For those in the New York City area this weekend, you have a chance to come and heckle Kaimi and I in person. We are both going to be on a panel of “young lawyers” (along with Todd Lundell) at the national LDS Law Students Conference, being sponsored this year by the LDS students at Columbia Law School (aka the Harvard of the Upper West Side). The topic of the panel will be the “Intellectual Relationship Between Law and Mormonism,” and it will kick off at Columbia Law School at about 1 pm.
If you want more information on the conference, the following email was circulated to LDS law students around the country by the organizers of the event:
Greetings,
Already students from nineteen different law schools have registered for the conference, ensuring that this year’s conference will be the most geographically diverse gathering of LDS law students ever and will surpass last year’s conference in terms of attendance. In order to facilitate planning for such a large group, we are setting Tuesday, February 8th as a soft deadline for registration. Although we will accept registrations after that date, we cannot guarantee late registrants access to meals and registration materials. Each person planning to attend must complete the attached form, including spouses, friends, attorneys, etc. The form must be completed regardless of whether you request accommodations.
Please find below answers to questions frequently asked about the conference. The section regarding speakers has been updated to include the additions to the program of Elder Ralph Hardy, member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy and Kevin Worthen, Dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School.
If you have any questions, please contact Zeke Johnson at [email protected]. We are excited to hear from you and look forward to meeting you in person February 18th.
Sincerely,
Jared Pace
Co-chair, Conference Committee
President, J. Reuben Clark Law Society of Columbia Law SchoolZeke Johnson
Co-chair, Conference Committee
President, Harvard Law Latter-day Saints, a J. Reuben Clark Law Society chapterQuestions & Answers:
Who is planning the conference?
The conference is a joint effort of the LDS groups at Columbia and Harvard with generous support from the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.
Who may attend the conference?
We encourage you to invite members of your law school community, whether fellow students or faculty. The conference also welcomes pre-law students, practitioners, or anyone else interested in discussing issues pertinent to LDS law students.
When is the conference?
Friday, February 18 and Saturday, February 19. Although the schedule is not final, it is anticipated that registration will begin at 5pm on Friday, with the evening’s speaker addressing the conference at 6pm. Saturday’s program will end shortly after 4pm. The activities listed below will likely take place before registration Friday (about 2pm) and Saturday evening.
Where is the conference?
Columbia Law School
435 West 116th St.
New York, NY 10027-7297
(212) 854-2640Which airport should I use?
The closest airport is La Guardia. From LGA you can take a taxi (about a 25 min ride, $20-$25) or MTA bus (1 hour, $2).
Next closest is JFK. From JFK you can take a taxi (1 hour ride, $50), private shuttle bus (1 hour plus waiting time, about $18), or public transportation ($7, 1.5 hours, multiple transfers, and some stairs). The taxis and shuttle buses are great for those traveling in groups.
Newark is further than JFK, and if you do not take public transportation (about $13 and 2 hours, multiple transfers), you will pay a considerable amount to reach Columbia.
Islip (Long Island) is further still.
How do I request free accommodations?
You will be able to request free accommodations on your registration form. We will make assignments on a first-to-register-first-served basis. You will be responsible for contacting and making arrangements with your hosts.
What costs are involved in attending the conference?
The conference committee is planning on providing breakfast and lunch Saturday. Accommodations will be provided as explained above. Attendees will be responsible for all other costs such as costs associated with activities and the registration fee of $15, which can be paid at the door.
Who is speaking at the conference?
Elder Ralph W. Hardy, Jr. Elder Hardy will be Friday night’s keynote speaker. He serves in the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the U.S. East Area Presidency. He is also Chairman of the Washington Public Affairs Advisory Committee for the Church. Professionally, he is a partner at Dow, Lohnes & Albertson in D.C. His biography can be viewed at http://www.dlalaw.com/site/bio_1.asp?section=2&subsection=2&seqa=0&seqb=0&PgID=RWH.
Chief Justice Christine Durham, of the Utah Supreme Court, will be Saturday’s keynote (see her biography at http://www.utcourts.gov/judgesbios/supremgal.htm). In addition to her work on the bench, Chief Justice Durham has taught at Brigham Young University’s law school, and the University of Utah College of Law. She is a Trustee of Duke University and the Council of the American Law Institute, and is a past president of the National Association of Women Judges and a former member of the Federal Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Kevin Worthen, Dean J. Reuben Clark Law School will present a paper on the topic of Native American religious expression and the Constitution. His biography is available at http://www.law2.byu.edu/Law_School/faculty_profiles/fp_frameset.htm.
Sarah Barringer Gordon, Professor of Law and History at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Professor Gordon has been giving talks around the country on her book, The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America (2002) which won the Mormon History Association’s Best Book Award in May 2003. She is currently working on a new book about religion and litigation in the twentieth century, titled The Spirit of the Law. Learn more about Professor Gordon’s work at http://www.law.upenn.edu/cf/faculty/sgordon/.
The conference will also include a women’s panel, a panel of recent graduates discussing the intellectual connection between law and Mormonism, as well as a panel of experienced practitioners highlighting the international practice of law.
What activities are being planned?
The conference committee is considering the following activities. It will plan some as group activities and make information available regarding others, ensuring that attendees will have a great NYC experience. Attendees will need to pay all costs in relation to activities. Again, the activities will be planned for Friday afternoon or after the session on Saturday.
Tour of the New York Stock Exchange, including witnessing the closing bell tour of Federal Hall (across from the NYSE) where George Washington took the oath of office and the First Amendment was enshrined an LDS historical walking tour for NYC tours of several prestigious law firms (Cravath, Davis Polk, S&C, etc.) and corporations (Goldman Sachs, ABC, NBC) visits to museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art aattend a Broadway show (possible pre-show backstage tour) visit historical sites
What schools have committed to coming?
Although registration has not yet begun, many students have committed to attend the J. Reuben Clark Law Society training session that will be held Saturday morning. They include students from Columbia Law School, Harvard Law School, six schools from the DC area, Ohio State College of Law, Case Western Reserve University Law School, University of Houston, Arizona State University College of Law, Washburn University, University of Tulsa College of Law, University of Minnesota, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Lewis and Clark College Northwestern School of Law, Ohio State College of Law, Willamette University, University of Nebraska School of Law, and University of Michigan. Many more schools have expressed interest in attending.
Is there funding to attend the conference?
Yes. If you are an officially recognized chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, the International Board may assist you in sending one representative. For more information about such funding or for general information about becoming a JRCLS chapter, please contact Chad Keetch at [email protected].
Several schools also have received funding from their administrations. If you would like to learn how other schools have obtained such funding or if you have had success in doing so, please e-mail Zeke Johnson at [email protected]. If you need more information not contained here in your efforts with your administration, again, please e-mail Zeke Johnson.
Comments from last year’s attendees.
“The conference was a huge success[;] it was an inspiring weekend. Thanks to you, Harvard, and those who pulled it together. I am so glad I attended. I can sincerely see myself looking back ten years from now and noting that the conference made a significant difference in my life both academically and spiritually.”
Student from Georgetown
“I thought the conference was excellent, I will encourage all of my classmates to attend next year. I thought it was a great mixture of spiritual and professional content, and I really enjoyed getting to know other LDS students. Also, I think LDS law students need to see and hear great LDS attorneys; we need role models, and the conference fulfilled that.”
Student from Virginia Law School
“I thought the conference was awesome. I think that the variety of perspectives–academics, young lawyers, older lawyers, non-LDS speakers, etc. was great!â€?
Student from NYU
“Great job with the conference! Interesting speakers (especially the panel of professionals).”
Non-LDS student from Harvard
“Thank you for putting on a great conference. It was wonderful to go to Boston and meet so many great people.”
Pre-law student from BYU
Sounds like fun. A futon is available at Evans Manor (conveniently located within 10 blocks of campus) for a nominal fee. Please email for info.
I attended the Harvard conference last year and found it very interesting and worth the trip. I recommend this conference to anyone who can spare the money and time to attend.
As an alumni of Columbia Law (the “real” J. Reuben Clark law school), I’m sorry I’ll be missing this. Enjoy.
Can we heckle you for failing to use the objective case where you should?
Mark B., thanks for noting that. It is a pet peeve of mine when someone says John Doe and I when this is used as the object of a sentence, as in the original post, or as the object of a preposition, e.g. “for John Doe and I” (this is grammatically incorrect, it should be for John Doe and me or between John Doe and me, etc.). I think people say “John Doe and I” in every instance because it is an overcompensation for the correct practice of saying “John Doe and I” when that is the subject of a sentence or clause.
Note that a good example of this is in the hymn “I stand all amazed”:
bolded line provides for a rhyme, it is grammatically incorrect and should read “such as me” since the pronoun is an indirect object and thus calls for the objective pronoun. This line always bugs me when we sing this song in Church.
Number five should read “Although the bolded line . . .”
To some it is given to write and to some it is given to edit.
Actually, John, (a Fowles, not a Fowler), I think you have to give Charles Gabriel a little more credit, or at least some poetic license.
If you add the words implicit in the line, it won’t scan, but it is grammatical:
That he should extend his great love unto [one] such as I [am] . . .
On the other hand, there’s no fixing this:
So, little children, let’s, you and I,
Try to be like him, try try try.
It has been said, by the way, that some of the brethren hate the objective case more than they hate sin. So, don’t worry about it, Nate–I see a red seat in your future!
Now, if they’d only hate the passive voice more than they hate sin, too….
“you have a chance to come and heckle Kaimi and I in person”
I just would like to point one thing out, as a student of the English language, I think it is correct to observe the fact that the direct object in English is expressed in the accusitive case and not the nominative. Many people, in attempts to sound more educated often over-correct themselves. Therefore, it should be ……heckle Kaimi and me in person….since “me” is in the acc. case…..
But, in any event, it don’t matter
João
As a student of the Englsih language, you might be interested to know that accusative is spelled with an “a”, just like the Portuguese “acusativo”.
and English is usually spelled with the s before the h.
and after the i
Since I have moved to the London office of my “prestigious” employer, I will not be around . . . sorry to say.
Sorry to upset your apple cart there in Brazil (or Portugal), but we English don’t have an accusative case. Nor a dative. We just have one boring objective case. Which, apparently, some find objectionable.
$15 to see Kaimi and Nate? I don’t know. I’d gladly pay that to see Jim or Kristine, but Kaimi and Nate? Hmm.
And “it don’t matter” is incorrectly conjugated. It should read “it doesn’t matter.”
You grammar sharks are nasty…
To some it is given to write and edit, and to some writers it is given to edit only.
Wow, grammarians. Well, me and Nate hope to see you all there. It will be nice to have people to intellegently talk with.
I doesn’t have time to go to see you and he over there.
Well, I resisted until now but I really can’t stop myself from putting in a plug for the conference. For one thing it was started by some really brilliant guy who also happens to be very good looking (and humble–though this is Kaimi’s T&S territory so there should be no shame in self-aggrandizement ;>) ). As far as hearing Kaimi and Nate, I would expect some fireworks. The conference is a great experience for LDS attorneys and anyone LDS and interested in law related areas (like Int’l relations, business, etc.). It brings in a great group of LDS practioners and academics and fosters some really interesting dialogue. It also raises the LDS law community’s profile, which while well-represented among students at top 10 law schools is woefully underrepresented at the faculty level.
Too bad. I’m in Utah all this week.
Too bad. I’m in Utah all this week.