David C. Baum Lecture on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Presented by James Forman Jr.
J. Skelly Wright Professor, Yale Law School
Faculty Director, Yale Law and Racial Justice Center
Free and open to the public.
A limited number of lunches will be available for lecture attendees.
Livestream available: https://www.youtube.com/live/RiR9IGwoMPg?si=I6la4Sadb8YcEhZi
"Expanding Access to the Legal Profession after SFFA v. Harvard/UNC"
The legal profession has always been—and remains—a white-dominated institution. In 2020, only 5% of attorneys were Black—a number unchanged from a decade earlier. Now that the Supreme Court has curtailed race-based affirmative action in higher education, there is reason to fear that this number will decline.
In his talk, Professor Forman will argue that our current moment demands new and creative thinking about how to bring historically marginalized groups into the legal profession. As one example, he will discuss the Access to Law School Program that he helped found in 2020. Access to Law is an innovative student-led pipeline program that supports first-generation, low-income, and justice-impacted students from Connecticut who aspire to become lawyers.
About the David C. Baum Memorial Lecture on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
The family and friends of David C. Baum endowed the David C. Baum Memorial Lecture on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights not only in his memory, but at his request.
Deep concern for the dignity and rights of all people was central to Professor Baum’s character and activities. After receiving his undergraduate and legal education at Harvard University, Professor Baum served as law clerk for Justice Walter V. Schaefer of the Illinois Supreme Court, 1959-60. He then practiced law with the Chicago firm of Ross, McGowan, Hardies and O’Keefe until he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois College of Law in 1963.
Professor Baum was an inspiration to his student and colleagues, not only because of the excellence of his teaching, scholarship, and public service, but because of his remarkable human qualities. Conscientious and judicious, blending passion for justice with dispassionate objectivity, he inspired the highest level of discourse and endeavor in all who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.
It is hoped that the David C. Baum Memorial Lecture on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights will constitute a fitting memorial to a man whose unrelenting intellectual vigor and moral commitment made his presence in the world of law invaluable.
For more information:
Carolyn Turner, Assistant Dean for Administration
carolynt@illinois.edu