KU Law Lecture Series
The University of Kansas School of Law hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including an engaging series of conferences, workshops, lectures and symposia. Events feature nationally recognized scholars and speakers exploring timely topics in the law. For a full list of upcoming events, visit the KU Law Events Calendar.
Fall 2020 Events
Kansas Law Review Symposium
"Accelerating Clean Energy: The Next Decade of Reform"
Friday, October 16, 2020 | 12:45 - 3:30 p.m.
Virtual event, via Zoom
Renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, has become an essential resource. Current legal frameworks have supported significant wind and solar energy, but are they sufficient to accelerate clean energy in the next decade? Speakers from across the nation will discuss "Accelerating Clean Energy: The Next Decade of Reform” at the 2020 Kansas Law Review Symposium.
Speakers will include:
- Joel Eisen, professor of law, University of Richmond School of Law
- Elizabeth Kronk Warner, dean and professor of law, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
- Uma Outka, associate dean for faculty and professor of law, University of Kansas School of Law
- Melissa Powers, professor of law, Lewis & Clark Law School
- Joseph Tomain, dean emeritus and professor of law, University of Cincinnati College of Law
The Zoom webinar will open at 12:45 p.m. Sessions will begin at 1 p.m.
The online event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register and preview the complete schedule online.
Franita Tolson: Fall 2020 Plenary Lecture
"The Inevitability of American Democracy"
Thursday, November 5, 2020 | 4-5 p.m.
Virtual event, via Zoom
The University of Kansas School of Law welcomes election law scholar Franita Tolson for a virtual lecture event this fall. Tolson will present "The Inevitability of American Democracy" on Thursday, Nov. 5, via Zoom.
Franita Tolson is Vice Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. As a nationally recognized expert in election law, Tolson has written for or appeared as a commentator for various mass media outlets including The New York Times, Reuters and Bloomberg Law. She is an election law analyst for CNN during the 2020 election cycle. Her research on election law, constitutional law, legal history and employment discrimination has appeared in leading law reviews including the Yale Law Journal, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review and Boston University Law Review. Her forthcoming book, In Congress We Trust?: Enforcing Voting Rights from the Founding to the Jim Crow Era, will be published in 2021 by Cambridge University Press.
The lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register for the Fall 2020 Plenary Lecture.
Additional lecture series events
Diplomat's Forum
The Diplomat’s Forum is the law school’s most prestigious international and comparative law event. Its aim is to provide a platform for an open sharing of thoughts on international law and relations and the United States through the perspective of a professional with notable diplomatic experience in the service of a foreign government.
Recent Diplomat's Forum speakers and topics include:
- “Animal Law: The Connection Between Domestic Violence and Animal Cruelty - A New Zealand Perspective”
Anita Killeen; Barrister at the Independent Bar of New Zealand; Former Chief Prosecutor of New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office
March 5, 2018 - “International Legal Accountability and the Right to Development: An African Perspective”
Professor Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
March 7, 2016 - “The Middle East: Winds of Change and Quicksand – The Arab Awakening, Israel and the Region”
Avi Melamed, Rosenzwog Fellow of Intelligence and Middle East Affairs, Eisenhower Institute
March 27, 2014
- Sean Hagan, general counsel and director, Legal Department, International Monetary Fund
Fall 2012 - Anthony Amunategui Abad, managing director, TA Trade Advisory Group, The Philippines
Spring 2011 - Ambassador Liu Zhenmin, deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, People’s Republic of China
Fall 2008 - Fawaz Al Alamy, deputy minister of commerce and industry and Chief World Trade Organization technical negotiator, Saudi Arabia
Fall 2007 - Takao Shibata, consul general, Japan
Spring 2007 - Robert Zischg, consul general, Austria
Spring 2006 - Margriet Vonno, economic counselor, Royal Dutch Embassy, The Netherlands
Fall 2003
Robert C. Casad Comparative Law Lecture
The Casad lecture series is named in honor of Professor Emeritus Robert C. Casad, who has been on the faculty at the KU School of Law since 1959 and is internationally known for his scholarship in comparative civil procedure. In 1997 he retired from classroom teaching but continues to conduct research and publish books and articles.
Past Casad lecture speakers and topics include:
- “Comparing Constitutions in the Global Era: Opportunities, Purposes and Challenges”
Professor Roberto Toniatti, University of Trento
February 8, 2019 - “Twentieth-Century Sovereign Debtors: From Germany to Greece”
Richard M. Buxbaum, University of California Berkeley School of Law
October 8, 2015 - “The Cosmopolitan State”
H. Patrick Glenn, McGill University
September 14, 2012 - “U.S. Class Actions and the ‘Global’ Class”
George A. Bermann, Columbia Law School
December 1, 2008
