The Penn Law Black Law Students Association (BLSA) is hosting the 29th Annual Sadie T.M. Alexander Commemorative Conference on February 11, 2017. This year's conference theme is “Social Media and the Law”. Our primary objective is to explore how social media influences the law.
The day portion of the conference will consist of three panels, a workshop, and a career fair at Penn Law located at 3501 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (descriptions below). Our goal is to have conversations that highlight the perspectives of academics, activists, law enforcement officers, and attorneys. After a full day of discussion, we will end our evening with the cocktail reception and dinner.
This day portion 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 payment in the amount of $160.00 ($80.00 for public interest/non-profit attorneys) cash or check (made payable to “The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania”).
The evening cocktail reception and dinner will be held at Hotel Monaco located at 433 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106.The cocktail hour will be from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm, with the formal ceremonial dinner. Our keynote speaker is Angela Rye, attorney and the Principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies - a political advocacy firm in Washington, DC.
The cocktail hour aims to facilitate networking between students and potential employers. Directly following, we will begin our evening ceremony with a seated dinner. The program will include our keynote address, remarks from members of the Penn Law community, and a brief award ceremony.
Panel Descriptions:
Panel 1 – “It’s Complicated: The Evolving Relationship Between Social Media, Social Movements, and the Law”
Description: The panel will explore how social movements advanced through social media influence the decision-making processes of law enforcement and/or prosecutors. We will discuss the goals of social media activism, its impact on law enforcement, and its use as an evidentiary tool. Our goal is to have a conversation that includes the perspectives of academics, activists, law enforcement officers, and attorneys in hopes of analyzing numerous aspects of this complex relationship.
Our panelists will be:
Antonia Link, Penn Law 3L (moderator)
Deen Freelon: Associate Professor in the School of Communication at American University, co-author of Beyond the Hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the Online Struggle for Offline Justice
Corporal Frank Domizio: Senior Systems Analyst, Department of Defense Cybersecurity Culture and Compliance Initiative; former Social Media Community Manager at the Philadelphia Police Department
Johnetta Elzie: Civil rights activist, We The Protesters; Co-editor of This Is the Movement, a Ferguson-based protest newsletter
Rev. Melech E. M. Thomas: Minister and community activist
Yvonne R. Heard: Assistant District Attorney, Philadelphia District Attorney's Office
Panel 2 – “Judges’ Perspective: Analyzing Social Media from the Bench
Description: Federal judges will discuss how judges approach the use of social media as evidence in their courtroom. In addition, judges will provide insights into the evolution of the legal landscape in the Age of Social Media. The topics will range from social media as evidence in criminal convictions to social media posts as protected concerted activity as a subset of employee rights.
Our panelists will be:
Honorable Stephen C. Robinson: Former federal judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. (moderator)
Honorable Theodore A. McKee: Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Honorable Petrese B. Tucker: Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Honorable Gregory M. Sleet: District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware
Honorable Cheryl Ann Krause: Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Panel 3 - “What Did I Say? The Intersection of Social Media and Employment Law”
Description: The panel will discuss the complexities of utilizing social media as both an individual and as an employee, particularly in the employment law context. At-will employment has raised questions regarding monitoring employee’s social media posts, protections employees have in expressing themselves online. For example, although Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act does not mention social media, the internet or computers, how can employees’ right of concerted activity be extended to activity online? Even more, what is concerted social media activity under the Act? Does an employee have an expectation of privacy if his/her page is private? What are some of the First Amendment protections that employees have? And how are cases, such as NLRB v. American Medical Response, helping us to define these lines?
Our panelists will be:
Professor Tobias Wolff: Professor of Law, Penn Law (moderator)
Professor Michael Graif: Partner at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, Lecturer in Law, Penn Law
W. John Lee: Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (complex employment litigation)
Dorit Radzin: Attorney, National Labor Relations Board (Division of Advice, Washington DC)
Sean Marshall: Regional Attorney, National Labor Relations Board’s (Baltimore)
Stephen Daly: Associate, Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP
Social Media Workshop
Description: This workshop aims to teach attendees the best approaches to being an online social advocate while staying within the guidelines of their employers’ codes of conduct. This interactive workshop will provide practical etiquette pointers on how to be an individual advocate and a responsible professional.
Instructor: Lloyd Freeman – Partner, Archer
