On The Record - Columbus School of Law

Assessing the Legacy of an Apostolic LetterOctober 3 to 4 — A year in the planning, a two-day conference of scholars, theologians,law professors and others urged a careful reconsideration of a woman’s place in theworld and of her unique contributions to society. At the center of the new analysis wasMulieris Dignitatem, an apostolic letter written by Pope John Paul II in 1988 that wasthe first of its kind devoted entirely to the subject of women. It addressed the challengeof contemporary feminism with a theological reflection on the meaning of womanhood,the vocation of women, and the role of women in the Church and in society. Twentyyears after its issuance, many of the conferees said the letter’s prescient themes cryfor attention more urgently than ever. Instead of freedom, argued the keynote speaker,the cultural revolution has instead brought the fragmentation of society, with concurrentrises in the incidence of divorce, depression and suicide.AP PHOTO/CLAUDIO LUFFOLIA Tutorial Behind the HeadlinesOctober 27 — Catholic University law students were exposed to a half-dozeninformed points of view on the current financial crisis at a town hall discussionabout the financial meltdown and sub-prime lending mess that lies beneath it.The brainchild of the law school’s Dean Veryl Miles, the 90-minute eventoffered the expertise of faculty professors, private sector attorneys, public relationsprincipals and others on such questions as: What was missing from theregulatory structure? What is the government doing about it? What financingactivities led to the meltdown? And, perhaps the paramount question to mostin the audience, how will it impact our lives? The program’s moderator,Professor David Lipton, said that no single cause bears sole responsibility forthe daily drumbeat of depressing economic news. “The meltdown was theresult of the confluence of a variety of events,” he stated. “Collectively, theycreated a ‘perfect cataclysm’ of negative financial trends.”A Class in Hard ChoicesNovember 6 — Represent clients long enough, and eventually a case will arise in every lawyer’s career that confronts themwith difficult, confusing and even morally ambiguous choices. “Counseling Clients Who Confront Complex and CompetingObligations,” a two-hour panel presentation illustrated with compelling casestudies, offered law students the wisdom and experience of four distinguishedlegal practitioners who gave advice on how a lawyer should proceed, and whatshould guide his or her decision making, when handling a client who is facingmoral or ethical conflicts. The ethics symposium was proposed by the lawschool’s Dean Veryl Miles and realized by Professor William Wagner, director ofThe Center for Law, Philosophy and Culture. Professor Stephen Goldman, oneof the discussants, offered a parting thought: “Sometimes the right thing to dois clear simply because of the kind of people we want to be,” he said.Fall-Winter 2008 / C UALAWYER 35