{"id":6,"date":"2026-10-06T17:22:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T17:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conferences.law.stanford.edu\/tortlaw\/?page_id=6"},"modified":"2026-11-02T22:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T22:42:07","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/conferences.law.stanford.edu\/tortlaw\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Building a Practice of Positive Change<\/h1>\n \n

The Injunctive & Informational Effects of Tort Law<\/p>\n \n

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\n WHEN<\/span>\n April 23-24, 2027<\/span> <\/div>\n\n
WHERE<\/span>Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA<\/span><\/div>\n
Register to Attend<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Tort law is often seen as a matter of money. But tort lawsuits can accomplish much more. They can bring misconduct and hidden dangers to light, force defendants to change their policies, practices, or products, and catalyze government reform, all of which protect the public long after a case ends. In their papers, How Tort Law Drives Change<\/a><\/em> and The Injunctive Effect of Tort Law<\/a><\/em>, Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom of Stanford Law School and Lisa Qian ’26 coin these effects the informational and injunctive effects of tort law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Building a Practice of Positive Change,” hosted by Stanford Law School’s Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession, is a free, 1.5-day conference at Stanford Law School on April 23\u201324, 2027. It will bring together some of the nation’s most accomplished attorneys, law professors, mediators, plaintiffs, and students to explore the informational and injunctive effects of tort law. Because these effects are not automatic byproducts of civil litigation, but arise when lawyers and clients make reform an explicit goal, the conference will explore what injured clients really want, how to secure meaningful reform in settlements, how to resist secret settlements and NDAs, and what duties lawyers owe their clients and the public. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attorneys will earn California MCLE credit, and Stanford Law students may take the conference as a one-unit course<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confirmed speakers include<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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  • Charla Aldous<\/strong>, Aldous Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Lori Andrus<\/strong>, Andrus Anderson<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Khaldoun Baghdadi<\/strong>, Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Jennifer Balboni<\/strong>, Curry College<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Mark Barber<\/strong>, Baker Donelson (retired)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Judge Laurel Beeler<\/strong>, Northern District of California (ret.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Jonathan Cardi<\/strong>, Wake Forest Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Martha Chamallas<\/strong>, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Subodh Chandra<\/strong>, Chandra Law Firm<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Roxanne Conlin<\/strong>, Roxanne Conlin & Associates<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Jayne Conroy<\/strong>, Simmons Hanly Conroy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Nora Freeman Engstrom<\/strong>, Rhode Center on the Legal Profession<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Jennifer Freyd<\/strong>, University of Oregon (Professor Emerita)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Joe Fried<\/strong>, Fried Goldberg<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Rick Friedman<\/strong>, Friedman Rubin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Al Gerhardstein<\/strong>, FG+G<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Myriam Gilles<\/strong>, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Carrie Goldberg<\/strong>, C.A. Goldberg Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Michael D. Green<\/strong>, Washington University School of Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Brook Griese<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \n
      \n
    • Tim Hale<\/strong>, Nye Stirling Hale Miller & Sweet LLP<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Chuck & Jill Heathco<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Eric Hein<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Jason Itkin<\/strong>, Arnold & Itkin<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Rob Kaplan<\/strong>, Kaplan Mediation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Iris Kim<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Steve Landsman<\/strong>, DePaul College of Law (Emeritus)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Jocelyn Larkin<\/strong>, Impact Fund<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Randi McGinn<\/strong>, McGinn Montoya Love Curry & Sievers PA<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Tom Melsheimer<\/strong>, King & Spalding<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Dan Mordarski<\/strong>, Mordarski Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Brian Panish<\/strong>, Panish Shea Ravipudi<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Robbie Parker<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Elizabeth Phillips<\/strong>, Trey’s Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Jill & Ron Plush<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Robert Rabin<\/strong>, Stanford Law School<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Neelam Sandhu<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Shanin Specter<\/strong>, Kline & Specter<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Emily Steel<\/strong>, The New York Times<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Alinor Sterling<\/strong>, Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Lee Taft<\/strong>, Taft Solutions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Tort law is often seen as a matter of money. But tort lawsuits can accomplish much more. They can bring misconduct and hidden dangers to light, force defendants to change their policies, practices, or products, and catalyze government reform, all of which protect the public long after a case ends. In their papers, How Tort […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nHome - Building a Practice of Positive Change<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/conferences.law.stanford.edu\/tortlaw\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Home - Building a Practice of Positive Change\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tort law is often seen as a matter of money. But tort lawsuits can accomplish much more. 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