CALGA Sessions

Recent Sessions

Each seminar is free-standing and will be curated by the faculty member listed. A full list of other instructors and panelists will be listed at least 2 weeks prior to the scheduled event. Note that all times are in the U.S. Eastern time zone. 

Spring Term 2022

Law and the Pursuit of Global Justice – Challenges for the 21st Century

The spring term will be devoted to questions of justice, both domestically and internationally. “Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere”, as Martin Luther King put it. Law has long been heralded as a means for advancing justice through constitutionalism, bills of rights and international human rights conventions, the international law of war and public security, and of refugees. Yet, law has also served to further injustice by sanctioning slavery, bonded labor, or using anti-terrorism legislation to curtail civil and political rights. This ambiguity of domestic and international law has long been recognized. Still, the pursuit of justice can hardly be accomplished without the law. The various sessions offered in this second term of CALGA will explore the challenges to justice and what might be done about this.


How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession With Rights Is Tearing America Apart

February 4, 2022 | 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM | Watch the Recording

Professor Jamal Greene (CLS) explores one of the most vexing questions for modern times: how to think about the rights of individuals under conditions of radical pluralism.

Organized by Jamal Greene, Dwight Professor of Law


The Model International Mobility Convention: Migrants, Refugees and Responsibility Sharing

February 18, 2022 | 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM | Watch the Recording

Professor Michael Doyle (CLS), Dr. Janine Prantl, and Mr. Mark Wood explore how the Model International Mobility Convention can address key gaps in international refugee and migration law by providing a comprehensive and cumulative framework for international mobility. 

Organized by Michael Doyle, University Professor


The New Comparative Constitutional Law

March 4, 2022 | 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM | Watch the Recording

Professors Benjamin L. Liebman (CLS), Madhav Khosla (CLS), and Aslı Ü. Bâli (UCLA) reflect on both the possibilities and limitations of comparative research and the ways in which foreign and international research can inform our understanding of domestic legal systems.

Organized by Benjamin L. Liebman, Robert L. Lieff Professor of Law, and Madhav Khosla, Associate Professor of Law.


The Democratic Deficit: Comparative Experiences and Challenges

March 25, 2022 | 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM | Watch the Recording

Professors Jedediah S. Purdy (CLS), Madhav Khosla (CLS), and David Grewal (Berkeley Law) trace the origins of the perception of the “democratic deficit” and consider how to assess that perception in practice today.

Organized by Jedediah S. Purdy,​​ William S. Beinecke Professor of Law


The Ukraine War and the Law of Force

April 8, 2022 | 10:30 - 11:45 AM | Watch the Recording

Professor Matthew C. Waxman (CLS) discusses the health and future of international rules against territorial aggression in the wake of Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine. 

Organized by Matthew C. Waxman, Liviu Librescu Professor of Law


Legality and Institutions in Intellectual Property Laws

April 29, 2022 | 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM | Watch the Recording

Professors Shyam Balganesh (CLS) and Haochen Sun (HKU) examine institutional questions and considerations of legality through the U.S., China, and India intellectual property systems.

Organized by Shyamkrishna Balganesh, Sol Goldman Professor of Law


Fall Term 2021

Law in the Changing Global Economic Landscape

The first term of CALGA is devoted to law in the global economy: labor, corporate governance, financial intermediation, transnational regulation, dispute settlement, international trade, and global capitalism.


Is Global Capitalism Governable?: Exploring the legal, social, and economic complexities of governance in the 21st century

September 17, 2021 | 9:30 - 10:45 AM | Watch the Recording

Professors Katharina Pistor (CLS), Olabisi Akinkugbe (Dalhousie University), Angela Zhang (Hong Kong University), and Mariana Pargendler (FGV, Sao Paolo), Rashmi Venkatesan (National Law School of India, Bengaluru) discuss the legal questions posed by an emerging global capitalist system that defies conventional governance approaches.

Organized by Katharina Pistor, Edwin B. Parker Professor of Comparative Law


Toward Sustainable Corporate Governance: Where Are We Headed? At What Speed?

October 1, 2021 | 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM | Watch the Recording

In this panel discussion, Professors John C. Coffee (CLS), Pierre-Henri Conac (University of Luxembourg), Luca Enriques (Oxford), and Jennifer Hill (Monash University--Australia), will trace recent developments in ESG and offer predictions for the future.

Organized by John C. Coffee, Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law


The Ascent of the Middleman Economy: How middlemen came to be the largest and most powerful companies in the world, why it matters, and what can be done

October 15, 2021 | 10:00 AM - 11:15 PM | Watch the Recording

Professors Kathryn Judge (Columbia Law School), Doug Arner, and Katja Langenbucher will discuss the rise of intermediaries in finance and beyond, and explore how innovation, individual choice, and government policies can help restore the resilience and accountability that gets lost as intermediaries grow too powerful and supply chains become too long.

Organized by Kathryn Judge, Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law


The Future of Liberal Democracy in the Era of Surveillance Capitalism and Digital Authoritarianism

October 29, 2021 | 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM | Watch the Recording

Professor Anu Bradford (CLS) will discuss how American, European and Chinese internet regulations are shaping societies and affecting individuals around the world.

Organized by Anu Bradford, Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization


International Dispute Resolution: Transnational Litigation and International Arbitration

November 12, 2021 | 9:00 - 10:15 AM | Watch the Recording

The course explores the principal fora for the resolution of international disputes between private parties and between private parties and States and state instrumentalities:  international litigation in national courts and arbitration before a privately selected arbitrator or panel of arbitrators.

Organized by George Bermann, Gellhorn Professor of Law and Monnet Professor in European Union Law


WTO 2.0: The Return (to Prominence) Through the JSI: The road to renewed policy relevance for the multilateral trading regime passes through a re-orientation of its legislative activity, and the manner in which it will engage with free-trade area

December 3, 2021 | 10:00 - 11:30 AM | Watch the Recording

Brad McDonald, Michele Ruta, and Petros C. Mavroidis discuss the euphoria caused by the “end of history” that led to a “monolithic” WTO, the return of history in subsequent years, and the ensuing strain on the WTO legislative activity. Based on their analysis, they explore options to revive a moribund institution.

Organized by Petros Mavroidis, Edwin B. Parker Professor of Foreign & Comparative Law


Labor Rights in the Fissured, Gig, and Algorithmic Economy: Exploring the regulation of work and the protection of workers’ rights in the changing global economy

January 21, 2022 | noon - 1:15 PM | Watch the Recording

Professors Kate Andrias (CLS), Ruth Dukes (University of Glasgow), Guy Mundlak (Tel Aviv University), and Brishen Rogers (Georgetown University Law Center) discuss the regulation of work and the collective rights of workers in a changing global economy.

Organized by Kate Andrias, Professor of Law