Attending AALS? Today is jam-packed with excellent sessions, including the PR Section's Main Program:
2:45-4PM Eastern Section on Professional Responsibility Main Program: Legal and Judicial Ethics in the Post-#MeToo World
In 2016, the ABA amended Model Rule 8.4(g) clarifying that professional misconduct includes sexual harassment and discrimination, though few jurisdictions adopted this change, and some explicitly rejected it on First Amendment grounds. In 2019, the federal judiciary amended the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges to address sexual misconduct, but some argue the reforms do not go far enough. Headlines regularly feature attorneys and judges involved in sexual misconduct, whether as bystanders, facilitators, or perpetrators. Panelists will discuss ethics as a means to address these issues. Jaime Santos, founder of Law Clerks for Workplace Accountability, will speak along with presenters selected from a competitive call for papers.
- Moderator Renee Knake Jefferson Joanne and Larry Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics, Professor of Law University of Houston Law Center
- Speaker Call for Papers Susan S. Fortney Professor of Law; Director, Program for the Advancement of Legal Ethics Texas A&M University School of Law
- Speaker Call for Papers Jon J. Lee Professor of Practice University of Minnesota Law School
- Speaker Call for Papers Samuel J. Levine Dir., Jewish Law Institute and Professor of Law Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
- Speaker Jaime Santos, Partner Goodwin Procter
Other events of interest happening today include:
- Thursday 1/7 11-12:15PM Eastern Section on Leadership, Co-Sponsored by Professional Responsibility and Pro Bono & Public Service Opportunities: Never Let A Good Crisis Go To Waste; The Pedagogy of Leadership During Crisis—Student Engagement
- Thursday 1/7 1:15-2:30PM Eastern Hot Topic Program: Breaking News in U.S. Legal Regulatory Reform Was 2020 the year that changed the practice of law forever? This panel of experts in legal regulatory reform will discuss recent and upcoming changes in legal services regulation, including: The relationship between regulatory reform and access to justice; the status of regulatory reform efforts around the country and the driving forces of these changes; what we can we learn from legal regulation in other countries; the status of evaluation efforts; an update on efforts to eliminate the bar exam as a barrier to entry for the legal profession; and what these changes mean for the future of legal education.
- Thursday 1/7 4:15-5:30PM Eastern Author Meets Reader Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows Of the Supreme Court—A Conversation with Justice Goodwin Liu
Join California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu along with the authors of the book Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court, Renee Knake Jefferson and Hannah Brenner Johnson, to hear the untold story of nine women considered for the Court before Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female Justice. The discussion will include lessons learned from this extraordinary history that can be applied today to address enduring gender disparity in positions of leadership and power, as well as observations about recent appointments to the Court. NYU Press is offering book purchasers a 30% discount + free shipping with code shortlisted30 here.