Free Speech, Wokeness, and Cancel Culture in the Legal Profession

Featuring:

• David Lat, Founder, Original Jurisdiction; Founder, Above the Law

Please join the Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society at the Milwaukee Athletic Club on December 6, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. for an event featuring David Lat, founder of Original Jurisdiction and Above the Law.

Is “cancel culture” becoming a serious problem in the legal profession?  In 2022 alone, prominent appellate litigator Paul Clement departed from a national law firm when it announced that it would no longer represent clients on Second Amendment matters; legal scholar Ilya Shapiro left a post at Georgetown Law School, citing an atmosphere of intellectual intolerance; and students at Yale Law School made national news when they disrupted a panel on free speech.  What do events like these portend for the future study and practice of law?  Acclaimed legal writer David Lat, who has spoken and written extensively on these and related issues, will join our Chapter to discuss.

David Lat is a lawyer turned writer. He publishes Original Jurisdiction, a newsletter on Substack about law and legal affairs, and he writes for newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Prior to launching Original Jurisdiction, David founded Above the Law, one of the nation's most widely read legal news websites, and Underneath Their Robes, a popular blog about federal judges that he wrote under a pseudonym. He is also the author of a novel set in the world of the federal courts, Supreme Ambitions.

Before entering the media world, David worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, in New York; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. David graduated from Harvard College and Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Please join us to hear about free speech, wokeness, and cancel culture in the legal profession.

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.