By AALS President Mark Alexander, Dean of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
“I ask that we embrace this theme as the centerpiece effort of our ongoing challenge to harness our collective power in defending democracy. In doing so, I believe we will be celebrating the ideas and ideals of democracy together as an ever more perfect union.”
By AALS Executive Director Judith Areen
“It continues to be a privilege and an honor to work with you and the more than 1,000 volunteer faculty, deans, and administrators who plan our programs, speak at them, serve as officers and work on new initiatives. Without your support and hard work and that of your faculty and staff colleagues, AALS could not function. My deepest thanks to all of you.”
By AALS President Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
“As an academy, we must find ways to focus the tremendous talents of law faculty on the most intractable problems – the crisis of democracy, the pervasive and persistent inequalities in American society and the world, the existential threat of climate change. These and other topics must be the focus of our scholarship, our conferences, and our pro bono work.”
Several AALS programs are available on-demand including audio recordings from the 2023 Annual Meeting and the Faculty Focus webinar series.
Follow the latest developments in legal education with the association’s weekly news and blogs digests, list of books by law faculty, and calendar of law school conferences.
In November, 80 law schools reported that 16,891 law students in the class of 2022 contributed more than 2,702,124 hours in legal services as part of their legal education, an average of about 160 hours per student.
More than 2,100 law school faculty, deans, professional staff, and sponsors gathered in San Diego, California from January 3-7 for the 2023 AALS Annual Meeting, in-person for the first time since 2020. Attendees enjoyed the opportunity to convene and connect with one another at more than 250 sessions and events.
The AALS Committee on Sections has selected the AALS Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School and the AALS Section on Technology, Law, and Legal Education as Sections of the Year. The annual award recognizes excellence in member support and other activities that promote AALS core values.
The 2024 AALS Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, DC January 3-6. The Program Committee for the 2024 Annual Meeting invites individual faculty members to submit proposals for several types of Open Submission programs.
The Nominating Committee for 2024 would very much appreciate help in identifying strong candidates for President-Elect of the Association and for two open positions on the Executive Committee.
Thoughtful and effective volunteers are a vital element in the work of AALS, much of which is accomplished by a diverse group of committees organized around a wide range of issues in legal education. AALS President-Elect Melanie Wilson will soon begin to choose her committee appointments for 2024, and we seek assistance in identifying individuals for consideration.
The AALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education will be held in San Francisco from April 27-30. The conference and preceding Clinical and Experiential Law Program Directors Workshop will be entirely in person for the first time since 2019. This year’s conference theme is “Hope as a Discipline.”
The AALS Executive Committee seeks an AALS member law school to partner in editorial responsibility for the Journal of Legal Education. The primary purpose of the journal is to foster a rich interchange of ideas and information about legal education and related matters, including legal theory, legal scholarship, law teaching pedagogy, and the pipeline to the legal profession.
Tenured, tenure-track, long-term contract, and emeritus faculty are welcome to update their biographies in the Directory of Law Teachers at any time throughout the year. Log on to dlt.aals.org to update your biography.
