THE MAGAZINE OF NORTHWESTERN PRITZKER SCHOOL OF LAW VOLUME IX NUMBER 2 FALL 2020 • Online Pop-Up Course Legal Education in Tackles Coronavirus in Real Time • Faculty Adapt Legal a Changed World Teaching for the Remote Classroom • The Clinic Accelerates COVID-19 Mass Release Efforts 18 Coronavirus Behind Bars Attorneys from the Bluhm Legal Clinic have accelerated their COVID-19 mass prison release efforts. 22 Q&A with New Clinic Director Robin Walker Sterling joins the Bluhm Legal Clinic as director and associate dean of clinical education. 16 Teaching a 42 Pandemic A new online pop-up “ You’ll Never Forget Living course grapples with coronavirus legal issues in These Times” in real time. Plus, how Faith Gay (JD ’86) delivered a powerful commencement faculty are preparing for address during May’s virtual celebration. Read the full speech. hybrid learning. DEPARTMENTS 2 Noteworthy 22 Clinic News 2 26 Giving 28 Faculty Focus 42 4 Alumni Notes 12 Gay Rights vs. Religious Liberty?: The Unnecessary Conflict In an excerpt from his new book, Andrew M. Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law, proposes a legislative compromise that makes room for America’s variety of deeply held beliefs, and could reduce the toxic polarization of American politics. NORTHWESTERN LAW ASSOCIATE DEAN, MARKETING AND PHOTOGRAPHERS/ILLUSTRATORS UPDATE YOUR ADDRESS REPORTER STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS Dave Cutler, Jing Jing Tsong, Scott Olson, [email protected] Melissa Kaeser Fall 2020 Bruce Morser, Evan Robinson-Johnson, law.alumni.northwestern.edu Benjamin @ Dynamic Photo Systems Volume IX, Number 2 DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC 312.503.7609 COMMUNICATIONS Northwestern Pritzker School of Law The editors thank the faculty, staff, Rachel Bertsche Office of Alumni Relations and INTERIM DEAN AND ELIZABETH students, and alumni of Northwestern Development FROEHLING HORNER PROFESSOR OF LAW Pritzker School of Law for their coop- ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, VISUAL 375 East Chicago Avenue James Speta COMMUNICATION eration in this publication. Chicago, Illinois 60611 Mary Kate Strittmatter EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI AND Opinions expressed in the Northwestern DONOR RELATIONS AND CAMPAIGN Law Reporter do not necessarily reflect Copyright ©2020. Northwestern OPERATIONS COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR the views of Northwestern Pritzker Pritzker School of Law. All rights Darnell Hines Shanice Harris School of Law or Northwestern University. reserved. 9-20/15M NOTEWORTHY efforts internationally: devel- The second priority is to Noteworthy oping partnerships, recruit- maintain the Northwestern ing students and engaging educational and community with international alumni. experience. We have spent an He is also a member of the enormous amount of time this University’s Global Council summer working on improv- and the Provost’s Advisory ing remote teaching capabili- Council on Women Faculty. ties, both from a technical per- In his first days as interim spective and from a pedagogi- dean, Speta sat down with cal perspective. Our faculty, The Reporter to discuss his led by a faculty committee and immediate priorities, how the our staff experts in IT and AV Q&A with Interim Law School will navigate the and course design, has worked educational challenges posed hard to put together a great Dean James Speta by a pandemic, and what remote curriculum. And our distinguishes Northwestern Student Services, Office of Pritzker Law. Inclusion and Engagement, On August 1, James Speta, Elizabeth Froehling and administrative team in Horner Professor of Law, stepped into the You are stepping into this general have worked hard role at an unprecedented to find new ways to engage role of interim dean at Northwestern Pritzker time, for the United States students. School of Law. Speta has been a member of the and the world, but also for And, finally, I am committed legal education. Given that, to doing real work on issues faculty since 1999, and has held a number of what are your urgent priori- of diversity and inclusion and key administrative positions at the Law School. ties as interim dean? anti-racism. Dean Yuracko In the short run, the first prior- engaged an outside consultant Most recently, he served as vice dean under ity is to maintain the health to help us compose and admin- Kimberly Yuracko, who has transitioned into the role of associate provost for academic proj- ects. Prior to his role as vice dean, he served as senior associate dean for academic affairs and “What I will bring most to this role international initiatives. is an appreciation for the strength of our community, and how people “Jim Speta will bring a written most frequently about pull together to get really hard wealth of legal knowledge and nondiscrimination rules as Northwestern Law experience applied to internet compa- things done. And we have a lot of to the job of interim dean of nies, as well as the regulatory really hard things to do.” the Law School, and I am very authority of the FCC over pleased he has agreed to serve the internet and other issues in this new role,” said Provost affecting the competitiveness and safety of our community ister a climate survey to the Kathleen Hagerty. “Jim under- of internet markets. He is a in the midst of the global community in order to really stands the challenges facing co-author of a leading case- pandemic. What we have done, understand the ways in which our students, faculty and staff book on internet and telecom- consistent with state, local and different populations experi- in these uncertain economic munication regulation. More CDC guidance, is to substan- ence Northwestern Pritzker times and how the legal pro- recently, he has applied the tially reduce the capacity of Law, and that work has begun. fession is undergoing transfor- lessons learned from deregula- our building and the use of live Anti-racism trainings for the mative change at this moment tory transitions to other mar- classes. Our curriculum will senior leadership team are in history.” kets, such as ridesharing and primarily be taught remotely underway, and, in partnership Speta’s research interests those affected as part of the this semester, and our in-per- with the University, we will be include telecommunications Fourth Industrial Revolution. son experiences will require rolling out additional train- and internet policy, anti- As an administrator, he masks and social distancing ings to the rest of the admin- trust, administrative law and has been particularly active and a relatively controlled pop- istration and staff, as well as market organization. He has furthering the Law School’s ulation in the Law School. to the faculty. And based on 2 | NORTHWESTERN LAW REPORTER NOTEWORTHY inquiries from faculty, we’ve engagement, it’s also about Northwestern Pritzker Law this role is an appreciation for developed resources on racial support. These are incred- right now, specifically in the strength of our commu- and social justice issues for ibly difficult times for the the face of the COVID-19 nity and how people — from individual classes that have students, some of whom are pandemic? the faculty to the students to been made available through living alone, some of whom Given the uncertainties cre- the staff and alumni — pull the library. We’ve also hosted have childcare responsibilities ated by the pandemic, budget together to get really hard conversations about how to or family-care responsibilities, issues will definitely be a things done. And we have a pursue inclusive teaching and some of whom have their own challenge. Another impor- lot of really hard things to social justice issues inside the health challenges. At the same tant issue is the uncertainty do. To be sure, I’ve accumu- classroom. time, the job market is incred- that has been created for lated a lot of exposure to the our international students. operational environment and Combinations of restric- structure of the Law School tions on travel rising from and the University, particu- the pandemic, as well as larly in the past five years. I’ve “We have spent an enormous Administration actions met alums as I’ve traveled, directed at international I’ve met people in Evanston amount of time working on students, have made it dif- at the central administration improving remote teaching ficult, if not impossible, for of the University. I will say, many of these very important based on just a few days, that capabilities, both from a technical members of our educational being dean is a very different perspective and from community to be here. We’ve role, but I’ve had the benefit of taken steps to make provi- watching and working with a pedagogical perspective.” sions for them, to enable them three former deans, each of to participate in limited ways whom taught me a fair bit. So remotely, although that’s not I’m excited to work with the You mentioned the neces- ibly uncertain. So we are doing their preference — their inter- community on all we have to sity of maintaining the a lot to assist students with a est is being in Chicago. We’ve tackle right now. educational and community variety of challenges. created new starts for those experience. What does a Law students in January and May, School class look like in a Do you think the incorpora- but that’s an important remote teaching model? tion of new technologies in issue that we will Remote teaching takes a the classroom might change have to continue to variety of flavors. Compared some aspects of legal educa- attend to. to a classic online program, tion for the long haul? law school teaching includes a This crisis has forced people, You have served lot more synchronous instruc- faculty included, to try new as vice dean for tion, since the core of legal things and many have adopted the past two aca- education is the Socratic and in fact quite liked the tools demic years.