Annual Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Lecture
The 28th Annual Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Lecture (2021)
Karl Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia
About the Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Lecture

(National Archives, Washington, D.C.)
The annual Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Lecture series serves as a dedicated forum at UDC Law in which leading members of the bench or bar speak directly to the people of the District and the law school community on issues of vital importance to the practice of law in the public interest.
Established in 1993 in honor of the late civil liberties attorney and founding member of the law school Board of Governors Joe Rauh, some of the nationβs most respected civil rights and public interest figures β including then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomayor and many others β have delivered the Rauh Lecture.
The Rauh Lecture, which is open to the public and free of charge, includes a catered reception at the conclusion of the event courtesy of the D.C. School of Law Foundation.
About Joe Rauh

Joe Rauh envisioned a law school that would function as a training ground for public interest lawyers: a school where law students could learn basic skills and represent the underrepresented at the same time, a school that made dedication to public service a criterion for admission and commitment to public service a life-long responsibility. The University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law is Joe Rauhβs dream come true. A founding member of the Law Schoolβs Board of Governors, Rauh remained one of its staunchest supporters until his last hours with us.
2010 | Eric Holder |
2009 | Sen. Patrick Leahy |
2008 | Vernon Jordan |
2007 | Nina Totenberg interviewed by Wade Henderson |
2006 | Theodore M. Shaw |
2005 | Congressman Barney Frank |
2004 | Congressman John Lewis |
2003 | Marian Wright Edelman |
2002 | Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ralph Neas and Wade Henderson on βCivil Rights in the 21st Centuryβ |
2001 | Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg |
2000 | Charles Ruff |
1999 | The Sleep Room (an award-winning film about Joe Rauhβs last case) |
1998 | Jack Greenberg |
1997 | Elaine Jones |
1996 | Father Robert Drinan |
1995 | Rick Seymour |
1994 | Judith Lichtman & Roger Wilkins |
1993 | William Taylor |
- Karl Racine delivers 28th Annual Rauh LectureAttorney General for the District of Columbia Karl A. Racine delivered the 2021 Joseph L. Rauh Jr. Lecture in March, in which he focused on the officeβs efforts in affordable housing, worker rights, juvenile justice and combating hate. Following his remarks, Racine took questions from the virtual audience of more than 100 attendees. Dean RenΓ©e Hutchins introduced the […]
- Debo Adegbile named Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Chair of Civil RightsThe UDC David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC Law) is excited to announce that Debo Adegbile will serve as the 2019-2020 Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Chair of Civil Rights. Adegbile is a member of the Government and Regulatory Litigation group at WilmerHale. He was chosen as the newest Rauh Chair for his wealth of […]
- Richard L. Trumka talks history, future of unions and labor at 27th Annual Rauh LectureOn Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka delivered the 27th Annual Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Lecture, linking the history and future of labor rights and reminding the audience of Joseph L. Rauhβs role in paving the way for union democracy. Trumkaβs long-time mentor and friend Joseph βChipβ Yablonski introduced Trumka to the […]
- βDespair is the Luxury of the Privileged:β 26th Annual Rauh Lecture by Vanita GuptaOn Tuesday, Nov. 27, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Vanita Gupta delivered the twenty-sixth annual Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Lecture to a rapt audience at UDC Law.
- Stephen Bright talks death penalty, debtorsβ prisons, mass incarceration at 25th Annual RauhΒ LectureοΏΌOn Nov. 29, Stephen B. Bright delivered the 25th Annual Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Lecture, titled βRace & Poverty in the Criminal Courts: The Death Penalty, Debtorsβ Prisons, Mass Incarceration and Other Injustices,β to a packed house at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law.