Thought Leadership

Professor Shubha Ghosh Invited to the Editorial Board of MDPI

Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh has accepted an invitation to the editorial board of MDPI, an international publisher of open-access scientific, professional, and technical journals.

Professor Ghosh, director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute, will provide editorial guidance on various legal topics, including intellectual property, innovation law, entrepreneurship, competition law (antitrust), and comparative and international law.

About MDPI

A pioneer in scholarly, open-access publishing, MDPI has supported academic communities since 1996. Based in Basel, Switzerland, MDPI has the mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines.

Our 455 diverse and open-access journals, including 446 peer-reviewed journals and 9 conference journals, are supported by more than 295,000 academic experts who share our mission, values, and commitment to providing high-quality service for our authors. We serve scholars from around the world to ensure the latest research is freely available and all content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

MDPI’s portfolio comprises at least 237 journals with impact factors, 72% of which are ranked in the top 2 quartiles of their respective fields.

Professor Shubha Ghosh Writes “In Visa Case, DOJ Continues To Misapply The Sherman Act” at Law360

Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh has contributed the opinion article “In Visa Case, DOJ Continues To Misapply The Sherman Act” at Law360.

The article reviews the Department of Justice’s case against Visa, claiming that Visa is monopolizing the U.S. debit network services market. Ghosh also examines the history of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the DOJ’s claims, and other factors in the case.

In his conclusion, Ghosh says “Under the Biden administration, the DOJ has already reaped significant criticism for disregarding these long-adhered-to standards, and its Visa case will inevitably receive the same degree of scrutiny.”

Professor Gregory Germain Provides an Expert Overview of Bankruptcy at lawfirm.com

Professor Gregory Germain recently participated in a question-and-answer article on personal and business bankruptcy at lawfirm.com.The article covered the basics of filing for bankruptcy, alternative solutions, and when a lawyer should be involved in the process.

Germain advises to those contemplating filing for bankruptcy is “Facing the situation, taking action to address the situation, and developing a long-term plan to save money are the only ways to improve your financial life.”

Syracuse University College of Law’s Annual Supreme Court Preview Discussion

Syracuse University College of Law will hold its eighth annual Supreme Court Preview on Friday, November 1 from 9 a.m. to noon in the Gray Ceremonial Courtroom in Dineen Hall. Robert Parker, Chief of the Criminal Division’s Appellate Section at the U.S. Department of Justice, will deliver the Keynote Lecture “Supreme Court and Appellate Practice at the Department of Justice.”

The following panel discussion will examine key cases to be heard during the 2024-2025 Supreme Court term.

The Moderator will be Keith J. Bybee, Vice Dean and Paul E. and Hon. Joanne F. Alper ’72 Judiciary Studies Professor of Law.

Panel participants will be:

Andrew Greenberg L’89, Teaching Professor

The Hon. Mitchell Katz, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York

Terence Lau L’98, Dean and Professor of Law

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

Robert Parker, Chief of the Criminal Division’s Appellate Section at the U.S. Department of Justice

CLE credit is available. To register for the Preview, visit https://bit.ly/Court2024

Contact: Chris Ramsdell

Professor Katherine Macfarlane’s Constitutional Case Management Article Reviewed at Jotwell

Professor Katherine Macfarlane’s article “Constitutional Case Management” was recently reviewed by Professor Brooke D. Coleman at Jotwell. Coleman is Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law. Macfarlane’s article, Constitutional Case Management, 102 N.C. L. Rev. 977 (2024),  examines why some federal cases find their way to certain judges rather than being assigned randomly.

In the review, Coleman concludes that “Until courts adopt reforms, Macfarlane’s article offers a novel argument for challenging certain case-assignment provisions on a case-by-case basis. She adds a richness to our recurring “which judge” discussion, and I commend it to all as a piece they just might like lots.”

The Hon. James E. Baker Delivers Keynote Address at the North Dakota AI Summit

The Hon. James E. Baker delivered the keynote address at the North Dakota AI Summit. The conference, hosted by Valley City State University, had the theme “Being Human and Working in the Age of AI.”

Judge Baker’s Keynote on “Promise and Peril: A Public Citizen’s Guide to AI” can be viewed on YouTube.

Judge Baker, the Director of the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law, is the author of “The Centaur’s Dilemma: National Security Law for the Coming AI Revolution” (Brookings 2021) and co-author of “An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Federal Judges (with Professor Laurie Hobart.)

Professor Nina Kohn Delivers Keynote Address at the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators

Nina Kohn, the David M. Levy Professor of Law, recently delivered the keynote address at the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) Annual Conference.  The conference, organized by the National Center for State Courts, brought together the chief justices of the nation’s state courts and top court administrators.  This year, the conference focused its educational programming on guardianship and conservatorship.  Kohn’s keynote called attention to major problems in guardianship systems and urged the Chief Judges and Court Administrators to make guardianship a priority for their court systems and how court leadership can make a difference.

Kohn’s talk focused on the key civil rights concerns raised by current guardianship practice, and what courts can—and should—do about it.  Kohn explained that guardianship continues to be treated as a go-to intervention for individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, not the last resort option it’s legally designed to be.  In addition, she explained that, despite reforms requiring courts to consider less restrictive alternatives, courts continue to order guardianships that strip individuals of all rights permitted under state law even when less restrictive arrangements would meet the needs of most respondents. 

Kohn then outlined a series of steps court leaders could take to not only reduce unnecessary and overbroad guardianships but also reduce the risk of abuse and exploitation by unscrupulous guardians.

After the talk, Kohn observed “I was impressed by the warm reception my remarks received.  Many of the participants expressed serious concern about the patterns of practice I described and expressed interest in making changes in their systems.  I look forward to supporting those efforts in the coming months and years.”

Kohn is a nationally recognized leader on guardianship and elder law.  Her remarks built on her scholarship around guardianship, as well as her work as Reporter for the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act.

Professor Olatunde Johnson to be the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Commemoration Speaker

Professor Olatunde Johnson of Columbia Law School will be the Keynote Speaker at Syracuse Law’s 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Commemoration. She will deliver the address, “The Future of Civil Rights in An Age of Colorblindness”. An interdisciplinary panel discussion will follow the address.

Johnson is the Ruth Bader Ginsburg’ 59 Professor of Law at Columbia Law School where she teaches, writes, and provides public commentary about anti-discrimination law, administrative law, courts, democracy, and inequality in the United States.  She directs Columbia’s Constitutional Democracy Initiative and co-directs the Center on Constitutional Governance at Columbia Law School.  

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

Monday, October 7

4:30 p.m.

Room 350

Reception to follow in the Atrium

RSVP to Christy Ramsdell by October 1. 

Syracuse Law’s Disability Law and Policy Program Hosts “A Body’s Work: A Discussion with Professor Britney Wilson”

Syracuse University College of Law’s Disability Law and Policy Program recently hosted “A Body’s Work: A Discussion with Professor Britney Wilson. Professor Wilson is an associate professor of law and the director of the Civil Rights and Disability Rights Clinic at New York Law School. She discussed her experiences as a Black disabled woman, civil rights attorney, and law professor.

Her discussion was based on her paper “A Body’s Work: On Self and Peer Education as a Black Disabled Lawyer” published in the Journal of Legal Education. The essay and her Syracuse Law discussion explored the effects of an overall lack of disability inclusion in the law school curriculum and how it impacts the way she navigates life and work as a Black disabled woman and attorney.

Wilson also touched upon ongoing transportation services litigation that the Civil Rights and Disability Rights Clinic is litigating by applying the Americans with Disabilities Act and New York City Human Rights law.

Also, an accomplished writer and artist, Wilson has published short stories, poetry, and creative nonfiction essays. She was a featured poet on the HBO series Brave New Voices. She explained how creativity in other areas can positively affect making creative legal arguments.

Professor Wilson also met with DLPP students to discuss their experiences studying disability law and navigating law school with disabilities.

Professor Nina Kohn co-authors “Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Caring for Patients Under Guardianships”

“Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Caring for Patients Under Guardianships”, co-authored by Professor Nina Kohn, has been published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine.   Kohn’s co-authors are Dhrity Bhowmik, Sally Balch Hurme, Jasmine Sandhu, June Jeon, Syeda Sundus Mujahid, Latrice Pelissier, Eric Widera, Andrew B. Cohen, Mary Galvez, Vicki Alkire, Pamela B. Teaster, William E. Rosa, and Cynthia X. Pan.

“Clinicians working in the palliative care space frequently encounter patients for whom a court has appointed a guardian, but often are confused as to the implications for medical decision-making,” says Kohn. “I enjoyed working with this truly interdisciplinary team of co-authors to provide practical guidance that clinicians can use to better support patients under guardianship.”