February 2022 was a time of celebration here at the American Bar Foundation, even amidst a continually challenging political landscape. While the Fellows celebrated the groundbreaking legacies of this year's Awards Banquet winners, ABF researchers remained at the forefront of timely conversations about race, governance, and the state of American democracy. This issue will highlight some of those conversations, as well as multiple historical appointments, a review of the Fellows Midyear events, and a spotlight of past national Fellows Chair Kay Hodge. |
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ABF Researchers in the News |
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ABF Research Professor Tom Ginsburg Referenced in Vox Article About Likely Challenges to American Democracy in the Coming Years
Vox recently ran an article called “How Does This End?” that cites ABF Research Professor Tom Ginsburg and University of Chicago Professor Aziz Huq’s joint 2018 paper, “Democracy’s ‘Near Misses.’” The sprawling Vox piece provides a comparative overview of the current issues undermining democracy in the United States, particularly with respect to political polarization, and analyzes the various outcomes that other developed countries with similar challenges have historically seen. The author points to Professor Ginsburg and Professor Huq’s conclusion that political elites can play a significant role in slowing or halting “antidemocratic mobilization,” going on to suggest that such a scenario currently seems to be unlikely in the U.S.
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Former ABF Neukom Chair Angela Onwuachi-Willig Comments on GOP Reaction to Probable Black Female Supreme Court Nominee
Former ABF William H. Neukom Research Chair in Diversity and Law and current Boston University Law School Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig was briefly interviewed for a CNN piece documenting some Republican Senators’ discontent with President Joe Biden’s pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. According to CNN, congressmen such as Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker have preemptively dismissed the currently unknown future nominee as an affirmative action hire, implying that the women under contention are not being thoroughly vetted for their experience and qualifications outside of race and gender. Dean Onwuachi-Willig told CNN that the perception of the current candidates as underqualified is influenced by bias, and that the criticism is especially harsh because the upcoming nominee will be replacing a white man, Justice Stephen Breyer.
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ABF Research Professor Traci Burch Provides Testimony in Case Challenging 2021 Election Law SB 90
Northwestern Political Science and ABF Research Professor Traci Burch provided historical context for Florida’s passage of the 2021 Senate Bill 90 in a federal trial initiated by over two dozen groups, including the League of Women Voters in Florida and the Florida State Conference of the NAACP. Their suit claims that the measure, which imposes increased limitations for mail-in voting and third-party registration, was designed to target Black and Latinx citizens. Professor Burch argued that legislators knew the law would disproportionately affect voters of color, but refused to add amendments that would mitigate those effects. She also pointed out the history of racialized voter suppression going back to the post-Civil War era, stating that the policies of the past help to create politically relevant ideologies of the present.
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Honorable Eileen A. Kato, Immediate Past Fellows Chair and Washington Sustaining Patron Fellow, Receives ABAW 2021 President’s Award
The Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW) has awarded Imm. Past Fellows Chair Honorable Eileen A. Kato (Ret.) with the 2021 ABAW President’s Award in recognition of her service with the Pro Bono Legal Clinic. The clinic, which is run by ABAW in partnership with the Chinese Information and Services Center, provides workshops, volunteer attorneys, and translators to local Asian and Pacific Islander community members who face cultural and/or linguistic barriers in accessing the judicial system. Judge Kato aided the clinic’s transition to virtual operations by hosting weekly Zoom workshops, far exceeding the average quarterly service provided by most volunteers.
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Professor Tiffany Williams Brewer, New Jersey Fellow, Becomes First African American Woman to Chair the NJ State Commission of Investigation
New Jersey professor, nonprofit founder, and Fellow Tiffany Williams Brewer has recently been appointed by Governor Phil Murphy to become the State Commission of Investigation’s first African American woman Chair. In her new role, Professor Williams Brewer will be leading an independent watchdog agency that has been empowered to investigate misuses of government tax dollars and instances of organized crime.
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Mary L. Smith, Illinois Patron Fellow, Becomes the ABA’s First Native American Woman President-Elect Nominee
Illinois Patron Fellow Mary L. Smith has become the first Native American woman selected as the ABA President-Elect nominee. Smith, who is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, was chosen and approved by the ABA House of Delegates during the Midyear Meeting on February 14, 2022. Once the decision is finalized at the ABA’s August Annual Meeting in Chicago, her term will be set for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
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Fellows Event Spotlight:
Fellows CLE Research Seminar: "Democracies and International Law"
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Clockwise from left: ABF Research Professor Tom Ginsburg, K&L Gates Asia Managing Partner David Tang, University of Washington Law Associate Professor Dongsheng Zang, University of Washington Professor Rachel Cichowski
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On February 11, the Fellows held a CLE Research Seminar in conjunction with the 2022 Virtual ABA Midyear Meeting to discuss ABF Research Professor Tom Ginsburg’s new book, Democracies and International Law. The panel was moderated by K&L Gates Asia Managing Partner David Tang and included panelists Rachel Cichowski, University of Washington Professor, and Dongsheng Zang, University of Washington School of Law Associate Professor. The scholars talked about how democracies create the mechanisms of international law that are co-opted by authoritarian governments, the differences between democracy in the U.S. and the European Union, and the challenges of determining what the role of non-state actors should be in political decision-making.
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Fellows Event Spotlight:
ABF Fellows 66th Annual Virtual Awards Banquet
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Clockwise from left: Professor Martha Albertson Fineman, Honorable Vanessa Ruiz, Judge Gary Katzmann, William T. Coplin, Jr., Esq |
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The ABF Fellows 66th Annual Virtual Awards Banquet was held the evening of Friday, February 15, thanks to the Gold sponsors Kirkland & Ellis and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Silver sponsors Crowe & Dunlevy and Perkins Coie. Honorees Professor Martha Fineman, Honorable Vanessa Ruiz, William T. Coplin, Jr., and Judge Gary Katzmann, who accepted an award on behalf of his late brother Honorable Robert Katzmann, gave acceptance speeches that shared the motivating factors and stories that continue to drive their impactful careers in the legal profession. U.S. Appellate Judge M. Margaret McKeown punctuated the evening with her keynote reflections on the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her legacy of dissent, a tool she used to speak to constituents outside of the courtroom and galvanize political activity at the community level.
Watch below:
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Fellows Spotlight:
Past national ABF Fellows Chair and Massachusetts Patron Fellow Kay Hodge appears to have done it all, at least in the legal scene. The Stoneman, Chandler, and Miller partner has won multiple state supreme court cases, shared her knowledge of labor and employment law with countless HR professionals, and served as a leader for a dizzying array of nonprofit boards and bar organizations. A graduate of Boston University and BU School of Law, Ms. Hodge has been broadly recognized for her tireless service to the legal profession, receiving a Silver Shingle Award and Alumni Association Award from her alma maters, a Gold Medal for Outstanding Legal Services from the Massachusetts Bar Association, and recently received the ABA's Spirit of Excellence Award. Ms. Hodge is a past member of the ABA Board of Governors and the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, and currently serves as chair of the ABA Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities and the Massachusetts representative for the ABA House of Delegates.
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Kay H. Hodge
Patron Fellow
Q: What does being a Fellow mean to you?
A: Being a Fellow is first and foremost the opportunity to help support empirical research on topics that are important to our profession and the rule of law. It also makes me think about issues and topics outside of my law practice by providing the opportunity to attend talks and panels by leading experts through ABF presentations. Finally, it gives me a chance to connect with other Fellows at various ABF events.
Q: Where were you born and raised?
A: I was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, but my home and practice are in Massachusetts.
Q: Why did you decide to pursue a career in law?
A: Throughout high school and college, I was involved in debate. Going to law school seemed like a natural extension of that interest. I was also involved in multiple activities trying to help make a difference and law seemed like a profession that provided multiple opportunities to get involved in meaningful activities.
Q: If you hadn’t pursued a career in law, what would you have done?
A: I have no idea.
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: My avocation has been bar associations. I am a bar junkie and enjoy going to bar meetings to learn new things and to connect with friends.
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Welcome New Fellows!
We have had the pleasure of welcoming over 150 New Fellows to the ABF community since November 1, 2021. Click here to see a list of our newest members.
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Support the ABF
We are grateful for your generosity and continued support. Please click here to make your contribution for this fiscal year which began on September 1, 2021.
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Primary funding for the ABF is provided by the American Bar Endowment and the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation.
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The American Bar Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in publications or presentations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Bar Foundation, nor the policy positions of the American Bar Association or its affiliates. The AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION, ABF and related seal trademarks as used by the American Bar Foundation are owned by the American Bar Association and used under license.
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