The recent conduct of Supreme Court justices and lawyers acting on behalf of former president Trump has led many to think that something has gone profoundly wrong at the most elite levels of the American legal profession.

At this conference, panelists will discuss the ethics controversies surrounding the Supreme Court, the role of bar discipline in the aftermath of the Trump presidency, and the risks and benefits of using courts to address unlawful conduct by political figures.

The Hon. Daniel Goldman (D-NY), lead counsel in the first House impeachment of Trump, will give the keynote address at 9:30 am, followed by three panels:

I. Ethical Crisis at the Supreme Court? Who Should Respond, and How?

II. Ethical Crisis in the Profession? The Trump Lawyers and their Disciplinary Actions

III. Weaponized Law or Rule of Law? Using the Courts to Address Unlawful Conduct by Political Opponents

Participants include:

Robert Howse, NYU School of Law        

Renee Knake Jefferson, U. of Houston Law

Sung Hui Kim, UCLA School of Law   

Mary McCord, Georgetown University Law Center      

Melissa Murray, NYU School of Law

Richard Painter, U. of Minnesota Law School

Deborah Pearlstein, Princeton University

Daniel Richman, Columbia Law School

Rebecca Roiphe, New York Law School

James Sample, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University

W. Bradley Wendel, Cornell Law School

This is a hybrid event. Zoom information will become available at a later date.

***Note on CLE Credit: This program of three panels is approved for up to 4.5 transitional/non-transitional New York State CLE credits in the category “Ethics and Professionalism.”To receive CLE credits for a panel, you must attend that part of the program “live.” We cannot award CLE credits for watching a recorded version of any part of this program.