Wiley Rein Hosts Luncheon Featuring Professor Justin Hansford, in Celebration of Black History Month

February 28, 2018

Washington, DC — In celebration of Black History Month, Wiley Rein hosted a luncheon conversation featuring Professor Justin Hansford of Howard University School of Law – a leading scholar and activist in the areas of critical race theory, human rights, and law and social movements. The February 26 event, attended by about 70 Wiley Rein attorneys and staff, was organized by associate Kendra P. Norwood of the firm’s African-American/Black Lawyers Affinity Group.

The discussion, moderated by Wiley Rein partner Jerita L. DeBraux Salley, focused on issues such as law enforcement and policing in the 21st century, the role of lawyers in addressing racial injustice, and efforts to educate members of the public regarding their constitutional rights.

“I consider myself not just a civil rights lawyer, but a human rights lawyer,” said Professor Hansford, who joined the Howard faculty last year as Associate Professor of Law. He also serves as Executive Director of the law school’s new Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center. Wiley Rein is making a donation to the Center, which is dedicated to community-based litigation, policy work, and advocacy, as well as cutting-edge legal scholarship in the field of civil and human rights.

Professor Hansford is also co-authoring the seventh edition of Race, Racism, and American Law – the groundbreaking textbook that was originally published in 1973. He said the new edition “will be more than a traditional casebook” and will address topics including housing, education, criminal justice, family law, employment, and the First Amendment.

“We’re trying to broaden how our students are going to think about these issues going into the 21st century,” Professor Hansford said. “We want to make sure that, at Howard and throughout the country, we create young people who are going to use the law as a tool for social justice.”

Professor Hansford was previously a Democracy Project Fellow at Harvard University, a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, an Associate Professor of Law at Saint Louis University, and a clerk for Judge Damon J. Keith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He received his B.A. from Howard University and his J.D. from Georgetown Law.

Wiley Rein embraces diversity and inclusion as core values. As a law firm with national and international clients, we are committed to a professional workforce that reflects the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of our client base and our country. This reflects our belief that we, along with our clients, are enriched by working with a diverse group of exceptional attorneys who, through different perspectives and experiences, allow us to think more creatively and produce innovative solutions for clients.