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Dean Matthew Diller
WE ARE AT A MOMENT IN OUR HISTORY when some of the most basic and prevalent assumptions underlying both the national and global legal orders are going through seismic shifts. Multiple trends are bringing about a world in which the outsize influence of the United States on the global stage can no longer be taken for granted. Increasing wealth inequality over time has given rise to urgent calls to reexamine the distribution of burdens and benefits in our economy and society. The U.S. Supreme Court in the last term has cast aside precedents that have long been referred to as settled law—and appears ready to do more.

Now, as many of the precepts that have dominated legal thinking for the past century are being reappraised, legal academia has a special and important responsibility. Legal scholars dedicated to thinking deeply about the law and its impact on our lives can help us understand our current moment, reflect on how and why we ended up here, and chart a path to a better future.

The three Fordham Law scholars featured in this journal are in the midst of this important work and are each doing so in their own distinctive and thought-provoking ways. Their writing provides portals to fascinating insights that add to our knowledge and help us see what may lie ahead. Pamela Bookman, a leading voice at the intersection of international law and procedure, studies the implications of the growing global practice of “traveling judges,” in which countries hire foreign judges to sit on domestic courts. John Brooks provides clarity in the current debate on progressive tax law reforms and applies his expertise to address concerns about wealth taxes and suggest constitutionally viable pathways for taxing extreme concentrations of wealth. And Julie Suk draws from her deep knowledge of abortion laws and politics in other constitutional democracies to demonstrate how we might reimagine the future of abortion access in this country after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.

The content of this journal represents just a small sample of our faculty’s work. Please visit our website to learn more about the work of all of our professors, as well as our renowned student-edited journals, which are among the most cited in the country.

I hope you enjoy this issue of our Faculty Scholarship Journal and see for yourself how scholarship at Fordham Law is making an impact throughout the legal profession and beyond.

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Matthew Diller
Dean and Paul Fuller Professor of Law