Current Cases in Reproductive Rights Litigation

Please join the YLS Chapter of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice for an event on current cases in reproductive rights litigation. Panelists Linda Goldstein '85 (Senior Counsel, U.S. Litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights); Paige Suelzle (Litigation Counsel at the Lawyering Project); and Yael Caplan '23 (Liman Fellow at Pregnancy Justice) will discuss the Center for Reproductive Rights' cases regarding the Texas abortion ban's medical exceptions, the Lawyering Project's right-to-travel cases in Idaho and Alabama, and Pregnancy Justice's lawsuit challenging an Alabama jail's treatment of pregnant detainees. Lunch will be served!

Linda Goldstein is Senior Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights. In the aftermath of Dobbs, she works to defend and rebuild access to abortion by bringing cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. She joined the Center after a 36-year career in private practice at Dechert LLP and Covington & Burling LLP, where she was a partner and practice group leader concentrating on securities litigation and other complex civil litigation. While in private practice, Linda’s trial and appellate skills were recognized by rankings in Chambers, Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, and Best Lawyers in America. Throughout her career, Linda maintained an active pro bono docket, including working as pro bono counsel for several cases brought by the Center in Oklahoma. One of those cases, for which Linda served as lead counsel, resulted in the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s recognition of a right to abortion under the Oklahoma Constitution where necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person. The New York Law Journal honored Linda as “Attorney of the Year” in 2021 for her work with the Center in Oklahoma. Linda received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was awarded the Potter Stewart and Caskey Prizes by the Moot Court and Barrister’s Union. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale College, where she majored in English Literature. Linda began her legal career by clerking for Southern District of New York Judge (and civil rights legend) Robert L. Carter.

Paige Suelzle (she/her/hers) is a Litigation Counsel at the Lawyering Project, where she started as a Legal Fellow. Prior to joining the Lawyering Project, she clerked for Justice Ann Walsh Bradley on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. During law school, Paige worked at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and in the Civil Rights Division at the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. She also externed for Justice Mary I. Yu on the Washington Supreme Court and was a student intern in her law school’s Race and Justice Clinic. Paige received both her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Washington.

Yael Caplan is a Liman Fellow at Pregnancy Justice where she works on cases involving the criminalization of pregnancy for reasons ranging from alleged substance use to pregnancy loss. She is currently working on a federal suit brought by Ashley Caswell against the Etowah County Jail and its staff and contractors after she was denied medical care throughout her pregnancy and ultimately left to give birth alone in the jail shower. Yael earned a B.A. in Public Policy and Comparative Human Development from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Yale Law School where she was a member of the Veterans Legal Services Clinic.

Co-sponsored by the Program for the Study of Reproductive Justice, American Constitution Society, YLW+, Yale Law Democrats, and Yale Health Law & Policy Society.

File Attachments: Apr_11_Current_Cases_in_Reproductive_Rights_Litigation_Poster_IWH

If/When/How: Yale Law School Chapter | Website | View More Events

Contact the organizers