The Monroe H. Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics presents
The Role of Lawyers in Defending Democracy
Thursday-Friday, September 26-27, 2024
Hofstra Law School, Room 308
121 Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549
Lawyers have always played a crucial role in preserving democracy in the United States. In recent years, that role has been increasingly questioned, threatened, and manipulated. At this Fall’s Freedman Institute Symposium, leading practitioners and experts will convene to examine multiple aspects of lawyers’ responsibilities to preserve democracy. The program will include three panels, each exploring an aspect of the moral and ethical duties of lawyers when democracy is under attack, and what changes can or should be made to how the legal profession sees its obligation to defend democracy. On September 26, the first panel will look at recent threats to independent prosecutorial decision-making, particularly in the context of enforcement of post-Dobbs state laws regarding the right to an abortion. On September 27, the second panel will examine the role of the legal profession in holding lawyers responsible for actions undermining democracy, focusing on the ethical improprieties of the many lawyers who pursued false claims of election interference after the 2020 election, and the efforts to hold them responsible. The third panel, also on September 27, will address the role of lawyers in exposing governmental abuses, including commentary on the
various recent Supreme Court decisions that have greatly expanded the power of the executive branch, and the responsibility of lawyers to contest government overreach.
This two-day program qualifies for 4.5 CLE credits in Ethics and Professionalism.
Register
$45.00 per person, includes continental breakfast and lunch. Registration is required. No onsite registration available.
For more information, email Freedman.Institute@hofstra.edu
Agenda
DAY 1
Thursday, September 26 | 4:10-5:30 p.m.
4:10-5:30 | Panel 1
Prosecutorial Independence
MODERATOR
Ellen Yaroshefsky, Howard Lichtenstein Distinguished Professor of Legal Ethics, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
Sara Alpert Lawson, Partner, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP and Reporter, ABA
Prosecutorial Independence Taskforce
John Choi, Ramsey Court Attorney (State of Minnesota) and Co-chair, ABA
Prosecutorial Independence Taskforce
Spencer Merriweather III, District Attorney, Mecklenburg County, NC
DAY 2
Friday, September 27 | 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
9:15-9:45 a.m. | Continental Breakfast and Registration
9:45-10:15 a.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks
10:15-11:45 a.m. | Panel 2
Opening Remarks
Richard Abel, Author, How Autocrats Attack Expertise; How Autocrats Abuse Power, How Autocrats Seek Power
Holding Lawyers Accountable
MODERATOR
Jennifer Gundlach, Emily and Stephen Mendel Distinguished Professor of Law and Clinical Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
Dennis Aftergut, Former Federal Prosecutor, currently Of Counsel, Lawyers Defending American Democracy
Deborah Enix-Ross, Senior Advisor, Global Engagement, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; Past President, ABA
Bruce Green, Louis Stern Chair, Fordham University School of Law and Chair, ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Judge Peggy Quince (ret.), Former Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court
11:45-12:45 p.m. | Lunch
12:45-2 p.m. | Panel 3
Exposing Government Abuses
MODERATOR
Stefan Krieger, Richard J. Cardali Distinguished Professor of Trial Advocacy, Director of the Center for Applied Legal Reasoning, and Director Emeritus of Hofstra Clinical Programs, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
Rachel Meeropol, Senior Staff Attorney, Racial Justice Program, ACLU
Faiza Patel, Senior Director, Brennan Center for Justice Liberty and National Security Program
Vince Warren, Executive Director, Center for Constitutional Rights
The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University is certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board as an accredited provider of continuing legal education (CLE) in the state of New York.
New York CLE credits are available to satisfy the mandatory, transitional/nontransitional requirement for attorneys attending the symposium.
No credit will be given for partial attendance.
Lawyers admitted in jurisdictions other than New York should check with those jurisdictions to determine CLE requirements in their states. Scholarships are available. For more information, please contact Judith Black at (516) 463-6889 or Judith.Black@hofstra.edu