Law And The Pandemic

Today we speak with class of 2020 alums Cindy Muro and Shandyn Pierce about their experiences transitioning to online learning and sheltering in place during their last semester of law school, and the unique challenge of taking the California State Bar exam during the pandemic. Cindy Muro is a post-bar clerk representing indigent clients in the Santa Clara County Alternate Defender Office. And Shandyn Pierce is an associate at Meyers Nave, a law firm that handles transaction, litigation and regulatory compliance challenges for clients across California.  Both Cindy and Shandyn were in the Legal Education Opportunity Program and both are the first in their families to become lawyers.

Today, we welcome back Professor Joan Williams, founder of the Center for WorkLife Law, to discuss the impacts of the pandemic on working mothers and caregivers and what has happened since our original conversation.

Today, we speak with Professor Hadar Aviram to learn the latest developments in the fight to stem the outbreak of COVID-19 in California prisons, which have become hotspots for community transmission. She advocates for substantially reducing prison populations—including by early release.

Today, we speak with Professor Dorit Reiss about waning public confidence in the FDA and the CDC—agencies crucial to managing the pandemic. Increasingly, Professor Reiss focuses her research on legal and policy issues related to vaccines, school mandates, and tort and administrative issues related to vaccines.   Resources: https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/03/should-fda-be-independent/   https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/conlawnow/vol12/iss1/7/

In this episode, we speak with Perkins Coie attorneys Paula Goodwin and Jody Bryson about their pro bono project to provide estate planning to the health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 response. Paula Goodwin is an alumna of UC Hastings Law and a Partner in Perkins Coie’s Personal Planning Group. She recently served as the pro bono chair of the firm’s San Francisco office. Jody Bryson is an associate in Perkins Coie’s Personal Planning Group. She provides legal counseling and guidance in the areas of estate, tax and gift planning.

Today we speak with Professor Sarah Hooper about why communities of color are hospitalized and dying at disproportionately higher rates and what we can do to mitigate this serious issue.  Professor Hooper is Executive Director of the UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy. Her research focuses on legal issues in aging and dementia care, including health care decision making and informed consent.

Today, we speak with Professor Shanin Specter about liability waivers and whether they are a viable legal strategy or simply a deterrence tactic. Professor Specter has been teaching at UC Hastings Law since 2017 and is a founding partner of Kline & Specter, one of the leading catastrophic injury firms in the US. He recently published an opinion piece on CNN.com related to this topic.

Today, we speak with Professor Karen Musalo about changes to the U.S. asylum system since the pandemic hit. Professor Musalo is the founding director of the UC Hastings Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic. She has contributed to the evolving jurisprudence of asylum law through her scholarship, as well as her litigation of landmark cases.

Today, we speak with Professor Abe Cable about how UC Hastings Law had to suddenly adapt to the pandemic and the implications for Fall 2020 and beyond. Professor Cable is the Faculty Director of Online Legal Education at UC Hastings Law. This past February, he wrote the college’s Online Education Handbook, which contains information and best practices for faculty.

Today, we speak with Professor John Crawford about the role of the Federal Reserve in managing the financial fallout from the pandemic and his proposal that the Fed should provide a bank account to every American. Professor Crawford’s current research focuses on the regulation of financial markets and institutions. 

This week marks a historic time for the United States, as curfew orders have been put in place across the country in response to protests following the death of George Floyd. UC Hastings Professor Matt Coles, former Deputy Legal Director and Director of Center for Equality at the ACLU, rejoins us this week to weigh in on the constitutionality of these curfew orders.

Today, we speak with Professor Alice Armitage about law firm economics and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Armitage is the Director of Applied Innovation at UC Hastings, where she teaches a course on the business skills necessary to build a tech startup. She’s also a two-time entrepreneur.

The government is spending a lot of money to try to keep the U.S. economy afloat. How is it all being spent? Today, we speak with Professor Manoj Viswanathan to get an overview of the  Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which is also known as the CARES Act.   Professor Viswanathan teaches doctrinal tax courses as well as the UC Hastings Business Tax Practicum for Social Enterprises. His research focuses on tax policy, economic development, and the regulation of tax-exempt organizations.

It's not pleasant to think about, but making sure you have a plan for your worst case scenario during COVID-19 is important for both you and for your family. Today we speak with Professor Sarah Hooper about how to complete an advance care directive in the age of social distancing. Professor Hooper is Executive Director of the UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy. Her research focuses on legal issues in aging and dementia care, including health care decision making and informed consent.

What has to happen before we get a vaccine? What even is a vaccine? Today we talk to Professor Robin Feldman about the potential hurdles to the development and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. Professor Feldman’s work focuses on the role of intellectual property law in technology, as well as drug pricing and health care law. Her most recent book is Drugs, Money, & Secret Handshakes: The Unstoppable Growth of Prescription Drug Prices.

Schools and offices are operating remotely for the first time in history. Is it working? Today, we speak with Professor Joan Williams about the pandemic and the implications for telework. Professor Williams has played a central role in reshaping the conversation about work, gender, and class over the past quarter-century. She has authored 11 books and over 90 academic articles. Most recently, she appeared in a New York Times article on “Three Things Lockdowns Have Exposed About Working and Parenting.”

Today, we speak with Professor Dorit Reiss about the vaccine development process and other tools being deployed to combat COVID-19. Increasingly, Professor Reiss focuses her research on legal and policy issues related to vaccines, school mandates, and tort and administrative issues related to vaccines.

Today, Professor Hadar Aviram explains why those inside the California prison system are so susceptible to COVID-19, as well as the risk that poses to the rest of us. Professor Aviram is an expert in criminal justice, civil rights, and social movements. She’s the author of Yesterday’s Monsters: The Manson Family Cases and the Illusion of Parole, which examines the California parole process.

Confused about who's getting a $1200 check? Today we speak with Professor Amy Spivey about the economic impact payments and get answers to many logistical questions related to this, and to the IRS more generally. Professor Spivey joined UC Hastings Law earlier this year as a Visiting Assistant Professor and Clinic Director for the school’s Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic.

On our inaugural episode, we ask the number one question on everyone's mind: Can the government actually do this? We're joined today by Professor Matt Coles to get his take on shelter-in-place orders and the constitution. Before joining the UC Hastings Law faculty, Professor Coles was Deputy National Legal Director at the ACLU. He also helped defeat three California ballot initiatives aimed at quarantining people with HIV in the 1980s.