The Iowa Law Review's Symposium is a biennial forum for legal scholarship—bringing together the foremost experts on a common topic of current and future importance in the law. While legal symposia are now ubiquitous, it was at the Iowa Law Review where they began. Since its first Symposium on administrative law in 1933—including contributions from legal giants such as Felix Frankfurter and John Wigmore—the Iowa Law Review's Symposium has and continues to host symposia on topics as varied as the law itself. The Iowa Law Review is proud of its Symposium's ninety-year record of facilitating excellent legal scholarship and is excited to continue this tradition of excellence.
Symposium 2026
Philosophy at Trial
Presented by: Iowa Law Review
Faculty Organizers: Professsors Mihailis Diamantis, Andrew Jordan, and Stephanie Patridge
September 17 & 18, 2026
Call for Abstracts
Law and Philosophy at Iowa and the Iowa Law Review invite abstract proposals for “Philosophy at Trial,” a symposium that focuses on philosophical issues in recent Supreme Court jurisprudence. Essays will be published in Volume 112 of the Iowa Law Review.
We welcome submissions from researchers from a range of disciplines. Abstracts should identify a Supreme Court opinion from approximately the past five years and articulate the philosophical issues it raises. Preference will be given to submissions that engage with more recent Court opinions.
Event Details: The symposium will take place September 17–18, 2026, in Iowa City, Iowa. Authors of accepted proposals will prepare essays (maximum 8,000 words) for presentation and discussion at the in-person event. The hosts will provide accommodations and reimburse the cost of travel to Iowa City.
Invited Speakers:
Emad Atiq (Cornell)
Brian Bix (Minnesota)
Heidi Hurd (Illinois)
Michael Moore (Illinois)
Kevin Tobia (Georgetown)
Brandon Waldon (South Carolina)
Submission Guidelines: Abstracts should be 300–600 words and must be submitted by January 15, 2026, to ilr@uiowa.edu. Please direct questions to Emma Diers, the Iowa Law Review’s Symposium Articles Editor, at emma-diers@uiowa.edu, with a copy to law-philosophy@uiowa.edu.