Panelists:   Stephanie A. Scharf, Partner, Scharf Banks Marmor LLC and Principal, The Red Bee Group, LLC   Roberta D. Liebenberg, Sr. Partner, Fine Kaplan and Black, R.P.C.   JoAnn Epps, Executive Vice President and Provost, Temple University, and former Dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law   The discussion will be self-moderating, with an introduction given by Burns Center Co-Director and Cardozo Professor Anthony Sebok.   COVID-19 has forced changes in every part of life, including in the work of lawyers. Among other things, the pandemic has exposed preexisting weaknesses in law firm diversity and inclusion policies. In April 2021, the ABA published a study entitled Practicing Law in the Pandemic and Moving Forward:  Results and Best Practices From a Nationwide Survey of The Legal Profession. This study surveyed thousands of American lawyers from various practice settings, with different levels of experience, ages, family statuses, races and ethnicities, gender identities, and disabilities. Study results confirmed what many women and people of color already knew – standard approaches to the workplace do not serve the goals of diversity and inclusion, especially during times of great stress and financial uncertainty.   On November 8th, the Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law will host the primary authors of the study, Stephanie A. Scharf and Roberta D. Liebenberg, to discuss their findings. We will also be joined by JoAnn Epps, Executive Vice President and Provost at Temple University and former Dean of Temple Law.   Panelists will discuss the impact of remote work on diversity, equity, and inclusion at law firms; how women and lawyers of color were affected by the move to remote work; and whether there are lessons to take from the past 18 months so that the legal profession can pivot from the current crisis to a more inclusive future.   Please contact maura.gingerich@yu.edu with any questions about this event.  

More than ever before, it seems like lawyers are violating the norms and rules of professional responsibility. On Nov. 4th, the Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law will hold a discussion about the special risks that arise when lawyers advising the executive branch provide advice that is erroneous in connection with matters of constitutional and federal law.   Prompting this program are the revelations that John Eastman, a former law school dean, and Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark advised the Trump White House that the results of the 2020 election could be set aside. What duties did Eastman and Clark owe as a matter of professional responsibility? Who can now respond to Eastman’s and Clark’s violations of those duties? Are the guardrails that constrain lawyers advising the executive branch sufficient? To help us think through these questions, we will be joined by Cardozo Professor Kate Shaw.   Register: lawyersbehavingbadly-ep1.eventbrite.com

The Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law will host Professor Carissa Byrne Hessick of UNC Law to discuss her latest work on plea bargaining, Punishment without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is a Bad Idea (Abrams Press, 2021)