2026 LENS Conference
Duke's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS) will hold the 31st Annual National Security Law Conference on February 27-28, 2026 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 attending!
Registration is now closed.
Join the Waitlist
You will be contacted if a spot opens up.
AGENDA
LENS 2026 Conference Schedule
31st Annual National Security Law Conference
Thursday, February 26, 2026(Early Arrival Event)Conference registration is not required. Duke Law School, Room 3037 | |
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| 12:30 p.m. | “Careers in National Security Law” |
Moderator: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Panelist: Mr. Hensey A. Fenton III, Deputy General Counsel, Privacy and Digital Governance, COMCAST Panelist: Mr. Robert DeNault, Legal Counsel, Kalshi Financial Services Panelist: Secretary Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette, Department for Military and Veterans Affairs, State of North Carolina Panelist: Ms. Jennifer S. Zucker, Partner and Co-Head of the Government Contracts Practice Group, Vinson & Elkins | |
Friday, February 27, 2026Conference registration required.
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| 7:30 a.m. | Registration & Continental Breakfast |
| 8:00 a.m. | Welcome: Dean Kerry Abrams, James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean of the School of Law and Professor of Law |
| 8:15 a.m. | Administrative Notes: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director, and Professor of National Security Law, Duke Law School |
| 8:20 a.m. | Keynote: “The Law, War’s Changing Character, and 250 Years of Innovations” |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: Prof. Adam Oler, Associate Dean of Academics, National War College | |
| 9:10 a.m. | Break |
| 9:20 a.m. | “A Fireside Chat with Ben Kastan on Cybersecurity Issues" |
Moderator: Prof. Shane Stansbury, Robinson Everett Distinguished Fellow, Duke Law School Speaker: Mr. Ben Kastan, Senior Counsel, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Director, Cyber Legal, Visa, Inc. | |
| 10:00 a.m. | Break |
| 10:15 a.m. | “Update on International Criminal Justice” |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: Prof. Mike Newton, Director, International Legal Studies Program, Vanderbilt Law School | |
| 11:10 a.m. | Break (Lunch Pick-Up) |
| 11:35 a.m. | Working Lunch: “Update on China: Lawfare, Technology, and More” |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: Mr. Dean Cheng, Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, and author of Cyber Dragon: Inside China's Information Warfare and Cyber Operations | |
| 12:10 p.m. | Break |
| 12:20 p.m. | “National Security and Business” |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Moderator: Prof. Robert E. “Bobby” Bishop, Associate Professor, Duke Law School Panelist: Prof. Timothy Meyer, Richard Allen/Cravath Distinguished Professor in International Business Law, Duke Law School Panelist: Ms. Jennifer S. Zucker, Partner and Co-Head of the Government Contracts Practice Group, Vinson & Elkins Panelist: Ms. Deborah A. Curtis, Partner and Co-Chair of the White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice, Arnold & Porter Panelist: Ms. Caroline E. Brown, Partner, Crowell & Moring, member of the firm’s International Trade group and serves on the National Security practice steering committee | |
| 1:45 p.m. | Break |
| 2:00 p.m. | “A Fireside Chat with Dr. Kori Schake on Civil-Military Relations” |
Speaker: Dr. Kori Schake, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and author of The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States Discussant: Prof. Peter Feaver, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, and Director of the Program in American Grand Strategy, Duke University. | |
| 2:50 p.m. | Break |
| 3:00 p.m. | “Update on Space Law and National Security” |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director 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 | |
| 3:50 p.m. | Break (in place) |
| 4:00 p.m. | “The Double Black Box” |
| Speaker: Dean Ashley Deeks, Vice Dean of the University of Virginia School of Law and author of The Double Black Box: National Security, Artificial Intelligence, and Struggle for Democratic Accountability | |
| 5:00 p.m. | Day 1 Conference Sessions Conclude |
| 5:30 p.m. | Conference Networking Reception – Washington Duke Inn |
Saturday, February 28, 2026Conference AgendaConference registration required.
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| 7:15 a.m. | Registration & Continental Breakfast |
| 8:00 a.m. | "A Fireside chat with General CQ Brown on Leadership and more" |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: General CQ Brown, USAF (Ret.), former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and current Executive-in-Residence, jointly appointed in the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University Discussant: Hon. Dr. John Hillen, Distinguished Lecturing Fellow at Duke University’s Center for Politics and an Executive-in-Residence of the Political Science Department | |
| 9:00 a.m. | Break |
| 9:10 a.m. | “Current Issues in Naval Warfare.” |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: Prof. Raul “Pete” Pedrozo, Howard S. Levie Professor of the Law of Armed Conflict and professor of International Law in the Stockton Center for International Law at the U.S. Naval War College | |
| 10:00 a.m. | Break |
| 10:10 a.m. | “Nuclear Weapons & Law of Armed Conflict” |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: Col. Ted Richard, Staff Judge Advocate, US Air Force Academy | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Break |
| 11:10 a.m. | Shortburst: "Targeting Issues in Cyberwarfare" |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: Prof. Gary Corn, Director of the Technology, Law & Security Program and Adjunct Professor at American University’s Washington College of Law. | |
| 11:50 a.m. | Break |
| 12:00 noon | "Professional Responsibility in National Security Law – Origins, Adaptions, and Challenges” |
Introduction: Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director Speaker: Prof. Kathleen M. Kedian, Visiting Associate Professor of Law and National Security, Cybersecurity, and Foreign Relations Law Fellow, George Washington University Law School | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Closing remarks: Maj. Gen Charlie Dunlap, USAF (Ret.), LENS Executive Director |
| 1:10 p.m. | Conference Concludes |
Conference Registration Info
Visit the registration website
Conference Details
Registration
Parking
On Friday, February 27th, 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, February 28, 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
CLE hours are approved for NC and PA for 11.5 hours. 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 – 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”) 31st 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
