(Click to download the series poster)

The 2005 Elizabeth J. Cabraser Summer Brown Bag Lecture Series in Public Interest Law
Hosted by The Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center
Co-sponsored by the Asian American Bar Association - Civil Rights Committee

Tuesdays from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
At the Offices of The LAS-ELC
600 Harrison Street (at 2nd Street), Suite 120, San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: 415-864-8848
TTY: 415-593-0091

Join us for the 23rd year of these informal presentations on a variety of current issues in public interest law. Feel free to bring your own lunch. Light refreshments will be provided.

The Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center is a California MCLE Approved Provider. Each session is approved for 1.5 hours of MCLE credit.

All presentations are free, wheelchair accessible, and open to the public. Interpretive services (ASL, captioning, English/Spanish, English/Cantonese) provided upon 72 hours notice.


June 14
Talking "Reform": Comparing Approaches to Changing California's Prisons and Juvenile Detention Centers
Lenore Anderson, Director, Books Not Bars, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Keith Wattley, Staff Attorney, Prison Law Office

Arnold Schwarzenegger became California's governor proclaiming a mandate for "reform." His administration's efforts to reform the state's adult prison system-which is the nation's largest-and to work with activists to improve its abysmal juvenile facilities have taken very different paths. Panelists Keith Wattley and Lenore Anderson review the latest efforts of prisoners, lawyers, judges, experts, grassroots advocates, and the government to change California's penal institutions. The discussion includes the acclaimed film "SYSTEM FAILURE: Violence, Abuse & Neglect in the California Youth Authority."

June 21
Still at the Back of the Bus: Fighting Racism in Public Transportation
Bill Lann Lee, Partner, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein
Richard Marcantonio, Managing Attorney, Public Advocates, Inc.

Fifty years after the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott over segregated bus seating, civil rights activists still fight battles over what may be more subtle forms of discrimination in the provision of public transportation. In traditionally disenfranchised communities, such services are drastically underfunded. Panelists Bill Lann Lee, the federal government's chief civil rights lawyer during the Clinton administration, and longtime advocate Richard Marcantonio discuss recent court battles over discriminatory transportation services in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas.

June 28
War Crimes: Prosecuting Perpetrators of Genocide in Rwanda
Stephen Mansfield, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

In late 1994, shortly after a campaign of genocide murdered more than 750,000 Rwandans, the UN War Crimes Investigation Unit arrived in Rwanda, headed by federal prosecutor Stephen Mansfield. The team was tasked with determining whether sufficient evidence of war crimes and genocide existed to institute criminal prosecutions. Mr. Mansfield discusses his experience in Rwanda, the investigation his team conducted, and the ultimate establishment of an ad hoc war crimes tribunal for the ravaged country.

July 12
Class Action Fairness and Tort Reform: Assessing the Impact on Plaintiffs' Rights
Jocelyn Larkin, Litigation Counsel, The Impact Fund

After years of failed attempts, in February 2005 Congress passed the Class Action Fairness Act. While its proponents claim it will protect the rights of absent class members, for others the legislation is a major overhaul of federal diversity jurisdiction that will move most state class actions into already overburdened federal courts. This program examines the law's major components and its implications for civil rights and consumer practitioners.

July 19
Lights, Camera, Ethics: Depicting Ethical Dilemmas on Film
John Denvir, Professor, University of San Francisco School of Law
Rob Waring, Adjunct Professor, University of San Francisco School of Law

Although real life practice almost never matches dramatic depictions of law on film, popular media provide a unique perspective on typical ethical issues. Drawing on film clips, Rob Waring and John Denvir examine some of the ethical quandaries working attorneys face every day. Mr. Waring and Mr. Denvir are active contributors to Picturing Justice:the Online Journal of Law and Popular Culture.

July 26
Immigration and Disability: Cross-Issue Collaboration
Christopher Ho, Senior Staff Attorney, The Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center
Linda Kilb, Attorney, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Daniel Torres, Director, UC Davis Immigration Clinic

Navigating the maze of new challenges confronting immigrants in the United States, this program gives a current overview, including workplace rights and the intersection of disability rights laws as they apply to immigration issues and process. Employment lawyer and recent California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) award recipient Christopher Ho joins disability rights expert Linda Kilb and Daniel Torres, an authority on immigration law, in a panel examining how the Legal Aid Association of California is meeting the challenge.

August 2
Supreme Court Review: Analysis and Discussion of the 2004 Term Decisions
Stacey Leyton, Associate, Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demain
Anne Voigts, Associate, Munger, Tolles & Olson

During its 2004 term, the Supreme Court has decided cases that deal with a range of crucial issues: the constitutionality of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines; whether an employee can bring a retaliation suit under Title IX; whether a municipality may condemn private property for economic development purposes; and the constitutionality of California's racially-segregated prison system. Calling upon their experiences as former Supreme Court clerks, Anne Voigts and Stacey Leyton offer analyses on these and other cases decided this term.

For further information about the speaker series or building accessibility, please contact
Elizabeth Kristen at ekristen@las-elc.org or Nan Cramer at ncramer@las-elc.org.