We are delighted to invite you to the Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research (ILCR) Annual James Wilson Lecture in Law and Government featuring Bridget McCormack, President and CEO of the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution and former Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court.

The Lecture will focus on “The Legal Profession’s Uneasy Relationship with Evidence” and will be followed by a reception.

Bridget McCormack is President and CEO of the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution, the largest alternative dispute resolution institution, which was founded in 1926. She joined the AAA-ICDR® in February 2023, bringing her wealth of judicial, advocacy, and academic experience to an organisation that takes seriously its role supporting court systems in the efficient administration of justice. She is also a Strategic Advisor to the Future of the Profession Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Until the end of 2022, McCormack was Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, a position her peers selected her for in January 2019 after she served for six years as a Justice. While on the Court, she championed innovation and the use of technology to improve access to justice while hearing thousands of cases and overseeing a system of 244 trial courts and more than 500 judges.

A graduate of Trinity College and New York University Law School, where she was a Root-Tilden Scholar, McCormack started her legal career in New York City, first as a trial attorney at The Legal Aid Society and then at the Office of the Appellate Defender. In 1996, she joined the Yale Law School faculty and then, in 1998, became a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, where she taught criminal law, legal ethics, and numerous clinics. She was named Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs in 2002 and served in that position for a decade. McCormack also co-founded the Michigan Innocence Clinic which, as of February 2023, had exonerated 26 individuals who had been wrongly convicted. It was the first such clinic in the country not to rely on DNA evidence.

This lecture promises to be an insightful and thought-provoking discussion on a topic that is both relevant and timely. Please save the date for this important event, as we would be honoured to have you join us for this special occasion.

All are welcome!