We are all absorbing today’s Supreme Court ruling which will have profound effects on our society, higher education, and our law school. Expanding access to the legal profession has been central to our mission for more than a century. As President Tania Tetlow has so eloquently written in her statement on this ruling, Fordham was founded and built with the goal of opening doors to those who had been excluded, enabling individuals from marginalized groups to partake in America’s promise. This mission is true for the Law School as well as for the University as a whole. A diverse and…
Author: Newsroom
In an opinion piece for New York Law Journal, Dean Matthew Diller explains why the new U.S. News and World Report formula for ranking law schools is still problematic and often misleading to prospective students whose application decisions are influenced by them. However, the adoption of a unidimensional focus on this metric means that insignificant fluctuations will have outsized consequences. For example, looking at 2021, in employment rates, 11 schools have long-term, full-time bar-required and “JD advantage” employment rates (which is the data point U.S. News emphasizes) between 89% and 90%. Another nine have employment rates between 88% and 89%.…
Professor Bennett Capers, a former federal prosecutor and head of the Center on Race, Law, and Justice at Fordham Law, and Professor Cheryl Bader, a former federal prosecutor and head of the Criminal Defense Clinic at Fordham Law, are both quoted in an Associated Press on the differences between Hunter Biden’s case and the cases of two rappers who faced the same gun charge. “It’s really not a fair comparison, since plea deals turn on way more than the actual charge,” Bennett Capers, a former federal prosecutor who now heads the Center on Race, Law, and Justice at Fordham Law,…
Professor Bruce Green was quoted in Bloomberg Law on the lawyers facing disciplinary action for filing a ChatGPT-generated court brief. “A litigator would have to be living under a rock not to have gotten the message already about the risks of blithely relying on ChatGPT,” said Fordham Law professor Bruce Green. “The bigger disciplinary risk relates to the lawyer’s conduct after his initial memo of law was challenged, when the lawyer failed to go back and check the cases, and instead reaffirmed their legitimacy.” Read “Fake ChatGPT Cases Costs Lawyers $5,000 Plus Embarrassment” on Bloomberg Law.
The New York Times covered the work being done by Fordham Law’s Criminal Defense Clinic students, led by Professor Cheryl Bader, to bring mitigation videos to marginalized clients. A fairly recent defense effort, mitigation videos include interviews with the defendant, their family and friends, as well as social workers and psychologists that provide context about a defendant’s life and circumstances that led them to the charges they are facing. Most frequently employed by wealthy defendants in federal cases, Fordham Law is working in partnership with The Legal Aid Society to create mitigation videos for clients in state court who cannot afford…
In a New York Times article on the potential damages former President Trump could be ordered to pay E. Jean Caroll, Professor Benjamin Zipursky suggests that punitive damages should not exceed 10 times the compensatory damages. Read “Is There a Price That Keeps Trump Quiet? E. Jean Carroll May Find Out.” in The New York Times.
Professor Lawrence B. Brennan explains the 1851 Limitation Act and how it could impact OceanGate Expedition’s legal liability for the tourist submersible implosion. Read “An 1851 maritime law protected the Titanic’s owners in court. Could OceanGate use it too?” on The Independent.
Professor Bruce Green gives his thoughts on whether the President has the power to dictate investigations by the Department of Justice. As Green explained, “During the Nixon administration, it appeared that President Nixon was misusing the, you know, the FBI and the Justice Department. And after that, when President Ford was elected and he was appointed as the pick to be attorney general, the Justice Department adopted policies that have been continued pretty much since then.” He also noted that breaking these rules is not a criminal offense: “They’re internal policies. So they’re not they’re not laws adopted by Congress.”…
Professor Susan Scafidi provides her expert opinion on dupe fashion culture. “The embrace of dupes has become its own moral statement and become one that is widely accepted—that is the difference and that’s what brands are having to fight,” said Susan Scafidi, a Fordham Law School professor and founder of the school’s Fashion Law Institute. Gen Z and social media are prime instigators, she said. “If you need to show up on Instagram every day looking different and styling yourself differently, then you need a constant new flow of tools to do that and that is fast fashion and that…
A quote from Professor Cheryl Bader was included in an Independent article on former President Trump’s classified documents case. Read “How much prison time could Trump face? Past cases brought steep punishment for document hoarders.” on The Independent.