Keynote Address: "Progress Imperiled?: The Health Care Law, Its Implementation, & Constitutional Challenges"

Roughly a year after the passage of landmark health care reform legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), its future is in question. To date, district court decisions from four federal judges have split on the question of the constitutionality of the law’s mandatory individual coverage provisions. What are the merits on either side of the debate on the law’s constitutionality? What is the status of the litigation? What are the jurisprudential stakes for the federal government’s power to address pressing national problems? What are the implications for other pieces of federal legislation? In the face of this litigation, how is the law’s implementation going? What, if any, effect does the uncertainty have on business and the lives of American citizens? Experts from a variety of different perspectives discussed these and other questions at an ACS event on Thursday, March 3, 2011. The event featured a noon keynote address by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Thomas A. Daschle, Senior Policy Advisor at DLA Piper and author of the recently published book, Getting It Done, an intimate look at the passage of the health care reform legislation being debated today. A panel discussion was held from 12:30—2 pm and featured:

  • Moderator, Julie Rovner, Health Policy Correspondent, National Public Radio
  • Walter Dellinger, Chair of the Appellate Practice, O’Melveny & Myers LLP; former Assistant U.S. Attorney General
  • Simon Lazarus, Public Policy Counsel, National Senior Citizens Law Center; author of The Health Care Lawsuits: Unraveling A Century of Constitutional Law and the Fabric of Modern Government
  • Ilya Somin, Associate Professor, George Mason University School of Law
  • Neera Tanden, Operating Officer, Center for American Progress; former Senior Advisor for Health Reform at the Department of Health and Human Services

Panel Discussion: "Progress Imperiled?: The Health Care Law, Its Implementation, & Constitutional Challenges"

Roughly a year after the passage of landmark health care reform legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), its future is in question. To date, district court decisions from four federal judges have split on the question of the constitutionality of the law’s mandatory individual coverage provisions. What are the merits on either side of the debate on the law’s constitutionality? What is the status of the litigation? What are the jurisprudential stakes for the federal government’s power to address pressing national problems? What are the implications for other pieces of federal legislation? In the face of this litigation, how is the law’s implementation going? What, if any, effect does the uncertainty have on business and the lives of American citizens? Experts from a variety of different perspectives discussed these and other questions at an ACS event on Thursday, March 3, 2011. The event featured a noon keynote address by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Thomas A. Daschle, Senior Policy Advisor at DLA Piper and author of the recently published book, Getting It Done, an intimate look at the passage of the health care reform legislation being debated today. A panel discussion was held from 12:30—2 pm and featured:

  • Moderator, Julie Rovner, Health Policy Correspondent, National Public Radio
  • Walter Dellinger, Chair of the Appellate Practice, O’Melveny & Myers LLP; former Assistant U.S. Attorney General
  • Simon Lazarus, Public Policy Counsel, National Senior Citizens Law Center; author of The Health Care Lawsuits: Unraveling A Century of Constitutional Law and the Fabric of Modern Government
  • Ilya Somin, Associate Professor, George Mason University School of Law
  • Neera Tanden, Operating Officer, Center for American Progress; former Senior Advisor for Health Reform at the Department of Health and Human Services

Highlights from Eliot Spitzer's Keynote Address

On February 8, 2011, ACS brought together leading thinkers and practitioners with varied areas of legal expertise for a special roundtable conversation at NYU Law School on corporate influence and the courts. The keynote address was given by former New York governor and attorney general Eliot Spitzer, who is currently the co-host of CNN's Parker Spitzer. 

Highlights: ACS Roundtable Discussion on Corporate Influence and the Courts

On February 8, 2011, ACS brought together leading thinkers and practitioners with varied areas of legal expertise for a special roundtable conversation on corporate influence and the courts. The keynote address was given by former New York governor and attorney general Eliot Spitzer, who is currently the co-host of CNN's Parker Spitzer. Click here for video of the keynote address.

Moderator, Arthur Miller, University Professor, New York University School of Law, will lead an engaging conversation among a wide variety of legal experts.

The following roundtable participants were confirmed: Daniel Berger, Shareholder, Berger & Montague, P.C.; Jeffrey C. Block, Partner, Berman DeValerio; Rachel Brand, Counsel, WilmerHale; Morgan Cloud, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory Law School; Sanford P. Dumain, Partner, Milberg LLP; Jay W. Eisenhofer, Managing Director, Grant & Eisenhofer P.A.; Marianne Engelman-Lado, Staff Attorney, Earthjustice; Steven E. Fineman, Managing Partner, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP; David L. Franklin, Associate Professor of Law, DePaul University College of Law; Stuart M. Gerson, Partner, EpsteinBeckerGreen, P.C.; Marc I. Gross, Partner, Pomerantz Haudek Grossman & Gross LLP; Barbara J. Hart, Chief Operating Officer, Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart P.C.; Doug Kendall, Founder and President, Constitutional Accountability Center; Edward Labaton, Senior Partner, Labaton Sucharow LLP; Jonathan J. Lerner, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom; Maureen E. Mahoney, Of Counsel, Latham & Watkins LLP; Alice McInerney, Partner, Kirby McInerney LLP; Cyrus Mehri, Founding Partner, Mehri & Skalet, PLLC; Bruce Myers, Senior Attorney, Environmental Law Institute; Per Olstad, Director of U.S. Chamber Watch and CorporateDisclosure.Org; Wayne N. Outten, Managing Partner, Outten & Golden LLP; Richard H. Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law, NYU School of Law; Martin H. Redish, Louis and Harriet Ancel Professor of Law and Public Policy, Northwestern University School of Law; Alexander A. Reinert, Associate Professor of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; Jeff Rosen, Legal Affairs Editor, The New Republic; Professor of Law, George Washington University; Judy Scott, General Counsel, Service Employees International Union; Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute; Nadine Strossen, Professor of Law, New York Law School and President, ACLU, 1991-2008; Steve Susman, Partner, Susman Godfrey LLP; Barry Weprin, Partner, Milberg LLP; Joe R. Whatley, Jr., Attorney, Whatley Drake & Kallas; Monica Youn, Senior Counsel, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice; and Allison M. Zieve, Director of Litigation, Public Citizen.

Keynote Address, Eliot Spitzer, Co-Host CNN's Parker Spitzer and Former Governor of New York. Highlights from Spitzer's keynote address are available below.

Full audio of the event is available here.

Judicial Nominations in 2011 with White House Counsel Robert F. Bauer

On February 1, 2011, White House Counsel Robert F. Bauer offered a keynote address entitled "Judicial Nominations in 2011." The program was held at the National Press Club. Following Mr. Bauer's remarks, a panel of experts discussed the degree to which the federal courts are understaffed, the pace of nominations and confirmations over the past year, the procedural impediments to confirmation, and what to expect in the 112th Congress.The text of Bauer's remarks is available here.

The panel featured: * Moderator, Caroline Fredrickson, Executive Director, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy * Makan Delrahim, Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee (2000-2003) * Carolyn Lamm, Partner, White & Case; American Bar Association President (2009-2010) * William P. Marshall, William Rand Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law; Deputy White House Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States during the Clinton Administration. This program is part of the continuing ACS series, "The Future of the Courts: Nominations, Confirmations, and the Pursuit of Justice," featuring experts on the courts examining issues such as the importance of the courts, the status of judicial vacancies, and the confirmation process.