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Thanks to everyone who came out to the Fall Conference on Saturday, September 15, at Gibson Dunn.  We could not have asked for a more beautiful day to hold a conference, and we had well over 200 attendees, including speakers, Board members, Committee Chairs, volunteers, and numerous participants for eight CLE programs, the all-day Trial Advocacy Program, the pitch sessions, the In-House Counsel Forum and the Judicial Forum. 

During the luncheon, Debra Wong Yang, Gibson Dunn Partner from the Los Angeles office, welcomed all the attendees.  Wells Fargo Senior Economist Anika Khan flew in from Charlotte, North Carolina, to give an informative and engaging presentation about the current economic outlook in the United States.

After a long day, many attendees stayed for the cocktail reception, at which the 2012-13 AABANY Mentorship Program was officially launched, with some mentors and mentees for this year’s program meeting face-to-face for the first time.  Cynthia Tomm, Development Coordinator for the MinKwon Center, our community partner, addressed the audience to talk about the work MinKwon has been doing in the community and to seek attorneys to volunteer their time in support of those efforts, especially with the recently-announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.  Jason Leung and Jin Hwang, NAPABA Northeast Regional Governors, were on hand to encourage everyone to register for the NAPABA National Convention in Washington, DC in November.

We thank the Fall Conference Planning Committee, the program organizers, the panelists and moderators for many months of hard work.  We thank all the volunteers who helped things to run smoothly from early in the morning and into the evening.

We thank our sponsors Wells Fargo, Hudson Reporting and Holtz Rubenstein Reminick for their generous support.  We thank Gibson Dunn for hosting the event and for donating so many resources to make the conference a success.

For those who still had energy left to go to the after-party, it was held at Chelsea Manor, and we thank Skadden for sponsoring the after-party.

We hope everyone had an enjoyable time at the Fall Conference (and afterwards), and if you have any feedback to share, please post it here on the blog or email us at [email protected].

NYU Symposium on Perry v. Brown

The N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change and NYU OUTLaw invite you to attend our upcoming symposium, Making Constitutional Change: the Past, Present, and Future Role of Perry v. Brown. The symposium will focus closely on this landmark Ninth Circuit case– holding California’s Proposition 8 in violation of the U.S. Constitution– and gathers many of its key players, including the lead Perry litigators themselves.

On Friday, October 5, at 9:00 a.m., MSNBC host Rachel Maddow will interview Perry litigators David Boies (LL.M. ‘67) and Theodore B. Olson. After, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., three panels will address Perry’s effect on the larger LGBTQ-rights movement, its effect on other marriage-equality litigation strategies, and how, in an ideal world, Perry should be decided if it goes to the Supreme Court. Panelists include Matt ColesErwin ChemerinskyDavid Cruz ’94Jon W. DavidsonWilliam Eskridge, Jr.Roberta A. KaplanMelissa MurrayJennifer C. Pizer ’88Reva SiegelPaul M. SmithTherese StewartAndrea J. RitchieAdam UmhoeferEvan Wolfson, and Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law.

Five and a half CLE credits are available for those attending all of the events on Friday, October 5.

We will also be hosting a staged reading of the American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact’s 8, a play by Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black the night before, on Thursday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. The play draws verbatim on Perry’s trial transcript and supplemental interviews. Will Pomerantz, of Epic Theater Ensemble, is directing and producing our show. The 90-minute reading will be followed by a discussion with Perry lay witness Ryan Kendall, Executive Director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights Adam Umhoefer, Executive Director of Epic Theater Ensemble Ron Russell, and the performers. Vice Dean Randy A. Hertz will moderate a conversation about how stories change minds. The panelists will also take questions from the audience. 

All events are free and open to the public and will be at NYU School of Law, in Vanderbilt Hall, at 40 Washington Square South, New York, New York.

To attend any of these events, please register at http://nyulaw.imodules.com/makingconstitutionalchange.

Please click here to view the flyer and schedule of the event.

Cordially,
Mateya Kelley
Symposium Editor
N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change

Geoffrey Wertime
Co-Chair
NYU OUTLaw