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Program & Events

2025 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference Panels

Thursday, October 23, 2025
William & Mary
6:30-9:00 pm: The 2025 Brigham-Kanner Prize Presentation & Dinner

Friday, October 24, 2025
William & Mary Law School
8:00-8:45 am: Registration and Continental Breakfast
Lobby

8:45 am - 9:00 am: Welcome
Room 119

9:00 am - 5:00 pm: Conference Proceedings
Room 119

SESSION 1
Property and Governance: A Tribute to William Fischel
William Fischel, this year’s recipient of the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize, has reshaped the study of land use and zoning through his writings on “homevoter” democracy and the larger political economy of local government. This panel will consider Fischel’s impact across law, economics, and planning, as well as the continuing relevance of his work in debates over housing policy and property rights.

Panelists:

  • Vicki Been, Judge Edward Weinfeld Professor of Law and Co-Director, Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy, NYU School of Law
  • James W. Ely, Jr., Milton R. Underwood Professor of Law, Emeritus, Professor of History, Emeritus, Vanderbilt University
  • Lee Anne Fennell, Max Pam Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
  • James Burling, Vice President of Legal Affairs, Pacific Legal Foundation
  • Roderick M. Hills Jr., William T. Comfort III Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
  • William A. Fischel, Professor of Economics and Robert C. 1925 and Hilda Hardy Professor of Legal Studies, Emeritus, Dartmouth College
  • Moderator - James Y. Stern, Professor of Law and Director, Property Rights Project, William & Mary Law School

SESSION 2
Kelo at 20: Public Use and Private Benefit
Two decades ago, the Supreme Court ruled in its controversial Kelo v. City of New London decision that economic development can qualify as a “public use” under the Takings Clause. This panel will revisit the decision’s reasoning and aftermath, including the legal foundations for the decision in the Constitution's text and history, political backlash and state-level reforms, and  ongoing debates over the limits of eminent domain.

Panelists:

  • Julia D. Mahoney, John S. Battle Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
  • Donald J. Kochan, Professor of Law and Exec. Director, Law & Economics Center, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
  • Thomas W. Merrill, Charles Evans Hughes Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
  • Dana Berliner, Senior Vice President and Litigation Director, Institute for Justice
  • Moderator - Andrew Prince Brigham, Senior Partner, Brigham Property Rights Law Firm

ROUNDTABLE
Emerging Issues and English Law
This roundtable will include a look at emerging issues in property rights litigation and a comparative law presentation on aspects of English property doctrine.

Panelists:

  • David L. Callies, Benjamin A. Kudo Professor of Law, Emeritus Richardson School Of Law, University of Hawaii
  • Brett S. Tensfeldt, Partner, Brigham Property Rights Law Firm
  • Moderator - Joshua E. Baker, Partner, Waldo & Lyle

SESSION 3
Property Rights and Abundance
In recent years, a variety of commentators have endorsed an “abundance agenda,” seeking to expand prosperity by lowering legal and regulatory barriers to building more housing, infrastructure, and clean energy. This panel examines that agenda through the lens of property rights, asking how land use law, permitting regimes, and ownership structures shape the possibilities for growth. The discussion will situate the abundance agenda within longstanding debates over the purposes of property law and its role in securing the benefits of sound resource use.

Panelists:

  • Nolan Gray, Senior Director of Legislation & Research, California YIMBY
  • Clint Schumacher, Partner, Dawson & Sodd
  • Gregory H. Shill, Professor of Law and Dean’s Fellow, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
  • Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Eminent Scholar Chair in Local Government, Levin College of Law, University Of Florida
  • Moderator - Jonathan Adler, Cabell Research Professor and Tazewell Taylor Professor of Law, William & Mary Law School

SESSION 4
Public Safety, Private Property, and Just Compensation
Property damage resulting from police investigations and emergency responses by public officials are common, but the role of the Constitution securing compensation remains unsettled. The Supreme Court recently declined to consider the issue in Baker v. McKinney, with two justices opining that it represents a “serious question” that would “benefit from further percolation in the lower courts.” This panel will consider the “necessity exception” to the just compensation guarantee and its compatibility with constitutional protection of property rights.

Panelists:

  • Jeffrey Redfern, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
  • Patrick E. Reidy, Associate Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School
  • Shelley Ross Saxer, Laure Sudreau Endowed Professor of Law, Caruso School of Law, Pepperdine University
  • Robert H. Thomas, Joseph T. Waldo Visiting Chair in Property Rights Law, William & Mary Law School, Director, Property Rights Litigation, PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION
  • Moderator - Emma Herber, Toby Prince Brigham Property Rights Fellow, William & Mary Law School

5:00 pm: Networking Reception
Lobby