LAW REVIEW ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM
THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE:
How Marginalized Communities Are Targeted By Harmful Infrastructure And Land Uses
FEBRUARY 16, 2024
The University of Memphis Law Review will explore the many ways that infrastructure and land uses harm marginalized communities in its 2024 symposium. Issues raised will include water access, housing, wastewater, and other infrastructure that impacts the well-being of communities. Additionally, the group of individuals who worked first-hand against the Byhalia Pipeline will highlight the importance of advocacy in this area of law.
CLE credit has been granted in TN, AR (5.5 General Hours) and in MS (5.8 General Hours).
Forms & Documents for Symposium attendees:
- Attendee Evaluation Form
- CLE Evaluation Form
- Law Review Journal Subscription Form
- Byhalia Pipeline Supplemental Complaint
- Byhalia Pipeline: Respondents Memorandum of Law
Symposium Schedule
*All times in Central Time
8:30–9:00 Registration and breakfast
9:00–9:15 Welcome address and opening remarks, Dean Katharine Schaffzin, Professor Daniel Schaffzin, and Ashlie Gozikowski
9:15–10:00 In Pursuit of Equity Under NEPA: Apalachicola’s Invisibility in the Tristate Water Wars: Professor Abigail André, Environmental policy expert, former Trial Attorney for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice.
10:00–10:50 A New Day for Environmental Justice at the Environmental Protection Agency: Cliff Villa, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Land and Emergency Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
10:50–11:00 Break
11:00–12:00 EV for EV: Balancing Equity and Viability in Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Law and Policy: Professor Achinthi C. Vithanage, Associate Director of Environmental Law Programs & Adjunct Law Professor, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
12:00–1:00 Lunch Break
1:00–2:45 Byhalia Pipeline Panel
Members of this panel will discuss the community involvement, eminent domain, local ordinances, and federal permits involved in stopping the construction of the Byhalia Pipeline through Memphis.
- Representative Justin J. Pearson, District 86 - TN General Assembly
- Amanda Garcia, Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center
- Sarah Stuart, Attorney, Burch Porter & Johnson
- George Nolan, Director, Tennessee Office, Southern Environmental Law Center
2:45–3:00 Break
3:00–3:45 When Justice Destroys Concrete Monsters: Professor Abigail Fleming, Associate Director of the Environmental Justice Clinic (EJC) at the University of Miami School of Law; Photini Kamvisseli, Third-year law student at the University of Miami School of Law
3:45–4:30 In Defense of Land and Water Protectors: A response to criminalization of environmental activism: Professor Mia Hammersley, Director of the Environmental Justice Clinic and an Assistant Professor of Law at the Vermont Law & Graduate School
4:30–4:45 Closing remarks
Information on updated schedules, topics and more will be made available soon.
Contact Symposium Editor, Ashlie Gozikowski at ngzkwski@memphis.edu for more information.
This event is sponsored in part by the Student Event Allocation.
The University of Memphis Law Review hosts its annual symposium every spring at the Law School. For more information about the most recent past topics and speakers, please visit the links below.
2020:
2019: Barriers at the Ballot Box: Protecting or Limiting the Core of the American Identity?
2018: The American Addiction: Pathways to Address the Opioid Crisis
2017 - The Fragile Fortress: Judicial Independence in the 21st Century
2016 - Urban Revitalization: The Legal Implications of Remaking a City
2015 - In re Valor: Policy and Action in Veterans Legal Aid
2014 - Juvenile Courts in Transition
2013 - Breaking the Silence: Legal Voices in the Fight Against Human Trafficking