Industry Deep Dive: Law, Public Service and Power

Future defenders of democracy, take note: join the Downtown Alliance at the Banker’s Club on the 40th floor of 120 Broadway on December 6 for a panel on public service law. Dubbed “Inside or Outside the Room: Law, Public Service and Power,” the panel will feature speakers from the ACLU, Brennan Center for Justice and more as part of its ongoing LM Live event series.

Legal practices related to public policy are often framed in a rigid and didactic way. You’re either “inside the room,” working with decision-makers and the powerful, or “outside the room,” representing interests that often feel unheard or underrepresented. Traditional lawyering is typically seen as adversarial advocacy, but there’s a broader and more flexible concept of a legal career — one that foregrounds problem solving, empathy, multiple roles and a more significant sense of contributing to the greater good. 

While mediation and settlement can lead to working compromises within a traditional understanding of public service legal work, this panel — featuring Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice, Deborah Archer of the ACLU, Anita Laremont of Fried Frank and real estate attorney and former government official Ross Moskowitz — will discuss the larger framework for building a career that includes multiple paths to public service, career advancement and social impact.

The event runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and is free to attend. Register here.