Former Obama official Cass Sunstein to speak
The New York Times magazine described Cass Sunstein as “the most productive and probably the most influential liberal legal scholar of his generation.” Talk-radio host Glenn Beck called Sunstein “the most dangerous man in America.” And the legal search site HeinOnline listed him as the most-cited legal scholar.
Legal scholar Cass Sunstein will present the Dermot S. McGlinchey Lecture on Federal Litigation on March 16. (Photo from Harvard Law School)
Sunstein, a constitutional law specialist who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, is the Robert Walmsley University professor at Harvard Law School. He also is an authority on administrative law and behavioral economics. He writes prolifically in academic publications and popular-media outlets about topics as diverse as the polarizing effects of group-think; President Obama"s immigration reform initiative; cost-benefit analysis of climate change"s impact on animals; and regulating manipulation of consumer choices.
He gained international renown as a legal scholar during 27 years at the University of Chicago. He moved to Harvard Law School in 2008, then spent three years as the Obama Administration"s “regulatory czar” before returning to teaching.
Sunstein"s McGlinchey lecture will examine institutional flip-flops in law and politics. For example, Republicans and Democrats in Congress only approve of the filibuster when they want to block nominees from a president of the other party. “Fair-weather federalists” advocate states" rights when it suits their purpose. Supreme Court justices" exercise of judicial restraint might depend on whether they like the result.
The McGlinchey Stafford law firm established the lecture in 1996 to honor its founder, the late Dermot S. McGlinchey, a 1957 graduate of Tulane Law School who devoted much of his life to promoting equal access to the courts.
Linda P. Campbell is director of communications for the Tulane Law School.
