Erin Winters
Section Director
As the summer season comes to a close, I’d like to highlight the various programs and events the Section hosted over the last several months. Included in this list of well-attended and valuable events are workshops for new deans and deans, training for the Annual Questionnaire, a webinar on student debt, and the Site Visit Workshop.
The New Deans’ Workshop was held July 16-18 at Seattle University School of Law. With over 30 new deans in attendance, there was ample opportunity for networking and learning. Workshop sessions covered important topics including diversity, equity, and inclusion; managing complex situations; budgeting and fundraising; and deaning during a time of polarization, among others.
The Deans’ Workshop, which followed the New Deans’ Workshop, was held July 18-19 in Seattle and had over 100 deans in attendance. It began with a joint lunch for all new deans and deans that included a presentation on alternative pathways to attorney licensure. Session topics included leadership skills, speech and protest, the ABA standards process, online and hybrid education, AI, continuing challenges posed by SFFA v. Harvard/UNC, and many other relevant topics. The deans also had the opportunity to hear from the leaders of AALS, AccessLex, LSAC, and NALP, as well as new Managing Director Jennifer Rosato Perea.
A huge thank you goes out to the planning committee members for their hard work on these workshops, and Seattle University School of Law and Dean Anthony Varona for so generously opening up the law school to the deans.
The Section held its Annual Questionnaire Training virtually on July 12th with over 250 attendees and its Site Visit Workshop, held in Chicago, took place August 23-24. Materials from the Site Visit Workshop can be found here.
The Section hosted its annual student debt program during the ABA’s Annual Meeting on August 1st in Chicago. 2023-24 law student Council member Jehan Senai Worthy moderated the program and panelists included representatives from the ABA Young Lawyers Division (YLD), AccessLex, and University of Chicago Law School as they discussed the YLD Debt Survey and Report, financing law school and loans, repayment, the payment pause, PSLF, loan consolidation, and refinancing, among other helpful topics.
The Section’s Annual Business Meeting was held on Friday, August 2nd during which the Section elected the slate of nominees for the 2024-2025 Council.
To view a complete list of upcoming programs and meetings, visit the Section’s Events Page.