The Faculty Lounge

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Hiring Announcement

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Health Law Position – Tenured or Tenure Track

Loyola University New Orleans is now accepting applications for a tenure-track or tenured position in Health Law to begin August 1, 2021. We particularly welcome candidates whose research and teaching interests include health equity. If you are interested in applying,  please send your curriculum vitae and cover letter to [email protected]. All ranks will be considered. Inquiries may be sent to the Chair of the Appointments Committee, Professor Bobby Harges at [email protected].  

About the Position

The College of Law offers a certificate in Health Law for J.D. students and has recently launched a Masters and LL.M. in Health Law and Administration.  The successful candidate will lead the Health Law Program, teach a mix of required and health law courses, and engage in research, writing, and publication. An experienced staff administrative director will work with the health law professor in continuing to develop a robust educational program for our students.

The Loyola Health Law Program is taught by a vibrant mix of full-time faculty and practicing health lawyers. New Orleans is a diverse city with a thriving health care sector. Loyola is fortunate to have significant connections to many local institutions and government leaders to facilitate research and immediate impact in the community. The College of Law is noted for its long-standing commitment to social justice and its innovative use of experiential learning.

We especially welcome applications from candidates who will add to the diversity of our educational community and who have demonstrated expertise in working with a diverse student body. J.D. or equivalent is required. Practice experience, an interest in interdisciplinary scholarship, and program development experience are plus factors. 

About the College of Law

The College of Law is located in a largely residential area of New Orleans, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the United States, with unique cuisine, numerous museums and historical sites, and a flourishing arts community.  New Orleans is also the seat of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as other lower courts.   The College of Law has a student population of approximately 500 students, over forty faculty members, active clinics that have spearheaded numerous social justice reform efforts, and summer programs in Europe and Central America.  Its location in Louisiana, one of the world’s best known “mixed jurisdictions,” provides unique opportunities for comparative and international law scholarship.

Loyola University New Orleans is an educational institution dedicated to fostering intellectual achievement, personal development, and social responsibility, and it is committed to the human dignity and worth of every person.  Loyola University New Orleans strives to create and maintain a working and learning environment in which individuals are treated with dignity, decency, and respect. The University acknowledges and values individual differences, including, but not limited to, the dimensions of race; color; sex; national origin; age; religion; gender identity; transgender status; sexual orientation; ethnicity; disability status; and marital status and citizenship status. We recognize that diversity enriches our social interactions and intellectual lives, and we strongly encourage applications from individuals who will bring diversity to the College of Law.

This Is What a Death Cult Looks Like

Posted here without comment.

 

University of Oklahoma College of Law Faculty Search Announcement

The University of Oklahoma College of Law 

Associate Professor of Law 

The University of Oklahoma College of Law seeks outstanding applicants, either entry level or pre-tenure lateral, to fill a full-time tenure-track position to begin fall semester 2021. Successful applicants must have a J.D. or equivalent academic degree, strong academic credentials, a commitment to excellence in teaching, and demonstrably outstanding potential for scholarship. We welcome candidates in all subject matter areas, with particular interest in filling curricular needs that include criminal law, family law, constitutional law, wills and trusts, bankruptcy, and real estate transactions. 

The University of Oklahoma is committed to achieving a diverse, equitable, and inclusive university community by embracing each person’s unique contributions, background, and perspectives. The University recognizes that fostering an inclusive environment for all, with particular attention to the needs of historically marginalized populations, is vital to the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of our institutional mission. This enhances the OU experience for all students, faculty and staff, and for the communities that we engage. In keeping with OU’s commitment in this regard, a successful applicant should demonstrate a commitment to cultural competence. The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity institution http://www.ou.edu/eoo/. Individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.

As part of the state’s flagship university, OU Law stands out as a high-quality, affordable, and forward-looking institution committed to developing a socially involved and inclusive modern legal profession. OU Law boasts world-class facilities and an increasingly diverse student body, with over a third of the 2020 entering students identifying as racial minorities. OU Law’s strong and growing national reputation is buttressed by a commitment to attracting, retaining, and supporting excellent faculty with publication placement bonuses, course reductions based on scholarly productivity, and recent increases to an already impressive number of endowed positions.

Our law school sits on the main OU campus in Norman, a vibrant university town alive with entertainment, arts, food, and sports. A perennial on “best place to live” rankings, Norman has excellent public schools and a low cost of living. Situated within the greater Oklahoma City Metro area, Norman is an easy commute to Oklahoma City which features a dynamic economy, outstanding cultural venues, and ready air travel access, adding to the region’s growing national appeal. Visit http://www.ou.edu/flipbook and http://soonerway.ou.edu for more information. 

Application Procedure: To apply, please submit a curriculum vitae and your job talk paper to Melanie Tijerina, Faculty Support, ATTN: Faculty Appointments Committee EO Search #128, University of Oklahoma College of Law, 300 Timberdell Rd., Norman, OK 73019 or [email protected]. A cover letter is optional. If selected for an interview, teaching evaluations will be requested. Application review will begin immediately, but the position will remain open until filled.

That Gohmert Lawsuit

Rep. Louie Gohmert, along with the eleven Trump/Pence would-be electors from Arizona, sued Vice President Pence in a Texas federal court, seeking to (1) declare the Electoral Count Act unconstitutional, and (2) confer exclusive authority on Pence to recognize electors, which (3) would mean accepting the votes of the "alternative" slate of Republican electors from Arizona and perhaps other states. Others have addressed the merits of the legal claims. Here, I want to point out that the central factual predicate of the complaint is apparently untrue. The complaint alleges,

“The Arizona Electors have cast Arizona’s electoral votes for President Donald J. Trump on December 14, 2020, at the Arizona State Capitol with the permission and endorsement of the Arizona Legislature” (emphasis added).

As far as I can tell, the bolded allegation is a false statement of fact. Although the eleven Trump electors, who are also plaintiffs in the case, purported to cast votes for Trump/Pence on December 14, they had at most the support of  22 Arizona legislators (out of 90) who signed a purported “joint resolution,”  which was manifestly not the endorsement of the Arizona Legislature (which appears not even to have been in session at the time). The assertion that the actual Arizona legislature endorsed the Republican slate is material to the Gohmert complaint, as it comprises the underlying factual basis for the claimed dispute over "which electoral votes may be counted." Without the so-called legislative endorsement, there could be no "competing slates of Republican and Democratic electors" for Pence to choose between.

This is exactly the sort of false statement that is covered by Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Rule 3.3(a)(1) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.  Rule 11 requires that “factual allegations have evidentiary support." Rule 3.3(a)(1) likewise prohibits making “a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal." 

The complaint was signed by a member of the Texas bar. Also on the complaint were lawyers admitted to practice in New York and Washington, D.C. All three jurisdictions have adopted Rule 3.3(a)(1). Rule 11 is applicable to all pleadings in federal district court.

I have previously opposed the "weaponization" of lawyer disciplinary complaints such as the one brought by law professors against Kellyanne Conway. In this instance, however, the false statement was made in federal court pleadings rather than as political advocacy, which brings it much more squarely within Rule 11 and Rule 3.3(a)(1), both of which apply specifically to falsehoods in litigation.

NOTE: After writing this, but before posting, I came across a similar discussion in Derek Muller's Excess of Democracy blog, observing that a comparable false statement had been included in a SCOTUS brief in the Michigan litigation (submitted by three of the lawyers representing Gohmert, among others, with Sidney Powell as counsel of record).

Parting Thoughts on "Shortlisted" and Gender Equality in Leadership

This is a long-overdue final post to conclude my stint as a guest-blogger about my book Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court here at the Faculty Lounge. (See this link for prior posts.)

Since I last posted, we’ve witnessed the confirmation of a fifth woman for the Supreme Court and the first female Vice President of color will take her oath office in less than a month. These are moments of progress toward gender equality in leadership roles, to be sure. (Though it’s notable that Justice Amy Coney Barrett was questioned about laundry during her Senate confirmation hearings and soon-to-be Vice President Kamala Harris is already battling racist/sexist tropes according to a media study from TIME’S UP.)

And yet in the same span of time we also witnessed heightened resistance to women in power, including the taking-down of Dr. Jill Biden for using the same title that men holding PhDs do without any commentary or question, and the threatened kidnapping and murder of Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer for making decisions similar to New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo. As Fast Company put it in the recent article Whitmer & Cuomo: A Case Study in American Sexism: “Very different responses to the leadership of two prominent governors during the COVID-19 crisis reveals a lot about misogyny in America.”

Another continued tension is whether a woman is “right” for a particular role. Some might say that my early support for Barrett’s placement on the Supreme Court is in contradiction to my advocacy for women’s rights. (Together with my co-author Hannah Brenner Johnson we penned an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle back in 2018 calling for Trump to select Barrett when instead he chose Brett Kavanaugh. Then, in 2020 we authored two additional pieces (at CNN and the New York Daily News) conveying concerns about whether Barrett would support women’s rights in the same way as Ruth Bader Ginsburg.) Maybe this seems contradictory, but they are both positions we hold as compatible. White men have had a wide range of social, moral, and political beliefs represented on the Court and in all areas of leadership since the founding of this nation. Why shouldn’t women? Real progress, we believe, comes from supporting gender equality in leadership without expecting one (or a handful) of women to represent all things to all women. 

When Hannah and I finished writing the manuscript for Shortlisted in late 2018, we were struck by how so much of the discrimination and prejudice women endured nearly a century ago as they navigated professional lives remains today, especially for positions at the top. We channeled our frustration about this into another book, one designed especially to be used in law schools and higher education for courses on leadership. Gender, Power, Law & Leadership (West Academic 2019) is not a typical leadership book, in that it does not offer guidance on how to lead (though to be sure there are many important lessons from the individuals profiled). Instead, we focus on how to dismantle the structural barriers to gender equality in leadership, barriers that fall especially harsh on women of color. The book exposes readers to intersections of gender, race, class, power and law through both historical and contemporary works. It also explores post-feminism discrimination ignored by the modern legal system, including the glass cliff, shortlisting, emotional taxation, admin burdens, work wife syndrome, gender sidelining, imposter syndrome and other gender-based barriers. The book brings together an incredibly diverse array of scholars and experts, which we highlight with biographies and photos, because we believe who writes the content can be as important (and sometimes maybe even more important) than the content itself.  If you want to learn more, this link provides a PowerPoint slide deck of all the authors featured along with thought questions from each chapter plus the Table of Contents and Introduction can be found here.

Both Shortlisted and GPLL conclude with concrete guidance for readers to apply in their educational and professional lives as they pursue leadership paths, and both books propose reforms to create a world of leaders who reflect the public they serve.

My hope is that the posts I’ve shared as a guest-blogger here at the Faculty Lounge have done the same for those of you who have taken the time to read them. Thanks for having me, and here’s to a brighter 2021!

Would Mass Resignations from Trump's DOJ Have Made Any Difference?

Some people think so, but I am not so sure . . . as I explain in an essay for The Dispatch.

Newland has come to the conclusion that she and her colleagues, who were “some of the country’s finest lawyers,” should all have quit at the earliest opportunity, which would have left the Trump administration in the hands of some of the “second-rate lawyers,” like Rudy Giuliani, who have clownishly failed to overturn the presidential election. Given their “lack of basic legal skills,” says Newland, those attorneys might likewise have failed in their attempts to defend Trump’s Muslim ban and other ugly and destructive policies.

Having watched Giuliani and his co-counsel flail away in swing-state election cases, she attributes the Trump campaign’s multiple losses to representation by attorneys “who can't master the basic mechanics of lawyering.” The implication, of course, is that first-rate lawyers might somehow have succeeded in overturning the election, which gives far too little credit to the courts. In fact, the election challenges have bombed because they could not be supported by either law or facts. There was no election fraud, as Attorney General William Barr himself has acknowledged, and there is no legal path to keep Trump in office, as conservative and Trump-appointed judges have consistently ruled.

You can read the entire piece here.

NOTE: the link has been fixed.

OSU Moritz College of Law – Alternative Dispute Resolution Faculty Position

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law seeks lateral candidates from the junior to the senior rank in the area of Alternative Dispute Resolution, broadly understood. We thus welcome expressions of active interest from faculty who research and write in the traditional ADR areas of arbitration, mediation, negotiation, restorative justice, international dispute resolution, or international commercial arbitration and mediation. We also welcome expressions of interest from faculty whose scholarship falls outside traditional ADR subjects. For example, we may be interested in considering candidates whose work engages community conflict and non-state-based forms of problem solving, community building and/or community organizing, diplomacy, environmental justice, mutual aid, peace studies, policing and its (non-carceral) alternatives, reparations, transformative and/or transitional justice, and truth and reconciliation.

Candidates should send a cover letter and C.V. by email to Martha Chamallas, [email protected], and Ari Glogower, [email protected], expressing interest in being considered for this position. Applicants whose work is outside traditional ADR fields are encouraged—but not required—to use their cover letter to address how they see their work contributing to the field of ADR, while describing the traditional and non-traditional ADR courses that they would like to teach. 

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law is committed to building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive community to reflect human diversity and to improve opportunities for all. Diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice are essential to the excellence of our community, culture, and curriculum, and the pursuit of this excellence is critical to our educational mission. We value diversity in all of its dimensions, including race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, socioeconomic status, geography, physical and learning abilities, veteran status, and other viewpoint differences. We seek to reflect multiple perspectives, backgrounds, and interests in all facets of our community. The Ohio State University is committed to equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate on any basis prohibited by law in its activities, programs, admission, and employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to a protected status.

Why Can't Donald Trump Be More Like Millard Fillmore?

My new piece on The Hill compares Donald Trump’s lame-duck use of the pardon power with Millard Fillmore’s. It is probably no surprise that Fillmore comes off better.

Here is the gist:

Why Can't Donald Trump Be More Like Millard Fillmore?

Facing his waning days in office, President Trump has released a virtual torrent of pardons, many of them going to perjurious pals, corrupt political allies, extended family and outright war criminals. A much earlier lame-duck president, also resentful over the denial of a second term, took a different approach to pardons. Rather than exploit his power to taunt his opponents, or retaliate against them, he chose to exercise it mercifully and humanely for the benefit of his political adversaries. Millard Fillmore was one of the worst presidents in U.S. history, having signed into law the odious Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. And yet one of his final acts in office was the pardon of two ardent abolitionists, imprisoned for participating in the greatest attempted slave escape of the antebellum era. 

Millard Fillmore is remembered today, if at all, for the worst aspect of his presidency — signing (and then enforcing) the Fugitive Slave Act. It would be hard to identify the worst features of Donald Trump’s presidency, which include caging children, minimizing a pandemic and spreading lies and conspiracy theories about a free, democratic election. In defeat, Fillmore at least had the decency to exercise his pardon power with some generosity of spirit and without regard to political cronyism. Is it unsurprising that Trump has displayed no such grace?

You can read the entire essay here.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King in 1960, when he was 21 and she was 18. Released by the Shirelles in the same year, it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, which was the first time that had been achieved by an all African American female group. It was not until 1971 that Carole King recorded the song herself, for her legendary Tapestry album. Her much slower rendition became the standard tempo for the many subsequent covers.

No Christmas Day Movie Review This Year

Instead, here are a couple of traditional articles on Christmas songs by Jewish composers (well, such articles are traditional among people who go to the movies and eat Chinese food on Christmas). The list of songs, of course, includes "White Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)," "Let It Snow," "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland," and many others.   Here is a compendium from The Deseret News, and here is another from a site appropriately called Kveller (definition here for those who need it).

Alas, both lists predate the greatest Jewish Christmas song of all time (h/t Alex Lubet):

A related genre is the Christmas album recorded by Jewish artists. A recent article in The Forward nominates Herb Alpert's aptly titled "Christmas Album" as the most underrated, if not quite the best (that honor belongs, says the author, to Phil Spector's "A Christmas Gift for You"). Here is the gist of the Forward article:

But there’s one full-length Jewish Christmas record that rarely gets its just due: Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass’s wonderful “Christmas Album.” Having already dominated Billboard’s Easy Listening charts for much of the 1960s with instrumental albums like “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” and “!!!Going Places!!!” Alpert and the Tijuana Brass applied their patented “Ameriachi” sound to 10 Christmas-related tracks, unveiling the festive results on December 16, 1968. Though the sunny and playful record might have seemed like an odd capper to a tumultuous year of riots and political assassinations — and undoubtedly sounded like it was beamed from an entirely different universe than the Beatles’ “White Album,” the Rolling Stones’ “Beggars Banquet” or Jimi Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland,” all of which had hit the shelves in the preceding weeks — it immediately soared to the top of Billboard’s Christmas charts upon its release.

You can read the entire article here. I have to say that I am unconvinced about this album, but here is a cut that you can judge for yourselves:

Bonus clip after the jump:

Michigan State Names Law Dean Finalists

Michigan State College of Law has named three finalists in its dean search:

Linda Greene (Wisconsin)
Melanie Jacobs (Michigan State)
Seval Yildirim (Cal State San Bernadino)

Idaho Law Names Dean Finalists

The University of Idaho has named the following finalists in its law dean search:

Brian Kane (Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General of Idaho)
Lumen Mulligan (University of Kansas Law)
Johanna Kalb (Loyola New Orleans Law)
Geoffrey Rapp (Toledo Law)

 

ALI Elects 41 New Members

The American Law Institute has announced (here) the election of 41 new members, including these professors:

• Lara Bazelon, University of San Francisco School of Law
• Jennifer Gerarda Brown, Quinnipiac University School of Law
• Eric Charles Chaffee, University of Toledo College of Law
• Elizabeth Chambliss, University of South Carolina School of Law
• Sarah Rudolph Cole, Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
• Meera E. Deo, Thomas Jefferson School of Law
• Christopher S. Elmendorf, UC Davis School of Law
• Paul A. Gowder, Jr., Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
• Hillary M. Hoffmann, Vermont Law School
• E. Lea Johnston, University of Florida, Levin College of Law
• Andrew W. Jurs, Drake University Law School
• Cathy Lesser Mansfield, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
• John A. E. Pottow, University of Michigan Law School
• Darren Rosenblum, Pace University, Elisabeth Haub School of Law
• Ben Trachtenberg, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law
• Bret Wells, University of Houston Law Center
• W. Bradley Wendel, Cornell Law School

Congratulations to all!

I Don't See How I Can Pass This Up

The only drawback to this amazing offer, which recently arrived in my inbox, is that I would first have to write a book about "Self-Help and Shamanism." But how hard could that be?

Hello,

I hope this email finds you well today!

I am J***  of *** Publishing, the company who received this great recommendation from our partner vendor Amazon of your book “Wow! Scammed or Not Scammed!”. They were both found and got evaluated by our Senior book critics, and they are now part of the top 15 books in the Self-Help and Shamanism categories of books that we will represent at the London Book International Book Fair 2021.

Your books were carefully selected to be showcased at this international event as we are positive that these books are educational and informational. The event is expected to have attendees from all over the world, and they are university students and professors, school librarians, bookstore owners, traditional publishers, and etc. The event will take place in London, United Kingdom for three days from June 29th through July 1st, 2021.

Your presence is not necessary as we will send out a team of book representatives who will be able to effectively represent your books. They can answer questions from your readers, talk to them about your books’ contents, your inspiration of writing them, and most especially, advise readers where to find your book for purchases.

Aside from that, we will create extensive marketing materials for you and your books. They will include bookmarks, flyers, business cards, postcards, and etc. Your books’ information will be on these materials so readers can get back to you whenever they like to send in their feedback about you and your book. They will also see all links to your book for purchases.

A week after the event, you will receive photo documentation as a report. A photo of your books along with our book representatives, and statistical reports as to what transpired during this event.

The investment is $1,599 which you can break into TWO payable installments.  

What could possibly go wrong?

I Shall Be Released

Michael Kaufman Named New Dean of Santa Clara Law

Santa Clara University has announced that Dean Michael Kaufman of Loyola- Chicago Law will be moving out west.  He will become the dean of Santa Clara Law on July 1.  Kaufman has been dean at Loyola since 2016.  He holds a JD from the University of Michigan.

Call for Papers: Journal of Regulatory Compliance

From an email message that I received earlier this week:

Journal of Regulatory Compliance - Call for Papers

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the legal community has ramped up efforts to identify challenges and manage risks. In recognition of the employment implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Journal of Regulatory Compliance invites original submissions for publication in our Spring 2021 issue. 

The official Journal of Regulatory Compliance is a bi-annual digital publication exploring broad themes and challenges facing regulatory compliance from a wide-range of perspectives. The journal seeks to advance academic dialogue on managing regulatory risk in a commercial enterprise, the experience of the regulated actor, and analysis of regulations in the context of organized efforts to comply with law.  

The Spring 2021 edition is seeking articles about developments in the regulatory landscape during the COVID-19 Pandemic. We seek manuscripts of broad interest covering policy, regulation, and risk management. These topic areas may include but are not limited to: 

Workplace Safety 

• OSHA guidance and compliance  
• State and local orders and guidance  

New Employers’ Obligations  

• Families First Coronavirus Response Act 
• Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act 
• Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act  
• CARES Act 

Remote Workforce Issues 

• Department of Labor guidance for remote work compliance  
• Accommodating high-risk workers 
• Remote workers’ expense reimbursement, wages and hours, and tax issues 
• Reductions in force, furloughs, and other cost-saving measures 
• Unemployment insurance flexibilities

Submission Guideline: For interested participants, please send a 400 – 500 word abstract via email to [email protected] with subject line JRC Spring 2021 Submission. The deadline for abstract submission is Sunday, January 3, 2021. JRC will notify those who submit abstracts whether their proposal has been accepted for publication within two weeks of receipt of submission. Full article will run 7,000 – 10,000 words. The deadline for article submission is Monday, February 1, 2021. We welcome submissions from professional disciplines other than law and encourage submissions from authors whose voices are traditionally underrepresented in legal scholarship. 

Questions: Please email any questions to Publication Editor Yunge Li at [email protected]. 

CFP ASAP: Junior Scholars, Grad Students for ClassCrits

This just in:

ClassCrits is pleased to announce this call for papers for its Online Junior Scholar Workshop, to be held virtually via Zoom on Friday, January 22, 2021 from 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. EST.

Junior scholars (i.e., graduate students, aspiring faculty members, or faculty members with less than two years of experience in a full-time position) may submit work-in-progress (WIP) papers that have not already been accepted for publication for presentation and discussion at the workshop. A senior scholar as well as other scholars will comment upon each work in progress in a small, supportive working session. We currently anticipate selecting a total of eight WIP papers on a first-come, first-served basis.

We invite WIP paper presentations from any field or discipline that, in one way or the other, speak to general ClassCrits themes, including:

The legal and cultural project of constructing inequalities of all kinds as natural, normal, and necessary.
The exploration of power in all of its manifestations (race, class, gender, sexuality, disability, global inequality, etc.) and the relationship of law to power.
Challenging the assumptions, methods, omissions, and commitments of legal and economic thinking to emphasize the role of institutions, morality, politics, and social or historical context in shaping power relations.
The relationships among economic, racial, and gender inequality.
The development of new methods (including the interdisciplinary study and development of such methods) with which to analyze and criticize economics and law (beyond traditional “law and economics”).
The relationship between material systems and institutions and cultural systems and institutions.
The concept and reality of class within the international legal community, within international development studies and welfare strategies, and within a “flattening” world of globalized economics and geopolitical relations.

For more information on ClassCrits, please visit www.classcrits.org. For any questions regarding the workshop, feel free to email the workshop organizers, Danni Hart, Southwestern Law School ([email protected]), and René Reich-Graefe, Western New England University School of Law ([email protected]).

Proposal Submission Procedure and Deadline

Please submit a completed draft of your WIP paper by email to [email protected] no later than December 28, 2020, together with the following details:

Completed draft of the WIP paper, including a title and short abstract, author’s name, contact information, institutional affiliation (if any), and short author bio (1-3 sentences, also identifying current status as junior scholar in accordance with the eligibility criteria set forth above).
WIP paper authors invited to present at the workshop will be notified by December 30, 2020.

The "Disappearing" of Joseph Epstein

Many readers are no doubt aware of the obnoxious Wall Street Journal oped that Joseph Epstein wrote about Jill Biden. You may not know that Epstein's name was then scrubbed from the English Department's website at Northwestern. Today in the Chronicle of Higher Education, my colleague Andy Koppelman explain why the English Department's retaliation violated academic freedom. Here is the gist:

That Op-Ed About Jill Biden Is Awful. Northwestern’s Response Might Be Worse.

No, it’s not OK to scrub an emeritus faculty member from a university website.

Last week the essayist Joseph Epstein provoked an uproar by writing a silly Wall Street Journal piece saying that Jill Biden, who has a doctorate in education — formally, an Ed.D. — should stop using the honorific “Dr.” The essay was rude and condescending to the next first lady, referring to her as “kiddo” and calling her dissertation “unpromising.”

But what happened next is also “unpromising.” Northwestern University’s English department’s website published a poorly composed denunciation, obviously intended to retaliate for Epstein’s loutish opinion. A spokesman for the university saw fit to announce that “while we firmly support academic freedom and freedom of expression, we do not agree with Mr. Epstein’s opinion.” Most alarmingly, Epstein’s name abruptly disappeared from the department’s website. Epstein was a visiting lecturer at Northwestern from 1974 to 2002, and as late as last week he was listed on the department website as an “emeritus lecturer.”

As current law-school faculty members at Northwestern, specializing in constitutional law (Koppelman) and professional responsibility (Lubet), we believe that it is a serious violation of academic freedom to penalize a faculty member, including an emeritus one, for expressing unpopular views.

You can read the entire piece here, paywalled but with free registration.

Super Heroes Battle the Coronavirus

In 1960: