Citizen Lawyer

NOTE Schedule Change
Friday, February 8, 2008       10:30 am - 4:30 pm

Saturday, February 9, 2008,   9:30 am - 11:15 am

This conference will critically examine the "citizen lawyer" idea.  Even the definition of the citizen lawyer can be a broadly debated thing.  Some would say the citizen lawyer is the lawyer who serves in government or specifically in public office.  Some focus on the pro bono aspect, identifying the citizen lawyer as one who does public service of a wide variety.  Some, holding the broadest view would say that all lawyers are citizen lawyers, serving as they do a critical role in the justice system or the economic life of the country.

Some speakers at the conference will celebrate the historical place of the citizen lawyer.  Others will tell a story that is dubious of the public/citizen lawyer notion, suggesting for example that lawyering is just a way of making a living, whatever else the profession might claim it to be.  We will consider the issue of what (if anything) legal education should do to form and generate citizen lawyers.

Participants

 

How We Vote

Friday, March 14, 2008, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Central to our democracy is the casting of votes. The way in which America votes has been changing in recent years with a strong move towards electronic voting methods and the emergence of alternative voting schemes, such as early voting and voting by mail. The federal Help America Vote Act has imposed new requirements on the voting process, such as increasing the accessibility of voting booths to disabled voters, while some state legislatures have imposed heightened voter identification requirements. This conference will examine some of these recent changes in the way in which we vote in the United States and will consider how to best protect both the integrity and the reliability of our voting process.

This conference is co-sponsored by the William & Mary Election Law Program and National Center for State Courts.

This public is invited to attend.  Click here for Schedule

Participants:

Davison Douglas	William & Mary School of Law
Edward Foley	Mortiz School of Law, Ohio State University
John Fortier	American Enterprise Institute
Paul Gronke	Department of Political Science, Reed College
Michael Herron	Department of Political Science, Dartmouth College
Walter Mebane	Departments of Political Science and Statistics, University of Michigan
Nathaniel Persily	Columbia Law School
Daniel Tokaji	Mortiz School of Law, Ohio State University
Dan Wallach	Department of Computer Science, Rice University

 

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The Institute of Bill of Rights Law William & Mary School of Law P.O. Box 8795 Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795 Fax: (757) 221 3775

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All IBRL Programs are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted