New York, NY—United States Senator Richard Durbin will deliver the Fourth Annual Tony Coelho Lecture in Disability Employment Law & Policy on Monday, April 14, 2008 at New York Law School, from 8:30 to 11 a.m. His speech will focus on disabilities legislation in the upcoming congressional term.

 

Senator Durbin is the Assistant Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the second highest-ranking position in the Senate, and the senior U.S. Senator from Illinois. He is also a national co-chair of Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Senator Durbin was one of the original co-sponsors of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In July 2007, the American Association of People with Disabilities honored Senator Durbin with its prestigious Justice for All Award, which recognizes people who are “extraordinary champions” of the political and economic empowerment of people with disabilities.

 

“We are excited to be able to welcome Senator Durbin, a long-time advocate for the disability community and an important ally in our struggle to overcome the barriers that exclude people with disabilities,” former U.S. Congressman Tony Coelho said. “No one will have a larger role in shaping disability legislation in the Congress and in the next Administration than my former colleague Dick Durbin. We are fortunate he has agreed to address the disability community at this important time in our nation’s political life.”

 

After seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and re-elected in 2002. In 2004, his fellow Democratic senators elected him to the post of Minority Whip. In December 2006, they elected him to the post of Assistant Majority Leader, also known as Majority Whip. It is the Senate’s second highest-ranking position.

 

The lecture is named for Congressman Coelho, former majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, author and principal sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and one of the nation’s leading advocates for people with disabilities. It is presented by New York Law School’s Justice Action Center and led by Professor Seth Harris, director of the Labor and Employment Law Program. The event is sponsored by Verizon.

 

“The Coelho Lecture brings together disability advocates with students, faculty, and alumni of New York Law School to hear from national political and public policy leaders,” Professor Harris said. “Our goal is nothing less than to keep the employment of people with disabilities in the center of our nation’s public policy debates. With Senator Durbin’s participation as this year’s Coelho Lecturer, we are sure to achieve our goal.”

 

The Coelho Lecture is open to the public at no charge, and will be broadcast live via New York Law School’s Web site. Registration is required whether attending in person or tuning in to the Webcast. To register, please visit www.nyls.edu/coelho, or call 212.431.2314. Members of the media may register by contacting Nancy Guida at nguida@nyls.edu or LaToya Nelson at lnelson@nyls.edu. Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m. Sign language interpreters will be provided. Persons with disabilities should enter the Law School at 234 Church Street.

 

About New York Law School
Founded in 1891, New York Law School is an independent law school located in lower Manhattan near the city’s centers of law, government, and finance. New York Law School’s renowned faculty of prolific scholars has built the School’s strength in such areas as constitutional law, civil and human rights, labor and employment law, media and information law, urban legal studies, international and comparative law, and a number of interdisciplinary fields. The School is noted for its seven academic centers: Center for International Law, Center for New York City Law, Center for Professional Values and Practice, Center for Real Estate Studies, Center on Business Law and Policy, Institute for Information Law and Policy, and Justice Action Center. New York Law School has more than 13,000 graduates and enrolls some 1,500 students in its full- and part-time J.D. program and its Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation program. www.nyls.edu