Michael is from Williston Park, New York. He attended St. John’s University in Queens, New York. Prior to law school, he served as a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) Missionary for three years at the University of Maryland. During his 1L summer, he worked as a remote intern for Judge Peter Bogaard in the New Jersey Superior Court.
Born and raised outside Albany, NY, Brennan is a Double Domer who graduated from Notre Dame with a B.A. in political science and theology in 2020. His senior thesis “Hesburgh between Two Worlds: The Idea of a Catholic University at Notre Dame” won the 2020 Paul Bartholomew Prize for best senior thesis in political theory at Notre Dame. During his 1L summer, Brennan worked in Wichita, Kansas at the Sedgwick County Courthouse writing draft orders and advisory memoranda for state court judges. During his 2L summer, Brennan worked for the district attorney’s office in Arapahoe County, Colorado, where he dealt with traffic court matters, motions hearing, and DUI trials. Brennan loves hiking, going on long runs, reading, watching and talking about sports (especially baseball), and working at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame.
Brett is originally from Marcellus, Michigan. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English from Ferris State University. Prior to law school, he worked as a legal intern at Samuels Law Office in Big Rapids, Michigan. During his 1L summer, Brett served as a research assistant for Professor Barry Cushman. In his free time, Brett enjoys watching movies and is an avid Detroit Red Wings fan.
Symposium Spring 2021: The Ethics of Government Service
The Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy 2021 Symposium, co-hosted with the Notre Dame Law School Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion with the support of the Robert & Marion Short Scholar Endowment, focused on the ethics of government service. This Journal was founded with the intention that it would “examin[e] legal propositions through an ethical lens.” The events of the past few years, while often looked at through a political lens, have provided an opportunity to think critically about what standards and norms we should expect from government officials, irrespective of political ideology. Our national faith in the ethics of our leaders forms the very basis of our democracy; we elect leaders under the assumption that they will not only act in our best interest, but in the best interest of our nation, considering all the moral and ethical ramifications of their actions. And yet, government ethics is a topic woefully under-discussed within legal scholarship. As a result, this interrogation of the various ethical dimensions of government service made for the ideal Symposium topic as it also aligns with the Journal’s commitment to the pursuit of truth.
The Journal is honored to have hosted distinguished speakers and to publish their work resulting from this event. The speakers on our first panel, Combating Public Corruption, included: Professor Paula A. Franzese; Former Alabama Assistant Attorney General Ferris Stephens and his co-author Ross D’Entremont (a second-year Notre Dame Law School student), and Lauren Vaca (a third-year Notre Dame Law School student and Editor-in-Chief of the Notre Dame Journal of Legislation). The second panel, Ensuring Government Integrity, included: Professor Richard Briffault, Professor Bernard W. Bell, and Stanford School of Law teaching fellow Andrew K. Jennings. The third panel, Politicization Within the Department of Justice, included: co-authors Professor Bruce Green and Professor and Co-Dean Rebecca Roiphe, Professor Barry Sullivan, and Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu and her co-author Former Deputy Chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia Jonathan Kravis. The fourth panel, The Role of Norms and Ethics, included: Professor Ann Ching, Professor W. Bradley Wendel, and Director for the Notre Dame Law School Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion Professor Veronica Root Martinez.
The Journal is grateful to have had such a wonderful and ranged discussion with each of our panels and would like to especially thank the Symposium’s moderators for leading such power discussions: Notre Dame Professors Jimmy Gurulé, Roger Alford, and Jeffrey Pojanowski, as well as New York University School of Law’s Professor Alicyn Cooley, Executive Director of NYU’s Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement. We are especially indebted to the tireless efforts of Professor Veronica Root Martinez who helped to plan this Symposium and bring together the wonderful group of panelists.
The Anatomy of Government Ethics Reform: Lessons Learned, A Path Forward
Paula A. Franzese
Unweaving Hubbard’s Web: A Review of Alabama’s Ethics Laws
Ferris Stephens & Andrew Ross D’Entremont
Elected-Official-Affiliated Nonprofits: Closing the Public Integrity Gap
Richard Briffault
Administrative Adjudicators’ Extrajudicial Statements
Bernard W. Bell
Conscience Leave
Andrew K. Jennings
Who Should Police Politicization of the DOJ
Bruce A. Green & Rebecca Roiphe
The Justice Department and the Rule of Law
Jonathan Kravis & Jessie K. Liu
Reforming the Office of Legal Counsel
Barry Sullivan
Taking A Positive Approach to Government Ethics
Ann B. Ching
The Role of Norms in Modern-Day Government Ethics
Veronica Root Martinez
Truthfulness and the Rule of Law
W. Bradley Wendel
Quid Pro No? The Bribery Statute’s Failure to Capture the “Official Acts” of High-Ranking Public Officials
Lauren N. Vaca
| Editor-in-Chief Emily Mollinedo, Florida | ||
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Executive Managing Editor | Executive Editors Andrew Franklin, Illinois Natalie Fulk, Illinois |
Executive Articles Editor |
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Executive Symposium Editor | Executive Notes Editor Danika Jo Anderson, Minnesota |
Executive Online Editor |
| Executive Productions Editor | Managing Articles Editor | |
| Managing Symposium Editor Vivian Pham, California | Managing Online Editor India Irving, Florida | |
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Managing Senior Editor | Senior Notes Editors Christine Kennedy, Maryland Allison Lantero, Illinois Jeremiah Lee, California Clarissa Wilbur Berger, Washington, D.C. | Articles Editors Michelle Chen, California Jacqueline Heafy, Florida Alexandra Kane, New Jersey Katherine M. Klem, California Carson Ludwig, Michigan Mary-Kate Poulin, New York |
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Alumni Editors |
Organization Editors |
| Staff Editors | ||
| Megan Aschenbrenner, Florida Ellen Baker, Florida Maria Bandwen, Ohio Noah Brown, Wisconsin Gregory Bryan, Kentucky Bridget Bush, Michigan Caroline Capili, Texas Yitian Cheng, China Katherine Cienkus, Illinois Mary Grace Donnelly. Ohio Declan Duggan, Illinois | Caitlin Dunnett, Illinois Cesar Estrada, New York Justin Ewing, Kentucky Matthew Goldammer, Minnesota Mary Ellen Kempf, Indiana Casey Li, Connecticut Bridget McConville, Indiana Nathaniel McKeon, Wisconsin Jeffrey Meehan, Connecticut | Gabrielle Mercurio, California Maria Murphy, Indiana Zahraa Nasser, Indiana Annika Nielsen-Kim, Massachusetts Brian O’Gara, New York Rachel Phillips, California Jack Robinson, Indiana Ambris Saravanan, Illinois Nicole Walt, Ohio Caroline Wenzel, New Jersey Jessica Wolfert, Massachusetts |
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Faculty Advisor | ||
Lawyer Ethics for Innovation
Renee Knake Jefferson
Specialty Bar Associations and the Marketing of Ethics: The Example Of the Academy of Adoption Attorneys
Malinda L. Seymore
Looking Beyond the Profit and Into the Light: Consumer Financial Protections and the Common Good
Veryl Victoria Miles
Revising the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Carving Out A More Active Role for Congress
Michael Vitello
The Professionalization of Compliance: Its Progress, Impediments, and Outcomes
James A. Fanto
Bringing Corporate Governance Down to Earth: From Culmination Outcomes to Comprehensive Outcomes in Shareholder and Stakeholder Capitalism
Dr. Malcolm Rogge
Solitary Confinement as Illegitimately Proscribed and Disproportional Punishment: Another Angle From Which To Attack the Inhumane Practice
Danika Jo Anderson
The Rising Popularity of the Right to Counsel in Eviction Cases: Rationales Supporting It and Legislation Providing It
Natalie D. Fulk
Dangerous To Be Right When Established Authorities Are Wrong: A Proposal for the Protection of America’s Migratory Birds
Dylan-Forrest Francis Greene
Reforming the EITC and CTC To Provide Greater Income Stability — An Alternative to UBI
Jacqueline Heafey
The Strained Relationship Between Hair Discrimination and Title VII Litigation and Why It Is Time To Use a Different Solution
Christine Kennedy
Appeal Waivers: When Must They Be Raised
Nicole A. Paige
Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy 