Gonzaga Law Faculty Contributing to International Scholarship

In June 2017, four Gonzaga Law faculty members took part in the 2017 International Meeting of the Law and Society Association (LSA) in Mexico City, Mexico. The title and central theme of this year’s meeting was “Walls, Borders, and Bridges: Law and Society in an Inter-Connected World.” The LSA describes itself as an “interdisciplinary scholarly organization committed to social scientific, interpretive, and historical analyses of law across multiple contexts” that “can help us understand that world, what makes it tick, where it has been, and where it is going.”

Professors Megan Ballard, Ann Murphy, Kim Hai Pearson and Mary Pat Treuthart joined 2,500 other academic colleagues from across the globe in the field of law and other academic disciplines including sociology, anthropology, and history. Professor Pearson commented that, “This gathering of scholars from around the world allowed us to showcase the important socio- legal writing of our faculty, and facilitated an exchange of ideas that will strengthen Gonzaga’s scholarly contributions.”

Professor Megan Ballard spoke about the United States’ responsibility for the integration of refugees in, “Bridging the Integration Gap: A Practical Proposal for Teaching Refugees about U.S.” As part of the meeting’s session entitled “Rights, Politics, and Protection: Global Forced Displacement,” Professor Ballard maintained her position that the U.S. refugee resettlement program’s emphasis on rapid employment may undermine the refugees’ efforts to integrate successfully intro American society. Ballard’s work will be available soon in the University of Pennsylvania’s Journal of International Law. 39 U. PA. J. Int’l Law __ (2017).

Professor Ann Murphy presented a feminist interpretive re-written tax opinion with Professor Francine Lipman, the William S. Boyd Professor of Law at the UNLV Boyd School of Law.   Murphy’s work will appear as a chapter in Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Tax Opinions a forthcoming volume from the Cambridge University Press. Rewritten Opinion in Lucas v. Earl in Feminist Judgments:  Rewritten Tax Opinions, Bridget J. Crawford & Anthony C. Infanti eds., forthcoming 2017, Cambridge University Press.

Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development and Associate Law Professor Kim Hai Pearson participated in a roundtable discussion about LGBTQ divorce. The roundtable’s participants, including Professor Pearson, were drawn from the roster of authors who had contributed chapters to Child Custody Issues in the Context of LGBTQ Divorce and Relationship Dissolution, in LGBTQ Divorce and Relationship Dissolution: Psychological and Legal Perspectives and Implications for Practice, a forthcoming volume from the Oxford University Press. Her participation in the book and roundtable builds on her scholarship about inequality and intersectionality and is an organic outgrowth of experience in practice along with studies in critical race studies, queer theory, popular culture, and legal studies.

Professor Mary Pat Treuthart spoke about “The Best Places on Earth to be Female? Factoring Violence against Women into the Equation,” during the meeting’s session titled “Beyond Violence: A Look Into Gender Violence and Equality.” Professor Treuthart’s presentation continued her long-standing academic study of global gender equality as well as her long-standing commitment to advocating for women and gender equality locally, nationally, and internationally.