Speaker Series

Past Speakers

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  As the Arctic Thaws: New Challenges, Remaining Issues

  April 2017

  Building on the successful Arctic I Symposium and Arctic II Roundtable, this program extended discussions of the state of Arctic governance and ecosystem-based management, looking toward the next major challenges facing environmental governance in the region.

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  The Humane Economy: Animal Rights, Seaworld, and the Future?

  February 13, 2017

  Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, discussed how animal rights activists have negotiated animal wellbeing and social change in Sea World, the egg and chicken industry, animal testing and humane science, and beyond. Event details

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  Rocky Flats: Causes of Action

  November 18, 2016
  Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering
  
  This program included presentations from the lead counsel in four landmark cases within the decades-long litigation that arose from the near meltdown and radioactive contamination at the covert Rocky Flats nuclear weapons production facility in Colorado. Event details
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  Chamyúuy~wóoyilash Where We Bow Our Heads Out of Respect: Cultivating Consciousness in Acjachemen Homelands

  April 8, 2015

  A panel of Native community leaders and academics discussed the history of the lands now known as Irvine and the relationships between the place, the university and the Indigenous communities in whose territory the campus is located. Discussion topics included the history of development’s impacts upon Native Nations in Orange County, the legal issues raised by development, and Native cultural perspectives on good planning and development. Event details

  Sponsored by UC Irvine School of Law, Center for Land, Environment, and Natural Resources, UC Irvine Sustainability Initiative, Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, ADVANCE Program for Equity & Diversity and American Indian Resource Program

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  Genetically Modified: Food Security, Health & the Environment

  March 10, 2014

  CLEANR convened a panel of distinguished experts to explore some of the major issues raised by genetically modified food.  Panelists initially presented from their particular discipline on the health, security, environmental and intellectual property, and political issues of GM food.  Subsequently, the panelists engaged in a dialogue on the issues raised by their initial remarks, followed by an opportunity for questions from and discussions with the broader interdisciplinary audience of students, faculty, administrators, lawyers, government officials, and other members of the public. Event details

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  Daniel A. Farber

  Sho Sato Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley

  September 27, 2012

  Beyond Imagination: Government Blind Spots Regarding Catastrophic Risks

  Prof. Farber specializes in constitutional and environmental law in the United States, and has written numerous books and articles on disaster law. He is also the Co-Director of the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment.

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  Kenneth Feinberg

  Feinberg Rozen, LLP and Fund Administrator, BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund

  March 21, 2013

  Unconventional Responses to Unique Catastrophes: Tailoring the Law to Meet the Challenges

  Mr. Feinberg has been key to resolving many of our nation’s most challenging disputes. He is best known for serving as the Special Master of the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. In addition, Mr. Feinberg administered victim compensation for the BP Deepwater Horizon, Virginia Tech, Aurora Theater, and Penn State-Sandusky tragedies, as well as TARP Executive Compensation.

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  Richard J. Lazarus

  Howard J. and Katherine W. Aibel Professor of Law, Harvard University, and former Executive Director, President’s Commission to investigate the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

  February 7, 2012

  The 2010 Gulf Oil Spill: Investigating its Root Causes at the Request of the President

  In this inaugural lecture, Professor Lazarus reflected on his experience as Executive Director of the President’s Commission to investigate the Gulf Oil Spill, focusing on the political challenges of running the Commission, the Commission’s findings, and subsequent events and lessons related to the disaster.

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  Lisa Grow Sun

  Associate Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University

  March 28, 2013

  Disaster Wars: War Metaphors and Disaster Response

  Professor Sun has become a leader in the emerging field of Disaster Law, and her current work focuses on disaster mythology – misconceptions we have about the ways that people typically react in the aftermath of disasters.

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  Kent Syverud

  Dean, Washington University School of Law and Individual Trustee, BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust

  November 9, 2012

  Lessons from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust

  Dean Syverud is a leader in American and legal education who has written and taught extensively about complex litigation, insurance law, civil procedure, negotiation, and legal education.