From the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy and the Notre Dame Law School Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion (call for papers here):

Our national faith in the ethics of our leaders forms the very basis of our democracy. We elect leaders under the assumption that they will not only act in our best interest, but in the best interests of our nation, considering all the moral and ethical ramifications of their actions. And yet, government ethics is a topic woefully under-discussed within legal scholarship.

The events of the past few years, while often looked at through a political lens, have provided an opportunity to think critically about what sorts of standards and norms we should expect from government officials, irrespective of political ideology. As part of our commitment to the pursuit of truth, it is imperative that we interrogate the various ethical dimensions of government service, so that baseline understandings of what is and is not acceptable behavior is fully fleshed out and considered.

As such, the Notre Dame Law School Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion and the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy (JLEPP) will, with the support of the Robert & Marion Short Scholar Endowment, co-sponsor a symposium on The Ethics of Government Service to be held on Friday, February 12, 2021.

We hope to have a mix of contributions from both legal academics and practitioners with significant government experience. Each participant will be responsible for submitting an 8,000 to 10,000 word essay (inclusive of footnotes). Paper topics might, but are not required, to address the following themes: the ethics of recusal; conflicts of interest; ethics & leadership, whistleblower protections, and prosecutorial ethics.

Those interested in participating in the symposium should submit an abstract to ndeci@nd.edu.

Deadlines & Schedule

Friday, Sept. 18, 2020 – 300-500 word abstract due
Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 – Paper selections finalized
Friday, Jan. 29, 2021 – Drafts for circulation
Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 – In-person symposium (may participate virtually)
Friday, Feb. 26, 2021 – Final drafts due to JLEPP

Associated Workshop Series

Participants are encouraged and welcome to present drafts of their papers in a virtual workshop series in advance of the symposium. Workshops will take place on Fridays from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM, EST. The following Fridays have been reserved: Nov. 6th, Nov. 20th, Dec. 4th, Dec. 11th, Jan. 8th, Jan. 22nd, and Feb. 5th. Please feel free to indicate whether you would like to participate in the workshop series when submitting your abstract and whether you have a date preference.