Janet D. Steiger Fellowship Opportunities Almost Double!

The AT has generously increased the number of available Janet D. Steiger fellowships from 8 to 15 this year:

During the summer of 2006 the Section will place 15 law students in the Consumer Protection Departments of the Offices of State Attorneys General throughout the United States and will provide a grant to each state in the amount of $5000.

This is a great opportunity for LSD members interested in consumer protection. Read more about this past summer's fellows and mark your calendar for the application deadline in early January!

Know Your Rights Special: Hurricane Katrina (and Rita)

Houston's PBS Channel 8 will air a call-in program Monday @ 7pm CDT for Texas & Louisiana residents affected by the recent hurricanes.

This call-in program with Louisiana, Texas, and bankruptcy lawyers offers free legal assistance for hurricane survivors. We’ll answer the following questions and more: Can you collect unemployment compensation? What can happen if you don’t pay your mortgage, rent, or credit card bills? What about money you were not paid from your employer? Are you entitled to the return of your security deposit? Has your insurance company treated you fairly? How do handle the estate and probate problems of your loved ones? Let us help you with these and other legal concerns caused by our nation’s worst natural disaster.

If you miss Monday night's show, it will be rebroadcast Thursday @ 10pm CDT, also.

Hurricane Rita

Thanks to everyone who offered assistance to us here in Houston as we continued to assist those dealing with the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.

Unfortunately, we are now in the projected path of Hurricane Rita and packing up best we can to minimize the expected flood damage. We were still trying to fully recover from the damage of Tropical Storm Allison a few years back, so folks here aren't taking any chances with a bona fide hurricane.

I may not have the luxury of a reliable internet connection until early next week, but, until then, stay safe and dry wherever you are this weekend!

Interview with the FTC

Not every school has the benefit of FTC On-Campus Interviewing (OCI) in the fall, but we were fortunate enough to have Eli Padilla and Thomas Carter from the Dallas Regional Office visit UHLC today.

The Bureau of Competition (BC) and the Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) hire summer legal interns

who have completed one or more years of law school OR who are law school graduates going on to judicial clerkships.
-- See FTC Job opportunities

FTC regional offices are in Cleveland, Chicago, New York City, Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, so if you're interested in working for the FTC you don't have to move to Washington, D.C.!

Take the BCP's virtual tour to learn more about their summer law clerk program and visit the BC's summer recruitment site for more info.

The FTC also has a page devoted to Katrina Evacuee concerns (thanks to Lesley Fair for pointing it out).

The Supreme Court's Antitrust Docket

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in November on the Illinois Tool Works v. Independent Ink, Inc. case, to determine

whether patents give rise to a presumption of market power for a Section 1 per se tying claim

The AT will have a brown bag lunch on 9/28 to discuss the case. Speakers will include:

• Lauren Albert, Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider, New York
• David Ryan, Fitzpatrik, Cella, Harper & Scinto, New York
• Kevin McDonald, Jones Day, Washington, D.C.

The BBL is FREE for those who can attend in person at the Washington D.C. or New York City sites. Dial-in is available for $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Refer to the BBL flyer for more info.

More info on amici briefs filed thus far is available here.

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath

[UPDATE] UHLC announces they will host Loyola Law this semester.
The official Loyola post-Katrina site is now available.

UHLC Law Prof Richard Alderman is planning a call-in show on KUHT Channel 8 (Houston's PBS Station) on Oct 3 @ 7pm CDT (rebroadcast Oct 6 @ 10pm) in addition to a special session of The People's Law School on October 8.

LEGAL COUNSELING
Date: Monday, October 3 & Saturday, October 8
Contacts: Christine McMillan and Professor Alderman
Information: Professor Alderman is coordinating a T.V. call-in show for legal counseling for the evacuees. The following three days the Center for Consumer Law will maintain the call-in center to address legal questions that evacuees may have. The week will culminate on Saturday October 8th with the "Evacuee's People's Law School" a specialized version of the annual People's Law School that Professor Alderman coordinates yearly.

STCL reports they have registered 21 2Ls and 3Ls. Profs McGaugh & Bergin blog about what they've witnessed at the shelters.

TSU admitted over 300 students from Louisiana, but I do not have a count of how many will be attending the law school there.

TSU Law Prof Craig Jackson reports on volunteer efforts by him and his students[/UPDATE]

The University of Houston Law Center stands ready and willing to offer assistance to students and faculty from law schools in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The AALS is also compiling a list of schools that will admit Loyola and Tulane students.

These are very trying times that can, in the words of the Louisiana Governor, "bring out the best in most people, but also bring out the worst in some." It's times like these that attorneys general step in to protect the welfare of all citizens affected by such tragedies. Here are some more useful links for advice and warnings for those affected by Katrina from state AG's in the Gulf Coast region:

• Texas Attorney General
• Louisiana Attorney General
• Mississippi Attorney General
• Alabama Attorney General
• Florida Attorney General
• National Association of Attorneys General
  

In the Houston area, volunteers are assembling near the Astrodome to assist thousands of evacuees. I will try to keep everyone posted on any local information I may run across, to supplement the offical ABA Katrina Relief site and other major media outlets.