Paul M. Van Arsdell, Jr. Memorial Lecture: "The Tenacious Power of Constitutional Torts"
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- University of Illinois College of Law
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Paul M. Van Arsdell, Jr. Memorial Lecture on Litigation and the Legal Profession
"The Tenacious Power of Constitutional Torts"
Presented by Joanna Schwartz
Honorable Harry Pregerson Professor of Law
UCLA School of LawFree and open to the public, with a limited number of lunches available for attendees.
Remote attendees may join via livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/rfygZfIzHKk
There is plenty of reason for frustration and disappointment in our system of constitutional remediation. The Supreme Court has created so many barriers to relief that people often do not get the remedy that they deserve—or get nothing at all—when their rights are violated. Even when people manage to win, laws, policies, and union agreements insulate local governments and their officers from the consequences of their actions. And the types of incremental victories litigation can provide do not approach the types of transformative changes we need.
Yet constitutional tort litigation remains a critically important tool for people who have been harmed by government and for those who seek long-lasting change. Despite significant doctrinal hurdles, civil rights cases can be won. Lawsuits offer compensation, a day in court, and commemorations of wrongdoing. Court orders or settlements can mandate that government officials change their practices. Lawsuits can announce new standards of care, create financial pressures to improve, unearth valuable information, and focus public attention on issues underlying a case. Civil rights victories, while incremental, can advance ambitious causes—particularly over time and when part of broader campaigns and movement-building.
Articulating and appreciating the benefits of constitutional tort litigation is needed, now more than ever, to counter myths about the dangers of suing officers and local governments that are used to justify qualified immunity and other limitations on the right to sue; to encourage lawyers to continue taking these cases, particularly given the federal government’s abdication of its responsibility to investigate constitutional violations by local governments; and to understand how best to harness litigation’s strengths in conjunction with other advocacy efforts to reduce government violence and overreach.
About the Speaker
Joanna Schwartz is the Honorable Harry Pregerson Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. She teaches Civil Procedure and a variety of courses on police accountability and public interest lawyering. Professor Schwartz is one of the country's leading experts on police misconduct litigation and the author of Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable (2023), which won the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award. Her recent scholarship includes articles empirically examining the justifications for qualified immunity doctrine; the challenges of municipal liability claims; the financial impact of settlements and judgments on federal, state, and local law enforcement officers and agency budgets; and regional variation in civil rights protections across the country.
About the Paul M. Van Arsdell, Jr. Memorial Lecture on Litigation and the Legal Profession
In commemoration of the life and accomplishments of Paul M. Van Arsdell, Jr., the law firm of Latham and Watkins, the Van Arsdell family, and his many friends, colleagues, and clients endowed the Paul M. Van Arsdell, Jr. Memorial Lecture on Litigation and the Legal Profession. This lecture series promotes thoughtful discussion on litigation and dispute resolution systems and the highest ethical ideals of the legal profession.
Mr. Van Arsdell received his bachelor’s degree in 1969 and master’s degree in 1971 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After serving as an officer in the United States Army from 1971 until 1973, he returned to the University of Illinois where he received his law degree in 1977, earning a Rickert Award for Legal Writing and serving as managing editor of the University of Illinois Law Forum.
Following his graduation from law school, Mr. Van Arsdell clerked for Judge John Godbold of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Montgomery, Alabama. He began his practice in 1978 as an associate for the Chicago-based law firm of Hedlund, Hunter and Lynch, moving to their Los Angeles office in 1980. In 1982 the firm merged with Latham and Watkins; Mr. Van Arsdell became a partner in 1985.
Mr. Van Arsdell was an outstanding young litigator involved in consumer law and was a role model for younger attorneys. He was regarded by his colleagues as a very hard-working attorney and regularly shared his experiences and expertise with others. He became the youngest head of the firm’s finance committee, a demonstration of the firm’s deep respect for him and his work.