding NSA's Wiretapping Program, moderated by the Hon. Alex Kozinkski, Chief Judge, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy, Los Angeles
• Panelist, "Evolution of the Id, the Ego and Equal Protection," Unconscious Discrimination Twenty Years Later: Application and Evolution, Connecticut Law Review Symposium, Hartford, CT

• Panel Moderator, "Systemic Issues and the Media," Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Cures, Southwestern University Law Review Symposium

• 19th Release, INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE DESKBOOK, 3rd ed. (Practising Law Institute, 2008)
• Op-ed articles, "Multistate Sham" and "When There's a Will," Los Angeles Daily Journal and San Francisco Daily Journal

• Presentation, "Top 10 Music Cases of the Last 50 Years," Grammy Foundation Luncheon, Los Angeles
• Quoted, "Clemens hearing useless unless we learn from it," Press-Enterprise

• Now It's Personal: Punishment and Mass Tort Litigation After Philip Morris v. Williams, 2 CHARLESTON LAW REVIEW 433 (Symposium Issue, 2008)
  
• Presentation, "Applications Panel," Crimtorts, Widener Law Journal Symposium, Harrisburg, PA
• Presentation, "Vexing Situations: Ethics and International Practice," State Bar of California's 80th Annual Meeting, Anaheim, and to White & Case LLP
• Interviewed in "Special Features," Damages: The Complete First Season (FX Television Series DVD, 2008)

• Recipient, Award of Excellence in Teaching Law, 2006-07, University Students' Council Teaching Honour Roll, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
• Elected Vice Chair, Board of Governors, Queen Margaret's School, Duncan, BC, Canada
• Member, ABA Site Evaluation Team, John Marshall Law School, Atlanta, GA

• Panel Moderator, "Innovations in the Delivery of Legal Services" ABA Midyear Meeting, Los Angeles

• Panelist, "The Role of the Prosecution and Defense in Causing and Correcting Wrongful Convictions," Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Cures, Southwestern University Law Review Symposium

• Elected President, Japanese American Bar Association (see story)

ADJUNCT FACULTY

• Featured in "Alumni News," Northern Lawyer, as recipient of 2007 Outstanding Alumni Award, Northern Illinois University College of Law

• Chair, ABA Section on Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice

• Participant, Second Annual Planning Law and Property Rights Symposium, Warsaw, Poland

ABA - American Bar Association
AALS - Association of American Law Schools
LACBA - Los Angeles County Bar Association
NALP - National Association for Law Placement