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The 2025 ABA Young Lawyers Division's Midyear Meeting will be held in Phoenix, AZ. Take advantage of networking opportunities, engage in ABA governance, attend CLE programming, celebrate industry leaders, and learn how the House of Delegates enacts change for the profession. Register today!

All scheduled events are tentative and subject to change.

All times are Mountain Standard Time.

Check back for frequent updates and program descriptions.

Thursday, January 30

12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Opening Statement Competition
Sign up to compete here! Only 12 slots available
Phoenix A, 3rd Level

Friday, January 31

6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
5K Fun Run “Dry Heat, Fast Feet” (Army JAG Corps co-sponsored)
Sheraton Hotel, Lobby Level

Not a runner? “Sit with a Civilian” and learn about Army civilian attorney careers!

Here’s a 3.17 mile route.

  • Start at the Sheraton turn right on 3rd St (south)
  • Right on Van Buren (west)
  • Left on Central (south)
  • Left on Washington (east)
  • Left on 7th (north)
  • Left on Mckinley (west)
  • Right on 1st (north)
  • Right on Morland (west)
  • Right on 3rd (south)
  • End at the Sheraton on the right

7:30 a.m. to 8:30 am
5K Fun Run Refreshments (Sponsored by Army JAG Corps)
Laveen A, 2nd Floor

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
YLD Information Desk
Valley of the Sun DE Foyer, 2nd Level

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Calm Room
Cave Creek, 3rd Level

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
YLD Breakfast
Encanto B, 2nd Level

8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Election Plenary: The Nuts and Bolts of Ranked-Choice Voting
Deer Valley, 2nd Level

Speakers

Monte E. Frank is the co-chair of Pullman & Comley’s Litigation practice. He represents business and municipal clients in the state and federal courts in Connecticut and before administrative agencies on a wide range of matters, using his thirty years of experience to help clients resolve problems as effectively and efficiently as possible. He regularly represents clients in complex and sophisticated business litigation and construction matters, including mediation and arbitration in Connecticut and other states.

Monte is an advocate for democracy reform, working to improve our elections, and bring accountability to government. He serves on the American Bar Association’s Advisory Commission to the Task Force on Democracy by presidential appointment. He also served as vice chair of the Connecticut governor's working group on ranked-choice voting. Monte has lectured at Cornell Law School and has sat on many panels at the Connecticut Legal Conference, the University of Connecticut School of Law, Quinnipiac Law School and The National Council of Bar Presidents.

G. Michael Parsons: G. Michael Parsons is the Founder and Principal of Parsons Law PLLC, Senior Legal Advisor at FairVote, and Senior Counsel at Election Reformers Network. Michael works with nonprofits, commissions, and other groups working to make the government more representative, responsive, and responsible. At FairVote, Michael convenes a legal roundtable of national organizations working to advance election reform efforts.

Michael has represented clients in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and several state supreme courts, has published scholarship in several academic law journals, and is one of the nation's leading authorities on the law surrounding ranked choice voting. Prior to starting his own practice, Michael worked at two major international law firms, taught at NYU School of Law, and clerked for the Honorable Norman H. Stahl of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Honorable Robert E. Payne of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

 

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Literary Society Fireside Chat: How to Be Abe Lincoln: Seven Steps to Leading a Legendary Life
Deer Valley, 2nd Level
Book signing to follow

11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
YLD Assembly Delegate Certification
Valley of the Sun DE Foyer, 3rd Level

11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
YLD Council Lunch & Meeting
Phoenix A, 3rd Level

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
District Representatives & Affiliates Conclave/NCBP
Phoenix A, 3rd Level

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
YLD Scholars Meeting
Arcadia Boardroom, 2nd Level

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Cosponsored Program: Building Bridges: The Role of Allyship in DEI
Primary Sponsor: National Conference of Women's Bar Association

Deer Valley

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Program: DEI in Today's Political Climate
Deer Valley, 2nd Level

Speakers

  • Yvette Donaldson-Brown, Eckert Seaman Cherin and Mellott, LLC, Piscataway, NJ
  • Jared Elijah-Akeem Nelson, Associate, Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith, LLP, Lafayette, LA
  • Brianna “Bri” Weiner, Alberta, Canada
  • Harper Chen, Grand Thornton, Taiwan

3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Council of State Bar Young Lawyer Leaders
Phoenix A, 3rd Level

5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
First-Timers Orientation
Valley of the Sun D, 2nd Level

5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Welcome Reception
Valley of the Sun D, 2nd Level

7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
YLD Dine-Around (sign up required)
OffSite

9:00 pm - 11:00 p.m.
ABA YLD/TIPS Mixer
Seamus McCaffrey's Irish Pub
18 W Monroe St., Phoenix, AZ

Saturday, February 1

6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.
YLD Trailblazers Hike
Email YLD National Conference Team Director, Tryphena Liu [email protected] for the sign up link.

7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
YLD Information Desk
Valley of the Sun D, 2nd Level

7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
YLD Delegate Certification
Valley of the Sun DE Foyer, 2nd Level

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
YLD Breakfast
Maryvale, 2nd Level

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
YLD Assembly
Valley of the Sun CDE, 2nd Level

12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Public Service Project: St. Mary's Food Bank
https://vhub.at/9ZWYYM
2831 North 31st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009

2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Cosponsored Program: Navigating the Brave New World of DEI: What Courts Have Said and What's Next
Primary Sponsor: Standing Committee on CLE

Deer Valley, 2nd Level

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
YLD Fellows Board Meeting
Phoenix D, 3rd Level

4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
YLD Fellows Family Feud
Encanto A, 2nd Level

Sunday, February 2

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Caucus of Young Lawyer Delegates to the ABA House
Valley of the Sun D, 2nd Level