School Notes: Yale Law School
November/December 2023

Dean named to new ABA task force

Yale Law School dean Heather K. Gerken has been appointed to the American Bar Association’s new Task Force for American Democracy. “American democracy is under threat and lawyers are stepping up to ensure our democracy endures,” the ABA said in a statement announcing the task force. “Attempts to overturn election results, the politicization of election processes, and threats to election administrators and election officials have shown the necessity for the bar, the business community, and all Americans to act to fortify our democracy.” Members of the task force are politically diverse, with expertise in government, democracy, and the rule of law. As part of its mission, the task force will host listening tours, public conversations, and smaller discussions “with a broad spectrum of Americans to hear their concerns, experiences, and suggestions for restoring and preserving our democracy,” according to the announcement.

Journal focuses issue on professor

The May 2023 issue of the German Law Journal was devoted to the scholarship of Professor Paul W. Kahn ’77PhD, ’80JD, providing an opportunity for scholars and readers to revisit his work. “Law and Political Imagination: The Perspective of Paul Kahn” examines the broad range of subjects upon which Kahn has written, including constitutionalism, democracy, political theology, sacrifice, localism, and volunteerism. Contributors include former students Ben Berger ’04LLM, ’08JSD (now at Osgoode Hall Law School) and Or Bassok ’07LLM, ’13JSD (now at the University of Nottingham), and others influenced by his work. Some of the essays focus on Kahn’s The Cultural Study of Law and his latest book, Democracy in Our America. Others develop themes across diverse works or compare his method to alternative views. Kahn is the Robert W. Winner Professor of Law and the Humanities and director of the Schell Center for International Human Rights.