Justice Breyer Visits Supreme Court Class

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer participated in UCLA Law’s Supreme Court Simulation course on Feb. 5. Breyer engaged by video in an insightful and wide-ranging conversation with roughly two dozen students. He shared how he prepares for oral argument, offered a general glimpse into the justices-only conference where they discuss and decide cases, and presented his views on what makes a good advocate.

Clausing Joins Treasury Department

Professor Kimberly Clausing has joined the Biden administration as a deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury Department. Clausing will focus on tax analysis and policy, lead the Office of Tax Analysis, and work to further tax policy development. Her efforts under Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are expected to include promoting recovery and relief during the pandemic and addressing climate change and societal inequities.

Arulanantham Arrives at the
Center for Immigration Law and Policy

Ahilan Arulanantham, one of the nation’s top advocates for immigrants’ rights and a MacArthur “genius” grant winner, is joining UCLA Law as co-faculty director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy and professor from practice. He comes to UCLA Law from the ACLU of Southern California, where he has led immigrants’ rights and national security advocacy and litigation. Arulanantham “has devoted his career to advancing the principle that immigrants deserve the basic human rights that citizens take for granted,” says David Cole, the American Civil Liberties Union’s national legal director. “He combines the critical skills of a litigator, the creative vision of an activist, and the theoretical acumen of a scholar. UCLA is lucky to get him.”

UCLA Law Welcomes Human Rights and Racism Scholar Spain Bradley

Anna Spain Bradley, a scholar of international law, human rights, dispute resolution, and racism who serves as UCLA’s vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion, has joined the UCLA Law faculty as a professor of law. She came to UCLA’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in 2020 after serving as a law professor and the assistant vice provost for faculty development and diversity at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Major Social Justice Fellowship Launches

With law firm Hueston Hennigan and the Columbia University, Northwestern University, Stanford University, and Yale University law schools, UCLA Law has partnered in creating the Social Justice Legal Foundation. An incubator for the next generation of leading trial lawyers in the public sector, it will sponsor five promising law school grads, including one from UCLA Law, as Hueston Hennigan Fellows for two years.

Professors Appointed to Faculty Chairs

Kimberly Clausing and Máximo Langer have received faculty chair appointments in recognition of their substantial contributions to the study and teaching of tax law and policy and international criminal law and procedure. Clausing, who joined UCLA Law in January, was appointed to the Eric M. Zolt Chair in Tax Law and Policy, and Langer, who joined UCLA Law in 2003, was appointed to the David G. Price and Dallas P. Price Chair in Law.

Alumni on the Move

Knobbe Martens partner Susan Natland ’98, who has taught UCLA Law’s Trademark Clinic, is appointed vice chair of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Public Advisory Committee. David Ambroz ’05 is named president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. Jeremy Avila ’11 is appointed chief counsel at the California Department of Aging. Patrick Kirby ’11 becomes general counsel and senior vice president of the commercial construction firm Webcor. Hospitality lawyer Christine Taylor ’17 is named principal partner at the Towne Law Firm in New York State. The Los Angeles office of Winston & Strawn adds litigators Katherine Farkas ’04 as partner, Jana Russell ’99 as of counsel, and Michael Lavetter ’02 as associate. Renewable energy attorney Trevor Shelton ’06 moves to Vinson & Elkins in Los Angeles as counsel. Bankruptcy attorney Sonia Singh ’16 joins Ervin Cohen & Jessup as an associate. Whitney Brown ’17 joins Stoel Rives in Anchorage, Alaska, as a litigation associate.

Achiume Testifies Before U.S. House Subcommittee on Slavery Reparations

Professor E. Tendayi Achiume testified before a U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee on Feb. 17. As a witness in the virtual hearing “H.R. 40: Exploring the Path to Reparative Justice in America,” she drew on her expertise as the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance to offer an international human rights perspective to reparations for slavery.

Lectures Spotlight Black History Month, Issues Topping the National Conversation

The inaugural Black History Month Lecture on Feb. 10, “The N-Word: Race, Language, and the University Classroom,” featured Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor of Smith College. UCLA Law also presented a series of webinars with expert faculty and friends that are available for viewing on the law school’s YouTube channel: “The Second Impeachment of Donald Trump: A Discussion”; “Equal Justice? Protest, Insurrection, and the Law”; “Violent Extremism at Home: America’s Emerging Threat”; and “Property and Power: Redressing Racial Injustices in Los Angeles County and Beyond.”

Trial Team Sweeps National Trial Competition’s Regional Round

Two squads of students (including Natalie Garson ’22, pictured, left) from UCLA Law’s A. Barry Cappello Trial Team swept the National Trial Competition’s Southern California regional round in early February. It was the first time that UCLA Law won both of the region’s bids to the national finals. About 300 teams compete in 15 regional competitions, and the top two teams from each region advance to the nationals in April.

Climate Q&A: Horowitz on the Fight for Stricter Auto Emissions Standards

Members of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic recently submitted an amicus brief to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging rollbacks of vehicle pollution and fuel economy standards. Cara Horowitz, co-executive director of the institute, talks about the brief and how new federal leadership will help states meet their ambitious climate goals.

Law Firms Endow Scholarships
to Support Outstanding Students

Three prominent law firms – Cooley, Cox Castle & Nicholson, and Sheppard Mullin – have established endowed scholarships at UCLA Law to support academically talented students who have overcome substantial hurdles on their journeys to gaining a legal education. In doing so, they joined seven other firms – Paul Hastings; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Irell & Manella; Latham & Watkins; Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp; Morrison & Foerster; and O’Melveny & Myers – that previously launched existing funds at UCLA Law. Alumni at these firms can make contributions during the Law Firm Challenge, the annual competition that raises nearly $2 million from more than 1,000 alumni at approximately 100 firms. The 19th annual challenge ends on June 30, 2021. Please give.

Jennifer Mnookin co-writes an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, on prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations for college students. Aslı Bâli appears on NBC Los Angeles to discuss human rights and the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Alex Wang talks about the declining price of renewable energy compared to coal on Marketplace. Steve Bank is quoted in The New York Times on a trademark dispute brewing in major global soccer, and he speaks with the Los Angeles Times about Major League Soccer’s labor deal. Laura Gómez talks to The Sacramento Bee about the future of the term “Latinx.” Hiroshi Motomura discusses the importance of using neutral terminology in immigration policy in The Boston Globe. Lynn LoPucki speaks with Variety about bankruptcy fees in the Harvey Weinstein case. Lara Stemple talks to The Washington Post about her research on sexual violence against men. Sean Hecht is quoted in Bloomberg Law about environmental regulations that were eliminated by the Trump administration. Sharon Dolovich comments in The Washington Post on the inmate uprising in St. Louis, and Aaron Littman is quoted in The Sacramento Bee on COVID-19 outbreaks in jails and prisons. Eugene Volokh talks to The New Yorker about Facebook’s power over speech. And Gary Blasi speaks with the Associated Press about a homelessness case in California. Plus, James Salzman on The Scott Becker Business Podcast; Adam Winkler in the Financial Times and on MPRNews radio; Noah Zatz in the Law and Political Economy Project; Joanna Schwartz in Reason, FiveThirtyEight, and The Marshall Project; and much more.