Donor-Supported Lectures Highlight Law School Calendar

  • by Joseph Martin

Each year, UC Davis School of Law's four endowed lectures bring prominent legal scholars to King Hall for events that highlight the Law School calendar and offer students-as well as faculty, alumni, and community members-the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the most pressing legal issues of our time. 

The four annual events-the Edward L. Barrett, Jr. Lecture on Constitutional Law, Brigitte M. Bodenheimer Lecture on Family Law, Central Valley Foundation/James B. McClatchy Lecture on the First Amendment, and the Fenwick & West Lecture Series in Technology, Entrepreneurship, Science, and Law (TESLaw)-help keep UC Davis School of Law on the cutting edge of legal education.

This year's endowed lectures include:

  • Central Valley Foundation/James B. McClatchy Lecture on the First Amendment (October 15, 2012): Created to promote discussion and understanding of First Amendment issues, the series is supported by the Central Valley Foundation, which was established by the late James B. McClatchy, publisher of the McClatchy Company newspapers from 1987 to 2005. CVF supports organizations and education programs dedicated to the protection and promotion of First Amendment rights, the advancement of academic achievement of English Learners at public K-12 schools in California's Central Valley, and the enhancement and preservation of quality of life in the Central Valley. This year's lecture will feature constitutional law scholar Geoffrey R. Stone, the Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, where he was dean from 1987-1994. He is also a former Provost of the University of Chicago (1994-2002), and the author or co-author of many books on constitutional law, including Speaking Out: Reflections of Law, Liberty and Justice (2010); Top Secret: When Our Government Keeps Us in the Dark (2007), War and Liberty: An American Dilemma (2007), Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime (2004), and Eternally Vigilant: Free Speech in the Modern Era (Chicago 2002). He will speak on "The 2012 Election and the Future of the Supreme Court."
  • Edward L. Barrett, Jr. Lecture on Constitutional Law (November 14, 2012): Established in 1986 to mark the retirement of King Hall's founding dean, Edward L. Barrett, Jr., and the Law School's 20th anniversary, this series has been supported by gifts from more than four dozen King Hall faculty and alumni. This year's lecture will feature Drew S. Days III, the Alfred M. Rankin Professor Emeritus of Law and Professorial Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School.  He has been a staff member of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Carter Administration, and U.S. Solicitor General during the Clinton Administration.  The title of his lecture is "Equalizing Equality: The Canadian Record after Three Decades of Constitutionally-Authorized Affirmative Action."
  • Brigitte M. Bodenheimer Lecture on Family Law (March 11, 2013): Established in 1981 in memory of King Hall Professor Brigitte M. Bodenheimer, an internationally renowned teacher, scholar, and reformer of the law, this endowed lecture brings scholars and practitioners to UC Davis School of Law to discuss recent developments in family law. This year's Bodenheimer lecture features Susan Frelich Appleton, the Lemma Barkeloo & Phoebe Couzins Professor of Law and Israel Treiman Faculty Fellow at Washington University Law. She is a nationally known expert in family law and a prolific scholar whose research, scholarship, and writings address such legal issues as adoption, assisted reproduction, gender and parentage, surrogacy, and abortion rights. She has co-authored a family law casebook, now in its fourth edition, as well as a casebook on adoption and assisted reproduction, and she has published extensively on family law matters in law reviews
  • Fenwick & West Lecture Series in Technology, Entrepreneurship, Science, and Law (TESLaw): Fenwick & West, a national law firm specializing in providing comprehensive legal services to technology and life sciences clients of national and international prominence, sponsors this annual event to provide practitioners, academics, and students with the knowledge base required to successfully address the challenges inherent to the growing, ever-changing markets of the 21st century. The series has featured keynote speakers such as Stratton Sclavos, former CEO of VeriSign, legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr, and twitter co-founder Jason Goldman.  The next TESLaw event is scheduled for spring 2013; details will be announced soon.

UC Davis School of Law depends upon private support in order to provide these and other special events that enhance the educational experience of King Hall students and promote superior understanding of complex current issues among students, faculty, and alumni alike.  To find out more about how you can support lectures, symposia, and other special events at King Hall, please contact Jean Korinke, Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations, at 530-752-1067 or jfkorinke@ucdavis.edu.