On March 27, 2026, Professor Daniel Morales-Armstrong of NYU presented a fascinating lecture on a little-known story about slavery in Puerto Rico which illustrates significant similarities and differences between slavery in the United States and Puerto Rico.  To a student of history, the parallels between slavery in the United States and Puerto Rico through the mid-nineteenth century are striking. Slavery was brought to Puerto Rico (a Spanish colony from 1492 through 1898) as early as 1518 in order to satisfy the labor needs of an expanding plantation economy primarily based on sugar cane. As was the case in the United States, slaves were subjected to brutal and dangerous living conditions. As a result, many rebelled against their masters or escaped from their plantations. Because of Puerto Rico’s geography, many escaped slaves were able to evade recapture and establish communities of their own throughout the island. These were similar to many of the “maroon” communities established by former slaves in the United States. The institution of slavery itself was a socially disabling and controversial institution. By …

Long before I was a law professor, I was an organizer. I spent time on picket lines, at the bargaining table, and in the homes of working people discussing their daily struggles. That experience gave me an up-close understanding of how the law shapes workers’ lives and where it falls short. It’s what brought me to law school and eventually to academia, and it’s a perspective I bring to every course I teach. A bit about me. I began my legal career as a Skadden Fellow providing bilingual legal services at the intersection of employment and consumer law. From there, I clerked for Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge James Graves before advocating for workers and their unions at a private firm, in-house at a nurses’ union, and at the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Since becoming a full-time professor, I’ve taught at NYU Law School and Loyola Law School Los Angeles, and I’m a past chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Labor Relations and Employment Law. I’m …

Editor’s note: The following message was shared by incoming interim dean Kristen E. Murray with the Temple Law community. I am honored and excited to serve as interim dean at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Temple Law is a special place in which an extraordinary community of faculty, staff, and students work together to serve our city and shape the future of our profession. Grounded in our historic mission of access to excellence, we deliver a world-class legal education that integrates a rigorous doctrinal curriculum with powerful skill-building and experiential opportunities, professional development and mentorship, and the principles of ethical leadership. I am grateful to President John Fry for the opportunity to lead the law school through this transition, and grateful to Dean Rachel Rebouché for her transformational leadership, vision, and service. Among Dean Rebouché’s marks on our institutional identity has been the development of three strategic priorities – student success, elevated reputation and impact, and sustaining a diverse, inclusive community – which have guided our growth as an institution. As we navigate this …

Content: Editor’s note: The following message was shared by outgoing dean Rachel Rebouchè with alumni and friends of Temple Law School as she steps down from the deanship to join the faculty at University of Texas – Austin School of Law.   Dear Alumni and Friends, As many of you may know, I will step down as Dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law at the end of the summer and join the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin this fall. Although this was a challenging decision to make, I am excited and confident about the future because Temple Law is thriving. Our faculty, administration and staff have reached many milestones over the past several years. The law school celebrated an over 90% bar passage rate for first-time test takers, the highest in more than a decade, and the highest employment rates for new graduates two years in a row; we hired 16 new faculty members; and our development efforts have secured an endowed deanship and multiple new scholarships enabling Temple Law …

Other than the Lone Ranger and Zorro and “superheroes,” the ‘good guys’ never wear masks. Then why are ICE agents masked and is it right to be disturbed by that choice? Masking of police officers is not an American tradition. Far from it – police wear badges with numbers and name tags, and travel in marked cars. We even disclose names of police charged with misconduct despite fears about whether they will have protests near their homes.   And masks have been banned in state after state, going back to at least 1845, when New York prohibited them because they permitted insurrectionists to go unpunished, and later in response to the Ku Klux Klan.   How were masks used beyond hiding identity? As one court explained, by 1867 “masked Klan members had assumed the practice of ‘night riding,’ making nocturnal visits to the dwellings of blacks in order to harass and intimidate.” Church of the Am. Knights of the KKK v. Kerik, 356 F.3d 197, 200 (2nd Cir. 2004).   Beyond masks going against tradition, they intimidate not …

It began with a simple idea: what if we ended the Temple LL.M. in Trial Advocacy program not in a classroom, but in the Eternal City? What if we could connect the dots between Ancient Roman law and modern American litigation? What if the conclusion to a year of study in evidence, advocacy, and professional identity was not an exam, but an immersive global experience?  In May 2025, that vision became a reality. For the first time ever, the LL.M. in Trial Advocacy program launched a Capstone trip to Temple’s Rome campus, welcoming eleven graduates from the Class of 2025 to four unforgettable days of legal education, professional connection, and cultural exploration.  The group included seven trial lawyers sponsored by Temple University Health System (TUHS), who handle medical malpractice litigation at some of Philadelphia’s most prominent firms: Cozen O’Connor, Blank Rome, Buchanan Ingersoll, and the Tucker Law Group. Through the generosity and vision of John C. Ryan—Executive Vice President, Chief Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for TUHS, and Chair of the Board of Visitors at Temple …

Shakespeare’s Dick the Butcher, in the play Henry VI, uttered the oft-quoted words “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Shakespeare’s intent with these words has been debated, but one interpretation is significant. “Shakespeare insightfully realized that disposing of lawyers is a step in the direction of a totalitarian form of government.” Walters v. Nat’l Ass’n of Radiation Survivors, 473 U.S. 305, 371 (1985) (Stevens, J. dissenting). The Trump script is different but at least as pernicious – ‘the first thing we do, we frighten [indeed threaten] lawyers who challenge the administration’s authority’. What brought this on? Jack Smith, former special counsel prosecuting Mr. Trump, sought legal services after resigning. A law firm offered that assistance at no cost. When that became public, the attack on lawyers commenced with a fury. Wielding power from the Oval Office, the President issued a memorandum against that firm, Covington and Burling, stripping security clearances from some of its attorneys and directing “all agencies to review all Government contracts with Covington & Burling LLP.” Put more …

Two weeks out from the presidential election, the nation is divided, polls can’t predict a winner, a third party candidate persists in their campaign, and anger over issues (Gaza being emblematic) pushes some to not vote, vote third party, or vote “to punish” the Democratic candidate. My commitment to activism and progress is strong; my responsibility as a lawyer, law professor, and advocacy/persuasion teacher, is to dissect arguments, identify the reasoning behind it, and look for and expose fallacies or unacknowledged consequences. As I see these trends, read the heartfelt angry statements, and listen to those who take such stances, I fear two things – the consequences of such actions are dire and the reasoning does not hold up. Consider these statements, some direct quotes and others paraphrases of what potential voters have said: I need to see a policy that says something in Israel is going to change [before I vote for Harris] I am becoming a one issue voter The Democrats have done great things. Biden has passed historic legislation, but none of …