In the News - September 8, 2020

Media Highlights

Free the FDA and the CDC from Political Pressure
CNN—September 4, 2020
Dorit Reiss: Recent developments have caused concern among scientists and experts over the independence of both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Will the COVID-19 Vaccine Be Mandatory?
Today—September 3, 2020
Dorit Reiss: “Nobody’s talking about coming to your house, holding you down and vaccinating you.”

Uber and Lyft Are Harassing a Researcher, Pulling a Page from Climate Deniers’ Playbook
Union of Concerned Scientists—September 3, 2020
Veena Dubal: Prof. Dubal now has the unfortunate honor of joining the ranks of climate scientists, food and agricultural researchers, environmental health scientists, and drug researchers, who have all faced bullying from entities opposed to their work.

Column: How Millions from Uber and Lyft Are Funding the Harassment of a Critic
Los Angeles Times—September 2, 2020
Veena Dubal: She tries to laugh off all this activity. “I hope they have a wonderful time wading through my thousands of emails and text messages.”

Gender, Racial Biases in Construction Highlighted at Industry Conference
Engineering News-Record—September 2, 2020
Joan Williams: Some assume that a man’s achievement is based on skill, while for a woman, it is due to “luck.” Williams observed that such bias in an employer’s “basic business systems” can be a roadblock to women’s career growth.

Doctors’ Fees May Mean a ‘Free’ COVID-19 Vaccine Isn’t Free
Roll Call—September 2, 2020
Dorit Reiss: “A small fee may not be small to vulnerable populations, and will probably reduce uptake.”

Catie Clobes – Legal Harassment from an Anti-Vaccine Activist – Take 10
Skeptical Raptor—September 2, 2020
Dorit Reiss: Being threatened with litigation can cause alarm and distress. This post provides suggestions about what to do if you get a letter threatening litigation.

Amazon Posts, Then Pulls Job Listing to Probe Union Threats
Bloomberg—September 1, 2020
Veena Dubal: “I was struck by how it brazen it was. It just must be within this particular corporate environment that there is a different sense of what is OK.”

What Happened to Missouri’s COVID-19 Lawsuit Against China? So Far, Not Much
KCUR—August 31, 2020
Chimene Keitner: “Any scholar or practitioner with working knowledge of foreign sovereign immunity would have taken one look at the headlines about these lawsuits (as I did) and assess immediately that there is no basis for jurisdiction in a U.S. court.”

Interview: Dorit Reiss on if Workplaces Can Mandate Vaccines
KSRO—August 31, 2020
Dorit Reiss: Reiss discusses whether workplaces can mandate vaccines, creating a safe work space, transparency and potential liability.

This Law Prof has been Fighting Off Twitter Trolls During the Coronavirus Crisis
Legal Talk Network—August 31, 2020
Veena Dubal: Dubal tells listeners about her experience with online trolls during the pandemic and how she deals with them.

This Law Prof has been Fighting Off Twitter Trolls During the Coronavirus Crisis
ABA Journal—August 31, 2020
Veena Dubal: People’s anxieties are running high amid the pandemic, and some public relations groups harness that energy to support client platforms, particularly on social media.

Newsom Names Gay Lawyer to SF Court Seat
Bay Area Reporter—August 28, 2020
Russell Roeca: Newsom has appointed a gay attorney and former board member of the Human Rights Campaign, Russell S. Roeca ‘80, to a vacant seat on the local bench.

‘A Totally Different Ballgame’: Inside Uber and Lyft’s Fight Over Gig Work
CNET—August 28, 2020
Veena Dubal: “So, where did the idea come from that I wrote the law?”

College and Community Stories

Prof. Karen Musalo Briefs Congressional Staff on Canadian Asylum Ruling
She explained how the law has developed and how the Trump administration has worked to roll back hard-won progress for women refugees achieved by CGRS and other advocates over decades.

Gov. Newsom Appoints Four Alumni to State Superior Courts
UC Law SF has a rich legacy of sending its graduates to positions on the state bench, from the trial courts to the California Supreme Court. Four alumni joined those ranks Aug. 28 when Gov. Gavin Newsom announced their appointment to seats on the California Superior Court.

Scholarly Leadership

Dana Beldiman: “Spare Parts and Design Protection – Different Approaches to a Common Problem,” in Recent Developments from the EU and US Perspective, Oxford University Press, GRUR International, Volume 69, Issue 7

Scott Dodson: “The Zooming of Federal Civil Litigation,” 104:3 Judicature, was accepted for publication

Lois A. Weithorn & Dorit R. Reiss: “Providing Adolescents with Independent and Confidential Access to Childhood Vaccines: A Proposal to Lower the Age of Consent,” 52 Connecticut Law Review 771

Joan Williams: Spoke at Groundbreaking Women in Construction in August, a virtual conference with more than 1,000 attendees

Zach Price: “Congress Has Broad Power to Structure the Military—and It Should Use It,” Lawfare

Upcoming Events

Veena Dubal: Sept. 11, Dubal interviews Juliet B. Schor, author of “After the Gig: How the Sharing Economy Got Hijacked and How to Get It Back” at a virtual event at Harvard Book Store.

Hadar Aviram: Sept. 26, Aviram joins Lunch With the Expert, sponsored by the Office of Advancement, to discuss her latest book and California’s addiction to incarceration.