Carolina Law Events

Vicki Arroyo of the Georgetown Climate Center and John Dorman of the NC Dept of Environment and Natural Resources address the conference at the UNC Law School on 3/30/12.

On 3/26/12 Sir Christopher Meyer, KCMG, former United Kingdom Ambassador to the United States (1997-2003), former press secretary to Prime Minister John Major, former Chair of the United Kingdom Press Complaints Commission gave the kick-off keynote presentation for International Law Week. He spoke on his career in diplomacy and his current documentary focusing on the six cities which constitute the hubs of power in the world and how the world of diplomacy is changing, or not.

This panel was held on March 28, 2012 at the UNC School of Law. The purpose of the panel is to highlight issues affecting formerly incarcerated individuals and policy and legal solutions to help them reenter society. There will be a particular emphasis on how this translates into unmet legal needs in the community. The panel is moderated by retired UNC Law Professor Richard Rosen, and includes prisoner-turned-lawyer Daryl Atkinson, as well as Kari Hamel from Legal Aid Pittsboro.

On March 26, 2012 The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy hosted a Speech by former British Ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer at the UNC School of Law. Ambassador Meyer, who previously chaired the Press Complaints Commission in the UK, will speak about the regulation of the news media, international law, and his new documentary entitled "Network of Power." He will also talk about the phone hacking scandal at News Corp. Sir Christopher Meyer, Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, was educated at Lancing College, the Lycée Henri IV, Paris, and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read History. After Cambridge, he spent a year at the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy. Sir Christopher joined the Diplomatic Service in 1966. After two years in London, he was posted to Moscow from 1968 to 1970, and then to Madrid from 1970 to 1973. He became speech-writer to the Foreign Secretary. In this capacity he worked until 1978 for three Foreign Secretaries. On returning to London in 1984, he spent four years as Foreign Office Spokesman and Press Secretary to the then Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe (Later Lord Howe of Aberavon). In 1988-89 he spent a sabbatical year as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Centre for International Affairs. He served for two years Government Spokesman and Press Secretary to the Prime Minister. After serving as British Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany from March 1997 to October 1997, Sir Christopher was appointed Ambassador to the United States from October 1997 to February 2003, the longest period since the Second World War. Sir Christopher became Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission in March 2003. Sir Christopher was made Knight Commander, Order of St Michael and St George in 1998. In 2005 Sir Christopher published a book of memoirs entitled “DC Confidential.” In the spring of 2010, Sir Christopher became the first taught Honors 353, “Empire and Diplomacy,” with UNC Professor Theodore H. Leinbaugh OBE.

On 9/21/11 The UNC Center on the Law and Government hosted a dialogue on a proposed amendment to the N.C. Constitution that would outlaw gay marriage. The dialogue featured two prominent state lawmakers: Paul Stam, the House Republican leader, who introduced the proposed amendment in the House; and Rick Glazier, the House Minority Whip, who opposes the proposed amendment. Professor Michael Gerhardt moderated the discussion.

Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United States, speaks on transatlantic relations and on the Transatlantic Climate Bridge, a joint commitment by Germany and the United States to invest in newer, cleaner sources of energy. Ambassador Scharioth received his law degree in 1973 and has a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He has served as a legal representative of Germany to the United Nations and was the Vice Chairman of the United Nations Legal and Charter Committees from 1986 to 1990. In addition, he acted as Chef de Cabinet to the NATO Secretary-General in Brussels. He presented his credentials as German Ambassador to the United States in 2006.

On Feb 18th, 2009 a Press Conference was held at the UNC School of Law to present the findings of a joint study on the 287(g) program. A federal law granting local police and sheriffs the power to act as immigration officials when faced with dangerous criminals or terrorists has instead created a climate of racial profiling and community insecurity, according to researchers at the UNC School of Law Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. The team of law students, led by Deborah Weissman, Reef C. Ivey II Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs at UNC School of Law, and Katherine Parker and Rebecca Headen, lawyers with the ACLU in North Carolina Legal Foundation, released a report on the 287(g) program in North Carolina titled The Policies and Politics of Local Immigration Enforcement Law on Feb. 18.