Space City Houston

Attend this fast-paced, 45-minute Tech Tip session where you’ll discover a variety of essential technology tools and websites that can enhance your efficiency and effectiveness in the legal field. We’ll also explore resources to streamline your daily workflow. Whether you’re navigating legal databases, or staying updated on industry trends and laws, this seminar will provide you with actionable tips to stay ahead in the ever-evolving legal landscape.

Examples:

• Accessing articles beyond the paywall
• Reviewing revisions on Google Scholar
• Using ChatGPT for short announcements
• Aligning objects in PPT slides
• Accessing Global Investigative Journalism Network
• Finding information via international financial institutions

Barbara Fullerton has been in the information professional field for almost 30 years, with experience in vendor relations, and corporate and law libraries. She is currently a Supervisor for the Research Services team at Dentons law firm. She has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications, a paralegal certificate, and an MLIS from Emporia State University in Kansas. She has been in the Dallas, Texas area for over 20 years, and is an active member in AALL and other regional librarian and information professional organizations. She has been a regular speaker in the information industry, including AALL and SLA meetings, AIIP, regional meetings, Internet Librarian, Computers in Libraries, SCIP, Texas Library Association and regional paralegal associations. Her speaking and writing topics include gadgets, websites, mobile apps, privacy issues, data mining, and cybertheft.

To some of us, AI seems like a mysterious black hole deep in space. How does the system find the answer to your question? How do we know if the answer is relevant or accurate? In this 45 minute discussion, find out about the latest AI legislation during the past year. Also, go behind the scenes with a fellow law librarian to the world of regulatory and compliance software and find out about her firsthand experience in the development of an AI Assistant.

Debra Jobes is a graduate of the Syracuse University iSchool with a MLIS / Database Management Certification. She is also a member of AALL and local chapter, Houston Area Law Librarians (HALL), where she has served as Member-at-Large and Treasurer since 2019. With past experience as a Legal Assistant and Paralegal, Debra has worked as a Law Librarian in the Legal Research department of Regology for the past 3 years. She is responsible for curating topical law libraries within various industries and tracking current legislation using causal citations. Working with customers to develop a “smart library”, Debra also ensures the correct metadata flows into each unique environment within the database. She has also worked closely with the engineering team to develop an AI Assistant by providing feedback and analysis of legal questions. Among the many responsibilities of a law librarian, education and training are also important to this position. As a former certified educator, Debra supports the marketing and product department by assisting with demos and providing customer user training. 

Presenting online is now a normal part of our work experience in academia, whether as recorded videos or livestreams. Many of the “best practices” or tips & tricks for improving the quality of the video experience apply to both recorded and “live” presentations – good lighting, camera deployment, mic/audio, readability of text on slides, use of AI images, and “chunking” of topics or information to avoid exhausting the viewers or participants.  I will discuss low-budget ways to improve the visual and audio experience for the audience, keep their attention, and boost engagement. 

Check out his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@professorstevenson 

Videos for Professional Responsibility, Administrative Law, Statutory Interpretation & Regulation (Leg-Reg), & Law & Economics. Use the playlists – the playlists sort the videos by course & subject.

This workshop will explore the impact of intentional inclusive leadership within the legal profession. The dialogue will provide practical tools for recognizing and interrupting biases in everyday practice. Through an interactive session, participants will gain a deeper understanding of their responsibility to build cultural competency within a team, and how to foster sound decision-making, interpersonal interactions, and productivity by creating a sense of belonging within an organization’s culture. The training will also offer strategies to foster a more equitable environment. Attendees will be equipped with actionable techniques to enhance team productivity, overall accountability, and leadership effectiveness.

Josh is a national thought leader on constitutional law and the U.S. Supreme Court. Josh’s work was quoted during two presidential impeachment trials. He has testified before Congress and advises federal and state lawmakers. Josh regularly appears on TV, including NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, and the BBC. Josh is also a frequent guest on NPR and other syndicated radio programs. He has published commentaries in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and leading national publications.

Since 2012, Josh has served as a professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston where he holds the Centennial Chair of Constitutional Law. Josh has authored three books and has written more than five dozen law review articles that have been cited nearly a thousand times. Josh was selected by Forbes Magazine for the “30 Under 30” in Law and Policy. Josh is the President of the Harlan Institute, and founded FantasySCOTUS, the Internet’s Premier Supreme Court Fantasy League. He blogs at the Volokh Conspiracy and tweets @JoshMBlackman.

Cherie O. Taylor teaches International Business Transactions, Transactional Skills (International Business), World Trading Systems, NAFTA: Trade and Transactions, International Civil Litigation, European Union Law and Civil Procedure. She has published widely in the field of international economic law with an emphasis on regionalism, WTO/GATT law and dispute settlement and U.S. trade policy, in articles which have been published by the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law and the Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business. Professor Taylor serves as the founder/advisor to CURRENTS: International Trade Law Journal at South Texas College of Law Houston. She earned her A.B. at Harvard-Radcliffe and her J.D. at the University of Georgia where she served as a Notes Editor on the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law and was admitted to the Order of the Coif. While in practice Professor Taylor also earned her LL.M at Georgetown University Law Center.

Steven Wood is a U.S. patent attorney and space lawyer. He currently serves as Senior of Counsel with the Vela Wood Law Firm, in Austin, TX, and Senior Director of Neuromorphic Technology Development with the SUNY Albany College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering. Steven focuses his VW legal practice on investment IP due diligence, building client in-house patent filing capabilities using AI patent tools, and IP strategies and transactions. In his SUNY role, Steven coordinates research efforts with the Air Force Research Labs funded NeuroPipes neuromorphic computing research group. Steven has held prior roles as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Albany Law School, a patent examiner at the United States Patent & Trademark Office, and in technology transfer at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Leiden University, and most recently at The Research Foundation for The State University of New York (SUNY) as Associate Director for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Steven also previously held several positions with startup companies, including XCOR Aerospace, and as Co-Founder of ‘trakkies. International BV’, a Dutch Internet of Things startup company incubated at the European Space Agency Business Incubation Center in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Throughout his career, Steven has honed his expertise across space law, patents and IP, including protection and valuation, startups and entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, licensing and other technology-centered partnerships and transactions, Bayh-Dole compliance for inventions supported by federal grants and contracts, such as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) and Other Transaction Authority (OTA) awards.

Michelle L.D. Hanlon, a space lawyer, is the Executive Director of the Air and Space Law Program at the University of Mississippi.  She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Space Law and the Journal of Drone Law and Policy.  Michelle is a Co-Founder, President and CEO of For All Moonkind, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that is the only organization in the world focused on safeguarding cultural heritage in outer space.  She was instrumental in the development and adoption of the One Small Step Act in the United States.  For All Moonkind has been recognized by the United Nations as a Permanent Observer to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and recently launched its Institute on Space Law and Ethics. Michelle is also a founding partner of ABH Space Law and an Advisor at the Beyond Earth Institute and The Hague Institute for Global Justice Off-World Project.  

Kurt G. Hammerle is an intellectual property attorney for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), Office of General Counsel located in Houston, Texas. Mr. Hammerle graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University) in 1988, and he received his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law located at the College of William & Mary in 1991.  As “in-house” counsel for NASA JSC, Mr. Hammerle primarily practices in the area of intellectual property law, including patent preparation and prosecution, patent licensing, and assistance in patent litigation. His other practice areas include advice and counsel on transactions with public and private organizations for technology development and transfer of federally-funded research.  One transactional matter included an agreement between NASA and General Motors to develop jointly a humanoid robotic system known as “Robonaut 2”, recognized as the NASA Government Invention of the Year in 2015. He served as “Of Counsel” in support of the U.S. Department of Justice for the patent infringement case of Ross-Hime Designs v. United States, which was ultimately dismissed on all counts in favor of the United States in November 2020.  From 2015-2022 he has served as the Agency Counsel for NASA’s Inventions & Contributions Board.  He is currently the acting Intellectual Property Counsel as NASA JSC.  He has co-authored two published law articles on the subject of the extra-territorial reach of U.S. patent law on space-related activities.  Mr. Hammerle is affectionately called the “Professor” by his colleagues and friends. In his personal time, he enjoys outdoor activities with his family and friends, including tennis, hiking, off-road cycling, swimming, soccer, and basketball. He also enjoys DIY repair projects at home.   

The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 public and private terminals, collectively known as the Port of Houston, is the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage and home to the largest petrochemical complex in the U.S. The Port of Houston has an economic impact of $802 billion nationally and supports 1.35M jobs in Texas and 3.2M jobs nationwide.

Rebecca Andrews has served as Assistant General Counsel to the Port of Houston Authority, known as Port Houston, since March 2024. Prior to joining Port Houston, Andrews advised port authorities, economic development corporations, and other public agencies and businesses in Texas and on the east and west coasts as a partner at her law firm. In addition to general counsel work, Andrews’ practice focuses on strategic project development and environmental compliance.

Andrews founded and served as president of the Houston Area Municipal Attorneys Association for six years and is the former chair of the Environment and Health Section of the International Municipal Lawyers Association and former editor of the Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter. Andrews is a member of the bar in Texas and California.

This session will explore Houston’s strategic and legal role as a conduit for international legal services and dispute resolution between the U.S. and Latin America, with a spotlight on Mexico’s judiciary reform and its implications for international arbitration.

Houston is the headquarter of many multinational energy, shipping, construction, and finance companies with deep operations in Latin America; Houston has seen the rise of a siu generis bar of bilingual and bicultural arbitrators and counsel based in Houston who work in across the continent; the recent judicial reform in Mexico has placed a spotlight in Houston as a new center for Mexico-related and Mexico-adjacent arbitrations seeking legal predictability and enforceability of arbitral awards under the New York Convention.

This eye-opening presentation will give you an understanding about:

• NASA’s law enforcement arm, the NASA Office of Inspector General, which conducts criminal investigations and audits involving NASA, to include the investigations into stolen and missing moon rocks.
• Operation Lunar Eclipse, the first law enforcement sting operation to recover an Apollo era moon rock.
• Student investigations designed to locate missing moon rocks.
• Missing and stolen moon rocks involving American and foreign politicians and their families.
• Four cases that each present unique legal issues involving moon rocks and counterfeit moon rocks/dust.
  • United States v. One Lucite Ball Containing Lunar Material (One Moon Rock) And One Ten Inch by Fourteen Inch Wooden Plaque – A Forfeiture Case.
  • United States v. Ronald & Brian Trochelmann – A Counterfeit Moon Rock Case
  • United States v. Thad Ryan Roberts, Aka Orb Robinson – A Theft and Conspiracy Case
  • Arthur C. Anderson v. Alaska, Alaskan State Museums, An Agency of the  State – A Civil Case

Joe Gutheinz is a partner in the Gutheinz Law Firm, LLP, where he has practiced law with two of his six sons for the last 15 years. All three, father and sons, are South Texas College of Law graduates and all three are U.S. Army veterans. Joe practiced criminal law for 28 years and has served as a consultant on complex aviation and NASA related cases, such as the Apollo 11 lunar bag case, where his client won legal title to the Apollo 11 lunar bag and moon dust, later selling both at separate auctions for 2 million dollars. Joe is licensed by 10 courts to include the United States Supreme Court. Joe is and has been a Certified Fraud Examiner for 35 years.

Joe has taught for three colleges and one law school, has served on several Boards, to include the Texas Sex Offender Treatment Council, the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, the Texas Criminal Justice Advisory Committee on Medical and Mental Impairments and is presently serving on the South Texas College of Law Alumni Association Board of Directors. 

After serving in the U.S. Army as both an Intelligence Officer and Army Aviator he served as a Special Agent with the FAA Civil Aviation Security Division, the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and as a Senior Special Agent for NASA’s Office of Inspector General, having retired from the latter. During his time at NASA he led 4 task force investigations, one of which resulted in the largest indictment and conviction in NASA history. He arrested the so-called Great Astronaut Impersonator; and he investigated the Russian Space Program and the Russian Mir Space Station fire and collision. For his investigations Joe has earned the NASA Exceptional Service Medal; the NASA Superior Accomplishment Award; the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency Career Achievement Award and a Special Commendation from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Joe is perhaps best known for leading and going under cover in a sting operation called Operation Lunar Eclipse, where, with the help of billionaire H. Ross Perot he recovered the Honduras Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rock, asking price 5 million dollars. Since leaving office he and his students helped locate and recover 78 more.

Business immigration addresses labor shortages, fosters innovation, and attracts substantial capital investments to the U.S. economy. Employment-based visas and investment options, such as the H-1B, L-1, and EB-5 programs, enable companies to hire skilled foreign workers and investors.  However, U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, which aim to reduce immigrant labor, could exacerbate labor shortages, stifle innovation, and decrease capital flow. Sang M. Shin, of Jackson Walker, will discuss how these policies may lead to higher costs for businesses and consumers, and potentially diminish the U.S.’s competitive edge in the global economy.

An experienced business immigration attorney, Sang M. Shin provides creative legal counsel to companies, individuals, investors, and institutions throughout the U.S. and internationally. He has broad experience managing employment-based immigration cases for nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, and immigration planning and compliance programs for entities engaged in a wide range of industries, including energy, engineering, healthcare institutions, construction, financial services and banking, agriculture, architecture, technology, entertainment, food service, hospitality, retail, education, export and import, and other sectors.

Sang frequently works with international companies entering the U.S. market for the first time, helping them navigate the ever-changing U.S. legal landscape. Utilizing his broad network, Sang ensures a seamless market entry for his clients by making sure they are connected within their respective industries and are well-equipped to thrive long-term in the U.S. Sang is Chambers-recognized and named among The Best Lawyers in America (2021-2025) for immigration law and as a Rising Start with Super Lawyers.  

This talk will cover the four pillars of what makes the American oil and gas industry great: plentiful resources, the private ownership of minerals, respect for contract and property law, and access to capital. With Texas as the No. 1 producer of hydrocarbons in the nation, Texas and Houston will sit at center stage.

Evan is responsible for advising her client on international commodity trade and shipping. She provides legal guidance on oil, petroleum products and LNG globally – with a focus on imports and exports in the Americas.

Port Houston is the largest export port in the US and is a leading gateway for international trade. As such, this general discussion will provide insight into the import and export processes and the flow of commodities into and out of Houston (and the Gulf of Mexico). Additionally, the program will discuss the legal regimes that would be applicable, an overview of Incoterms, bills of lading, and charterparty liability (in particular pollution liability).

Agenda:

• General Intro to the Shipping Industry
• Maritime and Shipping Law
• Charter’s Liability

From the end of the Civil War in 1865 into the 20th century, Houston struggled to balance its identity as a growing industrial metropolis with its southern racial mores. Although city leaders assured the US Army that stationing Black troops in Houston to guard construction of Camp Logan would not be an issue, the troops were met with discrimination and police brutality. This tension between progressive ideals and racial animus became a powder keg ready to ignite.

Ms. Zimmermann also is a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, currently serving as the Reserve Chief Defense Counsel of the Marine Corps, responsible for advising the active-duty CDC and training and mentoring all active duty and Reserve defense counsel in the Marine Corps. After receiving her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1992, she served on active duty in various legal positions, including Trial Counsel (prosecutor), Chief of Review, and Chief of Civil Law at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. In addition to her current job as a Reservist, some of her other roles have been appellate military judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, military trial judge, and Reserve Chief Trial Counsel of the Marine Corps.

Heather Kushnerick joined South Texas College of Law Houston in 2008 as the Special Collections Librarian. She previously worked in museums and taught history at several community colleges in north Texas. Heather develops and oversees the Library’s rare books collection, manuscript collections, digital collections, and the College archive. In addition, she is part of the reference staff and conducts legal research workshops. She is a Certified Archivist.

LGBTQ+ history was made in 2003 at the United States Supreme Court based on a Houston case that started at the Justice of the Peace Court in Harris County, Texas. After fighting HIV & AIDS discrimination for 15 years, Mitchell Avila Katine and New York’s Lambda Legal were hired to defend two men who were arrested and jailed for having sex in their home. The case was ultimately won at the United States Supreme Court and laid the groundwork for marriage equality throughout the United States.

Though an area of practice for more than 60 years, space law quite arguably could be considered a nuanced and very specialized area of law. For this reason, even among law students, lawyers, and law librarians, it could easily be a foreign concept. Yet, with the recent growth in the commercial space sector over the last several years, more individuals seek information and knowledge about the laws that govern satellites, technology, and the exploration of our universe. And so, “Space Law” has experienced a re-awakening of its own. This presentation will provide an overview of space law, the primary international sources for space law, additional resources, the primary issues, and a perspective on the future of space law and policy. At the end, attendees will possess sufficient information to explore this area of law further for themselves as well as guiding others to explore the laws and policy related to space – our final frontier.