On Constitution Day this year, California LAW in partnership with Foothill College invites you to engage in dialogue around "Black Lives Matter & the U.S. Constitution". This two-hour virtual event will feature keynote speakers followed by breakout group discussions. All California LAW Pathway Partners are encouraged to invite their students, faculty champions and other campus leaders to join!
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
11 A.M. TO 1 P.M.
PAUL HENDERSON
Paul Henderson is a nationally recognized speaker, veteran prosecutor and champion for social justice.
Henderson has spent his entire professional career working in public service for the city of San Francisco and most recently was appointed Director of the Department of Police Accountability, where he and his legal team are tasked with investigating all complaints regarding police use of force and misconduct. The prestigious office of San Francisco’s civilian oversight represents award winning practices of police reforms defined by 21 Century Policing models.
Prior to this appointment, Henderson spent 7 years as the Deputy Chief of Staff & Public Safety Director to the former Mayor of the City of San Francisco, Edwin M. Lee. As a principal advisor to the Mayor, he was responsible for the development and implementation of strategic policy and administration on major issues affecting the city with an emphasis on the criminal justice system.
These skills were developed during his tenure as Chief of Administration and prosecutor for the previous District Attorney of San Francisco, Kamala Harris from 1995-2010. It was there that Henderson not only honed his skills as a trial attorney, handling all types of cases ranging from nonviolent misdemeanors to serious felonies, but also became known as an expert in interpreting complex criminal justice public policy issues.
As a leader and innovator, Henderson introduced numerous cutting-edge programs of national consequence including: a modified approach to 3 strikes, juvenile drug court, juvenile domestic violence court, drug possession court, community justice court and a neighborhood DA program. Henderson has developed curricula and conducted trainings for legal professionals, public agencies and elected officials across the country.
Known for his commitment and dedication to public service, Henderson was recently awarded California’s Lawyer of the Year by the California Association of Black Lawyers. His combination of legal experience and an informed perspective have made Henderson a nationally sought after speaker and on-air personality. In 2016, he was also honored to be part of a select group invited to the White House to participate in a national forum addressing justice reform.
Henderson sits on the editorial board for California Lawyer Magazine and is a contributing writer to Politico.com. He also appears regularly on MSNBC, CNN, PBS and is the on-air legal analyst for the SF affiliate of CBS news.
ERWIN CHEMERINSKY
Erwin Chemerinsky became the 13th Dean of Berkeley Law on July 1, 2017, when he joined the faculty as the Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law.
Prior to assuming this position, from 2008-2017, he was the founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law, and Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law, at University of California, Irvine School of Law, with a joint appointment in Political Science. Before that he was the Alston and Bird Professor of Law and Political Science at Duke University from 2004-2008, and from 1983-2004 was a professor at the University of Southern California Law School, including as the Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, Legal Ethics, and Political Science. He also has taught at DePaul College of Law and UCLA Law School.
He is the author of eleven books, including leading casebooks and treatises about constitutional law, criminal procedure, and federal jurisdiction. His most recent books are, We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century (Picador Macmillan) published in November 2018, and two books published by Yale University Press in 2017, Closing the Courthouse Doors: How Your Constitutional Rights Became Unenforceable and Free Speech on Campus (with Howard Gillman).
He also is the author of more than 200 law review articles. He writes a regular column for the Sacramento Bee, monthly columns for the ABA Journal and the Daily Journal, and frequent op-eds in newspapers across the country. He frequently argues appellate cases, including in the United States Supreme Court.
In 2016, he was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2017, National Jurist magazine again named Dean Chemerinsky as the most influential person in legal education in the United States.
About California LAW
California LAW Leadership – Access – Workforce is an organization created to be the foundational structure that connects, communicates, collaborates, and coordinates with programs working to help diverse students enter the legal profession. It consists of 22 high school law academies created under the California Partnership Academy model in a unique collaboration between the State Bar of California and the California Department of Education. Additionally, it includes members of the Community College Pathway to Law School initiative with 29 community colleges throughout the state, 9 undergraduate institutions and their law schools, resulting in an educational pipeline into the legal profession created under the leadership of the State Bar of California's Council on Access and Fairness.