2023 LENS Conference

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Duke's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS) will hold the 28th Annual National Security Law Conference on February 24-25, 2023 at Duke Law School.
You'll learn updates on a variety of issues and hear candid discussions about challenges and potential solutions from experts in government, the military, agencies, and the civilian sector. 
Plus, you'll have the opportunity to network and connect with others working in or interested in the national security law field.  

This is an event where you'll benefit from being here!  

 

Registration is now open!

Click the link in the sidebar to register. We look forward to seeing you there!
 

Thursday, February 23, 2023 

Early Arrival Event

No conference registration needed for this special event

All time EST, U.S. (UTC/GMT -5 hours)

Duke Law School, Room 3041

12:30 p.m.

"Careers in National Security Law" 
 

Moderator: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director

Panelists:

RADM Melissa Bert, Judge Advocate General, U.S. Coast Guard

Mr. Phillip Carter, Senior Director, Public Sector Legal, Salesforce

Ms. Michele Pearce, Of Counsel, Covington & Burling

Ms. Genelle Francis, Assistant General Counsel, Federal Bureau of Investigation
 

Friday, February 24, 2023

Conference Agenda

Conference registration required

All time EST, U.S. (UTC/GMT -5 hours)

Duke Law School, Room 3041

7:30 a.m.

Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:00 a.m.

Welcome and Administrative Notes: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director, and Professor of the Practice, Duke Law School

8:05 a.m.

Keynote: “The Battle for Your Brain: Neurotechnology and National Security” 
 

Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director

Speaker: Prof. Nita A. Farahany, Robinson O. Everett Professor of Law, Duke Law School

9:05 a.m.

 Break 

9:20 a.m.

"The Russo-Ukraine Conflict and the Law of War"
 

Moderator: Col. David E. Graham, USA (Ret.), Senior Fellow, Center on National Security, Georgetown Law

Panelists:

Prof. Geoffrey S. Corn, George R. Killam Jr. Chair of Criminal Law and Director of the Center for Military Law and Policy, Texas Tech University School of Law

Prof. Laurie Blank, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the International Humanitarian Law Clinic at Emory University School of Law

Prof. Robert Lawless, Assistant Professor in the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy, West Point

10:30 a.m.

Break

10:40 a.m.

"Domestic Terrorism: Where Are We Now, and Where Do We Go From Here?"
 

Discussant: Prof. Shane Stansbury, Robinson Everett Distinguished Fellow, Duke Law School

Panelists:

Mr. Thomas E. Brzozowski, Counsel for Domestic Terrorism in the Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice

Mr. Michael F. Easley Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina

11:35 a.m.

Break (Pick up lunches)

11:50 a.m.

Law School Welcome: Dean Kerry Abrams, James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean of the School of Law and Professor of Law

11:55 a.m.

Working Lunch Presentation: "The Challenge of China: Lawfare, Technology, and More"
 

Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director

Speaker: Mr. Dean Cheng, Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy

12:35 p.m.

Break

12:45 p.m.

“National Security Challenges in the Arctic”
 

Speaker: RADM Melissa Bert, Judge Advocate General, U.S. Coast Guard

1:25 p.m.

Break (In Place)

1:30 p.m.

"The Cryptocurrency Crisis and National Security"
 

Speaker: Prof. Lee Reiners, Policy Director at the Duke Financial Economics Center and Lecturing Fellow at Duke Law

2:00 p.m.

Break

2:15 p.m.

Fireside Chat: “Public Service, Private Practice and National Security”
 

Discussant: Mr. Raj De, Partner, Mayer Brown

Speaker: Ambassador John J. Sullivan, Partner, Mayer Brown; former U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation

2:45 p.m.

Break

3:00 p.m.

"Corporations and National Security: Is the Private Sector the New Battleground?"
 

Overview: Prof. Tom C.W. Lin, Jack E. Feinberg Chair Professor of Law at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law

Panel:

Moderator: Prof. Elisabeth de Fontenay, Professor of Law, Duke Law School

Panelists:

Ms. Caroline E. Brown, Partner, Crowell & Moring

Mr. Robert J. Denault, Associate, Gibson Dunn, Duke Law '21

Mr. Hensey Fenton III, Associate, Covington & Burling, Duke Law '19

4:30 p.m.

Break

4:40 p.m.

Fireside Chat: "A Conversation with the FBI General Counsel"

 

Discussant: Prof. Shane Stansbury, Robinson Everett Distinguished Fellow, Duke Law School

Speaker: Mr. Jason A. Jones, General Counsel, Federal Bureau of Investigation

5:30 p.m.

Conference Sessions at the Law School Conclude

5:45 p.m.

Reception at Washington Duke Inn (Invitation only)

7:45 p.m.

 First Day of Conference Concludes

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Conference Agenda

Conference registration required

All time EST, U.S. (UTC/GMT -5 hours)

Duke Law School, Room 3041

7:15 a.m.

Registration & Continental Breakfast

7:50 a.m.

Keynote: "Airpower, Law and the Warfighter's Perspective"

 

Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director

Speaker: Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Dean, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

8:40 a.m.

Break

8:50 a.m.

"International Criminal Justice"

 

Speaker: Prof. Adam Oler, Col., USAF (Ret.), National Defense University

9:35 a.m.

Break

9:50 a.m.

“Cybersecurity Policy and National Security: How should the public and private sectors prepare for tomorrow’s threats?”

 

Moderator:  Prof. Shane Stansbury, Robinson Everett Distinguished Fellow, Duke Law School

Panelists:

Mr. Carl Ghattas, Senior Vice President, Booz Allen

Ms. Kate Nichols, Deputy Regional Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

10:45 a.m.

Break

11:00 a.m.

"Intellectual Property and National Security"

 

Speaker: Prof. Arti Rai, Elvin R. Latty Professor of Law and Faculty Director, The Center for Innovation Policy, Duke Law

11:45 a.m.

Break

11:55 a.m.

"Ethics and the New Technologies of War: AI and Cyber"

 

Speaker: Lt. Col. Timothy M. Goines, Senior Military Faculty and Assistant Professor of Law, United States Air Force Academy

12:55 p.m.

Closing remarks: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.),  LENS Executive Director

1:00 p.m.

Conference Concludes

The conference is produced by the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security at Duke Law School

Conference Details

  • Registration

Registration is now open. Click here to register.

Parking

On Friday, February 24th, parking will be available in the Science Drive Parking Garage. The parking attendant at the lot will provide passes for you to use when you leave the garage. The parking garage is accessible off of Cameron Blvd (also known as 751). This parking lot is located on the corner of Cameron Blvd. and Science Dr. (3189 Cameron Blvd, Durham, NC). For further information, please see the Parking Map. 

On Saturday, February 25th, parking for the conference will be available in the Law School Parking lot, entrance located on Towerview Road. 

Conference Seating

Conference seating will be on a first come, first serve basis. Once the main auditorium is full, attendees will be invited to view a live webcast of the conference in the adjacent overflow room.

WiFi

WiFi will be available to conference attendees.

CLE

The conference has been approved for a maximum of 12 CLE hours (including one hour of Ethics) by the Pennsylvania Bar (this includes the Early Arrival presentation).  The approval document (with instructions for attorneys) is found here.  The North Carolina Bar has approved a maximum of 11.5 hours of CLE credit (including one hour of Ethics). CLE approvals from PA and/or NC have enabled some attorneys to get credit in other jurisdictions, but we cannot guarantee it.  All attorneys seeking CLE credit will have to sign an attendance roster at the conference. In addition, attorneys will be responsible for submitting their own applications for CLE credit and all expenses associated with CLE for this conference must be borne by the individual attorneys seeking it.

Dress

There is no dress code for the conference itself. However, most speakers will be in business attire. Military personnel are welcome to wear their UOD. Dress for the reception is conference appropriate attire as it will start shortly after the event ends for the day.  (Formal cocktail attire NOT expected).  Military personnel are welcome to wear their service dress, UOD, or civilian attire.)

Give Back

We hope you'll chose to donate now to the Center's work in education and discussion of national security and legal issues.

Ethics. Knowledge. Critical Thinking. Leadership. Those are the tools of power -- the fuel for the future.

Help strengthen our future leaders so they can keep America strong. Give today! We thank you! Your donation is tax-deductible as allowed by law. 

Disclaimer

Unless otherwise indicated, speakers and panelists are participating in their personal capacity, so their views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of their employers.  In particular, for government employees – to include specifically military members -  their views and opinions are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the US government or any entity of it.  Moreover, the views an opinions expressed by speakers, panelists, or attendees are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, Duke Law School, Duke University or any other person or entity.

Recording/Use of Material

No video or audio recording of any portion of the conference is permitted absent written permission from the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS).  Unless otherwise indicated, the conference is conducted under the Chatham House Rule which means “participants [to include attendees] are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”

Attendance at Duke Law’s Center on Law, Ethics and National Security’s (“LENS”) 28th Annual National Security Law Conference ( “Conference”) constitutes an agreement by the attendee to grant to LENS the right to record their image, photograph, picture, likeness, and voice by any technology or means/  They also grant LENS the right to copy, use, perform, display and distribute such recordings for any legitimate purpose, including but not limited to distribution by means of streaming or other technologies via the Internet, or distribution of audio or video files for download by the public. Attendees hereby waive any right to inspect, approve, or be compensated for use of any materials incorporating such images obtained during the Conference. They release LENS and its agents, representatives and licensees from all liabilities arising out of any use of my likeness and information as provided above. They  understand and agree that any and all negatives, digital images, and recordings of my likeness, regardless of form, are and shall remain property of the LENS.

Point of Contact

Amanda Gonzalez
lensmailbox@law.duke.edu
(919) 613-8545
 

https://sites.duke.edu/lawfire/