On Wednesday, November 20, Catholic Law School Dean Stephen Payne was honored as the 2024-2025 Mirror of Justice Lecturer. The Mirror of Justice Lecture Series, established in 1989, celebrates Mary under the title "Mirror of Justice" and recognizes lawyers and scholars whose contributions advance the pursuit of peace through justice in the law. The lecture is sponsored by the Saint John Paul II Guild of Catholic Lawyers, a student-led organization that promotes justice in the law and advances the intrinsic value of the human person through events like the annual Mirror of Justice lecture. Dean Payne’s 2024 lecture was entitled “Subjectivity, Law School, and the Mirror of Justice.”
Stephen Payne became the Dean of the Columbus School of Law and the Knights of Columbus Professor of Law on July 1, 2019. Before entering academia, Dean Payne had a successful career in private practice, most recently as chair of a global law firm practice group focused on health care and the life sciences. Before spending nearly 20 years in private practice, Dean Payne served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, which included a role as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney handling felony-level crimes. Dean Payne holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.S. from Cornell University, and he has received numerous accolades for his legal expertise.
In his lecture, Dean Payne emphasized the importance of the Catholic intellectual tradition in legal education. He highlighted Catholic Law's commitment to academic rigor and faith, aiming to create a welcoming environment for all students, regardless of their backgrounds. He explained, “This school has always been truly and wonderfully Catholic, meaning that it is available and welcoming to all, including those who aren’t Catholic, those who aren’t religious, and those who may not realize that this rich tradition belongs to them as well and can offer them a great deal for the practice of law and the practice of life.”
Turning to the work of Saint John Paul II and Søren Kierkegaard on subjectivity, as well as Socrates's dialectic teaching approach, which encourages learners to search within themselves for truth, Dean Payne urged students to allow their thoughts to reflect off of others, returning them inward with clearer insight for continued contemplation. This act of deeply engaging in a more active and personal reflection of knowledge, according to Dean Payne, is how lawyers learn to approach any legal problem instinctively, regardless of their knowledge of the particular law at play; it is how lawyers are born.
Dean Payne expanded on the concept of understanding truth by reflecting off of others, noting how Catholic Law uniquely prepares its students to be not only good lawyers but also good people. By moving beyond the Socratic method and following the example of Mary as the Mirror of Justice, students can discern the lawyers and persons they are meant to be, leading them to a life filled with peace, freedom, and happiness.
Dean Payne pictured with members of the Saint John Paul II Guild of Catholic Lawyers
You can watch a recording of the event below: