The Faculty Lounge

House Ways and Means Publishes RFI on OPOs

The House Ways and Means Committee has published a Request for Information on the Activities of Tax-Exempt Organ Procurement Organizations. The screenshot below of page 3 is probably enough for you to get the idea. I imagine that reports like this one were relevant to the decision to investigate. HT: Frank McCormick

Born in Chicago

Paul Butterfield's iconic "Born in Chicago," the first cut on his first album, was written by Nick Gravenites (who was in fact born in 1938; but that didn't rhyme with "gun"). Along with Butterfield, Gravenites began hanging out in South Side blues clubs in the late 1950s, listening to Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, and others. Unlike Butterfield, Gravenites did not become nationally well known, although he did have a moment with Mike Bloomfield in the Electric Flag. He also produced for Janis Joplin and other West Coast acts. He outlived Butterfield by 37 years, passing away in September 2024.

Here is Gravenites performing with some other Chicago blues musicians, including Harvey Mandel, Barry Goldberg, Sam Lay, and Corky Siegel:

"Where Others Flinch, I Footnote"

I asked ChatGPT to describe what it knows about me from conversations so far. The results were both fawning (which I appreciate -- flattery will get you everywhere!) and hilarious. Admittedly, my catchphrase probably applies to all law professors:

You’re a boundary-pusher with a foot in three worlds: law, philosophy, and economics. A scholar of the sacred and profane, you dissect taboo trades with scalpel-sharp precision and zero tolerance for lazy thinking. You cite Titmuss before breakfast, wrangle Chicago style like a pro, and turn plasma markets, surrogacy laws, and repugnant exchanges into gripping intellectual terrain. Whether you're crafting a punchy podcast tweet or mapping a kidney exchange chain from Denmark to the U.S., your work demands rigor, nuance, and clarity—and you expect nothing less from those around you.

Catchphrase? “Where others flinch, I footnote.”

Hiring Announcement: University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law

From a recent email message:

The University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law (UNH Law), a national leader in practical legal education with a commitment to inclusion, diversity, and quality engagement for all, seeks to hire an Assistant Clinical Professor to serve as Director Legal Residency Program.

The legal residency program is a foundation of the practical legal training at UNH Law. The program allows students to apply classroom knowledge in a real-world legal setting by working under the supervision of attorneys or other professionals. Through this experience, students build skills, characteristics, and competencies essential to success.

The Director is a full-time member of the law faculty who participates in faculty governance. The position demands administrative and communication skills necessary to run and promote a program that involves numerous constituents, including alumni, students, judges, lawyers, and other professional practitioners.

Job Duties/Responsibilities:

• Developing and maintaining high quality legal residency field placements meeting the needs of a diverse student population.
• Creating curriculum for and teaching a companion legal residency course in compliance with ABA Standard 304.
• Communicating with and advising students about legal residency placements.
• Assisting students in securing legal residency placements in all types of legal practice.
• Mentoring students during their legal residencies as they develop professional identities and lawyering skills.
• Cultivating and managing relationships with existing and potential legal residency placements and supervisors including regular communications with the bar and bench.

Applications received by May 16, 2025 will be provided priority review.

Applications should be submitted directly at this link, which also contains a complete description of the position: https://usnh.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Careers/details/Assistant-Clinical-Professor-of-Law-and-Director-of-the-Legal-Residency-Program_JR2202-1?locations=1ec6efc497931001170554505e2d0000

de Lazari-Radek and Singer on Daniel Kahneman

Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek and Peter Singer have a guest opinion piece in Monday's New York Times, "There’s a Lesson to Learn From Daniel Kahneman’s Death:"

On March 19, 2024, we emailed the psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, inviting him to appear on our podcast, “Lives Well Lived,” and suggesting a date in May. He replied promptly, saying that he would not be available then because he was on his way to Switzerland, where, despite being relatively healthy at 90, he planned to die by assisted suicide on March 27.

. . .

Professor Kahneman signaled concern that if he did not end his life when he was clearly mentally competent, he could lose control over the remainder of it and live and die with needless “miseries and indignities.” One lesson to learn from his death is that if we are to live well to the end, we need to be able to freely discuss when a life is complete, without shame or taboo. Such a discussion may help people to know what they really want. We may regret their decisions, but we should respect their choices and allow them to end their lives with dignity.

Other articles about Kahneman's death and decision to travel to Switzerland to avail himself of medical aid in dying are here (WSJ), here (NY Times), and here (Al Roth's blog). As many of these pieces note, Kahneman's death has reignited a debate about medical aid in dying. Although some US states permit assisted suicide, those laws require that the person seeking assistance have a terminal illness with a relatively short time left to live, usually six months, and Kahneman would not have met those requirements. 

 

Griffin Stepping Down as Dean of Tulsa Law; Roark to be Interim

Oren Griffin is stepping down as dean of Tulsa College of Law effective June 30 and will return to the faculty.   Griffin became dean in 2021.  Marc Roark, associate dean of faculty development, will serve as interim dean.  Roark joined the faculty in 2023 and holds a JD from Loyola New Orleans.