Thanks for tuning in again as we continue our fishing expedition into the sea of streaming video
available over the Internet. Each month we focus on cutting edge examples of legal community
webcasts audio/video over the World Wide Web.
This issue, we will keep our feet comfortable and dry as we sit back and enjoy the viewing
convenience of a video archive at a leading American law school.
WHATS ON TONIGHT?
In past issues of this column we have enjoyed video compiled by law schools at Harvard, the
University of Pittsburgh, and Duke University. This month we continue in that vein with ...
Brooklyn Law School
http://www.brooklaw.edu/site/news/videoarchive
The law school offers an eclectic collection of over 40 videos, going back to the year 2000. The
action consists of lectures, panel discussions, symposia, and TV appearances by attorneys,
judges, professors, experts, and celebrities (such as Noam Chomsky and Hillary Clinton). Two
of the more unusual offerings are a talent show and a protest of the Iraq war in the form of a
reading of Aristophanes play, Lysistrata.
Topics cover:
- current events such as Sept. 11, Iraq, and Enron.
- politics and public policy issues such as healthcare, civil liberties, the death
penalty, the court system, research on human subjects, political polling, drug laws, school
vouchers, and the Holocaust.
- insights into specific areas of law, including IP, constitutional law, international
law, ethics, bankruptcy, and the supreme court.
The list of videos presently available includes:
- In Defense of the Old Public Health, October 2003 - University of
Chicago Law Professor Richard A. Epstein presented the Ira M. Belfer lecture, in which he
addressed the question of what should fall under the aegis of public health. His
talk focused on the old public health law and policies of the 19th and early 20th
centuries, which were narrowly focused on preventing and treating communicable diseases.
Current trends are much broader in scope, with ever increasing government regulation and
intervention, which may result in unintended consequences of limited individual freedoms and
choice in health care.
- The 2003 Supreme Court Term, October 2003 - A panel of constitutional law
experts discusses the upcoming term.
- Creating and Interpreting Law in a Multilingual Environment, September 2003 -
As law increasingly addresses issues that cross national borders, how can we be sure that a
concept, expressed in one language and applied to the legal system of a particular country, will
be similarly understood in another language, applied to a different legal system? ... An
international array of scholars brought a diverse set of perspectives to these important issues.
- Ethics, Governance and Bankruptcy After Enron, April 2003 - The fallout from
Enron, World Com and Adelphia has highlighted the role played by industry professionals
(lawyers, accountants, officers and directors) in protecting financial markets. A group of
distinguished corporate and bankruptcy lawyers, bankruptcy judges, and academics gathered for a
roundtable discussion of the issues.
- The New Economy and the Unraveling Social Safety Net, April 2003 - The
erosion of longstanding workplace protections such as healthcare, the loss of traditional job
stability, and soaring personal and commercial bankruptcies challenge working individuals and
their families at every economic level. The participants presented a range of initiatives to address
the changing work environment, resulting gaps in the healthcare system, and the effects of easy
consumer credit.
- Acting Out for Peace: The Lysistrata Project, March 2003 - Students and faculty
participated in an event to protest the Second Gulf War by performing a reading of
Aristophanes famous anti-war play Lysistrata. The BLS reading was one of 950
performed worldwide on March 3, 2003.
- The Rules of the Game: Insights on Sports Law Practice, February 2003 - Mel
Sachs, Class of 71, a prominent trial lawyer with a concentration in sports law discussed
specific considerations and strategies he employs when representing a professional athlete in civil
or criminal litigation. (Brooklyn Entertainment Law Society)
- When Terrorism Threatens Health: How Far Are Limitations on Civil Liberties
Justified?, January 2003 - The events of 9/11, the ensuing anthrax attacks, and the war
with Iraq have dramatically increased concerns about bioterrorism. What is the level of the
governments preparedness? Do proposed government plans to ensure the public health of
US citizens threaten our civil liberties? Just how sweeping should the states powers be
during a health crisis? (Center for Health Law and Policy)
- What It's Like to Be an Intellectual Property Law Attorney, January 2003 - BLS
alumni, leaders in their respective areas of intellectual property law, offered students practical
advice on entering the IP field, navigating the changing legal terrain, and they discussed the
unique rewards of a career in intellectual property law.
- Capital Punishment Under Siege, November 2002 - A panel discussion addresses
the impact of recent developments: Where are We as a Society Going with Respect to
the Death Penalty?
- Who Will Be the Next SEC Chair?, November 2002 - Professor Roberta Karmel
discusses possible successors to former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt, saying the Commission had
"become mired in partisan political politics" and that the next Securities Chair should be "above
politics and at the same time be able to deal with politicians." (CNBC TV Morning
Call)
- Even the most detailed-oriented person can make a mistake, November 2002 -
Professor Daniel Medwed discussed the inherent unreliability of eyewitness testimony and
suggested ways to improve the accuracy of criminal identifications. (Catherine Crier
Live special on Court TV)
- Responsibility and Blame: Psychological and Legal Perspectives, October 2002 -
A day-long symposium on psychological and legal issues related to the topics of responsibility
and blame. (Center for the Study of Law, Language & Cognition Symposium)
- Federal Sentencing Guidelines, October 2002 - Judge John Gleeson, United States
District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, presented a talk: The Separation of
Powers and Federal Sentencing: The Guidelines Turn Fifteen Years Old (American
Constitution Society for Law and Policy)
- Clinical Trials Litigation: A Conversation on Legal and Ethical Issues in Human
Subjects Research, October 2002 - A program examining legal and ethical questions
concerning the safety of human subjects in clinical research projects. (Center for Health Law and
Policy)
- Attacking Iraq: Is There An International Law Justification?, September 2002 -
Professor Nathaniel Berman examines whether President Bushs resolution to Congress to
justify an attack against Iraq was legal under the rules of international law.
- Restructuring U. S. and International Financial Regulations, September 2002 -
Peter R. Fisher, US Dept. of the Treasury Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, was the keynote
speaker at the BLS conference: Do Financial Supermarkets Need Super Regulators?
- Media & Society: "Public Opinion in the News", April 2002 - Kathleen A.
Frankovic, Director of Surveys and Producer of CBS News, explored the wide range of issues
concerning the role of public opinion polls in American politics and society. (Media & Society
Lecture Series)
- Legal Issues Facing the Music Industry, March 2002 - Speakers from EMI Music,
MTV Networks, RCA Records, Roxwell Records, Middleton & Woods LLP and
Ropeadope/Atlantic Records discussed issues that face attorneys, executives, managers and
artists in the music industry today. (Entertainment Law Society)
- National Security vs. Civil Liberties: Must We Choose, March 2002 - Balancing
national security concerns with the protection of individual civil liberties has become a major
controversy in the aftermath of September 11.
- Enron Scandal Focus of Town Meeting, March 2002 - Faculty and experts
explore the many legal and policy issues raised by the Enron bankruptcy. (Center for the Study
of International Business Law)
- Understanding September 11th, February 2002 - Speakers discuss the legal and
practical aspects of compensation for the September 11th victims, and the Federal bailout of the
airlines.
- Rockefeller Drug Laws, February 2002 - Advocates for a prosecution-run drug
treatment, mentoring, and job placement program present it as a model to replace the harshness
and expense of New York's "Rockefeller Drug Laws."
- School Vouchers Debate, January 2002 - Student debaters from the Federalist
Society and the American Constitution Society attack the topic of the efficacy of school voucher
programs.
- Lawyer Compensation in Class Action Suits, January 2002 - Chancellor William
Chandler discusses lawyer compensation in class action lawsuits. (Securities Law Association
and the Center for the Study of International Business Law)
- Talent Show, November 2001- Enjoy student performances of a monologue from
Martin Duberman's In White America, Meatloaf's Paradise by the
Dashboard Light, the Munchkin Scene from The Wizard of Oz in 1
minute, 10 seconds
- Tort Roundtable, November 2001- US Senior District Court Judge Jack B.
Weinstein celebrates his 80th birthday with a roundtable discussion on "Mass Torts and the
Common Good." He stressed the importance of giving individual justice even when dealing with
millions of claimants.
- Cognitive Science's Impact on the Law, October 2001- Eminent scholars,
psychologists and linguists gathered for a two-day conference on Cognitive Legal
Studies: Categorization and Imagination in the Mind of the Law in conjunction with the
publication of BLS Professor Steven L. Winters book, A Clearing In the Forest: Law,
Life and Mind.
- Revised Article 9 of the UCC, March 2001- A group of distinguished New York
lawyers, judges, and academics gathered for the annual Barry L. Zaretsky Roundtable Program,
covering the new Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and the many new rules governing
secured credit.
- Emerging Issues in Domestic Violence, March 2001- Six domestic violence
experts explored new strategies and viewpoints.
- Prof. Noam Chomsky on Sovereignty, Democracy, Markets: Some Skeptical
Ruminations, February 2001- Noam Chomsky, Professor, Dept. of Linguistics and
Philosophy, at MIT addressed issues of globalization, multinational economies, international
markets and the distribution of wealth. (Center for the Study of International Business Law)
- Justice For Forgotten Victims, US Survivors of the Holocaust, February 2001- A
lecture by US Court of International Trade Judge Delissa A. Ridgway focused on her work as
chair of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.
- Latinos in the Legal Profession, November 2000
- Hillary Clinton Lectures, October 2000 - Hillary Rodham Clinton (candidate for
US Senator) spoke to a capacity crowd on the role of the law as a powerful agent for social
change and the importance of the presidential election in filling future vacancies on the Supreme
Court.
RealPlayer is required; dial-up connections will require patience.
Too many webcasts, not enough time.
If you see streaming audio or video you
think would be of interest to our readers, please
URL and description.
Has your firm produced a webcast? We want the details!
If you'd like a clickable list of the web addresses from this and past columns,