2010-2011 Business and Transactional Law Center Speakers and Events

2010-2011 Upcoming Events

All programs are at noon in Room 102 unless indicated.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Big Business Real Estate Development: Solving the Toughest Problems with Design, Implementation and Financing

Photograph: David Fenley.David Fenley of Husch Blackwell LLP in Kansas City, Missouri, will give a Lunch & Learn presentation at noon in Room 102. This program is sponsored by the Real Estate Law Society.

Fenley is the co-chairman of Husch Blackwell. He is a leading business and civic participant in commercial real estate development and economic development strategies in the Kansas City area. During Fenley's 25 years of experience in commercial real estate development and financing incentives, he has guided developers, lending institutions and governmental agencies in the design, implementation and financing of many of Kansas City's high-profile private/public partnerships for urban core development and redevelopment.

Mr. Fenley is a 1979 graduate of Washburn Law. He has been a Missouri CPA since 1980 and is also an expert in negotiating financing structures that combine state and local tax incentive programs such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) with private sector financing. He was named Partner in Husch Blackwell in 1985, chairman in 2000, and assumed the role of co-chairman in 2008.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Current Federal and Kansas Developments Affecting Real Estate (with a comment about estate planning)

Photograph: Bill Prugh.William Prugh of Polsinelli Shughart, Kansas City, Missouri, will give a Lunch & Learn presentation at noon in Room 102. This program is sponsored by the Real Estate Law Society.

Prugh is a Shareholder in the Firm and represents clients in federal and state courts and before state administrative agencies in federal, state and local income, sales and use, property, and excise tax matters. He has advised clients concerning tax planning to reduce, avoid or minimize tax liabilities and handled tax controversies.

A recent case involved representation of a client that was assessed back taxes by a state Department of Revenue. The taxpayer claimed that it did not have sufficient nexus or physical presence in the state to require it to collect and remit sales and use taxes. The matter was ultimately settled without the payment of additional taxes by the client for prior years.

Mr. Prugh's biography, memberships and affiliations are available on the Polsinelli Shughart PC website.

Friday, October 1, 2010

The Dodd-Frank Financial Protection Act and Its Impact on Community Banks

Photograph: Roger McEowen.Professor Roger McEowen will give a Lunch & Learn presentation at noon in Room 102. This program is sponsored by the Real Estate Law Society.

Professor McEowen is the Leonard Dolezal Professor in Agricultural Law at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where he is also the Director of the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation. He is a Visiting Professor at Washburn Law during the fall 2010 semester, teaching Real Estate Transactions.

At Iowa State, Professor McEowen develops and conducts an educational program in agricultural law and policy and is responsible for developing the curriculum and instructional program for the Iowa Farm Income Tax Schools. He has published scholarly articles in numerous law journals and is the lead author of a 1,300-page textbook/casebook on agricultural law. In 2003, Professor McEowen was named the recipient of the American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) Distinguished Service Award. He is also the recipient of the AALA’s award of excellence for professional scholarship. In 2006, Professor McEowen was named the President-Elect of the AALA.

Professor McEowen received a B.S. with distinction from Purdue University in Management in 1986, an M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University in 1990, and a J.D. from the Drake University School of Law in 1991.

Learn more about Professor McEowen.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Eminent Domain for Private Gain

Photograph: John Hamilton.John R. Hamilton, '65, will give a Lunch & Learn presentation at noon in Room 102. This program is sponsored by the Real Estate Law Society.

John R. Hamilton, is a member of Hamilton, Laughlin, Barker, Johnson & Watson. He received his Juris Doctorate in 1965 from the Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, Kansas. He graduated from Union University in 1962 with a B.S. degree in Economics and Business Administration. John authored "Eminent Domain- Practice and Procedure," chapter, Kansas Real Estate Practice and Procedure Handbook, Kansas Bar Association, 2009, and co-authored the Kansas Chapter "Law and Procedure of Eminent Domain in the 50 States," Condemnation Land Use and Zoning Committee, Litigation Section, American Bar Association (2009). Currently he is a member of the Topeka, Kansas, and American Bar Associations, Owners Counsel of America and American Board of Trial Advocates. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America under the field of Eminent Domain and as a member of Super Lawyers in Kansas and Missouri in the field of Eminent Domain. His practice areas include Eminent Domain, Condemnation, and Trial Practice.

Learn more about John R. Hamilton.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Business Law Wine and Cheese Social

Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center • 5:00–7:00 p.m.
Sign up on TWEN under "Business Law Society" by Tuesday, September 14.

Student organizations affiliated with the Business and Transactional Law Center are hosting a wine and cheese social event for all Washburn Law students to learn more about:

Officers and members from the host organizations will be available to discuss scholarship opportunities, fieldtrips, membership, and events.

All law students are invited to attend.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Art and Science of Drafting Property Conveyances

Professor David Pierce will give a Lunch & Learn presentation at noon in Room 102. This program is sponsored by the Real Estate Law Society.

Professor Pierce teaches drafting skills in many of his classes and has specifically designed this presentation to introduce students to the "art and science" of drafting. He will show students "how the law you are learning is put to work to make it do the things that accomplish your client's goals." This presentation will be of interest to any student who desires to develop their legal drafting skills. It will also be valuable to students currently taking Property since Professor Pierce's presentation illustrates how basic property law principles are put into practice through the drafting process.

Professor Pierce is a 1977 graduate from Washburn University School of Law. He received his LL.M. (Energy Law) in 1983 from the University of Utah College of Law. He has engaged in the solo practice of law in Neodesha, Kansas, and with medium and large firms in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Kansas City, Missouri. He has also worked as in-house corporate counsel for Shell Oil Company in Houston, Texas and as a city attorney. Professor Pierce has been teaching in the areas of Contracts, Property, Business Associations, Environmental Law, Energy Law, and Oil and Gas Law since he entered teaching in 1984. He joined the Washburn faculty in 1989.

Learn more about Professor Pierce.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Preparing for Business Practice: Classes, Clients and Conflicts

Photograph: Paul Hoferer.Paul Hoferer, '75, will give a Lunch & Learn presentation at noon in Room 102.

Hoferer, Topeka, is of counsel with Lathrop & Gage, where he specializes in railroad litigation. He is the 2009 School of Law Alumni Fellow.

His legal career began in 1975 when he joined the Santa Fe Railway law department in Topeka. In 1989, he was promoted to general attorney for Kansas and then in 1994, was promoted to assistant general counsel. Hoferer was named assistant vice president-claims and litigation counsel following the merger of Burlington Northern Railroad and The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. in 1995. In 2000, he was promoted to general counsel and then served since 2002 as vice president and general counsel. In addition to supervising in-house counsel and the general claims department, Hoferer was responsible for nearly 3,000 lawsuits handled by more than 100 law firms throughout the United States and Canada. He retired in 2008 after 43 years of service, including 33 years in the law department.

He served 2002-2003 as president of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel. In 2005, he testified as railroad industry spokesperson before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee concerning asbestos legislation. A member of the Association of American Railroads, he served 2007-2008 as chairman of the Public Safety Working Group; 2006-2007 as chairman of the Punitive Damages Working Group; 1997-1998 as chairman of the AAR General Claims Conference; and he has served since 1979 as an AAR Claim Agents School Instructor.

Hoferer was honored in 2006 with the Recognition of Excellence Award from the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel. In 2000, he received the Paul C. Garrett Award for Meritorious Service to the AAR General Claims Conference. He serves on the Washburn University School of Law board of governors and with his wife, Jeanne (Smith) Hoferer, bba '80, is a member of the Lincoln Society.