Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh spoke with Bloomberg Law about a possible appeal by Elon Musk following the jury verdict in the Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial. The jury found that the statute of limitations had expired before Musk filed the suit and did not address the merits of Musk’s claims.
“We haven’t reached those substantive issues yet,” said Ghosh. “And it’s not quite clear whether we ever will get to see them.”
Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh discussed with the Wall Street Journal the possible outcome of an appeal by Elon Musk in the lawsuit against OpenAI and co-founder Sam Altman.
At the trial, the jury sided with OpenAI, agreeing that the statute of limitations had passed and Musk knew about the actions that OpenAI and Altman had taken to create a for-profit entity well before he filed this lawsuit in 2024.
“It’s a very rare circumstance that those can be appealed because it’s usually a clear rule,” he said. “What the jury found is that he took too long.”
Joins a network of 37 leaders serving our nation’s veterans
Seth M. Owens, attorney at the College of Law’s Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, has been named to participate in the 2026 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program. Stand-To targets dynamic leaders, including civilians, veterans, and active military members, from various sectors nationwide who are dedicated to supporting our nation’s veterans and their families.
The 37 scholars hail from across the country and will gather at the George W. Bush Presidential Center next month for the opening session. Over the course of the five modules, scholars will hear from a variety of distinguished professionals, educators, and experts in veteran transition and leadership development, including Major General Jeannie M. Leavitt; and Alex Gorsky, U.S. Army veteran, April and Jay Graham Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute, and former Chairman and CEO of Johnson and Johnson; among others.
Seth M. Owens, J.D., D.P.T., is an attorney and advocacy fellow with the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic at the Syracuse University College of Law, where he focuses on veterans health and disability law, federal appellate litigation, and legal services for veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. A former physical therapist and healthcare manager, Owens brings a multidisciplinary approach to veterans advocacy that integrates legal, medical, and policy perspectives. His scholarship centers on veterans’ access to benefits and the systemic barriers faced by former service members with less-than-honorable discharges, including published and forthcoming work in the Syracuse Law Review. Owens has also co-authored amicus briefs before the United States Supreme Court and regularly contributes to national conversations on veterans law, discharge characterization, and access to care.
“I am so incredibly honored to be selected for this cohort of the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, and have the opportunity to bring back lessons learned to the College of Law and the community of veterans we serve,” Owens says.
Each participant brings a personal leadership project to the program, enabling them to immediately apply what they learn to making a positive impact on veterans and military families across the United States.
During the five-month program, Seth will develop his initiative focused on correlating improvement in well-being and housing status for homeless veterans with the delivery of legal services focused on accessing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits and services. He hopes to show that the delivery of these legal services can be a primary intervention to combat homelessness in the veteran population—an intervention that could be adopted on a much larger scale by the VA.
Scholars were carefully chosen following a comprehensive application and review process. They become part of a dynamic network comprising over 250 alumni from seven earlier classes, focused on enhancing veteran outcomes across a range of issues. Many alumni occupy leadership positions in business, community initiatives, nonprofits that aid veterans, government, and academia; numerous members are also active or reserve military personnel.
The program is one of many ways the Bush Institute supports our country’s veterans and military families and builds on the organization’s extensive policy work in veteran transition.
To learn more about the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, please visit bushcenter.org/veteranleadership.
About the George W. Bush Institute
The George W. Bush Institute is a solution-oriented nonpartisan policy organization focused on ensuring opportunity for all, strengthening democracy, and advancing free societies. Housed within the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the Bush Institute is rooted in compassionate conservative values and committed to creating positive, meaningful, and lasting change at home and abroad. We utilize our unique platform and convening power to advance solutions to national and global issues of the day. Learn more at www.bushcenter.org.
Professor of Law Paula Johnson contributed the opinion article “Supreme Court’s voting rights decision silences Black voters” to Syracuse.com in response to the recent Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais.
In the article, Johnson provides a historical review of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, its impact on the civil rights of Black voters, and how the ruling will affect minority voting going forward.
She concludes that, “while it is not fully extinguished, this democratic promise is now dimming under the Supreme Court’s latest ruling on the VRA. This is one of the most consequential decisions by the modern Supreme Court, for as Ashley Shelton, founder and CEO of the Power Coalition, a Louisiana statewide civic engagement organization, asks, ‘What is citizenship without representation?’ This is a question, a calling and a challenge, not just for Black voters, but for everyone who genuinely believes in the right of fair representation in a democratic society. We must vote like our democracy depends on it, because it does.”
Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh spoke with the Associated Press about the trial where Elon Musk is seeking the removal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Ghosh said he has doubts about Altman staying on as CEO of OpenAI in the long run. “A lot of this might depend upon a testimony,” he said. “And I don’t know what he’s going to say or how he’s gonna say it. But even like the best case, movie theater type performance, with all the music playing and the angels descending or whatnot, I don’t see him coming off as a fairly strong leader, especially [since] this case has gone this far.”
E.I. White Chair and Distinguished Professor of Law Robin Paul Malloy was recently a Senior Visiting Fellow and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Palermo, Sicily, during the spring term. While there conducting research, Malloy delivered several guest lectures at the University of Palermo Department of Economics and Law Department and at the University of Pisa Department of Law and Jurisprudence.
At Pisa, he lectured on “Accessible Communities: Disability and the Economics of Accessibility.” Malloy notes, “When it comes to the built environment, accessibility becomes a complex matter. On the one hand, disability law, based on federal civil rights law, prohibits discrimination as people move through the places and spaces of public life. On the other hand, regulation of property and the built environment is generally a matter of state law and the exercise of the state police power that is used to regulate land use and zoning. Making buildings, sidewalks, streetscapes, and other structures accessible involves building and land regulation. This means that disability, when it is understood as enhancing accessibility to our built environment, must be approached as a regulatory matter as well as a civil rights matter. This makes accessibility planning difficult because it must respond to two very different areas of the law. As a regulatory matter, disability is made even more complex because accessibility is a mixed market good. This means that it is both a public and private market good. Moreover, accessibility infrastructure is expensive, and many market factors contribute to its underproduction.
In the lecture, Malloy focused on some of the primary market factors that need to be considered in accessibility planning and argued that good decision-making must account for resource and market constraints.
At Palermo, he gave several lectures, including “Property in a Market Context.” Malloy discussed some of the ways that markets inform our conceptions of property, and at the same time property influences the market process of exchange. “It is all part of the co-evolution of law, economics, and politics,” said Malloy.
He also delivered a lecture on “Disability and the Economics of Accessibility” in the law department at Palermo.
“I want to thank all the faculty and students at Palermo and Pisa for their intellectual and cultural exchange. I enjoyed all our conversations and look to incorporate new ideas into my future scholarship,” said Malloy.
Students, alumni, and faculty at Syracuse University College of Law spent this year analyzing police use of handcuffs during investigatory stops. Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Lauryn Gouldin, and co-authors Jocelyn Anctil L’26, Nick Marasco L’25, Bess Murad L’26, and 2L Molly Smith will publish their article, “Handcuffing Children,” with the Georgetown Law Journal Online this fall.
What began as a response to a local incident evolved into a multi-stage effort involving public advocacy, policy reform, and scholarly contribution, showcasing the depth and impact of Syracuse Law’s experiential learning model.
The handcuffing project originated in early 2025 following a widely circulated video showing an 11-year-old girl in Syracuse being placed in handcuffs during an investigatory stop. The incident prompted immediate legal inquiry by faculty, alumni, and students in the College of Law’s Criminal Law and Policy Lab, a course offered with support from the Syracuse University Meredith Professorship program. Under Gouldin’s leadership, students began a sustained examination of the constitutional limits governing police conduct, particularly as applied to children. Rather than treating the event as an isolated occurrence, the team approached it as a case study revealing broader tensions between law enforcement practices and Fourth Amendment protections.
The initiative first took public form when Gouldin, alumnus Martin Feinman L’83, and Syracuse Law students Anctil, Megan Hartman L’26, and Marasco L’25drafted an opinion piece arguing that automatically handcuffing individuals (particularly children) during investigative stops violates the Fourth Amendment.
Building on that public-facing work, Anctil and Murad co-authored a comprehensive report with Gouldin that was presented to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in February. The report provided concrete policy recommendations to align local law enforcement practices with established legal standards, emphasizing that even well-intentioned officer safety measures must be justified by the facts of a particular situation. As the report explains, the project was designed to “contribute meaningfully to the ongoing dialogue about how to balance officer and community safety against the rights and well-being of individuals, specifically young people.”
The research and advocacy did not stop at the local level. Expanding their analysis to evaluate the national landscape, the team of faculty and Syracuse Law students (Gouldin, Anctil, Marasco, Murad, and Smith) worked together to produce a full-length law review article. Handcuffing Children situates the Syracuse incident within a broader national pattern of similar encounters and provides a comprehensive doctrinal analysis of the constitutional limits on handcuffing during investigatory stops. Drawing on case law from federal courts across the country, the authors conclude that automatically handcuffing suspects, particularly minors, during such stops violates the Fourth Amendment.
“This has been an especially rewarding partnership with engaged alumni experts and motivated student researchers who produced important policy recommendations and high-caliber scholarship that will reach a national audience,” says Gouldin. “This work exemplifies the College of Law’s commitment to experiential learning, where students do not simply study legal doctrine but actively apply it to real-world problems with tangible impact.”
The work will continue into the coming academic year, when participating students, alumni, and faculty will present a panel discussion in Fall 2026 examining the project’s development—from its origins in a local incident to its impact on public advocacy, policy reform, and national scholarship—offering insight into both the substance of the work and the role of experiential learning in shaping future legal leaders.
Syracuse University College of Law recently held Commencement exercises for the Class of 2026. The Class of 2026 includes 221 recipients of the J.D. degree, 15 LL.M. graduates, and two S.J.D. doctoral degrees.
Commencement Speaker Joanne “Joanie” Mahoney ’87, L’90, President of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, concluded her address by encouraging the class to use what they learned to make a difference.
“Syracuse University College of Law has equipped you with remarkable skills, not just in the law, but in reasoning, judgment, and leadership. Use those skills wisely. Take the lessons you’ve learned here, the relationships you’ve built, and the confidence you’ve earned, and go make a difference. You are about to step into a world that will challenge you, surprise you, and at times, test you in ways you cannot anticipate. Always, always treat others—and yourselves—with kindness.”
Dean Terence Lau L’98 reminded the Class of 2026 of the vital role lawyers play in defending our liberties.
“You are now a guardian of liberty. That means showing up for the person who has nowhere else to turn. It means challenging power when it overreaches. It means insisting, in every matter and every forum, that the law works for everyone — not just those at the top. And it means doing all of that not just as a professional obligation, but as a calling. That sense of purpose is something I’ve seen in this class, time and again — in classrooms and clinics, in advocacy competitions, in ways you’ve advocated for change in our own law school and legal profession, and in the many quiet ways you’ve shown up for each other.”
During Commencement, the J.D. Class of 2026 awarded Professor of Law Todd Berger the Res Ipsa Loquitor Award, voted upon by the graduating class in recognition of a faculty member who has demonstrated exceptional commitment and service to the College of Law.
Stephanie Rinko, Director of Online Programs, was awarded the Staff Award, voted upon by the graduating class in recognition of a College of Law staff member in acknowledgement for their support of students and faculty, and their accomplishments that make the College run day-to-day.
The LL.M. Class of 2026 awarded Teaching Professor Antonio Gidi the Lucet Lex Mundum Award, voted upon by the graduating LL.M. class. It recognizes the professor who has made a significant impact on the success and experiences of LL.M. students during their studies.
Professor of Law Katherine Macfarlane spoke with the New York Times for the article, “Employees With Medical Conditions Challenge C.D.C. In-Office Requirement.”
A blanket revoking of existing accommodations potentially violates legal protections for disabled workers, experts in workplace law said.
“They’re on shaky grounds,” said Macfarlane, director of the College of Law’s Disability Law and Policy Program.
Having to provide medical documents poses further barriers to getting requests approved in a timely manner, Macfarlane said, adding that no federal law requires such documentation to obtain a reasonable accommodation. She has written about the topic in the Fordham Law Review in the article Disability Without Documentation.
When William “Bill” Brodsky ’65, L’68, H’24, was a 1L at Syracuse University College of Law, he ran for class president, winning by just one vote over another student by the name of Joseph R. Biden Jr. L’68, H’09.
“My claim to fame is that the only election Joe ever lost was to me,” Brodsky says of his classmate who would go on to become the 46th president of the United States.
However, Brodsky’s “claim to fame” runs much deeper, as he not only has an impressive 50-year career in financial services but has also shown a true commitment to the College of Law and Syracuse University through his time, expertise, financial contributions, and the credit he gives to Syracuse Law as a root of his success.
“We ended up as a group of very successful lawyers,” he says of the 88 students in his law school class.
This spring, Brodsky was recognized with a 2026 Syracuse Law Honors award for his many contributions, including his most recent—helping to secure an official portrait of former President Joseph R. Biden, which will hang in the Dineen Hall Library, and assisting in coordinating the president’s visit for the unveiling.
While Brodsky spent the first eight years of his career practicing law, he later chose to take the skills he learned in law school to the financial sector. He began in the legal and compliance department at investment firm Model, Roland & Co. The firm had purchased a charter seat on the newly established Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), where, for the first time, call options were being traded. Brodsky’s firm tasked him with studying the new rules and taking the first CBOE options exam to qualify the firm.
In 1973, a turbulent time for the stock market, Brodsky’s wife urged him to set himself apart by writing an article on rules of the CBOE. He wrote an article for a prominent securities publication that was widely read, making Brodsky an options expert on what is today considered one of the most important stock market innovations of the 21st century. This expertise helped him obtain his next job at the American Stock Exchange where he worked as a securities lawyer, rising through the ranks until he reached executive vice president in 1979.
Three years later, he took a chance and moved his family from the East Coast to the Midwest to join the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as an executive vice president and chief operating officer. In 1985, he was appointed CEO and served in that position until 1987. He later moved to the CBOE as president and also chairman, a position he held for 20 years and during which he took the company public with great success. In 2008, while at the CBOE, he was named chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges, a role he held until 2010. In 2019, he was named chairman of Navy Pier, Inc., a Chicago landmark.
It was early 2022, when his law school friend and rival for class president, Biden, nominated him as a director for the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC); he was confirmed by the Senate later that year. Today, he is chairman of Cedar Street Asset Management, founded by his son, Jonathan; and Bantamac Capital, founded by his son, Michael.
Despite his demanding career, Brodsky never forgot his start at Syracuse. Before law school, he graduated from the University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He met his wife, Joan Breier Brodsky ’67, G’68, H’24, at Syracuse, and together they raised three sons, all of whom “went Orange,” too: Michael B. Brodsky, ’90; Stephen A. Brodsky, ’93; and Jonathan P. Brodsky, ’96, G’96; as well as their grandson, Matthew Brodsky ’23, G’24.
In 1983, Brodsky received the George Arents Award, the highest alumni honor presented by the University for outstanding contributions in a chosen field.
He served as a member of Syracuse University’s board of trustees from 1987 to 2003, helping guide the financial strength and long-term goals of the institution on the Investment and Endowment Committee. Today, he continues to impart his wisdom and expertise through his emeritus status on the board.
In 2015, Brodsky was the commencement speaker at the Syracuse University College of Law. And in 2024, he and his wife were granted honorary degrees by Syracuse University—the first alumni couple to receive such an honor.
Together, Brodsky and his wife have been generous supporters of many initiatives on campus, including creating the Brodsky Series for the Advancement of Library Conservation, which is now in its 21st year and very dear to Joan, an expert in book and paper conservation; the Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics Program at the Maxwell School, named in honor of a long-time constitutional law scholar and one of Brodsky’s most influential mentors; The Eleanore and Marcus I. Breier Digital Learning Center, the first “hot” classroom to fully integrate current technology, in honor of Joan’s parents, at the School of Information Studies (iSchool); and, the Helen and Irwin Brodsky Scholarship in honor of Brodsky’s parents, which is an endowed annual support scholarship for students at the law school.
In addition, Brodsky has spent many years contributing his professional expertise not only to University leadership but also to students, readily sharing his career journey at speaking engagements and events at the law school.
Recently, Brodsky helped manage a truly outstanding feat of which any law school or university would be tremendously proud. When former Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud wanted to commission an official portrait of Biden to be exhibited at his alma mater, he asked Brodsky to ask the president.
“I never say no,” says Brodsky of his willingness to help. He and the president had kept in touch over the years, and, in 2024, Brodsky and his wife were invited to the White House for a presidential farewell gala.
“I just leaned over to Joe and asked him if he’d be willing to do it,” Brodsky explains. “His immediate response was, ‘Who would have thunk it?’, but he was very humbled by the gesture and agreed.”
Fast forward to April 14 of this year, when the president and the Biden family joined 18 other members of the Syracuse Law Class of 1968, including Brodsky; University dignitaries, Dean Terence Lau L’98, and state and local officials, including New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul, in the Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom in Dineen Hall to unveil the presidential portrait. Biden thanked Syracuse Law for the honor and the foundation his law school education gave him.
According to Brodsky, the president “waxed poetic” about how Syracuse Law changed his life by giving him a scholarship and a resident advisership to pay his room and board, while also noting how he felt a “warmth and outpouring of love at the law school.”
The president also noted how proud he was that his late son, Beau Biden L’94, was also a graduate of Syracuse Law. The Beau Biden L’94 Memorial Scholarship was established after his death to provide financial assistance to students at the College of Law with a specific interest in children’s rights, protecting victims of abuse, and/or helping society’s most vulnerable. Once Brodsky and his classmates knew Biden was coming to the portrait unveiling, they generously gave to double the amount of the endowment as a gift to the president, extending the scholarship’s impact by providing sustained support that enables today’s students to focus more fully on their academic and professional goals.
The portrait unveiling was a proud moment, and Brodsky was elated to watch his former classmate honored. The president’s portrait is permanently displayed in the Dineen Hall Law Library.
Brodsky’s enthusiasm for all things Syracuse only continues to grow and being selected for the 2026 Syracuse Law Honors award is an outward sign of appreciation for the depth of devotion to his alma mater.
“Bill Brodsky represents the very best of what Syracuse University College of Law strives to instill in its graduates—integrity, leadership, and an enduring commitment to service,” says Richard Alexander L’82, chairman emeritus, Arnold & Porter; chair of the Syracuse College of Law Board of Advisors, and a member of the executive committee of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees.
“Over more than five decades, he has distinguished himself at the highest levels of the financial world, while never losing sight of the institution that shaped his path. His steadfast support of the College of Law, his generosity, and his role in strengthening meaningful connections that elevate the School’s national profile speak volumes about his character. Bill is not only deserving of the 2026 Law Honors Award—he exemplifies its purpose.”
