On June 29, Fordham Law School’s Leitner Center for International Law and Justice and the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) invited Sheila Foster, professor of law and public policy at Georgetown Law School and the McCourt School of Public Policy; Bennett Capers, soon-to-be director of Fordham Law’s Center on Race, Law and Justice; Gay McDougall, distinguished scholar in residence at the Leitner Center and the Center on Race, Law and Justice; and the Honorable Justice Dr. Willy Mutunga, former chief justice and president of the Supreme Court of Kenya for a candid conversation entitled “Black Lives Matter: Racism in…
Author: Erin DeGregorio
On July 15, Fordham Law School’s Center on Race, Law and Justice invited attorneys from Richard Kibbe & Orbe LLP—Managing Partner Jennifer Grady, Partner Margaret Meyers, and Partner James Walker—for a webinar entitled “Inclusive Workplaces Best Practices: Implicit Bias and #MeToo Racial Blindspots.” Nearly 500 attendees heard the partners’ recommendations for how to effectively identify and address unconscious bias and racial blindspots in the legal profession, plus ways to support and pursue diversity and inclusion equity in the workplace. Associate Director of the Center on Race and Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law Tanya Hernández, who moderated the discussion and…
After a brief foray into corporate law after graduating from Fordham Law School, Wylie Stecklow ’90 has dedicated his legal career to representing what he calls “the little guy.” In fact, he calls WylieLaw, the firm he founded in 1995, “the legal ‘David’ who slays the corporate ‘Goliath.’” Over the past decade, Stecklow has been involved in an array of civil rights-related pro bono matters, including representing more than 200 protesters arrested during the Occupy Wall Street movement. In addition to his active legal practice, he teaches Fundamentals of Lawyering every spring in Fordham Law’s LL.M. program and has been…
The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has inspired critiques of the U.S. criminal justice system from all corners, including members of the judiciary. On June 17, Fordham Law School’s Leitner Center for International Law and Justice, the Center on Race, Law and Justice, and Black Law Students Association invited Judge Theodore A. McKee, the fourth African American to sit on the Third Circuit’s U.S. Court of Appeals; Judge Ann Claire Williams, the first woman of color to serve on any district court in the Seventh Circuit and the third African American woman to serve on any…
The student-led Fordham China Law Society persevered through three months of uncertainty, rescheduling, and technical learning curves to virtually host its first annual symposium, titled “Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments between China and the U.S.,” on June 18. Five attorneys were invited to discuss how the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in the United States have the potential to fundamentally transform U.S.-China relations. Michelle Ng, senior litigation associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, moderated the symposium’s two panels, which included James Berger ’93, partner at King & Spalding; Brian G. Burke ’05, head of Asia litigation and investigations practice…
Professor John Pfaff was quoted in an article in The Atlantic about the release of prison inmates during the coronavirus pandemic and the larger narrative about mass incarceration. John Pfaff, a law professor at Fordham University and the author of Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform, notes that in this economy, we could see an uptick in crime. “People would say: ‘Bob was released early from jail and he went off and committed this robbery,’” he says. “And the real reason for the robbery is that Bob got released early and there…
Professor Andrew Kent was quoted in a Talk Poverty article about reform of the American Bar Association’s Model Rule 1.8(e). A modification of the rule will now allow some lawyers to provide humanitarian assistance to clients in dire need. When prospective pro bono clients call a lawyer about domestic violence or divorce, their legal problems are usually connected to other needs. Clients have worries about eviction, prescription drugs, and child care, not just their legal proceedings. … For example, “say there is someone who’s been beat up in jail at Rikers Island. If that client is getting pro bono legal help…
The fifth annual Pre-Law Institute began at Fordham Law School on June 30, drawing 46 participants representing some 25 undergraduate colleges and universities across the country and internationally. This year, the program is being held online due to COVID-19 safety restrictions. The Pre-Law Institute is open to all, but is designed primarily for undergraduate students and others who are thinking about attending law school. The program provides an introduction to the U.S. legal system and substantive areas of law that are core to the J.D. curriculum. Faculty members are drawn from Fordham Law’s full-time and adjunct faculty. This year’s adjunct…
A Message from Dean Diller to Students: July 7, 2020 Dear Students, I know you have been eager to learn our plans for the fall. Our current intention is to open our beautiful building for the fall semester, with classes beginning as scheduled, on August 26. As you know, the public health situation is evolving, and thus our plans are subject to change as needed. This fall will be unlike any other. Your health and safety are our first priority, and each member of our community will play a role in keeping us all as safe as possible. Building on…
Fordham Law’s Alumni Attorneys of Color Affinity Group (AAC) has launched a new webinar series, titled “A Series for AAC by AAC: How to Survive and Advance During Challenging Times,” focused on how attorneys of color have succeeded in their careers and overcome professional challenges. The first meeting, led by AAC Chair Brenda L. Gill ’95, took place on June 11 over Zoom. It featured William Min ’90, who talked with the group about how to develop and market one’s professional brand. Min, a Korean immigrant who grew up on Long Island, shared that his graduating high school class of…