News Release 
Contact: 
Jim Greif 
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Kevin K. Washburn, Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law to serve as President-elect; Elizabeth Kronk Warner, Dean of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law and Richard E. Moberly, Dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law to serve on the AALS Executive Committee.  

New Orleans (January 9, 2026) — Danielle M. Conway, Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law, was inducted as President of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) after delivering her inaugural address at the AALS Annual Meeting.     

“I am both honored and humbled by the responsibility of serving as President of the Association of American Law Schools,” said Dean Conway. “My friends, colleagues, and coalition partners within AALS have entrusted me to lead at a time when the nation, the legal academy, and the legal profession face existential threats to the rule of law, democratic institutions, and the shared values of equality and justice for all. I embrace this leadership position because I believe in the potential of law to serve the public good. Every day is a good day to stand up for the rule of law and to lean into the work to sustain it for the benefit of current and future generations of people who deserve to inherent a more just society.”

Dean Conway takes over from 2025 AALS President Austen L. Parrish, who transitioned to Immediate Past President on the AALS Executive Committee.     

The AALS House of Representatives voted in advance to accept the nomination of Kevin K. Washburn, Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, to serve as 2026 President-Elect. The representatives also approved the nominations of Elizabeth Kronk Warner, Jefferson B. & Rita E. Fordham Presidential Dean and Professor of Law at University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, and Richard E. Moberly, Dean and Richard C. & Catherine S. Schmoker Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska College of Law, to serve a three-year term on the AALS Executive Committee.  

“With numerous hard-working leaders serving more than one hundred sections and committees, including the Executive Committee, the AALS has worked hard to maintain community during complicated times,” said Professor Washburn. “I will follow the path of recent leaders in focusing on this important role for AALS in legal education.” 

“I am honored and humbled to join the AALS Executive Committee at this critical time in higher education,” said Dean Kronk Warner. “I look forward to collaborating with President Conway and all AALS volunteers to help fulfill the association’s mission to uphold and advance excellence in legal education.” 

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the AALS Executive Committee with so many thoughtful and committed leaders in legal education,” said Dean Moberly. “The association’s work is more important than ever, and I look forward to partnering with President Conway, the professional staff, and my colleagues to advance legal education and to uphold the values that support the rule of law.” 

About AALS
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), founded in 1900, is a nonprofit association of 174 member and 19 fee-paid law schools. Its members enroll most of the nation’s law students and produce the majority of the country’s lawyers and judges, as well as many of its lawmakers. The mission of AALS is to improve and advance legal education. AALS carries out its mission by promoting the core values of excellence in teaching and scholarship, academic freedom, and diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints, while seeking to serve our many communities–local, national, and international. In support of its mission, AALS serves as both the institutional membership organization for law schools, and as the learned society for law faculty.