On September 23, the Federalist Society – an FIU Law Student Bar Association organization – held its first event of the year entitled, The Right to Work*. The event featured Clark Neily of the Institute for Justice (IJ) and FIU Law Professor José Gabilondo. The panelists discussed the constitutionality and morality of occupational licensing; the proper role of the judiciary; and the historical, social and intellectual contexts surrounding these complex issues.
Neily is a senior attorney at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Institute for Justice, a national libertarian public interest law firm. He has represented entrepreneurs and property owners in 20 states, including Florida, where he challenged a law that requires interior designers to obtain a license. He is the director of IJ’s Center for Judicial Engagement and the author of Terms of Engagement: How Our Courts Should Enforce the Constitution’s Promise of Limited Government.
Professor Gabilondo teaches tax and corporate finance. Prior to joining FIU Law, he worked in financial market regulation at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the World Bank. He is a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post and makes appearances in the national news media as a commentator on financial and economic matters. Professor Gabilondo has a forthcoming book about bank funding markets and regulatory capital.
The speakers held the room for over an hour and the discussion prompted several interesting questions from students. More than 60 law students, two judicial law clerks, several local attorneys and Judge Frank A. Shepherd of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal were in attendance.
The Federalist Society hosts several scholarly events throughout the year and provides networking opportunities for its members. For more information about them, email FIULawFedSoc@gmail.com. Like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fiulawfedsoc
