CERLP & Korematsu Center | Rule of Law, Executive Orders, and the Legal Profession

UC Irvine School of Law, the Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession, and the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality are pleased to collaborate with leading centers and programs at five other universities as part of an Association of American Law Schools Teach-In Webinar Series on Professional Independence and the Legal Profession. UC Irvine will launch the six-part national webinar series that will occur every Wednesday from 3-4 pm PT (6-7 pm ET) from March 25 through April 29, 2026, with the exception of the second week of the series, when the webinar will occur on Tuesday, March 31. Other collaborators include Georgetown Law’s Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession, Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession, Indiana University Maurer School of Law’s Stewart Center on the Global Legal Profession, Princeton University’s Program in Law and Public Policy, and the University of Washington School of Law.

The first webinar of the six-part series—Rule of Law, Executive Orders, and the Legal Profession—sets the stage for the webinars that follow. The panel will discuss the executive orders, regulatory pressure, and public accusations against major law firms from the past year, as well as the resulting legal challenges, the different responses by firms, and the implications for the profession and the rule of law. The panelists will also address some of the similarities in the administration’s campaign against law firms and its stance toward other institutions capable of challenging its actions. The panel consists of managing partners of prominent law firms and others who have advised law firms and universities or been involved in key litigation. It builds on a plenary session that occurred at the 2026 AALS Annual Meeting held in New Orleans.



The AALS Webinar Series, including the UC Irvine School of Law panel that launches the series, is open to students, faculty, and staff at law schools throughout the United States, as well as lawyers and others interested in learning more about issues related to professional independence and the legal profession. More information is available on the AALS website.

Welcome and Introductions:
Kellye Testy, Executive Director and CEO, Association of American Law Schools
Austen Parrish, Dean, UC Irvine School of Law

Moderator:
Ann Southworth, UC Irvine School of Law

Panelists:
Hailyn J. Chen, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP
Mack E. Jenkins, Hecker Fink LLP
Peter Zeughäuser, Zeughäuser Group