LAW, RELIGION, AND CIVIL SOCIETY
IN CHALLENGING TIMES Thursday, March 20, 2025

8:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

New York Law School
Abbey Hall Auditorium
185 West Broadway
New York, NY 10013

3.0 credits available in
Professional Practice (NY
transitional and nontransitional)

Conference for Attorneys, Civic and Faith Leaders,
Nonprofit Professionals, and the General Public

Faith-based and secular nonprofit organizations provide vital services for all
New Yorkers and play essential roles in American democracy. Congregations,
community organizations, social service agencies, advocacy groups, and
more—scholars from Alexis de Tocqueville to Robert Putnam have described
these civil society organizations as the very lifeblood of our democratic
system, but their future is uncertain in our increasingly polarized social and
political environment.

Long-standing norms for houses of worship, social service providers, and
nonpartisan policy advocates have been challenged in recent years, and
proposed legislation could further alter or curtail their work. Religious
communities sheltering or supporting undocumented immigrants could be
criminally liable for faith-based acts of service. Advocacy organizations could
lose their nonprofit status on the basis of arguably protected political speech.
Social service agencies supporting historically marginalized communities—
including racially diverse and LGBTQ+ New Yorkers—will need to pursue their
critical missions while grappling with potential changes to state and federal
law and regulations.

Join us as we explore the rapidly shifting legal landscape of American civil
society. A keynote dialogue will bridge partisan and religious divides to
highlight the important work of civil society organizations. Panel discussions
focused on tax, nonprofit, and immigration law will feature legal scholars,
policy advocates, and community leaders. In Democracy in America, Alexis de
Tocqueville famously argued that “The health of a democratic society may be
measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.” All are
welcome to join the conversation.

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LAW, RELIGION, AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN CHALLENGING TIMES

Program Agenda

8:30 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.–9:10 a.m.

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Anthony Crowell, Dean and President, New York Law School

9:10 a.m.–10:00 a.m.

Keynote Dialogue: Civil Society and Grassroots Democracy

Moderated by William P. LaPiana, Dean of Faculty, New York Law School

Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson, President, Auburn Theological Seminary; Associate
Pastor, The Concord Baptist Church of Christ

Edward Mechmann, Director of Public Policy, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
New York

10:00 a.m.–10:10 a.m.

Break

10:10 a.m.–11:30 a.m.

Regulating Civil Society Through Tax and Nonprofit Law Panel (1.5 credits in
Professional Practice)

Moderated by Ann F. Thomas, Otto L. Walter Distinguished Professor of Tax Law, New
York Law School

Tiffany Gourley Carter, Public Policy Director and Counsel, National Council of
Nonprofits

Musa Jemal, Tax Attorney in Private Practice; Member, The Muslim Bar Association of
New York

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Senior Rabbi Emerita, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah

Benjamin Leff, Professor of Law, Washington College of Law, American University

11:30 a.m.–11:40 a.m.

Break

11:40 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Regulating Civil Society Through Immigration and Asylum Law Panel (1.5 credits
in Professional Practice)

Moderated by Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, Executive Director, Interfaith Center of New York

Alina Das, Professor of Clinical Law and James Weldon Johnson Professor; Co-Director,
The Immigrant Rights Clinic, New York University School of Law

Cynthia Groomes Katz, Managing Attorney, HIAS New York

Dr. Rucha Kaur, Managing Director of Education and Community Development, The Sikh
Coalition

Elizabeth Reiner Platt, Director, The Law, Rights, and Religion Project, Columbia Law
School

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