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 2023 Schedule
The Legalization of Corruption in the United States
Wednesday, September 13, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
Following Watergate, the US led the charge against corruption in adopting the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which imposed criminal penalties for corruption of foreign public officials. The US also advocated for and signed the OECD Convention Against Bribery, while Congress passed legislation targeting domestic corruption. Today, the US still leads the way in criminal enforcement actions for bribery of foreign public officials. But in recent years, the Supreme Court has issued several opinions that dramatically curtail the reach of US laws governing domestic corruption. Today, many practices that violate the FCPA do not violate US law’s prohibiting domestic bribery—including influence peddling (selling the ability to use one’s public position to influence others in government). Beyond this, the Supreme Court also has legalized other corrupt exercises of public power for purely private aims. At this Forum, experts with a range of perspectives—a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, and NYU Law faculty members—will discuss these developments and consider whether they can be justified or instead reveal that reforms are needed.
This program is co-hosted by the Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement.
Panelists
- Kevin Davis, Beller Family Professor of Business Law, NYU School of Law
- Lawrence Gerschwer, Partner, Barnes & Thornburg; former Assistant United States Attorney and member of the Public Corruption Unit, United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York
- M. Kristin Mace, Chief, Criminal Division, United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York
Moderator
- Jennifer Arlen ’86, Norma Z. Paige Professor of Law and Director, Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, NYU School of Law
Supreme Court (P)review
Wednesday, September 27, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
The US Supreme Court issued rulings in several high-profile cases at the end of its last term in June. Far from settling fraught issues, many of these decisions raise new questions that may themselves end up before the Court. For example, will the prohibition on race-based affirmative action in college admissions be extended to workplace diversity programs? Meanwhile, new cases are landing on the Court’s merits docket for the upcoming term, including a major gun rights case and another that considers whether government officials can block followers on personal social media accounts they use to communicate with the public. While the Court’s substantive work typically draws attention, this year individual justices have also garnered an unprecedented level of scrutiny in connection with luxury travel and book sales. All of these matters will be on the table for discussion at this Forum, featuring experts with a range of vantage points on the Court.
Panelists
- Melissa Arbus Sherry, Partner and member of the Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, Latham & Watkins
- Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
- Abbie VanSickle, Supreme Court Correspondent, New York Times
Moderator
- Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law, NYU School of Law; Co-host, Strict Scrutiny podcast
Prosecuting Trump: Live Podcast Recording
Wednesday, October 4, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
At this Forum, former federal prosecutors Mary McCord and Andrew Weissmann will record an episode of the popular MSNBC podcast they co-host, Prosecuting Donald Trump. Each episode features McCord (now at Georgetown Law) and Weissmann (a professor of practice at NYU Law) dissecting the latest developments in one or more of the four pending criminal cases against the former president. And during this episode, they’ll be talking to a special guest: NYU Law Professor and Dean Emeritus Trevor Morrison, who as a practitioner in the White House and constitutional law scholar will draw from his deep expertise on the executive branch. Time will also be allowed for questions from the audience.
This event is co-hosted by the Reiss Center on Law and Security.
Participants
- Mary McCord, Visiting Professor of Law and Executive Director, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Georgetown University Law Center; Served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security (2014–2017), and for nearly 20 years as a federal prosecutor in Washington, DC.
- Trevor Morrison, Eric M. and Laurie B. Roth Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, NYU School of Law; Appointed by President Biden to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States (2021); Associate Counsel to President Obama (2009)
- Andrew Weissmann, Professor of Practice and Distinguished Senior Fellow, Reiss Center on Law and Security, NYU School of Law; Served as a lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office (2017–2019), General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2011–2013), and Chief of the Fraud Section, US Department of Justice (2015–2019)
US Immigration “Crisis”: Origins, Opportunities, and the Road Ahead
Wednesday, November 15, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
Search the headlines these days, and you’ll find countless references to “migrant crisis,” “border crisis,” and similar formulations. Whether or not it is accurate to label the present moment a crisis, the challenges confronting the immigration system are serious—including migrants arriving at the Southern border in record numbers, cities struggling to provide shelter to new arrivals, and Congress failing for nearly two decades to address the status of 11 million undocumented people living in the United States. Yet this moment also presents opportunities to reshape the immigration policy landscape to build toward a more rational future. At this Forum, panelists will explore the roots of the current challenges, which go back decades and cut across administrations of both parties; consider anew the role that national and local political actors can play in addressing these challenges; and discuss the road ahead for immigration law and policy.
Participants
- Ahilan Arulanantham, Professor from Practice; Faculty Co-Director, Center for Immigration Law & Policy, UCLA School of Law
- Andrea Flores, Vice President for Immigration Policy and Campaigns, FWD.us; former Director for Border Management, National Security Council (Jan.–Oct. 2021)
- Maria Sacchetti, Reporter, The Washington Post
Moderator
- Adam Cox, Robert A. Kindler Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Spring 2024 Schedule
Moore v. US and the Fate of the US Tax System
Wednesday, January 24, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
Could a pending Supreme Court case upend large parts of the US tax system? Some observers think Moore v. United States could do just that. The specific claim in the case is that a one-time tax on unrepatriated profits that was part of the 2017 tax law is a tax on property not income, and thus violates the Constitution’s apportionment clause. If the Court agrees, that could call into question the validity of major portions of the current tax code. The case has also been explicitly framed by the Moores as addressing the constitutional viability of wealth taxation and other fundamental reforms to the US tax code. An unusual alliance of tax and constitutional law experts has raised serious concerns about such implications, and much of the justices’ questioning at oral arguments in December focused on that as well. At this Forum, experts will discuss the legal, economic, and ethical issues the Moore case presents.
This program is co-hosted by the Tax Law Center at NYU Law, which submitted an amicus brief in Moore.
Panelists
- Chye-Ching Huang, Executive Director, Tax Law Center, NYU School of Law
- Catherine Rampell, Opinion Columnist, Washington Post
- Eric Solomon LLM ’84, Partner, Ivins, Phillips & Barker; former Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, US Department of the Treasury
Moderator
- David Kamin ’09, Robert A. Kindler Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
AI in Law Practice: What You Need to Know
Wednesday, January 31, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
AI stands to “radically alter” or “revolutionize” law practice, according to recent reports from, respectively, the Economist magazine and the Brookings Institution. Both suggested the that the jobs of junior associates at big law firms are particularly at risk from the technology. A New York Times article offered a more cautious take, saying that “the impact of the new technology is more likely to be a steadily rising tide than a sudden tidal wave.” At this Forum panelists deeply involved with the rollout of AI in the legal profession will offer their assessment of the current state of play. What is the reality and what is hype? What areas of practice is AI likely to change the most, and how? What does AI portend for the business structure of major law firms and, more broadly, the public’s access to legal services? What do lawyers entering the profession now need to know?
Panelists
- Ghaith Mahmood ’07, Partner, Latham & Watkins
- Anna Gressel, Counsel, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Betny Townsend, Product Marketing Director, DISCO
Moderator
- Christopher Jon Sprigman, Murray and Kathleen Bring Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Social Media, Government Jawboning, and the First Amendment at the Supreme Court
Wednesday, March 6, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
Recent issues of major public concern (the COVID pandemic; threats to the secure administration of federal elections) have engendered a wave of mis- and disinformation, often spread virally through social media platforms. This has highlighted a vital but unsettled question in US law: When can the government act to persuade social media companies to alter their content moderation policies and/or take down certain speech, and when do those efforts cross into violations of the First Amendment? The debate over this practice, often called government “jawboning,” will come to a head in Murthy v. Missouri, set to be argued before the Supreme Court on March 18.
Murthy poses a number of questions that defy easy answer, driving at the heart of how we wish to construct and regulate what some consider to be the modern public square. At this Forum, experts with experience in government lawyering, private platforms, and free speech advocacy will examine major issues raised by the case and what’s at stake.
This Forum is co-hosted by the Reiss Center on Law and Security and Just Security.
Panelists
- Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director, Knight First Amendment Institute, Columbia University; Executive Editor, Just Security
- Kathryn Ruemmler, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, Goldman Sachs; former White House Counsel to President Barack Obama
- Colin Stretch, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Etsy; former General Counsel, Facebook (now Meta)
Moderator
- Ryan Goodman, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director, Reiss Center on Law and Security, NYU School of Law; Founding Co-Editor-in-Chief, Just Security
US v. Trump: Presidential Immunity from Criminal Conduct
Wednesday, April 17, 1:10–2:25 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge
The Supreme Court has framed the following question for argument on April 25: “Whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.” No immunity applies in such circumstances, according to a ruling by the trial judge in the federal case charging Donald Trump with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump argues for expansive immunity. At this Forum, experts in constitutional law and presidential authority will discuss the upcoming argument and what to expect after the Supreme Court rules.
Panelists
- George Conway, Contributing Writer, The Atlantic; Board President, Society for the Rule of Law; Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (1994-2019)
- Trevor Morrison, Eric M. and Laurie B. Roth Professor of Law, Dean Emeritus, and Faculty Co-Director, Reiss Center on Law and Security, NYU School of Law; Appointed by President Biden to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States (2021); Associate Counsel to President Obama (2009)
- Kate Shaw, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School; Co-host, Strict Scrutiny podcast
Moderator
- Andrew Weissmann, Professor of Practice and Faculty Co-Director, Reiss Center on Law and Security, NYU School of Law; Served as a lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office (2017–2019); General Counsel, Federal Bureau of Investigation (2011–2013); Chief of the Fraud Section, US Department of Justice (2015–2019)