Panels I and II are from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m.
Panels III and IV are from 11:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
CLE Credit
Each Reunion panel offers two CLE credits. Panel II offers two Ethics credits. You may download CLE materials when they become available.
Panel I: The Middle East after the Arab Spring (8:45-10:30 a.m.)
As President Obama begins his second term, fledgling democracies are trying to establish themselves elsewhere in the world. The Arab Spring marked an unprecedented wave of civil resistance to economic disparity and government corruption in the Middle East. This panel takes stock of the constitutional transitions currently underway in the Middle East and North Africa, and asks what role the United States should play in this process.
Moderator
José Enrique Alvarez
Herbert and Rose Rubin Professor of International Law
NYU School of Law
Panelists
Daniel Freifeld ’08
Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy
U.S. Department of State
Habib Nassar (LL.M. ’05)
Director for the Middle East and North Africa
PILnet: The Global Network for Public Interest
Panel II: Keeping Them Honest— In Government and Business (8:45-10:30 a.m.)
Given the vast size and power of many public and private organizations and the capacity for harm if officials or others in government or industry act unethically or illegally, what works to detect, deter, and punish such behavior? How can we overcome misplaced institutional loyalty and protect against threatened retribution against those who come forward? Do laws protecting whistleblowers work? How can we improve?
Moderator
Stephen Gillers ’68
Elihu Root Professor of Law
NYU School of Law
Panelists
Mitra Hormozi ’95
Partner, Zuckerman Spaeder
Eric Kolchinsky ’96
Kolchinsky Group Inc.
Timothy Mayopoulos ’84
President and Chief Executive Officer, Fannie Mae
Daniel A. Schwager ’98
Chief Counsel and Staff Director
Committee on Ethics, U.S. House of Representatives
Panel III: Money and Democracy: Campaign Finance Reform Today (11:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m.)
A whopping $6 billion was spent on the 2012 presidential election. That’s an increase of $700 million over 2008. With such astronomical figures at play, is it even possible to regulate money’s influence on the democratic process? How much is too much? We will explore recent steps taken in the name of campaign finance reform, and whether any of the efforts afoot might work.
Moderator
Richard Pildes
Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law
NYU School of Law
Panelists
Charles King ’87
CGK Partners
Susan Lerner ’78
Executive Director, Common Cause NY
Adav Noti ’03
Federal Election Commission
Ian Vandewalker ’08
Counsel, Democracy Program
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Adam Winkler ’93
Professor of Law, University of California, Los Angeles
Panel IV: Is Tax Reform Possible? (11:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m.)
The 2012 presidential election was, in many ways, a fight over different visions of tax reform and the size of government. How much revenue will the country need as the baby boomers begin to retire? Is there a path for broadening the tax base and lowering tax rates? Should the U.S. tax system be made more progressive, or is it too progressive already? Is it possible to achieve reform that provides sufficient revenue to the government and encourages economic growth? Let’s dissect the motives behind tax reform, and analyze who benefits from what.
Moderator
David Kamin ’09
Assistant Professor of Law
NYU School of Law
Panelists
Christopher H. Hanna (LL.M. ’89)
Senior Policy Advisor for Tax Reform
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Gregory F. Jenner ’79
Principal, Stoel Rives LLP
David Lenter (LL.M. ’04)
Legislation Counsel
U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation
Daniel Shaviro
Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation, NYU School of Law
