Professor Lesley Wexler was a panelist at the University of Chicago Legal Forum symposium on "Law in the Era of #MeToo." The event convened scholars from across the country to examine the way law has shaped the burgeoning #MeToo movement by influencing cultural norms surrounding sexual harassment and assault, informing public discourse and media coverage—and spurring or even limiting reform efforts and institutional change. Valerie Jarrett, a distinguished senior fellow at the University of Chicago Law School and a former senior advisor for President Barack Obama, delivered the keynote address. 

Wexler discussed how “law talk” played an important role in the #MeToo movement in both positive and negative ways.

“In many parts of the conversation, there’s no compelling reason that the law should be the starting point or even the default,” she said. “If what they want is empathy, to make others feel less alone, to show a living example of survivorship, law talk is both a distraction and may inflict additional harms.”

Read more at law.uchicago.edu.