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On March 28, the Dennis J. Block Center for the Study of International Business Law hosted Professor James Thuo Gathii, Loyola University’s Wing-Tat Lee Chair in International Law and Professor of Law, for the annual Brooklyn Lecture on International Business Law, “The World Bank’s Minimalist Race Agenda”. Introducing Professor Gathii, Professor Julian Arato, co-director of the Block Center, who moderated the discussion, called Gathii “one of the greatest lights in our field.” His extensive scholarship and involvement in international law includes his latest book, The Performance of Africa’s International Courts: Using Litigation for Political, Legal and Social Change (Oxford University Press, 2020), serving on the board of editors for the American Journal of International Law and the Journal of African Law, sitting as an arbitrator in two international commercial arbitrations hosted by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague; and consulting for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, (OHCHR), and the Economic Commission for Africa, (ECA), among others.   In his lecture, Professor Gathii explored how the World Bank is addressing issues of race in its development work, saying that despite its establishment of an Anti-Racism Task Force and its goal to examine community engagements, the Bank must go back “to unearth the histories” of its racist legacy. Among such histories is the World Bank’s justification of lending to the South African government in the 1960s, during apartheid, in noncompliance with international law and United Nations resolutions. That the World Bank justified its actions by claiming that its business in South Africa was not concerned with colonialism or politics, but solely with economics, Gathii said, “made us all into accomplices to apartheid and its damaging consequences. In my view, for the Bank to be legitimately and to be honestly engaging on questions of race, it must engage in this ugly history.”   He highlighted through many examples how racism is “self-enforcing across generations and embedded in national and global institutions and structures that continue to reinforce and to generate new forms of racial inequality.”   After the lecture, a panel discussion was held with Afton Titus, Associate Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Cape Town (South Africa), and Block Center co-directors Steven Dean and Arato.   In closing, Gathii called for greater transparency at the World Bank and other institutions, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and for greater awareness and action. “We, as international lawyers,” he said, “must continually help move the ball forward by demonstrating contingency of our current rules of international economic law. We should not be helping institutions naturalize them as inevitable arrangements. We have to pay attention to how rules of law are deeply implicated in producing, constructing, and defending material relations of exploitation constructed on the basis of race, and by taking seriously the relationship between power, race, and oppression. Then we can begin making progress in understanding what we can do to address racism.”

Honoring Professor Alexis Hoag for her accomplished career and inspiration as a civil rights and criminal defense lawyer, scholar, dedicated teacher, mentor, and advocate for justice, Columbia Law School’s intersectional student group Empowering Women of Color (EWOC) on April 8, presented her with its Constance Baker Motley Award at its annual gala.   The award—named in honor of Judge Motley, the trailblazing civil rights activist, first woman president of the borough of Manhattan, and the first Black woman to be appointed to the Federal bench, in 1966, who later served as the Chief Judge of the Southern District of New York—recognizes the achievements and inspiration of women of color in the legal profession. The 2020 Motley Award recipient was United States Associate Justice-designate, Ketanji Brown Jackson. “The path Judge Motley forged helped make all our professional journeys possible,” said Professor Hoag, in accepting the award and emphasizing the theme of this year’s EWOC gala, “Growing Forward Together.” “Without Judge Motley, there is no Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Black women make up less than 2 percent of lawyers, but we represent 30 percent of the women’s prison population and 44 percent of the women’s jail population,” said Professor Hoag. “The profession needs us.” Hoag relayed her own path from NYU Law to focusing on capital cases at the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Nashville, Tennessee. “My role was to show my client’s humanity to the court and convince a judge that my client’s life was worth saving. I bore witness, I cataloged trauma, and I showed my clients—through the team’s efforts—that they mattered. And like Justice Jackson, I defended the Constitution and held the state accountable. Because that’s what public defenders do.” Working as senior counsel with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), which has been on the forefront of abolishing the death penalty, she said, allowed her to broaden her advocacy. “Through litigation, public education, and community organizing we shifted the very atmosphere in which civil rights claims are understood. We elevated our clients’ voices.”  “Even though my career looks linear, I didn’t experience it that way,” said Hoag, who transitioned from practice to academia (at Columbia and now at Brooklyn Law School). “Instead, I relied on relationships, timing, and taking risks.” Former LDF President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill, encouraged her to enter academia to help train the next generation of civil rights advocates.  “Taking a step back from practice, has enabled me to view the criminal legal system through a more critical lens.”   “Through teaching, my approach and understanding of the law as a tool for change has shifted. We have much to learn from our clients, organizers, and other disciplines; from other cultures that don’t rely on carceral systems to solve their problems. Abolition presents a path forward.” At Brooklyn Law, Professor Hoag offers classes in Evidence, Criminal Procedure Adjudication, and, for the first time, in spring 2023, Abolition. Our student body recently voted her Faculty Member of the Year. Pictured in photo: Professor Alexis Hoag (L) and Julianna Simms, Columbia Law School Class of 2023 (R). Photo by Diane Bondareff.

Attorney Warren A. Estis ’73, an esteemed member of the New York legal community, a spirited litigator, and a giant in the field of commercial real estate law, as founding partner of the firm Rosenberg & Estis, died on April 13, 2022. Just two years after his 1973 graduation from the Law School, Mr. Estis founded the firm with fellow alumnus Gary Rosenberg ’74. Together, from their beginnings as a boutique firm representing owners of rent-regulated residential units, they built one of the city’s most prominent and respected practices in commercial real estate law. Mr. Estis was recognized as a skilled and tenacious litigator and negotiator whose practice covered a wide scope of commercial litigation, landlord-tenant disputes, and land assemblages. The firm has been instrumental in the construction of much of the city’s skyline, including major projects including One Bryant Park, One World Trade Center, with the Durst Organization and New York City Port Authority, and the Bank of America Tower, in a joint venture with Durst. “Management was never one of my skills, and it never grew on me. I just love doing the litigation and going to court,” said Estis, in a 2017 conversation that Professor David Reiss conducted with him and firm partners Rosenberg and Deborah Riegel ’93. “To me, every case is a challenge or a game of chess or Monopoly, and I enjoy the challenge. When Gary and I started out with humble beginnings, and to be able to achieve the recognition and the reputation the firm has in the field of real estate litigation is something you could never dream of.” Mr. Estis also served with distinction on the Advisory Council for the Housing Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York, the Supreme and Civil Court Practice Sections of the New York County Lawyers’ Association and the Real Property Division of the American Bar Association. He was editor and co-author of the Landlord/Tenant Law and Rent Regulations columns in the New York Law Journal, and co-author of the book New York Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997. Among his many honors were the American Jurisprudence Award in Negotiable Instruments, 1972, and the New York County Lawyers' Association Civil Court Practice Section Award, 2000. Born November 2, 1948, in Queens, Mr. Estis received his B.A. from Long Island University/C. W. Post College, before entering Brooklyn Law School. A kind and generous friend to the Law School for many years, Mr. Estis continued the legacy of his father, Nathan Estis, a 1934 graduate, which now continues with his son, Alexander Estis ’17. “There have been three generations in my family going to Brooklyn Law School, so it’s important to us to give back,” Estis said. Both Alex and daughter Dani Estis, who survive him, also carry on their father’s legacy at Rosenberg & Estis as firm associates. He will be greatly missed by all in our community.    Funeral services will be held Monday, April 18, at 10 a.m. at Gutterman’s Funeral Home, 8000 Jericho Turnpike, in Woodbury, NY.

Susan Herman is the inaugural Ruth Bader Ginsburg Professor of Law. Like Ginsburg, she served as General Counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union. In October 2008, Herman was elected as the seventh President of the ACLU, a position she held until stepping down in January 2021. She teaches courses in Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure, and has taught seminars including Current Issues in Constitutional Law, Law and Literature, Terrorism and Civil Liberties, and COVID-19 and the Constitution. She is affiliated with the Center for Law, Language & Cognition and is an Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Law Fellowship Committee Member. A highly regarded authority on constitutional and criminal procedure topics, she is a prolific author in these areas. Her extensive writings have been published in scholarly and other publications, ranging from law reviews and books to periodicals and online publications. Her book, Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy (Oxford 2011 & 2014) was awarded the 2012 Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize. She is also author of Advanced Introduction to US Civil Liberties (Elgar 2023) and The Right to a Speedy and Public Trial (Praeger Publishers 2006) and co-author of Terrorism, Government, and Law: National Authority and Local Autonomy in the War on Terror (Praeger 2008). Professor Herman has discussed constitutional law issues on radio and television, including NPR, CNN, CSPAN, NBC, MSNBC, and PBS. Her opinions are frequently published in leading print media. She has been a frequent speaker at academic conferences and continuing legal education events organized by groups such as the Federal Judicial Center and the American Bar Association, and has lectured and conducted workshops for various groups of judges and lawyers. She has also spoken before non-legal groups, including the U.S. Army War College and other schools, and at international conferences such as Web Summit and Collision. She has participated in U.S. Supreme Court litigation, writing and collaborating on Supreme Court amicus curiae briefs for the ACLU on a range of constitutional criminal procedure issues, most recently in the case of Riley v. California. Herman received her B.A. from Barnard College and J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was a Note and Comment Editor on the NYU Law Review. Before entering teaching, she served as Pro Se Law Clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Associate Director of Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York. She has received awards honoring her accomplishments from Barnard College, Brooklyn Law School, NYU Law, and Trinity College Dublin (the Praeses Elit award), and from numerous organizations including Crain’s New York Business, the Japanese-American Bar Association, and the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law (Inspiration Award).

Alexis Hoag-Fordjour is the David Dinkins '56 Professor of Law and co-director of the Center forCriminal Justice. She teaches and writes in criminal law and procedure, evidence, and abolition.A nationally recognized expert in indigent defense, Hoag-Fordjour regularly conducts trainingsfor federal and state defender organizations, and provides on-air analysis for CNN, Al-Jazeera,NPR, and other media outlets. Her scholarship interrogates the role of race, racism, and powerthroughout the criminal adjudication system, and appears in the New York University LawReview, Michigan Law Review, Boston University Law Review, Fordham Law Review, amongothers. Brooklyn law students have twice voted Hoag-Fordjour Faculty Member of the Year. In2021, she was elected to membership in the American Law Institute. Prior to academia, Hoag-Fordjour spent more than a decade as a civil rights and criminal defenselawyer, primarily representing death-sentenced clients in federal post-conviction proceedings withthe NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and the Office of the Federal PublicDefender in Nashville, Tenn. She chairs the Death Penalty Information Center board andserves as a board member of the Abolitionist Law Center, the Constitutional AccountabilityCenter, and the US Campaign to End the Death Penalty, while also serving on Vera Institute ofJustice’s Reform Leadership Council. She is a graduate of Yale University and NYU Law, whereshe was a Derrick Bell Public Interest Scholar. She clerked for the late Judge John T. Nixon of theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

On Feb. 5, an audience of 117 law students, city and state officials, disability advocates and activists, and community leaders gathered for the seventh annual Disability and Civil Rights Clinic Breakfast Roundtable at Brooklyn Law School. The roundtable gave attendees a collaborative environment in which to explore recent legal and policy developments impacting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities while exchanging ideas, establishing new community partnerships, and deliberating on solutions for change. The virtual event was cosponsored by the Law School’s Disability and Civil Rights Clinic and the Center for Health, Science and Public Policy. “We are really excited that we could hold the Roundtable this year,” said Professor Prianka Nair, clinic codirector. “It felt especially important to bring the disability community together at a time when so many of us are isolated and distanced from each other.” The theme of this year’s roundtable, “Persisting in Crisis: Civil Rights and the Disability Community,” was chosen to address all of the changes in the space caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and renewed calls for racial justice. “We hope that this will be a place for members of the disability community to talk about how we survived, coped, managed, organized, and advocated throughout this tumultuous year,” said Professor Sarah Lorr, clinic codirector. The keynote address, given by advocate and activist Janice Bartley, called on participants to make sure their voices are heard, especially those for whom attending large gatherings and rallies could be dangerous or physically prohibitive. “Self advocates can get involved and make a difference from home,” said Bartley. “Rallies and marches are effective only if they get the attention of someone with the power to make a change. Use your voice to contact them directly, either by phone, email, a letter, or even Twitter.” After the keynote, participants broke into working groups focused on different subject areas, where they shared knowledge and concerns and discussed strategies to enact progress. Topics included enforcing rights in carceral settings and policing, challenges in accessing special education services, access to services provided by the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, discrimination in health care, supported decision making as an alternative to guardianship, and the right to family. “This clinic is a perfect exemplar of what clinical legal education is all about,” said Dean Michael T. Cahill in his opening remarks at the event. “It satisfies the twin goals of hands-on training for students and, just as important, helping to serve the legal needs of groups and populations that might otherwise be unmet or neglected.” The Disability and Civil Rights Clinic focuses on protecting and advancing the civil rights of adults with intellectual disabilities. As one of the few law school clinics in the country specializing in this area, it functions as a pro bono law firm, with students representing low-income adults and their families in a variety of civil legal matters, including housing, public benefits, access to health care, special education, parental rights, alternatives to guardianship, asylum, and discrimination concerning access to programs and services.

At the first Summit on Building an Antiracist Curriculum on Jan. 29, 2021, students and faculty gathered virtually to explore how the curriculum can change to remove bias and help diversify the legal profession. The Curriculum Committee invited the entire student body to the half-day meeting to discuss their views on the effects of racism on their education at the Law School and their ideas on how the academic program can move toward integrating antiracist content and instruction. Reforming the curriculum is one of the key efforts initiated by the faculty after the adoption of its anti-bias resolution in August 2020. In the resolution, the faculty acknowledged that, “as educators, we must learn and grow as we ask our students to learn and grow. Being antiracist must be an active, daily pursuit.” “We are thinking about how we can actively change our society to end systemic racism,” said Maryellen Fullerton, Suzanne J. and Norman Miles Professor of Law, who chairs the Curriculum Committee. “We need to do this, both as a faculty and as students who will soon be members of the bar.” Curriculum Committee student members Jordan Khorshad ’21, Brian Brown ’21, and Xinxin Zhou ’21 spearheaded efforts to examine possible changes in curricular emphases and course materials, enriching the curriculum in order to develop actively antiracist graduates. “The faculty has placed a premium on actual student feedback,” said Khorshad. “This is a real opportunity to shape the direction of our school, and I am grateful for that opportunity.” The summit began with a plenary session, moderated by Zhou, where the Curriculum Committee, along with the faculty Committee on Student Diversity and Inclusion and the Professional Development Committee, reported on efforts so far. “We will enable the institution to be antiracist not just by creating rules, but by sharing information,” said Dean Michael T. Cahill in his opening remarks. He pointed to the faculty’s commitment to diversify itself as another positive move in changing the Law School’s culture. “That, in addition to formal changes that we make, will have an effect on our curriculum.” The plenary session was followed by two rounds of small group discussions led by student facilitators, where students were free to openly discuss issues of racism and inequality in the classroom and Law School curriculum. The Curriculum Committee will use the feedback to incorporate student perspectives into its future actions as they implement the faculty resolution. “This is work for all of us,” said Karen Porter, Arthur Pinto & Stephen Bohlen Associate Dean for Inclusion and Diversity. “It will take all of our efforts and engagement as an institution to think of what changes are needed.” The Committee on Student Diversity and Inclusion and the Curriculum Committee also launched a student experience survey in February to better understand student perspectives on various issues in the classroom and their experience in the wider Law School community. The data collected will be used to inform current and future decisions supporting a diverse, inclusive, and vibrant campus community. In addition, the Law School has joined with the 10 New York City-area law schools to form the Law School Anti-Racism Consortium, a coalition of law school faculty, administrators, staff, students, and alumni committed to building an antiracist culture and climate in law schools and actively confront the extent to which racism impacts legal education. Learn more about Brooklyn Law School’s commitment to antiracism

After a nationwide search, Brooklyn Law School has named Annie Nienaber, a highly successful fundraiser for higher education institutions, as its Chief Advancement Officer. Nienaber joins the Law School from Rutgers University School of Engineering, where she served as Assistant Dean of Development. Nienaber will oversee the Office of Development and Alumni Relations and the Office of External Affairs, providing strategic and operational leadership, and she will work closely with the Law School’s leadership, faculty, and Board of Trustees to promote the Law School’s visibility and reputation and advance its philanthropic priorities and goals. “We are delighted that Annie Nienaber has accepted our offer to join the Law School as our first Chief Advancement Officer,” said Frank Aquila ’83, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “Annie’s talent and experience will strengthen the Law School’s development and advancement functions, which will permit us to better serve our students, faculty, and alumni, both now and in the decades to come.” Nienaber brings more than a decade of broad and deep experience creating and leading new strategic fundraising initiatives that result in significant increased giving and alumni engagement. She also has a strong track record in building a culture of philanthropy and strengthening partnerships with internal and external constituents. In her six years at Rutgers University School of Engineering, where she served as Director of Development before being named Assistant Dean in 2018, she launched giving initiatives that led to $15 million in new gift commitments, the second-largest fundraising year in the school’s history. Under her leadership, the School received a $10 million endowed scholarship commitment, the largest single gift ever to Rutgers Engineering and, at the time, the largest scholarship gift ever to Rutgers University. Before joining Rutgers, she served for five years in various development roles at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where, among other accomplishments, she helped create a new office of development for Scholarships, Student Aid, and Access. That new office was charged with identifying opportunities for increased giving to these funding priorities, laying the groundwork for UNC’s $4.25 billion For All Kind campaign. “I am very pleased to welcome Annie to the Law School at this pivotal time in our 120-year history,” said Michael T. Cahill, President and Joseph Crea Dean. “As we finally begin to emerge from the pandemic, and look ahead to the future of our Law School, I am excited to again have increasing opportunity to engage with our alumni and partners across the country and around the world. I feel fortunate to have Annie as a partner in that effort.” “Among Brooklyn Law School’s strengths are its strong community of engaged students, faculty, alumni, and friends, built on a remarkable legacy of providing access to a legal education,” Nienaber said. “I am excited by the opportunity to join this community, and look forward to the great things we will accomplish together in the years ahead.” Nienaber holds an M.A. and B.A. in English Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She will join the Law School June 14.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the workplace. Nationally, law students entering the workforce face novel difficulties in an uncertain job market, exacerbated by threats to their physical, mental, and financial health. Likewise, mid-career professionals find their progression buffeted by unpredictable outside forces, including company and industry disruptions. To help the Brooklyn Law School community rethink career opportunities in this new landscape, the Alumni Association’s Women’s Leadership Network (WLN) hosted the virtual discussion Shaping & Re-Shaping Your Career in a Pandemic World. At the event, cosponsored by the Law School’s chapter of the Legal Association for Women, alumni panelists shared affirmative ways to embrace transitions brought on by the pandemic to successfully navigate professional networks, thrive in a remote work environment, and prepare for changes in legal practice to ensure successful and resilient careers. Panelists for the event included Daryn A. Grossman ’93, managing partner at Proskauer Rose; Kevin Hellmann ’95, director, training and professionalism, at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office; Jessica Hodkinson ’99, general counsel at US Panasonic; and Hon. Jennifer P. Wilson ’01, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania and WLN member. The event was moderated by Andrea N. Anderson ’04, head of corporate real estate legal at WeWork and WLN member. The program was introduced by Dean Michael T. Cahill and Debbie Epstein Henry ’94, chair of the WLN and founder of DEH Consulting, Speaking, Writing. The panelists discussed the flexibility created by remote work, with both its pros (the ability to work remotely and unshackle a job search from geographic restrictions) and cons (the difficulty in building connections with peers and potential mentors). All implored the audience to embrace these changes by looking for opportunities in unfamiliar places and being purposeful in their efforts to connect. “A 15-minute Zoom call over coffee is a great way to get to know someone and can sometimes be way more effective than sitting at a cocktail hour trying to make small talk,” said Hodkinson. “It’s much more intimate and you can get to know somebody much better.” The panelists also encouraged audience members to look at the disruption of the normal workplace as an opportunity to make bold contributions and make their mark. “In a business context, the Zoom meeting can be a great equalizer because everyone is the same size and can speak,” said Grossman. “I’ve seen junior colleagues blossom and participate meaningfully.” Since its launch in 2017, the Women’s Leadership Network has provided stimulating programming to help alumni navigate their careers. In November 2020, it hosted the virtual discussion How Inspiring Leaders Emerge in Challenging Times. “Leadership is right there in the name, so it should come as no surprise that that is exactly what [the Women’s Leadership Network has] provided for the last several years,” said Dean Cahill in his welcoming remarks. “I am truly grateful to them for everything they have done to maintain the strength of our alumni engagement and relationships, even during this very difficult time.” Watch the event

On Feb. 21, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams addressed the sixth annual Disability and Civil Rights Clinic Breakfast Roundtable at Brooklyn Law School, a gathering sponsored by the Law School’s Disability and Civil Rights Clinic that drew more than 140 city and state officials, disability advocates and activists, and community leaders. The theme of this year’s roundtable was “Mobilizing and Amplifying Voices in the Disability Community to Create Change." Professor Stacy Caplow, associate dean of experiential education, kicked off the morning, greeting participants who represented “a cross-section of stakeholders and members of the community concerned with the wide-ranging issues that affect individuals, families, and the networks our clinic assists.” In his keynote address, Williams spoke of his own experiences living with ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome. He highlighted the importance of developing alternatives to a police response in mental health emergencies and the problems of “inequality of access” to resources among different communities. “I’m glad that places like Brooklyn Law School’s Disability and Civil Rights Clinic exist to make resources accessible, particularly to low-income communities,” said Williams. “Many people think they are facing these challenges alone. It is so important for us to organize, to reach out, and to bring people together under common concern.” Participants broke into working groups focused on different subject areas, where they shared knowledge and concerns and discussed strategies to enact progress. Subjects included criminal justice, special education and transitional services, systematic legal challenges, relationships and sexuality, the right to family, and the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities. At the end of the program, each working group shared its findings with the entire group. “The Roundtable exists as a safe space to have a stimulating discussion about the issues that concern the disability rights community, to allow for cross-pollination of ideas and to build coalitions,” said Professor Prianka Nair, director of the clinic. “It is exciting and a privilege for the clinic to be part of the process of facilitating that process.” Professor Sarah Lorr, deputy director, agreed. “A theme I heard throughout the discussions was how we personalize these experiences to the broader community, reorienting ourselves as the disability justice community from fighting ‘against’ things to joining a broader community fighting ‘for’ things.” Among the attendees was Howard Rothman ’71, a partner at Kramer Levin and president and chairman of the board of the Taft Foundation, who was instrumental in securing the initial grant from the foundation to support the development of the clinic and its first roundtable in 2014. The Taft Foundation renewed the grant in 2018, increasing its total support to $1.6 million. The Disability and Civil Rights Clinic focuses on protecting and advancing the civil rights of adults with intellectual disabilities. As one of the few law school clinics in the country specializing in this area, it functions as a pro bono law firm, with students representing low-income New Yorkers and their families in a variety of civil legal matters, including housing, public benefits, access to healthcare, special education, parental rights, alternatives to guardianship, asylum, and discrimination concerning access to programs and services.  View photos of the event here.

Elizabeth Potter ’20 and Emily Spanyer Sanford ’20, were awarded the top two prizes in the 2019-2020 Louis Jackson Memorial National Student Writing Competition. Potter placed first for her manuscript “Revoking Religious Employers’ License to Discriminate: How to Limit the Ministerial Exception to What the First Amendment Requires After Hosanna–Tabor,” winning a $3,000 scholarship. Sanford won one of two second-place prizes for her manuscript “Equality in Parental Leave: How Women Can Achieve Workplace Parity Through Equal Parental Leave Policies,” and was awarded a $1,000 scholarship. “I was thrilled to learn that two students who wrote papers for my fall semester Employment Law class won both first and second place in this prestigious national labor and employment law writing competition,” said Professor Minna Kotkin, who specializes in employment discrimination law and sexual harassment issues and is also director of the Employment Law Clinic. “This is one of the few times that this award has been won by two students from the same school, and we should be very proud of their work.” Potter’s manuscript focused on the ministerial exception to employment discrimination laws, giving religious organizations the right to discriminate without liability. “Since Hosanna–Tabor, the Supreme Court decision allowing the exception, there has been a split in the circuit courts as to how it should be applied,” said Potter. “I argue that the exception should be read really narrowly, especially as it applies to lower wage employees, such as nursery school teachers and organists.” Potter has a keen interest in issues of employment discrimination, having worked at organizations such as A Better Balance, a legal nonprofit focused on ensuring that employees are able to balance work and family. Sanford chose to take employment law because of her background in legal recruiting at a large firm, and the topic for her paper came through her interest in employment policies at law firms. She focuses specifically on a case in which a firm offered an additional 8-week parental leave to women automatically, but would not grant the additional time to men who were primary caregivers. “My examination of this case is a study of how the millennial workforce is changing presumptions about gender and caregiving,” said Sanford. “Even though it looks like women benefit from this policy, I argue that granting women an automatic leave that is not granted equally to men actually hurts them in the workplace.” “I appreciate Professor Kotkin’s help and guidance and for encouraging us to submit,” said Potter. “It was also a wonderful opportunity to take her class and learn employment law from someone who has been a real voice and advocate for workers.” The competition is underwritten by Jackson Lewis in honor of founding partner Louis Jackson and administered by the Institute for Law and the Workplace at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. It recognizes the best legal writing in the field of labor and employment law among current law students. The committee of five judges is drawn from among the most preeminent labor and employment law scholars in the country, and entries are judged blind.