Law and Expertise 2024 Boston University Law Review Symposium

From the use of algorithms in criminal law to critiques of the administrative state, the relationship between law and expertise sits at the heart of debates about democracy and governance. At this symposium we hope to explore a shared set of questions about the interactions between law and expertise: How does the law shape the formation of epistemic communities, both expert and non-expert? Who has the authority to speak? When and why should we recognize expertise? What forms of expertise should we value in a democratic society? How are developments in technology, in the economy, and in civil society redefining expertise in the law? How can law and proponents of expertise most effectively respond to contemporary challenges to and rejections of claims of expertise? How are claims of expertise misused, both intentionally and unintentionally, to harm underrepresented communities? This symposium aims to gather leading scholars to examine the current relationship between expertise and law and explore future directions.

Please note that the classroom sessions and Keynote will be offered only in person, though we are recording the keynote, it will not be offered on Zoom. If you are unable to make the in person Symposium, please let us know. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Agenda

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast, BU School of Law Atrium
9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.

Welcome, Classroom 103

Ngozi Okidegbe, Zohra Ahmed & Aziza Ahmed

Associate Dean Stephen Marks
9:20 a.m. - 10:35 a.m

Technologies of Governance and Expertise, Classroom 103

1. Veena Dubal (University of California, Irvine School of Law)
2. Amy Kapczynski (Yale Law School)
3. K. Sabeel Rahman (Cornell Law School)
4. Aziz Rana (Boston College Law School)

Moderator: Zohra Ahmed (Boston University School of Law)
10:35 a.m - 10:45 a.m

Break
10:45 a.m - 12:00 pm

AI, Justice, and Expertise, Classroom 103

1. Jessica Eaglin (Cornell Law School)
2. Julie Cohen (Georgetown Law School)
3. Erin Collins (University of Richmond School of Law)
4. Christopher Slobogin (Vanderbilt Law School)

Moderator: Ngozi Okidegbe (Boston University School of Law)
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Lunch, Barristers Hall
1:15 p.m - 2:30 p.m.

Keynote Roundtable on Power, Law, Expertise and Knowledge, Barristers Hall

1. Sheila Jasanoff (Harvard Kennedy School)
2. Patricia J. Williams (Northeastern University School of Law)
3. David Kennedy (Harvard Law School)

Moderator: Aziza Ahmed (Boston University School of Law)
2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Break
2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Evidence and Expertise, Classroom 103

1. Bennett Capers (Fordham University School of Law)
2. Jasmine Gonzales Rose (Boston University School of Law)
3. Edward Cheng (Vanderbilt Law School)

Moderator: Chris Robertson (Boston University School of Law)
4:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Break
4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Family, Gender, Law, Classroom 103

1. Yvette T. Butler (Maurer School of Law)
2. Lisa Washington (University of Wisconsin Law School)
3. Linda McClain (Boston University School of Law)
4. Joanna Wuest (Stony Brook University)
5. Serena Mayeri (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School)

Moderator: Kate Silbaugh (Boston University School of Law)
Saturday
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Breakfast, BU School of Law Atrium
9:30 a.m. - 9:35 a.m.

Joint Welcome | Saturday, November 16th

Crystal Hsu, Editor-in-Chief of Boston University Law Review, and Karen Yao, Senior Managing Editor of Boston University Law Review
9:35 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.

Law, Disability and Expertise, Classroom 103

1. Zohra Ahmed (Boston University School of Law)
2. Jasmine Harris (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School)
3. Jamelia Morgan (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law)
4. Britney Wilson (New York Law School)

Moderator: Woody Hartzog (Boston University School of Law)
11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Break
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Abolition, Law, and Expertise, Classroom 103

1. Jocelyn Simonson (Brooklyn Law School)
2. Rachel Lopez (Temple University Beasley School of Law)
3. Rachel Barkow (NYU School of Law)
4. Benjamin Levin (Wash U Law)

Moderator: Robert Tsai (Boston University School of Law)
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Lunch, Barristers Hall
2:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.

Emerging Debates in Expertise, Classroom 103

1. Osagie K. Obasogie (Berkeley Law School)
2. Terence Keel (UCLA)
3. Jon Feingold (Boston University School of Law)
4. Monica Bell (Yale Law School)
5. Brad Baranowski (Boston University)

Moderator: Jessica Silbey (Boston University School of Law)