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Local experts will discuss how the 2020 election results at the federal and state level could impact the legal landscape in terms of criminal justice reform, immigration, consumer law, environmental laws and more.
Panelists:
• Seema Kakade, associate professor and director of the Environmental Law Clinic, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
• Sheela Murthy, founder of Murthy Law Group
• Donald B. Tobin, dean and professor of law, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
• Ronald Weich, dean, University of Baltimore School of Law
10 a.m. Feb. 17, 2021
Seema Kakade
Seema Kakade joined the University of Maryland Carey School of Law in July 2017 and is currently an associate professor and director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. Her research interests are in the area of air pollution, climate change, and energy. She has published articles in the top environmental law journals, including the Harvard Environmental Law Review and the Ecology Law Quarterly. Prior to joining Carey, she was an attorney with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Civil Enforcement, and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General Counsel. Before her federal government practice, she worked as a research attorney and co-director of the India Program at the Environmental Law Institute and as a litigation associate in private practice. Kakade holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.
Sheela Murthy
Founder and president of the Murthy Law Firm, Sheela Murthy leads a team of about 100 professionals who concentrate in the area of U.S. immigration law. Murthy practiced with major law firms in New York and Baltimore before launching her own firm in 1994.
She often travels to meet with senior officials of U.S. consulates abroad, as well as the different USCIS service centers in the U.S., to discuss policies and procedures. This enables the Murthy Law Firm to better serve and advocate for its clients. She is fluent in French and Hindi.
A nationally recognized expert on immigration law, Murthy presents papers and speaks on complex immigration law issues before the American Immigration Lawyers Association and other national and international organizations, including the International Bar Association in London and the Center for International Legal Studies in Salzburg. She obtained her Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School and has been admitted to practice as an attorney in New York, Maryland, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Donald B. Tobin
Donald B. Tobin has been dean and professor of law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law since 2014.
A Maryland native, Tobin began his career on Capitol Hill as a professional staff member for U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes, the Senate Committee on the Budget, and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Later, he served as a law clerk for The Honorable Francis Murnaghan, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and as an appellate attorney in the tax division of the U.S. Justice Department. Prior to his deanship at Maryland Carey Law, Tobin was professor of law and associate dean for academic affairs and associate dean for faculty at Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
Dean Tobin is committed to fostering a supportive community that provides personalized learning experiences for students to realize countless possible career pathways. He teaches the popular Lawyers as Leaders class and works with students in the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic.
Ronald Weich
Ronald Weich was appointed dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law in May 2012.
Immediately prior to assuming his current position, Weich was an assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice. Earlier he served as chief counsel to U.S. Sens. Harry Reid and Edward Kennedy. Weich played a key staff role in the enactment of the 2007 ethics reform law, the 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and other significant legislation.
From 1997 to 2004, Weich was a partner in the law firm of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. He began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in New York City. Weich is a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Law School.
Among Weich’s numerous professional affiliations, he has been a member of the advisory board of the Federal Sentencing Reporter, a trustee of the Vera Institute of Justice, a trustee of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and vice chair of government relations of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section.
