Carlsmith Ball Sponsors the 2026 Distinguished Gifford Lecture in Real Property

Carlsmith Ball was pleased to present the 2026 Distinguished Gifford Lecture on Racial Justice in American Land Use, recently held at the William S. Richardson School of Law. The firm has sponsored the Gifford Lecture series since 2013. 

This year’s speaker, Dr. Tony Arnold, discussed why U.S. land use conditions are persistently racially unjust despite a century of legal developments, evolving movements for land use justice, and ideas about comprehensive changes to the land use system to advance racial justice. His internationally-renowned and community-engaged research addresses equity and resilience in planning and land use and has been selected numerous times as among the best in environmental and land use law. 

Professor Arnold began his teaching career over 30 years ago and is currently the Boehl Chair in Property and Land Use at the University of Louisville. He teaches in the Brandeis School of Law and Department of Urban and Public Affairs, and directs the transdisciplinary Resilience Justice Project. A new Cambridge University Press book, of which Professor Arnold is the lead co-researcher, explores land use law and practices from the early 20th century to the early 21st century, addressing why and how racial injustices are intransigent despite legal prohibitions on racial discrimination. He received his J.D., with Distinction, from Stanford University. 

The Distinguished Gifford Lecture series was established in 2002 by the Gifford Foundation to honor Professor of Law Emeritus David L. Callies and local attorney Jerry M. Hiatt for their work in the field of real property.