Join us for a captivating event with Alan Barinholtz, of litigation and TV fame for his role as judge in Amazon’s “Jury Duty.” Gain valuable insights into law and acting careers and discover the dynamic realities of legal practice. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the multifaceted world of legal careers with Alan Barinholtz.

Please join If/When/How, WLSA, ACS, and Medical Students for Choice in welcoming internationally recognized leader, Merle Hoffman, to VLS! 

Merle Hoffman is a trailblazer in the struggle for women's rights, a healthcare pioneer, founder of women's health, political, and reproductive rights organizations, and a prize-winning writer and publisher. She is known as a debater, speaker, publisher, writer, and organizer, addressing challenging questions and upholding women's rights. 

In 1971, Merle Hoffman establishes Choices Women's Medical Center, one of the country's first abortion clinics, two years before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion nationally in the Roe V. Wade Decision. Today, Choices is one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive women's medical facilities. In 1976, Merle Hoffman co-founds NAF, the National Abortion Federation, the first professional organization of abortion providers in the U.S. and serves as its first president.

At VLS, Merle will discuss her newest book, Choices: A Post-Roe Abortion Rights Manifesto, examining her vision for organizing in our post-Roe world. Ms. Hoffman's veteran experience on the front lines of the reproductive justice movement makes her a critical voice for understanding the repercussions of overturning Roe, and I'm sure the Vanderbilt community would benefit from her incisive analysis.

“Merle Hoffman has always known that in a democracy, we each have decision-making power over the fate of our own bodies. She is a national hero for us all.” ​—Gloria Steinem

Food will be provided!!

Private Event. Meeting with 9 1Ls and 2Ls to discuss leadership and roles for the upcoming school year at Belmont.

The American Constitution Society chapter at the University of Michigan Law School will be co-hosting an event with the Disability Rights Organization and the Michigan Health Law Organization. Panelists include Nick Gable (Disability Rights Michigan), Marianne Udow-Phillips (Michigan School of Public Health), Nicole Shannon (Michigan Elder Justice Initiative), and Christopher Samp (City of Detroit Disability Affairs).

Join the South Florida ACS Lawyer Chapter for a conversation on defamation law with Mark R. Thomson and Megan L. Meier. Mark and Megan were a part of the legal team that represented Dominion Voting Systems in the Dominion v. Fox News case, which led to a $787 million settlement on the defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over “spurious claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential race.” During the program, they will discuss defamation law, how to use the law to fight defamatory attacks, and their work in the Dominion v. Fox News case.

Featuring:

Megan L. Meier, Founding Partner, Meier Watkins Phillips Pusch

Mark R. Thomson, Counsel, Meier Watkins Phillips Pusch

1 Hour of FL CLE pending.

Join Professors Jasmine Harris and Karen Tani to discuss their pathbreaking paper, The Disability Docket, applying a “disability lens” to the Supreme Court’s 2021 and 2022 Terms (co-written with Shira Wakschlag (the Arc)). Professors Harris and Tani argue that disability law, as well as disability advocacy, can provide critical perspectives to ongoing debates about inclusion and resource distribution. Tracing both disability-related disputes as well as non-disability cases with disproportionate impact on people with disabilities, the article articulates the Supreme Court’s broader agenda through a disability lens to further and protect civil rights more generally.

Jasmine E. Harris is a Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School with a secondary appointment at the Penn Graduate School of Education. She is a leading law and inequality scholar with expertise in disability law, antidiscrimination law, and evidence as well as a frequent contributor in publications and media outlets as the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Magazine, Washington Post, TIME Magazine, Bloomberg, and National Public Radio. Professor Harris holds a BA from Dartmouth College and a JD from Yale Law School. She clerked for Harold Baer, Jr., United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, practiced complex commercial litigation at WilmerHale, and practiced public interest law at the Advancement Project. Harris serves as an executive board member of The Arc of the United States where she chairs the organization’s Legal Advocacy Committee.

Karen Tani is the Seaman Family University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is jointly appointed in the law school and the history department. She is the author of States of Dependency: Welfare, Rights, and American Governance, 1935-1972 (Cambridge University Press, 2016). Her published articles have appeared or are forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Law and History Review, Disability Studies Quarterly, and other outlets. Her current book project is titled “Costed Out: Disabled Citizens and American Governance in the Late Twentieth Century.” She holds a JD and a PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania.