The Conference on Public Service and the Law

at the University of Virginia School of Law

Civil Rights Panel

The future of civil rights
This panel will explore the evolution of civil rights over the last two decades as well as its future. Specifically, panelists will discuss civil rights issues in the areas of employment, education, and private law rights and policy as well as the impact of these issues on contemporary private and public practice. The goal of our panel is to provoke a discussion of the issues and problems faced by modern practitioners in the field of civil rights.

Anne Coughlin, Moderator
Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Anne M. Coughlin joined the law school faculty in 1996 after visiting during the 1995-96 academic year. Her primary research and teaching interests are in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, and feminist jurisprudence. She taught at Vanderbilt Law School from 1991-1995. As a law student, Coughlin served as managing editor for the New York University Law Review, and was elected Phi Beta Kappa and to the Order of the Coif. After graduating, she clerked for Judge Jon O. Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and for Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States. She then practiced as an associate with Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York and Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin in Washington, D.C. Professor Coughlin is the O.M. Vicars Professor of Law, Class of 1948 Research Professor, and the Interim Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Law.

David Domenici
Executive Director, See Forever Foundation
Mr. Domenici serves as Executive Director of the See Forever Foundation, which founded the Maya Angelou Public Charter School and works to create learning environments in urban communities. Prior to joining See Forever, Mr. Domenici was a teacher in Washington, D.C., interned at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, worked in general practice at the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, and served as the volunteer director of DCWorks, a summer pre-college program for at-risk teens. Mr. Domenici is a 1998 Echoing Green Fellow, a member of the 1998-99 Washington Post Principals Leadership Institute, and a 2002 Ashoka Fellow. He is a 1992 graduate of Stanford Law School.

Art Rogers
Pro Bono Coordinator, Employment Justice Center
After retiring as senior partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Whiteford, Taylor and Preston where he specialized in employment and labor law, Arthur P. "Art" Rogers joined the D.C. Employment Justice Center in January, 2003. While in private practice, Mr. Rogers gained considerable expertise advising on and litigating employment and labor disputes in a variety of forums. In addition to his experience in private practice, Mr. Rogers spent several years as a lawyer for the National Labor Relations Board. He is a graduate of Merrimack College and Suffolk University Law School.

Christopher Sipes
Partner, Covington & Burling
Christopher Sipes is a partner at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., and an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he teaches a seminar on civil liberties. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Civil Liberties Union, National Capital Area. In 2002 Mr. Sipes was named one of National Law Journal's Top 40 Litigators Under 40. He is also a past recipient of the Justice for Victims of Crime Award from the United States Department of Justice. Mr. Sipes graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College. He also received an M.S. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1989 and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Ted Small Jr.
President, Council on African American Affairs
Mr. Theodore W. Small, Jr., is president of the Council on African American Affairs, Inc. ("CAAA"), a Washington, D.C.-based policy think tank. Before joining CAAA, Mr. Small was a partner in the law firm of Holland & Knight, LLP, where he practiced commercial litigation and employment law in its Tampa, Washington, D.C., and Orlando offices. His litigation experience also includes two major civil rights cases, one involving race and gender discrimination claims, and the other involving claims related to lead-based paint in public housing. He earned his J.D. in 1992 from the University of Virginia School of Law.