Webinar: Meet a Civil Rights Lawyer Part 2 – Private Practice

Many folks head to law school with a strong interest in constitutional and civil rights and hoping to work as an advocate in that arena. But it might be hard to figure out how to get involved in civil rights work, or to understand what a civil rights lawyer does. Our esteemed panel of attorneys will provide their insights into this fascinating but sometimes enigmatic area of the law, from the private practice perspective. Law students, law clerks, new attorneys, and attorneys looking to try a new area of law will benefit from this Q&A dialogue. We’ll cover topics including how to get involved in civil rights work, what background and skills a successful public civil rights attorney needs to be successful, what a private civil rights practice looks like, how plaintiff and defense work differs, why civil rights law is the best law there is (only half kidding here), and other topics. Bring your interest, and your questions, to our lively webinar that is FREE for FBA members, including law student members!

Presented by the Civil Rights Law Section, Federal Judicial Law Clerk Committee, & Law Student Division

Registration is Closed

Presenters

Moderator: Ben de Seingalt
Benjamin de Seingalt is the Corporate Counsel and Director of Compliance and Privacy for MarketVision Research, one of the largest primary market research and consulting companies in the United States. His work focuses on global privacy compliance, environmental, social, and governance stewardship, artificial intelligence, and post-market drug surveillance. Ben is also a Senior Fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation and serves on the board of the FBA’s Section on Civil Rights. He is a graduate of Tulane University Law School, the A.B. Freeman School of Business, and Washington College.

Blake Hamilton

Blake Hamilton is a partner at Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar. He is a member of the Commercial Litigation, Health Care, Insurance, White Collar and Government Investigations practice groups. Blake’s primary focus is representing governmental entities in civil rights litigation. He serves as general counsel for the Utah Peace Officers Association, the National Institute of Jail Operations, the Hurricane City Police Department, and the Powder Mountain Water & Sewer Improvement District. While in law school, Blake interned at the Gonzaga University Legal Assistance Clinic, which provides legal services for elderly and low-income individuals. He has also co-chaired through the Utah State Bar the Wills for Heroes committee, which provides wills and other estate planning services for emergency first responders and their families. Blake has served in many leadership positions both at the firm and with the Bar. This includes serving as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors, chair of the firm’s Governmental Entity Defense group, and President Elect of the Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

Eileen Rosen

Eileen Rosen concentrates her practice in civil rights litigation, with significant trial experience in both State and Federal Courts. Prior to entering private practice, Eileen was an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago, Department of Law, where she specialized in defending civil rights cases brought against the City of Chicago and members of the Chicago Police Department. She was a supervisor in the Department of Law and was responsible for supervising all reverse conviction–extended detention lawsuits. Eileen is an active member of the Civil Rights Section of the Federal Bar Association, where she sits on the board and currently serves as the head of the Committee on Defense of Government Entities. She was the Chair of the Civil Rights Section from 2012 – 2016. She also frequents as a guest lecturer at Loyola University School of Law, where she speaks to law students regarding Section 1983 and police misconduct litigation.

Wylie Stecklow

Wylie Stecklow has been one of New York City’s leading civil rights lawyers for more than twenty years, with a long history of working with community organizations and individuals for police accountability. Heis a past President of the Southern District of New York Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, past National chair of its Civil Rights Law Section, and is an adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School (his alma mater). Wylie is the 2021 recipient of the Sarah T. Hughes Civil Rights Award, and in 2022 he joined the Second Circuit Civic Education Committee. He is a founding member of the National Action Network’s Legal Rights Nights and for the past twenty years, he has been litigating police policies and practice concerning the constitutional rights of protesters and photographers. Wylie is the founder of the well-respected biennial Civil Rights Étouffée (CLE) in New Orleans and chair of the FBA SDNY’s Rule of Law Award.

Robin Wagner

Robin Wagner is a partner at the Detroit-region law firm, Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers. She works exclusively on plaintiff-side civil rights matters, primarily in the areas of employment and housing discrimination and serves as a cooperating attorney with each of Michigan’s Fair Housing Centers, representing them and their clients in a wide range of litigation. Robin clerked for the Hon. Judith E. Levy of the Eastern District of Michigan and the Hon. Michael H. Dolinger, ret. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of New York. She has written on employment and housing discrimination law for various professional journals, including the Michigan Bar Journal, the journal of the Michigan Association of Justice, and of course, the FBA Civil Rights Insider. Robin is the immediate past chair of the FBA Civil Rights Section, serves on the Labor and Employment Law Council of the Michigan Bar Association, and was recently appointed to the Dean’s Advisory Council of DePaul University College of Law.

Registration

Registration is Closed

Registration Fees

• FBA Member: $0
• Nonmember: $75

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I access the virtual webinar?
A: Each webinar will have a unique link to watch the live broadcast. Registered attendees will receive login instructions via a calendar invitations 24 hours prior to the webinar.

Q: Will recordings of the sessions be available after the event?
A: Approved sessions will be available for registrants to view live and on-demand following the webinar.

Q: Who do I contact for more information?
A: Please contact sections@fedbar.org for any other questions.

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If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Daniel Hamilton, Program Coordinator, at sections@fedbar.org