Journalist Pablo Torre shocked the sports world when he released an episode of his podcast, Pablo Torre Reports, alleging that NBA star Kawhi Leonard took a deal with a third-party company for the purpose of circumventing the NBA salary cap. If this bewildering story is true, Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer and the team committed a cardinal sin in the eyes of the league.   What do we know? Kawhi Leonard joined the Clippers in 2019 and is currently on a three-year deal for $152.4 million that was signed in January 2024. The issue here is an outside deal that Leonard signed in 2022.  As Torre reported on his podcast, Leonard signed a contract for an endorsement deal with Aspiration, a sustainability company. The deal was for four years and promised to pay $28 million to Leonard’s corporation, KL Aspire, LLC. Leonard’s corporation also signed a second contract with Aspiration for an additional $20 million in Aspiration stock. The first contract specifically mentioned that Leonard could “decline to proceed with any action desired by the …

Law students and faculty spilled into the corners and rear ledges of Klein Hall’s biggest classroom. The room quickly quieted after Dean Dunoff hushed the beyond-capacity crowd and kicked off the “Supreme Court Roundup.” The panel provided a snapshot of the Court at a moment where longstanding doctrine taught in Constitutional Law a semester ago—in the same, albeit less crowded classroom—teeters on the brink of obsolescence. Professors Purvis, Rangel-Medina and Heath each spoke about the changing landscape within their legal expertise: LGBT rights, immigration and administrative law, respectively.   “Certain Medical Uses”   Professor Purvis began with an overview of U.S. v. Skrmetti, a paradigm shift in equal protection doctrine. The case stemmed from Tennessee’s gender-affirming care ban, which restricted minors from seeking treatment to alter their birth genders.   Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts upheld the limitation by worming his way through the statute, stating that the restriction was placed on minors—a permissive classification (think voting or alcohol)—and levied on only a subset of minors seeking treatment for “certain medical uses.” Because these “uses” are …

This summer, I had the opportunity to spend a month in Rome through Temple Law’s summer study abroad program. The experience was more than just a change of scenery—it was a deep dive into the global legal landscape, a chance to build connections across borders, and a powerful reminder of the importance of cultural context in law.   I took all three courses the program offered:  Global Legal Perspectives,  International Civil Litigation, and  Advising the Multinational Corporation on Global Legal Issues. Each class was taught by professors from Temple and enriched by guest speakers and immersive field trips. We weren’t just reading about international law; we were living in a country where centuries of legal evolution have shaped modern global frameworks. After class I often found myself doing my readings on the terrace of Temple’s cCampus with a perfect view of the Trinità dei Monti (the church that sits atop the Spanish Steps). Rome proved to be the perfect backdrop while learning about cross-border legal issues and the ever-growing importance of international cooperation.   The program broadened …

As we navigate through the many challenges that law school provides, it becomes increasingly easy to focus entirely on the immediate next step and lose sight of the opportunities that will come down the road. When it comes to thinking about post-graduation work, that often means preparing oneself for a rank-and-file “first job” and forgetting all about what amazing career opportunities await just a few years ahead. The annual Fogel Lecture is an incredible reminder of what a legal career has to offer when we remember to raise our sights and look past the next step to focus on the entire picture.  On February 26, the Honorable Tamara W. Ashford of the U.S. Tax Court delivered the 2025 Fogel Lecture, joining the long list of former and current government officials who have shared their views and career trajectories with the Temple Law community since 2011. Standing in front of nearly 200 law students, faculty, and other legal professionals, Judge Ashford discussed her journey in tax in a lecture titled “For the Love of Tax.”  Tax …

Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), recently spoke at the annual Honorable Nelson A. Diaz Professor in Law Lectureship at Temple Law. He shared invaluable insights on how advancing advocacy can thrive through litigation and public engagement even in challenging times. While his advice was informative and practical, what resonated most with me was his story about his father’s experience with discrimination and how that shaped Mr. Romero’s perspective. His account prompted me to reflect on my own motivation for pursuing law.    Mr. Romero, having just completed his first year at Princeton, went home for the summer to assist his father at the hotel where he worked. Upon clocking in, Mr. Romero was handed his father’s name tag, which read “Chico” instead of his father’s actual name, Demitrio. Confused, Mr. Romero asked his father about the mislabeled name tag and was shocked to learn that his father’s boss had misnamed him on his first day 30 years ago, leading that to become his name at work. Mr. Romero pushed …

This semester, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in Temple Law’s “Ethics in Practice” course. I gained practical legal skills training during the course, and it was a defining highlight of my one-year study visit to the United States. “Ethics in Practice”, taught by Professor Sara Jacobsen, is a one-credit course available to students in their second semester of the LL.M. for Foreign-Trained Lawyers program. Students of the course are placed short in observational externships with a lawyer or legal advocacy organization. Attorney John McMeekin of Rawle & Henderson LLP served as my mentor during the program. His meticulously designed 12-hour observation program, structured into three comprehensive modules, allowed me to gain a deep understanding of the essence of legal practice in the United States. The modules included Arbitration Observation, Mediation Practice Study, and Post-Judgement Procedure Observation. During an arbitration hearing led by Attorney Jennifer Seme, we witnessed an efficient dispute resolution performed by a team of seasoned lawyers. Attorney Seme stood out for her passionate and professional responses to questions, and she demonstrated …

As a law student focused on learning the ins and outs of corporate law, it can sometimes feel like the only goal that matters in business is the bottom line. Between fiduciary duties, profit-maximizing principles, and shareholder primacy, the space for societal good often feels like an afterthought—if it’s considered at all. So when I attended the 2025 Richard H. Walker ’75 Chair in Business Law Lecture on March 26, 2025, hosted by Professor Harwell Wells and featuring Gregory Varallo’ 83, I expected to hear about high-stakes litigation, maybe some war stories on practicing in Delaware, and definitely something about Elon Musk. I didn’t expect to walk away with a renewed sense of how corporate litigation—specifically settlements—can actually be a tool for meaningful, even moral, progress. Varallo spent 36 years as a top corporate defense attorney before crossing the aisle to become a plaintiff-side litigator at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP. Most recently, he gained national attention for his work in Tornetta v. Musk, where he helped strike down Elon Musk’s $55.8 billion compensation …