News

Syracuse University College of Law AALS 2026 Annual Meeting Participants

Several College of Law deans and professors will be panelists, moderators, and discussants at the 2026 American Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting, Jan. 6 – 9 in New Orleans, LA.

Associate Dean of Students Kelly Curtis is the recipient of the Section on Academic Support Impact Award.


January 6

Professor of Law and Director, Disability Law and Policy Program Katherine Macfarlane

Section: Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies, Sponsored by Disability Law and Law and Mental Disability

Event: Managing Disability: From Academic Job Searching Through Tenure, Promotion, and Beyond

Event Role: Moderator

1:00 PM – 2:15 PM

Room: Grand Salon Section 3

This panel pairs section members who are new to the academy or to the section with experienced discussants who provide constructive feedback in an informal, supportive setting.

Professor of Law and Director, Disability Law and Policy Program Katherine Macfarlane

Section: Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies, Sponsored by Disability Law and Law and Mental Disability

Event: Section Works-in-Progress

Event Role: Moderator

2:35 PM – 3:50 PM

Room: Grand Salon Section 3

This discussion-style panel, titled “Managing Disability: From Academic Job Searching Through Tenure, Promotion, and Beyond,” brings together junior, mid-level, and senior law faculty to examine the unique challenges and opportunities individuals with disabilities face at all stages of their academic careers. Panelists will discuss topics such as navigating the academic job market; requesting and securing accommodations during the search, interview, and onboarding processes; and managing disability during the pre-tenured, application for promotion, and post-tenured time periods. Panelists will share their insights relating to building scholarly, teaching, and service networks; managing time and energy; and advocating for necessary support systems to ensure equal opportunity. The continued need for academic institutions to move beyond minimal ADA compliance—towards truly inclusive and equitable spaces for all faculty—will be a theme throughout.

Professor Mary Szto

Section: AALS Hot Topic Program

Event: Beyond NextGen

Event Role: Speaker

2:35 PM – 3:50 PM

Room: Canal

The bar exam is changing. Whether through the NCBE’s launch of the NextGen exam or the double-digit number of states considering the adoption of non-bar exam pathways to licensure, the world of attorney licensure is experiencing a significant reform period. This discussion brings together licensure experts from all corners of the country for a critical discussion about the need and effectiveness of that reform.

Professor of Law and Director, Disability Law and Policy Program Katherine Macfarlane

Section: Law, Medicine and Health Care

Event: Section Works-in-Progress

Event Role: Commentator

4:10 PM – 5:25 PM

Room: Grand Salon Section 16

Emerging Issues in Law, Medicine, and Health Care. In this panel, junior scholars, selected through a blind review process, will present works-in-progress and receive feedback from senior scholars and from the audience.

January 7

Professor of Law and Director, Disability Law and Policy Program Katherine Macfarlane

Section: Disability Law, Sponsored by Civil Rights and Education Law

Event: Section Program

Event Role: Speaker from a Call for Papers

2:35 PM – 3:50 PM

Room: Grand Salon Section 4

The many present attacks on the enforcement of civil and disability rights laws provide us with an opportunity to reflect on the history and impact of these statutes and to consider challenges and possibilities ahead. This panel will consider, among other questions, how the present dismantling of civil rights laws and agencies will impact the enforcement of statutes like the IDEA, Section 504, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the lives of the people those laws and agencies were created to protect.

January 8

Professor Mary Szto

Section: East Asian Law and Society, Sponsored by Comparative Law, Global Engagement, International Law, and Post Graduate Legal Education

Event: Section Pedagogy Programs

Event Role: Moderator

8:00 AM – 9:15 AM

Room: Grand Salon Section 4

Legal education in the United States is being hit with geopolitical challenges on many fronts: military conflicts around the globe, trade and tariffs disruption, domestic immigration restrictions and removals, an AI arms race, and rising authoritarianism, among others. U.S.-China relations and the broader East Asian region are a key part of these dynamics. This panel will explore how we are seeing these external challenges play out within our institutions and what we in legal academia can do to chart a positive path forward.

Assistant Dean for Advancement Melissa Cassidy

Section: Institutional Advancement

Event Role: Speaker

8:00 AM – 9:15 AM

Room: Churchill D

Join us for a dynamic session highlighting effective stewardship practices across our community. We’ll explore innovative approaches to stewarding small gifts, integrating AI, engaging academic leadership, and elevating donor experiences—from first-time supporters to major gift donors. Come ready to share, learn, and be inspired by creative solutions and real-world examples.

Professor of Law and Director, Disability Law and Policy Program Katherine Macfarlane

Section: Women in Legal Education, Sponsored by Disability Law, Employment Discrimination Law and Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies

Event: Special Programs

Event Role: Speaker from a Call for Papers

9:35 AM – 10:50 AM

Room: Grand Salon Section 3

Women remain underrepresented in influential positions in the legal academy. Visible and invisible status lines and distinctions within and outside of the academy have historically been defined by and through prisms of both discrimination and harassment. These status lines and distinctions bear directly upon career progression and one’s personal sense of safety. They create and, once brought to light, help to explain persistent inequality. This panel will explore harassment and bullying and the wide range of behaviors that constitute them, ranging from more readily recognizable forms of unwelcome conduct such as unwanted sexual advances, comments, gestures, and physical contact, and actions or statements that are obviously threatening, to more subtle or insidious forms of harassment and bullying, such as instances where a staff member’s helpfulness are mistakenly interpreted as interest or where a faculty member engages in alleged consensual sexual relationships with students. In so doing, the panel will employ the framework of intersectionality in analyzing varying forms and examples of harassment and bullying. The panel also may explore the role of institutional policies and practices in perpetuating harassment or bullying as well as the challenges and obstacles that status differences may create in terms of reporting and addressing these harms. 

Dean Terence Lau L’98

Section: Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School

Event: Section Programs

Event Role: Speaker

1:00 PM – 2:15 PM

Room: Grand Salon Section 13

The financial aid landscape is rapidly changing. This session will provide research and policy advice to help institutions and different constituents prepare for the new financial aid structure. Research and policy experts will share updates on recent developments and the effect on law school admissions, financial aid, development, and business offices. A law school dean and CFO will discuss institutional impacts and considerations. This session is designed to provide practical advice for navigating a new federal financial aid landscape.

Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Professor of Law Kristen Barnes

Section: International Law, Sponsored by International Human Rights, Law in the Americas, and National Security Law Session

Event: Section Pedagogy Programs

Event Role: Speaker

4:10 PM – 5:25 PM

Room: Churchill B1

January 9

Chancellor and Professor of Law Kent Syverud

Section: Advanced Workshop for Experienced Deans – Post-Decanal Opportunities: Seeking a Presidency of a College of University

Event: Resume

Event Role: Speaker

8:30 AM – 10:00 AM

Room: St. James Ballroom

Professor Katherine Macfarlane Discusses Judge Shopping with Law.com

Professor of Law Katherine Macfarlane recently spoke with Law.com for the article “Judge Shopping ‘Consequences’ Are Worth Keeping Tabs On, Experts Say.” The article examines the trend of judge shopping at the Federal level and sanctions being issued to law firms.

“I think we’re in an era where there’s a little bit more openness about challenging judicial behavior outside of how the merits are decided,” said Macfarlane.

“The thing to keep in mind is that random case assignment is subject to so many exceptions across the federal courts. Random assignment is this exalted principle, but I don’t even know if it’s the default,” said Macfarlane.

Macfarlane covered this topic in her article Constitutional Case Assignment in the North Carolina Law Review Vol. 102.

Professor of Law Emeritus William C. Banks Discusses the Insurrection Act

Professor of Law Emeritus William C. Banks spoke with CNN after the Supreme Court ruled blocking President Donald Trump from sending the National Guard into American cities. This may raise the possibility of the President to invoke the Insurrection Act and the deployment of U.S. troops to American cities.

Banks told CNN that such a move would almost certainly be more politically dicey. “Instead of part-time National Guard personnel, the president could send in the 82nd Airborne in heavy armor and gear and gin up some heavy martial images for our screens,” Banks said.

“There’s only a little bit of daylight between no law and the Posse Comitatus prohibition and the Insurrection Act,” Banks said. “There’s no other space for them to work.”

Professional Lax Player Celebrates Another Win Through Syracuse Law JDinteractive Program

When Ginny Capicchioni L’27 decided to pursue a law degree to complement her extensive financial credentials and better serve her clients, she wasn’t sure how to fit it into her demanding schedule. Between running two companies, coaching lacrosse at the national level, and traveling often, the former pro goalie—known for blocking barriers as deftly as shots—didn’t think a full-time, in-person law school program was realistic. But true to her competitive mindset, she found the Syracuse University College of Law’s hybrid online JDinteractive (JDi) program to be the perfect fit, allowing her to stay in the game while advancing her education.

“Law school is difficult. They push us hard because most of us in the JDi program tend to have plenty of life experience, and we’re all making sacrifices to be here,” says Capicchioni, who is founder and president of Cap Financial Management (CFM) and founder of Gladiator Lacrosse. “If I hadn’t found Syracuse Law’s JDi program, I would imagine my experience would have been very different, so I’m grateful for that.”

A Full-Circle Syracuse Moment

Capicchioni’s connection to Syracuse began long before law school. As a women’s lacrosse player at Sacred Heart University in the late ‘90s, she admired Syracuse University’s lacrosse legacy so much that she bought a Syracuse jersey, wearing it to practice before every game. Years later, during tryouts for the 2011 U.S. Men’s National Box Lacrosse Team, she played exceptionally well, and the first person to congratulate her was Syracuse men’s lacrosse star Casey Powell ’98 (A&S), a four-time all-American. In hindsight, those moments now seem like a sign that she, too, would one day make her own connection to Syracuse University.

While most of the JDi program is held virtually, Capicchioni looks forward to getting together with others in her cohort during the required in-person residencies the JDi program holds each year.

“It’s great to meet the faculty and other students in the program face-to-face during the residencies,” she says. “There are some really accomplished people in my JDi cohort, which inspires me.”

A New Challenge for a Lifelong Competitor

Capicchioni is herself one of those “accomplished people” in the program, applying many of the lessons learned through sports to the rigors of the JDi program. She has spent decades breaking records and overcoming barriers in the sport of lacrosse. Initially recruited by Sacred Heart University as a field hockey goalie, she was encouraged to try women’s lacrosse. Despite being new to the sport, it was not long before she became a three-time Northeast Conference Goalie of the Year.

With no professional women’s lacrosse league to join after college, she discovered box lacrosse and made history as the first female in the country to sign with a men’s professional box lacrosse team. She played with the New Jersey Storm of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), spent nine years in the Canadian Lacrosse League (CLL), and later led the European Lacrosse League (ELL) in save percentages—all while playing alongside men. In 2011, she competed in the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, helping Team U.S.A. win a bronze medal and marking the first time an American woman played for a men’s national team in any sport in an international tournament.

Ginny Capicchioni in her lacrosse uniform for team USA, with a flag in the background

Coach, Entrepreneur, and Mentor

Capicchioni coached at several universities before launching Cap Financial Management in 2019. CFM offers financial advising and services to NCAA coaches, athletes, and other sports affiliates. Capicchioni holds a number of licenses in investments, accounting, insurance, and securities, and is a chartered trust and estate planner.

In 2023, she received a call that the U.S. was finally starting a women’s box lacrosse team and was asked to coach the U.S.A. National Team, a position she still holds today. The team trained for two years, and since the sport of box lacrosse was only just starting for women in the U.S., Capicchioni’s team decided to train against all men’s teams leading up to the 2024 World Box Lacrosse Championship. Ultimately, they took home the first gold medal in USA history, men’s or women’s.

“When we started, these women had played lacrosse but never box lacrosse or any kind of contact game,” explains Capicchioni. “My parents always told me, ‘If you can’t find a way, make your own.’ And that’s what we did. The women I coached essentially achieved the impossible!”

Pursuing the Challenge, Taking the Win

Today, Capicchioni is again making her own way, as she juggles many responsibilities including the demands of the Syracuse Law’s JDi program. She intends to keep her businesses running, continue to stay with the U.S.A. National Team, and also complete her law degree in order to offer her financial clients an even wider range of expertise.

“Attending law school through the JDi program will make me a lawyer, but it has already made me a better coach and is helping me in my financial management career, too,” she says. “None of it’s easy, but I’ve never walked away from a challenge, and the Syracuse Law’s JDi program is no different.”

Professor Gregory L. Germain Retires

Professor of Law Gregory L. Germain taught his last class on November 20. Germain had been a professor at Syracuse Law since 2002.

He published widely on bankruptcy, including the book “Bankruptcy Law and Practice, A Casebook Designed to Train Lawyers for the Practice of Bankruptcy Law,” now in its fourth edition.  Germain also launched Syracuse Law’s Bankruptcy Clinic in 2009.

Syracuse University College of Law Will Host The Americans with Disabilities Act and Universal Design: Global Legacy and Potential in Higher Ed” Symposium on April 10

Syracuse University College of Law will host The Americans with Disabilities Act and Universal Design: Global Legacy and Potential in Higher Ed” Symposium on April 10 in Dineen Hall.

The symposium will examine the transformative global impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the evolution of universal design principles in higher education contexts worldwide. This symposium explores how the ADA’s foundational principles have transcended U.S. borders to influence international disability rights frameworks, accessibility standards, and inclusive design practices across diverse cultural and legal landscapes.

April 10, 2026, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Dineen Hall, Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom

Register

DRAFT SCHEDULE AS OF DECEMBER 2025, SUBJECT TO CHANGE

9:00      Welcome breakfast and registration

10:00   Morning keynote

10:30   The Theory of Universal Design and Educational Access

12:00   Lunch break

1:00      Afternoon Keynote: Anastasia Somoza  

1:30      Panel Discussion II Syracuse Panel on UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR EQUALITY

2:45      Break

3:00     Universal Design, ACCESSIBILITY AND ACCOMMODATION in Comparative Focus

4:30      Closing Remarks

Lodging Information

Directions to Syracuse University College of Law

Dineen Hall is located at 950 Irving Avenue, Syracuse, New York 13244

When driving, Syracuse University is most easily reached from Interstate 81. 

New York State Thruway travelers should exit at Interstate 81(Thruway Exit 36) and proceed south. Both northbound and southbound travelers on Interstate 81 should exit at Adams Street (Exit 18.) Continue up the Adams Street hill to the third traffic light. Cross University Avenue and continue past Dineen Hall and the Carrier Dome. Turn right onto E. Raynor Avenue and right onto Stadium Place. The entrance to the Irving Parking Garage will be on your right.

Dineen Hall is located on the corner of Irving Avenue and Raynor Avenue, directly across from the Carrier Dome. Parking arrangements will be made for you in the Irving Parking Garage, located between Dineen Hall and the VA Garage which is accessible via Stadium Place. 

The Symposium is supported by:

  • Burton Blatt Institute
  • Center on Disability and Inclusion
  • D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF)
  • Disability Law and Policy Program
  • Disability Law Students Association
  • Impunity Watch News
  • Journal of Global Rights and Organizations
  • National Veterans Resource Center
  • Office of Veteran and Military Affairs
  • Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce
  • Syracuse University Center for Disability Resources
  • Syracuse University Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence

Professor Shubha Ghosh Discusses Antitrust Issues in the Proposed Merger Between Netflix and Warner Bros.

Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh spoke with Law 360 on antitrust issues that may arise from the proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Bros.

Ghosh likened the current case to the DOJ’s failed challenge to AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner. That case was the first litigated vertical merger challenge in four decades, helping pave the way for more challenges in recent years.

“Expect similar dynamics for Netflix and WarnerMedia with perhaps some divestiture from Netflix’s presence in streaming, production, and distribution,” said Ghosh.

LL.M. Class of 2024 Reunion in São Paulo, Brazil

Jerusa Ferreira L’24 recently brought together members of the Syracuse Law L.L.M. Class of 2024 for a reunion in São Paulo, Brazil. Even though they’ve graduated and returned to their home countries, our international alumni are staying connected and keeping the Syracuse spirit alive across continents.

Thank you, Jerusa, for reminding us that the bonds formed at Syracuse Law extend far beyond graduation—and far beyond borders.

Pictured below from the Class of 2024: Jerusa Gabriela Ferreira, Renata Maximiano, Renata Felipe Ferrari, Flavia Bornéo Func, Renato Henry Sant’Anna, and Claudio André Raposo Machado Costa.

Group of LL.M. students in Brazil stand together for a photo with orange shirts on and various Syracuse Law swag

Assistant Dean Lily Yan Hughes Receives the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award from NAPABA

Assistant Dean Lily Yan Hughes is a recipient of the 2025 Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the organization’s highest honor.

As Assistant Dean, Hughes oversees strategy and operations for the Admissions and Financial Aid Office, the Marketing and Communications Office, the Office of Career Services, and SU Abroad. Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud appointed Hughes to the University Leadership Team in the 2023-2024 academic year, and she continues to serve in that capacity.

Hughes is currently Chair and has served on the Board of Directors of DirectWomen, a non-profit focused on increasing opportunities in the corporate board room, since October 2021 and, in October 2025, was elected as an Independent Director of Allbirds, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIRD), where she chairs the Sustainability, Nomination & Governance Committee and also serves on their Management Compensation & Leadership Committee.

Before joining the law school in 2021, Hughes practiced law for several decades, including as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary of Fortune 500 Arrow Electronics and S&P 500 Public Storage.

“I want to congratulate Lily and the other outstanding recipients of this high honor,” said College of Law Dean Terence Lau. “Lily is an invaluable member of the College of Law and Syracuse University leadership who tirelessly works to ensure our students have an outstanding experience and can fulfill their career aspirations.”

The Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award celebrates the outstanding achievements of lawyers whose leadership and dedication have left a profound mark on both the legal profession and the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. This lifetime achievement award recognizes those whose vision, courage, and commitment have opened doors and paved the way for future generations of attorneys.

“I am humbled and honored to receive this prestigious award in the name of Senator Inouye,” said Hughes. “As I look back at my career at the time of this award, what I’m proudest of isn’t a title or a deal — it’s the people. The young lawyers who walked into my office unsure are now leading with confidence, mentoring others, and lifting as they climb. That’s what trailblazing really means. It’s not about being first. It’s about making sure you’re not the last.”