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  • Tammy Pettinato Oltz

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Tammy Pettinato Oltz

JD, MSI
  • Assistant Dean for Law Library and Information Services, Thormodsgard Law Library
  • Assistant Professor, School of Law
    • Introduction to Legal Technology, Family Law, Employment Discrimination, Disability Law, Legal Research & Legal Writing
  • Title IX Liaison, Equal Opportunity & Title IX

Contact Info

  • Email: tammy.pettinato@UND.edu
  • Office: 701.777.2653
  • Dept: 701.777.2104

Office Address

Law School Room 108
215 Centennial Drive Stop 9003
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9003

Curriculum Vitae

  • Curriculum Vitae

Biography

Tammy Pettinato Oltz was named Director of the Thormodsgard Law Library in 2017 after serving for a year as Interim Director. Her current research focuses on the intersection of emerging technologies with legal practice, the ethical implications of "big data" and artificial intelligence, access to justice (especially in rural areas), and legal education. She designed and teaches the School of Law's new and innovative Introduction to Legal Technology course, and she has also taught Lawyering Skills I & II, Family Law, Employment Discrimination, and Disability Law. 

In addition to her role in the Law Library and on the faculty, Oltz serves as a Deputy Title IX Coordinator. A strong proponent of diversity in legal education and in the profession, in 2019, Oltz chaired the SBAND Women Lawyers Section Symposium on Implicit Bias in the Legal Profession and currently chairs the School of Law's Diversity & Educational Engagement Committee. She has written or spoken on sex, race, sexual orientation, and class discrimination.

Oltz is also strongly committed to making connections between the Law Library and the greater North Dakota community. Oltz holds a gubernatorial appointment on the North Dakota Library Coordinating Council, spearheaded the creation of the Law Library's legal self-help collection, and coordinated a major program, in conjunction with the State Bar of North Dakota, to bring greater access to legal information to rural communities. She is also a member of the boards of the Mid-America Law Library Consortium and the Online Dakota Information Network and has served on multiple national committees.

Oltz’s work has been cited by the Iowa Supreme Court, the Michigan Court of Appeals, and in multiple appellate briefs. Her work has also been cited in the Yale Law Journal, the Brooklyn Law Review, the Cardozo Law Review, the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, and the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law, & Justice as well as in several other law journals and in multiple treatises.

Oltz earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served as a Research Assistant to Professor Martha Minow, on the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, and on the Harvard Law Record. She also holds an M.S.I. from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining UND, she taught at the University of Louisville School of Law and UCLA School of Law. 

Selected Publications & Presentations

BOOKS

Tammy Pettinato Oltz, Ed., LAWYERING SKILLS IN THE DOCTRINAL CLASSROOM (forthcoming 2020).

Tammy R. Pettinato and Anne Mullins, NORTH DAKOTA LEGAL RESEARCH (2016).

BOOK CHAPTERS

Tammy Pettinato Oltz, A Luddite's Guide to Teaching Legal Technology, in LAWYERING SKILLS IN THE DOCTRINAL CLASSROOM (forthcoming 2020).

Tammy R. P. Oltz, LGBTQ Rights Under Title VII, in DAVID HOLT, ED., SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITIES, AND THE LAW (2018). 

LAW REVIEWS/JOURNALS

Tammy R. Pettinato, Employment Discrimination Against Ex-Offenders: The Promise and Limits of Title VII Disparate Impact Theory, 98 Marq. L. Rev. 831 (2014).

Tammy R. Pettinato, Defying “Common Sense?”: The Legitimacy of Applying Title VII to Employer Criminal Records Policies, 14 Nev. L. J. 770 (2014).

Tammy R. Pettinato, The Custody Catch-22: Post-Interrogation Release as a Factor in Determining Miranda Custody, 65 Ark. L. Rev. 799 (2013).

Tammy R. Pettinato, Legal Information, The Informed Citizen, and The FDLP: The Role of Academic Law Librarians in Promoting Democracy, 99 Law Libr. J. 695 (2007).

Tammy R. Pettinato, Transforming Marriage: The Transformation of Intimacy and the Democratizing Potential of Love, 9 J. L. & Fam. Stud. 101 (2007).

MAGAZINES/NEWSPAPERS/NEWSLETTERS

Tammy R. P. Oltz, Can a Computer Be a Lawyer?, The Gavel (Winter 2019).

Tammy R. P. Oltz, University of North Dakota Law Library Wins Grant to Help Bring Legal Information to Rural Communities, 41 WestPac News 5 (Spring 2018).

Tammy R. P. Oltz, Jumping the Snark: Are Humor and Sarcasm Ever Appropriate in Legal Writing?, The Gavel (Fall 2017).

Tammy R. P. Oltz, Relinquishing Legal Research, The Second Draft (Fall 2017).

Tammy R. P. Oltz, Three Legal Writing Lessons from Gorsuch’s First Opinion, The Gavel (Summer 2017).

PRESENTATIONS

  • Presenter, Social Media in (and Out of) the Courtroom, Legal Services of North Dakota Winter CLE, December 2019 (with Ariana Meyers).
  • Chair and Moderator, Implicit Bias in the Legal Profession, State Bar Association of North Dakota, Women Lawyers Section, September 2019.
  • Organizer, Legal Tech Bootcamp, at the University of North Dakota School of Law, April 2019.
  • Presenter, Legal Research Just-In-Time: A New Approach to Integrating Legal Research into the Legal Writing Curriculum, at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, Western Regional Legal Writing Conference, September 2018 (with Denitsa Mavrova-Heinrich).
  • Presenter, #MeToo: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, at the University of North Dakota School of Law, Buzz Session, April 2018.
  • Presenter, Teaching Professionalism or Teaching Conformity: When Does Teaching Students to Fit in Go Too Far?, at the University of Maryland School of Law, Capital Area Legal Writing Conference, March 2016.
  • Invited Panelist, Employment Discrimination, at the University of North Dakota School of Law, Helen Hamilton Day, March 2016.
  • Invited Panelist, Ethics, Professionalism, and the Generational Divide, at North Carolina Central University, Southeast-Southwest People of Color Conference, March 2015.
  • Presenter, Special Challenges for Law Students from Lower Socio-Economic Backgrounds, at Duquesne University School of Law, Fourth Colonial Frontier Legal Writing Conference, December 2014.
  • Presenter, Using Innovative Pedagogy to Improve Learning, at Stanford Law School, Fourth Western Regional Legal Writing Conference, September 2014 (with Anne Mullins).
  • Presenter, Helping Students Find Their Professional Identity, at UNLV Law School, 14th Annual Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference, March 2014 (with Anne Mullins).
  • Invited Panelist, Civil Rights, Social Justice, and the Town of Leith, Cobbsville? A White Supremacist Takeover in Leith, North Dakota?, UND Center for Human Rights and Genocide Studies, October 2013.
  • Presenter, Employment Discrimination Against Ex-Offenders: The Promise and Limits of Title VII, at UNLV Law School, Labor and Employment Law Colloquium, September 2013.
  • Panel Moderator, Constitutional Law: Powers, Southeastern Association of Law Schools Annual Conference, August 2013.
  • Presenter, Fun with Big Words: Using Interactive Games in the Legal Writing Classroom, at the University of Buffalo Law School, Empire State Legal Writing Conference, June 2012 (with JoAnne M. Sweeny).

J.D., Harvard Law School

M.S.I., University of Michigan School of Information

B.A., English Literature, summa cum laude, Gannon University

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