Field and Campus: Spring 2023
Campus was abuzz this spring with remarkable opportunities to engage with experts across industries, for legal scholars and practitioners to come together and advance scholarship in their fields, and for law students to put to practice their leadership and legal skills. Read about some of the latest happenings at 185 West Broadway.
Thought-Provoking Conversations
Members of the NYLS community interact with leaders from a range of fields who come to NYLS to share their expertise and experiences, and to discuss the current legal issues of our time.
Clerk to C-Suite: A Conversation With Mark Weber
On February 15, students and alumni attended an engaging event with Mark Weber, former CEO of LVMH Inc. (U.S.), author, and radio host of Always in Fashion, who spoke about his start as a clerk in a clothing store to his rise as one of the most influential executives in the fashion industry. Following his talk, Weber’s sons, Jarrod Weber ’05 and Jesse Weber ’12, joined him for a wide-ranging conversation on law and the fashion industry alongside his outside counsel, David Kravitz.
Racial Justice Project: A Conversation Between Descendants Both of the Enslaved and Their Enslavers
On March 2, NYLS’s Racial Justice Project hosted an earnest and reflective conversation between descendants of the people who were enslaved and the people who owned slaves at Georgia’s Woodlawn Plantation. John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law Penelope Andrews moderated the insightful discussion with Hon. Marc Whiten ’84 and Rev. Darryl L. Winston, two descendants of enslaved persons on Woodlawn Plantation, and Edward T.M. Garland, a descendant of the original owner of Woodlawn Plantation, as they addressed issues of reconciliation.
Federal Clerkships: The Inside Scoop
Hon. Joel H. Slomsky ’70, Senior Federal Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Darley Maw ’16, who is a former law clerk of Judge Slomsky’s, joined students on campus on March 21 to share their own experiences in the judiciary and to give the students insight into the federal clerkship application process and the value a federal clerkship could hold for their careers. Judge Slomsky returns to NYLS campus in fall 2023 as an adjunct professor to teach the Drafting: Federal Judicial Opinions course.
2023 Otto L. Walter Lecture: A Conversation with Luis Moreno Ocampo on War and Justice in the 21st Century
On March 28, Luis Moreno Ocampo was this year’s featured speaker for the 2023 Otto L. Walter Lecture, where he spoke about his new book War and Justice in the 21st Century. In conversation with Ernst C. Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law Ruti G. Teitel, they delved into his experiences as the first Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and examined the role of the ICC in current conflicts, such as the Russian-Ukrainian War.
(Wilf Impact Center Conversations) A Conversation With District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr.
District Attorney, and former NYLS professor, Alvin L. Bragg Jr. came back to campus on May 3 for a special event held just for the NYLS community. In conversation with Professor Andrew Scherer, Bragg spoke in depth about his prosecutorial vision, the work of the newly restructured Manhattan DA’s Office, and the powers and limitations of prosecutors.
Advancing Scholarship
NYLS hosted several conferences that gathered together legal scholars and practitioners to address critical concerns within their field.
Annual Asylum and Immigration Law Conference
In partnership with Immigrant-ARC, Safe Passage Project, and the Federal Bar Association’s Immigration Law Section, New York Law School hosted this annual conference on February 10 and 11. The conference featured two days of panels designed for asylum and immigration advocates at the beginning of their career as well as those with extensive experience. Many of NYLS’s faculty and alumni led these important trainings on best practices in the field, from proving nexus to the asylum interview and trial, and current asylum issues including representing children seeking asylum and different social groups most recently at risk.
Symposium: Reclaiming Disability Justice
Collaborating with Brooklyn Law School, New York Law School hosted an expansive spring semester event advancing issues of disability justice within the legal community on March 31 and April 1. Panelists, community members, advocates, and activists discussed the origins and goals of disability justice, including its intended focus on the lives and experiences of people of color with disabilities and disabled people with multi-marginalized identities. Experts also probed disability justice’s relationship to incarceration, reproductive justice, and environmental justice, and discussed how to ensure that advocates and proponents of disability justice are working to make its goals concrete, particularly in the lives of multi-marginalized people with disabilities.
Tribeca Cybersecurity Summit
On April 14, NYLS’s Tricarico Institute for the Business of Law and In-House Counsel at New York Law School once again presented the Tribeca Cybersecurity Summit, which brought together in-house counsel, attorneys in private practice, and NYLS students to learn about and engage with pressing cybersecurity issues, including a survey of the cyber threat landscape, best practices on cyber extortion, and how legal professionals can help improve their organization’s cyber defenses through negotiation of strong cyber provisions in vendor contracts.
Combatting Fraud From the COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Lessons and Leadership
On June 27, New York Law School collaborated with K2 Integrity to present a daylong workshop featuring panel discussions that covered how government agencies were impacted by and responded to COVID-19. Michael Siller, NYLS Chief Compliance Officer and Counsel, organized the conference in partnership with K2 Integrity. Siller formerly served as the New York City Department of Investigation’s Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel. The workshops panels included inspectors general from across the country who discussed the pandemic challenges their offices faced, state and local officials examining COVID-related investigations and their interactions with federal prosecutors, and more.
Student-Led Symposiums
Our active law students also connected with NYLS alumni and other industry experts to host symposiums this year. The Sports Law Society hosted their annual symposium on March 30 and 31 addressing the latest issues within sports law including name, image, and likeness (NIL) laws and best practices, sports media, sports gaming, and more. Andrew Latack, Head of Legal at Klutch Sports, and Emerson S. Moore II ’99, Former Chief People Officer of BSE, were the keynote speakers. The Legal Association for Women (LAW) hosted a symposium on March 24 addressing the experiences of women in the legal field. Their featured panels drew from the expertise of many NYLS alumna and faculty.
Student Activities and Events
Throughout the semester, NYLS student organizations hosted a number of events for the student body and the wider legal community.
On February 8, the Asian American Law Students Association invited the student body to join them for a Lunar New Year celebration and conversation with NYLS alumna Margaret T. Ling '83.
On February 10, the Dispute Resolution Team and the Sports Law Society hosted a Soccer Dispute Competition, in which teams of law students from across the country demonstrated their negotiation skills through simulated player contracts, stadium construction, endorsements, and team ownership.
From March 3–5, the Moot Court Association welcomed teams from across the country to our campus for the 47th Annual Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Competition, the first in-person Wagner competition since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Black Law Students Association’s 27th Annual Alumni Awards Dinner on April 14 was a very special celebration honoring all past presidents of the student organization in commemoration of its 50th anniversary.
On April 19, the New York Law School Law Review hosted its annual benefit reception, honoring Judge John M. Gallagher ’94.