CHICAGO, May 21, 2025 — The American Bar Association will hold its ABA 50th National Conference on Professional Responsibility on May 28-30 in Arlington, Virginia, with an array of programs focusing on timely legal ethics issues, including artificial intelligence, executive orders and lawyer well-being.
What:
50th National Conference on Professional Responsibility
Sponsored by the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility
When:
Wednesday-Friday, May 28-30 (all times EDT)
Where:
The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City
1250 S. Hayes St.
Arlington, Virginia
The annual event, the preeminent educational and networking opportunity in the field of legal ethics and professional responsibility, brings together leading experts, scholars and practitioners from across the country. Issues such as nonlawyer ownership of firms, conflicts of interest and the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct will be addressed by more than 50 experts in more than 15 sessions.
Programming includes:
- “Through the Past, Darkly: Explorations Into the Provenance and Virtues of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and Auguries as to Their Future” ─ In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the conference, this simultaneously self-reflective and forward-looking session will launch the 2025 conference motifs. Experience a multimedia tour through the history of the law of lawyering, beginning with the genesis of uniform ethics rules, traversing the development and evolution of the Model Rules and concluding with forecasts about the future of legal ethics and professional regulation. The session will be headlined by Loyola University of Chicago Law School Adjunct Professor James Grogan; Rosing Pott & Strohbehn partner Lynda Shely; and Collins Einhorn President Don Campbell. Doug Ende, chief disciplinary counsel of the Washington State Bar Association, will give introductory remarks. Thursday, 9:15-10:35 a.m.
- “Law Firm and Lawyer Responses to Executive Orders and Administration Directives” ─ The early days of the new administration have brought challenges for lawyers in private practice, highlighted by executive orders that target specific firms and directives aimed at pursuing sanctions and bar discipline against attorneys who dissent from government policies. Responses among law firms and bar associations have varied. In this session, we will hear from legal professionals and bar leaders who are actively engaged in addressing these developments and discussing the implications for the profession. Speakers are ABA President Bill Bay, Cornell Law Professor Brad Wendel and Cato Institute Senior Vice President for Legal Studies Clark Neily. Thursday, 4:10-5:10 p.m.
- “AI: The Next Level” ─ The panel will go beyond the basics to explore the next level of issues with AI. Topics to be covered include: regulation of AI in the U.S. and other countries and how it will impact the practice of law; deepfakes and how to recognize them; law firm training of staff on uses and risks of AI; and how to vet an AI vendor and what provisions must be included in a vendor contract. Panelists include HWG LLP partner Hilary Gerzhoy; McDermott, Will & Emery CIO Michael Shea; and McDermott, Will & Emery partner Jason Krieser. Friday, 8:30-9:50 a.m.
- “Balancing Act: Supporting the Well-being of Law Students and New Lawyers While Protecting the Public” ─ As a new generation of lawyers prepares to enter the legal profession and learns to navigate the early years of practice, law schools and legal employers must be equipped to help them succeed and also aid those who are facing impairment and wellness issues. Coaching new lawyers to stay afloat in environments that are often “sink or swim” can mean balancing accommodations with fairness and accountability. This session will address the ethical issues faced by students and new lawyers as well as the obligations of law schools and legal employers who support and supervise new professionals. Panelists are Crystal Rae Coel, assistant dean for student affairs for the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville; Lindsey D. Draper, retired Milwaukee County Circuit Court commissioner; and Yvette Hourigan, director of the Kentucky Lawyer Assistance Program.
Friday, 9:55-10:55 a.m.
Two awards will also be given during the conference, at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 29. Mason Ji will receive the 2025 Rosner & Rosner Young Lawyer Professionalism Award. A Rhodes Scholar, Ji has made significant contributions to advancing legal and judicial ethics, lawyer professionalism, client protection and professional regulation.
Also, Myles V. Lynk, an emeritus professor of law at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, will receive the 2025 Michael Franck Professional Responsibility Award, one of the ABA’s top ethics honors. Lynk is nationally recognized as a leader in legal ethics and professional responsibility through his work as a lawyer, law professor, disciplinary counsel, and tireless contributor to the ABA.
A complete conference agenda can be found online and a list of speakers for the event is here.
The ABA Center for Professional Responsibility is the national leader in developing and interpreting standards and scholarly resources in legal and judicial ethics, professional regulation, professionalism and client protection. Its many publications provide up-to-date information and analysis regarding lawyer and judicial ethics and regulation. Also, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issues formal opinions to help guide lawyers and judges.
All sessions are open to the media, but reporters are required to register in advance by contacting Matthew Edwards at [email protected]).