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    ABA MIDYEAR MEETING

    Austin meeting highlights public interest law, diversity

    The ABA Midyear Meeting, which takes place Feb. 12-17 in Austin, Texas, will feature several hundred legal programs, events and presentations by America’s foremost law experts and speakers. Of note are more than 20 that comprise a track on “Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice Summit: Working Together for Access, Equity and Inclusion,” with programs on Feb. 14 and 15. 

    Austin, Texas is the site of the 2020 ABA Midyear Meeting Feb. 12-17.

    Austin, Texas is the site of the 2020 ABA Midyear Meeting Feb. 12-17.

    Ryan Kyte / Moment / Getty Images

    The Friday, Feb 14, programming focuses on public service and pro bono legal services. The Commission on Law & Aging will present “Keeping Your Client Free: Avoiding Adult Guardianship,” which will explore tools to avoid guardianship and how to present a defense aimed at avoiding a guardianship, advocating for a limited guardianship or for the modification or termination of an existing guardianship (10:45 a.m.).  

    Various Center for Public Interest Law entities will present “We Don’t Need to Carry the Work Alone,” a CLE on interdisciplinary representation, where a panel of experts will discuss examples of how this model works in practice (10:45 a.m.).

    The Center on Children and the Law is sponsoring “What Do Eddie Murphy, Marilyn Monroe and Steve Jobs Have in Common? The U.S. Foster Care System,” which will focus on helping the legal profession implement the ABA’s family integrity policy (1:30 p.m.).

    A robust selection of diversity-themed programs will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15. These include the Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity’s “LGBTQ+ State of the Union” at 9:45 a.m., which will include an analysis of the oral arguments in the Title VII cases pending before the Supreme Court, the state of the transgender military ban and issues affecting LGBTQ+ law students. The Section of State and Local Government Law will present “Police Civil Rights Litigation: From Ferguson to Dallas – 2020 Vision Today?” and the Commission on Women in the Profession will explore “Men in the Mix: How to Engage Men on Issues Related to Gender in the Profession,” both at 2:30 p.m.

    On Monday, Feb. 17, ABA House of Delegates will meet to debate and vote on about 30 policy resolutions.

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