Slaves for Rent: Sexual Harassment in Housing as Involuntary Servitude

Recognizing the various shortcomings of the FHA when applied in the context of post-acquisition harassment in general, and sexual harassment in particular, this Article explores an alternative vehicle for victims of such abuse: the Thirteenth Amendment. Ratified in 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment provided a formal legal end to African chattel slavery across the United States. But the Thirteenth Amendment has legal importance beyond the abolition of slavery. The Amendment was and remains both a powerful liberating force and a guarantor of fundamental rights for all Americans. In particular, the text of the Thirteenth Amendment extends its reach beyond slavery to explicitly prohibit all forms of involuntary servitude, regardless of the victim\u27s race, gender, or socio-economic background. The true breadth of the Amendment makes it an important tool in the eradication of modern forms of involuntary servitude-including the abusive and sexually coercive relationships that can be created between landlords and their poor, marginalized victims.Section II begins the analysis by defining what constitutes sexual harassment in the housing context and attempting to quantify the problem using measurements based on empirical studies, governmental and housing advocacy data, and investigative journalism. Section III briefly outlines the traditional vehicle for bringing claims of residential sexual harassment in federal court, the FHA, as well as its potential shortcomings and limitations in this context- including the argument gaining traction with some federal courts that the FHA has no application whatsoever to claims of post-acquisition harassment. Against that backdrop, Section IV explores the possible applicability of the Thirteenth Amendment to claims of sexual harassment in housing. In particular, Section IV calls for a broad but textually accurate reading of the Thirteenth Amendment to trigger the full extent of the Amendment\u27s protections. Through the lens of the Thirteenth Amendment, sexual harassment of low-income, vulnerable women can reasonably be viewed as involuntary servitude

Infusing Leadership Competencies into 1L Professional Identity Formation

Law schools across the country are beginning to address the growing need to incorporate leadership training into their curricula; however, very few explicitly cover leadership in the 1L year. This article argues for the value of providing leadership training to 1Ls as part of a required course on professional identity formation. Because foundational leadership concepts overlap in meaningful ways with core lawyering competencies, such integration is both practical and efficient. Beginning leadership in the 1L year allows law schools to build on that foundational material in later clinics, externships, upper-level classes, and other experiences, creating deeper leadership skills in their students. In addition, providing 1Ls with competency-focused leadership training can also provide a number of benefits to both students and the institution, including helping students improve their academic performance in their first year and reframing their experience to emphasize the development of skills that will help them interview most effectively for the jobs they want. In addition, leadership training can help 1Ls better process and deal with the normal challenges and pressures of law school that create mental health problems for many students. In fact, emphasizing those related benefits of 1L leadership training—specifically, helping students improve their grades and more effectively identify careers that are a good fit for them—may be the strongest selling points of such a program to many students

Slaves for Rent: Sexual Harassment in Housing as Involuntary Servitude

Recognizing the various shortcomings of the FHA when applied in the context of post-acquisition harassment in general, and sexual harassment in particular, this Article explores an alternative vehicle for victims of such abuse: the Thirteenth Amendment. Ratified in 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment provided a formal legal end to African chattel slavery across the United States. But the Thirteenth Amendment has legal importance beyond the abolition of slavery. The Amendment was and remains both a powerful liberating force and a guarantor of fundamental rights for all Americans. In particular, the text of the Thirteenth Amendment extends its reach beyond slavery to explicitly prohibit all forms of involuntary servitude, regardless of the victim\u27s race, gender, or socio-economic background. The true breadth of the Amendment makes it an important tool in the eradication of modern forms of involuntary servitude-including the abusive and sexually coercive relationships that can be created between landlords and their poor, marginalized victims.Section II begins the analysis by defining what constitutes sexual harassment in the housing context and attempting to quantify the problem using measurements based on empirical studies, governmental and housing advocacy data, and investigative journalism. Section III briefly outlines the traditional vehicle for bringing claims of residential sexual harassment in federal court, the FHA, as well as its potential shortcomings and limitations in this context- including the argument gaining traction with some federal courts that the FHA has no application whatsoever to claims of post-acquisition harassment. Against that backdrop, Section IV explores the possible applicability of the Thirteenth Amendment to claims of sexual harassment in housing. In particular, Section IV calls for a broad but textually accurate reading of the Thirteenth Amendment to trigger the full extent of the Amendment\u27s protections. Through the lens of the Thirteenth Amendment, sexual harassment of low-income, vulnerable women can reasonably be viewed as involuntary servitude

New Beginnings: Texas A&M University School of Law Has the Noble Charge of Being Texas\u27s First Public Law School in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

On the evening of Aug. 12, 2013, the doors to Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in downtown Fort Worth closed for a final time. The following morning, those same doors opened, and Texas A&M University School of Law began operations. During the next week, the school welcomed 250 1Ls to orientation, and fall classes began for all 770 students. For Aggies, this transition in ownership capped a decades-long effort to bring a law school to Texas A&M University. For those of us at the law school, Aug. 13 concluded a busy and challenging year laying the foundation for our transition. More importantly, it marked a historic beginning. With the opening of Texas A&M University School of Law, the state welcomed its first fully accredited public law school in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. This new chapter for the law school, we believe, will result in great benefits for our students, legal employers, and the citizens of Texas

Is the Alien Tort Statute Sacrosanct--Retaining Forum Non Conveniens in Human Rights Litigation

I argue in this article that no reasonable basis exists to justify federal courts refusing to consider forum non conveniens arguments in cases brought under the Alient Tort Statute; in fact, good reasons exist to retain the doctrine in its undiluted form. The purpose and design of forum non conveniens make it sufficiently flexible to be invoked in even the most compelling human rights cases brought in the United States. If applied properly, the doctrine will identify ATS cases that cannot and should not be dismissed to foreign fora; however, if forum non conveniens operates as it should, it also will determine when alleged violations of the law of nations would be addressed more appropriately by the courts of other countries. By identifying such exceptional cases meriting dismissal, the doctrine will help advance a global development of customary international law norms in the area of human rights and will help ensure that U.S. courts do not antagonize international relations unnecessarily. Part II of this article reviews the purpose, history, and development of the ATS and the doctrine of forum non conveniens. Part III analyzes and evaluates the primary arguments raised by those seeking abolition or significant curtailment of the doctrine in ATS cases: (1) the statute\u27s express language and legislative intent make forum non conveniens inapplicable; (2) weighing forum non conveniens considerations would nullify the ATS; and (3) U.S. interests support elimination of forum non conveniens in human rights suits. Because the arguments for abolition do not withstand critical analysis and because the doctrine plays an important and needed role in all disputes-including human rights cases-! ultimately conclude that forum non conveniens should be retained in ATS lawsuits. Part IV proposes a slight modification to the forum non conveniens analysis in human rights lawsuits to account for the frequent existence of significant sovereign interests in those cases. It then analyzes forum non conveniens arguments in a recent suit brought under the ATS by Holocaust survivors and the heirs of Holocaust victims against three Swiss banks to highlight the continued importance of the doctrine and the critical role that sovereign interests play in such an analysis

Teaching and Assessing Active Listening as a Foundational Skill for Lawyers as Leaders, Counselors, Negotiators, and Advocates

Our students will be more effective leaders, counselors, negotiators, and advocates as they deepen their ability to actively listen. As a professional and interpersonal skill linked closely with a lawyer’s success, our students’ ability to listen should demand our attention as legal educators. This attention is worth the effort because studies indicate active listening is not a static ability: we can teach students to be better listeners. But “active listening” is missing from most law schools’ learning outcomes or curricula, or it is only included as an undefined element of effective communication. Consequently, it is a critical lawyering skill that is routinely not being effectively, independently taught and assessed. This article introduces the Active Listening Milestone Rubric for Law Students, which is a stage-development or milestone model in competency-based education. The rubric includes four sub-competencies, which are defined using expertise drawn from listening experts and studies then explained in the context of the practice of law: 1) Active listeners assess and accurately allocate resources necessary to the conversation; 2) active listeners work to create a shared understanding with the speaker by considering both the speaker’s and the listener’s lenses and how they may differ; 3) active listeners work to increase shared understanding with the verbal and nonverbal cues; and 4) active listeners move to a response only after fully exploring and understanding the speaker’s meaning

Is the Alien Tort Statute Sacrosanct--Retaining Forum Non Conveniens in Human Rights Litigation

I argue in this article that no reasonable basis exists to justify federal courts refusing to consider forum non conveniens arguments in cases brought under the Alient Tort Statute; in fact, good reasons exist to retain the doctrine in its undiluted form. The purpose and design of forum non conveniens make it sufficiently flexible to be invoked in even the most compelling human rights cases brought in the United States. If applied properly, the doctrine will identify ATS cases that cannot and should not be dismissed to foreign fora; however, if forum non conveniens operates as it should, it also will determine when alleged violations of the law of nations would be addressed more appropriately by the courts of other countries. By identifying such exceptional cases meriting dismissal, the doctrine will help advance a global development of customary international law norms in the area of human rights and will help ensure that U.S. courts do not antagonize international relations unnecessarily. Part II of this article reviews the purpose, history, and development of the ATS and the doctrine of forum non conveniens. Part III analyzes and evaluates the primary arguments raised by those seeking abolition or significant curtailment of the doctrine in ATS cases: (1) the statute\u27s express language and legislative intent make forum non conveniens inapplicable; (2) weighing forum non conveniens considerations would nullify the ATS; and (3) U.S. interests support elimination of forum non conveniens in human rights suits. Because the arguments for abolition do not withstand critical analysis and because the doctrine plays an important and needed role in all disputes-including human rights cases-! ultimately conclude that forum non conveniens should be retained in ATS lawsuits. Part IV proposes a slight modification to the forum non conveniens analysis in human rights lawsuits to account for the frequent existence of significant sovereign interests in those cases. It then analyzes forum non conveniens arguments in a recent suit brought under the ATS by Holocaust survivors and the heirs of Holocaust victims against three Swiss banks to highlight the continued importance of the doctrine and the critical role that sovereign interests play in such an analysis

New Beginnings: Texas A&M University School of Law Has the Noble Charge of Being Texas\u27s First Public Law School in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

On the evening of Aug. 12, 2013, the doors to Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in downtown Fort Worth closed for a final time. The following morning, those same doors opened, and Texas A&M University School of Law began operations. During the next week, the school welcomed 250 1Ls to orientation, and fall classes began for all 770 students. For Aggies, this transition in ownership capped a decades-long effort to bring a law school to Texas A&M University. For those of us at the law school, Aug. 13 concluded a busy and challenging year laying the foundation for our transition. More importantly, it marked a historic beginning. With the opening of Texas A&M University School of Law, the state welcomed its first fully accredited public law school in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. This new chapter for the law school, we believe, will result in great benefits for our students, legal employers, and the citizens of Texas

Guns on Campus: A Look at the First Year of Concealed Carry at Texas Universities

After years of failed attempts, the Texas Legislature passed campus carry in 2015. Under the new law, effective in 2016 for four-year institutions, public universities must allow the concealed carry of handguns by license holders on their premises. Texas\u27s campus carry law is unique when compared to other states that allow concealed carry on college campuses: each university is given the flexibility to create weapons implementation plans, including the establishment of limited gun-free zones. The first year of campus carry implementation by Texas universities has been relatively quiet, with generally uniform implementation rules established by colleges across the state. However, universities have chosen to exempt out various locations and activities where guns should not be allowed. The flexible Texas law is a model that other states should look to if they are moving towards implementation of campus carry

Infusing Leadership Competencies into 1L Professional Identity Formation

Law schools across the country are beginning to address the growing need to incorporate leadership training into their curricula; however, very few explicitly cover leadership in the 1L year. This article argues for the value of providing leadership training to 1Ls as part of a required course on professional identity formation. Because foundational leadership concepts overlap in meaningful ways with core lawyering competencies, such integration is both practical and efficient. Beginning leadership in the 1L year allows law schools to build on that foundational material in later clinics, externships, upper-level classes, and other experiences, creating deeper leadership skills in their students. In addition, providing 1Ls with competency-focused leadership training can also provide a number of benefits to both students and the institution, including helping students improve their academic performance in their first year and reframing their experience to emphasize the development of skills that will help them interview most effectively for the jobs they want. In addition, leadership training can help 1Ls better process and deal with the normal challenges and pressures of law school that create mental health problems for many students. In fact, emphasizing those related benefits of 1L leadership training—specifically, helping students improve their grades and more effectively identify careers that are a good fit for them—may be the strongest selling points of such a program to many students