The University of Miami School of Law will remember and honor John Hart Ely, a member of its faculty from 1996 to 2003 and the first holder of the Richard Hausler Distinguished Faculty Chair, by presenting the first Ely Lecture on Friday, January 22 at 2 p.m., in the Law Library, Second Floor Reading Room.

This inaugural lecture will take the form of a conversation between Alan Dershowitz and Henry Monaghan. Professors Dershowitz and Monaghan are distinguished lawyers and law professors in their own right and longtime friends of Professor Ely. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, widely known for his advocacy and commentary on a wide range of issues. Monaghan is the Harlan Fiske Stone Professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School, generally recognized as one of the most incisive constitutional scholars of our time.

The lecture series was named in honor of the late Ely, a renowned constitutional scholar and academic whose work continues to have a tremendous impact on legal scholarship across the globe. Over the course of a long career at Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and Miami, Ely created a remarkable body of writing. He is the fourth most-often cited American legal scholar. His book, Democracy and Distrust, is regarded as one of the most important books about American constitutional law published in the 20th century, with influences worldwide.

After the lecture, a reception will be held in the fourth floor faculty meeting room. To RSVP, contact Carolina Morris at 305-284-3978 or e-mail cmorris@law.miami.edu.