School of Law

The U.S. Treasury Department has issued several rules recently aimed at cracking down on tax evasion and money laundering in the wake of the “Panama Papers.” Will continuing to add new, and increasingly aggressive, rules make any lasting or concrete changes to the American tax code? Maybe, but perhaps at a cost to the tax law as a whole, says Washington University tax expert Adam Rosenzweig.

Seeking change is a way of life for entrepreneurial philanthropist Cash Nickerson.

At 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 25, the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis and the Assembly Series welcomes to campus John Paul Stevens, who served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court for 35 years until his retirement in 2010.

The six Washington University students who went to the Conference of the Parties (COP21) climate negotiations in Paris are well prepared, resilient, tough-minded and in this fight for the duration.

John Paul Stevens, who served as a Supreme Court associate justice from 1975 to 2010, will speak at 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 25, in Graham Chapel. Afterward, he will take part in a panel discussion on the Second Amendment.

Microsoft’s challenge to the gag order provisions of the federal Stored Communications Act should be applauded by everyone who cares about civil liberties, whether in the physical or digital worlds, said Neil Richards, a privacy law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

The School of Law is expanding its Clinical Education Program with the addition of a Guardian ad Litem Clinic and an Urban Revitalization Practicum beginning in fall 2016. The new offerings bring to 19 the clinical opportunities for law students to provide free legal services to the community while learning professional skills.

On April 5, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed into law House Bill 1523, a controversial “religious freedom” bill, which says that the state government cannot punish public employees, social service providers and businesses that refuse to provide services to people because of a religious opposition. The law is unconstitutional, said Elizabeth Sepper, associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

The School of Law will celebrate the outstanding achievements of five individuals on April 7 at its 43rd annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner.

The August 2014 death of unarmed Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer captivated the nation and touched off a heated debate about the nature of law enforcement in the United States. A new book edited by Washington University in St. Louis’ Kimberly Norwood explores the underlying fault lines that cracked and gave rise to the eruption in Ferguson, Mo.