Faculty Events Calendar: Colloquia, Workshops, Lectures and Conferences

Consistent with its longstanding commitment to fostering a communal environment of intellectual engagement, the Law School is pleased to host countless colloquia, conferences, and guest lectures throughout the school year. Many of these events are specially scheduled, one-time affairs. In addition, the school runs the following regularly scheduled series, which cover a range of formats and scholarly areas.

Events for Spring 2016

View upcoming events

January 21, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- First Amendment Academic Freedom

Speaker:

David M Rabban
Dahr Jamail, Randall Hage Jamail and Robert Lee Jamail Regents Chair
University Distinguished Teaching Professor
University of Texas

DRabban Faculty Colloquia - First Amendment Academic Freedom.pdf

January 21, 2016 Thursday

CCJ 2.306 (Eidman Courtroom)
CCJ 2.300 (Jamail Pavilion)
TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
5:00pm - 9:00pm

Moderator:

Gladys Sarabia

Federalist in the 21st Century Conference

Speaker:

Noah Feldman
Professor, Harvard Law School

January conference that is sparked, but not necessarily “about" Professor Sanford Levinson's forthcoming book An Argument Open to All: Reading The Federalist in the 21st Century.

Thursday, January 21, 2016 Keynote speaker will feature at 5:30. A lecture by Noah Feldman drawn from a forthcoming intellectual biography of James Madison.

Friday, January 22, 2016 Panel One: Federalism. Panel Two: The United States and the international political/military system. Lunch featuring discussion as Noah Feldman and Jack Rakove will review An Argument Open to All Panel Three: Representation Panel Four: Executive Power

Saturday, January 23 Discussion on "What, if anything, can/should be learned from Publius by foreign readers in the 21st century?"

January 22, 2016 Friday

8:00am - 5:00pm

Moderators:

Federalist in the 21st Century Conference

Speaker:

Sanford V Levinson
W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair
Professor of Government
University of Texas

Conference that is sparked, but not necessarily “about" Professor Sanford Levinson's forthcoming book An Argument Open to All: Reading The Federalist in the 21st Century.

Thursday, January 21, 2016 Keynote speaker will feature at 5:30. A lecture by Noah Feldman drawn from a forthcoming intellectual biography of James Madison.

Saturday, January 23 Discussion on "What, if anything, can/should be learned from Publius by foreign readers in the 21st century?"

January 23, 2016 Saturday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
8:00am - 12:00pm

Moderator:

Gary J Jacobsohn

Federalist in the 21st Century Conference

Speaker:

Sanford V Levinson
W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair
Professor of Government
University of Texas

A conference that is sparked, but not necessarily “about" Professor Sanford Levinson's forthcoming book An Argument Open to All: Reading The Federalist in the 21st Century.

Thursday, January 21, 2016 Keynote speaker will feature at 5:30. A lecture by Noah Feldman drawn from a forthcoming intellectual biography of James Madison.

Saturday, January 23 Discussion on "What, if anything, can/should be learned from Publius by foreign readers in the 21st century?"

January 25, 2016 Monday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

John M Golden

Drawing Board Luncheon - Lino Graglia - "Elonis v. United States: A New Requirement of Subjective Intent in Criminal Law"

Speaker:

Lino A Graglia
A. W. Walker Centennial Chair Emeritus in Law
University of Texas

Drawing Board Luncheon - paper presented by Lino Graglia: "Elonis v. United States: A New Requirement of Subjective Intent in Criminal Law"

January 28, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- Casey and the Clinic Closings: When “Protecting Health” Obstructs Choice

Speaker:

Reva Siegel
Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Professor of Law, Yale Law School

Casey and the Clinic Closings: When “Protecting Health” Obstructs Choice

January 28, 2016 Thursday

6:00pm -

Moderator:

Karen Engle

CANCELLED Rob Nixon presents "Environmental Justice and the Anthropocene"

Speaker:

Rob Nixon
Thomas A. and Currie C. Barron Family Professor in Humanities and Environment, Princeton University

Please join us for the first event in the Rapoport Center's spring Human Rights Speaker Series. Rob Nixon, Thomas A. and Currie C. Barron Family Professor in Humanities and Environment at Princeton University, will present "Environmental Justice and the Anthropocene." The talk is co-sponsored with the Texas Institute for Literary & Textual Studies and the Department of American Studies.

February 1, 2016 Monday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
3:30pm - 5:30pm

Moderator:

Karen Engle

Hina Jilani presents "Rights, Conflict & Crises"

Speaker:

Hina Jilani
Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan

Please join us for the second event in the Rapoport Center's spring Human Rights Speaker Series. Hina Jilani is a prominent human rights lawyer and activist and Advocate for the Supreme Court of Pakistan. She will present a talk entitled "Rights, Conflict and Crises." The event is co-sponsored with the Wilson Chair in Pakistan Studies at UT Austin.

Hina Jilani is a prominent lawyer and has been a civil society activist in Pakistan for the past three decades. She founded the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and is an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. She served as a UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders from 2000 to 2008, and most recently served as a member of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on Gaza in 2009. Over her long and impressive career as an activist, Jilani established Pakistan’s first all-women’s law firm in 1980, Pakistan’s first legal aid center in 1986, and Dastak – a housing facility for women who are targets of honor killings. She has conducted many landmark cases setting new standards for human rights in Pakistan, focusing particularly on the most vulnerable populations in society including women, minorities, children, and prisoners. She has repeatedly called for the democratization of the political system in Pakistan and amendments to the Constitution to increase the representation of women in its legislature. Jilani’s work has made her a target of hostile propaganda, arrests, and abuse. Despite this, she continues to live in Lahore and pursue her work. Her publications include Human Rights and Democratic Development in Pakistan (1998) and Hadood Laws: A Divine Sanction? (1988). She was awarded the Millennium Peace Prize for Women in 2001 in recognition of her life-long contribution to peace-building and human rights. In 2013, The Elders – a group of independent leaders working for peace, justice, and human rights founded by Nelson Mandela – appointed Jilani as an Elder.

February 4, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- Torts and Discrimination

Speaker:

Ronen Avraham
Senior Lecturer
University of Texas

torts and discrimination 012116_AD edit 3.pdf

February 8, 2016 Monday

TNH 3.129 (Atlas Seminar Room)
3:45pm - 5:30pm

Moderator:

Ronen Avraham

Law and Economic Seminar -- Knowledge Goods and Nation-States

Speaker:

Lisa Larrimore Ouellette
Professor, Stanford Law

February 9, 2016 Tuesday

TNH 2.114 (Francis Auditorium)
12:00pm - 1:30pm

Moderator:

Gladys Sarabia

G. Rollie White Scholar in Residence Christy E. Lopez Talk: Policing the Police

noon to 1:30 pm in the Francis Auditorium

Join us for a talk by Christy E. Lopez, deputy chief in the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, on “Policing the Police: The Federal Government’s Role in Reforming Police Practices.” Lopez is a national expert on policing and one of the authors of the DOJ’s recent investigative report on Ferguson, Missouri.

Lopez's visit as a G. Rollie White Public Interest Scholar is supported by a generous gift from the G. Rollie White Trust. The program brings outstanding legal scholars, practitioners and advocates from the field of public service to Texas Law to foster discussion of issues related to public interest law, to raise the profile of lawyers working in this area, and to encourage students to view public service as an honored and expected part of every legal career. Lopez is Texas Law’s fifth G. Rollie White Public Interest Scholar.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/14/ferguson-doj-christy-lopez_n_5978404.html

February 11, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- Dynamic Rulemaking

Speakers:

Thomas O McGarity
William Powers, Jr. and Kim L. Heilbrun Chair in Tort Law
University of Texas
Wendy E Wagner
Richard Dale Endowed Chair in Law
University of Texas
Bill West

Dynamic Rulemaking160118 WEW clean.pdf

February 15, 2016 Monday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

John M Golden

Drawing Board Luncheon - Calvin Johnson: A Conceptual Foundation for Capital Gain

Speaker:

Calvin H Johnson
John T. Kipp Chair Emeritus in Corporate and Business Law
University of Texas

Drawing Board Luncheon - paper presented by Calvin Johnson: A Conceptual Foundation for Capital Gain

February 15, 2016 Monday

TNH 3.129 (Atlas Seminar Room)
3:30pm - 5:30pm

Moderator:

Ronen Avraham

Law and Economic Seminar -- Keep the Kids Inside? Juvenile Curfews and Urban Gun Violence

Speaker:

Jennifer Doleac
Professor, University of Virginia Law

February 18, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- "The unacknowledged constitution?... a conversation"

Speakers:

Lawrence Sager
Alice Jane Drysdale Sheffield Regents Chair
University of Texas
John Ferejohn
Professor, NYU
Nelson Tebbe
Professor, Cornell

The Unacknowledged Constitution

February 19, 2016 Friday

TNH 2.114 (Francis Auditorium)
TNH 2.100 (Susman Godfrey Atrium)
8:30am - 1:45pm

Moderator:

Gladys Sarabia

Workers' Rights in the 21st Century: New Developments / New Challenges

https://law.utexas.edu/publicinterest/events/workersrights.html

This conference examines fundamental changes evolving in contemporary employment relationships. One of the pivotal legal, social, and economic evolutions of the 20th century was the advent of modern labor and employment laws that replaced the 19th century preeminence of individual “freedom of contract” and individual responsibility for wages and labor conditions. Now, however, the existing regime for ensuring workplace fairness is being fundamentally challenged by new technologies, and by shifting political attitudes about social and economic regulation.

This conference will explore the next generation of employment law issues, including changing concepts and enforcement challenges related to the very definition of an “employment” relationship; realignments in the enforcement role of courts versus private arbitration; the evolving employment rights of LGBT workers, immigrants, and guest workers; and navigating new procedural hurdles to enforcement of workplace rights.

February 29, 2016 Monday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

John M Golden

Drawing Board Luncheon - Inga Markovits - "Three Tales of a Faculty: East German Law Professors Under Socialism"

Speaker:

Inga Markovits
'The Friends of Joe Jamail' Regents Chair Emeritus
University of Texas

Drawing Board Luncheon - paper presented by Inga Markovits: "Three Tales of a Faculty: East German Law Professors Under Socialism"

February 29, 2016 Monday

TNH 3.129 (Atlas Seminar Room)
3:30pm - 5:30pm

Moderator:

Ronen Avraham

Law and Economic Seminar -- Patent Office Cohorts

Speaker:

Melissa Wasserman
Professor, University of Texas

March 3, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- Private Law Account of the Ethic of Zeal

Speaker:

Charles M Silver
Roy W. and Eugenia C. McDonald Endowed Chair in Civil Procedure
University of Texas

The presentation is approved for 1 hour of CLE ethics credit

Private Law Account of the Ethic of Zeal 021515 CS.pdf

March 7, 2016 Monday

TNH 3.129 (Atlas Seminar Room)
3:30pm - 5:30pm

Moderator:

Ronen Avraham

Law and Economic Seminar -- Relative Judgements

Speaker:

Adi Leibovitch
Professor, Columbia School of Law

March 8, 2016 Tuesday

CCJ 2.306 (Eidman Courtroom)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Robert M Chesney

The Future of the National Security Agency, with Deputy Director Rick Ledgett

Speaker:

Rick Ledgett
Deputy Director, National Security Agency

The Future of the National Security Agency, with Deputy Director Rick Ledgett. Strauss Center Event

March 10, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- Loving: How interracial intimacy changed America and will transform our future

Speaker:

Sheryll Cashin
Professor of Law, Georgetown Law

Cashin - Loving - How Interracial Intimacy Changed America and Will Transform Our Future.pdf

March 22, 2016 Tuesday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Gladys Sarabia

Robots in American Law, a talk by Professor Ryan Calo

Speaker:

Ryan Calo
Assistant Professor, University of Washington School of Law

On Tuesday, March 22, the Robert Strauss Center welcomes Ryan Calo, assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Law, for a talk on the way American courts have thought about robots over the past five decades, and what these strange and varied cases tell us about the path of robotics law. His presentation, titled "Robots in American Law," is based on his research of hundreds of state and federal cases that mention robotics (and analogs), and sheds light on how the acceleration and mainstreaming of robotics may play out in contemporary American law.

This presentation is free and open to the public.

More information here.

March 24, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- Barnette and the First Amendment Right to Privacy

Speaker:

Sophia Lee
Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School

Barnette the First Amendment Right to Privacy_Lee_draft.pdf

March 28, 2016 Monday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

John M Golden

Drawing Board Luncheon - Mechele Dickerson

Speaker:

Mechele Dickerson
Arthur L. Moller Chair in Bankruptcy Law and Practice
University Distinguished Teaching Professor
University of Texas

Drawing Board Luncheon - paper presented by Mechele Dickerson

March 28, 2016 Monday

TNH 3.129 (Atlas Seminar Room)
3:30pm - 5:30pm

Moderator:

Ronen Avraham

Law and Economic Seminar -- The Effect of Police Slowdowns on Traffic Accidents and Crime

Speaker:

Andrea Chandrasekher
Professor, University of California Davis

March 31, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.114 (Francis Auditorium)
8:00am - 5:15pm

Moderator:

Gladys Sarabia

Gregg v. Georgia at Forty: The Modern American Death Penalty

From March 31 to April 2, 2016, the ABA Death Penalty Due Process Review Project, the University of Texas School of Law Capital Punishment Center and William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law are hosting "40 Years After Gregg v. Georgia: A National Conference on the Death Penalty."

In 1976, the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in the United States in Gregg v. Georgia. In the forty years since that historic decision, the legal landscape has changed significantly, and the use of capital punishment has been the subject of passionate public debate. As this anniversary presents a unique opportunity for reflection, join us for a conference that will bring together some of the nation's leading death penalty experts and practitioners to share their diverse perspectives, reflect on the dynamic history of capital punishment in the United States, and discuss the issues impacting the law today.

If you are interested in attending, please register by following the above link to the Conference website.

March 31, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- Race-Based State Action and the Law of Equal Opportunity

Speaker:

Joseph R Fishkin
The Marrs McLean Professor in Law
University of Texas

Race-Based State Action and the Law of Equal Opportunity

April 1, 2016 Friday

TNH 2.114 (Francis Auditorium)
8:00am - 5:45pm

Moderator:

Gladys Sarabia

Gregg v. Georgia at Forty: The Modern American Death Penalty

From March 31 to April 2, the ABA Death Penalty Due Process Review Project, the University of Texas School of Law Capital Punishment Center and William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law are hosting "40 Years After Gregg v. Georgia: A National Conference on the Death Penalty."

April 2, 2016 Saturday

CCJ 2.306 (Eidman Courtroom)
8:00am - 12:15pm

Moderator:

Gladys Sarabia

Gregg v. Georgia at Forty: The Modern American Death Penalty

April 4, 2016 Monday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

John M Golden

Drawing Board Luncheon - Natalie Davidson

Speaker:

Natalie Davidson
Visiting Scholar -- Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice
University of Texas

Drawing Board Luncheon - paper presented by Natalie Davidson

April 4, 2016 Monday

TNH 3.129 (Atlas Seminar Room)
3:30pm - 5:30pm

Moderator:

Ronen Avraham

Law and Economic Seminar -- The Impact of Damages Caps on Medical Malpractice Insurance Premiums

Speaker:

Kathy Zeiler
Professor, Boston University

April 7, 2016 Thursday

TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
11:30am - 1:00pm

Moderator:

Oren Bracha

Faculty Colloquium -- Outbreak: The Evolution of the US Food Safety System

Speaker:

Tim Lytton
Professor, Georgia State University College of Law

Lytton Colloquim Workshop Draft ch 3.pdf

April 7, 2016 Thursday

CCJ 2.306 (Eidman Courtroom)
CCJ 2.300 (Jamail Pavilion)
3:00pm - 7:00pm

Moderator:

Gladys Sarabia

Rapoport Center Annual Conference: "Inequality & Human Rights"

This year's conference will explore inequality and human rights, addressing questions related to what we know of global, domestic, and regional inequality, and how various forms of and theories about inequality affect human rights work. A cross-regional, interdisciplinary group of activists, policymakers, and academics will work together to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the human rights movement’s efforts to address the issue.