Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax; 713/743-8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2004

Contact: Eric Gerber
713/743-8189 (office)
713/617-7130(pager)
egerber@uh.edu

HOUSTON, May 18, 2004 – As the world keeps moving toward a truly global economy, consumer law is taking on an increasingly international scope as well.

Leading the way in preparing students around the world to practice consumer law, the University of Houston is presenting a unique international conference Friday and Saturday, May 21-22, at the Hilton Hotel at UH. “Teaching Consumer Law,” a two-day convention hosted by the Center for Consumer Law at the UH Law Center, will see participants from Japan, Canada and Israel, along with a large contingent of U.S. law school educators, attending a variety of panels and discussions.

“This is the only event of its kind in the world,” said Richard Alderman, the Dwight Olds Chair in Law and executive director of the Center for Consumer Law. He serves as chair for this conference. “Long the step-child of the law school curriculum, consumer law has been growing in importance and popularity. The time was definitely right to hold such an event.”

Some 50 or so individuals are scheduled to attend. The event is being presented in cooperation with the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the National Consumer Law Center.

The initial presentation at the conference will be “The Globalization of Consumer Law: What the U.S. Can Learn from the Rest of the World.” This international panel will be made up of Gerald Thain, University of Wisconsin Law School; Iain Ramsay, Osgoode Law School at York University in Toronto; William T. Vukowich, Georgetown University Law Center; and Allen Zysblat, Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Cathy Lesser Mansfield, of Drake University Law School, will serve as moderator. The panelists will explore how the world views consumer law and approaches to consumer protection that are being developed in other countries.

Other sessions include “Consumer Redress: Where’s the Action?,” “The Role of the FTC in a Consumer Protection Course,” “What’s New on Capitol Hill,” “Consumer Bankruptcy for the Consumer Law Professor,” “Let’s Talk About Innovative Teaching” and “What’s New on the Horizon: A View from the Trenches.”

All told, two dozen professors will be presenting at the conference.

“This event should help establish the Center for Consumer Law as the premier academic consumer law institute in the country,” Alderman said.

For additional information about the Center for Consumer Law at the UH Law Center, visit http://www.law.uh.edu/peopleslaw/.

For additional information about Alderman, see http://www.uh.edu/media/nr/2003/12dec/121603alderman.html.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.