Nick Schroeck and Stephanie Karisny (Wayne Law, 2012) wrote an article, "Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Management in the Great Lakes," published recently in the Case Western Reserve Law Review.

Kirsten Carlson is attending the Connect Fulbright Canada Colloquium at the University of California Berkeley on "Issues in Canadian Studies: Views from America" May 8 and 9, and the Early Career Workshop at the Law and Society annual meeting in Boston May 28-June 1.

Nick Schroeck was a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Four Township Water Resources Council'a annual meeting on April 29.  The council is dedicated to protecting water quality in Barry and Prairieville townships in Barry County and Richland and Ross townships in Kalamazoo County. Schroeck spoke on federal, state and local regulations as they pertain to hydraulic fracturing (fracking), including environmental and health risks and protection, as well as issues involving oil and gas leases and contracts.

Christopher Lund was one of three guest panelists during a discussion titled "Public Prayer: Insiders, Outsiders, Pledges and Invocations," on April 15 in South Carolina. The panel discussion was part of the fifth annual Law & Society Symposium sponsored by the Charlestown Law Review of the Charlestown School of Law and the Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership of Furman University, S.C. Keynote speaker was retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Brandon Hofmeister will be the commencement speaker at Frankenmuth High School, his alma mater, on May 31. When he was 18, he gave the valedictorian address at the school.

Brandon Hofmeister is moderating a panel, "The Contribution of Technology to Sustainable Energy," on April 11 at the 2013 J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Conference, titled "Laying the Foundation for a Sustainable Energy Future: Legal and Policy Challenges," being held at George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. The conference is the first in an anticipated series exploring the evolution of U.S. energy networks between now and 2030. Hofmeister's panel addresses "technology's disruptive character, the risks and costs of innovation, and potential rewards."

Eric Zacks recently presented his paper, "Shame, Regret, and Contract Design," at the eighth annual International Conference on Contracts, which was held at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth, Texas. The paper will be published in the Marquette Law Review later this year.

Jocelyn Benson was named as recipient of the NAACP's Great Expectations Award for 2013.

Lance Gable was a co-author and signatory of a recent  amicus brief filed in the case New York Statewide Coalition v. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene supporting the authority of the New York City health department to limit cup sizes for sugar-sweetened beverages and to act incrementally to protect the public's health. The case is currently on appeal from a state court judge's ruling that the ban on large cup sizes exceeded the power of the health department and was arbitrary and capricious.

And on March 22, he spoke about legal and ethical issues related to presumed authorization of organ donation on a panel at the Transplantation Disparities: Controversies and Emerging Prospects, Fourth Annual Kountz/Callender/Drew Transplant Symposium, in Detroit. This symposium is sponsored by Gift of Life and the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program.

Nick Schroeck spoke at the Michigan Energy Public Forum in Detroit on March 25. His public comments (limited to 2 minutes) focused on the environmental justice issues faced in Detroit  -- how the impacts of pollution disproportionately impact the poor and people of color.

Eric Williams was a panel member at the March 29 symposium, "Incubators: Function and Future," at Ohio State University's Moritz School of Law sponsored by Law Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal. On March 27, he delivered a presentation, "Legal Issues for Startups," at D:Hive in Detroit.

Steven Winter is the author of a chapter, "Frame Semantics and the 'Internal Point of View,'" in a just released book, "Law and Language: Current Legal Issues Volume 15," which offers a broad overview of the interaction between law and language and the way they infuence each other. It's the latest volume in the established Current Legal Issues series, which brings together scholars from around the world to explore the interactions between legal thought and other disciplines. Topics include libel, linguistic meaning and truth in language and law, semantics, the power of naming and the role of language in constructing commercial contracts. The book was published in February 2013.

Thomas Helmholdt has been invited to speak April 2 about Wayne Law's Patent Procurement Law Clinic for the Macomb-OU INCubator, a partnership alliance of the city of Sterling Heights, Macomb County and Oakland University to assist new and growing companies. Helmholdt teaches the Wayne Law clinic.

Noah Hall was the opening speaker at Chicago-based DePaul Law Review's 23rd annual symposium on the topic of the Great Lakes, specifically addressing the legal issues and policy concerns relating to freshwater resources.

Nick Schroeck kicked off the opening panel on emerging challenges facing Great Lakes governance at Indiana University's Robert H. McKinney School of Law's sixth annual Spring Environmental Symposium on the topic of Great Lakes Natural Resource Governance held March 1. (Here's a link to a podcast of the symposium, including Schroeck's panel.) Later this month, Schroeck will bring a Great Lakes perspective to the American Bar Association's 42nd Annual Spring Conference hosted by the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. He'll be discussing stormwater management. The conference is March 21-23 in Salt Lake City.

Robert Sedler met at the Law School on Feb. 11 with a delegation of human rights activists from the Ukraine visiting the United States under the State Department International Visitor Leadership Program. The topic of their visit is "The U.S. Experience in Supporting Freedom of Assembly." The session was an interactive one with translators. Sedler discussed freedom of assembly and association under the First Amendment and included in the discussion the comparable provisions of the Ukraine Constitution. This was the latest presentation the professor did for the State Department International Leadership Program. Since 2006, he has hosted at the Law School delegations from Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia, Spain, French-speaking African countries, the Kyrgyz Republic, and a combined delegation from various European countries.

Eric Zacks traveled to Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio, on Jan. 31 to present a draft of his current paper, "Contract Design: Shame, Regret, and Conformity."

Nick Schroeck will speak at 6 p.m. March 14 at the Great Lakes Regional Training Center at Washtenaw Community College about Great Lakes water rights and conservation and the controversial practice of "fracking" to extract oil and gas from wells. The event will be free and open to the public. Schroeck is the executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, and the event is one in a series sponsored by the WCC Faculty Sustainability Literacy Task Force about environmental issues.

Jocelyn Benson was a speaker Jan. 20 during an inaguration brunch hosted by Emily's List in Washington, D. C. Benson, who is interim dean of the Law School and was a candidate for Michigan Secretary of State in 2010, was joined by other speakers at the event including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Benson founded and is president of Military Spouses of Michigan. The group, by invitation, walked in the inaguration parade on Jan. 21.