WLSO Symposium Explores the #MeToo Movement’s Impact on the Law

By Peter Jetton
September 14, 2020

The Women Law Students Organization at Washington and Lee University School of Law will host the 7th Annual Lara D. Gass Symposium on Women in the Law on Friday, September 18 from 8:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m.

The event will occur through Zoom and is open to the public. Registration is available now at this link.

The topic of this year’s symposium is “Measuring #MeToo: The Movement’s Impact on Civil Law, Criminal Law, and Alternative Justice.” The symposium is comprised of three panels and a keynote address by Joanna L. Grossman, the Ellen K. Solender Endowed Chair in Women and Law at SMU Dedman School of Law.

Grossman’s research focuses on sex-based discrimination. Her most recent book, “Nine to Five: How Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Continue to Define the American Workplace” is a lively and accessible introduction to the laws, policies, and practices that shape women’s lives at work. She is the co-author of “Gender & Law: Theory Doctrine & Commentary, Gender Law & Policy,” “Family Law in a Changing America,” and “Inside the Castle: Law and the Family in 20th Century America,” co-winner of the 2011 David J. Langum, Sr. Prize for Best Book in American Legal History. She is a regular columnist for Justia’s Verdict and lectures across the country on workplace equality.

The symposium schedule is below. Download the symposium program.

• 8:00 am – 8:15 AM: Introductory Remarks
• 8:15 am – 9:00 AM: Professor Joanna Grossman, Keynote Address
• 9:00 am – 9:45 AM: #MeToo and Misconduct: Civil Law and Liability
• 9:45 am – 10 AM: 15 minute break
• 10:00 am – 10:45 AM: What’s Next: Crime, Legislation, and Culture
• 10:45 am – 11:30 AM: Restoring Dignity: Alternatives to Criminalization

The annual WLSO symposium is named for Lara Gass ’14L, who spearheaded the first Women Law Students Organization panel on women in the law before passing away in a tragic car accident during her third year at Washington and Lee Law School.