In 1895, William Callyhan Robinson, then a retired jurist lecturing on patent law at Yale University, was chosen by The Catholic University of America to head its newly instituted law school. Just five years prior, Robinson had authored what would become over the next century the authoritative textbook on patent law, The Law of Patents for Useful Inventions. Over a century later, his legacy persists at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law), most evidently in the Dean William Callyhan Robinson Lecture Series—of which the 2024 installment occurred this past Monday, March 4, in a packed Walter A. Slowinski Courtroom.

From L to R: David Redl, Allison Lefrak, Gina Woodworth, and Katie Peters

Presented by the Law School’s Law and Technology Institute (LTI), the 2024 Dean William Callyhan Robinson Lecture focused on public policy, social media, and government regulation.Catholic Law professor and LTI co-director Elizabeth I. Winston welcomed attendees before yielding the floor to the evening’s featured panelists—Katie Peters ’09, Senior Vice President for Public Policy at FanDuel; Allison Lefrak, Senior Counsel for Global Privacy and Regulatory Affairs at TikTok; and Gina Woodworth, Director of Public Policy for the Americas at Snap, Inc.—who discussed not only government regulations but also policy challenges facing social media platforms in the areas of privacy, safety, and artificial intelligence. The energetic conversation was moderated by David Redl ’06, founder and CEO of Salt Point Strategies.

Audience members were able to pose questions to the panelists after the discussion. Following this Q&A, participants filed into the Louise H. Keelty and James Keelty, Jr. Atrium for a networking reception.