UNC School of Law

Faculty Speaker Series - Sahar Aziz
2022-02-24 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, 160 Ridge Road, CB #3380, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
Sahar Aziz, Rutgers Law School, S.I. Newhouse Center for Law and Justice, in person
Civil Rights, National Security, Middle East Law, Race and the Law.
https://law.rutgers.edu/directory/view/8277

CPILO Fun Run/Walk
2022-02-26 07:30 - 10:00 | NC
Who: Law students, faculty, partners, community members–all are welcome!
What: Fun 5K Run/Walk
Where: 160 Ridge Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
When: Saturday, February 26th at 7:30am
Why: To support public interest law summer grants
The Carolina Public Interest Law Organization (CPILO) is hosting a fun 5K run/walk. Proceeds will go directly towards funding modest grants for UNC Law students who accept unpaid summer internships in public interest law.

Classes resume
2022-03-21 | NC
Classes resume
Academic Calendars

Information Warfare in the Russian-Ukraine Conflict
2022-03-24 16:00 - 17:00 | NC
This moderated panel will explore the information war underway in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In addition to discussing the many challenges facing journalists covering the conflict, the panelists will explore how social media has changed information warfare and impacted intelligence gathering and analysis, evaluate how social media platforms and journalists handle mis- and disinformation, and offer media literacy tips to our audience.

A Career of Service: A Symposium Honoring the Judicial Legacy of Judge James A. Wynn
2022-03-25 | NC
Please join Volume 100 of the North Carolina Law Review on Friday, March 25th, beginning at 9:00 AM for “A Career of Service: A Symposium Honoring the Judicial Legacy of Judge James A. Wynn.” This event will be hosted by Zoom.

CPILO Auction & Benefit
2022-03-25 19:30 - 22:30 | NC
Carolina Public Interest Law Organization invites the law school community to its annual Auction & Benefit. All proceeds from the event go directly to fund UNC law students accepting full-time, unpaid public interest law positions for the summer.
The Story Venue, 450 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27516

GiveUNC
2022-03-29 | NC
UNC School of Law offers students an accessible, affordable top 25 legal education. A Carolina Law degree allows our graduates to practice their chosen legal field without the burden of student debt. GiveUNC is a 24-hour virtual gathering of Tar Heels to give back and support Carolina. This GiveUNC, you can support our students, world class faculty, and hands-on programming. On March 29, support a degree like no other.

CRGE 2022: Public Health and Structural Inequality
2022-04-01 14:00 - 17:00 | NC
The Conference on Race, Class, Gender, and Ethnicity is proud to present our Spring 2022 Conference, focusing on topics of public health and structural inequality. Panels will run 2-5pm on Friday, April 1st and 9am-12:30pm on Saturday, April 2nd (with in person social that evening).

Institute for Innovation: Celebrating Legal Service to the State
2022-04-06 17:00 - 19:00 | Graham Memorial Hall, 210 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 27514, United States
The UNC-Chapel Hill community is invited to an event showcasing Carolina Law’s faculty and students as they share the impactful stories of how they have helped for-profit and nonprofit businesses and organizations from across the state.
You will hear about B3 Coffee and how they are providing community-integrated social and vocational opportunities for people of all abilities by using coffee to bring people together to dismantle stigma and influence change toward a more inclusive equitable world. You will also hear about Chicora Engineering, a Native American owned and operated civil engineering firm based in Pembroke, N.C.
The Institute for Innovation fills in the missing piece of the puzzle for the entrepreneurship ecosystem by providing early stage legal counsel that is critical to the success of new businesses and organizations. The three clinics that comprise the Institute (Startup NC Law Clinic, Community Development Law Clinic, Intellectual Property Clinic) are training lawyers, supporting and protecting the dreams of entrepreneurs and strengthening economies across the state.

State of the School Address with Dean Martin Brinkley
2022-04-11 18:00 - 18:30 | NC
Jim Deal ’74 and the Law Alumni Association invite you to join them for an exclusive evening with Dean Martin H. Brinkley ‘92 as he shares the State of the School Address.
After an introduction by Jim Deal ’74 (President, Law Alumni Association and Partner, Deal, Mosley & Smith), Dean Brinkley will share information and important school initiatives as well as news from the school and give an inside look at life back in the halls of Van-Hecke Wettach.

Watch: District Attorney Candidate Debate
2022-04-12 12:00 - 12:50 | NC
The Prosecutors and Politics Project hosted a debate for the candidates in the 2022 election for Orange/Chatham District Attorney.
Watch now: Play a recording of this debate

Classes End
2022-04-13 | NC
Last day of classes
Academic Calendars

An intimate conversation with young alumni and current students
2022-04-13 18:00 - 19:30 | NC
Join UNC School of Law for a night of engaging conversation with Young Alumni Leadership Council members along with current students.
There will be a session of student panelists that will be moderated by a Young Alumni Leadership Council Member and a session of Young Alumni Leadership Council Members moderated by a student. We invite you to submit questions that you might have for current students and alumni post graduation. Questions can range from how did you choose your career path to how navigating law school is going during a pandemic.

Law Alumni Association Board and Committee Meetings
2022-04-29 10:00 - 16:00 | Virtual
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Law Foundation Board

Advancement Committee
Alumni Engagement Committee
Community Outreach Committee
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Law Alumni Association Board

Watch: Private Money in Prosecutor Elections: the Pros, the Cons, and the Facts
2022-06-01 12:00 - 13:30 | Virtual
Watch now: Play a recording of this panel discussion

The Prosecutors and Politics Project will host a lunchtime conversation and share the results of the first national study of campaign contributions in prosecutor elections. Attendees will also hear from experts about the promise and the peril of private financing in prosecutor campaigns.
Panelists:
Jessica Brand, Wren Collective
Jessica Brand is the founder of the Wren Collective, which provides research, policy, and communications support to those who are trying to shrink the criminal legal system and implement policies that actually help communities thrive. She has helped run numerous political campaigns, including the successful Larry Krasner and Kim Gardner reelections, and works with progressive prosecutors across the country. “The Wreners” also advise grassroots and grasstop groups, athletes, and artists on their advocacy work. Previously, Jessica was the legal director at The Justice Collaborative, an attorney at the Texas Defender Service, and an appellate attorney at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Jessica has trained attorneys on forensic and mental health issues across the country.
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Brennan Center Fellow
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy is a professor at Stetson University’s College of Law teaching courses in Election Law, Corporate Governance, Business Entities, and Constitutional Law. Prior to joining Stetson’s faculty, Professor Torres-Spelliscy was counsel in the Democracy Program of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law where she provided guidance on the issues of money in politics and the judiciary to state and federal lawmakers. She was an associate at Arnold & Porter LLP and a staffer for Senator Richard Durbin. She is the author of the books Corporate Citizen (2016) and Political Brands (2019).
Whitney Tymas, Justice & Public Safety PAC
Whitney Tymas is an attorney with over 30 years of experience in criminal law. She has led initiatives to promote fairness and accountability and has taught and presented widely across the nation. Whitney advises individuals, organizations and political action committees, such as Justice & Public Safety PAC, Justice & Public Safety Action Fund and others, about justice policy and strategy. In 2015, Whitney launched a national initiative focused on electing progressive local prosecutors, committed to equity and public safety. Since then, she has overseen almost fifty campaigns in prosecutor races across the country. Before this, Whitney served as director of the Prosecution and Racial Justice Program at the Vera Institute of Justice. This groundbreaking national program identified and sought to remedy patterns of racial injustice and ethnic disparity caused by prosecutors. Beginning in New York City as a public defender with the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Whitney also practiced law at the Office of the Appellate Defender, the Legal Aid Society Criminal Appeals Bureau, as a prosecutor in Virginia, and in private practice as a defense and civil rights attorney. Whitney has practiced in state and federal courts, at the trial and appellate levels, handling a wide range of criminal cases, from misdemeanors to multiple defendant homicides. Whitney is a graduate of Barnard College and New York University School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden-Snow Scholar. She was born in Washington, DC, came to adulthood in Harlem, and has devoted her life to public service and social justice.

Law School Reception at the NCBA Annual Meeting
2022-06-23 17:30 - 18:30 | The Marriott at Twin City Quarter, Hearn C/ 425 North Cherry Street, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
Make plans to join fellow Carolina Law alumni and friends at the NCBA Annual Meeting in Winston-Salem on Thursday June 23, 2022. You will hear remarks from Dean Martin H. Brinkley ’92 and meet the newest member of the Carolina Law family, Jennifer Guy, the director of alumni and donor relations.
You do not have to be signed up for the NCBA Annual Meeting to attend.
Registration is now open.
Questions about this event? Please contact Kelly Mann Rose (assistant director of alumni and donor relations) at mann@unc.edu.

Virtual Orientation
2022-08-08 12:00 - 13:00 | NC
Orientation Welcome!

Student Development Office (SDO) Introduction
Administrative Items/Logistics
Orientation overview

Virtual Orientation
2022-08-09 12:00 - 13:00 | NC
Carolina Law Community Sessions

Office of Admissions & Financial Adi
Academic Advising & Registration
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
UNC Student Legal Services

Virtual Orientation
2022-08-10 12:00 - 13:00 | NC
Carolina Law Community Sessions

Law IT Department
Law Library
Office of Advancement
International Programs

2022 New Student Orientation
2022-08-15 08:00 - 18:00 | Friday Conference Center, 100 Friday Center Drive, Chapel Hill, 27599, United States
Welcome to Carolina Law!

2022 New Student Orientation
2022-08-16 09:00 - 17:00 | Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, 160 Ridge Road, CB #3380, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States

First Day of Class
2022-08-22 08:00 - 17:00 | Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, 160 Ridge Road, CB #3380, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States

POSTPONED, New Date TBA - LAA Leadership Awards Celebration
2022-09-30 18:00 - 21:00 | NC
As part of the Fall for All weekend celebration, join us Friday for the LAA Leadership Awards Celebration and alumni affinity group events.

Fall For All
2022-10-01 | Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, 160 Ridge Road, CB #3380, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
Calling all Carolina Law Alumni, Family and Friends – We Can’t Wait to See You at Fall for All Weekend 2022!
It’s officially here. Don’t miss THE alumni weekend at Carolina Law – Fall for All Weekend, September 30-October 1. We’re excited to welcome you back to the hill for two days of Carolina Law fun. Alumni, students, faculty and staff are invited to a weekend full of family-friendly activities in celebration and support of UNC School of Law. See the full schedule of events below.
Registration closes September 19 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Greensboro Alumni Reception
2022-10-20 17:00 - 19:00 | Tuggle Duggins, Tuggle Duggins 400 Bellemeade Street, Suite 800, Greensboro, NC, 27401, United States
The offices of Alumni Affairs and Career Development and the Center for Banking & Finance invite you to join us for a Greensboro Alumni Reception on Thursday, October 20, 2022, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Hosted by Tuggle Duggins, this reception is part of the Career Development Office’s efforts to expose members of our first-year class to our great Greensboro alumni and showcase the opportunities to build successful careers in Greensboro.

Law Alumni Association Board and Committee Meeting and Leadership Donor Celebration
2022-11-04 10:00 - 12:00 | NC
Carolina is always fun in the fall. Come for the meetings and stay for the leadership donor celebration! More details coming soon.

Sylvia X. Allen Portrait
2022-11-04 12:00 - 13:30 | Kathrine R. Everett Law Library
On November 4, Carolina Law alumni, students, faculty and staff will join members or Sylvia X. Allen’s family as well as special guests Provost Chris Clemens, UNC Board of Trustees Chair Dave Boliek and the Honorable James F. Ammons ’80, Cumberland County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for the unveiling of the portrait of Sylvia X. Allen ’62. The unveiling will take place at noon in the reading room of the Kathrine R. Everett Law Library followed by a luncheon in the rotunda.
Allen was a public servant, civil rights activist and a woman of many firsts. She was the first Black female to graduate from Carolina Law, one of the first three Black female lawyers admitted to the bar in North Carolina and the first Black female assistant district attorney in the state.
Join us to celebrate her wonderful legacy.

Watch: Media Coverage of Prosecutors and Their Elections
2023-02-22 12:00 - 13:30 | NC
Watch now: Play a recording of this event.
A recent survey found that most Americans do not know that their local prosecutor is elected. How could that be?
One possible answer to that question may lie in the media coverage that prosecutors receive. Outside of large cities, prosecutors do not receive much media coverage, and the coverage that they do receive rarely mentions that they are an elected office—even in an election year.
Join the Prosecutors and Politics Project for an important discussion about media coverage of prosecutors and their elections, featuring journalists and prosecutors!
Panelists include:
Mark Dupree, Sr., District Attorney in Wyandotte County, Kansas
Dupree leads an office of over 60 employees. His administration has increased the felony trial conviction rate by 27%. Dupree has successfully created the first ever “Conviction Integrity Unit” in the state of Kansas, since re-named “Community Integrity Unit” which is responsible for ensuring that convictions obtained previously still hold integrity today and holding law enforcement accountable with the establishment of a hotline for residents to register complaints. His efforts for transforming the traditional manner in which District Attorney’s Offices have operated has been recognized nationally, with articles featured twice in the New York Times and interviewed on the nationally syndicated Roland Martin Show. Community involvement is the bedrock of the Dupree Administration. It builds community trust, and that trust greatly assists in crime prevention and bringing justice. Dupree and his administration lead the way in speaking at schools, neighborhood watch meetings, church gatherings, and civic organizations.
Julie Gunnigle, Legal Director, Arizona NORML
Gunnigle is an attorney and former prosecutor who fights for justice in our criminal legal system, for funding in our public schools, and for reproductive justice for our families. She was the 2020 and 2022 Democratic nominee for Maricopa County Attorney, coming closer than any reform candidate in 40 years to taking that office. Since that time, Gunnigle has worked as the Legal Director for Arizona NORML where she helps individuals who have been directly impacted by the war on drugs expunge their convictions and get a true second chance.
George Joseph, Senior Reporter for The City
Joseph is a Senior Reporter for The City with a focus on criminal justice and courts. He previously worked for WNYC and Gothamist, and has published stories with NPR, ProPublica, Esquire, and The Intercept among other outlets.
Will Knight, Attorney, Maricopa County, Arizona

Knight is a directly impacted Colombian-American attorney who practices criminal defense and civil rights litigation in Phoenix, Arizona. Knight has a background in both prosecution and indigent defense, and he had the privilege of defending numerous protesters against false, politically motivated gang prosecutions during the 2020 uprising, leading to several high profile multi-plaintiff and class action lawsuits against local police and prosecutors. Knight ran in a crowded field for Maricopa County Attorney in 2019 and 2020 following the appointment of the previous office-holder to the Supreme Court of Arizona.
Ryan Thornburg, Associate Professor at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Thornburg is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an interest in social media, data driven reporting and digital media economics. Before joining the school in 2007, he spent a decade in leadership positions in online newsrooms, mostly working on national and international news at The Washington Post.

The Future of the First Amendment-2023 Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium
2023-04-10 19:30 - 21:00 | The Carolina Inn, 211 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill, United States
On April 10, the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy will host the 2023 Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium featuring Floyd Abrams, Senior Counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel. Abrams, one of the nation’s leading First Amendment lawyers, will speak about “The Future of the First Amendment.” In addition to giving prepared remarks, he will sit down with Mary-Rose Papandrea, Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at the UNC School of Law, for an extended conversation about this important topic.
Abrams has extensive experience in high-visibility matters, often involving First Amendment, securities litigation, intellectual property, public policy and regulatory issues. He has argued frequently in the U.S. Supreme Court in cases raising issues as diverse as the scope of the First Amendment, the interpretation of ERISA, the nature of broadcast regulation, the impact of copyright law, and the continuing viability of the Miranda rule. Most recently, he prevailed in his argument before the Supreme Court on behalf of Senator Mitch McConnell as amicus curiae, defending the rights of corporations and unions to speak publicly about politics and elections in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Abrams also represented The New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case and other important First Amendment litigation before the Supreme Court. He represented Nina Totenberg and National Public Radio in the 1992 “leak” investigation conducted by the United States Senate arising out of the confirmation hearing of Justice Clarence Thomas and, in 2004 and 2005, Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper in their efforts to avoid revealing their confidential sources.
Described by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan as “the most significant First Amendment lawyer of our age,” Abrams has been awarded with Lifetime Achievement Awards by The New York Law Journal and The American Lawyer (2013). For fifteen years, Abrams was the William J. Brennan, Jr. Visiting Professor of First Amendment Law at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. He also has been a Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School and Columbia Law School and he is author of Friend of the Court: On the Front Lines with the First Amendment, published by Yale University Press (2013) and Speaking Freely: Trials of the First Amendment, published by Viking Press (2005).
Abrams will speak at 7:30 p.m. in the Chancellors’ Ballroom at the Carolina Inn. The event is free and open to the public.
About the Colloquium
The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy hosts the Wade H. Hargrove Media Law and Policy Colloquium, which was established in 2009 to honor a figure of national prominence in the areas of media law or media policy. It was funded in part by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters and North Carolina Cable Telecommunications Association to recognize the more than 30 years of service that Wade Hargrove, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC School of Law, provided to these organizations as well as media and technology companies throughout North Carolina and the nation.
The colloquium is a world-class event that draws attendees from both industry and academia. Speakers have included David Barrett, former chairman and CEO of Hearst Television Inc.; Ben Sherwood, former president of Disney|ABC Television; and David Cohen, Ambassador to Canada and former senior executive vice president of Comcast Corp. Past colloquia have been televised by C-SPAN and UNC-TV.

Prosecuting Cannabis: Approaches from States without Legalization
2023-05-17 12:00 - 13:15 | NC
Over the last decade, a large number of states have adopted various forms of marijuana reform. To date, 21 states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes and 38 have legalized medical marijuana use. While public opinion polls suggest that the vast majority of people support marijuana legalization, less is known about the opinions and policies of prosecuting attorneys in states that have not yet legalized marijuana for any purpose.
Join the Prosecutors and Politics Project at UNC School of Law and the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law for a conversation with a panel of legal experts and academics. Panelists will discuss results from a recent study of marijuana enforcement and examine how different district attorney offices approach marijuana offenses.
