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Pepperdine Tackles the Law of Climate Change at the Sixth Annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture

Pepperdine Magazine is the feature magazine for Pepperdine University and its growing community of alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends.

Pepperdine Law hosted the sixth annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture in October, featuring a scholarly presentation on the legal issues of climate change. John C. Nagle, the John N. Matthews Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School, and Lisa E. Heinzerling, professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, both spoke on the topic. An introduction and remarks were made by Deanell Reece Tacha, Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of the School of Law and circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit (ret.).

The event also featured a mock oral argument on the climate change legal case Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp. Judges for the mock trial included the Honorable David B. Sentelle, chief judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; the Honorable Timothy M. Tymkovich, circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit; and Kenneth W. Starr, president, Baylor University.

William French Smith (1917-1990) served as the 74th attorney general of the United States (1981-1985). The School of Law, where Smith served on the Board of Visitors, is honored to pay tribute to his memory and service through this annual lecture series. Supreme Court justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Sandra Day O’Connor (ret.), and Anthony Kennedy are among the featured conversationalists of previous lectures.

Learn more and watch video footage of the event: law.pepperdine.edu/wfs