Speaking Engagements

Panelist at “Is the Big Lie Protected Speech?”, Brennan Center Webinar, May 4, 2022, https://www.brennancenter.org/events/big-lie-protected-speech.

Panelist at “CPRT Expert Dialogue: Rebuilding Trust in American Civic Institutions: Campaign Finance, Non-Partisan Reform & How Business Can Help,” Erb Institute at the University of Michigan, May 5, 2022, https://erb.umich.edu/event/cprt-expert-dialogue-rebuilding-trust-in-american-civic-institutions-campaign-finance-non-partisan-reform-how-business-can-help/.

Panelist on “Dark Money & Transparency” panel at Open Secret’s Convening on (E)Merging Vision Fortifying Democracy’s Future, in Big Folk, Montana, May 20, 2022.

Spoke at Widener Law Review Symposium on Voting Rights about ghost candidate scandal in Florida on April 1, 2022, https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/current-students/law-school/events/detail/3452/

Spoke at University of Miami/Florida Bioethics Network Present 30th Annual Florida Bioethics Conference: Debates, Decisions, Solutions about constitutional reproductive freedoms and privacy rights on April 29, 2022, https://fbn.miami.edu/_assets/pdf/conferences/2022-fbn-program.pdf.

Spoke to SCOTUS Blog Podcast about Alabama’s redistricting case, February 2022, https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/02/alabamas-redistricting-on-the-shadow-docket/

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, The Political Branding of Us and Them: The Branding of Asian Immigrants in the Democratic and Republican Party Platforms and Supreme Court Opinions 1876-1924, Volume 96 Number 4 NYU L. Rev. 1214 (Oct. 2021).

Spoke remotely at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC at an event hosted by the Florida League of Women Voters about the Constitution, campaign finance and legal challenges in 2020 election on Dec. 17, 2020.

Spoke remotely on a panel entitled “NYS Election Reform 2021: The Three Most Important Things” at the NYC Bar Association’s Election Law, Government Ethics and State Affairs, and NYC Affairs Committees on Dec. 16, 2020. Co-panelist included Douglas A. Kellner, Co-Chair of the NYS Board of Elections; Jorge L. Vasquez, Jr. of the Advancement Project; Assembly Member Charles D. Lavine, Former Senator Martin E. Connor, Senator Zellnor Myrie; and Vice Dean Franita Tolson of USC Gould Law.

Spoke remotely on a panel with Professor Barry McDonald about the differences between Bush v. Gore in 2000 and the 2020 post-presidential-election litigation by Donald Trump for the America Constitution Society (ACS) Pepperdine Law Chapter on Nov. 20, 2020.

Spoke on a panel called “Blueprint for Democracy: How We Can Stop Being Ripped Off” about the dangers of dark money hosted by Common Cause Ohio on Nov. 16, 2020.

Spoke remotely to the Pinellas Democrats about the 2020 elections in Florida, her book Political Brands, and post-election litigation by President Trump’s lawyers on Nov. 12, 2020.

Spoke on a webinar panel with the Dean of Stetson Law School Michèle Alexandre entitled “Community Conversation on the Legal Aspects of the 2020 Election” on Nov. 5, 2020.

Spoke on a webinar panel with the President of Stetson University Christopher F. Roellke entitled “President's Weekly Update: 2020 Election, What Happened?” on Nov. 5, 2020.

Spoke on a panel with University of Chicago Professor Geoffrey R. Stone about the First Amendment, the 2020 election and her book Political Brands in New America’s online symposium “Free Speech Project: Do We Need a First Amendment 2.0?” on Oct. 28, 2020.

Featured in the documentary film, “Fish in a Barrel,” about the 2016 election released in October 2020.

Spoke remotely to Stetson Law Chapter of the American Constitution Society (ACS) about voting safely in 2020 on Oct. 21, 2020.

Spoke on a panel about campaign finance, the 2020 elections and her book Political Brands at the 2020 Election Speakers Series put on by the University of Dayton School of Law and the University of Dayton Human Rights Center on October 16, 2020.

Spoke at a memorial for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg organized by U.S. Congressman Charlie Crist about her impact on constitutional law and election law on Oct. 9, 2020.

Spoke remotely on a panel discussing “Building a More Inclusive Democracy” at NYU Law School’s Voting and Representation Symposium, Oct. 8, 2020.

Featured in a Common Sense Education video, “Political Ads on Social Media: Selling the Truth?” Oct. 8, 2020.

Featured in a Vox and Netflix documentary entitled Whose Vote Counts Explained, episode 2, “Can you buy and Election?” Sept. 28, 2020.

Spoke remotely to students at UCLA about the 2020 Election and her book, Political Brands on Oct. 1, 2020.

Spoke on a Stetson University panel webinar about Student Political Engagement and the 2020 Election on Oct. 1, 2020.

Spoke on a panel with Professor Daniel Smith of the University of Florida, Allison Ross of the Tampa Bay Times, and Patricia Brigham President of the Florida League of Women Voters for the Florida Chapter of the Scholars Strategy Network webinar about Florida Elections in 2020 on Sept. 30, 2020.

Spoke to the Corporate Reform Coalition remotely on September 23, 2020.

Spoke at the American Constitution Society (ACS) South East Regional Convening’s Event on Supreme Court Voting Cases remotely on September 23, 2020.

Guest taught Election Law at USC Gould School of Law remotely on September 16, 2020.

Guest taught the Honors Colloquium at Stetson University College of Law remotely on September 2, 2020.

Spoke remotely to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) about her book Political Brands, the Supreme Court’s Bridgegate decision and conducting the 2020 elections during the coronavirus pandemic on May 15, 2020.

Spoke remotely about her book Political Brands, COVID-19, and the 2020 election at the “Feeling Democracy: A Conference on Politics and Emotions” at the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers University on Apr. 17, 2020.

Spoke on the American Promise National Call about campaign finance law on Mar. 9, 2020.

Spoke to the Stetson Law Chapter of the American Constitution Society (ACS) about her book Political Brands on Mar. 4, 2020.

Spoke on a panel "The Role of Election Law" at a Conference entitled "Can American Democracy Survive the 2020 Elections?" at UC Irvine Law School on Feb. 28, 2020.

Testified at the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties hearing about Citizens United at 10: The Consequences for Democracy and Potential Responses by Congress, Feb. 6, 2020.

Spoke on the campaign finance panel at the American University Law Review's “Democracy and the Law: 2020” symposium on January 31, 2020 in Washington DC about corruption, campaign finance and the Bridgegate case pending before the Supreme Court.

Spoke on a panel entitled “Revisiting Campaign Finance Regulation 10 Years After Citizens United,” hosted by the American Constitution Society at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 16, 2020.

Spoke about the chapter “Branding Racism” in her book Political Brands on a panel entitled “American Democracy 2020: Commemorating the 15th & 19th Amendments amidst the Third Wave of Autocratization” at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) sponsored by the Minority Groups, Civil Rights, Election Law and Constitutional Law Sections of AALS on Jan. 4, 2020.

Spoke about Branding Truth and Branding Corruption at "The Chat with the Author of Political Brands Ciara Torres-Spelliscy" at Public Citizen in Washington D.C. on Jan. 3, 2020.

Spoke at the Bryan Glazer JCC and the League of Women Voters in Tampa about her book Political Brands on Dec. 12, 2019.

Guest lectured about corporate constitutional rights and her book Political Brands at Harvard Law School on Nov. 21, 2019.

Discussed corporate personhood and the 2020 election in her books Corporate Citizen and Political Brands at the University of Oklahoma Law School's symposium “The Roots and Legacies of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, the Supreme Court Decision that Turned Corporations into Constitutional ‘Persons'” Nov. 15, 2019.

Addressed the fellows at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law about the book Political Brands and the 2020 election on November 8, 2019 in New York City.

Had a book talk about "Political Brands" at Harvard University, on Oct 30, 2019.

Spoke at the Yale Law School Chapter of the American Constitution Society (ACS) about lawyers, guns and money in her new book “Political Brands” including the topics of money in politics, Emoluments lawsuits, and branding the NRA post-Parkland on September 9, 2019 in New Haven.

Participated in the "Clean Slate Convening on Empowering Labor Law Reform by Updating Other Legal Regimes" at Harvard Law School on May 9, 2019.

Guest taught a class about her forthcoming book "Political Brands" in Data and Democracy course at Duke Law School, Mar. 19, 2019.

Spoke about her forthcoming second book "Political Brands" at Notre Dame Law School's Campaign Finance Symposium on Feb. 8, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana.

Spoke at AALS Election Law Section about "Protecting American Democracy from Foreign Inference" on Jan. 4, 2019 in New Orleans.

Moderated a debate on Writing the 28th Amendment at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Nov. 19, 2019.

Spoke at Washington & Lee Law School’s faculty workshop about her new book in progress, “Political Brands” on September 24, 2018 in Lexington, Virginia.

Spoke on a panel entitled "The Comparative Law of Democracy," at the International Society of Public Law's ICON-S conference in Hong Kong on June 26, 2018 about fundraising burdens for Members of Congress.

Spoke about political parties and branding on a panel about "The First Amendment and Regulation of Political Parties" at the "The Constitution & Political Parties Symposium" Hosted by the Stanford Law School Constitutional Law Center on May 19, 2018.

Spoke about election security and federalism on a panel at the American Constitution Society’s (ACS) event “Firewalling Democracy” at Google’s DC office on May 7, 2018 with co-panelists Election Assistance Commission Chair Thomas Hicks; Philippa (Pippa) Scarlett, former Deputy Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator at the White House; Joseph Lorenzo Hall, Chief Technologist at the Center for Democracy and Technology; and Laura Rosenberger, Senior Fellow and Director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy.

Spoke on an Election Law Panel at the Federalism Past, Present, and Future Symposium at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California on March 23, 2018.

Spoke on a panel on "Foreign Influence in American Elections," at the Unrig the System Summit at Tulane University in New Orleans on February 2, 2018.

Spoke with Professor Rick Hasen on a panel entitled "The First Amendment and Political Speech in Campaign Finance Law" at California State Fullerton's Communications Week on April 25, 2017.

On March 4, 2017, Professor Torres-Spelliscy spoke at the Federalist Society’s 2017 National Student Symposium, on a panel called “Campaign Finance and Free Speech” at Columbia Law School. The Moderator was Hon. Richard J. Sullivan, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Addressed the Florida Veterans for Common Sense about her book Corporate Citizen? An Argument for the Separation of Corporation and State in Sarasota, FL on Dec. 15, 2016.

Addressed the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) 2016 Conference about "Campaign Finance Cases by the Clock: A Short Review of Major Cases" in New Orleans on Dec. 11, 2016.

Spoke on a Panel about Political Brands in the Age of Trump at Wesleyan Media Project 2016 Post-Election Conference on Dec. 5, 2016.

Addressed the Cardozo Law School Chapter of the American Constitution Society (ACS) about her book Corporate Citizen? An Argument for the Separation of Corporation and State on Nov. 11. 2016.

Addressed Civic Hall in New York City about her book Corporate Citizen? An Argument for the Separation of Corporation and State on Oct. 27, 2016.

Addressed Public Citizen about her book Corporate Citizen? An Argument for the Separation of Corporation and State on Oct. 7, 2016 in Washington, D.C.

Addressed the Columbia Law School Chapter of the American Constitution Society (ACS) about her book Corporate Citizen? An Argument for the Separation of Corporation and State on Sept. 20, 2016.

Spoke on a panel at the Federal Election Commission (FEC)'s Forum on Corporate Political Spending and Foreign Influence on June 23, 2016.

Spoke on a panel entitled "The $10 Billion Election: New Approaches to the study of Campaign finance in the post-Citizens United World" at Purchasing Power conference organized by the Scholars Strategy Network, Yale ISP, the Ford Foundations and Open Society Foundation on June 16, 2016 in New York.

Spoke on a panel entitled "What is Wrong with the First Amendment" at the Law and Society Annual Conference in New Orleans on June 3, 2016.

Addressed the Money in Politics Legal Convening at the University of Pennsylvania Law School on May 25, 2016.

Spoke on a panel entitled "Interest Group Advertising, Corporate Spending, and Brand Identity" at the "Money and the First Amendment" symposium at University of Colorado at Boulder Law School sponsored by the Leroy Keller Center for the Study of the First Amendment and the Byron R. White Center on April 15, 2016.

Spoke on a panel at the Center for American Progress's event "Our Democracy at Risk: How We Can Reclaim It" on April 12, 2016 about corporate money in politics.

Spoke on a panel about corporate culpability for human rights abuses at Criminal Liability 2.0 Symposium at Stetson University College of Law on Feb. 19, 2016.

Spoke on a panel entitled, "Plutocracy, Race, and Democracy in 2016" at Common Cause's “Blueprint for a Great Democracy” conference in Washington DC on Mar. 8, 2016.

Addressed the Mexican Electoral Tribunal in Mexico City on Oct. 16-17, 2015 at the invitation of the University of Texas at Austin and the Mexican government. She spoke about the unraveling of Watergate era money in politics reforms and about enforcement of campaign finance laws in New York City, New York State and American federal elections.

Presented her forthcoming paper, “Shooting Your Brand in the Foot: What Citizens United Invites” at Zicklin School of Business, CUNY Baruch College in New York, NY on Sept. 8, 2015.

Moderated a panel on "Small Donors vs. Super PACs" at a Brennan Center, New York City Campaign Finance Board and Committee for Economic Development Symposium on American Elections at the Crossroads at NYU School of Law on July 22, 2015.

Presented on a panel entitled “The Implications of Citizens United and McCutcheon for Campaign Finance and Beyond” at The Law of Democracy at a Crossroads: Reflecting on Fifty Years of Voting Rights and the Judicial Regulation of the Political Thicket Symposium at The Florida State University Law School in Tallahassee, FL on Mar. 28, 2015.

Presented at the 2015 Annual Convention of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) on a panel entitled “Citizens Invited: Scholars and Professors in the Campaign Finance Wars” on Jan. 4, 2015. She spoke about meritocracy and money in politics.

Addressed the Harvard Club of Sarasota on Dec. 12, 2014. Her talk was entitled “Money in Politics after Citizens United” and included a discussion of current campaign finance jurisprudence surrounding pay to play, the regulation of corporate political spending and transparency, as well as updates on reform efforts at the FCC, FEC, SEC and IRS.

Presented on a panel entitled “Can Someone Please Turn on the Lights? Ensuring Transparency When Non-Profits Engage in Lobbying and Political Activities” at the 2014 Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, PA on Dec. 10, 2014. She spoke about constitutional ways to regulate dark money.

Presented on a panel on “Money in Politics and Democracy” at Harvard Law School’s Symposium on “Advancing a New Jurisprudence for American Self-Government and Democracy” on Nov. 7, 2014. She spoke about how money in American politics places meritocracy at risk.

Presented on a panel on "Beyond Citizens United and McCutcheon: What Next for Campaign Finance Regulation?" at the Annual Convention of the American Constitution Society (ACS) in Washington, D.C.

Presented on a panel on “Weighing the Policy Implications of Justice at Risk: How Empirical Findings Should Inform the Choice of State Judicial Selection” at the Justice at Risk Symposium at Vanderbilt Law School on Mar. 21, 2014 cosponsored by the American Judicature Society and the American Constitution Society.

Presented on a panel on Political Money and Economic Inequality at the Brennan Center for Justice's symposium "The Governing Crisis & Democratic Dysfunction: Exploring Solutions" on Feb. 12, 2014 at NYU School of Law.

Presented on a panel on regulating corruption at Duke Law School's symposium on "The Future of Campaign Finance Reform" hosted by the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy on Feb. 7, 2014.

Presented on a panel on financial disclosures at Vermont Law Reviews "Disclosure Debates" symposium at Vermont Law School on Sept. 28, 2013.

Presented on a panel on campaign finance at the National Press Club at the invitation of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law on June 18, 2013.

Presented on a panel at the "Bright Minds, Dark Money: Transparency 2013" Conference hosted by the National Institute on Money in State Politics in Big Fork, Montana on May 31, 2013. She presented her forthcoming law review article, Safeguarding Markets from Pernicious Pay to Play: A Model Explaining Why the SEC Regulates Money in Politics, 12(2) Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal __ (2013), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2184554.

Presented on a panel at the "Under the Influence, Interest Groups, Lobbying and Campaign Finance" Conference at the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy at Buffalo Law School on Mar. 9, 2013. She spoke about the phenomenon of customer boycotts of corporate political activity.

Presented on a panel at the Federal Courts Law Review's Annual Symposium on Election Law in the Federal Courts on Feb. 22, 2013 at Charleston Law School. She presented her forthcoming Montana Law Review article, "Taking Opt-In Rights Seriously. What Knox v. SEIU Could Mean for Post-Citizens United Shareholder Rights."

Presented on a panel organized by the Joint Section on Internet and Computer Law and Mass Communication Law at the 2013 Annual Meeting of AALS in New Orleans. She spoke about the misuse of the NAACP line of cases and dark money in elections, as well as her law review article, "Has the Tide Turned in Favor of Disclosure?"

Presented on a panel at UCLA Law School's David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy Symposium entitled, "A 28th Amendment? Legal Issues, Remedies and Strategies to Get Money Out of Politics" on Nov. 17, 2012. She spoke about the role of nonprofits in politics after Citizens United.

Presented on a panel at the University of Connecticut Law School Symposium entitled "Buying Your Vote? Citizens United, Super PACs and the Future of Campaign Finance in America." She spoke in favor of SEC petition 4-637 which would require transparency for corporate political spending.

Presented "How Much Is an Ambassadorship?" at the Honorable James R. Browning Symposium on Election Law at the University of Montana Law Review on Sept. 28, 2012.

Presented "The $500 Million Question: Are the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations Really State PACs Under Buckley's Major Purpose Test?," 15 NYU J. of Legislation & Public Policy 485 (Spring 2012), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1988603, at the Law & Society Conference 2012 in Honolulu in June 2012.

Presented on a panel to the National Policy Council of the AARP in Chicago on May 24, 2012 about Citizens United.

Presented "The $500 Million Dollar Question," at the Annual Meeting of the National Institute on Money and State Politics on May 14, 2012.

Presented a paper about the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations and the regulation of money in politics at the "Legal Theory Speaker Series," at the University of Miami Law School, Feb. 2012.

Presented a paper on the Federal Election Campaign Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act at Chapman Law School's Symposium on "The 40th Anniversary of Watergate: A Commemoration of the Rule of Law," Jan. 2012.

Presented on a panel on independent expenditures at the "Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) Conference," in Nashville, Dec. 2011.

Presented a paper on Buckley's Major Purpose Test and the Regulation of Corporate Money in Politics at the "Florida Legal Scholars Forum," at Stetson University College of Law, Nov. 2011.

Presented on a panel on campaign finance at the "Citywide Seminar on Ethics in New York City Government," at New York Law School, May 2011.

Moderated panel on corporate law at "Accountability after Citizens United" Symposium at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, April 2011.

Presented on a panel on judicial selection at New England Law School - Boston, Apr. 2011.

Presented on a panel on campaign finance law at CUNY-Baruch College School of Public Affairs' "Eighth Annual Public Affairs Week," Mar. 2011.

Presented on a panel on campaign finance law at University of San Francisco Law School Symposium, "Democracy Inc.," Feb. 2011.

Presented on a panel on corporate law at "Citizens United an Intersection of Laws" Symposium at Georgia State University College of Law, Nov. 2010.

Presented on a panel on campaign finance law at "Citizens Divided About Citizens United" Symposium at Chapman Law School on Oct. 2010.

Presented a paper on campaign finance at "Fourth International Colloquium on Corporate Political Activity," at Long Island University, CW Post Campus, May 2010.

Presented a paper on campaign finance at "The Case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: Supreme Court Decision on Corporate Campaign Expenditures" at Rutgers Eagleton Institute on Politics, April 2010.

Presented a paper on campaign finance at Loyola University Chicago's "Corporate Risk Management Conference," Oct. 2009.

Presented on a panel about judicial selection at "Obama and Article III Judges," at Harvard Law School, Oct. 2009.