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Kenneth W. Starr Headlines the Fifth Annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture

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Ken Starr, president of Baylor University and former dean of the Pepperdine School of Law, returned to Malibu October 11 to present the fifth annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture.

Starr spoke on the topic “The Justice Department: From Reagan to Obama,” along with conversationalists and former justice department colleagues F. Henry Habicht II, a pioneering figure in the areas of environmental business and policy and a leading contributor to environmental innovation; Ambassador Douglas W. Kmiec (ret.), Caruso Family Chair and professor of constitutional law at Pepperdine School of Law; and the Honorable Carolyn B. Kuhl, supervising judge of the civil departments of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Deanell Reece Tacha, Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of Pepperdine Law and former judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, served as moderator.

Named in honor of the former attorney general, the William French Smith Memorial Lectures on Law and the Judiciary will be an ongoing tribute to Smith. Smith served as U.S. Attorney General from 1981 to 1985 and was a longtime friend and confidant of President Ronald Reagan.

Past speakers in the Pepperdine series include Supreme Court Justices the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy, the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor, the Honorable Clarence Thomas, and the Honorable Samuel Alito.

Watch a video of the lecture »