The Dr. Sadie T.M. Alexander Conference is a celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Alexander, a true American pioneer. Dr. Alexander not only shattered glass ceilings for women and minorities, but also empowered those after her. In the spirit of Dr. Alexander, the annual conference continues her legacy by engaging with pertinent legal issues in hopes of getting closer to solutions, providing professional development opportunities for students, and giving back to the Philadelphia community.
This year’s conference will explore the evolving world of gun rights and control along with the racialization of gun politics. With today's increased gun violence, a proactive and adaptive approach is needed to ensure public safety while maintaining the integrity of constitutionally-protected individual rights. This conference will highlight the shift from the narrow interpretation of the Second Amendment to derail the efforts of the Black Panther Party, to its later expansion in enhancing individual rights through NRA lobbying. This stark contrast is most pronounced when comparing California’s state gun regulations under the Reagan administration to the Court's decision in D.C. v. Heller.
The day portion of the conference is scheduled for Saturday February 10, 2018 in Penn Law's Silverman Hall.
Registration begins at 9:45 AM
10:30 AM Judicial Panel: The Honorable Theodore McKee (Third Circuit Court of Appeals), the Honorable C. Darnell Jones (United State District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania), and the Honorable Petrese Tucker (United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania) will serve on the Judicial Panel as well as policy expert and practicioner, Bob Cottrol.
12 PM Lunch Keynote with Maina Kiai, United Nations Special Rapporteur: A hot buffet will be provided during the day portion of the conference.
1:30 PM Policy and Practice Panel: Policy expert and practitioner Nicholas Johnson, Vice President of the National African American Gun Association Douglas Jefferson, Philadelphia Solicitor General Sozi Tulante, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gera Peoples (Southern District of Florida) will serve on the Policy and Practice Panel.
3:00 PM Career Fair: Our esteemed conference sponsors will meet with students, including:
Ballard Spahr LLP
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilto
Cooley LLP
Covington & Burling LLP
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Debevoise & Plimpton
Dechert LLP
Duane Morris LLP
Fenwick & West
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Hogan Lovells US LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
O'Melveny & Myers LLP
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Venable LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Attire is business professional for the day portion of the conference.
7:00 PM Evening Gala: There will be a formal gala at the National Constitution Center in downtown Philadelphia. Students, faculty, alumni, and sponsors will join together for an evening of celebration. The program includes remarks from Keynote Jamira Burley, BLSA leadership, a presentation of awards, and a special presentation by Northeastern University Distinguished Professor Margaret Burnham (L ’69). Professor Burnham will share brief remarks on Dr. Sadie Alexander's husband, Raymond Pace Alexander, and his historic advocacy in the Mattox case and others from this Second Underground Railroad. Also joining us are Eastern District of Pennsylvania Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerald Sullivan (L ‘89), whose grandfather, Judge Clare Gerald Fenerty, (L ’21) wrote a landmark opinion in the Mattox case, and members of the Mattox family.
Attire for the gala is semi-formal to formal.
In addition to tackling the complexities of the historical and contemporary significance of the Second Amendment, this year’s conference supports charitable contributions to establish a named Sadie Alexander scholarship to support an incoming law student, improve the library of a local Philadelphia school, and sponsor students to travel to Accra, Ghana to provide free legal services. This conference also creates a forum to engage with alumni and professionals, reflect on the progress that has been made, and be reminded of the work that needs to be done.
This day portion of the conference has been approved for 4.0 substantive CLE credits for Pennsylvania lawyers. CLE credit may be available in other jurisdictions as well. Attendees seeking CLE credit should bring separate payment in the amount of $160.00 ($80.00 public interest/non-profit attorneys) cash or check made payable to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.
