| |  | | March to July 2016 | Former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, Chair | Make a gift | | | 
WSU awarded $200,000 grant to support Levin Center at Wayne Law
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation of Menlo Park, California, has awarded Wayne State University a two-year, $200,000 grant to support the Levin Center at Wayne Law. The grant was awarded under the foundation's Madison Initiative, which seeks to help create the conditions in which Congress and its members can deliberate, negotiate and compromise in ways that work for most Americans. The Levin Center will use the grant funds for general operating support to educate legislators, their staffs, public servants, law students and attorneys on effective techniques to conduct bipartisan, indepth, fact-based oversight of public and private sector activities. Through training workshops and videos, internships, academic programming and research, the center will equip future leaders on federal, state, local and international levels with the oversight skills needed to produce meaningful bipartisan public policy outcomes.
Read more | | Academic programming |  | Two law students selected
for Senate summer internships The Levin Center at Wayne Law chose two law students to serve as legal interns in congressional committee offices in Washington, D.C., this summer. Kyle Bruckner worked on the Minority Staff of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Alexandra Kavieff worked on the Minority Staff of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Both positions involved advancing bipartisan congressional oversight. | | | Panel discusses legal ethics The Levin Center at Wayne Law presented "Mindful Lawyering: The Ethics of Knowing When to Say No" on Monday, April 4. Panelists were former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, chair of the Levin Center at Wayne Law; Judge Nancy Edmunds, '76, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan; and Reginald Turner, member of Clark Hill PLC and member of the Levin Center Advisory Board. The Levin Center's Linda Gustitus, '75, gave introductory remarks. Professor Peter Henning moderated the discussion. The panel discussed the ethics of lawyers asked by clients to create shell entities with hidden owners. Event video |  | |  | Carl Levin, Jocelyn Benson to teach Legislation seminar at Law School for fall semester 2016 Former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, chair of the Levin Center at Wayne Law and the Law School's distinguished legislator in residence, and Wayne Law Dean Jocelyn Benson will co-teach a Legislation seminar on law and legislative oversight for fall semester 2016 at the Law School. | | | Oversight training, conferences | | Boot camp trains congressional staffers on investigations The Levin Center at Wayne Law, Project On Government Oversight and The Lugar Center sponsored their third intensive training workshop for congressional staff on how to conduct bipartisan, fact-based oversight investigations. The two-day boot camp, taught by a bipartisan team of experienced investigators, was attended by House and Senate staffers from the Democratic and Republican parties July 27 and 28 in Washington, D.C. More oversight boot camps are planned for 2016-17. | | | Center news |  | George Franklin joins center's advisory board George A. Franklin of Kalamazoo has been appointed to the bipartisan advisory board for the Levin Center at Wayne Law. He joins 18 other members on the board. Franklin is a Michigan business leader with years of experience in the ways of Washington, serving as president of Franklin Public Affairs LLC, a government relations firm. | | | Two new members join
center's faculty committee Two new members have been appointed to the faculty committee for the Levin Center at Wayne Law. New members are Professor Robert M. Ackerman and Professor Peter J. Henning. The committee will oversee center operations during the upcoming academic year. |  | | | Upcoming events | | Levin Center presenting to National Conference of State Legislatures As part of the National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Summit on Monday, Aug. 8, in Chicago, the Levin Center at Wayne Law will present a three-hour legislative oversight workshop. The interactive session on bipartisan, fact-based, in-depth oversight will discuss how to conduct investigations and how better ro work with people of opposing views, focus on the facts and seek consensus. Leaders are Elise Bean, interim co-director of the Levin Center, and Justin Rood, director of the congressional oversight initiative for the Project on Government Oversight. | | | Fall symposium planned about access to information for oversight The Levin Center at Wayne Law and The Constitution Project are planning a fall symposium in Washington, D.C., on the struggle between Congress and the Executive Branch over access to information. Invited to serve on panels will be former and current members of Congress and congressional staff, Executive Branch officials and academics. Former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, chair of the Levin Center, also is expected to participate. With a new president and a new Congress set to begin in 2017, it is a meaningful time to review the rights, rules and principles that govern this inter-branch tug of war and to contemplate the path forward. The symposium will look at whether reform is necessary to ensure that Congress can access the information it needs for its constitutional responsibility to oversee the workings of the Executive Branch and how Congress should best be held accountable for using its oversight powers and tools appropriately. Details about the symposium and how to register for it will be announced in the coming weeks. | | | | | | | | | | |
