The University of the Pacific Law Review (UPLR) will host its annual Law Review Symposium on March 27, 2026. The symposium will unite legal scholars, practitioners and advocates from around the world.

This year’s symposium, entitled “The Rule of Law Under Pressure: Executive Power, the Role of the Judiciary, and Democracy’s Future,” will run from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PT at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. The moderated discussion will be followed by a hosted reception in the Grand Salon. The event is free and open to the public.

This symposium explores how judicial independence, other legal institutions and public trust can withstand persistent attempts to politicize the judiciary, executive overreach and erosion of institutional norms. It will be featuring debates on current and former administration policies, democratic backsliding, and reforms needed to safeguard the legal system. Discussions of the symposium will include themes such as Judicial Independence vs. Political Interference, Democracy and the Courts, Enforcement and Accountability, and Public Trust and Legal Education.

Key topics include the tension between judicial independence and political interference, including executive branch policies that challenge the separation of powers. There will be debates around enforcement and accountability, such as how to balance AI innovation with human judgment. Additionally, information about the roles of public trust and legal education in upholding the rule of law will be discussed with specific discussions on how declining faith in institutions and attacks on legal professionals weakens the legal ecosystem.

"In a period of significant institutional and legal change, the March symposium will create space for serious reflection on the rule of law. By looking back at our nation’s 250-year experiment as a nation, we hope to sharpen the questions and the commitments that will define what comes next for the country to keep the government accountable and rights protected,” Editor-in-Chief of the UPLR, Dominick Mendoza, said.

The symposium will involve multiple panels. Panelists include:

• Raquel Aldana: Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law
• Erin Carroll: Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center
• Salena Copeland: Executive Director at Legal Aid Association of California
• Scott L. Cummings: Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law
• Brian Gallini: Dean & Professor of Law at Quinnipiac University School of Law
• Corinna Lain: Professor of Law at University of Richmond School of Law
• Thomas Main: Professor of Law at William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Mary-Beth Moylan: Associate Professor of Law at University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
• Kimberly J. Mueller: Senior U.S. District Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of California
• Steve Ramirez: Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law
• Charles W. “Rocky” Rhodes: Professor of Law at University of Missouri School of Law
• Michael Vitiello: Distinguished Professor of Law at University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
• Xingzhong Yu: Chair Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Macau

RSVP for the symposium.