Jan. 11, 2024

Dean Sperino Cited in Eleventh Circuit Opinion

Associate Dean Sandra Sperino’s article, Rethinking Discrimination Law, 110 Mich. L. Rev. 69 (2011), was cited in a concurring opinion by Judge Newsom of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The case is Tynes v. Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, 88 4th 939 (2023). Judge Newsom advocates for the abolition of the McDonnell Douglas test, a burden-shifting framework courts use to analyze discrimination claims. Professor Sperino is an expert in McDonnell Douglas, writing numerous articles and a book on the topic. 

Jan. 3, 2024

Prof. Andrea Boyack writes in Bloomberg Law about her forthcoming publication

In a newly published piece in Bloomberg Law, Mizzou Law’s Andrea Boyack suggests a new framework for consumer contracts that prioritizes consumers’ agency over a blind agreement to a company’s boilerplate terms. “Companies have long claimed that their online boilerplates must be afforded contractual status, or else the world of commerce would be thrown into chaos. This is absurd. In the context of business-to-business transactions, the law rejects the need to adopt one party’s standard form as the parties’ contract.” To read the full piece, visit: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/consumer-contracts-must-be-based-on-real-agreement-not-clicks

Dec. 6, 2023

Dean Sperino Quoted in Bloomberg Law

Sandra Sperino, associate dean and Elwood L. Thomas Endowed Professor of Law, was quoted in Bloomberg Law about oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court on a work discrimination case. Narrowing the issue leaves out biased employer decisions on topics like when and where employees work, which job functions they’re required to perform, and discipline that doesn’t immediately result in docked pay or other serious consequences, said Sandra Sperino, a discrimination law professor at the University of Missouri. But it also eliminates the need for the justices to define what’s the most minimal conduct that would cross the…

Nov. 27, 2023

MU law professor pushes to redefine modern contracts, advocate for consumer protections

By Courtney Perrett, Show Me Mizzou Whether you’re subscribing to a dating app, getting a gym membership, visiting a website or purchasing a product, you’re probably entering into a consumer contract. As widely used as these agreements are, people rarely read, understand, or know the content of them. Although there are some government regulations, contract law generally treats online “terms as conditions” to be binding contracts for people who agree to buy, subscribe, borrower, join, or download. In her forthcoming article, The Shape of Consumer Contracts, Andrea Boyack, the Floyd R. Gibson Endowed Professor of Law, says that people’s…

Nov. 17, 2023

Mizzou Law Professors Quoted in ABA Journal

Mizzou Law professors Ben Trachtenberg and Richard Reuben were recently quoted in an ABA Journal article covering a recently disbarred Missouri attorney. Their quotes address ethical and legal questions surrounding the case of an attorney who broke local statute by remaining on a city council while no longer living within that municipality. “Not every lie is going to get a lawyer in trouble. There’s ordinary dishonesty, like telling your children there’s a Santa Claus, and then there’s deeper deceit, such as defrauding the public. That kind of deceit can get you in trouble even when you are acting…

Nov. 15, 2023

Professor David English Named to the Estate Planning Hall of Fame

David English, the William F. Fratcher Missouri Endowed Professor and the Edward L. Jenkins Professor of Law at Mizzou Law, was named to the Estate Planning Hall of Fame in a special ceremony on Nov. 14. Professor English is one of only seven estate planning professionals to receive this prestigious award in 2023, which is given annually in recognition of lifetime achievement and outstanding contributions to the practice and profession of estate planning within the professional disciplines of academia, accounting, insurance and financial planning, law, philanthropy, and trust services. The Estate Planning Hall of Fame is hosted by the…

Oct. 4, 2023

Professor Boyack Publishes Casebook on Real Estate Transactions

Professor Andrea Boyack joins with Professors Jim Kelly (Notre Dame), Robin Paul Malloy (Syracuse) and Jim Smith (Georgia) in authoring the 6th edition of one of the nation’s most popular real estate law casebooks: Real Estate Transactions: Problems, Cases and Materials (Aspen 2023). This casebook is concise and user friendly, providing students with the tools necessary to understand real estate transactions in a real-world market setting. It covers many real property and contract law materials tested on the Bar Exam and includes multiple practice applications in every chapter provide bridge to “real world” law practice and preparation for assessments…

Sep. 26, 2023

Professors Renee Henson and Andrea Boyack present new papers

Renee Henson, visiting assistant professor of law at Mizzou Law, presented her new paper on AI law at the Central States Law Schools Association Conference at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Her paper, “I am Become Death, The Destroyer of Worlds”: Applying Strict Liability to Artificial Intelligence as an Abnormally Dangerous Activity” is forthcoming in the Temple Law Review. Professor Andrea Boyack presented her in-progress article, “Public Eviction Defenders: Framing Tenants’ Right to Counsel,” which examines…

Sep. 19, 2023

Professor Lambert Discusses Google Antitrust Case in The Dispatch

Thom Lambert, professor of law and Wall Chair in Corporate Law and Goverance at Mizzou Law, published an article in The Dispatch discussing the recent Google antitrust case. The article describes the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Google over payments it makes to ensure that Google Search is the default search engine on web browsers, Apple iPhones and iPads, and Android products. Professor Lambert explains that the government faces significant challenges on three matters and ultimately has a “tough row to hoe.” To read Professor Lambert’s full piece, click here.

Aug. 30, 2023

Prof. Lietzan named to Best Lawyers List

For the 10th straight year, Erika Lietzan, William H. Pittman Professor of Law & Timothy J. Heinsz Professor of Law at Mizzou Law, was named a Best Lawyer in FDA Law and for the 16th straight year as a Best Lawyer in Biotechnology & Life Sciences Law for 2024.