Given the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, the Travis H.D. Lewin Advocacy Honor Society could have been forgiven if it had stepped back this year and waited for the dust to settle.
But in 2020-2021, students, professors, coaches, and judges did quite the opposite. They embraced virtual tournaments; added, launched, planned—and hosted—competitions; and boosted Syracuse’s national reputation to such an extent, Syracuse Law is now ranked number 11 in the nation for Trial Advocacy by U.S. News and World Report, having climbed 16 places in two years. That’s on top of placing number seven in Fordham Law’s 2020 Trial Competition Performance rankings.
Among the highlights of this academic year, two teams won their regional rounds for the second year in a row: the Black Law Students Association Trial Team and the National Moot Court Competition Team. The BLSA team then progressed to the elite eight of their national tourney, the Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition.
In February 2021, Syracuse swept the National Trial Competition Region 2 tournament, also for the second year in a row, meaning the Program again sent two teams to the NTC national finals and lifted the Tiffany Cup—awarded by the NYSBA Trial Lawyers Section, which sponsors the NTC New York Regional—for the third year in a row.
Syracuse’s national reputation undoubtedly was boosted by the excellence of hosted competitions. In October 2020, the second Syracuse National Trial Competition became one of the first live-streamed tourneys in the nation. The SNTC organizers convened 22 top teams, managed nearly 50 trials, and gathered an awe-inspiring 150 volunteer evaluators, including many of our alumni. Loyola Law School Los Angeles prevailed over Georgetown Law in the final round.
The Program then launched a new international competition in March 2021. The Transatlantic Negotiation Competition—a collaboration with Queen’s University, Belfast—brought together 60 students and judges (including alumni) from 23 countries, with Liberty University School of Law winning the inaugural tournament.
Next year, these two hosted competitions will be joined by the new National Disability Law Appellate Competition. Co-hosted by Syracuse Law and the National Disabled Law Students Association, NDLAC will feature a minimum of 12 teams from law schools across the United States competing in an appellate brief writing component and an oral argument component.
BLSA Trial Division Team
“NDLAC is the first national appellate advocacy competition to focus exclusively on disability law. It will enable students to develop their oral advocacy skills while simultaneously navigating a challenging and important area of disability law,” says Professor Michael Schwartz, Director of the Disability Rights Clinic.
With the addition of NDLAC, Syracuse Law now boasts three invitation-only competitions in each of the recognized advocacy divisions—Alternative Dispute Resolution, Appellate, and Trial.
In intracollegiate tournaments, notably, this was the first year that JDinteractive students competed, and JDi students won both the Hancock Estabrook Oral Advocacy Competition and the Bond, Schoeneck & King Alternative Dispute Resolution Competition.
In sum, rather than diminishing or even shutting down advocacy tournaments and training during the coronavirus pandemic, faculty, students, and alumni volunteers embraced online competition, allowing new opportunities to be seized.
2020-2021 INTERCOLLEGIATE COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
In late November 2021, there was good news from Boston, where Joseph Tantillo L’21 and rising 3Ls Kelsey Gonzalez and Olivia Stevens won the Boston Regional of the appellate division National Moot Court Competition. Tantillo also won Best Oralist. This success marked the second consecutive year Syracuse won the Boston Regional, and Tantillo took home his individual award. Emily Brown L’09 and David Katz L’17 coached the team.
In February 2021, the Black Law Student Association trial division team—Ken Knight L’21, Sharon Otasowie L’21, and rising 3Ls Abigail Neuviller and Alexis Eka, coached by John Boyd II L’16—advanced from the Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition regionals for the second year in a row.
Sharon Otasowie L’21 and rising 3L Robert Rose posted award-winning performances at the 2020 Buffalo-Niagara Trial Competition in October 2021. Otasowie won Best Overall Advocate and Rose offered the Best Direct Examination.
In March 2021, Syracuse swept the National Trial Competition Region 2 tournament for the second year in a row. This double win meant that the College once again sent two teams to the NTC national finals and took home the NYSBA’s Tiffany Cup for the third year in a row. Joanne Van Dyke L’87 and Peter Hakes coached rising 3Ls Marina DeRosa and Amanda Nardozza, who took first place, and runners-up Joe Celotto L’21 and Christy O’Neil L’21.
2020-2021 INTRACOLLEGIATE COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
Audrey Bimbi L’21 and Carly Cazer L’21 won the 49th Mackenzie Hughes LLP Edmund H. Lewis Appellate Advocacy Competition. The final round, on Oct. 1, 2021, marked the first-ever virtual moot court competition hosted by the Travis H.D. Lewin Advocacy Honor Society. Bimbi also won Best Advocate.
Rising 3Ls Penny Quinteros and Margaret Santandreu won the 2020 College of Law Bond, Schoeneck & King Alternative Dispute Resolution Competition. The final—held virtually
in October—was judged by the Hon. Joanne F. Alper ’72, Circuit Court of the Seventh Circuit of Virginia (Ret.); James L. Sonneborn, of Bousquet Holstein PLLC; and Brian Butler L’96, a managing member for Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC.
In March 2021, Allyssa-Rae McGinn won the 11th Hancock Estabrook 1L Oral Advocacy Competition, judged by Dean Boise; the Hon. Mae A. D’Agostino L’80 and the Hon. Thérèse Wiley Dancks L’91, both of the US District Court for the Northern District of New York; and Timothy P. Murphy L’89, Managing Partner, Hancock Estabrook LLP.
Alex Eaton L’21 and Tyler Jefferies L’21 won the 43rd Annual Lionel O. Grossman Trial Competition. Jefferies took home the Best Advocate award. Held virtually for the first time in its history in March 2021, the final round was judged by the Hon. Glenn T. Suddaby L’85, US District Court Judge, Northern District of New York; the Hon. Rodney Thompson L’93, New Jersey Superior Court Judge; and the Hon. Bernadette Romano Clark L’89, New York State Supreme Court Justice.
Rising 2Ls Payton Sorci and Nicco Vocaturo prevailed in
the second annual Entertainment and Sports Law Society Negotiation Competition held on April 8, 2021. The competition was held in conjunction with the seventh annual Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium, the first time both events were held completely online. Competition judges were Professor Elizabeth August L’94; Kevin Belbey L’16, Sports Media Agent, Creative Artists Agency; and Beverly Sarfo, General Counsel, TVO.
International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award: Joseph Celotto L’21 & Christy O’Neil L’21
Richard Risman Appellate Advocacy Award: Joseph Tantillo L’21
Emil Rossi L’72 Scholarship Award: Rising 3L Amanda Nardozza
Lee S. Michaels L’72 Advocate of the Year Scholarship Award: Rising 3L Marina De Rossa
Models of Excellence in Advocacy Award,given in Honor of Everett Gillison L’85: Rising 3Ls Kelsey Gonzales & Olivia Stevens
Order of the Barristers: Carly Cazer L’21, Joseph Celotto L’21, Lisa Cole L’21, Kenneth Knight L’21, Allison Kowalczyk L’21, Christy O’Neil L’21, Sharon Otasowie L’21, Joseph Tantillo L’21
A 360° View: Remarks by Professor Todd Berger at the 2021 Travis H.D. Lewin Advocacy Honor Society Banquet, April 2021
Professor Todd Berger
Syracuse might well be the only law school in the country with a large student organization whose students are deeply integrated into an academic program—our Advocacy Program—which encompasses the fields of trial and appellate advocacy, as well as alternative dispute resolution.
No school in the country has five internal advocacy competitions. Few schools host a trial competition as competitive as the Syracuse National Trial Competition. There is only one other school in the world—our co-hosting partner, Queen’s University, Belfast—that holds an international negotiation competition, the Transatlantic Negotiation Competition.
There are few schools that match our record of intercollegiate success and offer scholarships to high-performing student advocates, both upon entry to law school and based on their advocacy success while in school. And there are only 10 other law schools with a higher U.S. News ranking.
I’m also proud of our advocacy-focused curriculum, which includes our basic advocacy courses and more advanced offerings, such as advanced trial practice, deposition practice, and jury selection.
While some schools might do a few of these things, in short, Syracuse is doing all of them.
High Praise
Hon. Glenn T. Suddaby L’85
As he rendered the panel’s decision on the final round of the Lionel O. Grossman Trial Competition in March 2021, the Hon. Glenn T. Suddaby L’85, Chief United States District Judge, US District Court for the Northern District of New York, addressed the four finalists*, observing:
“I’ve been doing this a long time, since law school. I’ve judged a lot of moot court competitions. The four of you are four of the best I’ve ever seen. Those were the two best opening statements in a moot court competition since I’ve been doing this. I’m just so impressed with all of you. You have a great future ahead of you.”
*Alex Eaton L’21 and Tyler Jefferies L’21 (winners); rising 3Ls Will Hendon and Nate Kelder (runners-up)
In May 2021, Dean Boise shared two important developments addressing efforts to achieve a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable law school community.
First, following recommendations by the Curriculum Committee and the Inclusion Council (formerly the Inclusion Initiatives Committee), a new three-pronged Cultural Competency Curriculum will be launched in fall 2021, applicable to all students beginning with the Class of 2024.
The new curriculum consists of:
A diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) primer module for Orientation and JDinteractive residencies.
A 1L DEI Summer Initiative to develop themes and materials that will become part of the 1L curriculum.
A graduation requirement, applicable to students beginning with the Class of 2024, which may be satisfied by selecting a cultural competency-related course from a list of existing courses and new courses to be developed.
Hon. Sandra Townes L’76
Second, the new Hon. Sandra L. Townes L’76 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Student Resource Center will open in the fall 2021. Named for the pioneering jurist and educator—who was the first Black woman appointed as a federal judge in the Eastern District of New York— the Center will be located in the Susan K. Reardon L’76 Room in Dineen Hall’s Law Library.
Developed in coordination with the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), the Center will be a space for students and faculty to convene and curate resources for sharing, experiencing, and actualizing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the College and in the law profession.
“We envision the center to both serve as a space to promote diversity and cultural competence and a safe space for minority students to engage with one another,” says rising 3L Mazaher Kaila, 2021-2022 Student Bar Association President, who was President of BLSA in 2020-2021. “The Student Resource Center will begin as an extended library space where students can access computers, printers, whiteboards, and books, as well as hold discussions and plan events. Our vision is for this Center eventually to offer student advising, mental health support, support for students with disabilities, and training and other tools essential for reaching diversity and inclusion goals.”
Professor Meléndez Named Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion
Professor Suzette Meléndez
Dean Boise has appointed Professor Suzette Meléndez as Syracuse Law’s first Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion.
“In this position, Professor Meléndez will work with me and across the entire College to lead ongoing efforts to foster a learning community that seeks to address and eradicate racism and other forms of discrimination, that values and builds on our community’s diversity, and that equips our students with the cultural competence necessary to function effectively and ethically in 21st-century legal practice,” says Dean Boise.
In doing so, Professor Meléndez will draw and continue upon her work as Chair of the Inclusion Council, which will continue to meet regularly to evaluate the College climate and make recommendations for actions to create and sustain inclusivity. In addition to her new duties, Professor Meléndez will continue her teaching in the area of Family Law.
In August 2020, 3L Lisa Cole was among 12 law students from around the country honored with a Ms. JD Fellowship. According to Ms. JD—a non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to support and improve the experiences of women law students and lawyers—fellows are selected based on their academic performance, leadership, and dedication to advancing the status of women in the profession.
The Father-Daughter Duo Taking on the College of Law Scott and Lauren Deutsch
In November 2020, father and daughter law school students Scott and Lauren Deutsch were profiled by Syracuse University News: “He told me how welcoming the school was,” Lauren—a rising 2L—says, referring to her father’s advice about choosing Syracuse Law. “I want to be at a school where everyone is welcome, where the diversity is enormous, and I’ve found that here.”
In the story, rising 3L Scott—an Army veteran—notes Syracuse’s strong commitment to veterans and their families: “It’s a major point of pride; you see why veterans are drawn to campus.”
Powers Awarded Scullin Scholarship Leita Powers
At a December 2020 ceremony, rising 3L Leita Powers was awarded the Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association Scullin Scholarship. The award—named for the Hon. Frederick J. Scullin Jr. L’64—is given each year to an exemplary College of Law student who shows a keen interest in federal practice.
Yanez Chosen for Prestigious AAPD Summer Internship Matthew Yanez
In January 2021, rising 2L Matthew Yanez—recipient of a Dean’s Scholarship and a JK Wonderland Scholarship—was chosen to be an American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) summer intern. “This is a prestigious summer internship that receives hundreds of applications each year from undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities from all academic fields within the US,” explains Professor Arlene Kanter, Director of the Disability Law and Policy Program. “Only a fraction of those students are selected each year.”
Frimpong Becomes the First Black Student to Lead Syracuse Law Review Hilda Frimpong
In February 2021, rising 3L Hilda Frimpong was elected by her peers as the first Black student to lead the Law Review as Editor-in-Chief since it began publishing in 1949. “I am honored to break down barriers as the first person of color and first Black woman in this role. I am proud that my expertise and unique perspective will be added to the legacy of the Law Review,” says Frimpong.
Added Law Review Faculty Advisor Professor Robin Paul Malloy, “This is wonderful news for Hilda, the Law Review, and the College. I am proud to serve as Advisor during this groundbreaking and overdue moment in its history.”
Thevenin Trades Her Running Spikes for Law Books Tia Thevenin
In her March 2021 Syracuse Stories profile, rising 2L Tia Thevenin ’18—a former standout Syracuse University hurdler—discusses picking herself up from the disappointment of not competing for Team Canada in the 2020 Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic: “I had planned to go to law school anyway, so I sped up my timeline. Walking away from the sport—and Team Canada—was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. It’s also exciting to do something new.”
Thevenin adds, “Studying law is not so different from running track. My goal is not to compete with my classmates but to inspire them to reach their fullest potential.”
Jasper Pursues His Dream of a Law Degree Online Joseph Jasper
In his March 2021 Syracuse Stories profile, Joseph Jasper—a rising 2L and US Army Chief Warrant Officer—spoke about how the “stars aligned” after transferring to Fort Drum in Upstate New York and learning about Syracuse Law’s JDinteractive program: “I was enticed by the hybrid format and the fact that it was accredited by the American Bar Association.” For Jasper, attending law school is a “dream come true:” “I have not stopped being excited about the opportunity to attend such a reputable university in pursuit of my legal education.”
A Powerful Voice for Justice Mazaher Kaila
In the third March 2021 profile, Syracuse Stories turned the spotlight on rising 3L Mazaher Kaila, an immigrant from Sudan who is driven by civic engagement: “It’s a core value for me. I have always aspired to help the communities I’m from.” Kaila is not waiting until she graduates to assume the role of advocate and change-maker. She serves as President of the Black Law Students Association and is leading efforts to help the University administration address issues of diversity and inclusion.
Marquette Receives Best for Vets Award Ryan Marquette
At its May 2021 awards ceremony, rising 3L Ryan Marquette received the Student Veterans Organization’s Best for Vets Award, given to the student veteran who has done the most to help fellow student vets succeed on and off campus. Marquette serves as President of Veterans’ Issues, Support Initiative, and Outreach Network (VISION) and President of the National Security Student Association.
Otasowie MCs ROTC Review Sharon Otasowie
Sharon Otasowie L’21—an Air Force ROTC Cadet and US Air Force JAG Corps graduate law candidate—had the honor of performing MC duties at the 104th Chancellor’s ROTC Review Ceremony in April 2021. The Chancellor hosts the annual ceremony to recognize the distinguished performance of cadets in the University’s Army and Air Force ROTC programs. Law Students Awarded ICCAE Downey Scholarships Rising 3Ls Abigail Neuviller ’19, Penny Quinteros, and Meghan Steenburgh G’97, and rising 2L Miriam Mokhemar, were among a group of 13 undergraduate, graduate, and law students awarded Downey Scholarships by the Syracuse University Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (ICCAE) in May 2021. The award recognizes academic excellence, commitment to public service, and potential to bring diverse and distinctive backgrounds and experiences to the US Intelligence Community.
IN MEMORIAM John Goerner The College of Law mourns the passing of John P. Goerner, a Class of 2023 student in the JDinteractive program, in April 2021. An avid hockey and rugby player, Goerner held a B.S. in Information Systems from Bellevue University, Nebraska, and an M.B.A. from Alvernia University in Reading, PA.
John planned to use his law degree to represent the less fortunate. “John was a fighter,” Associate Dean for Online Education Kathleen O’Connor told The Daily Orange. “He was a wonderful student and an exemplary man.”
Professor Ghosh Submits Public Interest Statement to Trade Commission
Professor Shubha Ghosh
Submitted to the US International Trade Commission, Professor Shubha Ghosh’s Public Interest Statement raises questions around a finding that Daewoong Pharmaceuticals had misappropriated Medytox’s trade secrets in developing and importing Nabota, a competing botulinum toxin product. Ghosh expressed concerns about the anti-competitive effects of the administrative judge’s determinations.
Professor Johnson Appointed to Judicial Commission
Professor Paula Johnson, Co-Director of the Cold Case Justice Initiative, was appointed to the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission. The Commission advises decision-makers throughout the New York court system on issues affecting both employees and litigants of color. All members are appointed by the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.
Professor Kanter Moderates Fulbright ADA Panel
Arlene Kanter Portrait
Professor Arlene Kanter, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence and Director of the Disability Law and Policy Program, moderated a panel discussion in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Part of the Fulbright Impact in the Field Panel Series, the discussion convened more than 300 Fulbright alumni scholars with disabilities, accessibility and inclusion advocates, and legal experts.
Beth Kubala Appointed US Army Civilian Aide
Professor Beth Kubala joins fellow civilian aides to the Secretary of the Army at an August 2020 swearing-in ceremony.
Teaching Professor Beth Kubala, Executive Director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, was named one of six civilian aides to the Secretary of the Army. CASAs promote good relations between the Army and the public and advise the secretary on regional issues.
Thanking the new CASAs, Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy said, “These are unprecedented times, and the Army is fortunate to have you in the community interacting with civic leaders, educators, and businesses.”
SEPTEMBER 2020
Professor Barnes Named Associate Dean for Faculty Research
Professor Kristen Barnes
Kristen Barnes—an expert in property and housing law, anti-discrimination, and civil rights—succeeded Professor Lauryn Gouldin as Associate Dean for Faculty Research.
“As Associate Dean, Professor Barnes leads the College’s continued placement of faculty scholarship in top-tier law journals, brings noted law experts to Dineen Hall to facilitate the exchange of ideas, encourages grant-funded research projects, and broadens our faculty’s involvement with noted institutions around the world,” says Dean Boise.
Professors Ghosh and Gouldin Appointed as Crandall Melvin Professors
Recognizing their significant scholarship and thought leadership, as well as their excellence in teaching, Dean Boise re-appointed Professor Shubha Ghosh as Crandall Melvin Professor of Law and appointed Professor Lauryn Gouldin as Crandall Melvin Associate Professor of Law, each for a five-year term.
NOVEMBER 2020
DHS Senior Executive Matthew Kronisch Joins SPL
Professor Matt Kronisch
The Institute for Security Policy and Law (SPL) welcomed Matthew L. Kronisch as a Distinguished Fellow-in-Residence. Kronisch is the first-ever Department of Homeland Security Office of the General Counsel Senior Executive assigned to an academic institution under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act.
Kronisch conducts research, teaches homeland intelligence topics, and serves as a career advisor for the Syracuse University Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence.
DECEMBER 2020
Professor Dorfman Publishes 2020 Israeli Municipal Accessibility Index
Professor Doron Dorfman
For the second year—in his capacity as an affiliated researcher at aChord-Social Psychology for Social Change—Professor Doron Dorfman led a study on attitudes toward disability in Israel and the state of disabled Israelis. The Municipal Accessibility Index also examines Israeli public opinion about experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
JANUARY 2021
Faculty Participate in Society of Socio-Economists Annual Meeting
Several College of Law faculty members participated in the 2021 Society of Socio-Economists Annual Meeting, hosted by the College of Law and titled “Pressing Social Issues.” Joining Professor Robert Ashford, Program Co-Chair for the AALS Section on Socio-Economics were professors Christian Day, David Driesen, and Shubha Ghosh.
APRIL 2021
Professor Gardner Receives Meredith Teaching Recognition Award
Professor Shannon Gardner
Teaching Professor Shannon Gardner was awarded a Syracuse University 2021-2022 Meredith Teaching Recognition Award for Continuing Excellence in Teaching, recognizing her contributions to teaching and learning. The award is one of the highest teaching honors bestowed by the University.
MAY 2021
Wentworth-Mullin Appointed to NYSBA Committee on Veterans
Chantal Wentworth Mullin
Chantal Wentworth-Mullin, Managing Director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, was appointed to the New York State Bar Association Committee on Veterans.
Wentworth-Mullin will assist her colleagues in program development, advocacy, and strategic collaborations that address the legal issues and needs of military servicemembers, veterans, and their families.
Dean Boise Appointed SU Board of Trustees Representative
Dean Craig M. Boise
As Dean Representative to the Board of Trustees, appointed by Chancellor Kent Syverud, Dean Boise will participate, ex officio, on the Board of Trustees Academic Affairs Committee, and report to the Board at Executive Committee and full Board meetings.
JUNE 2021
Professors Berger and Gouldin Promoted
Dean Boise announced that—with the concurrence of Chancellor Syverud— and the University Board of Trustees, professors Todd Berger and Lauryn Gouldin have been promoted to the rank of full professor.
Dean Boise Joins Governing Advisory Council of ABA Legal Education Police Practices Consortium
In October 2020, Dean Boise joined a 10-member Advisory Council to govern the newly formed ABA Legal Education Police Practices Consortium. As a member of the Advisory Council, Dean Boise will help lead Consortium efforts to leverage expertise across the ABA and among collaborating law schools to develop projects that promote better police practices throughout the United States.
“As a former police officer and commissioner on the Cleveland, OH, Community Police Commission, I care deeply about building positive community/police relations,” said Dean Boise. “Syracuse is fully committed to helping the Consortium use the combined power of the bar association and law schools to effect change to police practices. The Consortium also will provide our students with meaningful opportunities to contribute to the imperative work of police reform locally and nationally.”
First-Time and Ultimate Bar Passage Rates Released
First-time and ultimate bar passage rates for Syracuse Law graduates were posted in March 2021. Of first-time bar exam takers in the New York jurisdiction, 81.31% passed (compared to the state average of 85.93%).
The Ultimate Bar Passage rate for students graduating in the 2018 calendar year was 94.08%.
College of Law Rises Nine Place in U.S. News Rankings
The College of Law rose nine places in the 2022 edition of the U.S. News & World Report law school rankings, released in April 2021. Among drivers of this improvement, the College’s median LSAT rose one point to 155 and the Undergraduate GPA increased from 3.33 to 3.53. In fact, Syracuse Law was among just 25% of law schools that improved both LSAT and UGPA, tying for the largest increase in UGPA.
The College’s selectivity improved by seven percentage points, the bar passage rate climbed from 85% to 88%, and the influential Judges/Lawyers Assessment Score went from 2.9 to 3.0. Notably, the Advocacy Program climbed from #15 to #11, marking a 16-place rise in the rankings in the last two years.
“The U.S. News rankings are just one way to measure our success,” noted Dean Boise. “Despite their pervasiveness, we remain singularly focused on our mission, which is to graduate extraordinary law students who go on to lead extraordinary lives enriched by all they learn and experience at Syracuse Law.”
Celebrating Classes of 2020 and 2021
(L to R) Dean Boise, Professor Laura Lape, and Vice Dean Keith Bybee at the filming of the special 2021 Commencement ceremony.
On May 7, 2021, Syracuse Law celebrated the graduation of both the classes of 2020 and 2021 with a virtual Commencement ceremony featuring an address by Joanna Geraghty L’97, President and COO of JetBlue.
“The rule of law can never have enough friends across the globe, where it can appear to be under siege at different times and in different circumstances,” Geraghty told the graduates. “Syracuse taught you that, be a friend to the rule of law wherever and whenever you come across it—and you will.”
Class of 2021 President Troy D. Parker and SBA LL.M. Senator Fildous Hamid offered their colleagues words of congratulations and encouragement. Alicia Loomis L’19, an associate at Costello, Cooney & Fearon PLLC, sang the National Anthem and Alma Mater. In addition to the virtual Commencement, on May 6 the College held a virtual awards ceremony honoring student, faculty, and staff excellence.
Disability Rights Luminaries Speak at DLPP/Syracuse Law Review ADA Symposium
The College hosted a star-studded Americans with Disabilities Act Symposium in April 2021, commemorating the ADA’s 30th anniversary, as well as the Disability Law and Policy Program’s 15th anniversary and a special ADA volume of the Syracuse Law Review.
Guest speakers included disability law luminaries Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging, US Department of Health and Human Services; international disability rights activist Judy Heumann; and Arlene Mayerson, Founding Directing Attorney Emerita, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.
Many of the papers discussed during the symposium will be published in a future edition of the Law Review, focusing on the past, present, and future of disability rights domestically and internationally.
CCJI Helps Launch Wharlest and Exerlena Jackson Legacy Project
Wharlest and Exerlena Jackson Legacy Project
To honor the sacrifice and memory of two civil rights activists from Natchez, MS, Professor Paula Johnson and students in the Cold Case Justice Initiative helped launch the Wharlest and Exerlena Jackson Legacy Project with a two-day virtual symposium for public junior and senior high school students in both Natchez and Syracuse on March 26-27, 2021.
In addition to honoring the Jacksons’ service and sacrifice (both were active in the NAACP, and in 1967 Wharlest was killed in what the FBI considers a Ku Klux Klan attack), the Legacy Project aims to provide resources to enable students to achieve their life and career goals and to continue the Jacksons’ dedication to civic engagement.
To assist the project, Syracuse Law students have volunteered as “Life Buddies”—or mentors—to help school students navigate the next steps in their lives. Junior high and high school students who register in the Life Buddies program will be assigned a law student who can answer questions about the path to college and other career decisions.
Syracuse Law Hosts Policing Reform Panel Discussion
Exploring policing reform efforts in Onondaga County and connecting those local and community efforts to the broader national conversation about policing practices, Syracuse Law hosted the “Policing and Reform in Onondaga County and Beyond” panel discussion in April 2021.
Sponsored by the Syracuse Civics Initiative and hosted by Dean Boise and Professor Lauryn Gouldin, the discussion featured Syracuse Police Chief Kent Buckner; Lisa Kurtz, Innovative Policing Program, Georgetown Law; Jimmy Oliver, Syracuse Police Director of Community Engagement; Sarah Reckess L’09, Director, Center for Court Innovation-Syracuse Office; and Onondaga County Legislator Vernon Williams Jr.
The panel addressed key provisions of the Police Reform and Reinvention Plans recently developed by Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse, including use-of-force policies, police-community relations, and alternatives to arrest.
Professor Nina Kohn has become a leading voice for reforming long-term care in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Her recent articles on regulating nursing homes and other forms of long-term care have been published in The Washington Post, The Hill, Georgetown Law Journal Online, and elsewhere. She has been quoted in more than 600 news stories in the past year, and has testified on long-term care issues before the New York legislature.
Also the Solomon Center Distinguished Scholar in Elder Law at Yale Law, Kohn is the author of Elder Law: Practice, Policy, and Problems (Wolters Kluwer, 2d ed. 2020). At Syracuse Law, she teaches torts, elder law, and trust and estates. This short article was originally published in Spring 2021 in Bill of Health, the blog of Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School.
Long-Term Care Reform
Between May 2020 and January 2021, 94% of US nursing homes experienced at least one COVID-19 outbreak.1 And nursing home residents—isolated from family and friends,2 dependent on staff often tasked with providing care to far more residents than feasible, and sometimes crowded into rooms with three or more people3—succumbed to the virus at record rates. By March 2021, nursing home residents accounted for a quarter of all US COVID-19-related deaths.
The poor conditions in nursing homes that have been exposed by the pandemic are symptomatic of long-standing problems in the industry. Fortunately, as I discuss in the Georgetown Law Journal Online,4 there are a series of practical reforms that could readily improve the quality of nursing home care, in large part by changing the incentives for nursing home providers.
The Danger of Chronic Understaffing
A key problem exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic is the danger of chronic under staffing in nursing homes. Low staffing levels—and especially low levels of nursing staff 5—predict facilities’ inability to control COVID-19 outbreaks and avoid fatalities.6
The dangers of understaffing were an open secret long before the pandemic. Even before the pandemic, researchers had shown that most facilities lacked the staff necessary to avoid systemic neglect.7 Likewise, pre-pandemic nursing homes’ inspection reports provided ample evidence of facilities lacking the staff needed to care for residents, such as those needed to help residents eat without choking, maintain mobility, or simply stay clean. ProPublica’s database of nursing home inspection reports, for example, turns up scores of cases of residents with maggot-infested wounds and skin in the two years preceding the pandemic.8
Chronic understaffing doesn’t just result in bad care: it can be lethal.
For example, when staff members are not available to assist residents who need help to stand or walk, residents may fatally injure themselves attempting to get about on their own. Understaffing is also associated with abusive practices.
A 2018 Human Rights Watch report found that US nursing homes routinely over medicate residents with dementia to make them docile and easier to control.9 This practice can increase the risk of death and strip residents of their personalities—as one daughter put it, her mother became a “zombie.” Nevertheless, as a 2017 review found, understaffed facilities appear to use psychotropic medication as a “cost-saving alternative to hiring additional RNs.”10 Understaffing is commonplace because while federal regulations set expected outcomes for facilities, regulators do not hold nursing homes accountable for those outcomes. Instead, when nursing homes are found to have violated federal regulations designed to protect residents, they typically face no fine or other penalty; they are simply directed to correct the deficiency.
Therefore, unscrupulous providers can increase profits by short-staffing facilities. Indeed, private equity firms continue to buy low-quality nursing homes11 because of the profit such facilities can generate—especially when owners are willing to sacrifice resident safety to maximize profit.12
The Power of the Federal Wallet
To address this issue, federal regulators could change the way nursing home penalties are assessed and enforced, imposing more significant fines and using the full range of penalties that federal statutes already authorize. This includes not only monetary fines but also holds on new admissions and suspensions of payment.
Regulators also could require facilities to have minimum direct care staffing levels that accord with what researchers have found necessary to provide humane care (slightly over four hours per resident, per day).13
In addition, regulators could require facilities to use a substantial portion of their revenue to care for residents. For example, New Jersey has adopted legislation requiring nursing homes to spend 90% of annual aggregate revenue on direct resident care. This approach could prevent unscrupulous providers from pocketing funds needed for resident care.
The key will be to require financial transparency so that facilities cannot hide profit as expenses and to set spending minimums high (such as New Jersey’s 90% requirement and unlike the 70% threshold New York adopted as part of its 2021 Budget Bill).14
The federal government—the primary payer for long-term care services in the US—could use the power of its wallet to incentivize better care. It could pay nursing homes that provide high-quality care more than those that provide substandard care. Elsewhere in the US healthcare system, pay-for-performance is the norm. But nursing homes that provide excellent care are generally still paid the same as those that provide shoddy care.
“The good news is that, by exposing the dangers of the current system, the pandemic could create an opening for these types of meaningful law reform.”
The federal government also could improve long-term care by fixing a fundamental market failure that it has created. The federal statute governing Medicaid requires states to cover long-term care services provided in nursing homes to Medicaid beneficiaries, but it allows states to choose whether to cover those services in more integrated settings.
States that wish to provide home and community-based services (HCBS) to Medicaid beneficiaries needing long-term care typically apply for a “Section 1915(c)” waiver from the federal government. Under this waiver program, states are not required to provide HCBS on equal terms with institutional long-term care services, but rather they may cap the number of beneficiaries served under the waiver and the cost of services provided.
The result is that most states have waiting lists for at least one type of Medicaid-funded HCBS care, and approximately three-quarters of states limit how many hours of care they provide to beneficiaries receiving services through an HCBS waiver program. This institutional bias could be eliminated by amending the underlying statute, as draft legislation being circulated by Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and a handful of US senators would do.15
But Is There an Appetite for Reform?
The good news is that, by exposing the dangers of the current system, the pandemic could create an opening for these types of meaningful law reform.
Unfortunately, the political response to COVID-19 provides a reason for skepticism about the extent of reform it will spark. At both the state and federal levels, policymakers’ primary response to concerns about COVID-19 transmission within nursing homes was not to protect nursing home residents, but rather to protect the nursing home industry.
As I outline in The Hill, roughly half the states in the US granted immunity to nursing homes amid the crisis (some even went so far as to grant immunity from criminal liability and from acts that would otherwise be construed as gross negligence).16 Similarly, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services used his authority under the Federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (the “PREP Act”) to bar state and federal claims against nursing homes that unreasonably administer or use infection “countermeasures” such as masks and testing.17
In addition, policymakers responded by waiving—and even eliminating in some cases—existing requirements designed to protect residents. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initially responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by waiving a series of regulatory requirements for nursing homes and suspending most enforcement actions. Arkansas even rolled back its minimum staffing requirements in response to industry lobbying.
That said, there are some promising measuring under consideration. For example, at the federal level, there is the Dingell proposal, as well as a Senate bill introduced by Pennsylvania’s senators that would expand the number of poorly performing nursing homes subject to additional inspections.18 Moreover, the Biden Administration has proposed an additional $400 billion (over eight years) for HCBS, which would help increase access to alternatives to nursing home care, although it would not eliminate Medicaid’s bias in favor of institutional care.
States also are considering reform. For example, proposed legislation pending in Rhode Island would require nursing homes to provide the 4.11 hours of care per resident, per day19 that research has indicated is necessary to avoid neglect (see footnote 13).
In short, policymakers interested in improving long-term care have a variety of straightforward options available to them. Accordingly—as I suggested in The Washington Post, examining the politics of nursing home reform20—the key question is not what can be done to fix America’s long-term care crisis. The key question is whether there is the political appetite to make the changes that are so clearly needed.
Endnotes
[1] “COVID-19 in Nursing Homes: Most Homes Had Multiple Outbreaks and Weeks of Sustained Transmission from May 2020 through January 2021,” US Government Accountability Office (May 2021). [2] “Is Extended Isolation Killing Older Adults in Long-Term Care?” AARP (Sept. 3, 2020). [3] “Black and Latino Nursing Home Deaths in Illinois Linked to Overcrowding,” WMAQ-TV (NBC Chicago) (April 30, 2021). [4] “Nursing Homes, COVID-19, and the Consequences of Regulatory Failure,” Georgetown Law Journal Online Vol. 110 (Spring 2021). [5] “Nurse Staffing and Coronavirus Infections in California Nursing Homes,” Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice Vol. 21, No. 3 (August 2020). [6] “Staffing Levels and COVID-19 Cases and Outbreaks in US Nursing Homes,” Journal of the American Geriatrics SocietyVol. 68, No. 11 (November 2020). [7] “Registered Nurse Staffing Falls Short in Most Nursing Homes,” Skillednursingnews.com (March 15, 2018). [8] “Nursing Home Inspect,” Propublica.org (May 2021). [9] “’They Want Docile:’ How Nursing Homes in the United States Overmedicate People with Dementia,” Human Rights Watch (February 2018). [10] Variation in Use of Antipsychotic Medications in Nursing Homes in the United States: A Systematic Review,” BMC Geriatrics Vol. 17, No. 1 (January 2017). [11] “Private Equity Ownership Is Killing People at Nursing Homes,” Vox.com (Feb. 22, 2021). [12] “Does Private Equity Investment in Healthcare Benefit Patients? Evidence from Nursing Homes,” NYU Stern School of Business (Nov. 12, 2020). [13] “The Need for Higher Minimum Staffing Standards in US Nursing Homes,” Health Services Insights Vol. 9 (April 2016). [14] State of New York, Budget Bill S.2507/A.3007 (Jan. 20, 2021). [15] “Draft: A Bill to Amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act to Require Coverage of Home and Community-Based Services Under the Medicaid Program” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) (2021). [16] “Nursing Homes Need Increased Staffing, Not Legal Immunity,” The Hill (May 23, 2021). [17] “Guidance for PREP Act Coverage for COVID-19 Screening Tests at Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, Long-Term-Care Facilities, and Other Congregate Facilities,” US Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (Aug. 31, 2020). [18] US Congress (116th), Nursing Home Reform Modernization Act of 2020 S.4866 (October 2020). [19] State of Rhode Island, Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act S.0002 (January 2021). [20] “Covid Awakened Americans to a Nursing Home Crisis. Now Comes the Hard Part,” The Washington Post (April 28, 2021).
Adapted from an article first published in the Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy’s Fletcher Security Review.
“Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal. Nature always strikes back, and it is increasingly doing so with growing force and fury … we must use 2021 to address our planetary emergency.1 —António Guterres, State of the Planet Speech, Columbia University (December 2020)
The climate-security century is here. With global temperatures rising, climate change is poised to massively destabilize the physical environment.2 This century may well be defined by our ability (or inability) to reduce our collective greenhouse gas emissions. We must also adapt and respond to climate change’s multivariate security impacts. From raging wildfires in Australia and California to melting ice sheets and permafrost in the Arctic, climate change acts as both a threat accelerant and a catalyst for conflict.3
Climate change is also unlike any other traditional security threat. It accelerates and exacerbates existing environmental stressors, such as sea level rise, extreme weather, drought, and food insecurity, leading to greater instability.4 Climate change impacts are already taking center stage this century, forcing us to think more broadly about climate change’s relationship with human security and national security.5
Complicating matters, climate-driven temperature increases do not rise in a neat, uniform fashion around the globe. The pace of climatic change unfolds unevenly and erratically. Some parts of the world—such as the Arctic—are warming at a rate two to three times faster than the rest of the world.
Three specific climate-security “hotspots” foreshadow greater destabilization and serve as climate “canaries in a coal mine”—a sneak preview of our climate-destabilized future: The Arctic—transformed by climate change and a new operational environment, opening trade routes and sparking a potential race for natural resource extraction in the High North.
Pacific Small Island Developing States—where climate-driven sea level rise is swallowing nations whole, raising the specter of climate refugees and possible nation extinction.
The African Sahel—where climate change is leading to increased drought and food insecurity, serving as a tinderbox for resource conflicts.
Hotspot #1: A Climate-Transformed Arctic
Due in large part to the pace of climate change, the Arctic is quickly emerging as a region of increasing military and economic importance. The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the planet, driven by a self-reinforcing feedback loop known as the albedo effect, which accelerates the melting of polar ice caps and permafrost.
In turn, melting polar ice sheets are forming new trade routes through Canada (the Northwest Passage) and along the Russian border (the Northern Sea Route). Along the Arctic’s continental shelf, climate change is renewing interest in natural resource extraction, where close to 30% of the world’s untapped natural gas resides.
The “Law of the Arctic” is largely governed by the work of the Arctic Council, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and an assortment of laws and bilateral agreements among the eight Arctic states.
In contrast to its South Pole cousin—governed by the comprehensive Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)6 —there is no Arctic Treaty. The Arctic Council is characterized by an evolving “soft law” system of collaboration among the eight Arctic Council states: Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. Critically, China is not a voting member of the Arctic Council, although China has declared itself a “near-Arctic” nation and has increasing ambitions in the region. Of these eight members, Denmark, Russia, United States, Norway, and Canada are Arctic “coastal states”—with a continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean—and can potentially extract natural resources.
Despite the potential for conflict and tension, the Arctic Council has enjoyed some success in managing competing Arctic interests. It has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to tackle increasingly complex issues, such as an agreement addressing unregulated fishing and Arctic search and rescue.
However, in the face of climate change, tension points are starting to emerge. By its own mandate, the Arctic Council is prohibited from addressing matters of military security.7 This is largely left to NATO and individual nations to navigate. Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and the US are original NATO members, providing a counterweight to growing Russian militarization. As Russia has invested heavily in Arctic military infrastructure, the NATO members of the Arctic Council have shown a renewed interest in military exercises in the region.
While the Arctic Council’s 2008 Ilulissat Declaration reaffirmed the Arctic Council’s commitment to the Law of the Sea framework, one key Arctic Council member—the United States—remains an outlier as a non-party to UNCLOS.8 This international treaty, often referred to as the “Constitution of the Oceans,” largely governs maritime issues in the Arctic Ocean to include the increasingly important rights of Arctic innocent and transit passage.9 Additionally, UNCLOS establishes the Commission for the Limits on the Continental Shelf (CLCS), which provides technical expertise to help ascertain the breadth of each individual nation’s continental shelf claims.10
Four of the five Arctic coastal states have submitted information to CLCS in support of continental shelf claims. The United States has not made a similar submission for its enormous Alaskan continental shelf. As a non-party to UNCLOS, the US likely will not be able to avail itself of the CLCS process.
In 2007, Russia shocked the world by planting its flag on the North Pole. This was an act of no legal significance but nevertheless signaled broader Russian ambitions in the Arctic. Today, Russia claims an outer continental shelf that extends to the Lomonosov Ridge—an enormous area with vast untapped oil and natural gas resources that overlaps with the North Pole.
While remaining a non-party to UNCLOS, the US has nevertheless served as a good law of the sea partner. For example, the US views UNCLOS’s key navigational provisions as binding customary international law. Additionally, the US Navy has complemented and enforced many key UNCLOS provisions via freedom of navigation operations and diplomatic assertions around the world.
Despite the US Senate’s failure to provide its advice and consent to UNCLOS ratification, a remarkably diverse coalition of American national security experts, environmentalists, and business interests support the US becoming a party to the convention. The U.S. should ratify UNCLOS as it is contrary to our long-term national security and economic interests in the Arctic and elsewhere.11
Outside of natural resource extraction, two seasonal waterways—the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route—are both found in the Arctic. Canada has long viewed the Northwest Passage as their internal territorial waters.12 While the US and Canada have “agreed to disagree” on the legal status of the Northwest Passage, tensions have risen regarding Russia’s authority to regulate shipping along the Northern Sea Route. Russia has increasingly asserted an expansive view of its authority over ice-covered areas along the route, requiring prior notification from foreign ships before transiting.
Perhaps most importantly, what happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic. The melting permafrost in Greenland and Arctic tundra increases the possibility for cataclysmic “green swan” events causing dramatic sea level rise, impacting coastlines and small islands, as discussed below.
Hotspot #2: Small Island Developing States & Nation Extinction
Far away from the Arctic, scientists predict that four Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) may become uninhabitable by mid-century due to climate change-driven sea level rise and wave-driven flooding.13
The specter of potentially “stateless” UN member states—Kiribati, Maldives, Republic of Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu—strikes at the core of the UN Charter system, raising novel questions of both international law and environmental justice. It also exposes a governance gap in international law, which does not adequately protect climate migrants fleeing from climate-driven weather impacts and uninhabitability. The 1954 World Refugee Convention, for example, is silent on migrants fleeing environmental or climate disasters.
Since World War II, the UN Charter has played an important role in stabilizing international order by upholding national territorial integrity and the sovereign equality of each member nation.14 While SIDS are relatively small, they have equal standing as sovereign nations.
Several questions now arise: With climate change undermining the territorial integrity and sovereignty of these nations, what is the responsibility of developing nations to alleviate this slow-moving tragedy? Can international governance institutions afford to remain silent while nations face climate-driven statelessness? What are the legitimate costs of both action and inaction?
The plight of global climate migrants is an issue of increasingly grave concern.15 By one estimate, more than 150 million people will be displaced by rising sea levels by the year 2050.16 One recent study found that two-thirds of the world’s population faces severe water shortages, a catalyst for cross-border human migration.17
In addition, many small island nations are uniquely vulnerable to extreme weather patterns. Scientists now link climate change, rising temperatures, and the increased likelihood of extreme weather,18 to which small island nations often lack the capacity to adapt and respond. In 2020, when Cyclone Harold struck several Pacific island nations, it triggered an estimated 99,500 displacements.19
Finally, critical US national security infrastructure in the region is increasingly at risk. The US operates a key military installation and radar facility at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands that helps protect the US from North Korean missiles. Rising seas may cause parts of the Marshall Islands to become uninhabitable as early as 2035.
Hotspot #3: The African Sahel and the Climate-Conflict Nexus
In a cruel twist, climate change disproportionately harms nations that contributed the least to global greenhouse gas emissions and have the fewest resources to adapt to climate change’s impacts. This includes both SIDS and the poverty-stricken African Sahel, an area already suffering from climate-exacerbated food insecurity and conflict.20
The Sahel region of West Africa, for example, is one of the poorest regions in the world with 40% of the population living on less than US$1.90 per day. The region’s population is growing at an astonishing rate, expected to double by 2045,21 yet the climate is warming in the Sahel far faster than in the rest of the world.
In a recent Security Council debate on climate and security, the World Meteorological Chief Scientist stated that climate change has a multitude of security impacts “increasing the potential for water conflict; leading to more internal displacement and migrations … it is increasingly regarded as a national security threat.” 22
There is a growing body of scholarship that connects climate change’s multivariate impacts and violent conflict.23 In 2020, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated that 12 of the 20 most vulnerable countries to climate change were in a state of conflict.24 An estimated 1.25 million people have been displaced in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger due to extreme rainfall and flooding.25
Climate change’s destabilizing role in the African Sahel is forcing international legal institutions to reimagine what role they might play in addressing underlying causes of conflict and instability.
Consistent with its mission to maintain international peace and security,26 the UN Security Council (UNSC) has begun to address climate change. It first recognized the link between environmental security and international security in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War (1992) and the destruction of oil fields.27 Recognition of other non-traditional security threats followed, such as HIV/AIDS (2000) and Ebola (2014).
In 2017, UNSC took the historical step of linking climate change with the deteriorating security situation in the African Sahel. In Resolution 2349, the “adverse effects of climate change and ecological change” in destabilizing the security situation in the Lake Chad Basin is specifically highlighted.28 Since this Resolution was issued, the Council followed up with additional resolutions for Somalia, Darfur, West Africa, and the Sahel, and Mali.29
While it has yet to make the formal determination that climate change effects are a “threat to the peace” within the meaning of UN Charter Article 39,30 there is a growing precedent for UNSC to use its authorities to address non-traditional security threats.
As the earth warms, climate hotspots such as the African Sahel will increasingly bear the brunt of climate change’s impacts. In the coming years, the UN will be under increasing pressure to address climate-driven security matters in some fashion.31 An Article 39 declaration serves as the legal key, opening the door for the Council to use its awesome Chapter VII authorities.
A Climate-Security Reset for the United States?
Within a month of taking office, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. L’68 released two important executive orders on climate-security matters: (1) “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” and (2) “Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration.”
“Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” makes clear that the world faces a “profound climate crisis” and that US international engagement “is more necessary and urgent than ever.” 32 In the EO, President Biden makes it clear that climate considerations “shall be an essential element of US foreign policy and national security.” In re-energizing climate-security matters, the new Administration understands that it is simply too important to be left solely in the hands of the defense or state departments.
By elevating several people within his Cabinet who have deep experience in climate change and security matters, and by favoring a whole-of-government approach, President Biden acknowledges that climate change requires integrated national security planning. For example, as Special Envoy for Climate former Secretary of State John Kerry will have a seat on the National Security Council—a historic first. Additionally, former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy serves as the nation’s first National Climate Advisor, leading a new interagency National Climate Task Force.
President Biden’s EO on resettling refugees emphasizes that human migration is often due to climate change impacts.33 This order reinvigorates the role of the United States Refugee Assistance Program throughout the immigration process “in a manner that furthers [American] values as a Nation.”
This EO also requires that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan develop a comprehensive report for the President on climate change’s impact on migration as well as its international security implications. While it remains unclear how the results of this report will be implemented, this signals an important willingness to think broadly about the relationship between climate change and immigration patterns.
Relatedly, a reinvigorated role for climate-security matters in the forthcoming National Security Strategy (NSS) is expected, a document that sets the tone for the new administration’s national security policies.
Since President George H.W. Bush, every US president has issued an NSS that squarely addresses climate change and national security. For example, President Barack Obama’s 2015 NSS stated that “The present-day effects of climate change are being felt from the Arctic to the Midwest. Increased sea levels and storm surges threaten coastal regions, infrastructure, and property. In turn, the global economy suffers, compounding the growing costs of preparing and restoring infrastructure.”34
In a prescient nod to the importance of recognizing non-traditional security threats, the 2015 NSS made clear the high priority of “meet[ing] the urgent challenges posed by climate change and infectious disease.”
While climate change was omitted from the Trump Administration’s 2017 NSS, the Biden Administration’s Interim NSS states that “The climate crisis has been centuries in the making … if we fail to act now, we will miss our last opportunity to avert the direst consequences of climate change for the health of our people, our economy, our security, and our planet.”35
Endnotes [1] Quoted in The Washington Post (Dec. 15, 2020).[2] J.B. Ruhl and Robin Kundis Craig, 4°C (2021 manuscript).[3] “Threat Multiplier: The Growing Security Implications of Climate Change—A Conversation with Sherri Goodman,” Fletcher Security Review (July 2018); Center for Naval Analyses, “National Security and the Threat of Climate Change,” (2007).[4] Marwa Daoudy, The Origins of the Syrian Conflict: Climate Change and Human Security (Cambridge 2020).[5] “Climate Tipping Points: Too Risky to Bet Against,” Nature Vol. 575 (2019, corrected April 2020).[6] “Polar Opposites: Assessing the State of Environmental Law in the World’s Polar Regions,“ Boston College Law Review Vol. 59 (2018).[7] Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council/Ottawa Declaration (1996).[8] The Ilulissat Declaration, Arctic Ocean Conference (May 2008).[9] UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Art. 17 (Right of Innocent Passage) and Art. 38 (Right of Transit Passage).[10] UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Art. 76 (Definition of the Continental Shelf).[11] “Polar Opposites: Assessing the State of Environmental Law in the World’s Polar Regions,“ Boston College Law Review Vol. 59 (2018).[12] “The US-Canada Northwest Passage Dispute,” Brown Political Review (April 8, 2020).[13] “Most Atolls Will Be Uninhabitable by the Mid-21st Century Because of Sea Level Rise Exacerbating Wave Driven Flooding,” Science Advances Vol. 4, No. 4 (2018). [14] UN Charter, Art. 2, Para. 1.[15] “Forced Migration After Paris Cop21: Evaluating the ‘Climate Change Displacement Coordination Facility,’” Columbia Law Review Vol. 116, No. 8 (Dec. 2016).[16] “Refugees Flee from the Earth,” The New York Times Magazine (July 26, 2020).[17] “Two-Thirds of the World Faces Severe Water Shortages,” The New York Times (Feb. 12, 2016); Human Rights Commission, Figures at a Glance (August 2020).[18] “Explaining Extreme Events of 2017 from a Climate Perspective,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Vol. 100, No. 1 (January 2019).[19] World Meteorological Organization, Provisional Report on the State of the Global Climate 2020 (December 2020).[20] “Addressing Security Council, Pacific Island President Calls Climate Change Defining Issue of Next Century, Calls for Special Representative on Issue,” United Nations (July 11, 2018).[21] “Climate Change in the Sahel: How Can Cash Transfers Help Protect the Poor?” Brookings Future Development (Dec. 4, 2019).[22] “Climate Change Recognized as ‘Threat Multiplier’, UN Security Council Debates Its Impact on Peace,” UN News (Jan. 25, 2019).[23] “Climate Wars? A Systematic Review of Empirical Analyses on the Links between Climate Change and Violent Conflict,” International Studies Review Vol. 19, No. 4 (December 2017).[24] “Climate Change and Conflict Are a Cruel Combo that Stalk the World’s Most Vulnerable,” ICRC (July 9, 2020).[25] WMO, State of the Global Climate 2020.[26] UN Charter, Art. 24.[27] UN Security Council, “Provisional Verbatim Record of the Three Thousand and Forty-Sixth Meeting” (Jan. 31, 1992).[28] UN Security Council, Res. 2349 (March 31, 2017).[29] UN Security Council, Res. 2408 (March 27, 2018).[30] UN Charter, Art. 39.[31] “Is Climate Change a Threat to International Peace & Security?” Michigan Journal of International Law (forthcoming 2021).[32] “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” Executive Office of the President (January 2021).[33] “Executive Order 14013: Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs To Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration,” Executive Office of the President (February 2021).[34] “National Security Strategy,” Executive Office of the President (February 2015).[35] “Interim National Security Strategic Guidance,” Executive Office of the President (March 2021).
Although David Katz and Danielle (Wilner) Katz took two very different paths to get to the College of Law—where they met in 2016 before getting married in 2018—their journey shared one thing in common: each decided to attend Syracuse Law because of the quality education and collaborative environment it offered.
David, a Cornell University grad, knew since fifth grade he wanted to study law. Danielle, a Toronto native, had landed a job in guest service management after her undergraduate study in Canada but she needed more of a challenge.
So Danielle began researching law schools. She decided on Syracuse, which was the perfect distance from home, and is surprised even today at how much she enjoys living and working in Central New York as a change from her big city roots in Toronto.
“Syracuse is great. I love the person I’m with and the work that I do,” she says.
When David and Danielle met in the fall semester, neither of them thought much of each other. Danielle was just starting law school, and David was entering his last year.
But in the spring semester, David came across Danielle stressing over an assignment. He offered to take her to get something to eat. She agreed, but wanted to make it quick, thinking they would swing by McDonalds. But David—a local from Liverpool, NY—was a regular at Phoebe’s, down Irving Avenue from campus, so that’s where he took her.
“I was so stressed, I couldn’t enjoy myself,” Danielle admits.
But after Danielle turned in her assignment, she realized what a great time she had had with David. They became fast friends, so much so that when she couldn’t get home for Passover, David invited her to his family’s home for Easter instead.
“We weren’t dating, but his whole family thought we were,” Danielle recalls. Adds David, “My uncle pulled me aside and said, ‘You think she is just your friend, but there’s more to this!’”
Shortly after Easter 2016, the couple made it official and began dating. In November 2018, they took a weekend off from Danielle’s final semester and were married in Toronto. They held off on a honeymoon until after graduating and settling into their work lives.
Last winter, the Katzes were finally able to honeymoon in St. Lucia. Having had a great time on the Caribbean island, they arrived home just as the whole world was shutting down because of the coronavirus pandemic. After almost a year on lock-down as newlyweds, they have not only survived but thrived during an unprecedented time.
The couple has the alumni community as a support structure and work they share in common and which they love. David is a civil litigation associate at Smith Sovik Kendrick & Sugnet PC while Danielle practices corporate transactions and trusts and estates at Barclay Damon LLP. They couldn’t be happier, they say.
“Because we don’t work in the same area, it’s really cool to get different perspectives on working in the same profession,” David explains.
“Essentially he goes to court and I don’t,” Danielle notes.
Jay Brown, who grew up in the Pacific Northwest and studied finance and economics at Santa Clara University, combined two desires when he came to Syracuse in 1992: the study of law and the experience of going East. He didn’t expect to meet his future wife, Consuela Pinto.
Growing up in North Jersey, Consuela was thrilled to go out of state to Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. She always knew her aim was college, as her first-generation Italian parents desperately wanted their children to become either doctors or lawyers.
She was settled and established in Boston, working in human resources for a bank that wanted her to stay after graduation. However, with law school in the back of her mind, Consuela knew if she didn’t go right after graduation, she may never go.
In their words, Jay and Consuela’s relationship started as a solid, comfortable friendship. Cast together in Professor Richard Ellison’s 1L Law Firm section, they ended up in a small study group.
In the second semester, Jay asked Consuela to have dinner at Pastabilities in Armory Square. There, they started a pastime that still holds after 23 years of marriage—debate, or what Consuela calls “ridiculous discussions.” That night they deliberated over the existence of New Hampshire’s coastline (for the record, the state does have a 13-mile stretch of Atlantic shoreline called the Seacoast Region).
Consuela, who had also graduated with an M.P.A. from the Maxwell School, says, “Jay is very calm and I’m the polar opposite, and if there was a point in my life when I needed an infusion of calmness, it was my time in Syracuse.”
After graduation, the couple headed to Washington, DC, where Consuela went to work for the Department of Labor. This was the perfect location for Jay as well, because his focus was antitrust law.
Making their home in Silver Spring, MD, the couple have raised two children. Isabel is in Boston attending Northeastern University, while Matthew is a high school junior studying from home because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Upon leaving the labor department, Consuela, who had been the President of the DC Women’s Bar Association, became a shareholder at FortneyScott, a leading management employment law firm. Her focus is Equal Employment Opportunity compliance, with a specialty in government investigations.
Today, Jay is still steeped in business law as Deputy General Counsel at the US Chamber of Commerce. He says 2020 was a busy year for the Chamber with the discovery that going virtual added the benefit of reaching a larger audience. Before the pandemic, he says, they would draw hundreds to an onsite event, now they virtually reach thousands at a time.
Both have been working from home for the past year, which they say has turned out to be great, adding tremendously to family time. Cutting out the commute, they can even have breakfast together; with the bonus of being available for Matthew if he has study questions.
Referring to his career spent in the nation’s capital, Jay compliments the College of Law’s impact, noting its great alumni network. “Our class had a particularly large group of graduates relocate to DC. Among them are alums who have reached high levels in government agencies, prominent firms, and well-known companies with offices in the capital.”
Lisa Cole
Scott and Lauren Deutsch
Leita Powers
Matthew Yanez
Hilda Frimpong
Tia Thevenin
Joseph Jasper
Mazaher Kaila
Ryan Marquette
Sharon Otasowie
John Goerner
Professor Nina Kohn
Long-Term Care Reform
