Past Presenters
Below is a partial list of past conference presenters and panelists.

A-Z 

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein
Director of Interfaith Affairs, Simon Wiesenthal Center
Karen J. Aroesty
Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League
Judge Susan E. Block
Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal, PC
Hon. Judge Duane Benton
United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
Justice Richard Bernstein
Michigan Supreme Court Justice
Rabbi Dr. Yitzchak Breitowitz
World-Renowned Lecturer & Rabbinic Authority
Rabbi Dr. Michael J. Broyde
Professor of Law and Academic Director of the Law and Religion Program at Emory University School of Law
Judge Patricia L. Cohen
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District
Marc Cox
Reporter, The Marc Cox Show
Hon. Heather R. Cunningham
Circuit Judge, Missouri’s 21st Judicial Circuit
Senator John C. Danforth
Former United States Senator from Missouri
Richard J. Eisen, Esq.
Partner, Growe Eisen Karlen Eilerts LLC
Larry Freidman
Partner, Thompson Coburn, LLP
Rabbi Yonoson Goldson
Director, Ethical Imperatives, LLC
Isaac M. Jaroslawicz
Executive Director and Director of Legal Affairs for the Aleph Institute
Robert A. Kaiser
Partner, Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Rabbi Dr. Shmuel Klatzkin
Associate Rabbi, Chabad of Greater Dayton, Ohio, and Adjunct Professor, Antioch University
Prof. Eugene Kontorovich
Director, Center for International Law in the Middle East, George Mason University
Rabbi Yosef Landa
Regional Director, Chabad of Greater St. Louis
Prof. Samuel Levine
Professor of Law and Director of the Jewish Law Institute at Touro’s Law Center
Alyza D. Lewin, Esq.
Partner, Lewin & Lewin, LLP, Washington D.C
Nathan Lewin
Partner, Lewin & Lewin, LLP, Washington D.C
Judge Stephen Limbaugh
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
Paul Mecurio
A lawyer by education, Paul Mecurio is an American comedian and writer featured on Comedy Central Presents
Shula Neuman
Executive Editor, St. Louis Public Radio
Alan Pratzel
Chief Disciplinary Counsel, Missouri Supreme Court
Rabbi Yona Reiss
Av Beth Din, Chicago Rabbinical Council and Dean, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Prof. Steven Resnicoff
DePaul University College of Law
Rabbi Sholom Rivkin
Chief Rabbi of St. Louis
Shaya Rochester
Partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP
Prof. Rachel Sachs
Associate Professor of Law at Washington University
Prof. Lawrence Schiffman
Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, NYU and Director, Global Institute for Advanced Research in Jewish Studies
Rabbi Eli Silberstein
Director, Chabad of Ithaca, N.Y.
Cathy Steele
The Law Office of Cathy Steele, P.C.
Justice Richard B. Teitelman
Judge and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri
Harvey M. Tettlebaum
Partner in the Jefferson City Office of Husch Blackwell, LLP
Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe
Dean of the Institute of American and Talmudic Law in New York, NY
 
 
 
 

Past Topics
Below is a partial list of past conference topics and discussions.

  • Parenthood: Rights, Responsibilities, Privileges & the Role of Government
  • Law & Spirit: Exploring the Underlying Objectives of Jewish and Secular Law & Ethics
  • On the Laws & Ethics of War: A Comparative Analysis
  • Crime & Consequences: A Comparative Analysis of Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice in Jewish & Secular Law
  • Words that Matter: The Tangled Ethics of Free Speech
  • Civility, Moderation and the Subtleties of Bias
  • Elian Gonzalez: Minor’s Rights and Parental Obligations in Jewish Law
  • The Good Samaritan in Talmudic Law: Duty to Rescue
  • Bankruptcy: A Talmudic Legal-Ethical Perspective
  • Malpractice and the Clergy: Balancing Secular Rules and Religious Principles in Issues of Confidentiality
  • Incarceration in Jewish Law and Contemporary Society
  • Battlefield Ethics for Combatants and Non-Combatants: A Perspective from Talmudic Law
  • Arbitration Agreements: Jewish Legal Perspectives and Applications
  • Alternate Structures Within a Jewish Marriage: Creative Uses of Prenuptial Agreements
  • The Gun Control Debate: A Talmudic Analysis
  • Appearances of Impropriety: A Talmudic Perspective
  • Child Custody: Ethical Dilemmas Facing Lawyers and Judges
  • Preservation of Life as a Mitigating Factor in Talmudic Law
  • The Insanity Defense: Mental Incapacitation in Jewish Law
  • Three Strikes: Punishment in the Talmudic and American Legal Systems
  • The Ethics of Compromise: When is Arbitration Appropriate?
  • Sexual Harassment:
  • A Lawyer’s Bag of Tricks: Courtroom Antics and Bargaining Tactics
  • Plea Bargaining and Confessions: Prosecutorial Ethics in Jewish Law
  • Genetic Engineering and Jewish Legal Ethics
  • The Napster Debacle: A Talmudic View of Intellectual Property and Copyright Infringement
  • Reporting Sexual Abuse: Rights of the Accused and Rights of the Innocent in Jewish Law
  • Assisted Suicide: Jack Kavorkian in the Prism of Jewish Law
  • Bribery and Undue Influence: Talmudic Definitions and Applications
  • Cloning and the New Reproductive Technology: Legal and Ethical Implications
  • Criminal Confessions and Torture: Moral and Ethical Dilemmas in Talmudic Law
  • Jerry Seinfeld and the Duty to Rescue: A Comparison of Jewish and American Law
  • Tort Awards and the Deep Pockets Syndrome
  • Lying and Lawyering: Jewish Ethical Applications
  • Truth in Advertising
  • The Terri Schiavo Case: Living Wills and End-of-Life Dilemmas
  • Incarceration, Rehabilitation and Alternate Sentencing: Jewish Insights to Effective Punishment of Criminal Offenders
  • The Stem Cell Debate: Embryonic Research in Jewish Law & Ethics
  • Free Speech: Comparing the Parameters in Talmudic and Contemporary Law
  • When a Lawyer Knows Too Much: Confidentiality and Privacy in Jewish Law
  • White Lies & Grey Areas: Talmudic Definitions of Truth and Falsehood in the Marketplace
  • When Religious & Secular Law Clashes: Understanding the Talmudic Principle of “The Law of the Sovereign is Law”
  • Alternate Dispute Resolution: Civil Enforceability of Rabbinic Court Rulings
  • Marriage, Divorce and the Plight of the Agunah in Jewish and Secular law
  • Women’s Rights: An Examination of Jewish Testamentary Law
  • The Ethical Minefield of Conflict of Interest: A Comparative Study for Judges, Lawyers, Jurors and Witnesses.
  • Guns - Their Aim, Their Control: Rights and Responsibilities in the Prism of the Talmud
  • Missing Persons: Widows and Widowers of the World Trade Center.
  • Enforcing Foreign Law in Missouri: Ethical and First Amendment Issues Surrounding Missouri Senate Bill SB267
  • Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Courts, Testimony and Civil law
  • Criminal Trials: Is it Beyond Reasonable Doubt?
  • Law & History: Where Do They Meet?
  • The Law and Ethic of War: Justifying Conflict
  • Extradition in Jewish Law and Practice
  • The Holocaust, Human Rights and Legal Ethics: From the perversion of Law to its Ennoblement
  • Judicial Activism vs. Restraint: Samplings and Reflections from Ancient Talmudic Debates
  • American Judicial Responses to Nazi-Era Law and Legislation
  • Money Matters: Capitalist and Socialist Sentiments in Talmudic Ethics and Jurisprudence
  • The Absolute Truth: The Importance of Truth Telling and Definitions of Falsehoods in the Talmud
  • Playing G‑d: Capital Punishment in Jewish Law and Ethics
  • To Disclose or Not to Disclose: Is Silence Golden?
  • Ponzi Schemes and Bankruptcy in Jewish Law & Ethics
  • Health Care Reform Legislation: A Jewish Legal & Ethical Perspective
  • The Legal Lawlessness of the Nazi Era
  • Freedom of Religion in International Law & Diplomacy
  • The Talmud & The Constitution
  • The Ethics of Truth: Do Lawyers Need to Believe in their Case?
  • Environmental Protection: Perspectives from Jewish Law & Ethics
  • Judicial Appointments: A Comparative Analysis
  • Free Speech: Limits and Parameters
  • Talmudic Law & Ethics in the Shadow of the Holocaust
  • The Human Genome Project: Genetic Engineering in Jewish Legal Ethics
  • Eminent Domain and Zoning Laws: Legal & Ethical Considerations’
  • Affirmative Action in American and Judaic Law
  • Jewish Civil Law: The Legal (Part I) and the Mystical (Part II)
  • The Bin Laden Killing: Extra-Judicial Execution, Incarceration and Other Sanctions in Jewish Law
  • Lawyerly Advice: Vigorous Counsel or Suborning Perjury?
  • Talmudic Citations in American Judicial Opinions: A Critical Analysis