Equity, Diversity and Community

“The Federal Courts and Puerto Rico: A Catalyst of Institutional and Social Change,” a Talk by Judge Gustavo Gelpi of the First Circuit Court of Appeals

Sep. 18, 2023—In a candid talk sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Community, Judge Gelpi discussed how his work as a prosecutor, magistrate judge, and district court judge in Puerto Rico informs his perspective as an appellate judge on the First Circuit Court.

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Equity, Diversity and Community General News Home Page News


31 members of the Class of 2023 complete Pro Bono Pledge

May. 9, 2023—Kaylee Brilhart was recognized for logging the highest number of pro bono hours—1,668—as a VLS student. Six members of the Class of 2023 completed the Pro Bono Pledge in both 2022 and 2023.

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Alumni Barrett Program News and Events Equity, Diversity and Community General News Public Interest News




Key takeaways from Yesha Yadav’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on the cryptocurrency meltdown

Feb. 14, 2023—Yadav was one of three financial regulation experts who testified before the full committee in the aftermath of the crypto crash on why financial safeguards are needed for digital assets.

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Alumni Equity, Diversity and Community Faculty News General News Home Page News International Legal Studies Program L&B News and Events L&G News and Events


BLSA Black History Month Events feature talks by federal Judge Waverly Crenshaw ’81 (BA’78) and L.A. Superior Court Judge Rupert Byrdsong ’94

Feb. 9, 2023—Other events include a lecture by criminal defense scholar Andrea Dennis, “Prosecuting Rap: Racial and Constitutional Implications and a Zoom Q&A with ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross.

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Alumni Equity, Diversity and Community General News


“Roe, Popular Constitutionalism and the Erosion of American Democracy,” a talk by Mary Ziegler, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, UC Davis

Jan. 18, 2023—Professor Ziegler's lecture is scheduled from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Flynn Auditorium as part of the Dean's Lecture Series on Race and Discrimination, sponsored by the Diversity, Equity and Community Office.

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Equity, Diversity and Community


Veteran litigator Charles K. Grant will deliver the 2023 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture in Flynn Auditorium Jan. 19

Jan. 18, 2023—Grant's lecture, "The Arc of the Moral Universe and Beyond," will start at 12:30 p.m. He is a shareholder at Baker Donelson in Nashville who has tried nore than 50 jury trials and represented clients in mediation and arbitration proceedings across a dozen states. He was co-producer of "Civil Disobedience and the Rule of Law: The Nashville Sit-ins and Lessons in Courage" and co-author of "The Freedom Rides: Making the Law Apply to All," published in the Nashville Bar Journal, which received the Nashville Bar Association's Article of the Year Award in 2011.

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Alumni Equity, Diversity and Community VLS Events


Yesha Yadav discusses the cryptocurrency meltdown with Jeanne Hruska on the Broken Law podcast

Dec. 7, 2022—Yadav's most recent paper, "Toward a Public-Private Oversight Model for Cryptocurrency Markets," makes a case for mandating self-regulation of crypto-exchanges as a first step toward reforming both the exchanges and cryptocurrency itself. She discusses various types of cryptocurrency and why cryptocurrencies have proven challenging to regulate in this interview with podcast host Hruska, who is senior adviser for communications and strategy with the American Constitution Society.

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Alumni Equity, Diversity and Community Faculty News General News L&B News and Events


Lauren Sudeall to join Vanderbilt Law faculty in summer 2023

Nov. 28, 2022—Sudeall’s scholarship focuses on constitutional law, criminal procedure and access to justice. She is currently a professor at the Georgia State University College of Law, where she is the founding faculty director of the Center for Access to Justice.

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Alumni Barrett Program News and Events Equity, Diversity and Community Faculty News General News Home Page News Public Interest News


Honoring Our Veterans

Nov. 11, 2022— VLS is privileged to count veterans of exceptional character, intellect and dedication among its past and present students, and we honor them on Veteran's Day.

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Equity, Diversity and Community


Celebrating Our First-Generation Students – Past and Present

Nov. 3, 2022—National First-Generation Celebration Day offers all of us an opportunity to acknowledge the hard work, risk-taking, ambition and talent of Vanderbilt's first-generation law students and graduates.

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Equity, Diversity and Community


Justin Driver, Robert R. Slaughter Professor at Yale Law, delivers the Victor S. Johnson Lecture Oct. 26

Oct. 26, 2022—Professor Driver teaches and writes in the area of constitutional law. He is the author of the award-winning book, The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind, which was selected as a Washington Post Notable Book of the Year and an Editors’ Choice of The New York Times Book Review.

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Equity, Diversity and Community General News L&G News and Events VLS Events


Stigmatized Medical Rhetoric: Monkeypox and the AIDS Epidemic in Queer Communities, a talk by Sara Cross Oct. 31

Oct. 25, 2022—This event starts at 12:30 p.m. in Flynn Auditorium and is sponsored by OUTLAW and the Vanderbilt Health Law Society.

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Equity, Diversity and Community


Honoring the contributions of Latinx students, staff and faculty

Oct. 19, 2022—Marking the conclusion of Latinx Heritage Month, VLS honors the extraordinarily impactful contributions of our Latinx students, staff, and faculty.

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Equity, Diversity and Community


View Supreme Court Affirmative Action Oral Argument, with introduction by Matthew Shaw, Nov. 1

Oct. 13, 2022—Education policy expert Matthew Shaw will provide an introduction to a recording of the Supreme Court hearing of the oral arguments in SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC, both of which are Title VI cases.. Both schools are accused of discriminating against Asians and Aisan-Americans in their admissions policies. The event is sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Student Association and the George Barrett Social Justice Program.

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Barrett Program News and Events Branstetter Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program Equity, Diversity and Community


Faith and Politics: LGTBQIA+ Social Justice and Reproductive Rights, a panel discussion featuring Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow Oct. 3

Sep. 29, 2022—In addition to Sen. McMorrow, panelists include Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Women's and Gender Studies Katherine Crawford and Vanderbilt Divinity School Dean Emilie Townes. Sen. McMorrow, a self-proclaimed “straight, white, Christian woman,” delivered a powerful speech on the floor of the Michigan Senate in response to claims from a fellow senator of grooming and sexualizing kindergarteners, telling the audience, “We must not let hate win.” Sen. Morrow will begin the discussion and then participate in a moderated discussion on the topics of faith, politics, LGBTQIA+ rights, and reproductive freedom. This event is co-sponsored by the George Barrett Social Justice Program.

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Barrett Program News and Events Equity, Diversity and Community


Guggenheim Fellow Robert Barsky shares 5 insights from his book, Clamouring for Legal Protection: What the Great Books Teach Us About People Fleeing from Persecution

Sep. 26, 2022—Barsky's 10-minute podcast is featured by the Next Big Idea Club. His research combines social justice, human rights and border and refugee studies with literary and artistic insights into the plight of vulnerable migrants.

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Barrett Program News and Events Equity, Diversity and Community


Critical Vote Theory: A Moral Mandate for Voting Rights, featuring Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett Sept. 15 at 6 p.m.

Sep. 6, 2022—Vanderbilt Divinity School's third annual Kelly Miller Smith Foundation virtual symposium features keynote speaker Valerie Jarratt in a discussion moderated by NPR Code Switch senior correspondent Karen Grigsby Bates, and a panel discussion featuring Nse Ufot, former CEO of the New Georgia Project, and Deirdra Reed, policy and advocacy partner at the New Teacher Project, moderated by Opio Dupree, fellow for CEO Action for Racial Equality. 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15. Registration required.

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Equity, Diversity and Community


Incoming students tour historic social justice sites

Sep. 6, 2022—The tours, sponsored by Law Students for Social Justice, included historic sites in Nashville and on the Vanderbilt campus.

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Alumni Barrett Program News and Events Equity, Diversity and Community Public Interest News


A Welcome Message to the Class of 2023

Aug. 17, 2022—Yesha Yadav, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Community and faculty co-director of the LL.M. program, extends a warm welcome to the incoming J.D. and LL.M. classes.

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Equity, Diversity and Community


VLS ranks 7th in Lawyers of Color 2022 listing of 65 Best Law Schools for Black Students

Jul. 20, 2022—Lawyers of Color, a nonprofit organization that promotes diversity in the legal profession, ranked the Top 65 Law Schools for Black Students based on number of J.D.s awarded to black students, J.D.-required job placement, placement of graduates as Big Law associates, bar passage rate, black student enrollment, federal and state clerkships, distinguished black alumni, grants and scholarship awards, selectivity and tuition cost.

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Career Services Equity, Diversity and Community


Celebrating Pride at Vanderbilt

Jun. 30, 2022— As lawyers, this month calls on us to remember the essential role of the law in helping ensure that all people can be their fullest and brightest selves.

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Equity, Diversity and Community


“Is the Establishment Clause Dead? A Message From SCOTUS” – Bloomberg Law opinion piece by Matthew Shaw

Jun. 24, 2022—Shaw argues that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that Maine cannot exclude faith-based schools from a state program that pays for private school tuition in areas of the state that lack public schools could erode the Constitution’s Establishment Clause.

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Equity, Diversity and Community Faculty Commentary Faculty News General News Home Page News L&G News and Events


Celebrating Juneteenth

Jun. 17, 2022—Juneteenth marks a milestone of moral progress that began the journey toward legal and institutional equality for Black Americans.

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Equity, Diversity and Community