2023 Catholic University Law Review Symposium
Underinvested and Overburdened: Ensuring Environmental Equality for Historically Disadvantaged Communities
Friday, February 10, 2023
This year's symposium will feature prominent academics, policy advocates, and individuals working and living within communities impacted by various environmental hazards. They will discuss environmental equality from a legal standpoint and what we as legal practitioners can do to reduce the disproportionate environmental burden on marginalized and disadvantaged groups domestically and globally.
JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP OPINION WRITING CONFERENCE
February 23– 25, 2023
The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law welcomes applications to its third annual Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference, to be held February 23-25, 2023. The conference is open to individuals who have accepted a 2023-2024 federal clerkship (district court or court of appeals only) or a 2023-2024 state appellate court clerkship. The 2023 conference will 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.
Past Conferences
ESG Investing Under the Federal Securities Laws Conference
October 28, 2022
A conference on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Investing Under the Federal Securities Laws was held on October 28, 2022, at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law). This event was co-sponsored by Catholic Law’s Securities Law Program, Catholic’s Busch School of Business, and Dechert LLP. The program was open to all attendees (subject to registration) at no cost and was also available on-line. The conference featured discussions of ESG investing; recent SEC proposals relating to ESG investing; SEC compliance and enforcement issues; and related developments outside the U.S.
BUSINESS 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
- October 22, 2020 - Sarah H. Duggin, John Durkalski, Mark Holden, and Kevin Hyland; "Business Accountability for Human Rights: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic"
- January 27, 2021 - Social Responsibility and Small Business with Sarah H. Duggin, Dr. Shawn MacDonald, Chris Pilkerton, and Daniel Kane
- March 25, 2021 - What Companies Are Doing to Address Human Rights Violations
- October 28, 2021 - Human Rights Compliance: How the Public and Private Sectors Can Work Together to Stop Modern Day Slavery
- February 10, 2022 - Faith Perspectives on Business Accountability for Human Rights
- April 7&8, 2022 - Business Accountability for Human Rights: Addressing Human Rights Issues in Global Supply Chains
THE 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.
CONTEMPORARY 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.
- October 21 – Wirecard, Europe’s Enron? – Auditor Liability to Investors in Corporate Fraud
- October 28 – Why Compliance Matters – The Increasing Significance of the Compliance and Ethics Function in Global Corporations
- November 19 – Nonprofits in Crisis: Changes to Giving Rules and Politicization
- November 24 – The Cloud – A New Legal Frontier
- December 2 – Data Privacy in the US: Where We Stand Today and Predictions for the Future
- December 9 – Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property
- January 13, 2021 – Will Covid-19 be a Force Majeure Event in Commercial Contracts? A Civil and Common Law Analysis
- January 27, 2021 – International Law and the New Biden Administration
- February 10, 2021 – European Union and United States Budget-Making: Process, Politics, and Policy in a COVID-Challenged World
- February 24, 2021 – How Well Did the Post-2008 Financial Crisis Regime Prepare the World for the COVID-19 Pandemic?
- March 2, 2021 - The War on Kids: Progress and the Path forward on Juvenile Justice
- March 24, 2021 - Sustainable Investment - The New Heart of EU Financial Market Regulation
- April 14, 2021 - Combating Gender-Based Violence: The Council of Europe Istanbul Convention Approach and the U.S. Experience
- April 27, 2021 - #MeToo and #Black Lives Matter: Conflicting Objectives or Opportunities for Advancement of Shared Priorities?
- May 12, 2021 - Examining United States Retirement Savings Policy through the Lens of International Human Rights Principles
- June 2, 2021 - European Perspectives on Investment Fund Regulation