The Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law (CERL) at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School has announced that Richard W. Painter, the S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Minnesota Law School and former chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush White House, has joined its advisory council.
“I am delighted to welcome Professor Painter to CERL’s advisory council. He’s one of the country’s most knowledgeable scholars and practitioners of corporate law and professional ethics, as evidenced by his scholarship and public service as chief ethics counsel for the White House,” said Professor Claire Finkelstein, founder and faculty director of CERL. “Professor Painter is a prolific author as well, his books and articles providing brilliant and engaging commentary on the need to defend the rule of law in our country’s current state of governance. CERL will benefit greatly from the partnership.”
Earlier this month, Painter and Finkelstein/CERL filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Trump v. Vance. Their brief supports the NY County District Attorney’s issuance of subpoenas to Trump’s accounting firms for his financial records related to a state criminal investigation of his businesses and refutes the government’s claim that the president is immune from such investigation under Article II of the Constitution.
“Professor Finkelstein is a leading expert on the intersection of ethics, political philosophy, and national security,” said Painter. “CERL has an exemplary record of engaging military leaders, national security experts, and academics on the issues that we must understand to be safe and secure in a representative democracy.
I am honored to join the advisory council and look forward to assisting in these important endeavors.”
CERL is a non-partisan interdisciplinary center dedicated to preserving and promoting the rule of law in national security, warfare, and U.S. governance. CERL draws from the study of law, philosophy, and ethics to educate and guide policymakers, academia, the private sector, and the general public.
