As Fordham Law students return to classes this week, they can look forward to 13 new courses, the addition of two prestigious faculty members, and a semester filled with interesting programs and activities.
New courses include Intellectual Property and Life Sciences with Professor Janet Freilich, American Indian Law with Michael Pearl, Artificial Intelligence & Law with Diana Santos, and Introduction to Chinese Law with Professor Carl Minzner, among other topics.
Fordham Law is also launching the new Law and Technology Clinic this month, led by Professor Ron Lazebnik. The clinic will engage students in working on issues at the intersection of law, technology and social justice as it partners with local nonprofits and social justice organizations.
Students will benefit from the expertise of two new faculty members joining the Law School this semester: Professor Harlan Grant Cohen from the University of Georgia Law School and Manuel José Cepeda Espinosa, former chief justice of Colombia’s Constitutional Court. A leading expert on international law, international trade, and global governance, Professor Cohen joins the full-time faculty and will teach International Trade Law this semester. Justice Cepeda serves as the William Hughes Mulligan Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law and will teach a course on Comparative Constitutional Law.
This semester is Matthew Diller’s last as dean as he will be stepping down from the role on June 30 to return to teaching as a member of the faculty. The new Dean is expected to be announced in Spring 2024 and start by Summer 2024.
Upcoming events and scholarly activities include the Law School’s Second Annual Spring Colloquium on Law & Philosophy on select Thursday afternoons from January through April where leading legal theorists and philosophers from the U.S. and abroad will discuss their scholarship with Professors Aditi Bagchi and Benjamin C. Zipursky.
The spring semester will also feature a number of symposia, panels, and lectures featuring legal luminaries. Mark your calendars for the Robert L. Levine Distinguished Lecture delivered by U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar, a Q&A between Dean Diller and Brian Koppleman ’95, co-creator of the hit drama series “Billions” (Feb. 7), and the Third Annual Eunice Carter Lecture (Feb. 22) featuring Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. And legal discourse and debate won’t be limited to the Fordham Law campus. Subscribe on your favorite podcasting app to hear the latest insights from Professors Julie Suk and Zephyr Teachout on the state of democracy here and abroad on their brand new podcast, “Democracy’s Future?”.
While all students return Jan. 18, the 1L class kick-started the semester two days early with a spring orientation featuring speaker Michelle Silverthorn, founder of Inclusion Nation. Fordham Law also welcomes 40 new students from more than 25 countries to the LL.M. program. This semester, first-year evening students will experience the flexibility of a new schedule that now includes a virtual “work from home” night in addition to optional Saturday classes, condensed seven-week courses, and a two-week January term.
While many students relaxed over winter break, some law students worked on social justice and service projects through the Law School. Students partnered with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and Annunciation House to assist detained migrants in Texas and participated in the 23rd Annual MLK Serve-a-Thon, sponsored by policy and advocacy organization Hunger Free America. As the new semester gets underway, students are being recruited to participate as externs and volunteers with Legal Hand—a new collaboration between Fordham Law’s Public Interest Resource Center and Access to Justice Initiative with the New York Legal Assistance Group and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene—where they will have the opportunity to provide resources, assistance, and referrals for New Yorkers needing legal advice on housing, benefits, employment, and immigration, among other issues.
Said Dean Diller, “The semester will fly by quickly. I hope that each of you accomplishes what you set out to achieve and that you have a productive and fulfilling semester.”
