Around the Law School
SILVER ANNIVERSARY
Summer Ireland Program Celebrates 25 Years
When Dean Emeritus and Norris Professor of Law John Feerick ’58, ’61 LLB was invited by President Bill Clinton to Northern Ireland in 1995, he saw an opportunity for students to learn more about the peace efforts in the region. The Summer Ireland Program was established soon after, and 25 years later, the program has brought over 700 law students to Northern Ireland to learn about conflict resolution. “This has been one of the most rewarding and educational experiences I have ever had,” said Natalia Brown ’27 JD, who studied in Ireland in the summer of 2025. “Though the days are busy, there is not a moment that feels tiring or uninteresting.” The two-week program is a partnership between Fordham Law and the University College Dublin and Queen’s University in Belfast. Students take courses, engage with local government leaders, and explore the local culture while learning about Northern Ireland’s history.
THOUGHT LEADERS
Five New Faculty Members Join Fordham Law in 2025
Robin Effron
Professor of Law
Professor of Law
Robin Effron is an expert on civil procedure and complex litigation. Previously, she was a professor of law, dean’s research scholar, and co-director of the Dennis J. Block Center for the Study of International Business Law at Brooklyn Law School. She is the co-author of two casebooks on civil procedure and complex litigation.
Jamie Grischkan
Associate Professor of Law
Associate Professor of Law
Jamie Grischkan is a legal scholar and historian of financial regulation and antimonopoly law and policy. She was previously an associate professor of law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and a fellow at New York University School of Law and Harvard Law School. Grischkan also previously worked as a corporate associate at Paul Hastings LLP.
Katherine Hughes
Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic
Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic
Katherine Hughes ’08 JD joined the Law School as a clinical professor and director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic. She is a leader in nonprofit, small business, and social enterprise law and previously served as pro bono counsel and global director of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
Jane Manners
Associate Professor of Law
Associate Professor of Law
Jane Manners is a legal historian whose scholarship centers on 19th-century constitutional history, and congressional and presidential powers. Previously, she was an assistant professor at Temple University and served as a fellow at New York University School of Law and Columbia Law School.
Adam D. Orford
Associate Professor of Law
Associate Professor of Law
Adam Orford is an expert on climate change, clean energy, and environmental law and policy. His interdisciplinary research focuses on legal strategies for deep decarbonization of the global industrial economy. Previously, he was an assistant professor of law at the University of Georgia School of Law, and he practiced in environmental and regulatory litigation, representing both public and private clients.
KUDOS
Professor Catherine Powell Selected for Princeton Fellowship
Fordham Law Professor Catherine Powell was selected as one of only two Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs Program in Law and Public Policy Crane Fellows for the 2025–2026 academic year. Powell is also spending the year as a scholar-in-residence at the Constitutional Accountability Center, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. “I couldn’t be more thrilled—and honored—to serve in these roles,” said Powell.
Jay Mallin
DEFINING MOMENT
Fordham-Stein Prize Honors Judge Denny Chin ’78 JD
Judge Denny Chin ’78 JD rose from a tenement apartment in Hell’s Kitchen to a pioneering career on the federal bench and was honored in November with the 2025 Fordham-Stein Prize for a lifetime of extraordinary contributions to the law. Chin is a nationally recognized leader in Asian Americans and the law and was the first Asian American appointed as a United States District Judge outside the Ninth Circuit, the first Asian American appointed to the Second Circuit, and the co-founder of the Center on Asian Americans and the Law. Born in Hong Kong, Chin migrated to New York in 1956 at the age of 2 with his family. Chin was later able to track down his grandfather’s naturalization paperwork, which showed that his citizenship ceremony had taken place in 1947 in a courthouse in the Southern District of New York—likely the very same courthouse where Chin sits as a judge today.
ENDURING IMPACT
Scholarship Established in Memory of Rev. Dr. Romaine L. Gardner, Esq
The family of Rev. Dr. Romaine L. Gardner, Esq., a longtime Fordham Law clinical professor who died in September 2024, honored his memory through the establishment of a generous scholarship in his name. Dr. Gardner was a professor, litigator, pastor, and founder of Fordham Law’s Securities Litigation and Arbitration Clinic. A lifelong student, he earned multiple advanced degrees in philosophy and law and made a profound impact during his tenure at the Law School.
GIVING BACK
David A. Javdan ’93 JD Honored for Transformative Philanthropy
David A. Javdan ’93 JD was honored for his philanthropy at the annual reception of the Dean’s Society, held in September 2025. Javdan made his first gift to the Dean’s Strategic Initiatives Fund—a new fund that will include support for comprehensive learning experiences—in 2024. A year prior, Javdan established two new scholarships at the Law School: the David A. Javdan ’93 JD Scholarship Fund and the David A. Javdan ’93 JD Student Affairs Fund.
Francis Jue, won the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in Yellow Face at The 78th Annual Tony Awards.
STAR TURN
Yellow Face Screening Sparks Conversation on Asian American Representation
Fordham Law’s Center on Asian Americans and the Law put a spotlight on the historic representation of Asian Americans in the entertainment industry at an event featuring actor Francis Jue, who won a 2025 Tony award for his performance in the Broadway revival of Yellow Face. The event featured a film screening of Yellow Face, followed by a discussion with Jue led by Professor Thomas Lee, co-director of the Center. Jue performed in the original run of Yellow Face in 2007, as well as the play’s latest restaging in 2024. The play explores various historical topics that have surrounded Asian Americans in the United States—from the once common casting practice called “yellowface,” in which non-Asian actors play Asian roles, to espionage accusations against Chinese American scientists. “I didn’t understand, [almost] 20 years ago,” said Jue, “how representation of Asian Americans affects policy, and affects how we treat each other in real life.”
Jue (left) is joined by Professor Thomas Lee (right) for a discussion at Fordham Law.
VIEW FROM CHAMBERS
Judicial Center Welcomes Appellate and Commercial Division Justices
Justices from the Commercial and Appellate Divisions of the New York Supreme Court spoke to Fordham Law students, alumni, and faculty at the Center for Judicial Events & Clerkships’ View from Chambers event in November. The event featured Justices Barbara Kapnick and Saliann Scarpulla, both of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court (First Department), along with Justices Anar Rathod Patel and Jennifer Schecter, of the Commercial Division of the New York Supreme Court (New York County). Presiding Justice Dianne Renwick of the First Department and Justice Andrea Masley ’91 JD of the Commercial Division were also on hand to lend insight to the discussion. The justices delved into a number of salient issues around AI in the courtroom, including questions about the authentication of evidence in court given AI’s capacity to fabricate video and photos. They also touched on the evolution of trade secret law as well as each of their unique journeys to the bench.
NEW LAUNCHES
Fordham Law Debuts Cutting-Edge LLM Program in Competition Law
Fordham Law has launched a cutting-edge LLM program in competition law designed for global lawyers looking to specialize in antitrust law. The new program, one of only two LLM programs in competition law offered in New York City, will be taught by an interdisciplinary group of faculty members who bring specialized expertise in antitrust law, social media and technology, intellectual property, and financial history to the study of competition law.
READS
New Faculty Books
Disclosureland: How Corporate Words Constrain Racial Progress
Atinuke Adediran
Associate Professor of Law
Atinuke Adediran
Associate Professor of Law
Criminalizing Disobedience
Youngjae Lee
I. Maurice Wormser Professor of Law
Youngjae Lee
I. Maurice Wormser Professor of Law
Reclaiming the Internet: How Big Tech Took Control—and How We Can Take It Back
Olivier Sylvain
Professor of Law
Olivier Sylvain
Professor of Law
ANTITRUST
Symposium Explores Antitrust Law and the Future of Democracy
A range of speakers—including New York State Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado and former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan—gathered at Fordham Law School to delve into the topic of corporate consolidation and the role that antitrust law can play in preserving democracy. The event brought together legal scholars and policymakers for a full day of panel discussions, as well as a fireside chat with Khan and a keynote address by Delgado.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Feerick Center Celebrates 19 Years of Impact at Annual Gala
Fordham leaders, alumni, and nonprofit representatives came together in October 2025 to celebrate Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice annual awards and benefit reception, which also raised money to support the Center’s programs. “For 19 years, the Feerick Center has been the living, breathing embodiment of the Law School’s motto ‘In the Service of Others,’” said Dean Joseph Landau. “It accomplishes this through unwavering pursuit of access to justice year after year.” Dora Galacatos, the Center’s longtime executive director, was recognized for her years of service with the Champion of Justice Award, and Lisa Landau was introduced as the Center’s new executive director. Other award recipients included Christine Cesare ’84 JD, who, along with her firm, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, received the James F. Gill Spirit of Hope Award; Professor Elizabeth B. Cooper, who received the Gail D. Hollister Dedication to Excellence Award; and Margaret Giordano Friedberg ’88 JD, who received the Spirit of Service Award.
