Law Commons^™

Community-Based Policymaking: Effecting Policy Change Through Lawyer-Leadership, Davis Polk Leadership Initiative

Davis Polk Leadership Initiative

Two years out of law school and equipped with Columbia Law School’s Lowenstein Fellowship,which supported her pursuit of a public interest career, Gabriella Barbosa (CC ’08, CLS ’13) began working as a Policy Director at Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in District 5.Upon joining, Gabriella and her supervisor formed a parent engagement committee of parentrepresentatives, grassroots organizations, and district leaders to identify and address concernsabout the schools in District 5 through systemic policy reform.

During an early meeting of the Committee, participants from one of the grassrootsorganizations in attendance, Parent Organization Network (PON), raised the issue of DisruptivePerson Letters …

Partnering For Change: Lawyer-Leadership In The Manhattan Da's Office, Davis Polk Leadership Initiative

Davis Polk Leadership Initiative

In April 2021, the Manhattan DA’s Office announced that it would stop prosecuting theoffenses of prostitution and loitering for the purpose of prostitution. The Office shifted itspolicy, the first of its kind in New York State and one of the first in the nation, in an effort tominimize contact with the criminal justice system and the adverse consequences of arrest andconviction for these offenses. The Office promptly moved to dismiss nearly 6,000 pendingcases.

The policy shift was years in the making — the result of careful exploration of alternatives incollaboration with affected communities in the face of strong competing values …

Innovation In A Time Of Uncertainty: Lawyer-Leadership At Davis Polk And Wardwell Llp, Davis Polk Leadership Initiative

Davis Polk Leadership Initiative

In Fall 2009, Gabe Rosenberg was a first-year associate at Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP. Equipped with a master’s degree in applied mathematics and a newly-minted law degree, Rosenberg joined the Financial Institutions Group at a time when the firm and its clients were working hard to make sense of a rapidly changing regulatory environment following the 2008 financial crisis. It was this evolving regulatory complexity the firm and its clients faced that presented an opportunity for Gabe and one of the senior partners with which he worked, Meg Tahyar, to exercise lawyer-leadership.

Guide On Incentives For Responsible Investment In Agriculture And Food Systems, Anna Bulman, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Ladan Mehranvar, Ella Merrill, Yannick Fiedler

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

To support implementation of the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS RAI), CCSI has developed resources for governments and other stakeholders in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

This work includes an online course on creating an enabling environment for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems. The course is freely available, accessible online and available for download. Part I highlights the features and key players of an enabling environment that promotes responsible investment in agriculture and food security. Part II addresses multi-stakeholder engagement in the design of legal and …

Covid-19 And Land-Based Investment: Changing Landscapes, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Nathaniah Jacobs, Clarisse Marsac

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

CCSI, IIED, and Namati are partnering on a new initiative to support governments, civil society, local communities, and private sector actors in improving the governance and practices of land-based investments.

Recognizing that more and better private sector investment is widely seen as critical to advancing economic development and achieving the SDGs in low- and middle-income countries, this initiative responds to concerns that land-based investments have resulted in land dispossession, environmental degradation, and conflict.

The Advancing Land-based Investment Governance (ALIGN) project involves:

• Sustained, in-depth work in up to three countries, including Sierra Leone, to support policy development and implementation, legal …

About Time: Master Scheduling And Equity, Andrea Clay, Elizabeth Chu, Audrey Altieri, Yvette Deane, Alex Lis-Perlis, Armando Lizarraga, Lauren Monz, Jalil Muhammad, Denise Recinos, Julia Alexandra Tache, Margo Wolters

Center for Public Research and Leadership

Master schedules are used to structure time, people, resources, and space within a school. This report provides school and district leaders advice about how to use the master schedule to advance equity in their communities. It illuminates ways the schedule can both undermine and advance equity and provides a framework to help schools and districts pivot from technical to strategic scheduling to expand access and opportunity for all students

May 2021 Era Update, Center For Gender And Sexuality Law

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

The campaign to finalize the Equal Rights Amendment is being waged on several fronts. One in the courts, one in Congress. Last week, there were developments in two important lawsuits seeking to have the Equal Rights Amendment declared finalized and a valid part of the U.S. Constitution, thus securing explicit sex equality protections in the Constitution.

The Case For A Climate-Smart Update Of The Africa Mining Vision, Perrine Toledano, Martin Dietrich Brauch, Karan Bhulwaka, Kojo Busia

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The 2009 Africa Mining Vision (AMV) provides guidance for the industrialization of African countries by leveraging their mining sector. However, the global context has changed since its adoption. As a result, it does not include guidance on how governments should embrace the climate change agenda as an opportunity for better and further industrialization, deeper linkages, and sustainable development.

There are many ways to look at the implications of international climate change policy for Africa, including through the increased extraction of minerals needed in clean energy application and the greening of mines. The localization of global value chains – induced by …

Ting Ting Cheng Appointed As Director Of Columbia Law School’S Era Project, Center For Gender And Sexuality Law

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

New York, New York — Today, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Project at Columbia Law School announced that Ting Ting Cheng has been appointed as the Project’s first Director. Ms. Cheng has wide-ranging experience as an advocate for gender justice and brings an ambitious strategic vision to the ERA Project’s work.

Comments To The Draft Working Group Iii Workplan, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment, International Institute For Environment And Development, International Institute For Sustainable Development

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently working on how to reform international investment treaties, focusing in particular on those treaties’ provisions enabling investors to sue governments in international arbitration. As an observer organization in this process, CCSI has emphasized that in the context of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform, it is important to first consider what it is that investment treaties aim to achieve, and only then to consider what form(s) of dispute settlement will best advance those objectives. This means not only looking at reform of the existing ISDS mechanism, but also alternatives to …

Transparency For Whom? Grounding Land Investment Transparency In The Needs Of Local Actors, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Transparency is often seen as a means of improving governance and accountability of investment, but its potential to do so is hindered by vague definitions and failures to focus on the needs of key local actors.

In this new report focusing on agribusiness, forestry, and renewable energy projects (“land investments”), CCSI grounds transparency in the needs of project-affected communities and other local actors. Transparency efforts that seek to inform and empower communities can also help governments, companies, and other actors to more effectively manage operational risk linked to social conflict.

Troublingly, the report finds that:

• Disclosures around land investments continue …

Transparency Of Land-Based Investments: Cameroon Country Snapshot, Sam Szoke-Burke, Samuel Nguiffo, Stella Tchoukep

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Despite a recent transparency law and participation in transparency initiatives, Cameroon’s investment environment remains plagued by poor transparency.

In a new report focusing on agribusiness projects in Cameroon, CCSI and the Centre pour l’Environnement et le Développement (CED) find that:

• Communities continue to be excluded from decision-making around investments.
• The government pursues a top-down approach to concession allocation and remains reluctant to recognize all legitimate tenure rights.
• The government faces threats to its legitimacy as the grievances of citizens and investors alike lead to the barring of roads by communities and investor withdrawals.

CCSI and CED therefore call for:

• A …

Rise To Thrive: A Vision For A Transformed And Equitable Education System, Center For Public Research And Leadership

Center for Public Research and Leadership

How might we design an education system that prepares every child, of every race and background, to thrive in school and in life? We answer this question in RISE to Thrive: A Vision for a Transformed and Equitable Education System.

Based on conversations with more than 300 students, families, teachers, education leaders, and organizers, among others, our latest publication also incorporates existing research on instructional practices as well as the insights and innovations gained since the pandemic. We hope RISE to Thrive will help education leaders transform their school systems into more equitable ones.

Era Project Faq On The District Court's Decision In Virginia V. Ferriero, Center For Gender And Sexuality Law

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

The states that brought the lawsuit do not have standing. This means that the states that brought the lawsuit were not injured by the fact that the Archivist refused to publish the amendment. Their argument is that the Archivist’s refusal to publish the Amendment undermined their sovereign power to ratify a change to the Constitution.

Faq On The Current Status Of The Equal Rights Amendment To The U.S. Constitution, Center For Gender And Sexuality Law

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

Several measures have been introduced into the U.S. Congress this session that relate to the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). One is a resolution that would lift the deadline for ratification of the ERA that was passed by Congress in 1972, and the other is a new ERA that would begin a new process of amending the Constitution to add explicit protections for sex equality. This FAQ is designed to explain what each of these measures would do and the legal complexities that surround them.

Columbia Law School Era Project Faq On Legal Issues Surrounding Final Ratification Of The Equal Rights Amendment, Center For Gender And Sexuality Law

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

New York, New York – On March 17, 2021, the House of Representatives has scheduled a vote on House Joint Resolution 17, a measure that would remove any deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and, as a consequence, would make the ERA finalized and valid at the moment when it has been ratified by 3/4 of the state legislatures. There are many complex legal issues surrounding the finalization of the ERA, and Columbia Law School’s Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Project has prepared a FAQ that explains the history of ERA ratification, what HJR 17 will do, and …

Columbia Law School Era Project Statement On Virginia V. Ferriero, Center For Gender And Sexuality Law

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

New York, New York – Columbia Law School’s Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Project issued the following comment on the decision issued by federal judge Rudolph Contreras in Virginia v. Ferriero, a lawsuit brought to force the Archivist of the United States to finally publish the Equal Rights Amendment.

Should The European Union Fix, Leave Or Kill The Energy Charter Treaty?, Martin Dietrich Brauch

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In the early 1990s, the European Economic Community – the predecessor of the European Union (EU) – spearheaded an initiative to promote international cooperation in the energy sector, particularly with post-Soviet States in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Out of this process the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) was born in 1994. Going much beyond international cooperation, the treaty allows foreign investors in the energy sector to sue their host States in international arbitral tribunals and claim monetary compensation when policy measures and other State action affect their interests.

Fast-forward to 2021. With 135 known cases initiated to date, the ECT’s …

American Civil Liberties Union Files Amicus Brief In Standing Rock Thunderhawk Litigation, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, February 2, 2021 — Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), together with its North Dakota affiliate (ACLU of ND), filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the Thunderhawk plaintiffs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Amicus Curiae or “friend of the court” briefs are filed by third parties with an interest in the litigation, and can carry significant weight with the court when submitted by organizations with expertise in an issue salient to the case — such as with the ACLU and free speech.

The ACLU brief centers on the key issue …

Nigeria’S Petroleum Industry Bill: A Missed Opportunity To Prepare For The Zero-Carbon Future, Solina Kennedy, Martin Dietrich Brauch, Perrine Toledano, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

With Nigeria’s National Assembly debating the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in the first quarter of 2021 – after nearly two decades of attempted reform of the country’s petroleum sector – Nigeria has a unique opportunity to rethink the role of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria’s economy and build out the country’s energy sector and economic capacity for the long term. CCSI’s report Equipping the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the Low-Carbon Transition, released before the PIB was publicized, advances suggestions on how to do so. The PIB takes notable steps toward much-needed reform of NNPC’s …

Unspoken Criticism: Audiovisual Forms Of Critique As Fair Use, Alec Fisher

Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts

This Note argues that the traditional legal framework for analyzing a work of alleged criticism as fair use is particularly constraining for YouTube reaction videos and other audiovisual forms of criticism that largely critique or comment on an original work in a non-spoken, visual manner. It discusses the emphasis that the current fair use jurisprudence places on spoken and written critical elements when undertaking a fair use analysis of a work of criticism, then advocates for a new conception of fair use criticism that incorporates film-specific analytical techniques and concepts when analyzing the critical elements of online audiovisual works. Part …

Making Learning Work: A Family Guide To Supporting Your Child In Hybrid And Remote Learning, Center For Public Research And Leadership

Center for Public Research and Leadership

Are you still trying to figure out how to support your child’s learning in a way that is safe and works for your child and family? Many families are in the same situation.

We hope this guide lightens your load and helps you make schooling decisions that meet your needs. Inside you will find practical tips, resources, and tools for use during the pandemic and beyond.

Hacer Que La Educación Funcione: Una Guía Familiar Para Ayudar A Su Hijo En La Educación Híbrida Y A Distancia (Making Learning Work: A Family Guide To Supporting Your Child In Hybrid And Remote Learning), Center For Public Research And Leadership

Center for Public Research and Leadership

¿Todavía está tratando de averiguar cómo apoyar la educación de su hijo de una manera segura y que funcione para su hijo y su familia? Muchas familias se encuentran en la misma situación.

Esperamos que esta guía aligere su carga y le ayude a tomar decisiones escolares que satisfagan sus necesidades. En su interior encontrará consejos prácticos, recursos y herramientas para usar durante la pandemia y más allá.

Abstract in English:
Are you still trying to figure out how to support your child’s learning in a way that is safe and works for your child and family? Many families are …

Caremark And Esg, Perfect Together: A Practical Approach To Implementing An Integrated, Efficient, And Effective Caremark And Eesg Strategy, Leo E. Strine Jr., Kirby M. Smith, Reilly S. Steel

Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership

With increased calls from investors, legislators, and academics for corporations to consider employee, environmental, social, and governance factors (“EESG”) when making decisions, boards and managers are struggling to situate EESG within their existing reporting and organizational structures. Building on an emerging literature connecting EESG with corporate compliance, this Essay argues that EESG is best understood as an extension of the board’s duty to implement and monitor a compliance program under Caremark. If a company decides to do more than the legal minimum, it will simultaneously satisfy legitimate demands for strong EESG programs and promote compliance with the law. Building on …

Era Joint Resolution On Timeline For Ratification, Ben Cardin, Lisa Murkowski

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

Removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment.

Columbia Law School Center For Gender And Sexuality Law Launches New Era Project, Center For Gender And Sexuality Law

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

New York, New York – Columbia Law School Professor Katherine Franke announced the creation of a new project that will bring cutting-edge research, strategy, and legal resources to the fight for gender-based equality. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Project will be housed at the Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law (CGSL), which Franke founded in 2004.

The Future Of International Commercial Arbitration, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

Although international commercial arbitration is not subject to as much criticism as investor-State arbitration, it is nonetheless facing challenges going forward. These challenges are several, and only some can be addressed in this chapter. Some relate to concerns that have been with international arbitration for a long time. These include costs, delay and excessive formality, as well as arbitrator neutrality. Others – arbitration ethics, diversity, and transparency – are not new, but are taking on greater urgency. Still others simply represent new developments more or less extrinsic to international arbitration but with which international arbitration must cope. Among these changes …

Global Governance Of Environmental Mobility: Latin America & The Caribbean, Ama Francis

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Environmental events – including droughts, floods, hurricanes, sea level rise and earthquakes play a role alongside socioeconomic and political factors in triggering displacement, migration and planned relocation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). LAC countries experience the strongest relationship between environmental hazards and migration in the world. From 2008 to 2019, there were more than 23 million reported incidents of internal displacement in the context of disasters linked to sudden- and slow-onset hazards linked to disasters. LAC has developed a significant normative framework in response to environmental mobility, especially relative to other regions. In practice, LAC countries use regional …

Religion, Conscience, And The Law: Reasons, Bases, And Limits For Exemptions, Kent Greenawalt

Faculty Scholarship

Kent Greenawalt discusses the permissibility, scope, and rationale for law to provide exemptions to protect religious and nonreligious conscience in the United States. It may be difficult for the law to determine which sentiments amount to conscience given differences in individuals’ perception and the strength of their convictions. Even the notion of a religious conscience is complex. Religious citizens’ conclusions about matters of interest to religion may proceed from both religion and reason, or only from reason. It is not clear what should count as religious, given differences between denominations and their ideas over time. There are a host of …

Standing Rock Thunderhawk Litigation Advances In Appeals Court And In Discovery Toward Trial, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, January 25, 2021 — Advancing yet another step toward trial set for August 2021, the Standing Rock Thunderhawk litigation is now in discovery against Morton County and TigerSwan, LLC, and briefed on qualified immunity at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.