Bulls’ Jabari Parker, Superintendent Eddie Johnson, Father Pfleger to Speak at Clinic’s Access to Social Justice Symposium

On Wednesday, September 12, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Bluhm Legal Clinic and the Action Injury Law Group will host the inaugural Access to Social Justice Symposium, a gathering of experts at the cutting edge of social justice advocacy.

The symposium will include a series of interdisciplinary panel discussions featuring leading members of the civil rights and criminal justice bar, legal tech innovators, community and faith leaders, and skilled investigators.

“From the courtroom to the community, the status quo when it comes to access to justice is being questioned in a way it has not for decades,” says Bluhm Legal Clinic Director Juliet Sorensen. “Does technology help or hinder? What is the equilibrium between a free society and a safe society?”

The event will conclude with a panel discussion, The Intersection Between Social Justice and Community Action. Panelists will include Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, Father Michael Pfleger, an activist and the senior pastor at Saint Sabina Community Church, and Jabari Parker of the Chicago Bulls, a Chicago Public Schools graduate who was recognized as the Baird Community Involved Athlete of the Year for his off-the-court commitment to community at the Wisconsin Sports Awards in 2016, while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Four additional panels — Civil Rights and Police Reform, Disruption, Technology, FinTech and the Law, Keys to an Effective Investigation, and System and Access to Justice — will feature a wide array of experts including John Conroy, author, playwright, and former journalist who works as an investigator for the MacArthur Justice Center; Jamie Kalven, founder of the Invisible Institute and one of the journalists responsible for bringing the full Laquan McDonald story and video to light; Flint Taylor (JD ’72), an award-winning civil rights attorney; Ari Kornhaber, a former plaintiff’s attorney and current FinTech innovator with Esquire Bank; and Reuven Moskowitz, a digital technology innovator and the Chief Executive Officer of Litify, a leading legal software provider.

A full schedule and panel details are available on the symposium website.

On the cusp of its 50th anniversary, the Bluhm Legal Clinic’s mission is to train skilled, ethical, and public-spirited lawyers integral to a society that values and promotes justice. In an era of social change, the Clinic’s mission is more vital than ever, and this symposium will continue to advance this goal.