The Forum, sponsored by Latham & Watkins, presents discussions on current events, legal and public policy issues, and intellectual ideas. The programs feature experts from within and outside the Law School, and time is generally allowed for questions from the audience.
Fall 2024 Schedule
Supreme Court (P)review
Wednesday, September 18, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
Each year, this program highlights major rulings from the Supreme Court’s recently concluded term as well as potentially significant cases on tap for the upcoming term. There is no shortage of material. Among the headline-making opinions handed down over the summer were decisions related to presidential immunity, the administrative state, access to medication abortion and emergency abortion care, guns, and restrictions on the homeless. Already teed up for October Term 2024 are cases concerning parental rights and gender-affirming care, the First Step Act, gun regulation, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. And then there’s the emergency or “shadow” docket, which continues to be active, drawing criticism and scrutiny. The Court itself as an institution has also been the subject of extraordinary attention, including calls for it to be reformed. At this Forum, panelists with a range of experience and perspectives will tackle these topics, and we’ll leave time for questions from the audience.
Panelists
- Kelsi Corkran, Supreme Court Director, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Georgetown University Law Center
- Ann Marimow, Supreme Court Correspondent, Washington Post
- Roman Martinez, Partner, Latham & Watkins
Moderator
- Melissa Murray Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law, NYU Law; Co-host, Strict Scrutiny podcast
The Administrative State in Turmoil
Wednesday, October 9, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
At this Forum, the current general counsel of the US Department of Health and Human Services will join a leading attorney in private practice (and former top federal regulatory official) to discuss the implications of recent US Supreme Court rulings that promise to refashion the administrative state. While the decision to overturn Chevron has attracted the most attention, it was just one of several cases that cabined the role of federal agencies and opened the door to new avenues for challenging government regulation. The ultimate effect of these rulings is ambiguous. They may impose meaningful obstacles on government administrators, or agencies may have anticipated and planned around the Court’s rulings. They may create opportunities for businesses to challenge unfavorable regulations, but at the same time, encourage attacks on long-standing rules upon which businesses predictably rely. Two NYU Law faculty members who are experts in administrative law will moderate this discussion, which will explore the on-the-ground consequences of these momentous decisions.
Participants
- Samuel R. Bagenstos, General Counsel, US Department of Health and Human Services
- Boris Bershteyn, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; former acting Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Co-Moderators
- Noah Rosenblum, Associate Professor of Law, NYU Law
- Catherine Sharkey, Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy, NYU Law
The Housing Affordability Crisis
Wednesday, October 16, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
The housing affordability crisis that has long dominated policy debates in New York City and other high-cost areas across the country is now a major issue in the presidential election. At this Forum, experts will explore what the federal government’s role in making housing more affordable could and should be. Panelists will discuss what policy choices are best made at the federal rather than state or local level (which also implicates what obligations states have to control their local governments’ land use decisions). They will also assess current proposals for federal interventions, along with other ideas that probably should be on the agenda. Participants in this program will offer a range of views about the legal, financial, and implementation risks and opportunities the proposed policies pose, as well as the effects they might have on the allocation of power between the federal and state governments and on the political process.
Panelists
- Louise Carroll, Partner and Co-Chair of the Affordable Housing and Community Development Practice, Katten Muchin Rosenman
- Andrew Fine, Chief of Staff and Policy Director, Open New York
- Lucy Joffe, Associate Commissioner for Housing Policy, New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development
- Donald H. Layton, Senior Visiting Fellow from Practice, Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, NYU
Moderator
- Vicki Been ’83, Judge Edward Weinfeld Professor of Law, NYU Law; Faculty Director, Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, NYU
Trump, Round Two: What to Expect
Wednesday, November 13, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
What can we expect from a second Trump presidency? A panel of NYU Law faculty members will assess this question on multiple fronts, including civil liberties, the justice system, national security and foreign policy, and democracy. What will the Trump administration likely try to do in each of these areas, and what meaningful ways exist to check its power? As usual with Forums, we will leave time for questions from the audience.
Panelists
- Deborah Archer, Margaret B. Hoppin Professor of Clinical Law, NYU Law; President, American Civil Liberties Union
- Ryan Goodman, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Professor of Law, NYU Law; Founding Co-editor-in-chief, Just Security
- Vanita Gupta ’01, Scholar in Residence, NYU Law; Associate Attorney General of the United States, 2021–24
Moderator
- Samuel Issacharoff, Bonnie and Richard Reiss Professor of Constitutional Law, NYU Law; Author, Fragile Democracies
Spring 2025 Schedule
All the President’s Men: The Realpolitik of Running the Government
Wednesday, January 29, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
The president may be the head of the government. But the president’s right to shape its workforce is not absolute. The Constitution’s advice and consent clause involves the Senate in the appointment of senior officials, and more than two million civilian workers are employed under civil service laws that protect their hiring and firing from political interference. Donald Trump has railed against this “Deep State,” which he believes undermined his policies during his first term. Returning to office now, he has threatened to skirt congressional oversight and vowed to dismantle government bureaucracy. At this Forum, panelists with extensive expertise on the role of the Senate and government staffing will discuss how effective these legal checks have been on presidential power and how they may come into play with the incoming administration.
Panelists
- Sarah Binder, Professor of Political Science, The George Washington University
- Bob Kerrey, US Senator from Nebraska, 1989–2001
- Christina Kinane, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Yale University
- Gregg Nunziata, Executive Director, Society for the Rule of Law; General Counsel, Office of US Senator Marco Rubio, 2013–2016; Chief Nominations Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee, 2005–2008
Moderator
- Noah Rosenblum, Associate Professor of Law, NYU Law
State AGs on Justice, Law, and Policy in the Trump Era
Wednesday, February 5, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
Acting individually and collectively, state attorneys general have long played a critical role in shaping law and policy and pursuing justice. How do states’ top law enforcers think about their roles as a new federal administration gets underway? What are their chief concerns? How do state AGs think about their relationship with the federal government? What issues can state AGs tackle across partisan lines—where is there room for bipartisan state AG coalitions? On a practical level for law students, what should they consider in contemplating a career in a state AG office? For this Forum, we’ve convened a panel of state attorneys general to discuss these and other issues, and to take audience questions. Former United States Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta ’01 will lead the conversation.
Panelists
- Jennifer Levy ’96, First Deputy Attorney General, New York
- Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney General, New Jersey
- Phil Weiser ’94, Attorney General, Colorado
Moderator
- Vanita Gupta ’01, Distinguished Scholar in Residence, NYU Law; Associate Attorney General of the US, 2021–2024