On November 16, 2022 from 5 to 7 pm, the Beyond #MeToo Working Group on Corporate Governance, Compliance, and Risk will hold a panel discussion in New York hosted by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP on the topic of gender and sexual violence in sports and academia.
“Beyond #MeToo and Athletics: Where We Have Been and Where We Must Go” will highlight the recent history of gender and sex abuse in athletics, with a particular focus on such abuse at academic institutions and a deep dive into institutional failures. Our distinguished panel – which includes survivors and experts in the field – will offer first-hand insight and specific recommendations for best institutional practices moving forward, including strengthening organizational culture to promote inclusion and athlete safety.
We hope you’ll join us for this important conversation and an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue about correcting and preventing gender and sexual abuse in athletics.
CLE for New York and California will be offered. Space is limited. Proof of Covid vaccinations are required for in person attendance. Please RSVP to mmacatee@lchb.com.
Where
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
250 Hudson Street, 8th Fl. New York, NY 10013
This event will also be hosted on Zoom.
When
November 16, 2022
Registration: 4:30 pm
Program: 5:00–7:00 pm
Wine and appetizers will be served
RSVP
Speakers will include:
Londa Bevins was one of the top women’s distance runners in the country in NCAA Division 1. In high school, she placed 7th at the USA Jr. Nationals in the 1500m. She was heavily recruited, was given a full scholarship to the University of Texas before transferring her sophomore year to Arkansas because of abuse by her coach at Texas. Londa served as a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the coach and NCAA. She completed her career at the University of Arkansas, where she was a 7-time All-American in track and cross country and competed at the Olympic Trials in the 1500m. She earned a B.A. in Art History and Art Education K-12.
Bob Boland is currently a professor at Seton Hall University Law School. He is a noted sports lawyer and professor. Just before joining Seton Hall in 2022, he served in the unique role of Athletics Integrity Officer at Penn State University from 2017 to 2022. As an academic he’s led noted sports management programs at Ohio University and New York University and held teaching appointments at Penn State’s Labor School and Law School. He has been active in practice representing players, coaches and consulting. He is presently of Counsel to the law firm of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick.
Diahann Billings-Burford is the CEO of RISE. Billings-Burford most recently worked at Time Warner, as executive director, cultural investments, vice president of the Time Warner Foundation and for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as the city’s chief service officer. She serves on the National Board of Directors for buildOn, as well as on the boards of Philanthropy New York as Vice Chair, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, Strava and Success Academy. In 2021, she was recognized on Crain’s Notable Nonprofits and Philanthropy list and in 2019 was named one of Crain’s Notable Women in Sports.
Jessica Johnson was one of the top women’s high jumpers in the country. In high school, she was groomed by a coach who sexually abused and harassed her after recruiting her to the University of Texas. In 2020, Jessica was a plaintiff in a proposed class action lawsuit against the coach and NCAA. Jessica completed her career at the University of Arkansas, where she placed second at NCAA Div 1 Championships, was a 3-time All American and top ten women’s high jumper, and set the school record before retiring to attend veterinary school.
Erin Aldrich-Shean is a former Olympian who was introduced to the USA Track & Field High Jump Development Chair at The University of Arizona in high school. The coach groomed her and improperly turned their relationship into a romantic one. Aldrich-Shean believed she was the only individual so targeted, until 20 years later when she viewed a revelatory documentary. After suffering years of suppressed trauma, Erin became a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the coach and the NCAA for failure to protect athletes against inappropriate relationships. Erin is now happily married with two young boys and works as a commercial real estate broker.
Jonathan D. Selbin (Moderator) is a senior partner in the New York office of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, where he has practiced for 27 years, and a long-time member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He has led complex consumer protection, defective product, and sex abuse class action lawsuits in courts around the country against many of the world’s largest corporations and institutions. Together, cases in which Jonathan played a lead role have resulted in court-approved class action settlements with a combined total cash payout to class members in excess of $3.54 billion, plus other relief such as extended and enhanced warranties and implementation of best-practices institutional reforms. He co-founded the firm’s survivors’ rights and advocacy practice group, and played a leading role in litigating and resolving the class actions against USC involving abuse by Dr. George Tyndall and University of Michigan involving abuse by Dr. Robert Anderson.
About the Group
The Beyond #MeToo Working Group on Corporate Governance, Compliance, and Risk is a law and research working group dedicated to understanding the root causes of workplace harassment, discrimination, and misconduct; tracking and constructively utilizing the insights gained through the #MeToo movement; and helping to create optimal corporate compliance and management structures to prevent workplace misconduct and abuses of power.
Bringing together experts on governance, workplace misconduct, corporate compliance, litigation, diversity, investigative journalism, communications, and human behavior, Beyond #MeToo seeks to provide a neutral forum for candid discussion, practical discourse, and legal and professional scholarship in developing the next generation of policy prescriptions and best practices related to these complicated issues.
Founding Members
- Rebecca Boon: Partner, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann
- Alicyn Cooley: Executive Director, Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement at NYU Law and former Federal Prosecutor
- Kenneth Ebie: Attorney, Strategist, Independent Consultant, and former Director, The Raben Group
- Hilary Evans: Attorney and Advocate, The Children’s Law Center and former Manhattan ADA
- Jessie Gabriel: Partner, BakerHostetler
- Barbara Jones: Partner, Bracewell and former judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Candace McLaren Lanham: Partner, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr and former Manhattan ADA
- Jane A. Levine: Chief Compliance Officer for DailyPay and Adjunct Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School
- Daniel Lewis: Partner, Shearman & Sterling
- Mecca Mitchell: SVP of Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement and Chief Diversity Officer, Westchester
- Medical Center Health Network and former Manhattan ADA
- Rena Paul: Sexual Misconduct Consulting & Investigations, former Federal Prosecutor, former Manhattan ADA, and founding Partner, Alcalaw LLP
- Brande Stellings: Principal, Vestry Laight
- Alla Zayenchik: Associate, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann
About the Host
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a 120-attorney law firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, Nashville, and Munich. We are among the largest law firms in the United States that only represent plaintiffs. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social justice, we are committed to achieving justice for investors, consumers, employees, patients, and business owners; promoting safer products and fair competition; protecting our environment; assisting individuals blow the whistle on fraud; safeguarding the rights of patent and copyright holders; ensuring our right to privacy is preserved; and upholding the civil rights of citizens worldwide.
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