Past Law Review Banquets

United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Addresses New York Law School Law Review's 50th Anniversary Banquet

Student members of the New York Law School Law Review were treated to two once-in-a-lifetime experiences on Friday night, March 24, 2006: They celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Law Review, and their celebration was attended by a United States Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, who also gave the keynote speech.

Justice Scalia elicited a number of laughs during his speech. He poked good-natured fun at appellate counsel, promising to list their “admirable” and “unadmirable” qualities; the unadmirable qualities were many, with mispronunciation of the name “Scalia” number one on the list. The admirable qualities numbered exactly two, one of which, Scalia said with a smile, was counsel ending his argument and “shutting up and sitting down.”

The banquet, held in the glittering ballroom of SoHo’s Puck Building, was attended by legal luminaries including renowned First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams and Arthur Abbey ’59, chairman of New York Law School’s Board of Trustees. Justice Scalia was introduced by longtime friend Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union. Despite their ideological differences, Strossen, a New York Law School professor, described Justice Scalia as a “hero” for civil libertarians in particular cases, such as his recent dissent in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and in his vote to uphold the First Amendment right to burn the United States flag.

New this year, a video documentary, Insight & Substance: Fifty Years of the New York Law School Law Review, featured interviews with past law review editors, including the Honorable Roger J. Miner ’56, senior judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and managing editor of the law review, 1955–1956. The documentary was written, produced, and edited by Carra Greenberg 3L. Click to view the video documentary

Law Review Publisher Cameron Stracher thanked Marcey Grigsby 3L, editor-in-chief, and Tim Regan 3L, managing editor, for their excellent work, and welcomed the new editor-in-chief, Catherine Hughes-Corwin 2L and new managing editor, Barbara Yan 2L. He also thanked New York Law School Dean and President Richard A. Matasar and the entire law school faculty for their “passionate support of the Law Review.”