A panel discussion about safeguarding creative expression and employment opportunities in today's fashion industry. Panelists include designer CHEVAL and attorneys Laurie Berke-Weiss '71 and Mary Kate Brennan. This event is part of "Freedom of Expression" theme year, and coordinated in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition Fashioning the Bounds of Free Speech in the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection and the Johnson Museum of Art.

CHEVAL is a shoe designer, creative director, and co-founder at SHE IS CHEVAL. Formerly known by her birth name (that she can no longer use) and as a wedding dress designer from SAY YES TO THE DRESS, she has recently embarked on a career plot twist and launched a nonprofit to safeguard the interests of young creatives. 

Mary Kate Brennan is a Senior Attorney in the Intellectual Property and Technology group at Dentons US LLP.  She was a Dean's Fellow at the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University School of Law and previously served as co-chair of the New York City Bar Association's Fashion Law Committee.

Laurie Berke-Weiss ILR '71 has over 35 years’ experience practicing employment law and is the founder and principal attorney of her boutique law firm, Berke-Weiss Law PLLC. She has served as the President of the New York Women’s Bar Association and Chair of the Executive Committee of the New York City Bar and is a member of the Fashion Law Committee of the NYC Bar Association.