Coronavirus in the US Protecting Public Health While Preserving Human Rights
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lawyer SPRING 2020 Coronavirus in the US Protecting public health while preserving human rights INSIDE Regulating how we smoke Honoring those who inspire The Broadway lawyer 08 dean’s view Extraordinary times met by extraordinary people WHEN I JOINED the Emory Law community at the beginning of this academic year, I could not have foreseen this historic health crisis we’d be traversing together. Until recently, Gambrell Hall provided a physical touchstone for our community. Now, much of our community resides in homes, as our faculty and staff work remotely to provide our students with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives found in Emory Law’s nationally recognized curriculum. Over the past weeks, many members of our staff and faculty have been working tirelessly on delivering online instruction for our students and producing a virtual visiting experience for prospective students — all while shifting the entire operation of the law school to their home offices and kitchen tables. I am grateful for all they do and for the ways you’ve been sup- porting us during this time. I must ask for your support — and understanding — once again. We printed a limited number of Emory Lawyer magazines for this issue and made our online version even more robust. This decision allows us to focus our resources on our students and to be sensitive to those who would rather not receive mail during this time of social distancing. Law schools across the country are responding to this crisis with inno- vative strategies to address student needs and with research that explores, among other important matters, the intersection between law and public health. You’ll find some of that research in this issue. You’ll also find several discussions about the ways that our graduates are using their law degrees to better the profession and the world. I am heartened by the optimism and positive attitude that our commu- nity has brought to identifying and surmounting barriers to carrying out our values and mission. Now, more than ever, we must commit to serving our students and society and to working together to meet the challenges ahead. Thanks for your strong support for Emory Law and for all that you are doing to help your family, friends, and community at this difficult time. Mary Anne Bobinski Dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law contents 4 16 ADVISORY COMMITTEE Carolyn Bregman 82L Timothy Holbrook 10 Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, 2 Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Jennifer Crabb Kyles 98Ox 00C Senior Director of Alumni Engagement FEATURES Kay L. Levine 14 Associate Dean of Faculty, Professor of Law 4 Smoke and mirrors Courtney Stombock Associate Dean of Advancement Refuse into runway material The invention of vaping and CBD force a and Alumni Engagement whole new look at regulation. Benedetto 06L revolutionizes an DEAN Mary Anne Bobinski outdated textile supply chain. 18 ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS 6 Sneakerhead lawyer Susan Clark Luber 99B 06B 06L is co-founder of the EDITOR Public health v. A. Kenyatta Greer world’s largest stock market of things. individual rights CONTRIBUTORS Candace Gibson, A. Kenyatta Greer, Kerry When the health of the collective is Maffeo, Paige Safchik, Alexandra Shimalla at risk, how much weight do individual DEPARTMENTS ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN rights hold? 2 Winnie Hulme In camera PHOTOGRAPHY 12 20 Jason Asteros, Steve Nowland The world's a stage Class notes ILLUSTRATION Luke Best, Adam Cruft, Isabel Espanol Nevin 05L is the Broadway lawyer with 26 ON THE COVER Tony Award nominations of his own. Worth noting Illustration by Luke Best law.emory.edu Emory Lawyer is published semiannually by Emory University School of Law and is distributed free to alumni and friends. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please send letters, news, story ideas, and class notes to [email protected] or Emory Law, 1301 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322. Send changes of address by mail to the Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement, Emory University, 1762 Clifton Rd, Suite 1000, Atlanta, GA 30322. in camera Still standing Just a few short months ago, the law school welcomed Professor Dorothy Roberts from University of Pennsylvania Law School to speak on “Dr. Martin Luther King’s Vision of Health and Justice.” Now, as the nation focuses on health and justice from another angle, we are reminded that Emory is forward-thinking and resilient. Together, we’ll get back to special moments like these soon. PHOTOGRAPH BY JASON ASTEROS 2 EMORY LAWYER SPRING 2020 SPRING 2020 EMORY LAWYER 3 Benedetto turns REFUSE into RUNWAY material by Paige Safchik 4 EMORY LAWYER SPRING 2020 When Stephanie Benedetto 06L was young, environment. Benedetto eventually stepped In 2018, Queen of Raw received an oppor- her grandfather and great-grandfather would back from Paper No. 9 in 2014 after disagree- tunity to convince potential partners to turn tell stories of their 100-year history in the ments about the company’s future. Though pollution into profitable goods. Benedetto’s textile business. Her great-grandfather, an Benedetto still owns half of Paper No. 9, she 60-second pitch to Ashton Kutcher at the immigrant from Austria, would fashion gar- has since redirected her focus toward tackling WeWork Creator Awards won her the grand ments out of old, unused materials and sell raw material waste through Queen of Raw. prize of $360,000, a “game-changing valida- his creations locally. He generated very little “I saw firsthand the voluminous amounts tion” of her sustainable mission. waste, a financial necessity for his business. of waste that [were] just sitting there in facto- A female entrepreneur in a male-domi- Now, Benedetto is returning to these roots, ries and mills … and it just didn’t make sense nated industry, Benedetto doesn’t take the continuing her family’s legacy while revolu- to me,” Benedetto said. “It didn’t make sense responsibility on her shoulders lightly, and she tionizing an outdated and wasteful supply clearly for people and planet, but it also didn’t notes that Queen of Raw is a majority woman- chain in the world of textiles. make sense for a business’ profit.” run company. She claims that she thrived in Benedetto realized that most modern fash- Benedetto claims that textile production the industry by being herself and ignoring ion retailers were tracking their supply chains is the world’s second largest source of water limitations. in the same way her grandfather and great- pollution, behind agriculture and oil. It takes “While there are challenges for women, grandfather had: with pen and paper. This around 700 gallons of water to produce one there are also a lot of opportunities for method led to discrepancies in the records and T-shirt. women,” she said. “A lot of women-focused an accumulation of waste. venture funds, women-focused competitions, To solve this problem, Benedetto founded and awards. There are opportunities there, of Queen of Raw in 2014 with current Chief course, because there is still inequality there.” Technology Officer Phil Derasmo. By leverag- Benedetto’s best friend and classmate at ing blockchain technology — the collection of Emory Law, Stefanie Munsky Toren 06L, said accurate records about a fabric’s movements Data from that even in law school she recognized that through the supply chain — the company has Benedetto “always wanted to do something more partnered with brands including H&M, Louis Queen of Raw shows … something that’s trying to better society.” Vuitton, and ThredUP. Data from Queen of that the company has With a 4-year-old son and another child on Raw shows that the company has saved over the way, Benedetto is personally motivated to one billion gallons of water since — “enough saved over one billion improve the future of the planet. clean water for 1.43 million people to drink for gallons of water. “[Our children] need clean water to drink, three years.” a planet to live on, [non-toxic] clothes to wear,” After graduating from the University of Benedetto said. Pennsylvania in 2002 and the Emory University She said that her time at Emory Law was School of Law in 2006, Benedetto began work- instrumental to her success, giving her the ing as a corporate attorney on Wall Street at ability to negotiate contracts and speak pub- Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and then at licly with confidence. Baker Botts, where she specialized in fashion Queen of Raw’s website allows factories “It was an unbelievable honor to [be one of and technology. and mills to sell unused textiles to inde- the recipients of Emory’s 2019 Entrepreneur However, the 2008 market crash opened pendent designers. Buyers, who range from Awards],” Benedetto said. “To have that kind of her eyes to “the height of greed and waste and fashion students to small-scale designers, can feedback, support and community is so impor- excess,” which became more apparent follow- purchase anything from organic cotton to faux tant as an entrepreneur. I’m very fortunate to ing her leave from Wall Street in 2012. Though leather or fur. In addition to this “managed, have a number of Emory Law students who I’m Queen of Raw would come two years later, open marketplace,” larger retail brands can still very close to, and we’ve been able to be Benedetto’s departure from Wall Street led join a private interface to sell excess inventory great mentors and advisors to each other on her to co-found textile manufacturing startup to one another. this exciting journey.” Paper No. 9 with University of Pennsylvania Benedetto said she always wanted to “build To students aspiring to become entrepre- classmate Rebecca Cole Marshall.