Law and Government Highlights
  • 36
    Co-Curricular events
  • 1600+
    Attendees at Law and Government Events
  • 30
    Alumni Featured
  • 85
    Guest Speakers Welcomed to Campus
  • 150+
    Externship Opportunities

A Welcome Message from the Faculty Director

Fernando
 

When this year started, we couldn’t begin to imagine the challenges and opportunities it would bring. We started with the typical rush of activities and expectation, but ended in the hectic and bewildering confinement of the COVID19 quarantine. Law school is ultimately about preparing for a career, and it’s hard to think about that when you’ve been asked to upend your life in the face of a global pandemic. We were reminded in the end that this time is a unique opportunity to step up from whatever role we’ve had into newer roles, for which no training can completely prepare us.

Ultimately, that’s not dissimilar to lawyering at the intersection of law and government. We take on new challenges that seem daunting but rely on what we’ve learned and our ability to constantly learn new things to make a difference. Even as we move to programming more events online, we look forward to seeing you again face-to-face. As I said to students in January, in the face of so much that challenges and bewilders us, it’s good to remember that some things haven’t changed. Our faculty are still experts in their fields. Your friends and colleagues still have your back. And the work you’re doing still provides a solid foundation for the future.

In his inaugural address on a cold January day in 1961, President John F. Kennedy famously encouraged Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” This is our opportunity to write the narrative of how America meets a serious new challenge. You are in the right place at the right time even “virtually” to make a difference for others, and we commit to doing our part to help prepare you to do that.

Thank you for your support. Let’s get to work.

Prof. Fernando Laguarda

Building Community

The Program on Law & Government brings together students, faculty, alumni, and partner organizations. During the 2019-2020 Academic Year, the Program hosted and co-hosted 36 events with over 1600+ attendees. We welcomed 85 guest speakers to campus and about a third of our events featured a AUWCL alumnus (30 total alumni!) In addition, for our Marshall Brennan anniversary celebration, we had over 50 individual donors. Our programming gives students the opportunity to build connections with alumni and strengthens alumni connections to AUWCL.

"The Program on Law & Government has given me access to so many opportunities, both at Washington College of Law and in the Washington, D.C. community. The faculty have supported me and helped me develop the skills necessary to pursue my post-graduation goals." – Jackson Garrity, 3L

“The Program on Law and Government is a remarkable resource for incoming students and continues to add value and give students an opportunity in this space” – Aaron Yuratovich, 2L

“The Program helped me clearly define what I want to do in my career and provided me the resources necessary to achieve my personal and professional goals.” - Victoria Kelley, 3L

“More than ever, the Program is dedicated to improving our community while also training the next generation of public leaders. The Program offers a space for everyone to grow and succeed, both as a person and as a lawyer.” – Evan Chiarelli, 3L

Professor Kim Wehle, Visiting Fellow in Law and Government

Kime Wehle
 

Kimberly Wehle served as Visiting Professor of Law and Visiting Fellow in Law and Government at American University Washington College of Law for Spring 2020. Professor Wehle is Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she teaches and writes in the areas of Administrative law, Federal Courts and Civil Procedure. Prior to joining the University of Baltimore, Professor Wehle was an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and a Visiting Professor at George Washington University Law School. She is the author most recently of How to Read the Constitution and Why, a concise text analyzing serious Constitutional law debates. This summer, she is teaching in the Law and Government Summer Institute, Campaign 2020 & the Law.

Professor Wehle made an outsized impact on WCL during her semester as a Visiting Fellow. She participated in numerous events and activities, served as a panelist for the the AU Legislation and Policy Brief Spring Symposium, and joined Professor Laguarda for a series of podcasts on the presidential impeachment. At the same time as she was teaching two classes, she served as a media commentator during the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump, appearing as an on-air legal expert On-Air Legal Expert for CBS News. She appeared regularly on MSNBC, CNN, BBC, NPR, and PBS, giving informed opinions on contemporary legal issues. Professor Wehle is also an On-Air and Off-Air Legal Expert, Analyst and Commentator for CBS News. She is a Contributor for BBC World News and BBC World News America on PBS, an Op-Ed Contributor for The Bulwark, and an Opinion Contributor for The Hill. She previously appeared as a regular guest legal analyst on various media outlets regarding Robert Mueller's probe on Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election and other issues regarding the structural Constitution and the Trump Administration, including CNN, MSNBC, NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS NewsHour, and Fox News.

Her appearances on political talk shows and dedication to a dizzying array of scholarly articles and literature all stem from a deep-rooted conviction to both inform and inspire. For her students, she hopes to inform about constitutional rules and norms and the consequences that flow from their breach. Beyond what the constitution means, she seeks to inspire students to know why it matters. Her hope is that students use their privilege as educated lawyers to lead and build a better, more just legal system. For her four young daughters, Professor Wehle hopes her tireless work inspires them to be the best advocates they can be for themselves. In a world full of institutional barriers that keep women from achieving new heights, she hopes to show her daughters what diligence, hard work, and an unwillingness to let doubt discourage them can accomplish over time.

We are thankful that Professor Wehle joined us as a Visiting Fellow in Law and Government during this consequential time in our history. Look for her new book, What You Need to Know about Voting and Why, which will be released this summer.

Program Faculty

? Fernando Laguarda
 

Fernando Laguarda, Faculty Director 

Fernando Laguarda is Professorial Lecturer and Director of the Program on Law & Government at the American University Washington College of Law. Previously, he served as Vice President, External Affairs and Policy Counselor for Time Warner Cable, where he helped the company develop and advance its policy positions, focusing on consumer protection, competition issues, intellectual property and telecommunications regulation. He also oversaw the company’s relationships with non-governmental policy stakeholders such as civil rights and human rights organizations, think tanks, foundations, academic institutions and public interest groups. In 2010, Fernando founded and served as inaugural Director of the Time Warner Cable Research Program on Digital Communications, the first program of its kind seeking to expand relevant scholarship in the cable and telecommunications industries. Professor Laguarda teaches courses on Antitrust Law and Administrative Law. He also directs the Oversight Project, a student publication focusing on the work of the ovesight and accountability community.

Louis Caldera
 

Louis Caldera, Senior Affiliate in Law and Government

Louis Caldera is a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law and a Senior Affiliate in the Program on Law and Government at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). Prior to joining WCL, Caldera taught courses in Legislation and Legislative Process, Election Law/Law of Democracy, State and Local Advocacy, and Corporate Governance at Loyola Law School, The University of New Mexico, and The George Washington University. He is particularly interested in the design and operation of democratic institutions and the participation of groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the political and policy-making process. The former Secretary of the Army, Caldera has served in numerous public service, higher education, and nonprofit leadership roles, including as an Army officer, state legislator, university president and in two presidential administrations. He served in the California State Assembly from 1992 to 1997, representing a downtown Los Angeles based district. He served in two Senate confirmed positions in the Clinton Administration, including as Secretary of the Army, and in the Obama White House as an Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Military Office. His higher education career includes service as a vice chancellor for The California State University and as president of The University of New Mexico where he was also a member of the university’s law school faculty.

Jeffrey Lubbers
 

Jeffrey Lubbers, Professor of Practice in Administrative Law

Jeffrey Lubbers is a Professor of Practice in Administrative Law and is also active as a Fellow in WCL’s Law and Government Program. He holds expertise in administrative law; government structure and procedures; and regulatory policy and procedures. In addition to teaching Administrative Law, he also teaches the Washington Lawyer Seminar, the keystone course in the LLM in Law and Government Program. He also serves as WCL’s liaison to Japanese Law Schools, having taught at WCL’s “sister school,” Ritsumeikan University School of Law in Kyoto, for nine summers. From 2012-15 he was Director of WCL’s Europe Summer Law Program. He has also engaged in numerous administrative law reform projects in China in the last 20 years. From 1982-1995, Professor Lubbers was the research director of the Administrative Conference of the United States, where he is now Special Counsel.

Bettina Poirer
 

Bettina Poirier, Senior Affiliate in Law and Government

Bettina Poirier has served as Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee for over 10 years. Poirier was the first woman to hold this position in the Committee's history. She worked for Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) who was the Chair and later the Ranking Member of the Committee. Senator Boxer retired this year after 4 terms in the Senate and 10 years in the House. As Staff Director and Chief Counsel, Ms. Poirier managed the Democratic staff on the EPW Committee, and she worked with Members of Congress, the Executive Branch, State and local governments, NGO's and many other stakeholders on environment, energy, and infrastructure issues. The EPW Committee has jurisdiction over a wide variety of subjects, including transportation and water infrastructure, clean air, clean water, drinking water and wildlife protections, federal buildings, toxic chemical safeguards, as well as chemical and nuclear plant safety. Bettina Poirer teaches courses on Legislative Negotiation and Legislative Drafting.

Andrew Popper
 

Andrew F. Popper, Ann Loeb Bronfman Distinguished Professor of Law and Government

Andrew F. Popper is the Bronfman Professor Law and Government and teaches torts, administrative law, government litigation, and advanced administrative law. In 2016 he was elected law faculty member of the year. He is the recipient of American Bar Association awards for excellence in both tort and administrative law and has received American University’s highest faculty award, Scholar/Teacher of the Year. He has served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and for nearly two decades has chaired the law school admissions committee. He is the director of the law school's Integrated Curriculum Program and faculty advisor to the Administrative Law Review. He has served as chair of the Administrative Law Section of the Federal Bar Association and has been a site visitor for the ABA and AALS, participating in the accreditation review of twelve other law schools, chairing four of those visits. He is the recipient of the Maryland Writer’s Association Firs Place Award for mainstream fiction.

Herman Schwartz
 

Herman Schwartz, Professor Emeritus

Herman Schwartz is a Professor of Law Emeritus at American University Washington College of Law. Throughout a long career in academia, publishing and community service, he has focused his attention and the world's on issues of civil rights and civil liberties as they have played out in courts and prisons across the globe. He has worked with the United Nations, the human rights advocacy group Helsinki Watch, the U.S./Israel Civil Liberties Law Program (which he founded), the ACLU Prison Project (which he founded), Washington College of Law's Human Rights Center and other organizations. In May 2006 he was awarded the 2006 Champion of Justice Award by the Alliance for Justice.

Steven Shapiro
 

Steven Shapiro, Senior Affiliate in Law and Government

Steven Shapiro, the director of the Hospitality & Tourism Law program at WCL and also teaches Construction Law (LAW 885), Contract Drafting (LAW 849) and Government Contracts Dispute Resolution. An engineer and lawyer, Professor Shapiro has a distinct experience in the interplay of construction and design as well as complex agreements in real estate development.

Stephen Wermiel
 

Stephen Wermiel, Professor of Practice in Constitutional Law

Stephen Wermiel is a Professor of Practice in Constitutional Law and part of the Program on Law and Government at American University Washington College of Law. He is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association (ABA) and also sits in the ABA House of Delegates, He is past chair of the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice (CRSJ) (formerly Individual Rights and Responsibilities) and author of a monthly column on SCOTUSblog aimed at explaining the Supreme Court to law students. At the Washington College of Law, he serves as an adviser to and was past associate director of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, in which Washington College of Law students teach constitutional law in the public high schools of Washington, D.C. He also is faculty adviser to the Moot Court Honor Society and serves on the advisory boards of the American University Law Review, Administrative Law Review and the Journal of Gender, Social Policy and Law. In the ABA, Wermiel was most recently a member of the Standing Committee on the Silver Gavel Awards, served as chair of the publications committee of CRSJ, and is a member of the editorial advisory boards of Communications Lawyer, the quarterly publication of the Forum on Communications Law, and Human Rights, the quarterly of CRSJ. He also co-chairs the Free Speech Free Press Committee of CRSJ. In January 2018, CRSJ honored Wermiel with the Robert F. Drinan Award for dedication and service to the section.