From the January 6th attack on the Capitol to recent assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump, political violence and intimidation pose a growing threat to our democracy. ACS will host Giffords Law Center, March for Our Lives and leading legal scholars to discuss the causes of rising violence, the stakes of the 2024 election, and how progressive lawyers can support positive change.
Featuring:
Russ Feingold, President, American Constitution Society
Joseph Blocher, Professor, Duke Law School
Makennan McBryde, Legal Project Manager, Giffords Law Center
Mary McCord, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center
ACS hosted its Annual National Supreme Court Preview, featuring a diverse group of constitutional and legal experts offering their insights into what we can expect from the U.S. Supreme Court Term beginning, on October 7, 2024.
Last Term, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative super-majority continued its years-long work of ushering in the conservative legal movement’s vision for our country, including creating sweeping criminal immunity for presidents and giving judges the power to upend federal regulations based on their own policy preference. This work was done in the face of historically low public approval and serious ethical lapses by some justices, all of which has only increased calls for court reform. In the face of all this and a looming presidential election, what can we expect from the Court during the 2024-2025 Term?
Welcome Remarks:
Zinelle October, ACS Executive Vice President
Speakers:
Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence; Charles M. Brewer Professor of Trial Advocacy; Faculty Director, Indian Legal Program and Director, Indian Legal Clinic, Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Daniel Epps, Professor of Law, Washington University School of Law
Katie Eyer, Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Gautam Hans, Clinical Professor of Law; Founding Director of the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Clinic, Cornell Law School
Andrew Willinger, Executive Director, Center for Firearms Law; Lecturing Fellow, Duke University School of Law
Hassan Ali Kanu, Staff Writer, The American Prospect (moderator)
Are you interested in clerking, but don't know where to begin? Join ACS on Tuesday, October 1st, 2024 at 4 pm ET for The Basics of Clerkship Applications, a virtual event on the nuts and bolts of clerkship applications for territorial, state and federal courts. The call covers all the steps of the application process, including selecting courts and judges; cover letters; resumes; and recommendations. Anyone considering clerkships, including 1Ls, 2Ls, 3Ls, or new lawyers in practice should attend.
Opening Remarks:
Judge Jia Cobb, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Panelists:
Isabella Aguilar, Judicial Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Jacob Alcock, Staff Attorney, Legal Services of Alabama (former Judicial Clerk for The High Court of American Samoa)
Rashmi Borah, Associate, Latham & Watkins (former Judicial Clerk U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)
Jake Mazeitis, Judicial Clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (former Judicial Clerk for the Colorado Supreme Court)
Moderator:
Thea Cohen, Director of Strategic Engagement, American Constitution Society
The ACS National Supreme Court Review featured leading scholars and advocates examining some of the most consequential cases of the 2023-2024 Term. The panel discussed the Court's noteworthy decisions, their long-term effects on law and policy, and what they can tell us about a Court in the midst of a legitimacy crisis that has been years in the making.
Welcome Remarks
Russ Feingold, President, American Constitution Society
Featuring
Mark Joseph Stern, Senior Writer, Slate (moderator)
Matthew Bodie, Professor of Law, Robins Kaplan Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School
Greer Donley, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, John E. Murray Faculty Scholar, Associate Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Kathay Feng, Vice President of Programs, Common Cause
Genevieve Lakier, Professor of Law, Herbert and Marjorie Fried Teaching Scholar, The University of Chicago Law School
K. Sabeel Rahman, Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
Increased corporate consolidation across industries has harmed Americans, as consumers, as workers, and as owners of small businesses. By protecting fair competition, antitrust enforcement contributes to lower consumer prices, increased jobs and wages, innovation, and better-quality goods and services. In these ways, antitrust enforcement profoundly affects Americans’ everyday lives. Both federal and state enforcers have roles to play in this important work. Recently, we have seen them act independently and together to challenge consolidation and anti-competitive practices in several high-profile cases, including against Google, Amazon, and Kroger-Albertsons. What challenges are federal and state antitrust enforcers facing? How can these challenges be overcome to achieve the promises of our antitrust laws?
Moderator: Elizabeth Odette, Assistant Attorney General and Manager of the Antitrust Division in the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General
Panelists: Alvaro Bedoya, Commissioner of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
Gwendolyn J. Lindsay Cooley, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust in the Wisconsin Department of Justice and Chair of the Multistate Antitrust Task Force of the National Association of Attorneys General
Doha Mekki, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice
Please join ACS and The Appellate Project for a panel discussion aimed at demystifying judicial clerkships, specifically for law students of color and first-generation law students. Participants will learn more about the clerkship process, whether they should apply for a clerkship, the differences between state, federal, trial, and appellate clerkships, the qualities that judges look for in judicial clerks, and the day-to-day experience of being a clerk. Panelists will also provide best practices for navigating the clerkship application process and discuss the importance of increasing diversity in judicial clerkships.
Featuring:
Judge Denny Chin, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Judge Kenia Seoane Lopez, Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Judge Latrice Westbrooks, Mississippi Court of Appeals
Moderator: Carrie Montgomery, Senior Associate, WilmerHale; Development Committee Member and Mentor at The Appellate Project
Opening Remarks: Thea Cohen, Director of Strategic Engagement, ACS
