The conference and webinar sessions for the 2021-2022 academic year have now concluded. Below is a list of some of our previously held events. We will be posting the upcoming calendar for 2022-2023 events in August 2022. Please check back.

 people walking into a buildingBUSINESS ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Fall 2020 – Spring 2022
The Compliance, Investigations & Corporate Responsibility Program at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law held the virtual program, Business Accountability for Human Rights: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. This program was the first of five which culminated in a conference on Business Accountability for Human Rights at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Spring 2022.

Past

 

Courtroom at CatholicJUDICIAL CLERKSHIP OPINION WRITING CONFERENCE
February 24 – 26, 2022
The Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America welcomes applications to its second annual Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference, to be held February 24-26, 2022. The conference is open to individuals who have accepted a 2022-2023 federal clerkship (district court or court of appeals) or a 2022-2023 state appellate court clerkship. The 2022 conference is currently planned to take place in person on our campus. Conference details may be found here: Conference Details

Over the course of the conference, attendees will receive opinion writing instruction from some of our country's most distinguished members of the judiciary. They will also be guided through writing an appellate court opinion and will receive individual review and commentary on their work by our faculty, all judges or former judicial clerks themselves. Finally, each attendee will be eligible for the CSL Prize in Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing.

For a look back at the 2022 Conference, click here.

 

two podiumsTHE SEIGENTHALER DEBATES
February 16, 2022
In Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University v. Trump, 928 F.3d 226 (2d Cir. 2019), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that President Donald Trump’s twitter account was a public forum; as such, President Trump was said to have violated the First Amendment rights of several users when he blocked them from participation. Upon appeal, as Biden v. Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, 593 U.S. ____ (2021), the Supreme Court vacated the decision. However, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a concurring opinion in which he questioned how a private company held to be a public forum could eliminate accounts and ban individuals. He suggested the area might fall within the law of common carriers. Under that doctrine, governments may require businesses closely associated with public concerns—such as transportation and communication—to serve all customers. The 2022 Seigenthaler Debate revolved around this issue.

For a brief overview of the Debate and to view the recording of the event, click here.

  

world mapCONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN AMERICAN & GLOBAL LAW
October 2020 – June 2021
A series of 16 one-hour free webinars were hosted twice-a-month by the American Law Program and LL.M. Program of the Faculty of Law and Administration, Jagiellonian University in Kraków and The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, Washington, D.C.

Past