Social Justice & the Legal Profession Series: VLS Grads Serving the Public Interest
September 17, 2018
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Flynn Auditorium
Please join the George Barrett Social Justice Program and the Public Interest Office for the first installment of our Social Justice and the Legal Profession series for the 2018-2019 school year. This panel will feature three outstanding young VLS alums working the public interest sector. Karen Lindell '12 is an attorney at the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, which she joined as a Skadden Fellow in 2014. Vidhi Joshi '15 was a Skadden Fellow focusing on re-entry issues at Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. Darrius Woods ‘17 is an Equal Justice Works fellow working on predatory lending and housing issues at Atlanta Legal Aid. The panelists will discuss their current work and their paths from VLS into public interest work. Lunch will be provided.
HUD’s Legal Honors Program Presentation
August 31, 2018
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Ray Room
Please join Mary Barrett Brewer ‘86, Tennessee Chief Counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, for a presentation about HUD’s Legal Honors Program, for which VLS alum Austin Holland ’17 was recently selected. Lunch will be provided.
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Info Session
August 30, 2018
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Alexander Room
Please join representatives of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for an information session to learn about the organization’s civil rights work and about opportunities for law students and attorneys to get involved. SPLC uses litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society. Paid summer and post-graduate opportunities are available for law students and attorneys to work in its children’s rights, immigrant justice, LGBT rights, economic justice, criminal justice reform, and voting rights projects. It has offices in Montgomery, AL; Atlanta; New Orleans; Miami; and Jackson, Miss. Lunch will be provided.
"The Fight for Marriage: Church Conflicts and Courtroom Contests," a Conversation with authors and Nashville attorneys Phil Cramer '00 and Bill Harbison
August 28, 2018
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Co-sponsored by the Branstetter Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program
In the 2018 George Barrett Social Justice Lecture at Vanderbilt Law School on April 5, Kristen Clarke challenged VLS students to use their legal skills to address a “national assault” on civil rights that has included voter suppression, mass incarceration and police brutality.
The George Barrett Social Justice Program and the Office of Public Interest are pleased to announce the 2017-2018 Social Justice and the Legal Profession lunchtime panel series. The series will expose students to a diverse range of career paths that allow attorneys to put into practice their social justice and public service values. It will also explore the special responsibility all attorneys have for the quality of our justice system.
Social Justice and the Legal Profession Series: Indigent Defense PanelSeptember 21, 2017
12:00 p.m.
Flynn Auditorium
Please join the George Barrett Social Justice Program and the Office of Public Interest for a new lunch series—Social Justice and the Legal Profession. This first panel will feature four public defenders and discuss careers in indigent defense. Panelist include Alexis Hoag, Office of the Federal Defender, Middle District of TN; Dan Kay ’14, Bronx Defenders; Adam Levin, Georgia Capital Defender, and Georgia Sims ’09, Nashville Defenders. This event is free and open to the public; lunch will be provided.
Big Law and Social Justice, Really? The Promise and Limits of Pro BonoOctober 23, 2017
12:00 p.m.
Hyatt Room
The second part of the series will feature Akin Gump Pro Bono Partner Steven Schulman, head of the firm’s worldwide pro bono practice. He will speak on the promise and limitations of pro bono as a means of overcoming the access to justice gap and advancing social justice. This event is free and open to the public; lunch will be provided.
November 6, 2017
12:00 p.m.
Flynn Auditorium
The third panel will feature three local attorneys and discuss practicing public interest law from the private sector. Panelist include Brian Winfrey ’06, Morgan & Morgan; Tricia Herzfeld, Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings; and Kyle Mothershead ’02, Mothershead Law.
Legal Aid Lawyering for Social JusticeFebruary 20, 2018
12:00 p.m.
Hyatt Room
This panel will discuss the work of legal aid lawyers, who serve as the front-line responders to the civil legal needs of low-income individuals and communities throughout the U.S.
The speakers include Andrae Crismon '03 of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (Murfreesboro office), Kevin De Liban of Legal Aid of Arkansas (West Memphis office), and Sarah Bolling Mancini of Atlanta Legal Aid and the National Consumer Law Center. The panel will be moderated by Amanda Moore of the Shriver Center for Poverty Law.
Transactional Lawyering for Economic JusticeMarch 29, 2018
12:00 p.m.
Hyatt Room
Please join the George Barrett Social Justice Program and the Office of Public Interest for the final installment of our Social Justice and the Legal Profession series, "Transactional Lawyering for Economic Justice."
The speakers include Clark Arrington of The Working World, Matthew Currie of Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), and Hannah Kilson of Nolan, Sheehan and Patten. The panelist will discuss careers in transactional economic justice lawyering as well as their work in affordable housing, cooperative development, and nonprofit lawyering. The panel will be moderated by Professor Lauren Rogal , director of Vanderbilt’s Turner Family Community Enterprise Clinic.
