Fall 2011
SEP. 14
Supreme Court Preview - The 2011-12 Term
The Supreme Court starts its new term on October 3rd, and the year has the potential to be a big one. The constitutionality of the "individual mandate" in the health care reform legislation may be headed to the Court soon on the strength of a newly created circuit split on the issue. Same-sex marriage could also appear on the docket, as lower courts continue to grapple with challenges to both the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8. So too could Arizona's legislation regarding unlawful immigrants, as the state has appealed directly to the Supreme Court to overturn a Ninth Circuit injunction prohibiting enforcement of certain parts of the controversial S.B.1070. Other items on the docket include the constitutionality of the FCC's “fleeting expletive” ban; warrantless GPS tracking of criminal suspects; and the copyright status of thousands of creative works -- including some by J.R.R. Tolkien and Alfred Hitchcock -- previously placed in the public domain.
Panelists:
Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Correspondent, The New York Times
Patricia Millett, Partner, Head of Supreme Court Practice, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Kannon Shanmugam, Partner, Williams & Connolly LLP
Moderator:
Barry Friedman, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Law
Click here to watch the video.
SEP. 28
Life in the Law: Where Your J.D. Can Take You
Professor Arthur R. Miller will lead a dozen panelists from all corners of the profession (and beyond) in a discussion about the wide range of career paths open to you once you've earned a law degree.
Panelists:
William Allen, Nusbaum Professor of Law and Business, Director of the Pollack Center for Law and Business, NYU School of Law, Former Chancellor of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware
Rocco Andriola '82, Managing Director, Millennium Partners, L.P., Co-founder and Co-chairman, Save Lives Now New York
Jodi Balsam '86, Associate Professor of Law, New York Law School
Jonathan Bing '95, Special Deputy Superintendent, New York Liquidation Bureau
Joe Ehrlich '97, Executive Vice President, Owens Group
The Honorable Betty Ellerin (Ret.) ’52, Senior Counsel, Alston & Bird LLP
Brad Friedman '86, Partner, Milberg LLP
Steven Greenhouse ‘82, Author, Labor and Workplace Reporter, The New York Times
Alison Mikkor '02, Acting Assistant Professor of Lawyering, NYU School of Law
Anne Milgram '96, Senior Fellow, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, NYU School of Law
Annalisa Miron ’04, Executive Director, Bickel & Brewer Latino Institute for Human Rights, NYU School of Law
Linda Silberman, Martin Lipton Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Jason Washington '07, Senior Policy Advisor, City of Baltimore
Moderator:
Arthur R. Miller, University Professor, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
OCT. 5
The State of the Threat: Ten Years After 9/11, Who Threatens Our Way of Life Most-Al Qaeda or Uncle Sam?
Have we achieved the proper balance between protecting our national security and respecting civil liberties? As the so-called war on terror enters its second decade, do we have the right legal authorities and constraints in place? These, and other questions — including, we hope, yours — will be aired at the upcoming discussion.
Panelists:
Jameel Jaffer, Director, ACLU National Security Project
Michael Leiter, Former Director, National Counterterrorism Center
Moderator:
Samuel Rascoff, Associate Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
OCT. 12
A Brewing Debate: Does the Tort System Need Reform?
Using the documentary Hot Coffee to frame the debate, we will hear from prominent litigators and policy makers about the state of the tort system. They will address such cutting edge issues as damages caps in the context of medical malpractice cases, plaintiffs’ ability to win punitive damages awards against defendants that have complied with applicable federal regulations, and tort suits based on climate change and other environmental harms.
Panelists:
Elizabeth Cabraser, Partner, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
J. Russell Jackson, Partner, Mass Torts and Insurance Litigation Group, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP
Andre Mura, Litigation Counsel, Center for Constitutional Litigation, PC
Victor Schwartz, Chair, Public Policy Group, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP; General Counsel, American Tort Reform Association
Moderator:
Catherine Sharkey, Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
OCT. 19
Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: The Impact on Family and Community
Individuals who are convicted of a crime and serve time are not the only ones affected by their criminal record. Families and communities suffer great losses that often go unspoken. Join Professor Anthony Thompson and distinguished speakers for a thought-provoking discussion on the impact convictions have on family members and communities, and what can be done to repair severed ties and rebuild strong families and communities.
Panelists:
Rossana Rosado, Publisher and CEO, El Diario-La Prensa
Julio Medina, Executive Director, Founder and CEO, Exodus Transitional Community
Glenn E. Martin, Vice President of Development and Public Affairs, Director of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy, The Fortune Society
Melvyn Weiss '59, Founder of Milberg Weiss
Moderator:
Anthony C. Thompson, Professor of Clinical Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
OCT. 26
Environmental Regulation, the Economy, and Jobs
With the continuing economic and employment crisis facing the nation, the connection between environmental protection, layoffs, and unemployment has become a major topic of national conversation. This panel will discuss how the emphasis on jobs has affected the discourse over the economic effects of environmental policy, and will examine how analysts can best account for and communicate the relationship between employment and environmental regulation.
Panelists:
Dina Cappiello, National Environment/Energy Reporter, The Associated Press
Laurie Johnson, Climate Center Chief Economist, Natural Resources Defense Council
Lewis T. Putnam, Partner, Head of Environmental and Natural Resources Practice Group, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP
Carter Strickland, Commissioner, New York City Department of Environmental Protection
Moderator:
Richard Revesz, Dean, Lawrence King Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
NOV. 9
Taking Law School Exams: Is There a Method to the Madness?
The old saw has it, the two things you can't avoid are death and taxes. There's a third - exams! As we come to the end of the Fall Semester, this Forum is devoted to the art and science of exam-taking. Professor Friedman and Professor McKenzie will give a comprehensive primer on how to succeed in writing law-school exams. A panel of students will discuss their tips on outlining and studying. There will be time for lots of questions from the floor.
Panelists:
Kirti Datla '12
Peter Farrell '12
Moderators:
Barry Friedman, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Troy McKenzie '00, Associate Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
NOV. 16
Dispelling the Myth of a Post-Racial America
Over the last few decades, race relations in the United States have improved a great deal. Nothing signifies this more than the recent election of our first African-American President. However, we have simultaneously maintained a criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates African-American and Latino males, an education system that perpetuates an achievement gap between white and minority students, and a poverty that is largely racialized. In the face of some visible advances in race relations, a doctrine of post-racialism is gaining traction and, simultaneously, silencing some conversations about race and disparities. To what extent have we seen this phenomenon before? Have the courts left any room for a racial justice agenda? Can issues of racial disparities be addressed with a race-neutral rhetoric? Come hear experts debate a topic that is seemingly becoming more and more taboo.
Panelists:
Ralph Richard Banks, Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Paulette Caldwell, Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Sumi Cho, Professor of Law, DePaul University College of Law
Moderator:
Kim Taylor-Thompson, Professor of Clinical Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
NOV. 30
Global Warming or Nuclear Meltdown? The Future of Nuclear Power After Fukushima
The federal government’s repeated failures to deal with accumulated nuclear wastes, the recent crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, and escalating costs have reinforced opposition to nuclear power in the U.S. Yet, many advocate nuclear power as a means of curbing climate change and providing stable, secure, low-carbon electricity. Panelists with various vantage points on the issues will examine the future of nuclear power in light of the environmental, economic, international security and ethical issues posed.
Panelists:
Michael Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment; Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change, Council on Foreign Relations
William McCollum, Chief Operating Officer, Tennessee Valley Authority
Christopher Paine, Nuclear Program Director, Natural Resources Defense Council
Moderator:
Richard B. Stewart, University Professor and John Edward Sexton Professor of Law; Chair and Faculty Director, Hauser Global Law School Program; Director, Center for Environmental and Land Use Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
DEC. 7
The Morality and Legality of Targeted Killings: From Bin Laden to al-Awlaki
The Obama Administration has increasingly turned to drones (or in the case of Bin Laden, Navy Seals) to wage what the Bush Administration had called the “war on terror.” At the same time that President Obama has claimed that “justice” demands extraterritorial killings of named individuals, he has rejected other counter-terrorism tools used by the former Administration, such as water-boarding. What is the moral case for such distinctions? Does either the U.S. Constitution or international law permit targeted killings, whether or not the target is a U.S. national? Does it matter whether the USG engages in such acts only on a recognized battlefield (e.g., Afghanistan vs. Yemen or Pakistan), uses particular methods (unmanned drones vs. members of the U.S. military), or does so only with the consent of the territorial sovereign?
Panelists:
Philip G. Alston, John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Richard H. Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law, NYU School of Law
Jeremy Waldron, University Professor, NYU School of Law
Moderator:
J.E. Alvarez, Herbert and Rose Rubin Professor of International Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
Spring 2012
JAN. 25
Governments Gone Bust: Addressing and Avoiding State and Local Fiscal Crises
States and localities face severe fiscal distress, as revenues sink and obligations to creditors and pensions consume budgets. Who is to blame for the crises that many governments face, and who should bear the losses if states and municipalities cannot pay all their obligations? Residents? Bondholders? Unions and pensioners? Our expert panelists -- representing a range of stakeholders -- discuss these pressing and contentious issues.
Panelists:
Jonathan Ballan, Member, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo
Richard Ravitch, Co-chair, Volcker-Ravitch Task Force on the State Budget Crisis
Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37, American Federation of State, Country & Municipal Employees
Moderator:
Clayton Gillette, Max E. Greenberg Professor of Contract Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
FEB. 1
Arab Spring: The State of the Revolution as it Turns One
Twelve months after the mass political protests in Tahrir Square brought down the Mubarak government, Egypt and other countries in the region remain roiled by popular discontent. What has united these uprisings, and how are they now starting to diverge? If we can identify a revolution's beginning, can we say what marks its end? Are the foundation stones for constitutional democracy being laid, or will we see authoritarianism reemerge in a different guise? What are the implications of Islamists taking the helm through democratic elections? Answering these and related questions requires assessment of the complex mix of social, economic, and political factors now in play. Come hear a panel of experts take stock of what's been going on — and ask them questions of your own.
Panelists:
Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
Mohammad Fadel, Associate Professor, University of Toronto Faculty of Law
Kristen Stilt, Associate Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law
Moderator:
Sujit Choudhry, Cecelia Goetz Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
FEB. 8
Crooks on the Loose? Did Felons Get a Free Pass in the Financial Crisis?
More than three years after the one of the worst financial crises in U.S. history, the government has been severely criticized for its failure to criminally prosecute senior executives at the Wall Street banks that helped cause the meltdown. Have the feds been soft on banking execs? Are laws on the books inadequate for holding people criminally accountable? Has the Department of Justice been too timid or too intimidated by the complexity of the potential misconduct? Or is it the case that actions of the individuals who caused the crisis were potentially reckless and immoral, but not unlawful? Does the lack of prosecutions reflect a weakness in our system of justice? Or does it demonstrate the strength of a system that has resisted the political pressure to scapegoat executives who may have committed no crimes?
A panel of senior criminal justice officials, including a former New York State Attorney General, a former United States Attorney, and the current head of the Department of Justice's criminal division, takes on these questions and more.
Panelists:
Lanny Breuer, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
Eliot Spitzer, Former Governor and Attorney General for the State of New York
Mary Jo White, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern Discrict of New York
Moderator:
Neil Barofsky '95, Senior Fellow, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law; Adjunct Professor, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
FEB. 29
The Economics of Climate Change
At the same time that warnings from the scientific community about the dangers of climate change grow more urgent, hope for action at the international level has fallen to a new low, and progress on legislation at the domestic level has ground to a halt. Fears about the costs of controlling greenhouse gas emissions, including job losses and rising energy costs, have taken on particular importance in light of the global economic slump. How can the costs of inaction be expressed in economic terms? How should harms to generations in the far future be valued? How can the United States and the international community ensure that all major emitters, including developing countries, take steps to embrace clean energy, efficiency, and conservation. What business risks and opportunities are posed by a carbon constrained future? A panel of experts bringing three distinct perspectives will address these question—and yours as well—on what climate change means for our economic future.
Panelists:
Michael Greenstone, 3M Professor of Environmental Economics, MIT; Former Chief Economist, Council of Economic Advisers
Keith Johnson, Journalist, Wall Street Journal
Richard Stewart, University Professor and John Edward Sexton Professor of Law; Director, Frank J. Guarini Center on Environmental and Land Use Law, NYU School of Law
Moderator:
Michael Livermore, Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Integrity, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
MAR. 7
How NYC is Breaking the Gridlock on Traffic Policy
Too many people are stuck in traffic in New York City. The City has proposed or attempted various ways to speed up transit in, out, and around the metro area, including congestion fees, bike lanes, public plazas, limits on parking, and expansions of subway, taxi and bus services. Some plans have never gotten off the ground, because of legal and/or political obstacles. Others, like bike lanes, have been hotly controversial, even provoking lawsuits. Critics question whether expanding taxi service is the best way to speed up movement on streets, but have generally called the practice of street closure a success. Come hear what two veterans of New York's transportation policy debates have to say about the City's efforts to avoid getting stuck in traffic.
Panelists:
Charles Komanoff, Transportation Analyst, Nurture Nature Foundation
Jon Orcutt, Policy Director, New York City Department of Transportation
Moderator:
Roderick Hills, Jr., William T. Comfort, III Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
MAR. 21
Greek Drama, Global Stage: Perspectives on the Euro Crisis
Can the Euro contagion be contained? A major banking crisis followed by a sovereign debt crisis is threatening not just the survival of Europe’s single currency, the Euro, but even the future of the European Union as an economic and political system. In addition to Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland, even E.U. economic heavyweights such as Italy and France are threatened by the reaction of the financial markets. There have been riots on the streets of several European countries, and unelected technocratic governments are ruling Greece and Italy. What are the root causes of Europe’s financial ills? What are the implications for the United States economy and the global financial system? Will the Euro and the European Union survive? What lessons can be drawn from the crisis and what are the likely paths out of the current state of affairs? A high-level panel of experts will be here to discuss these and other questions.
Panelists:
Antonio de Lecea, Principal Advisor, European Union Delegation to the United States
Sean Hagan, General Counsel and Director of the Legal Department, International Monetary Fund
Geoffrey Miller, Stuyvesant P. Comfort Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Joseph H.H. Weiler, University Professor, Joseph Straus Professor of Law, and European Union Jean Monnet Chaired Professor; NYU School of Law
Moderator:
Gráinne de Búrca, Florence Ellinwood Allen Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
MAR. 28
Voting Rights Controversies Today
Controversies over voting rights have exploded across today’s electoral landscape. The most important enforcement entity in the voting-rights field is the Department of Justice, which has unique powers under the Voting Rights Act to oversee voting changes throughout the South and the power to bring litigation against voting practices that violate federal law. Some of the most charged issues of the day include the enactment of voter identification laws, which pit claims about vote fraud against those of vote suppression, and disputes about the appropriate role of race, ethnicity, and partisanship in redistricting. This Forum features a presentation on the Justice Department's approach to these issues by the current head of its civil rights division, and a panel of experts on the law of democracy.
Speaker:
Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Justice
Panelists:
Guy-Uriel Charles, Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law
Samuel Issacharoff, Bonnie and Richard Reiss Professor of Constitutional Law, NYU School of Law
Wendy Weiser, Director of the Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Moderator:
Richard Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law, NYU School of Law
APRIL 4
Fraud, Bribery, Corruption: Are Corporate Cops Fighting a Losing Battle?
Major statutes aimed at deterring corporate wrongdoing are practically household names — the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank. And yet, the FBI recently reported, corporate fraud is on the rise; prosecution of companies for foreign bribes is proliferating; and, even in the wake of the financial crisis, the conduct of some of Wall Street's biggest names continues to raise eyebrows. In this discussion, a panel of executives, regulators, prosecutors, and academic experts, will consider questions such as: Can government regulation effectively combat corporate misconduct? How do we determine when fraud should be pursued as a civil matter versus a criminal matter? Should we consider changes to enforcement priorities or the sanctions imposed?
Panelists:
Jennifer Arlen '86, Norma Z. Paige Professor of Law
Kevin Davis, Beller Family Professor of Business Law
Harry First, Charles L. Denison Professor of Law
Geoffrey Miller, Stuyvesant P. Comfort Professor of Law
Sara Moss ’74, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Estee Lauder Companies
Kathryn Reimann ’82, Chief Compliance Officer, Citibank and Citi Global Consumer
Mara Trager ’98, Assistant US Attorney, SDNY, Civil Fraud
Sanjay Wadhwa (LL.M. ’96), Associate Regional Director for Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission
Bruce Yannett ’85, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton
Moderator:
Rachel Barkow, Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy
Click here to watch the video.
APRIL 11
The IP Divide: Why SOPA Loses, TRIPS Wins, and Confusion Reigns
The entertainment industry wants to block distribution of movies and music on the Internet. Drug makers are trying to prevent shipment of generic AIDS medicine to Africa. A variety of companies have tried to bar Google from using their trademarks in advertising algorithms. In national courts and legislatures, these holders of intellectual property rights almost always lose – witness the recent defeat in the U.S. of online piracy legislation. They then go to international forums and win agreements to do their bidding -- only to find that implementation of these accords gets blocked at the national level. Why do negotiations in these different settings produce such different results? Panelists will discuss the complex mix of factors driving this, and consider whether there’s any way to bridge the divide.
Panelists:
Margaret Chon, Donald and Lynda Horowitz Professor for the Pursuit of Justice, Seattle University School of Law; Senior Emile Noël Fellow, NYU School of Law
Susy Frankel, Professor of Law, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Shira Perlmutter, Acting Administrator for Policy and External Affairs, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Moderator:
Rochelle Dreyfuss, Pauline Newman Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.
APRIL 18
Miller's Courts: The Future of Sports and the Law
Over the past year, sports have seemingly been contested as much in a court of law as on a playing court, with judges asked to referee disputes involving collective bargaining, antitrust, head injuries, doping, and other matters. Has this multi-arena legal conflict harmed the future of sports? Should the legal system treat sports the same as any other big business? Should government step in to save sports, which it already regulates, for the public good? University Professor Arthur R. Miller will lead a distinguished panel in discussion on these and other topics.
Panelists:
Robert Boland, Academic Chair and Clinical Associate Professor of Sports Management, NYU Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management
Harry Carson, NFL Hall of Fame Linebacker and Former New York Giant (1976-1988)
Lee Igel, Clinical Associate Professor of Sports Management, NYU Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management
Dana Jacobson, Television Host and Anchor
Wayne McDonnell, Clinical Associate Professor of Sports Management, NYU Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management
Cameron Myler, Attorney, Four-Time Olympian, and Adjunct Instructor, NYU Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management
Michael Weiner, Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association
Moderator:
Arthur R. Miller, University Professor, NYU School of Law
Click here to watch the video.