‘Imagining the Future’ Is Theme of Law School’s Alumni Weekend 2008

A memorial tribute to civil rights lawyer Catherine Roraback ‘48 LLB and an interactive “Polling Game” emceed by Stanford University law professor Pamela Karlan ‘85 J.D. will be among the highlights of the Yale Law School’s Alumni Weekend 2008, taking place Friday-Sunday, Oct. 3-5.

The Polling Game invites audience members to vote on the hot issues of the day and play pundit on the outcome. Participants in the game include Yale law professor Heather Gerken; CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield ‘67 LLB; Nicholas deB Katzenbach ‘47 LLB, former attorney general of the United States and senior vice president and general counsel of IBM; and Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

The weekend will include a series of panel discussions centering on the theme “Imagining the Future: Challenges and Opportunities for the Three Branches of Government.” Panelists will consider how immigration, security, the environment, health care and other issues will be dealt with by the three branches of government in the coming years, commencing with the changes brought by the national election. These discussions are free and open to the public. All take place at the Law School, 127 Wall St.

Friday’s panels are: 2:30 p.m. — “In the Groves of Academe and Beyond: The Lifetime Labors of Charles Reich ‘52 and John Simon ‘53,” moderated by Judith Resnik, the Arthur Liman Professor of Law. 4 p.m. — “Liberty and Security in the Next Administration: War, Rights and Antiterrorism,” moderated by Law School Dean Harold Hongju Koh.

On Saturday, there will be concurrent panel discussions, as follows. 9:30 a.m. — “Immigration Policy in the 21st Century,” moderated by Michael J. Wishnie ‘93, clinical professor of law, Yale; and “Toward the Next Generation of Environmental Policy,” moderated by Daniel C. Esty ‘86, the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. 11 a.m. — “Is This Just a Normal Downturn - or Is Something Badly Broken?” moderated by Michael J. Graetz, the Justus S. Hotchkiss Professor of Law, Yale; and “Health Care Reform in the Next Administration: Promises and Perils?” moderated by Mark Barnes ‘84, lecturer at the Yale School of Medicine and of counsel, Ropes & Gray LLP.

Merit awards will be offered during Alumni Weekend to Charles Reich ‘52 LLB, a former Yale law professor, and John Simon ‘53 LLB, the Augustus E. Lines Professor Emeritus of Law and lecturer in law at Yale Law School.

Tours of the Law School will be offered throughout the weekend. A student-alumni breakfast on Saturday morning will give alumni the opportunity to be matched with current students to chat about common areas of interest. On Saturday afternoon, attendees may participate in a question-and-answer session with Koh.