The Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law, the Criminal Law Society Present, and the American Constitution Society Present: Danielle Sassoon, Former Interim U.S. Attorney For The Southern District Of NY. Ms. Sassoon was appointed to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York by President Donald Trump in January 2025. She resigned from that position in February 2025 rather than carry out an order from a top Department of Justice official to dismiss pending federal criminal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. She will be joined in conversation with Professor Jessica Roth.
Careers in Progressive Law and Policy
ACS at Michigan Law is excited to welcome Elizabeth Wilkins, CEO of The Roosevelt Institute, for a conversation about post-JD careers in progressive law and policy. The Roosevelt Institute is a think tank, student network, and nonprofit partner to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum that seeks to advance progressive policies on issues of corporate and public power, labor and wages, and the economics of race and gender inequality.
Wilkins formerly served as chief of staff to FTC Chair Lina Khan and director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission. She also served as a senior advisor to the White House chief of staff, in senior leadership roles at the D.C. Office of the Attorney General, and as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and then-Chief Judge of the D.C. Circuit, Merrick Garland.
ACS Talk with Gary "Joey" Johnson
Gary "Joey" Johnson, the name plaintiff in the Supreme Court case, Texas v. Johnson, will give a talk about the First Amendment over zoom. He will speak about the first amendment and current threats to the freedom of speech before opening up to a Q and A session.
Brown Bag Lunch: Memoria Decolonial
Memoria (De)colonial is a nonprofit collective in Puerto Rico composed of researchers, educators, artists, and community organizers committed to examining and transforming how colonial legacies shape the island’s public memory, heritage, and cultural narratives. Their work resonates deeply with Puerto Rico’s constitutional right to access public information. This right guarantees citizens access to documents, archives, and other materials produced by the state—resources that are essential to understanding and contesting how official narratives are constructed.
By producing open-access digital archives, mapping public monuments, and organizing educational walking tours such as (De)Tours or (Des)vío, the collective not only democratizes access to historical knowledge but also models how public information can be transformed into public engagement. Their Cartography of Colonial Monuments and archival research initiatives expand the meaning of public information beyond governmental transparency to include the right of communities to know—and reinterpret—the histories inscribed in their landscapes.
In this way, Memoria (De)colonial activates the constitutional promise of access to information as a decolonial practice: reclaiming the right to see, name, and understand the past as a collective act of justice and self-determination. Rafael V. Capó García, Memoria (De)colonial's director will join us.
How to 1L: How to Outline
With the semester past the halfway point, join ACS at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, October 22 in Gittis 214 for a crash-course on outlining! A panel of 2Ls and 3Ls will address important questions like: Should you make your own outlines? What's an attack outline? What other ways are there to prepare for exams? When should you start outlining? Lunch will be provided.
All are welcome to attend, but ACS 1L Reps will get access to our outline bank (the best in the business). Apply to be a 1L Rep here: https://tinyurl.com/ACSRep25
Please fill out the RSVP below, and fill in any questions you'd like us to hit.
Environmental Law with Harpeth Conservancy
Harpeth Conservancy will be joining us to discuss environmental law in Tennessee.