The First Amendment Salons

Research & Learn

The First Amendment Salon was founded in April 2014 by Ronald Collins, , and . The Salon hosts a series of non-partisan programs that aim to emulate the spirit of the U.S. Constitution’s Madisonian guarantee by opening a dialogue, at once robust and diverse, about free expression in America.

To that end, the Salon engages members of the First Amendment community—lawyers, academics, journalists, and activists—in an ongoing discussion of key free speech issues of our day. Each program involves a no-charge, 90-minute discussion concerning a timely topic related to freedom of expression, whether in a contemporary Supreme Court case, book, article, legal brief, or memorandum.

Twenty-five or more invitees gather at different venues and are electronically connected via videoconferencing. The Salons typically take place at the New York and Washington, D.C. offices of the law firm .

A reception either precedes or follows each discussion in order to develop a better sense of community. In March 2015, the Salons began to be video recorded. And in August 2015, the Salon first went “on the road,” beginning with an event in Los Angeles. Collins, , , and serve as co-chairs of the Salon's advisory board.

Advisory Board

Jane Bambauer, University of Arizona Law School

Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California at Berkeley, School of Law

Robert Corn-Revere, FIRE

Lucy Dalglish, Philip Merrill College of Journalism

Jameel Jaffer, Knight First Amendment Institute

Jane Kirtley, University of Minnesota Law School

Lee Levine, Ballard Spahr

Robert Post, Yale Law School

David Schulz, Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression

David Skover, Seattle University Law School (emeritus)

Paul M. Smith, Jenner & Block, Georgetown Law Center

Geoffrey Stone, University of Chicago, School of Law

Eugene Volokh, UCLA School of Law

Sonja West, University of Georgia School of Law

Kyu Ho Youm, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon

First Amendment Salon Video Playlist

All First Amendment Salons

September 26, 2024, virtual conference: "" with Seth Berlin, Sandra Baron, Kelli Sager, Daniel Waggoner, Susanna Lowy, and David Boardman, in Conversation with Ronald Collins.
June 24, 2024, virtual conference: "" with Erwin Chemerinsky, Geoffrey Stone, and Seth Berlin.
March 26, 2024, virtual conference: "" with Ronald Collins and Jason Downs
June 12, 2023, virtual conference: "" with Samantha Barbas and Laura Handman
May 9, 2023, virtual conference: "" with Tom Clare and Dan Webb
December 7, 2022, virtual conference: "" with Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer
May 16, 2022, virtual conference: "" with Richard Hasen, Laura Edelson, Alex Abdo
February 15, 2022, virtual conference: "" with Lee Bollinger, Geoffrey Stone, and Ellen Nakashima
December 8, 2021, virtual conference: "" with Robert Corn-Revere and Katie Fallow
July 13, 2021, virtual conference: "" with Martha Minow and Robert C. Post
April 27, 2021, virtual conference: "" with Jane Bambauer, Vera Eidelman, and Katharine Larsen
October 26, 2020, virtual conference: "" with Suzanne Nossel and Sonja West
July 21, 2020, virtual conference: "" with Paul Clement and Floyd Abrams
June 1, 2020, virtual conference: "" with Rodney Smolla and Mary-Rose Papandrea
January 22, 2020, Ballard Spahr, New York City: "" with , , and
November 18, 2019, Ballard Spahr, New York City:
April 24, 2019, Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland: "" author and New York Times Deputy General Counsel by
February 12, 2019: "" with Dan Bernstein
December 4, 2018, Ballard Spahr, Washington, D.C.: "" author by
September 13, 2018, Ballard Spahr, Washington, D.C.: Former Solicitor General of the United States by
April 27, 2018, New York City: "" with , , , moderated by
February 12, 2018, Ballard Spahr, Washington, D.C.: "" with and moderated by
November 6, 2017, Thurgood Marshall Courthouse of the Second Circuit: "" with and
July 11, 2017, New York City: "" with author interviewed by
April 5, 2017, Yale University: "" with and
February 21, 2017, Los Angeles: "" with and
December 8, 2016, Washington, D.C.: "" with interviewed by
September 9, 2016, Floyd Abrams Institute, Yale Law School: "" with and , moderated by
May 16, 2016, University of Chicago Law School: "" with and , moderated by
March 29, 2016, Washington, D.C.: "" with and , moderated by
November 2, 2015, Floyd Abrams Institute, Yale Law School: "" with and , moderated by
August 26, 2015, Los Angeles, Davis Wright Tremaine: "" with and , moderated by
March 30, 2015, Abrams Institute, Yale Law School: "" with and , moderated by
March 9, 2015, Washington, D.C.: Hate Speech – "" with and Greg Lukianoff, moderated by
November 5, 2014, New York City: "" with and moderated by
July 9, 2014, Washington, D.C.: "" with and , moderated by
April 28, 2014, New York City: "" with and , moderated by

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