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Continuing Legal and Professional Education

Continuing Legal and Professional Education
Week of March 21, 2011

32nd annual Kenneth M. Piper Lecture
 Privacy, Loyalty and Free Speech: Pushing the Boundaries of the Modern Employment Relationship

On Tuesday, April 2, Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Institute for Law and the Workplace will present the 32nd annual Kenneth M. Piper Lecture “Privacy, Loyalty and Free Speech: Pushing the Boundaries of the Modern Employment Relationship” from 11:30-1:00 pm in the Ogilvie Auditorium.

Lecturer:
Pauline T. Kim, Charles Nagel Professor of Law, Washington University School of Law

Commentators:
Lisa R. Callaway, Vice President/General Counsel, The Management Association of Illinois
Arnold H. Pedowitz, Member, Pedowitz & Meister LLP

Employee privacy and speech have always been contested terrain. Employees have asserted their rights to keep certain matters private, or to speak without fear of retaliation. Employers have argued that intrusions on employees’ privacy or restrictions on their speech are justified by legitimate business interests and the need to manage the workplace. Until recently, the law struck a rough accommodation between these competing interests by distinguishing between work life and personal life. Recent changes in the nature and organization of work and rapid advances in technology have contributed to the blurring of the lines between work and home, between on-duty and off-duty activity and between the very concepts of speech and privacy interests.

The courts have continued to deploy traditional doctrinal frameworks which are likely to be inadequate to protect legitimate employee privacy and speech interests in the future. As the border between personal and work becomes more porous, employers will increasingly be able to claim legitimate interests in previously private spaces. The tendency of courts to rely on the notion of “consent” to delineate the extent of reasonable employee expectations has further weakened protection for employees. Thus, without a significant reshaping of legal norms governing the workplace, employee interests in speech and privacy are unlikely to be adequately protected.

Two leading labor and employment lawyers will comment on the lecture from employee and management perspectives.

All faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend.

The 28th annual Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation Conference

On Thursday and Friday, April 14-15, 2011, Chicago-Kent will present Professor Sheldon Nahmod’s 28th annual Section 1983 conference. The conference features nationally prominent law professors and practitioners who offer instruction on both the fundamentals and the more advanced aspects of §1983 practice and trial skills, and analyze the latest case decisions.

Law students (JD only) enrolled at Chicago-Kent are welcome to attend any or all of the program sessions free of charge. Course materials and luncheon are not included; however, copies of the materials will be available in the library after the program.

If you are interested in volunteering to work at the conference, in exchange for complimentary course materials and an opportunity to network at the program reception, please let us know when you stop by the office (Suite 675) to register, or by e-mailing cle@kentlaw.edu. Pre-registration is required no later than Tuesday, April 12, 2011.

For information regarding the current CLE courses being offered or to register for any of the programs, please visit: www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle or contact the Office of Continuing Legal and Professional Education at cle@kentlaw.edu or at 312-906-5090.

 

 

CALENDARS

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