The Conference on Public Service and the Law

at the University of Virginia School of Law

Gender Panel

Abortion Litigation
Many Americans are familiar with the political and policy battles surrounding Roe v. Wade, but what does the practice of abortion litigation look like on the ground level? What practical opportunities and constraints exist for those advocating for their clients over this contentious issue? Individual cases often deal with time-sensitive issues and become the conduit for wrestling over a host of other issues like fathers' rights, the power of the state to regulate in this area, choices available to women prisoners, and legislation that often vaguely defines the beginning of life. What are the practical day-to-day realities and challenges for those engaging on both sides of this debate? How do these local and state level developments influence and inform the larger abortion discussion?

Professor Liz Magill, Moderator
Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Elizabeth Magill received her B.A. at Yale University in 1988 and her J.D. at University of Virginia School of Law in 1995. Upon completion of her J.D., she clerked for the Honorable J. Harvie Wilkinson III, Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and for the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of the United States. Magill joined the faculty at University of Virginia School of Law in 1997 as associate professor of law. She teaches administrative law, constitutional law, constitutional structure, and employment discrimination.

Karen Raschke
Chair, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia
Karen Rascke is currently Chair of the Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. Raschke served as the State Attorney for State Programs at the Center for Reproductive Rights and Policy from 1998 to 2001, and was the Director of Legislative and Political Affairs at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia from 1989 to 1997. Raschke has most recently served as a Staff Attorney at the Virginia Court of Appeals and as Counsel for the Minority Leader in the Virginia House of Delegates. From 1997 to 1998, she was Counsel at Macaulay Lee & Powell in Richmond. Raschke received her J.D. from Wake Forest University and her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jay Alan Sekulow
Chief Counsel, American Center for Law and Justice
Jay Alan Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), an international public interest law firm and educational organization. He is also Chief Counsel of the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ). An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Sekulow serves as faculty member in the Office of Legal Education for the U.S. Department of Justice where he provides legal expertise to federal prosecutors on the issue of obscenity. Two of the landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in recent years in the area of religious liberty litigation. In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses. In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member. He is the author of several publications and law articles.

Blake M. Cornish
Deputy Legal Director for Nominations, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Blake Cornish is Deputy Legal Director for Nominations and Deputy General Counsel at NARAL Pro-Choice America. He works on all federal judicial nominations, from district court to potential Supreme Court nominees, but has focused primarily on the courts of appeals, which are typically the courts of last resort for reviewing restrictions on the right to choose. He has been especially active in the efforts to defeat the nominations of Priscilla Owen, Carolyn Kuhl and Bill Pryor. Prior to joining NARAL in 2001, he was the federal legislative lawyer with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, where he worked on a variety issues related to LGBT equality, particularly transgender civil rights. Before moving to public interest law, Cornish was a civil litigator for seven years. He holds a B.A. from Hampshire College, an M.P.A. from Princeton University, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was an Articles Editor of the Columbia Law Review and co-authored the nationŐs first comprehensive assessment of domestic partnership ordinances.