Alumni Weekend 2015

Making our Democracy Work

October 22, 23-25, 2015

More than 900 alumni and their guests gathered in New Haven for Alumni Weekend 2015, which focused on the theme, “Making Our Democracy Work.”

Photo Galleries (SmugMug gallery, where alumni can order prints)
Videos of Panels

Schedule of Events

Throughout the Weekend

The Lillian Goldman Library Fall 2015 Exhibit:
“Magna Carta: History, Legacy, and Idea.”
Curated by Julian Aiken, Jordan Jefferson, Sarah Kraus, and Teresa Miguel-Stearns of the Yale Law Library. Main Reading Room (Level 3), June 15–October 31, 2015.
“The Pope’s Other Jobs: Judge and Lawgiver.”
Curated by Anders Winroth, Forst Family Professor of History, Yale University, and Mike Widener, Rare Book Librarian, Yale Law Library (Level 2), August 31– December 18, 2015.

Thursday, October 22

6:00 – 9:30 PM
Affinity Groups Alumni Award Reception and Dinners
Omni Hotel
155 Temple Street

6:00 – 7:00 PM Diversity Reception for All Groups

7:00 – 9:30 PM Affinity Group Dinners
Alumni interested in meeting with students from the Law School’s varied affinity groups are invited to a joint reception, followed by individual Affinity Group Dinners, where each group will honor a distinguished Law School alumnus/a. Participating groups and their Honorees include:

Asian Pacific American Law Students Association and the South Asian Law Students Association (Cecillia Wang ’95, Director, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project),
Black Law Students Association (Eleanor Holmes Norton ’64, United States Congresswoman, District of Columbia),
Latino/a Law Students Association (Lourdes A. Rivera ’90, Senior Program Officer, Ford Foundation),
Native American Law Students Association (Arvo Mikkanen ’86, Assistant United States Attorney & Tribal Liaison, Western District of Oklahoma), and
OutLaws (the Law School community’s LGBTQ association) (Susan Belinda Christian ’91, Assistant District Attorney, San Francisco, and President of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission).

For more information, please contact Adrienne Lucas in the Office of Student Affairs at adrienne.lucas@yale.edu or 203-436-2579.

Friday, October 23

12:30 – 7:30 PM
Registration
Room 122, Yale Law School

2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Paskus-Danziger Rare Book Room Open House
Alumni are welcome to drop by and see selected acquisitions from our collection and meet with our Rare Book Librarian, Mike Widener.

3:00 – 4:30 PM
Making Institutions of Government Work
Levinson Auditorium, Yale Law School
Moderator:
Abbe R. Gluck ’00, Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Panelists:
Judge Robert A. Katzmann ’80, Chief Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Norman Ornstein, Resident Scholar, The American Enterprise Institute, and Co-author, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism
Gene Sperling ’85, President, Sperling Economic Strategies; Former White House National Economic Advisor to President Clinton (1996-2001) and President Obama (2011-2014)

4:30 – 5:30 PM
Student Activity Fair
Law School Dining Hall
Yale Law School has more than 50 student organizations. Many of them will be at the Fair. Meet students and see what activities they are involved in today while enjoying cider and donuts. For a complete list of student organizations, go to www.law.yale.edu/studentlife/studentorganizations.htm.

6:00 – 7:30 PM
Class of 1955 60th Reunion Reception
Anna Liffey's Irish Public, 17 Whitney Avenue, New Haven

6:00 – 7:30 PM
Class of 1965 50th Reunion Reception
YLS Faculty Lounge, Yale Law School, 127 Wall Street

6:30 – 7:30 PM
All-Alumni Reception
Sterling Memorial Library, Nave & Selin Courtyard, 120 High Street
All reunion classes and non-reunion-year alumni and guests gather for their reception at Sterling Memorial Library, across Wall Street from the Law School.

7:30 PM
All Alumni Dinner
The Schwarzman Center (formerly Commons)
[enter either on the corner of College and Grove Streets or from Beinecke Plaza off Wall Street]
All reunion classes and non-reunion alumni and guests gather for dinner in the Schwarzman Center. Seating is by class.

9:30 PM
After Dinner Socializing*
After dinner, stay for coffee, beer, wine, and a dessert medley, and spend more time catching up with friends!
* The Class of 1990 & guests are meeting for after-dinner drinks at Mory's! The first hour is on the Law School, but stay as long as you'd like and enjoy a cash bar.

Saturday, October 24

7:00 – 8:00 AM
Fun Run
Meet in front of the Law School at 127 Wall Street.
Join Yale Law School’s Professor Ian Ayres ’86, William K. Townsend Professor of Law, for an early morning 5K run.

8:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Registration open
Room 122

8:00 – 9:30 AM
Alumni-Student Breakfast Connections
Room 120
Be matched with current students to chat about common areas of interest.
Visit www.law.yale.edu/bcsurveyalumni2015 by Monday, October 5 to fill out a short survey. You must complete the survey to participate.

8:00 – 10:00 AM
Continental Breakfast
Law School Dining Hall
Breakfast will be available in the Dining Hall for anyone who is not participating in the Alumni-Student Breakfast Connections.

9:30 – 10:45 AM
Concurrent Panel Discussions
I. Income Inequality and Democracy
Levinson Auditorium, Yale Law School
Moderator:
Bruce Ackerman ’67, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale Law School
Panelists:
Daniel Markovits ’00, Guido Calabresi Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Ilya Somin ’01, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
Gene Sperling ’85, President, Sperling Economic Strategies; Former White House National Economic Advisor to President Clinton (1996-2001) and President Obama (2011-2014)
II. States, Federalism, and Democracy
Room 127, Yale Law School
Moderator:
Heather Gerken, J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Panelists:
Jessica Bulman-Pozen ’07, Associate Professor, Columbia Law School
Abbe R. Gluck ’00, Professor of Law, Yale Law School
David Schleicher, Associate Professor, Yale Law School

10:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Hospitality Areas
Student Lounge and the Alumni Reading Room

11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
Concurrent Panel Discussions
III. Campaign Finance
Levinson Auditorium, Yale Law School
Moderator:
Robert C. Post ’77, Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Panelists:
Floyd Abrams ’59, Partner, Cahill Gordon & Reindel
Elizabeth H. Esty ’85, U.S. Representative, Connecticut, 5th Congressional District
Heather Gerken, J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law, Yale Law School
IV. Civil Rights Post-Shelby County
Room 127, Yale Law School
Moderator:
Samuel Issacharoff ’83, Bonnie and Richard Reiss Professor of Constitutional Law, New York University School of Law
Panelists:
Anita S. Earls ’88, Executive Director, Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Dale E. Ho ’05, Director, ACLU Voting Rights Project
Daniel P. Tokaji ’94, Charles W. Ebersold and Florence Whitcomb Ebersold Professor of Constitutional Law, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

12:45 PM
All Alumni Luncheon
The Schwarzman Center (formerly Commons)
[enter either on the corner of College and Grove Streets or from Beinecke Plaza off Wall Street]
Opening Remarks:
Christine Adams ’94, President, Yale Law School Association Executive Committee
Robert C. Post ’77, Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Presentation of the Yale Law School Association Award of Merit
Floyd Abrams ’59, Partner, Cahill Gordon & Reindel Presented by Dean Robert C. Post ’77

2:45 PM
Class Photos
Following the luncheon, all reunion classes will gather for class photos. Details, including class- specific times and locations, will be provided in registration packets. Please see the Class Photos page for details.

3:30 – 5:00 PM
Class Informal Activities
Spend Saturday afternoon with classmates by taking part in a variety of informal activities on and around campus. Please see the Informal Activities page for details.
Class Reunion Receptions and Dinners

6:30 PM Class reunion receptions

7:30 PM Class reunion dinners
Please see the Receptions and Dinners page for details.

Sunday, October 25
Class Reunion Brunches

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Please see the Alumni Brunches page for details