We are excited to see you at ABA’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco! We’ve put together a little cheat sheet with everything to make your #YLDAnnual19 the most successful it can be.
Law schools face an unrelenting system of incentives that make lowering prices, equitable access, and curricular innovation extremely difficult. This half-day program examines how to cause positive change in legal education. It begins with a deans panel on obstacles to lowering costs. It continues with lightning talks on open source learning, inequitable pricing, the federal loan program, and income share agreements. Next is a session on U.S. News, the elephant in the room. It ends with a panel on how technology can (and can't) affect costs.
This initiative is a partnership between Law School Transparency, the Iowa State Bar Association, and the ABA Young Lawyers Division. This initiative is a partnership between Law School Transparency, the Iowa State Bar Association, and the ABA Young Lawyers Division.
Introduction
8:30 a.m. – 8:40 a.m.
Law schools face an unrelenting system of incentives that make lowering prices, equitable access, and curricular innovation extremely difficult. This half-day program examines how to cause positive change in legal education.
Law School Deans Panel: Obstacles to Lowering Costs
8:40 a.m. – 9:35 a.m.
Three current law school deans will discuss barriers to more accessible and affordable legal education. The discussion will cover U.S. News & World Report rankings, accreditation, university culture, and more.
Lightning Talks
9:35 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
Introduction to the Blue Sky Initiative
Maggie White, an Iowa attorney and member of Law School Transparency’s board of directors, will describe a wide-ranging initiative from Law School Transparency and other partners to address the cost of legal education.
House of Cards
Maggie White will discuss the risks changes to the federal student loan program pose to the law school business model.
Open Source Learning
John Mayer, executive director of CALI, the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, will share the opportunity for free and low-cost learning materials, what stands in the way of widescale adoption, and how to overcome these barriers.
Income Share Agreements
Barry Cynamon, CFO at Better Future Forward Inc., will describe an alternative to student loans for financing higher education.
Implementing Income Share Agreements
Jerry Anderson, dean of Drake University Law School, will discuss consideration to implementing ISAs from a university’s perspective, including whether it is a solution at all.
Inequitable Pricing
Paulette Brown, senior partner and chief diversity officer at Locke Lord LLP and past president of the ABA, will highlight how law school pricing strategies threaten the diversification of the legal profession and what the ABA Section of Legal Education should do about it.
Mitigating the Impact of the U.S. News Rankings
11:20 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
Kyle McEntee, executive director of Law School Transparency, will discuss prospective efforts to reduce the influence of U.S. News on how law schools allocate resources. The efforts include increasing competition, reducing paralyzing groupthink, and persuading U.S. News to value efficiency over wasteful spending.
What Long-Term Change Can Make Legal Education More Affordable?
12:10 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
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Affiliate attendees and bar leaders at the Annual Conference who submitted projects for the ABA Awards of Achievement are invited to choose one outstanding project from their submission and present to a group of affiliate leaders. The purpose is to allow affiliate representatives to ask questions and solicit feedback on how these projects can be implemented in their respective affiliate for the upcoming bar year.
Join us in kicking off the 2019 ABA Annual Meeting YLD/LSD activities for a special fireside chat with siblings, Paula Boggs and N. Cornell Boggs III, two of the first African American siblings to lead legal departments at Fortune 500 companies. Paula Boggs served as the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Starbucks in Seattle, Wash. Cornell Boggs was the Chief Legal Officer and Group Vice President at Coors Brewing Company in Denver, Colo. and Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Toys-R-Us in Wayne, NJ. This session highlights the YLD’s efforts this year with the Seat at the Table, No Limits, Men of Color Project, and the Legal Innovation Initiative.
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Join fellow Section of Litigation members and Young Lawyers Division friends for a nightcap at The House of Shields. Young lawyers can register for free online.
Conversation with Sejal Singh from Pipeline Parity, Tommy Preston Jr., and Hilarie Bass, Bass Institute for Diversity and Inclusion, and Past ABA President.
This year, the ABA YLD’s No Limits! Campaign has tackled policy development, programming, and advocacy for women in the profession. Inspired by the groundbreaking work of phenomenal young women across the country, this fireside chat explores the way women are using their voice to advance the profession and society for their peers. The program also highlights two new ABA YLD partnerships with the International Bar Association to educate the profession and advocate on the findings of its groundbreaking report on bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace and the GOOD Guys program with the National Conference of Women Bar Associations to get male attorneys more actively involved in advocating for their female peers.
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For the past decade, legal scholars have been increasingly turning to the mind sciences, including the literature on implicit biases, to engage a range of complex legal problem. This session will discuss the importance of the mind sciences to debates about policing, affirmative action, and employment discrimination. Sponsored by The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation (ABF).
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So you’ve got eight hours to become an expert on a random topic? This panel of seasoned litigators will show you tips and tricks to use today’s AI tools to narrow the field for research (without missing critical nuances) and spot issues in related areas to make sure you are answering the right question.
Presented by Bloomberg Law
Co-sponsored by the Young Lawyer's Division
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High levels of anxiety, stress, and burnout plague the legal profession. In this seminar, four speakers will present corrective strategies for each of the four pillars of Fit2Practice: fitness, mental health, nutrition, and sleep.
Presented by The Committee On Fit2Practice
Co-sponsored by the Membership Resources Team
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Program materials: National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, The Occupational Risks of the Practice of Law
All attorneys–regardless of experience level–have ethical duties that are independent of (and cannot be excused by) the advice and orders of more senior attorneys. This interactive panel identifies and discusses the best ways to fulfill our professional responsibilities and assert ethical concerns without alienating colleagues.
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Program materials: PDF , Word Doc
Have you ever been curious about what a legal career in the military really looks like? Ever wanted to know what it's like to be part of the Profession of Law and the Profession of Arms? Come hear from top legal officers from across the Department of Defense. Learn what it's like to represent the United States of America and its service members. Learn about prosecuting and defending in military courts, legal issues dealt with in deployed environments, and how JAGs protect the National Security Law interest of the United States. Come hear from top military attorneys & military court officers who are defending liberty and pursuing justice every day.
Presented by the YLD Member Resources Team
Co-sponsored by the YLD GP Solo Committee
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Google, Apple, Oracle, Microsoft and Uber. All of these tech companies are continually in the news, not only for their ground-breaking technological advances, but also for shaping the way we think about privacy, philanthropy and a plethora of cutting-edge legal issues, from AI to autonomous driving cars. These companies also have been leading the way on innovative policies to encourage diversity in the work place. In this roundtable, we will explore with these tech legal visionaries, how they perceive their roles in shaping socially responsible policies, addressing cutting-edge areas of the law and anticipating future challenges.
Presented by The Section of Science & Technology Law.
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You have many options when it comes to student loan repayment – including a number of payment plans, consolidation options, and even the possibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. What’s the right plan for you? This workshop will guide you through creating your own strategy by helping you determine the payment plan that will best align with your current needs, future aspirations and financial goals.
All are welcome to attend this complimentary program. Space is limited so arrive on time to reserve your seat.
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Co-Sponsored by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and Law Student Division
Strategic litigation has a long and important history of shaping public policy in the United States. This program will feature an in-depth discussion of litigation as an advocacy tool and provide participants with the understanding of how litigation can be used successfully as an agent of change.
Presented by the Civic Engagement Team
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With ABA members from around the country visiting Northern California–the heart of the booming tech sector–there is no better time than the present to review ethics for intellectual property and technology-focused attorneys. From laying out IP strategy and deadlines to understanding cap tables and funding issues, this incredible panel will focus on the hot ethics topics facing attorneys supporting the booming tech sector.
Presented by the YLD Commitee on Ethics and Professionalism
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The U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek regarding the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering in North Carolina and Maryland will be among the most important decisions of 2019. This program will address the ramifications for the future of drawing election maps.
Presented by the Young Lawyers Division
Co-sponsored by the Standing Committee on Election Law
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This year's Fellows Gala honoree is California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye. During her eight years in office, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye has emerged as one of the country’s leading advocates for equal access to justice, transparency, and reform of state court funding models that unfairly impact the poor. She was the first Filipina American and the second woman to serve as the state’s chief justice. Read more about her.
The ABA Center on Children and the Law and the Commission on Youth at Risk invite you to learn about what the ABA has accomplished in support of children and families in 2019 and invite you to help set the 2020 national policy agenda on child and youth law. This event is free. Please RSVP by July 29 to Joanne.Correira@americanbar.org.
Law students cannot vote in YLD elections or in YLD Assembly proceedings, but should observe at least an hour.
Get outdoors, see some of the most quintessential San Francisco sights, and network with your fellow ABA members! We will start our urban adventure at the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero where we have many choices for lunch, including the Saturday farmer's market! After lunch we will walk along the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf, through Fort Mason, the Marina, and to Crissy Field, which features spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Total distance is about 3.5 miles one way. Enjoy a classic SF street car back to the Ferry Building!
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In the aftermath of the NorCal wildfires, surviving residents and businesses faced a wide variety of legal problems and barriers to recovery. In this unique CLE program, attendees will learn about the devastating fires, understand the framework for providing post-disaster legal services, and learn about disaster recovery and resiliency issues, from insurance to consumer fraud to FEMA assistance. Panelists will present on a chartered bus departing from downtown San Francisco, while en route to Merriam Wineries for a tour and a tasting. Presented by the ABA Section of State and Local Government. The tour leaves from the Marriott Marquis Taylor Street Entrance.
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