Around the Law School

THOUGHT LEADERS

New Faculty Bring Expertise in Tech and International Law

Harlan Grant Cohen
Professor of Law

Cohen’s work centers on international law, international trade, and global governance. Before joining Fordham Law, he held the Gabriel M. Wilner/UGA Foundation Professorship in International Law at the University of Georgia School of Law and served as a faculty co-director of the law school’s Dean Rusk International Law Center. Previously, Cohen worked at the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. He is a member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law and a member of the American Law Institute.

Aniket Kesari
Associate Professor of Law

Kesari, an expert on privacy and cybersecurity law, data science, and public policy, was previously a research fellow at the Information Law Institute at New York University. In addition, he was a postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley’s Social Science Data Lab and a visiting researcher at ETH Zurich’s Center for Law and Economics. He was also a Tech Policy Intern at GitHub, a Data Science for Social Good Fellow at the University of Chicago, and a Google Policy Fellow at Engine.

Chinmayi Sharma
Associate Professor of Law

Sharma’s research and teaching is focused on cybersecurity, surveillance, computer crime, torts, administrative law, and criminal law. She was previously a scholar in residence at the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law and a lecturer at the University of Texas School of Law. She is also a member of Foreign Policy for America, the open source working group at the Atlantic Council, the Transatlantic Cyber Forum, the young professional cohort at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Internet Law Foundry, and is a Yale Cyber Leadership Fellow.

Joe Orlando, Deisy Abarca-Espiritu, Makayla Ashe, and Blake Elwood smile as they hold their trophy at the National Moot Court Competition

BIG WIN

Fordham Takes Top Prize at National Moot Court Competition

In February 2024, Fordham Law’s Maria L. Marcus National Moot Court Team—consisting of Joe Orlando ’24 (left), Deisy Abarca-Espiritu ’24 (second from left), and Blake Elwood ’24 (far right)—won the 74th Annual National Moot Court Competition hosted by the New York City Bar Association, beating out the University of Memphis School of Law in the final round. The team gave outstanding performances under the leadership of Makayla Ashe ’24 (second from right), who served as their coach and who is also the editor-in-chief of the Moot Court Board. “I feel so proud of them,” she said. “They worked so hard. I watched their mastery of law grow over time.”

Dean Matthew Diller speaking before a crowd at the Fordham Law FORWARD The Campaign for the Student Experience

CAMPAIGN COMPLETION

Fordham Law School Exceeds $100 Million FORWARD Campaign Goal

Fordham Law reached a major fundraising milestone in 2023, exceeding its $100 million goal with an additional $10 million in philanthropic support. The success of “Fordham Law FORWARD: The Campaign for the Student Experience” was made possible by contributions from more than 9,000 donors. Since launching in 2018, the campaign has provided crucial funding for scholarships and financial assistance to students as well as support for faculty, clinics, centers, and institutes, and it has invested in new programming and resources at the Law School. The end of the campaign was celebrated with a reception held at the St. Regis New York attended by donors and other members of the Fordham Law community. “When I think of all the changes that have taken place at Fordham Law School over the course of the past eight years, none of those would have been possible without the work, contributions, and efforts of all of you in this room,” said Dean Matthew Diller.

CROSS-BORDER COLLAB

Fordham Law and Skadden Launch Institute

John Brennan

Fordham Law School and the firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom launched a new institute that brings together members of the worldwide legal community and academia to discuss and address significant global legal and regulatory issues. The Scott Simpson Cross-Border Institute at Fordham Law held its first annual Transatlantic Conference, featuring a keynote address by former CIA director John Brennan, in June 2023. The Institute was conceptualized by the late Scott Simpson ’82, an adjunct professor at the Law School and former global co-head of Skadden’s transactions practices.

FORDHAM ON THE POTOMAC

Faculty Members Named Senior Advisors in Biden Administration

Catherine Powell

Atinuke Adediran

Professor Catherine Powell, Eunice Hunton Carter Distinguished Research Scholar at Fordham Law, joined the White House for a six-month assignment as a senior advisor at the White House Gender Policy Council, and Associate Professor Atinuke Adediran was tapped for a yearlong assignment with the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights as a senior advisor on racial justice. The appointments bring to four the number of Fordham Law faculty who have served in advisory roles in the Biden administration. Professor Olivier Sylvain was a senior advisor to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan from 2021 to 2023, and Professor Rebecca Kysar was counselor to the assistant secretary of tax policy in the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2021 to 2022.

ON THE AIR

New Podcasts

covert art for Democracy's Future podcast and Bite-Sized Business Law podcast

Julie Suk

Zephyr Teachout

Amy Martella

Two new podcasts from Fordham Law faculty explore democracy and corporate law. “Democracy’s Future,” presented by professors Julie Suk and Zephyr Teachout, focuses on the latest issues shaping the state of democracy. And “Bite-Sized Business Law,” hosted by Amy Martella, executive director of the Corporate Law Center at Fordham Law, features interviews with experts on hot-button business topics ranging from banking regulations to corporate compliance and AI.

Sherrilynn Ifill smiles as she holds her Fordham-Stein Prize

CIVIL LIBERTIES LEGEND

Sherrilyn Ifill Receives Fordham-Stein Prize

Fordham Law honored trailblazing civil rights leader Sherrilyn Ifill with the Fordham-Stein Prize in November 2023. The award is presented annually by the Law School to a member of the legal profession whose work exemplifies outstanding professional conduct and promotes the advancement of justice. Ifill, one of the most renowned and accomplished civil rights lawyers in the country, spent her career advocating for voting rights, racial justice, and the fight for democracy in a number of roles, including as president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund. “I think what the last 10 or so years have taught us is that democracy is work. … It requires constant vigilance,” said Ifill at the award presentation held at Fordham Law. “We are being called to a higher level of citizenship than we have been engaged in in the past. … And so we have to begin to think about what we’ve been doing—and then how do we take it to the next level?”

Sarah Seo sitting in front of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund bookshelf

FIRST FELLOW

Sarah Seo ’23 Selected as Inaugural NAACP Legal Defense Fund Policy Fellow

Sarah Seo ’23 was named the inaugural recipient of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) Policy Fellowship. Seo, who previously completed a policy internship with LDF, returned to the organization’s New York office for a two-year stint to work on issues related to education and economic justice. A Stein Scholar at Fordham Law, Seo was also director of the Suspension Representation Project and managing editor of the Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum.

PATHBREAKING PUBLIC SERVANT

Celebrating Judge Felipe N. Torres ’26

Judge Felipe N. Torres ’26, the first Puerto Rican assemblyman to be elected from the Bronx, was inducted posthumously into Fordham Law’s Alumni of Distinction. The Alumni of Distinction honors graduates of the Law School who have broken barriers in the legal profession, opened doors for underrepresented groups, and blazed trails for future generations.

Torres, who died in 1994 at the age of 96, also helped found the Puerto Rican Bar Association and was the first Puerto Rican to be appointed judge on the New York State Family Court. An event at the Law School celebrating his induction was attended by alumni, faculty, students, and family members and featured a fireside chat with Torres’s granddaughter, Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

See Alumni of Distinction for more about Judge Torres.

Judge Analisa Torres unveils her grandfather’s display at his Alumni of Distinction ceremony.

CRYPTO CONFAB

Senator Gillibrand Speaks at Blockchain Symposium

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand addressing the crowd at the Fordham Law annual Blockchain Regulatory Symposium

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) spoke at Fordham Law’s annual Blockchain Regulatory Symposium, advising the audience of insiders and legal experts that “political engagement” with Congress would be crucial to the future of their industry. The October 2023 symposium also included Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York Martin Glenn, Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of New Jersey Michael B. Kaplan, and Commissioner for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Kristin Johnson.

SUPPORTING STUDENTS

Chris Torrente ’00 and Jill Torrente, GSS ’19, Found “Empowering Every Mind” Program

Thanks to the generous support of Chris Torrente ’00, a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis in New York City, and his wife, Jill Torrente, GSS ’19, Fordham Law launched a new initiative in 2023 to help students with learning differences. The “Empowering Every Mind” program is aimed at students who struggle with issues such as ADHD, sensory disabilities, mental or physical health challenges, or chronic illness, helping them acquire professional skills and leadership training. “Jill and I have looked for ways to give back to the Fordham community and to provide our support to initiatives at Fordham that represent our belief that education can create a level playing field and should enable people to realize their full potential,” said Chris Torrente. The couple also endowed a scholarship in Chris Torrente’s name in 2019 and have supported the Increasing Diversity in Education and the Law program.

INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION

Leitner Center Report Probes Afghanistan Evacuations

cover of a report from Fordham Law’s Leitner Center for International Law and Justice

A report from Fordham Law’s Leitner Center for International Law and Justice examined the disastrous humanitarian evacuations from Afghanistan and provided a series of guidelines to prevent future crises. Aimed at policy- and decision-makers and the broader international community, the report was produced by Leitner Center Executive Director Elisabeth Wickeri and Fordham Law Visiting Scholar Junli Lim, who conducted more than 40 interviews around the world. They were assisted by Fordham Law students and Crowley Scholars Elizabeth Garrison ’24, Shivani Parikh ’24, Marciana Popescu ’24, and Tammy Zapata ’24.

SHAPING SCHOLARSHIP

Fordham Law Faculty Honored

Eleven members of the faculty were recognized by Fordham Law School for their intellectual leadership in fields ranging from contract law theory to tax law, race and the law, immigration and employment, and constitutional law, among other areas.

Four were awarded named chairs and seven were named Distinguished Scholars for their contributions to scholarship and outstanding service to the Fordham Law community.

“These 11 professors are at the forefront of legal scholarship, constantly pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the law and influencing legal discourse. We take immense pride in acknowledging their exceptional accomplishments,” said Dean Matthew Diller.