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Announcements & Events

  • L-R: Sudha Setty (Dean, WNE School of Law), Ariel R. Clemmer, Esq. (Director, Center for Social Justice), Jessica Marcellino, Esq. (Staff Attorney, Center for Social Justice), Dr. Robert E. Johnson (President, WNE University)

Announcements


Miller Social Justice Fellowship
The School of Law created the Professor Bruce Miller Social Justice Fellowship in recognition of Professor Miller's contributions to the School of Law and his enduring commitment to social justice legal work. We are thrilled to announce that the Fellowship has achieved endowed status, ensuring support for students' pursuit of social justice work for generations to come. As of November 30 we've raised $44,189. Thank you to all who have contributed in support of the fellowship. If you would like to give to the Professor Bruce Miller Social Justice Fellowship, please make your gift online or contact katie.debeer@wne.edu or (413) 782-1478 to pledge a future gift or learn about other ways to give.



 

Upcoming Events

Western New England School of Law has a long history of programming that, in many cases, have become staple events for our campus and the community.

Video Archive

Archived events can be found in our YouTube playlist.

Past Events

Archived List of Events

Clason Speaker Series Lectures

  • Sahar Aziz: “The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom.” (November 2021)
  • Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia: "Banned: Immigration Enforcement in the Time of Trump." (October 2020)
  • Rachel Meeropol: Litigation in Support of Struggle: from Standing Rock to Solitary Confinement (November 2019)
  • Alfred Woodfox: "How I Survived Four Decades in Solitary Confinement" (November 2019)
  • Jennifer Rushlow: "No Time to Lose: Addressing the Climate Crisis in Court" (October 2019)
  • Annette M. Martinez-Orabona, Esq.: "(Un)Natural Disasters and Human Rights: Hurricane Maria and the Politics of Disaster in Puerto Rico" (October, 2018)
  • Professor Muneer Ahmad, Esq.: From the Muslim Ban to DACA Termination: Protecting Immigrant Rights in the Trump Era (October, 2017)
  • Katharine B. Silbaugh: "Reactive to Proactive: Title IX's Unrealized Capacity to Prevent Campus Sexual Assault" (September, 2015)
  • Dr. Christina M. Greer: "Race, Gender and American Democracy" (October, 2015)

Forums

  • The Gender Affirming Identification Project (GAIP): Launch of the Center’s newest pro bono initiative included discourse from Brian Rosman, Legislative Director of State Senator Joanne M. Comerford, State Representative Mindy Domb, Anne Johnson Landry, Assistant Attorney General and Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Attorney General Maura Healey, and Jennifer Levi WNE School of Law and Director of GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project. (October 2021)
  • Hang Your Shingle For a Rewarding Career: Learn About Defending the People of Massachusetts with CPCS. (April 2021)
  • The Rule of Law, The Supremacy Clause and Permanent Homelands Through Treaties, presented by Angelique W. EagleWoman, (Wambdi A Was'teWinyan), director of the Indian Law Program and Professor of Law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. (September 2020)
  • Immigration Law Update: In the Courts, at the Border, and in the Pioneer Valley (2020)
  • Impeachment Seminar: Professors Art Wolf and Bruce Miller led a discussion on the Impeachment Hearings (2019)
  • A Community Legal Forum: Hate Crimes, Extremist Activities, and Bias Incidents in Western Massachusetts (2017)
  • A Forum on Immigration Issues in Hampden County (2017)

Western New England Law Review Symposia

  • Post Pandemic Digital World:  Platforms, Algorithms, Cybersecurity, and Justice. (October 2021) This symposium aims to begin a larger conversation about approaches to regulation of digital platforms, at a time when they are rapidly gaining significance, and the issues they create are becoming increasingly complex. Prerecorded Keynote from U.S. Senator Ed Markey.
  • New Abolitionism—Ending Civil Immigration Detention and Criminalization—Policy, History, and Legal Strategies (February 2021) The Symposium explored various arguments that challenge the systemic use of civil detention of migrants and asylum seekers entering the United States.
  • On Account of Sex: Women's Suffrage and the Role of Gender in Politics Today (November 2019)
    The Symposium commemorated the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment by providing a forum to discuss the historic centennial of women’s suffrage and explore its relevance in politics today.
  • Anthropocenic Disruption, Community Resilience and Law (October 2018)
    The Symposium discussed all matters relating to sustainability, including the intersectionality between sustainable communities and practices, permaculture, the impact of large-scale corporations, international issues, and the law.
  • Perspectives on Racial Justice in the Era of #BlackLivesMatter (October 2017).
    The Symposium program featured discussions of race in the context of the criminal justice system, health care, voting rights, and the LGBTQI community. It featured leaders recognized in the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and a panel discussion offering reflections on the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in City of Springfield v. Kibbe, concerning an African American man killed by a white city police officer, and inadequate police training.
  • Gender and Incarceration (October 2016). The Symposium featured an interdisciplinary discussion related to contemporary issues facing incarcerated individuals, such as parental rights of incarcerated people, treatment of transgender inmates, sexuality-based segregation, sexual violence, pregnancy, solitary confinement, and the intersection of race and gender in confinement. 
  • Environmental Accountability in an Age of Consequences (October 2015). The Symposium presented perspectives on “environmental accountability” in this pivotal moment of climate change, which encompasses a broad range of mechanisms that expose environmental actions and create either a legal obligation, or a stronger sense of responsibility, to improve environmentally consequential behavior.

Panel Discussions

  • ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project – question and answer lead by Jennifer Levi of WNE School of Law and GLAD Transgender Rights Project regarding the on-going legal battle towards gender-equality. (November 2021).
  • Confronting Racial Injustice Panel Series. The War on Drugs in Massachusetts (May 2021)
  • Confronting Racial Injustice Panel Series Panel #2 (April 2021)
  • Intersection of Law and Occupational Therapy: Disability Rights (April 2021)
  • Pathway to Judgeship (April 2021)
  • Confronting Racial Injustice Panel Series Panel #1 (February 2021)
  • Big Dirty Money: Professor Jennifer Taub hosts in conversation about her new book with Helaine Olen from The Washington Post. (September 2020)
  • From the Courthouse to the Streets: Lawyering in the Time of Black Lives Matter Virtual Panel (July 2020)
  • The Color of Life In A Time Of Crisis: Thinking through Racial Disparities During COVID-19 (June 2020)
  • Supreme Judicial Court Panel on Pro Bono Work (October 2019)
  • All Power to All Power: A Critical Discussion about the BlackKkKlansman Movie (November 2018)
  • Wakanda Forever: A Critical discussion of the Black Panther Movie (March 2018)

Speakers

  • Gervino-Ward LGBTQ+ Speaker Series Presents: Ria Tabacco Mar: Director of ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project – question and answer lead by Jennifer Levi of WNE School of Law and GLAD Transgender Rights Project regarding the on-going legal battle towards gender-equality (November 2021)
  • Talk with Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, former DACA recipient and author of "The Undocumented Americans" (April 2021)
  • Wellen Davis Seminar Presents Crisis and Community: An Interdisciplinary Conversation about the Flint Water Crisis Confirmation (March 2021) 
  • Dr. Vicki Vernon Lott: "The Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." (January 2021)
  • Elaine Brown: Activist, Writer, Singer and formber Black Panther Party Chairman (October 2020)
  • Gervino-Ward LGBTQ+ Speaker Series Presents: Evan Wolfson: founder of Freedom to Marry—the successful campaign for marriage equality in the United States. (September 2020)
  • Chris Erchull: "LGBTQ+ Advocacy: Advancing Rights & Representation Through Legislative & Administrative Bodies" (October 2019)Multi-disciplinary Approaches in Representing Children and Parents in Child Welfare Cases (September 2019)

Conferences

  • Classcrits Conference (November 2019)
    ClassCrits is a network of academics and activists focused on economic justice. 
  • The Fair Housing and Civil Rights Conference (April 2019)
    This conference is convened annually in Springfield, sponsored by the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, Wayfinders, and the School of Law. The conference brings together hundreds of professionals from multiple disciplines, a wide range of advocacy organizations, and government agency employees whose work touches on civil rights and fair housing issues, with a focus on formulating plans of action to effectuate change on a local and national scale.

Trainings

  • Consumer Debt Initiative Pro Bono Training Session Level 1: Overview & Introduction (October 2021)
  • Consumer Debt Initiative Pro Bono Training Session 3: Advanced Training in Practicing Small Claims Litigation (June 2021)
  • Free Training and MA Expungement and Sealing Virtual Event (April 2021)
  • Consumer Debt Initiative Pro Bono Training Session 2: Advanced Practice (April 2021)
  • Consumer Debt Initiative Pro Bono Training Session 1: The Basics (March 2021)
  • Consumer Debt Initiative Training and Information Session (October 2020)
  • Off the Record: Expungement and Sealing Training (October 2020)
  • Legal Observer Training (June 2020)
  • The Tenant Attorney Network Training (November 2019)

Informational Sessions and Other Event

  • Passing: A Social Justice Movie Screening: in collaboration with Arise for Social Justice WNE hosted a community showing and discussion on colorism and the ways it impacts us and our community. (December 2021)
  • Racism as a Social Determinant of Health: WNE School of Law Center for Social Justice collaborated with WNE University to host a “Town Hall” interactive conversation regarding the impact of structural racism on health and wellness particularly for persons residing in Springfield. This conversation was structured to introduce concepts of restorative justice such as healing circles. Funded by HNE. (December 2021)
  • Community Building: Addressing Racism through Restorative Dialogue: A collaborative, restorative justice healing circle discussion regarding racism & wellness with members of both the WNE and Springfield Community. Funded by HNE. (December 2021)
  • Contentious Verdicts: A Discussion on the Recent Trials of Kyle Rittenhouse and the Killers of Ahmaud Arbery. (November 2021).
  • Confronting Racial Justice: The Charles Stuart Story: White Lies and Black Lives (June 2021)
  • Center for Social Justice End of Year celebration event (May 2021)
  • Springfield Women's Economic Mobility Hub Public Meeting (March 2021)
  • Balancing the Scales, a film by Sharon Rowen (March 2021)
  • Lessons From the Pleasure and Power of Black Music in the Age of Hip Hop. (February 2021)
  • Judas and the Black Messiah (February 2021)
  • Virtual Court User Experience Survey/Observation (January 2021)
  • Social Justice Lawyering webinar (November 2020)
  • Special Celebration Honoring Professor Bruce Miller (November 2020)
  • Social Justice Drive-In Movie Night for Students (October 2020)
  • National Expungement Week virtual clinic (September 2020)
  • Public Interest Job Opportunities Info Session (January 2020)