2025 LENS Conference
Duke's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS) will hold the 30th Annual National Security Law Conference on February 28-March 1, 2025 at Duke Law School.
You'll learn updates on a variety of issues and hear candid discussions about challenges and potential solutions from experts in government, the military, agencies, and the civilian sector.
Plus, you'll have the opportunity to network and connect with others working in or interested in the national security law field.
This is an event where you'll benefit from being here!
Register Here
Thursday, February 27, 2025Early Arrival EventNo conference registration needed for this special event All time EST, U.S. (UTC/GMT -5 hours) Duke Law School, Room 3041 |
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12:30 p.m. |
Duke's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS) is sponsoring a panel entitled "Careers in National Security Law" |
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Moderator: Maj Gen Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Panelists: Hon. Katherine Oler, DC Superior Court (Colonel, USAF, ret.) Ms. Jennifer S. Zucker, Co-Chair, Government Contracts Practice, Greenberg Trauig, LLP Ms. DeAnna Evans, former Associate Counsel at the White House Prof. Shane Stansbury, former Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York
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Friday, February 28, 2025Conference AgendaConference registration required All time EST, U.S. (UTC/GMT -5 hours) Duke Law School, Room 3041 |
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7:30 a.m. |
Registration & Continental Breakfast |
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8:00 a.m. |
Welcome: Prof Joseph Blocher, Lanty L. Smith ’67 Distinguished Professor of Law and Senior Associate Dean of Faculty |
| 8:10 a.m. |
Administrative Notes: Maj Gen Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director, and Professor of the Practice, Duke Law School |
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8:15 a.m. |
Keynote: “The National Security Constitution on the 21st Century” |
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Speaker: Prof. Harold Hongju Koh, Sterling Professor of International Law, Yale University, 22nd Legal Advisor to the State Department; author, The National Security Constitution in the 21st Century (2024) |
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9:15 a.m. |
Break |
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9:30 a.m. |
“The International Law of Outer Space” |
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Speaker: Prof Christopher J. Borgen, Co-Director of the Center for International and Comparative Law at St. John's University School of Law; a “core expert” for the “The Woomera Manual on the International Law of Military Space Operations” (2024). |
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10:20 a.m. |
Break |
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10:30 a.m. |
Fireside chat: “Hot Topics from the Pentagon to the Pacific” |
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Speaker: Col Eveylon “Corrie” Mack, USAF, Principal Deputy Legal Counsel, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Speaker: CAPT Trevor Grant, USN, Fleet Judge Advocate, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Discussant: Maj Gen Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director |
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11:15 a.m. |
Break (pick up lunches) |
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11:30 a.m. |
Working Lunch Presentation: “The Challenge of China: Lawfare, Technology, and More” |
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Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: Mr. Dean Cheng, Senior Advisor to the China program at the U.S. Institute of Peace. |
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12:20 p.m. |
Break |
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12:35 p.m. |
“Law Enforcement Responses to Emerging Cyber Threats” |
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Speaker: Ms. Jessica Nye, Supervisory Special Agent, Supervisor of the FBI Cyber Squad, Raleigh, NC. Speaker: Mr. Michael F. Easley, Jr., former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Discussant: Prof. Shane Stansbury, Robinson Everett Distinguished Fellow, Duke Law School |
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1:25 p.m. |
Break |
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1:35 p.m. |
Panel: “National Security Law and Business” |
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Moderator: Prof Robert E. “Bobby” Bishop, associate professor, Duke Law School Panelists: Ms. Rachael D. Kent, Vice Chair, International Arbitration Practice Group, WilmerHale Prof Timothy Meyer, Richard Allen/Cravath Distinguished Professor in International Business Law, Duke University School of Law Ms. Jennifer S. Zucker, Co-Chair, Government Contracts Practice, Greenberg Trauig, LLP Ms. Caroline E. Brown, Partner, Crowell & Moring, member of the firm’s International Trade groups and serves on the National Security Practice steering committee |
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2:50 p.m. |
Break |
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3:05 p.m. |
Shortburst: “Climate Change, Environmental Law, and National Security” |
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Speaker: Prof. Mark Nevitt, Emory Law, USN (Ret) |
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3:50 p.m. |
Break (in place) |
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3:55 p.m. |
Shortburst “Biosecurity” |
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Speaker: Ms. Lala R. Qadir, Senior Director for Technology Security and AI Policy, Microsoft, formerly Chief of Staff to the National Security Division at the White House Office of Science and Technology. |
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4:40 p.m. |
Break |
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4:50 p.m. |
Book talk: “Glossing the Foreign Affairs Constitution” |
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Speaker: Prof Curtis A Bradley, Allen M. Singer Distinguished Service Professor of Law, the Law School, University of Chicago; author, Historical Gloss and Foreign Affairs: Constitutional Authority in Practice (2024) |
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5:30 p.m. |
Friday conference sessions conclude |
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5:45 p.m. |
Reception at Washington Duke Inn |
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7:45 p.m. |
First Day of Conference Concludes |
Saturday, March 1, 2025Conference AgendaConference registration required All time EST, U.S. (UTC/GMT -5 hours) Duke Law School, Room 3041 |
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7:30 a.m. |
Registration & Continental Breakfast |
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8:00 a.m. |
Keynote: |
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Introduction: Maj Gen Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: Gen. Frank McKenzie, USMC (ret), Executive Director of the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute (former Commander, USCENTCOM; author, The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century (2024). |
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8:55 a.m. |
Break |
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9:05 a.m. |
“The Military Uses of Artificial Intelligence” |
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Fireside Chat: Lt Gen John N.T. “Jack” Shanahan, USAF (Ret.) former Director of the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. Discussant: Prof Gary Corn, Director of the Technology, Law & Security Program and adjunct professor at American University’s Washington College of Law. |
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9:45 a.m. |
Break |
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9:50 a.m. |
“Perspectives on the Military Uses of AI” |
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Panel Moderator: Prof Gary Corn, Director of the Technology, Law & Security Program and adjunct professor at American University’s Washington College of Law. Panelist: Ms. Carla Crandall, Command National Security Law Counsel, U.S. Army Futures Command, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate. Panelist: Dr. Brian Cox, Adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School; Graduate research fellow with the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen’s University. Panelist: Dr. Bill Boothby, Air Cdre, RAF (ret.), author, AI Warfare and the Law (2025) |
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10:50 a.m. |
Break |
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11:05 a.m. |
Shortburst “Rules of Engagement, Law, and the Role of JAGs" |
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Maj Gen Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director |
| 11:50 a.m. |
Break (in place) |
| 11:55 a.m. | “A Lawyer’s Duty to Uphold the Rule of Law – Revisiting Rule of Law Foundations Ethics and 21st Century Security Challenges” |
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Speaker: Prof. Adam Oler, Col, USAF (Ret.), National Defense University Speaker: Ms. Erin Wirtanen, Foreign Service Officer, Department of State |
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12:55 p.m. |
Closing remarks: Maj Gen Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director |
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1:00 p.m. |
Conference Concludes |
The conference is produced by the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security at Duke Law School
Conference Details
Registration
Parking
On Friday, February 28th, parking will be available in the Science Drive Parking Garage. The parking attendant at the lot will provide passes for you to use when you leave the garage. The parking garage is accessible off of Cameron Blvd (also known as 751). This parking lot is located on the corner of Cameron Blvd. and Science Dr. (3100 Cameron Blvd Durham, NC). For further information, please see the Parking Map.
On Saturday, March 1, parking for the conference will be available in the Law School Parking lot, entrance located on Towerview Road.
Conference Seating
Conference seating will be on a first come, first serve basis. Once the main auditorium is full, attendees will be invited to view a live webcast of the conference in the adjacent overflow room.
WiFi
WiFi will be available to conference attendees. Connect to the network “DukeVisitor.”
CLE
Pennsylvania and North Carolina have approved the conference for 12 hours of CLE (including one hour of ethics). Some past attendees have been able to use these approvals to get CLE credit in other jurisdictions (though we cannot guarantee it). All attorneys seeking CLE credit will have to sign an attendance roster at the conference. In addition, attorneys will be responsible for submitting their own applications for CLE credit. All expenses associated with CLE credit must be borne by the individual attorneys seeking it
Dress
There is no dress code for the conference itself. However, most speakers will be in business attire. Military personnel are welcome to wear their UOD. Dress for the reception is conference appropriate attire as it will start shortly after the event ends for the day. (Formal cocktail attire NOT expected). Military personnel are welcome to wear their service dress, UOD, or civilian attire.
Give Back
We hope you'll choose to donate now to the Center's work in education and discussion of national security and legal issues.
Ethics. Knowledge. Critical Thinking. Leadership. Those are the tools of power -- the fuel for the future.
Help strengthen our future leaders so they can keep America strong. Give today! We thank you! Your donation is tax-deductible as allowed by law.
Disclaimer
Unless otherwise indicated, speakers and panelists are participating in their personal capacity, so their views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of their employers. In particular, for government employees – to include specifically military members - their views and opinions are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the US government or any entity of it. Moreover, the views and opinions expressed by speakers, panelists, or attendees are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, Duke Law School, Duke University or any other person or entity.
Recording/Use of Material
No video or audio recording of any portion of the conference is permitted absent written permission from the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS). Unless otherwise indicated, the conference is conducted under the Chatham House Rule which means “participants [to include attendees] are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”
Attendance at Duke Law’s Center on Law, Ethics and National Security’s (“LENS”) 29th Annual National Security Law Conference (“Conference”) constitutes an agreement by the attendee to grant to LENS the right to record their image, photograph, picture, likeness, and voice by any technology or means. They also grant LENS the right to copy, use, perform, display and distribute such recordings for any legitimate purpose, including but not limited to distribution by means of streaming or other technologies via the Internet, or distribution of audio or video files for download by the public. Attendees hereby waive any right to inspect, approve, or be compensated for use of any materials incorporating such images obtained during the Conference. They release LENS and its agents, representatives and licensees from all liabilities arising out of any use of my likeness and information as provided above. They understand and agree that any and all negatives, digital images, and recordings of my likeness, regardless of form, are and shall remain property of LENS.
Point of Contact
Becky Chapman
becky.chapman@law.duke.edu
919-613-8545
