Schedule

Recent Developments in Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation*
Adjunct Professor Michael Simon

This CLE includes a review of the amendments to the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation law and their anticipated effect on claimants and employers, a discussion of recent Commonwealth Court cases, as well as practice pointers with respect to representing clients before the Referees and Unemployment Compensation Board of Review.

The Unsettled Nature of Late-Term Contracting*
Chancellor John E. Murray, Jr.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently stated that the traditional chronology of contract formation has become "unsettled" due to considerable case law concerning the effect of "later terms." Terms that are delivered with goods or after their delivery have been treated differently by different courts. Where terms appear for the first time after the goods are delivered, some courts view such terms as totally unenforceable since the contract has already been formed. Other courts may treat such terms as parts of "confirmations" that are to be treated as parts of the contract between merchants unless they materially alter the terms of the buyer's offer. The most radical departure is sometimes called the "rolling" or "layered" contract theory under which no contract is formed by the original purchase and sale of the goods where the terms appear inside the box containing the product. Such terms may indicate that, unless the buyer objects, the terms will be binding unless the buyer objects within the time stated in the document. Thus, the buyer's silence will constitute an acceptance of the terms and form the contract for the first time. Some courts follow that theory while others reject it. These and related concerns about "terms later" contracting will be analyzed in this CLE presentation.

The Honorable Lawyer: the 1911 Bar Exam Revisited**
Professor Mark Yochum

What does it mean to be an honorable lawyer? This seminar will explore the changing nature of our perception as a profession of what is required to be the best of lawyers. We will review the Pennsylvania Bar Examination of 1911 to reveal the mutation over the last century of the Bar's attitude toward the social, educational, moral and philosophical background thought necessary for the successful and elevated practice of law. While no test is fun, you will be able to test yourself (with no downside risk) to see if you could pass the 1911 exam. (Bluebooks will be provided!) We will look at law, literature, logarithms and Latin. Good luck (because we do not think you will pass!)

Advanced Legal Writing CLE Presentations*
9 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Advanced Legal Writing students, working under the guidance of Professor Tara Willke , Visiting Professor Sherri Adelkoff and Adjunct Professor April Milburn-Knizner, will present on the following topics:

1.) Act 13: The Impact on Municipal Zoning Ordinances
A look at Act 13 of 2012: its changes to the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act and its potential impact on local zoning ordinances. This CLE will focus on Chapter 33 of the Act and the constitutional challenge that is currently pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

2.)The Age of Technology: When Social Media and Family Law Collide
An overview of recent caselaw on the discoverability and admissibility of social media. This CLE will focus on how social media sites such as FaceBook and MySpace can have an effect on the outcome of custody and divorce proceedings.

3.) Obesity: Given New "Weight" under the ADAAA
An analysis of the new definition of an "individual with a disability" under the ADAAA, and a discussion of recent court decisions that apply the new standard in the context of obesity.

4.) Generation Rx -- The Debate over Generic Drugs
An analysis of FDA drug regulation and the United States Supreme Court's recent debate in Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. v. Bartlett over whether federal law bars state law defect claims against manufacturers of generic drug companies.

5.) United States v. Windsor: Will DOMA Survive Supreme Court Review?
Just last month, the Supreme Court heard Oral Arguments in United States v. Windsor, the case that has captured the attention of the entire nation. What began as an estate tax dispute brought by a lesbian widow may now be poised to overturn the centerpiece of the controversial Defense of Marriage Act - the definition of "marriage" under federal law. Will DOMA survive Supreme Court review, or will the Court declare it unconstitutional?

6.) Breathless: An Analysis of Commonwealth v. Schildt, its Ramifications, and the Future of Breathalyzer Testing in Pennsylvania
In Commonwealth v. Schildt, the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County recently ruled that the most frequently-used breathalyzer in Pennsylvania is scientifically unreliable, resulting in the suspension of breathalyzer testing by state police. This CLE will analyze Schildt, its effect on pre-Schildt DUI convictions, and the future of breathalyzer testing in Pennsylvania.

Bankruptcy: The Short Course***
Bankruptcy: A Lesson in Conflicts and Sex with Clients****
1 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Bankruptcy: The Short Course
This two-hour seminar of rapid-fire bankruptcy law is designed to provide an overview of use to those new to the field. We hope to tell the story of bankruptcy that will enhance your understanding if you choose to delve deeper. The estate, the stay, fraudulent conveyances, preferences discharge, exemptions are all part of the tale.

Bankruptcy: A Lesson in Conflicts and Sex with Clients
Lawyers' work in bankruptcy is constrained not only by the rules of ethics but also by strictures in the Bankruptcy Code. Those that ply the trade say that they are confused as to what their obligations are and the limits to which they might go. Lawyers' confusion may be a product of the same attitudes that they brought to consideration of the matter of sex with clients, also a matter of conflict and undue confusion. Those uninterested in bankruptcy ethics will be interested, as always, in the romantic aspects.

The State of Property Tax Exemptions in Pennsylvania after Mesivta Eitz Chaim of Bobov, Inc. v Pike County*
Dean Nicholas Cafardi 

This presentation will deal with the history of property tax exemptions in Pennsylvania, the HUP case, Act 55, and the definition of "purely public charity." It will also examine the cases leading up to and including Mesivta Eitz Chaim of Bobov, Inc. Pike County and its progeny. Finally, the presentation will deal with some local property tax exemption issues and payments in lieu of taxes (pilots).