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Joan Heminway

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Professor Heminway brought nearly 15 years of corporate practice experience to the University of Tennessee College of Law when she joined the faculty in 2000. She practiced transactional business law (working in the areas of public offerings, private placements, mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, and restructurings) in the Boston office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP from 1985 through 2000.

She has served as an expert witness and consultant on business entity and finance and federal and state securities law matters and is a frequent academic and continuing legal education presenter on business law issues. Professor Heminway also has represented pro bono clients on political asylum applications, landlord/tenant appeals, social security/disability cases, and not-for-profit incorporations and related business law issues. Read More

The Mercer University School of Law invites applications from entry-level and pre-tenure lateral candidates (Assistant and Associate rank) for three tenure-track faculty positions to begin in the Fall of 2024. We welcome applications from candidates in all subject matter areas, especially commercial law and legal writing. We also welcome candidates who are truly entry-level, with no prior law teaching experience, but who show significant promise for excellence in teaching and scholarship.   

Founded in 1873, Mercer University School of Law has a long tradition of producing lawyers who are ready to practice and committed to service. The School has earned a reputation as an excellent provider of legal education with an intense focus on student and faculty interaction. With an enrollment of about 375 students, Mercer Law School is one of 12 schools and colleges of Mercer University, which has been listed among the top institutions of higher education in the nation. The School of Law is nationally recognized for its exceptional programs in legal writing, advocacy (moot court and mock trial), public service, and professionalism and ethics. 

The School of Law is located in Macon, Georgia, a city of approximately 156,000. Macon is known for its strong musical heritage (e.g., Otis Redding, Little Richard, the…

Santa Clara University School of Law welcomes applications for three tenure-track positions to begin in the 2024-2025 academic year. Ideal candidates will be creative and committed scholars, exemplary teachers, and engaged colleagues, eager to serve our students and our institution alike. The School of Law has a longstanding commitment to the diversity of its faculty and its student body.  Of the three positions, we seek two who have expertise in the area of Intellectual Property or technology.  In filling these positions, we prefer candidates with experience and demonstrated abilities for teaching and successfully mentoring students from groups underrepresented in the legal profession, first generation students, and those coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.  Whether the applicant has taught for a short time or is a tenured professor, candidates should be prepared to teach at least one California Bar tested course as well as a balance of upper-level elective courses. Candidates also should have a well thought-out research agenda and a demonstrated commitment to producing excellent legal scholarship. Applicants should send a C.V., statement of interest, and representative publications to the Santa Clara University HR Portal HERE.      

The University of Alabama School of Law seeks to fill up to five tenure-track positions for the 2024-25 academic year. Candidates must have outstanding academic credentials, including a J.D. from an accredited law school or an equivalent degree (such as a Ph.D. in a related field). Entry-level candidates should demonstrate potential for strong teaching and scholarship. Qualified applicants in any of the following areas will be considered: civil procedure, criminal law, torts, property, environmental, business (all sub-fields), antitrust, healthcare, intellectual property, legal ethics, evidence, election law, employment/labor, state & local law, and law & economics. We welcome applications from candidates who approach scholarship from a variety of perspectives and methods. The University embraces diversity in its faculty, students, and staff, and we welcome applications from those who would add to the diversity of our academic community.

Salary, benefits, and research support will be nationally competitive. All applications are confidential to the extent permitted by state and federal law. These positions will remain open until filled. Questions should be directed to Benjamin McMichael, Chair of the Faculty Appointments Committee (facappts@law.ua.edu). Interested candidates can apply online at careers.ua.edu/jobs/search/law.

Visit UA’s employment website at careers.ua.edu/home for more information. The University…

Emory’s Center for Transactional Law and Practice has extended the deadline for proposal submissions for the 8th Biennial Conference on the Teaching of Transactional Law and Skills, scheduled for October 6-7, 2023.  Quoting from the email message from Sue Payne, Katherine Koops, and Kelli Pittman:

We know that mid-August is a busy time.  Therefore, by popular demand, we are extending the deadline for submitting a proposal through August 31st.  Submit your proposal here.

We are also extending the deadline for you to nominate a colleague or yourself for the Tina L. Stark Award for Teaching Excellence through August 31st.  Submit your nominations here.

I know many of you have valuable things to offer at this conference, which always is among my favorites.  I have picked up wonderful ideas for my teaching–things I do not hear in other conferences. I hope you will submit a proposal and attend.

POSITION NOTICE

FACULTY POSITIONS
THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE COLLEGE OF LAW

THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE COLLEGE OF LAW invites applications from both entry-level and lateral candidates for up to three full-time, tenure-track faculty positions to begin at the start of the 2024-25 academic year. The College is primarily interested in candidates with scholarly aptitude and experience in one or more of the following curricular areas: criminal law (both substantive and procedural), environmental law (including energy law), and health law. Secondary interests include business law (including bankruptcy, real estate, or secured transactions) and estate planning (including tax-related courses).

All positions require a J.D. or equivalent law degree. Successful applicants should have an impressive academic background. Candidates also must have a strong commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Significant professional experience is desirable.

In furtherance of the University’s and the College’s fundamental commitment to diversity, we strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, veterans, and others whose background, life experiences, viewpoints, or philosophy would contribute to the diversity of our faculty, curriculum, and programs.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is an R1, land-grant university located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The City of Knoxville is a…

Thanks to Ann for her great “So, Ripple” post last week.  I have been waiting for a case like this—one that engages a court in the details of how the Howey test applies to the way different types of  cryptoassets work.  I was especially interested in how the court in the SEC v. Ripple Labs opinion would handle the different ways in which cryptoassets are sold and traded.  Well, now we have an opinion to work with.

I especially appreciate Ann setting the stage so well with the doctrinal legal background of the case.  Well done, friend!  Like Ann, I teach Securities Regulation every year.  Unlike Ann, I am gleeful about teaching definitional content in the federal securities laws, including the definition of the term “security.”  It is amazing how, as financial investment instruments have evolved, significant numbers of practitioners and their clients have paid insufficient attention to the niceties of that definition and the definition of the embedded term “investment contract.”

Like Ann, I am comfortable that a single financial instrument can be a security in some contexts and not in others.  And, like Ann, I have questions about the court’s analysis in Ripple.  Specifically, I…

The University of Tennessee College of Law’s business law journal, Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law, recently published my essay, “The Fiduciary-ness of Business Associations.”  You can find the essay here.  This essay–or parts of it, anyway–has been rattling around in my brain for a bit.   It is nice on a project like this to be able to get the words out on a page and release all that tension building up inside as you fashion your approach.

The abstract for the essay is included below. 

This essay offers a window and perspective on recent fiduciary-related legislative developments in business entity law and identifies and reflects in limited part on related professional responsibility questions impacting lawyers advising business entities and their equity owners. In addition—and perhaps more pointedly—the essay offers commentary on legal change and the legislative process for state law business associations amendments in and outside the realm of fiduciary duties. To accomplish these purposes, the essay first provides a short description of the position of fiduciary duties in U.S. statutory business entity law and offers a brief account of 21st century business entity legislation that weakens the historically central role of fiduciary duties in unincorporated…

Earlier tonight, I had the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to–in some small way–let a teacher-mentor know how much she means to me and has meant to my career.  Specifically, I had the privilege of presenting an award to the amazing woman who taught me in the foundational law courses that I have needed most in my careers as a practitioner and an instructor.  That amazing woman is NYU’s Professor Helen Scott.  The award was a surprise, making things all the more fun.

I know some BLPB readers also are Helen’s former students.  Others are fans of hers for other reasons.  For all, I am copying in below the tribute I offered in conveying the award to Helen at the 2023 Impact Investment Legal Working Group & Grunin Center Annual Conference hosted at my alma mater, NYU Law.  Feel free to add your tributes in the comments.  I promise to pass them on.

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Commitment; sustained commitment.

Sometimes, there is someone who impacts your life deeply by merely “being there” in important ways at key times. Helen Scott is one of those people in my life. I do…

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Each year on and around Memorial Day, in addition to all the promotional sales that hit my email in box and text messaging apps, I read many grateful testimonials to those whose lives were lost in national military service.  The personal reflections are touching and inspire in me both sorrow for the loss and pride in the United States of America.  As many before me have said, there is no greater sacrifice for one’s country.

Although family members alive during my lifetime have served in the armed services, none of those family members died in the line of service.  I have been lucky to not suffer that kind of loss.  It would be heartbreaking.

Today, my brother (who researches our family history) asked his Facebook friends–me included–to honor “all of those who have lost their lives in the struggle for freedom.”  That request followed a brief recitation of the story of one of our family members who lost his life as a civilian working in what became enemy territory in World War II.  Here is what my brother wrote:

1st cousin 1 generation removed Donald MacLeod Williams (14 May 1921, San Francisco, California – 9 Mar 1943, Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan)…

Set forth below are key portions of the posting for The University of Tennessee College of Law’s new Clinical Teaching Fellowship.  Applications are solicited for either our advocacy or transactional law clinic. The full announcement, including instructions on how to apply, can be found here. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.  However, preference will be given to applications received before May 1, 2023. For questions, please contact Director of Clinical Programs Joy Radice at jradice@utk.edu. 

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The University of Tennessee College of Law is accepting applications for our new Clinical Teaching Fellowship to begin in the summer of 2023.  This two-year fellowship will prepare talented lawyers and aspiring clinicians with at least 2 years of practice experience to become full-time clinical faculty at U.S law schools.  The Clinical Teaching Fellow will work alongside and learn from current full-time clinical faculty who teach in the College of Law’s Legal Clinic.  The Clinical Teaching Fellow will be immersed in all aspects of clinical teaching from learning clinical pedagogy to supervising law students on their casework.  The UT Law Clinical Teaching Fellow will also develop a research agenda and…