Public Interest Law & Policy Speakers Series
The 2024-2025 Public Interest Law & Policy Speakers Series features an outstanding line-up of judges, lawyers, social scientists, authors, and academics with expertise in public interest law and policy. The year-long, interdisciplinary series brings to Washington University nationally and internationally prominent experts in such areas as civil rights, racial justice, capital punishment, international human rights, government public service, and pro bono private practice. This popular series is now in its twenty-fifth year. Each program is free of charge and open to the public. All events will be on Zoom unless otherwise noted. Most talks provide 1.0 hours of Continuing Legal Education credit unless otherwise noted. For more information, contact Karen Tokarz at 314.935.6414.
See below for the upcoming speakers for the 2024-2025 season.
Fall 2024
Rutgers Law Prof. Kim Mutcherson will present “Reproductive Justice Beyond Abortion: Potential Life as a Tool of Subordination” on Fri., Sept. 6, 2:00pm in the Clark-Fox Forum in Hillman Hall. Co-sponsored with the WashU Center for the Humanities; Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies Department; and the Law School Law, Identity, & Culture Initiative.
Click here to view the recorded event.
Click here to view the recorded event.
Join us on September 11 for a conversation on “Terrorism, Torture, and the Long Legal Shadow of 9/11” with investigative journalist and critically acclaimed author Michael Isikoff (AB’74). The conversation will explore the profound legal missteps that occurred in the aftermath of 9/11, detailing both the failure to hold the perpetrators accountable and the resurgence of ISIS following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. This “lesson learned” discussion will also tackle the lingering, unresolved questions surrounding the alleged Saudi involvement in the 9/11 attack and the reactions on the part of the victims’ families to those allegations.
Moderated by WashU Law Professor MJ Durkee, this interactive conversation will provide an opportunity for audience questions and discussion. Register here to attend this event.
The Weidenbaum Center for the Economy, Government & Public Policy and the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting are co-hosting a forum on “A Warm Welcome: Immigrant Inclusion in Divisive Times”. This event will bring together academics and practitioners to discuss efforts to promote the inclusion of immigrants in St. Louis and across the country. Expert panelists including those from the fields of sociology, law, and journalism, will share their perspectives and field questions from the moderator and the audience. Featuring;
- Professor Katie Herbert Meyer, Director, WashU Law Immigration Clinic
- Professor Dina Okamoto, Indiana University Sociology Department
- Gilberto Pinela, Director, Office of New Americans, St. Louis City Mayor’s Office
- Valerie Plesch, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting
- Professor Ariela Schachter, WashU Sociology Department (moderator).
Please click here to view the event.
“Constitution Day/Law School “SCOTUS Review” will be on Wed, Sept. 25, at 12:00 pm, in the Law School Bryan Cave Courtroom. Cosponsored with the Weidenbaum Center for the Economy, Government & Public Policy and the Gephardt Institute for Civic & Community Engagement, featuring WashU Law Professors Susan Appleton, Travis Crum, Andrea Katz, Ron Levin, Greg Magarian, and Karen Tokarz (moderator).
View recording of the event here.
In an era in which technology plays a prominent role in the legal industry, the opportunity for lasting transformation is becoming a reality. Can generative AI help usher in foundational changes to a legal system with easy-to-use and affordable tools that are responsibly implemented?
Join Bridget McCormack, Current President and CEO of the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution® (AAA-ICDR®) and Former Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and WashU Law’s Associate Dean and Director of the Law Library, Peter Hook, as they discuss the role of generative AI and technology in ensuring greater access to justice for all.
This event qualifies for 1.0 MO BAR MCLE and can be attended in person or on Zoom. Registration is required for online attendees and is limited.
Click here to register for the event.
Past season events
Spring 2024
New Directions in Negotiation, Diversity, Inclusion, & Leadership
Thursday, April 11, 2024
2:00 – 4:00 p.m. ct
In-person & Zoom
Click here to view the Seven Tensions of Negotiation recorded event
Click here to view the Diversity, Inclusion and Leadership recorded event
2.0* MO CLE (including 1.0* ethics/bias) *pending approval
SEMINAR PRESENTED BY:
Washington University School of Law – Negotiation & Dispute Resolution Program, United States Arbitration & Mediation, Association of Missouri Mediators
CO-SPONSORED BY: WashULaw Public Interest Law & Policy Speaker Series, WashU Law & Business Society, Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy
The Sum of Us: Moving Beyond the Myth of Equity as a Zero-Sum Game
Heather McGhee, 2024 WashU Distinguished Visiting Scholar; Author, “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together,”
Thursday, February 1, 2024
6:00 p.m. | Graham Chapel (Danforth Campus).
Presented by the WashU Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity, sponsored in part through funding from the Office of the Provost. Co-sponsored by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy; the Clark-Fox Policy Institute and the Center for Social Development
Public Policy Forum on Education Policy
Please join us to hear faculty experts from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Washington University examine education policy. Topics to be addressed will include suburban inequality and why it matters.
Fall 2023
The Politics and Process of State Legislatures: What Makes Government Work
MCLE 1.0 hours
Thursday, November 9, 2023
- Fireside chat with Tom Bottern, Secretary of the Minnesota State Senate, and Professor Greg Magarian.
Co-sponsored by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government & Public Policy; the Gephardt Institute for Civic & Community Engagement; and the Political Science Department
Click here to view the recorded event.
Patchwork Apartheid: Private Restriction, Racial Segregation, and Urban Inequality
MCLE 1.0 hours
Monday, November 6, 2023
- Professor Colin Gordon of the University of Iowa. Professor Gordon’s book “Patchwork Apartheid: Private Restriction, Racial Segregation, and Urban Inequality,” on the use of racial covenants in the Midwest, including St. Louis and St. Louis County, is scheduled to come out next month.
- Professor Karen Tokarz, moderator
Co-sponsored by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government & Public Policy; the Brown School; the Clark-Fox Policy Institute; the Gephardt Institute for Civic & Community Engagement; the Political Science Department; the Black Law Students Association; and the SBA Diversity & Inclusion Chair.
Click here to view the recorded event.
Why Poverty and Inequality Undermine Justice in America
Thursday, October 12, 2023
- Professor Mark Rank, Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare at the Brown School of Social Work, joint appointment in the Department of Sociology at WashU, and author of “The Poverty Paradox: Understanding Economic Hardship Amid American Prosperity”
- Professor Steven Fazzari, Bert A. and Jeanette L. Lynch Distinguished Professor of Economics at WashU, Professor of Sociology
Co-sponsored by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.
Legal Ethics Developments Every Lawyer Should Know
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Co-sponsored by the WashULaw Office of the Dean and the Public Interest Law and Policy Speaker Series.
Constitution Day 2023: U.S. Supreme Court Review
MCLE 1.0 hours
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Join WashULaw professors for an in-person discussion of recent, notable Supreme Court decisions concerning the First Amendment, affirmative action, student loans, voting rights, and more.
- Professor Travis Crum
- Professor Pauline Kim
- Professor Greg Magarian
- Professor Andrea Katz
- Professor Karen Tokarz
Co-sponsored by the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement.
Reproductive Justice After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
- Pamela Merritt, Executive Director of Medical Students for Choice
- Professor Susan Appleton, Lemma Barkeloo & Phoebe Couzins Professor of Law
Co-sponsored by WashU Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; If/When/How Student Chapter; Med Students for Choice.