HLS American Constitution Society http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs Leading Progressive Law and Policy Organization Sat, 15 Dec 2012 22:14:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Join the ACS Board or an ACS Committee! http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/join-the-acs-board-or-an-acs-committee/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/join-the-acs-board-or-an-acs-committee/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:12:24 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=396 Join the new ACS Board! Click HERE to fill out a very short form to let us know which of the positions/committees listed below you’re interested in, why you’d be a good fit, and any other ideas you have for enhancing ACS, including any additional positions you think might be valuable. We’d love to hear from any interested 1L or 2L, regardless of whether you’ve been active in ACS this year. Please respond by Sunday, April 15th at midnight.

-Director of Social Events and Community Service – Organize social and community service events for the ACS membership and broader progressive community at HLS. The Director will supervise a Social Events and Community Service Committee.

-Director of Recruitment – Lead efforts to recruit new members to ACS, particularly 1Ls, and select Section Representatives. The Director will supervise the Section Representatives.

-Careers and Mentorships Director – Lead efforts to connect current ACS members with the wide variety of accomplished HLS individuals associated with ACS – including alumni, current and former judicial clerks, potential summer employers, and current 2Ls and 3Ls – to provide career and academic advice. The Director will supervise a Careers and Mentorships Committee.


-Director of the D.C. Trip – Serve as the lead organizer of the annual ACS trip to meet with leading progressives and young alumni in Washington, D.C. in the spring. The Director of the D.C. Trip will supervise the D.C. Trip Committee and will be a member of the Programs Committee.
-Symposium Director - Serve as the lead HLS organizer of the annual ACS symposium in the spring, working with the HLS administration, other HLS groups, and other ACS chapters at law schools across the Boston area. The Symposium Director will supervise the Symposium Committee and will be a member of the Programs Committee.
-Director of Professor Relations – Organize events that give ACS members an opportunity to interact with HLS’ leading progressive professors in small group settings to learn about career, internship and research options. The Director of Professor Relations will also be a member of the Programs Committee.
-Director of the Supreme Court Committee – Organize moot courts featuring Supreme Court litigators with pending cases before the Court. The Director of the Supreme Court Committee will supervise the Supreme Court Committee and will also be a member of the Programs Committee.
-Director of Academics - Create and manage a course/professor system that is more helpful than the mess of numbers provided by the official course reviews to assist students in selecting classes. Manage the ACS Exam Bank.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/join-the-acs-board-or-an-acs-committee/feed/ 0 The CIA and the Rule of Law. Tues, Apr 10, 12-1pm in Langdell North. Free food! http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/the-cia-and-the-rule-of-law-tues-apr-10-12-1pm-in-langdell-north-free-food/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/the-cia-and-the-rule-of-law-tues-apr-10-12-1pm-in-langdell-north-free-food/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:08:27 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=394 Stephen W. Preston, General Counsel of the CIA and an HLS alumnus, will seek to promote a better understanding of the Agency and its relation to the law. His talk will focus on the proposition that, just as ours is a nation of laws, the CIA is an institution of laws, and the rule of law is integral to Agency operations. 

Please no photographs at this event.
]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/the-cia-and-the-rule-of-law-tues-apr-10-12-1pm-in-langdell-north-free-food/feed/ 0 Fighting for Fair Pay: Dinner Conversation with Lilly Ledbetter, Kevin Russell, and Lanier Isom. Tues, Apr 10, 5-6:30pm in Austin North. Free dinner! http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/fighting-for-fair-pay-dinner-conversation-with-lilly-ledbetter-kevin-russell-and-lanier-isom-tues-apr-10-5-630pm-in-austin-north-free-dinner/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/fighting-for-fair-pay-dinner-conversation-with-lilly-ledbetter-kevin-russell-and-lanier-isom-tues-apr-10-5-630pm-in-austin-north-free-dinner/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:07:38 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=391 Please join us for a dinner discussion featuring Lilly Ledbetter, the inspiration for the 2009 Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  This discussion will chronicle Ms. Ledbetter’s experience at Goodyear as well as exploring the subsequent litigation and the legislative battle in response to the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the case.  Kevin Russell, the advocate who argued Ms. Ledbetter’s case before the Supreme Court, will also be speaking.  Ms. Ledbetter and her co-author Lanier Isom will remain after the event to sign sign copies of their new book on Ms. Ledbetter’s experience, Grace & Grit, which will be for sale.
Sponsored by Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy Fund, ACLU, WLA, ACS, Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs, JLG, and JOL.
]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/fighting-for-fair-pay-dinner-conversation-with-lilly-ledbetter-kevin-russell-and-lanier-isom-tues-apr-10-5-630pm-in-austin-north-free-dinner/feed/ 0 The Constitutionality of Obama’s Recess Appointments. Wed, Apr 11, 12-1pm in WCC 1023. Free lunch! http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/the-constitutionality-of-obamas-recess-appointments-wed-apr-11-12-1pm-in-wcc-1023-free-lunch/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/the-constitutionality-of-obamas-recess-appointments-wed-apr-11-12-1pm-in-wcc-1023-free-lunch/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:07:11 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=389 Professor Peter Shane and David Rivkin will engage the audience in a discussion about the constitutionality of President Obama’s recent recess appointments. Co-sponsored with the Harvard Federalist Society.

]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/the-constitutionality-of-obamas-recess-appointments-wed-apr-11-12-1pm-in-wcc-1023-free-lunch/feed/ 0 Professor Richard Lazarus: “Arguing Before and Within the Supreme Court: The Significance for Public Interest Advocacy of Environmentalists’ 0-for-17 Record in NEPA Cases.” Mon, Apr 9, 5pm, in Austin North. Presented by the Environmental Law Society. http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/professor-richard-lazarus-arguing-before-and-within-the-supreme-court-the-significance-for-public-interest-advocacy-of-environmentalists-0-for-17-record-in-nepa-cases-mon-apr-9-5pm-in-aust/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/professor-richard-lazarus-arguing-before-and-within-the-supreme-court-the-significance-for-public-interest-advocacy-of-environmentalists-0-for-17-record-in-nepa-cases-mon-apr-9-5pm-in-aust/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:06:42 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=387 Clover dinner!  Reception to Follow.
Please join us for the final event in the Environmental Law in the Supreme Court Discussion Series: Lessons for Progressive Cause Advocates. HLS’s own Professor Richard Lazarus will discuss what environmental lawyers’ beleaguered efforts to challenge federal actions via the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) can teach other social change advocates. Following the talk, students and faculty are invited to discuss the intersections between environmental litigation and progressive social change more generally at a beer and wine reception!
]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/professor-richard-lazarus-arguing-before-and-within-the-supreme-court-the-significance-for-public-interest-advocacy-of-environmentalists-0-for-17-record-in-nepa-cases-mon-apr-9-5pm-in-aust/feed/ 0 Gary Bellow Public Service Award Ceremony. Mon, Apr 9, 6:30pm, in Hauser 102. http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/gary-bellow-public-service-award-ceremony-mon-apr-9-630pm-in-hauser-102/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/gary-bellow-public-service-award-ceremony-mon-apr-9-630pm-in-hauser-102/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:06:03 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=385 The Gary Bellow Public Service Award was created in 2001 to recognize excellence in public interest work at HLS and to honor Professor Bellow, whose bio can be found here.  The Awards are given annually by the student body of Harvard Law School to a student and alumnus/a whose commitment to social justice makes us proud to be a part of the HLS community.  This year’s winners of the Gary Bellow Public Service Award are Sam Levine (’12) andBill Beardall (’78).  Please join us on Monday, April 9th at 6:30 pm in Hauser 102 for an award ceremony and reception honoring the work of these accomplished recipients!

]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/gary-bellow-public-service-award-ceremony-mon-apr-9-630pm-in-hauser-102/feed/ 0 “Reforming the Criminal Justice System,” with Vanita Gupta. Tues, Apr 10, 12-1pm in WCC 2012. Presented by SALSA and cosponsored by ACS. http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/reforming-the-criminal-justice-system-with-vanita-gupta-tues-apr-10-12-1pm-in-wcc-2012-presented-by-salsa-and-cosponsored-by-acs/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/reforming-the-criminal-justice-system-with-vanita-gupta-tues-apr-10-12-1pm-in-wcc-2012-presented-by-salsa-and-cosponsored-by-acs/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:05:18 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=383 Widely recognized as one of America’s leading civil rights attorneys, Vanita Gupta is currently the Deputy Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Director of the organization’s Center for Justice.  Prior to joining the ACLU, she was an attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where she successfully led the effort to overturn wrongful drug convictions of 38 defendants in Tulia, Texas.  More recently, Gupta secured a landmark settlement on behalf of immigrant children detained at a medium security prison in Texas.  She will speak about criminal justice in the United States, the ACLU’s national campaign to end mass incarceration, the intersection between criminal justice and immigration detention, and her experiences as a South Asian American civil rights attorney.


Indian food will be served.
]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/09/reforming-the-criminal-justice-system-with-vanita-gupta-tues-apr-10-12-1pm-in-wcc-2012-presented-by-salsa-and-cosponsored-by-acs/feed/ 0 FRAGMENTATION: Human Rights and International Investment Law http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/05/fragmentation-human-rights-and-international-investment-law/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/05/fragmentation-human-rights-and-international-investment-law/#comments Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:40:51 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=381 Please join the Harvard Human Rights Journal for a Symposium

Friday, April 6 – Registration at 11:30am, Event from 12:00-4:00pm
Milstein East C, Wasserstein Hall, Harvard Law School

Lunch Keynote Address: Human Rights in a Fragmenting International Law
Professor Alain Pellet (Université de Paris Ouest, Nanterre/La Défense, Former Chairperson of the International Law Commission of the United Nations)

Case Study I: Pac Rim Cayman LLC v. Republic of El Salvador (CAFTA)
Marcos Orellana (Center for International Environmental Law)

Case Study II: The Chevron/Ecuador Dispute
Aaron Marr Page (Forum Nobis PLLC)

Closing Remarks: Intersections of Human Rights Principles and Investor-State Dispute Resolution
Mark Clodfelter (Foley Hoag LLP, and Former Assistant Legal Adviser, US Department of State)

For more information, visit http://harvardhrj.com/2012-symposium/. Co-sponsors: Advocates for Human Rights, International Law Students Association, Law and International Development Society, and the HKS Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. Special thanks to the Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy Fund.

]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/04/05/fragmentation-human-rights-and-international-investment-law/feed/ 0 American Constitution Society symposium, “Democracy in Peril: Voting Rights and Election Law in the 21st Century” http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/03/27/american-constitution-society-symposium-democracy-in-peril-voting-rights-and-election-law-in-the-21st-century/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/03/27/american-constitution-society-symposium-democracy-in-peril-voting-rights-and-election-law-in-the-21st-century/#comments Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:43:35 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=372 Join us for the first-ever Greater Boston area American Constitution Society symposium, “Democracy in Peril: Voting Rights and Election Law in the 21st Century.”  The event is co-sponsored by all of the ACS chapters at Boston-area law schools and is taking place in Wasserstein 2012 on Saturday, March 31st. The symposium includes a keynote address by one of the leading progressive voting rights and election law lawyers in the nation, Marc Elias, who has served as General Counsel for several recent Democratic presidential campaigns, as well as fascinating panels on voting rights and election law featuring practitioners, government officials, and professors.

Schedule: “Democracy in Peril: Voting Rights and Election Law in the 21st Century”

Panel: Disenfranchisement in the 21st Century: Voter ID/Disparate Impact (11 AM-12:30 PM)
-State Representative Kathleen Clyde (Ohio)
-Alexander Keyssar, Professor of History and Social Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
-Jerry Vattamala, Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Lunch/Keynote Address (12:30 PM – 2 PM): 
Marc Elias, General Counsel to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; Kerry-Edwards Presidential Campaign; Sen. Al Franken recount; and many more prominent progressive political leaders and organizations

Panel: The Constitution in 2020: State Law/Direct Democracy (2 PM-3:30 PM)
-Megan Amundson, Executive Director, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts
-Brian Ellner, New Yorkers for Marriage Equality, Human Rights Campaign
-Seth Grossman, Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Panel: The Disproportionate Impact of Insiders: Campaign Finance/Redistricting (3:30 PM-5 PM)
-John Bonifaz, Co-Founder and Director, Free Speech for People
-J. Gerald Hebert, Former Acting Chief, Voting Section, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division; Executive Director, Campaign Legal Center
-Marty Meehan, Former U.S. Representative, Sponsor of Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

Meet and Greet at the Pub (5 PM – 6 PM)

]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/03/27/american-constitution-society-symposium-democracy-in-peril-voting-rights-and-election-law-in-the-21st-century/feed/ 0 Noam Chomsky, “‘Is America Over?’ Prospects, Paranoia, and the Roots of Current Malaise.” Fri, March 23, 12-1pm, Austin East. http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/03/20/noam-chomsky-is-america-over-prospects-paranoia-and-the-roots-of-current-malaise-fri-march-23-12-1pm-austin-east/ http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/03/20/noam-chomsky-is-america-over-prospects-paranoia-and-the-roots-of-current-malaise-fri-march-23-12-1pm-austin-east/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:27:58 +0000 Harvard Law School http://hlsorgs.com/acs/?p=369 The title, borrowed from the front cover of the December issue of Foreign Affairs, reflects a pervasive theme in public and professional discussion: America’s decline. A standard corollary is “the rising power of China,” considered by a large plurality of academics and policymakers to be the most alarming prospect facing the country. The decline is real. It traces back to the peak of US power after World War II, and China has been a central concern throughout, often evoking considerable paranoia, now as well.
A more sober assessment suggests that US global dominance is likely to be long-lasting, though it can be undermined, not least by self-inflicted wounds, as has been happening for a generation, along with the erosion of domestic civil liberties and even the foundations of Anglo-American law. Lunch will be provided.
]]> http://www3.law.harvard.edu/orgs/acs/2012/03/20/noam-chomsky-is-america-over-prospects-paranoia-and-the-roots-of-current-malaise-fri-march-23-12-1pm-austin-east/feed/ 0