Free Speech Legal Clinic
In Fall of 2018, the Liberty & Law Center launched the Free Speech Clinic, which provides law students with hands-on experience representing clients against infringements upon their freedom of speech. The Clinic is also a resource for organizations, students, journalists, and citizens defending and advancing freedom of expression.
Public Discourse Project
In Spring 2019, the Liberty & Law Center launched an innovative program that matches Scalia Law students, with differing political ideologies, for a conversation about their beliefs over a meal (provided by the Liberty & Law Center). The program is currently only open to Scalia Law students.
Public Interest Litigation Training
Under the leadership of distinguished Adjunct Professor Clark Neily, the Liberty and Law Center developed a one-of-a-kind public interest concentration for law students interested in pursuing careers in public interest advocacy. The program includes an externship component that will place participating law students at local public interest law firms, such as the Institute for Justice, where they will receive hands-on training advocating for individual liberty and the public good. Launched in Spring 2019, the concentration is available to rising GMU law students who will have at least two more years of law school as of enrollment in the program.
Public Policy Conferences and Workshops
Our conferences, workshops, and events bring together hundreds of legal and policy experts to cultivate debate on topics such as individual liberty, the constitutional rule of law, and freedom of speech. We have partnered with organizations such as the Institute for Justice, Pacific Legal Foundation, and the Institute for Humane Studies, among others, to provide timely programming on these issues. Past conferences have included examinations of topics such as whether the “will of the people” actually exists, the role of state judicial deference, what the future of Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence holds, and the moral grounds for property rights.
In addition, we regularly host manuscript workshops, where we bring together leading scholars and experts to provide feedback and commentary on forthcoming liberty-advancing books.
Reading Group
The Liberty & Law Reading Group provides an opportunity for faculty and students to come together in an informal setting to discuss and debate readings on the topic of liberty.
Voices for Liberty: Free Speech, Civil Rights & Social Progress
The Voices for Liberty Initiative is examining the role free speech has played and continues to play in advancing civil rights in America, particularly for historically disadvantaged and/or social marginalized groups. It will include significant research and scholarship, public events, and a nationwide speakers’ bureau.