Perhaps no application of law is more important than the work of democracy. Now, UB School of Law is ramping up its study of public policy with a new academic center, an idea proposed by New York State Senator Shelley Mayer ’79 and her husband, Lee Smith ’80

The State and Local Policy Institute will bring renewed attention to the question of how state and local governments can function more effectively to preserve and protect the rights of its citizens, while exposing students to the possibility of having impact through a legislative career. Mayer secured initial state funding of $500,000 for the pilot program.

Proponents of the new institute say recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have returned important questions to the states—making it imperative to develop a generation of lawyers with expertise in state constitutions and laws, and the legislative process. They foresee increased pressure on state courts to interpret the meaning and constitutionality of state laws and point to expected legal challenges to major legislative initiatives in New York on voting rights, climate change and criminal justice. Building an institute around state and local policy at the State of New York's public law school will build capacity for such work in a multitude of ways:

• Expanding opportunities for law students to engage in cutting-edge policy advocacy, litigation and research, and exposing them to career options in state regulatory agencies and legislatures.
• Growing the pool of practicing lawyers, academics and clinicians who are focused on state and local policy research and advocacy.
• Extending the general knowledge base of state and local law and creating new opportunities for research through support for visiting scholars, lectures, publications and conferences.
• And building community partnerships with on-the-ground advocates in the areas of environmental justice, labor, health care and racial justice, in order to craft policies and legislation that catalyze progress in those areas.

“I am thrilled that new generations of future lawyers will have the opportunity to concentrate on and gain this expertise,” says Mayer, who served in the Assembly before her election to the State Senate in 2018. “New York has already begun to step into this space, and I am pleased UB law students will be a part of shaping New York State law, serving as a model across the country. Thank you to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Governor Kathy Hochul for their support for this important initiative.”

When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a life-threatening cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game, everyone watching held their breath. But the Bills’ medical staff executed their safety plan flawlessly, saving Hamlin’s life.

That prompted students in the law school’s sports law program to ask: shouldn’t all athletes enjoy that same level of protection?

Three students in the Class of 2024—Madeline Drechsel, Matthew Pickard and Shelley Payne—took up the cause. They researched policies around automated external defibrillators and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, then broadened the scope of their research to include traumatic brain injuries and concussions, heat stroke, cold injuries and anaphylactic shock.

Drawing on that research, they produced a seven-page model law, proposed legislation that would require schools, health clubs and venues to create an emergency action plan for dealing with life-threatening sports injuries and designate a safety officer responsible for implementing the plan. The proposal, called Damar’s Law, also mandates training for emergency response and includes an indemnification clause for emergency responders. Their paper was published in the American Bar Association’s Entertainment and Sports Lawyer journal.

The goal, Payne says, is to formalize the response so that bystanders aren’t paralyzed when there’s a problem. “There needs to be someone who knows: Where is the AED in this rink? Who’s calling 911 if we need to do that?” she says. “In the heat of the moment, it’s so hard to make decisions. You want to take away the guesswork.”

That safety orientation should become part of the culture of sports at all levels. “Over time, these procedures get established,” Drechsel says. “You put these emergency kits and plans in place at the level of youth sports and high school athletics, and people start to know them. Then when you get to the higher levels, it becomes expected. It’s almost like a fire drill.”

The next step, says Professor Helen “Nellie” Drew ’88, who directs the UB Center for the Advancement of Sport, is to start putting those formal plans into place. Toward that end, in collaboration with School of Medicine faculty, she is seeking grant support to improve access to AEDs throughout Erie County, develop widespread emergency response protocols, and train 15 percent of the county’s population in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The intent, Drew says, is to create a system of safety plans that will make emergency response a well-practiced routine. “We want everybody to know their role and what needs to happen, and to be thinking about it in advance,” she says. “Oftentimes people don’t feel empowered to act because they just don’t know. We want to develop strategies to close some of those gaps.”