Professor Lois R. Lupica Gives Presentation on Maine Professional Responsibility Rules

Maine Bar Foundation Professor Lois R. Lupica recently gave a Continuing Legal Education Presentation, together with Attorney Paul Chaiken and other members of the Task Force on Ethics 2000 concerning the work of the Task Force and changes in the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct. Professor Lois R. Lupica has been the Reporter on the revision of the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct (the Maine Bar Rules) for the last four years. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has enacted the revision, which will be effective on August 1, 2009. The revision more closely aligns the Maine Bar Rules with the format and substance of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

Professor Rita Heimes co-authors article on Systems for Sharing Patented Mice in Academic Research

Research Professor and Director of the Center for Law and Innovation Prof. Rita Heimes recently had a short piece she co-authored with David Einhorn of The Jackson Laboratory (of Bar Harbor, Maine), based on empirical research they did two summers ago selected for publication in the journal Nature Biotechnology. It was peer-reviewed by 5 outside reviewers and selected to run in their correspondence section, possibly in September. The article is titled: "Creating a Mouse Academic Research Commons."

Professor Lois R. Lupica appointed Lead Researcher on National Study of the Consumer Bankruptcy System

Maine Law Foundation Professor Lois R. Lupica in early June was appointed Lead Researcher on a multi-year, multi-district study commissioned by the American Bankruptcy Institute designed to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of the 2005 Amendments to the Consumer Bankruptcy Code. Professor Lupica's study will examine thousands of consumer bankruptcy filings from thirty-three judicial districts in an effort to evaluate and analyze the effects of the 2005 Amendments. Anecdotal evidence has supported the conclusion that the bankruptcy system has become far more expensive and unwieldy for consumers and has adversely impacted creditor recoveries. The data gathered in connection with this study will test these hypotheses and provide insights with respect to the effects of the 2005 legislation on the integrity of the consumer bankruptcy system. Results of the Pilot Study, currently underway, will be reported at the ABI Winter Leadership Conference in December 2009. It is expected that the Final Report will be published and presented, to a wide variety of audiences, in 2011.

Prof. Dave Owen and colleagues receive environmental sustainability grant from the National Science Foundation

Associate Prof. Dave Owen is one of the authors of an environmental sustainability grant received by the University of Maine system and USM which was announced in the Portland Press Herald on July 14, 2009. The grant was made by the National Science Foundation and (at $20M) is apparently the largest grant ever received by the University of Maine. The purpose of the broadly-phrased grant is to develop ways to promote environmentally sustainable economic growth. The Portland Press Herald article describes the project as follows: "The funding will pay for new faculty positions, research projects and a variety of academic courses focused on understanding environmental threats and how to make the transition to a more sustainable society. Ultimately, the initiative could help make the transitions to renewable energy, alternative transportation and improved water management."