Law

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand will be the keynote speaker at this year's University at Buffalo Law School commencement ceremony at 3 p.m. May 21 in the Center for the Arts on UB's North Campus.

University at Buffalo Law School Professor Charles Patrick Ewing has added to his series of critically acclaimed books on some of the most unsavory but attention-grabbing aspects of the law, this time with a book questioning the legal logic and effectiveness of the country's increasingly harsh sex offense laws.

Pick a decade, any decade. From secretaries in miniskirts in the "Mad Men"-style '60s and Southwest Airlines' "hostesses" in hot pants in the "liberated" '70s, to the present-day surge of provocatively dressed young female service workers -- the ubiquitous "Hooter Girl," for example -- University at Buffalo Law Professor Dianne Avery has a name for it all: "The Great American Makeover: "The Sexing Up and Dumbing Down of Women's Work."

The immediate past secretary general of the influential human rights organization Amnesty International will teach two specialized seminars in human rights this spring at the University at Buffalo Law School.

A University at Buffalo Law School alumnus with roots in Western New York and a deep involvement in the school's continuing improvement will be honored in January with the Law School's most prestigious award.

A University at Buffalo Law School professor with a special interest in the legal system and culture of Thailand will receive the honorary degree of doctor of laws from one of that nation's major universities.

Police work is one of the most stressful jobs in society, but little is known about the effects of this stress on an officer's long-term health. John Violanti, PhD, professor of social and preventive medicine in the University at Buffalo's School of Public Health and Health Professions, hopes to fill this information void through a five-year $2.7 million grant from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The University at Buffalo Law School is the only law school in the state to register a higher pass rate among first-time candidates taking the July bar exam, advancing its pass rate to 83 percent, 2 percent higher than the previous year.

Winnifred F. Sullivan, professor and director of the Law, Religion and Culture Program in the University at Buffalo Law School, is one of four national scholars to receive a grant from the Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion and International Affairs for a new project entitled "Politics of Religious Freedom."

University at Buffalo Law School Dean Makau W. Mutua has been chosen by Attorney General-elect Eric T. Schneiderman for his transition committee to help recruit top legal talent to join the attorney general's staff and to provide policy recommendations to improve the lives of New Yorkers.