Three faculty members of the UNM Law School Business and Tax program traveled nationwide recently to share their expertise and participate in panels – from the UC Hastings College of the Law to the Louisiana State University Law Center and the Georgia State University School of Law.

Professor Alex Ritchie

Professor Alex Ritchie presented a paper at the 62nd Annual Louisiana Mineral Law Institute, at theLouisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center on March 19-20, 2015. He discussed the interplay between state and local government regulation in Louisiana, by comparing Louisiana home rule and zoning legal structures to those in other states with a focus on preemption in the oil and gas context. The talk examined in particular the legal implications of recent efforts by a Louisiana parish and a Texas city to stop fracking in their communities.

The Louisiana Mineral Law Institute is an annual two-day program held at the LSU Law Center with the goal of promoting an understanding of the mineral law of Louisiana and neighboring states,and to facilitate the development of the law through educational activities. More than 300 lawyers, landmen, and oil and gas industry executives attended the program from several states.

Professor Kevin Tu

Professor Kevin Tu presented at a 200-person conference entitled Regulating the Disruption Economy: Tech Startups as Regulatory Reformers, sponsored by the Hastings Business Law Journal, Hastings Science & Technology Law Journal, and The Institute for Innovation Law at UC Hastings College of Law, on March 20, 2015. His presentation was on the new digital currency Bitcoin.

The moderator of the panel was Veronica K. McGregor (Partner, Hogan Lovells LLP). Other panelists included Paul Veradittakit (Vice President, Pantera Capital), Lowell Ness (Partner, Perkins Coie LLP), and Wallace Young (Director, Risk Coordination Unit at Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco). The following link will take you to a full recording of the event (which was also streamed live). There were also a some live tweeting going on from the event (including pictures) using #techreg2015.

Professor Nathalie Martin

Professor Nathalie Martin recently spent a week at the Georgia State University School of Law as its Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute Visiting Scholar. While there, she attended various classes, met with faculty and administration, and gave a faculty colloquium presentation on her most recent research, a paper entitled Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: What We Can Learn from the Banking and Credit Habits of Undocumented Immigrants, which can be found here.

Martin has recently spoken on related topics at the Southwestern School of Law and at a symposium at the University of Arizona, honoring the late Jean Braucher, a close personal and professional friend.