School of Laws Annual Nootbaar Institute Conference Explores Wisdom and Law
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Distinguished leaders in law and legal education gathered at the School of Law in February at the 14th annual conference hosted by the Herbert and Elinor Nootbar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics.
Cosponsored by the University’s Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies, the conference explored the theme, "Wisdom, Law, and Lawyers." The conference was organized around three topics: the nature of wisdom, which reviewed how different religious traditions impact perspective and the nature of wisdom; the relationship between wisdom and law and how it influences modern-day issues; and wisdom and lawyers, which examined if and how wisdom should influence a lawyer’s work. Speakers included legal scholars from schools of law throughout the United States and from England.
Addressing a wide range of issues, such as religious freedom, human rights, and diversity, the institute seeks to bring top scholars, lawyers, students, and the community together to ultimately have a positive impact on society. At a time when law is seen by many as a matter of power politics and the lawyer's role as purely a matter of pursuing client economic interests, the conference considers how wisdom should influence deliberations in legislative chambers, courts, and lawyers' offices.