Who We Are
Congratulations to Jill Wheaton (MI) on completing a superb year as CAL Chair. Jill has made immeasurable contributions to CAL over the years to make it what it is today, and we thank her for her service and leadership!
Congratulations to our incoming leadership team, which models our Board’s diversity of thought, geography, and practice type: Chair-Elect Karen Precella (TX), Secretary Jonathan Potter (VA), and Board members Dwyer Arce (NE), Julie Murray (DC), Bob Parsley (TN), Rebecca Powell (CA), and Griffin Terry Sumner (KY). Many thanks to our outgoing Board members for their dedicated service: Jay Breakstone (NY), Courtney Koger (MO), Linda Morkan (CT), and Kip Nelson (NC). Special thanks to outgoing Co-Chair of the State Chairs Committee, Cindy Timms (TX), who helped get that committee off the ground. It is one of CAL’s most successful initiatives. We now have at least one State Chair in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, representing CAL’s truly national reach.
What We Do
We recently closed another successful AJEI Summit under the leadership of our CAL Summit Co-Chairs Jonathan Potter (VA) and John Baker (MN) and Host Committee Member Emily Musgrave (MA), with the help of many others. CAL contributed thoughtful and practical programs on topics important to practitioners, including: building a record as embedded appellate counsel at trial, updated tips for effective e-briefing, and new strategies to incorporate into oral-argument preparations. We again welcomed perennial favorite Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of Berkeley Law to give his riveting analysis of the latest U.S. Supreme Court term. We were inspired by Supreme Court advocate and media commentator Neal Katyal. We were concerned to learn of ongoing threats to our democratic institutions from foreign governments. We were encouraged to see that the judiciary can practically and ethically harness the power of social media to educate audiences on its role in the civic process and strengthen its public perception. Planning has already begun for #AJEI2025 in Minneapolis, and Summit Co-Chairs John Baker (MN) and Katie Barrett Wiik (MN) are building on this inspiration!
Jill was instrumental in deepening CAL’s roots by recruiting new members to join our committees, and we are building on this momentum. As our committees continue to grow, their work has become a minimal time commitment with maximum creative and collaborative returns. I encourage all of you to get involved!
Programming Committee
CAL continues to offer exceptional programming, like our “Riding the Circuits” series. These programs feature judges, practitioners, court clerks, and staff attorneys from individual federal appellate circuits—including the Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits—discussing procedural and practice-based issues. Join the Programming Committee to help plan future panels.
State Chairs Committee
Our dynamic group of State Chairs meets each month to talk about appellate “hot topics,” practice pointers, business-development ideas, war stories, and anything else that comes up. It has become the virtual water cooler where fellow “law nerds” gather, as well as a rich referral source.
The State Chairs also produce a series called “Traps for Appellate Out-of-Towners.” These programs feature a panel of appellate lawyers from adjacent states discussing hometown practice tips, local procedures, and what not to do in your next cross-jurisdictional appeal. This series has covered the West Coast (AZ, CA, NV), Mountain States (CO, MT, UT, WY), Southwest States (NM, OK, TX), and Southern New England (CT, MA, RI), providing insider information that could give you the edge or prevent a costly misstep. All “Traps” programs can be viewed on-demand for CLE credit on CAL’s webpage.
Publications and Other Committees
Each month, our Newsletter Committee keeps members and friends of CAL up-to-date on all the latest events, meetings, and happenings. It also has an “open forum” section for contributors to publish their ideas and experiences.
Our Appellate Issues periodical features longer-form articles examining different aspects of a chosen topic. We are always looking for new contributors and editors!
Our other committees include: Social Media; Appellate Rules; DEI; Pro Bono; Membership; and Solo & Small Practice Lawyers.
If you’d like to get involved with any of our committees or publications, please contact me ([email protected]) or our ABA staff liaison Amy Dasgupta ([email protected]).