Events & CLE
View the Standing Committee's upcoming and past events -- including photos and live recordings from our breakfast programs.
Past Event: “Over-classification: How Bad Is It, What’s the Fix?”
An NPEC and ABA-sponsored Hill Event
Earlier this month (May 11, 2023), Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) and the Standing Committee on Law and National Security cohosted an event on Capitol Hill featuring Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Senator Mike Rounds who also is a member of the committee and sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The event also featured Ben Powell of the Congressionally mandated Public Interest Declassification Board. Opening Remarks were given by Harvey Rishikof, Counselor, American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security, and Henry Sokolski, Executive Director, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. The Senators and Mr. Powell explained how over-classification is undermining our national security and laid out their proposals to fix the problem. Many of their comments focused on NPEC’s study, “Over-classification: How Bad Is It, What’s the Fix?” Because there is a good chance that the proposals discussed are fixes the White House and Congress may soon adopt, the videos are must-listening.
View Event Recording - Here
Past Event
FISA Section 702 Symposium
(On April 26,2023) The Georgetown Law Center on National Security and The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security co-sponsored an event at Georgetown University Law Center. The symposium covered the current operations and challenges brought by and reforms for reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Speakers included the National Security Advisors to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Kevin McCarthy; lawyers from the National Security Division, Department of Justice and the FBI; General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and representatives from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
View Event Details & Recording - Here32nd Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law Conference
Thank you for joining the Standing Committee on Law and National Security in person for the CLE conference in Washington, DC.
Recent Events
Luncheon Program: CFIUS and Investment Screening: A Discussion with the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security on Policies, Priorities and Enforcement
December 1, 2022 | A discussion with Paul Rosen, Assistant Secretary for Investment Security at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the lead for all operations and activities of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Mr. Rosen addressed emerging issues and priorities for the Committee, including CFIUS’s new enforcement guidelines and President Biden’s Executive Order on CFIUS, among other developments.
An NPEC and ABA-sponsored Workshop: "What Is America’s Obligation to Avert Targeting Power Reactors?"
Held on August 23rd, 2023|After Russia's military assaults against Ukraine’s power reactors, many fear the precedent has been set for future military attacks against power reactors, not only in Europe, but in the Middle and Far East as well as South Asia. Over 170 nations have ratified Protocol 1 of 1977 to the 1949 Geneva Convention, which specifically discourages military assaults against nuclear power plants. However, the U.S. has only signed Protocol 1, but not yet ratified it. Meanwhile, the Pentagon's Law of War Manual further states that under customary international law, “no legal presumption of civilian status exists” for objects. It also notes that electrical power stations are generally recognized to “be of sufficient importance... to qualify as military objectives in armed conflicts.” In light of these facts, should the Pentagon’s current understanding of America’s obligations under Protocol 1 be controlling? What, if anything, might be the case for a stricter interpretation of our obligations? What are the relative risks, if any, of either position? This workshop discussion held on August 23rd at 5:00pm EDT covered these questions. Gary Corn, who served 26 years as a national security lawyer in the Army including as General Counsel to Cyber Command, led with a brief presentation followed by NPEC’s executive director, Henry Sokolski, and moderated by Harvey Rishikof
Past Event: Reforming the Classification System: Challenges, Approaches, and Priorities
Cosponsored with the Federalist Society and the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security
(HUDSON INSTITUTE | DECEMBER 06, 2022) Our national security relies on the careful and deliberate creation, dissemination, and protection of classified information. But some contend that the current system for classifying and declassifying US government records is outdated and imposes significant economic and public policy costs, directly and indirectly harming national security. Storage and maintenance costs increase as classification levels rise, and these costs will increase with newly classified electronic records growing exponentially, and with numerous records approaching mandatory declassification review. In addition, the problems with decreased efficiency, coordination, and trust and confidence in our national security agencies undermine our nation’s security and public confidence in the intelligence community.
View all details - at Hudson.orgNational Security Law CLE Conference: Emerging Critical Issues (Week of February 17-18, 2022)
About
What are the emerging critical issues that the country will face over the next year? What is the line between national security and law enforcement operations in cyberspace? This National Security Law CLE Conference examined these issues and more including domestic threats, national security and privacy in a digitized world, and how national security law can and should be applied to artificial intelligence.
Audio Recording
Breakfast Program: "In Ukraine, there are No Quick Fixes" with John Erath
Aired May 10, 2022 | Following Russia’s illegal and ruthless attack on Ukraine, John Erath discussed how an early end to the violence may be elusive. How can this war end and are there good options going forward? John Erath is the Senior Policy Director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, following 30 years of government service. He recently completed a two-year assignment on the U.S. National Security Council, where he was responsible for European issues.
ABA’s Women in National Security Law (WINSL) Webinar Program
Practicing National Security Law in Law Firms
Aired September 28, 2022, | The webinar brought together a panel of women who have established themselves as leaders in national security law both inside their firms and within the larger national security community. Jennifer O'Connor, Chair, WINSL, gave welcome remarks and Mary DeRosa, Chair, SCOLANDS, Advisory Committee, moderated the program. The speakers included Susan Cassidy, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP, Beth George, Partner, Strategic Risk, Crisis Management, Wilson Sonsini, Amy Jeffress, Partner, White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice, Arnold & Porter, and Jeannie Rhee, Partner, Paul Weiss.
Women in National Security Law Webinar Recording
A Conversation with Avril Haines Director of National Intelligence
We were honored to host Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence. As the first woman to serve as DNI, Avril Haines has an extraordinary perspective and the experience to match. Among many things she discusses - China, investments in cyber and intelligence infrastructure, creating a more diverse workforce, the shifting threat landscape, and opportunities for women in the intelligence community.
Lessons for the Next Twenty Years: What We’ve Learned in the Two Decades Since 9/11
Webinar Recording
Aired Thursday, September 9, 2021. Featuring opening remarks by ABA President Reginald Turner and moderated by Judge James Baker (Director, Institute for Security Policy and Law). Ambassador Anne W. Patterson (Kissinger Senior Fellow Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs) Michael G. Vickers (Former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence) And Sahar Aziz (Professor of Law and Chancellor's Social Justice Scholar, Rutgers Law School)
Whistleblowing in the Intelligence Community Legal and Practical Challenges
Webinar Program
Aired May 12, 2021 - Featuring Moderator Dawn Eilenberger (Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Former Assistant DNI for Policy & Strategy, Office of the DNI); Michael Atkinson (Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP; co-lead of the National Security practice and former ODNI Inspector General); Joel Brenner (Senior Research Fellow, MIT Center for International Studies and former NSA Inspector General); Jason Klitenic (Partner, Holland & Knight, Head of National Security, Defense and Intelligence Team and former General Counsel, ODNI); and Mark Zaid (Managing Partner, Mark S. Zaid, PC; Founder, James Madison Project and Co-Founder, Whistleblower Aid). Registrants receive 50% off our publication, Whistleblowers, Leaks, and the Media.
Civics as a National Security Imperative: A Conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil M. Gorsuch
Webinar Program
Aired March 25, 2021. Join SCOLNS members Suzanne Spaulding (CSIS) and Jamil Jaffer (NSI) in a conversation with Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Neil Gorsuch on the importance of civic education as a national security imperative. In a global environment where liberal democracies are facing a crisis of confidence and where authoritarian regimes work to threaten the foundational premise of the rule of law, it is essential that our country grows societal resilience against these threats via a strong foundation in civic education. This program will include a moderated discussion between Justice Sotomayor, Justice Gorsuch, Suzanne Spaulding (Director of the Defending Democratic Institutions Project, CSIS), and Jamil Jaffer (Founder and Executive Director, NSI).
View - VideoAn Update on Supply Chain Security and Cyber - Post SolarWinds
Webinar Program
Aired April 16. With Harvey Rishikof (Moderator), Stewart Baker, Joyce Corell, Rob Morgus, Douglas Hassebrock, and Charlie Tupitza. Sponsored by the Standing Committee on Law and National Security and the Cybersecurity Legal Task Force.
CSIS | ‘Civics at Work’ Launch Event
Webinar Program
On May 4, the CSIS Defending Democratic Institutions (DDI) Project will launch its new initiative, 'Civics at Work.' For the past few years the DDI team has worked on an initiative to reinvigorate civic education as a national security imperative. However, while it is important to make long-term investments in K-12 civics, the lack of civic literacy among adults presents a current threat to democracy that demands an urgent response. All Americans need to understand the fundamentals of our democratic republic and their role in sustaining it.
Click to - View EventNational Security CLE Webinars--Recordings
Emerging Critical Issues in National Security
For registered attendees, recorded panels are available for viewing until March 6 using your ‘unique link,’ provided when you registered. NOTE: CLE Credit is only available for live viewing, not recorded viewing. View panel information at the arrow below and CLE materials in the box below.
CLE - Materials
National Security Webinars CLE Material
View the CLE materials from our CLE Webinar series.
Foreign Agents Registration Act: What Lawyers Need to Know in A Heightened Enforcement Era
View Recording
David Laufman, partner at Wiggin & Dana LLP and former Chief of Counterintelligence & Export Control in the DOJ National Security Division (responsible for FARA enforcement) explains FARA for lawyers and law firms in this program.
Watch - HereHacking Democracy: Elections and Beyond CLE ABA Showcase Program - Now Available On Demand
"Hacking Democracy" Now Available
You can now view this CLE Showcase Program from the 2020 ABA Virtual Annual Meeting on demand. Access to the program is included for all registrants to the Virtual Annual Meeting (complimentary for ABA Members). Moderated by Harvey Rishikof, featuring panelists Suzanne Spaulding, Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, and the Hon. James McPherson with welcoming remarks from Judy Perry Martinez. Click here to view the CLE Showcase flyer with speaker details. Click the link below for the program video; you will need to log-in to the ABA’s member/customer login page to access it.
View Program - On Demand
CLE Reading Materials for "Hacking Elections"
Click through for the linked list of supplemental reading material for the Hacking Democracy: Elections and Beyond CLE Showcase program
ABA’s Women in National Security Law (WINSL) Webinar Program
Practicing National Security Law in Law Firms
Aired September 28, 2022, | The webinar brought together a panel of women who have established themselves as leaders in national security law both inside their firms and within the larger national security community. Jennifer O'Connor, Chair, WINSL, gave welcome remarks and Mary DeRosa, Chair, SCOLANDS, Advisory Committee, moderated the program. The speakers included Susan Cassidy, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP, Beth George, Partner, Strategic Risk, Crisis Management, Wilson Sonsini, Amy Jeffress, Partner, White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice, Arnold & Porter, and Jeannie Rhee, Partner, Paul Weiss.
Watch Women in National Security Law Panels
Women in Intelligence Law - August 12, 2020
Senior women in the intelligence community discuss national security legal issues, provide career advice, and answer audience questions. Watch the full panel with Cynthia Ryan, Past Chair, Standing Committee on Law and National Security; Amb. Bonnie Jenkins, Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security; Donna MacEwen, NRO; Teisha Anthony, NSA; Allison Stevens, NGA; Carol Coll, CIA; and Kristin St. Peter, DIA
View - Speaker BiosWomen in National Security Law Webinar Recording
A Conversation with Avril Haines Director of National Intelligence
This week we are honored to host Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence. As the first woman to serve as DNI, Avril Haines has an extraordinary perspective and the experience to match. Among many things she discusses - China, investments in cyber and intelligence infrastructure, creating a more diverse workforce, the shifting threat landscape, and opportunities for women in the intelligence community.
Private Sector Cybersecurity: The Changing Landscape
Women in National Security Law Webinar Recording
Aired August 3, 2021, from the Standing Committee on Law and National Security Women in National Security Law. Featuring opening remarks by Jennifer O'Connor (Chair, Women in National Security Law) and moderated by Cybersecurity Legal Task Force Co-Chair Maureen Kelly. Featuring Mieke Eoyang (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy), Hilary Hageman (Cubic Corporation), Kim Peretti (Alston & Bird), and Kemba Walden (Microsoft). Co-sponsored by the ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force.
WINSL Virtual Launch Event - June 4, 2020
The mission of WINSL is to support, promote, and develop women engaged in the practice of national security law. Watch the panel with Cynthia Ryan, Chair Standing Committee on Law and National Security; Amb. Bonnie Jenkins, Founder and Chair, Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security; Mieke Eoyang, Vice President, National Security Program, Third Way; Dawn Browning, Deputy General Counsel, National Security and Cyber Law Branch, FBI
View - Speaker BiosOur Latest In Person Events
Democracy and Justice in the Age of Disinformation
The Standing Committee and the Center on Strategic and International Studies held a Defending Democratic Institutions event "Democracy and Justice in the Age of Disinformation" on Law Day 2019. Suzanne Spaulding, Harvey Rishikof, and Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, Committee members and former chairs addressed the audience on Russian foreign influence campaigns and the new report "Beyond the Ballot: How the Kremlin Works to Undermine the U.S. Justice System." Click the arrow below to watch the video of the event.
Read - Beyond the Ballot Report
Dig Deeper on our Recent Conferences
29th Annual Review Conference
November 7-8, 2019 in Washington DC. Get CLE information and readings, listen to audio recordings, and watch videos of keynotes speakers.
2019 ABA Annual Meeting
Listen to the audio from the Committee's Panel "National Security: Where Are the Cyber Gaps?" below. Listen to the audio from the Cybersecurity Legal Task Force's legal cybersecurity program by clicking on the link.
#Cyberspace IRL: Rule of Law Approaches to Virtual Threats
Learn more about how policymakers, legal practitioners and international bodies try to preserve the rule of law in an unregulated cyber arena. May 21, 2019, U.S. Institute of Peace, Washington DC.
Conference
28th Annual Review Conference
November 1-2, 2018 in Washington, DC
ABA Annual Meeting 2018 - Attacks on Our Institutions of Democracy
A panel at the 2018 ABA Annual Meeting, August 4, 2018 with moderator Harvey Rishikof and panelists Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, Suzanne Spaulding and Judge Margaret Sweeney
National Security, Emerging Technologies and the Law: A Lawyer Jurga
March 23-24, 2018 in Columbus, OH
27th Annual Review Conference
November 16-17, 2017 in Washington, DC
Thinking about Extremism in the 21st Century
A Keynote Panel from the ABA Rule of Law Initiative Annual Conference on Contemporary Rule of Law Issues: Rule of Law Approaches to Countering Violent Extremism.
Video
ABA Annual Meeting 2016 - Emerging Issues in National Security and Law Enforcement
The Standing Committee sponsored a keynote address at the 2016 ABA Annual meeting with former FBI Director James Comey. The Committee also held a moderated discussion at the 2016 Annual meeting with Marc Rotenberg, the president and executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Gilman Louie, founder and former CEO of In-Q-Tel and Harvey Rishikof, chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security’s Advisory Committee
Video