Lynne Stewart portion of Hofstra conference won't get CLE credit

According to comments here, the Lynne Stewart presentation won't count for CLE credit.  I expect it'll be a terrific conference and I'm looking forward to hearing Stewart.  As I've said elsewhere, this will be the third time I've heard a convicted lawyer speak, and the other two were illuminating.

Comments

[Ed Sodaro]

I don't think that anyone fully appreciates the enormous damage that this nightmarish "ethics" conference has done to the reputation of Hofstra Law.

[Patrick S. O'Donnell]

Well at least *you* fully appreciate it: perhaps the rest of us can be a bit more sensible, rational, reasonable in our assessment of the value of this conference and the significance of Stewart's participation. And several years down the road you might detail for us the extent to which the reputation of Hofstra Law has suffered.

[S.cotus]

Perhaps it might be helpful to show which speakers that appeared at certain law schools in the early 80s injured their reputations.

You would need to specify the speaker (there were controversial figures in the 1980s), and show a decline in USN ranking. Then you would need to at least show some indication that the decline in the USN ranking was due to THAT speaker. If you can't do that, then I would need to conclude that 1) you are not a lawyer; and 2) your comments are political.

[John Steele]

One unfortunate aspect of the recent internet and media coverage is the failure to acknowledge what those of us in the legal ethics field know: in terms of quality and "weight," the bi-annual Hofstra conference is as good as our discipline offers.

[S.cotus]

The irony about that is that it probably doesn’t change the ranking of the school one way or the other, even though the study of legal ethics is important.

[Sonia]

I am a first year student at Hofstra Law, and I find it disturbing that there are those who believe the value of my education will be diminished by hearing someone speak who has defied ethical limits to the extent of inciting outrage. Any higher education should involve understanding controversial perspectives, ethical constraints, and their historical contexts. This is always better served by inviting speakers with experience in these problems. Many forums state outright, and this one seems to imply that Hofstra students are not intellectually capable of understanding the complex ethical/moral dilemmas that will inherently occur by even having Ms. Stewart as a speaker. This is ridiculous. We know she has been disbarred. We will not, in all likelihood, come even close to viewing her as a role model as many have suggested. I don't think that anyone thinks in this country today that an education is simply a memorization and recitation of exactly what one is taught by learned professors and speakers, and if they do, I feel pity for them. Only in forums of differentiating opinions and acts can we actually learn.

[John Steele]

Sonia,

Thanks for writing.

The notion that the conference could negatively affect employment chances for any Hofstra student are zero. I hope the Hofstra students understand that.