Since 1984, the Edward V. Sparer Symposium has been one of the Law School’s cornerstone events. By focusing on urgent social justice issues of our time, the Sparer Symposium commemorates the life and work of the late Edward V. Sparer, Professor of Law and Social Policy. The Symposium brings together academics, practitioners, community members, activists, and organizers to provide insight into the dynamic relationship between scholarship and practice in the area of poverty law.
42nd Annual Edward V. Sparer Symposium
The 42nd Annual Edward V. Sparer Symposium will be held on Friday, February 10, 2023 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST.
This year’s symposium titled, Democracy from the Ground Up: The Power of People-Centered Advocacy, will examine the fragile state of our democracy. Through interdisciplinary conversations with experts, activists, and scholars from across the country, we will investigate alternative modes of organizing and how the power of the collective can protect our fracturing democracy. This symposium will take the form of moderated panels on voting rights, state and local elections, labor organizing, and the future of organizing and legal strategy.
Ayanna Williams,Associate Director for the Toll Public Service Corps
9:30 AM | Neither Abridged Nor Denied: Addressing the Ongoing Threat of Voter Suppression (1.0 substantive/0.5 ethics CLE)
One driver of decreased confidence in our political system has been the explosion of voter suppression tactics deliberately aimed at disrupting the democratic process. This discussion will explore historic and current policies used to undermine voting rights, including misinformation, voter intimidation, overly complex voting procedures, voting bans, gerrymandering, and more. By examining the legal and extra-legal barriers that inhibit voting as well as the legal strategies that organizations are utilizing to combat voter disenfranchisement, we can begin to advocate for more equitable access and fair representation for all people.
Patrick Berry L’18,Counsel,Brennan Center for Justice
Blair Bowie L’17,Senior Legal Counsel and Restore Your Vote Manager, Campaign Legal Center
Marian K. Schneider,Senior Voting Rights Policy Counsel, ACLU-PA
James Tucker SJD’01, LLM’98,Senior Special Counsel, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Voting Rights Project
11:00 AM | All Change Is Local: The Power of State and Local Elections (1.5 ethics CLE)
Known as the birthplace of American democracy, Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where representatives laid the framework for the United States Constitution. More recently, Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania more generally, have been at the center of political and legal challenges confronting the democratic process. Through a discussion with elected officials and political leaders, this panel will explore methods of democratic participation with a focus on the issues that most directly affect Philadelphians and ways to strengthen democracy from the ground up.
Lisa M. Deeley,Chair, Philadelphia City Commissioners
Jamie Gauthier,Councilmember, Philadelphia City Council
12:30 PM | Lunch
1:00 PM | Laboratories of Democracy: What Unions Teach Us About Change (1.5 substantive CLE)
Justice Louis Brandeis was one of the first to popularize the idea of states as “laboratories of democracy.” So too are unions. Recent years have seen the success of organizing drives at corporate powerhouses such as Starbucks, Amazon, and Apple. This panel will explore the methods and motivations behind these historic union organizing drives, elections, and contracts, as well as share lessons from those who organize workers on building solidarity and harnessing people power to bring about political change.
Jennifer Abruzzo,General Counsel, National Labor Relations Board
Helen Gym,Philadelphia Mayoral Candidate and former Member of the Philadelphia City Counsel
Christopher Smalls,Founder andPresident, Amazon Labor Union
2:30 PM | Radical Legal and Community Strategies Towards Democracy (1.0 substantive/0.5 ethics CLE)
What does the future legal movement demand to protect democracy and civil rights? Specifically, how do community care and mutual aid intertwine with legal strategy? The goal of the panel is to explore radical and transformative legal strategies that center community care, elevate the voices of the marginalized, and move us toward a truly democratic society.
Cynthia Alvarado,Writer and Educator, Advocate for Change
Bruce Reilly,Deputy Director, VOTE: Voice of the Experienced and Voters Organized to Educate
Dean Spade,Professor, Seattle University School of Law
4:00 PM | Keynote Address(1.0 substantive CLE)
Esosa Osa,Deputy Executive Director of Fair Fight Action
5:00 PM | Dinner
This program has been approved for 7.0 CLE credits (4.5 substantive and 2.5 ethics credits) for Pennsylvania lawyers. CLE credit may be available in other jurisdictions as well. Attendees seeking CLE credit can make a payment via cash or check made payable toThe Trustees of the University of Pennsylvaniaon the day of the event or prior to the event via credit card via theonline registration link in the amount of $140.00 ($70.00 public interest/non-profit attorneys).
Penn Carey Law Alumni receive CLE credits free through The W.P. Carey Foundation’s generous commitment to Lifelong Learning.
Edward V. Sparer was a professor at the law school from 1969 until his death in 1983. Sparer’s work combined a passionate concern for the economically poor with intellectual rigor and a profound conviction that the problems of poverty are solvable.
In 1983, he founded Mobilization for Youth Services, the first neighborhood legal services program, followed by the Columbia Center on Social Welfare and Policy and Law, the first national support center for legal services. In 1984, the first Sparer Symposium was organized to honor Professor Sparer. With the support of TPIC, each year the Sparer Symposium is organized by 2L Toll Public Interest Scholars.
The Sparer Symposium takes place annually during the Spring semester. TPIC spreads the word about the Sparer Symposium via emails, social media posts, calendar updates, and community announcements.
Over its many years, the Symposium has covered a wide variety of timely issues often centered on race, socioeconomics, state violence, gender, and democracy. Information about recent Sparer Symposium topics can be found below.
Reimagining Freedom
40th Annual Edward V. Sparer Symposium
Divesting from State Violence
38th Annual Edward V. Sparer Symposium
A Country Divided
36th Annual Edward V. Sparer Symposium
Law 2.0: Progress and Challenges for Justice in the Digital Age
