Fordham University

Program Schedule

8:30 AM – 9:00 AM 
Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM 
Opening Remarks

• Dean Michael Martin, Fordham Law School
• Professor Joseph Landau, Fordham Law School

9:30 AM – 11:00 AM 
Panel 1: The Most Dangerous Branch and DOMA

• Daniel Meltzer (Harvard Law School)
• Charles Fried (Former U.S. Solicitor General; Harvard Law School)
• Dawn Johnsen (Indiana University Maurer School of Law)
• Saikrishna Prakash (University of Virginia School of Law)
• Moderator: Abner Greene (Fordham University School of Law)

This panel considers the Obama Administration’s February 23, 2011, announcement that it will enforce, but not defend in court, the Defense of Marriage Act. What are the constitutional bases for this “enforce-but-not-defend” policy? What are the precedents? Is the decision to enforce but not defend DOMA a legitimate exercise of Executive Branch powers?

11:15 AM – 12:45 PM 
Panel 2: Private Attorneys General Defendants and LGBT Rights

• William Eskridge (Yale Law School)
• Suzanne Goldberg (Columbia Law School)
• Douglas NeJaime (Loyola Law School, Los Angeles)
• David Luban (Georgetown University Law Center)
• Moderator: Joseph Landau (Fordham University School of Law)

This panel considers the shifting roles of the litigants in recent major LGBT-rights cases. In the context of DOMA, both private parties and states have sued the federal government, and Congress has intervened to defend those suits. In the context of Proposition 8, private intervenors are attempting to stand in the shoes of the traditional state defendants in a suit brought by non-movement lawyers. What does it mean for LGBT rights when states become the plaintiffs and private individuals become the defendants? And what does it mean when lawyers who have traditionally been part of the LGBT movement litigate from within the Executive Branch?

12:45 – 2:15 PM
Lunch

2:15 – 3:45 PM 
Panel 3: Marriage in 2012: Where Are We Now?

• Ed Stein (Cardozo School of Law)
• Bennett Capers (Hofstra University School of Law)
• Lynn Wardle (Brigham Young University Law School)
• Tobias Barrington Wolff (University of Pennsylvania Law School)
• Moderator: Robin Lenhardt (Fordham University School of Law)

This panel considers the arguments for and against marriage, laying out the current landscape of relationship-recognition rights throughout the United States and the legal questions that emerge from the current patchwork of rights and benefits. Are domestic partnerships and civil unions “transferable” to those states that do not recognize them? Should they be? Is this “menu” a good thing, or do families require uniform solutions?

4:00 – 5:30 PM 
Panel 4: Relationship Recognition and the Future of LGBT Rights

• Nancy Polikoff (American University Washington College of Law)
• Russell Robinson (University of California Berkeley School of Law)
• James Esseks (ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project)
• Kenji Yoshino (New York University School of Law)
• Moderator: Elizabeth Cooper (Fordham University School of Law)

This panel will explore the future of LGBT rights and the arguments that lawyers will use in the litigation. What kinds of relationships are most worth fighting for? Do the DOMA and Prop 8 cases reflect those priorities? Assuming the Supreme Court reviews the current DOMA challenge(s) and the Prop 8 suit, how might it rule? Should the Court decide the cases narrowly or broadly? Where does heightened-scrutiny fit into this picture, and is heightened scrutiny a necessary step toward full equality?

Agenda
(Panel Order subject to change)

8:30 – 9:15
Registration

9:15- 9:30
Opening Remarks

9:30-11:10
Panel 1 – Recession Proof?: The impact of the economy on Collegiate Athletics

Description: In the last several years, America’s economy has faced extremely difficult times. Collateral effects of the financial crisis have been felt in nearly every industry, and the sports world is no exception. College athletics are important economic engines for universities around the country. In the face of the economic downturn, schools nationwide have sought to put themselves in the best position to capitalize on their athletic programs by increasing revenue and situating themselves for the best possible media contract. Schools competing for media money, changing conferences and seeking every advantage has raised fair competition, contractual compliance, and tax issues. This panel addresses the legal issues created by the economic climate, the collateral effect on universities, and the potential lasting impact on collegiate athletics.

11:10-11:20
Break

11:20-1:00
Panel 2: The Right to Tweet: Regulation of Social Media in Sports

Description: Facebook, Twitter, and other social media websites have become an integral part of modern society. In the sports world, athletes use social media as the primary means of communication with their fans, giving followers a closer connection to their favorite players than has ever previously existed. However, nearly every professional sports league has a social media policy restricting when and how (and sometimes if) a player can use certain social media websites. Additionally, an increasing number of public universities have banned their student-athletes from using Twitter out of the fear of players tweeting something that will embarrass the team and the school. Others have limited access to Facebook pages with similar concerns. Thanks to increased media coverage, professional and amateur athletes today enjoy a brighter spotlight than ever before. This panel will discuss the first amendment implications of social media restrictions on athletes in the collegiate realm, as well as the free speech rights of professional athletes in the employment context.

1:00-2:00
Lunch

2:05-2:55
Keynote Speaker

2:55-3:00
Break

3:00-4:40
Panel 3: Going Global: The Impact of Exportation and Expansion of American Sports Around the World.

In recent years, American professional sports leagues have aimed to increase their global footprint by expanding their presence in the international realm. Most notably, the NFL has committed to playing games in Great Britain through 2016, and for the past several years the NBA has played exhibition games in Europe and expanded itself to the ever-growing Chinese market. Additionally, Major League Baseball has developed the World Baseball Classic, creating a platform for the best professional players from around the globe to compete against each other. Such international expansion has created new sources of promotion and revenue for these leagues, but has also generated new legal concerns regarding the intersection of U.S. and international law. This panel will discuss the regulation of intellectual property law abroad as these leagues seek to merchandise and brand themselves in the global marketplace. In addition, panelists will debate and explore how these leagues can further expand internationally considering the differences between U.S. and international laws.

4:40
Closing Remarks