Future of legal education theme of 2014 AALS Annual Meeting

"Looking Forward: Legal Education in the 21st Century" is the theme of the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools. The January 2-5 conference in New York City constitutes the largest gathering of law faculty in the world. There will be 140 sessions on legal topics from the most technical to the most topical, including the legal implications of the NSA surveillance, the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk program, gun regulation and mental illness, and the Supreme Court's recent cases on same-sex marriage. The meeting will have a sustained focus on the challenges facing legal education. "AALS encourages active engagement and debate on the challenges and criticisms facing law schools. The meeting will provide opportunities to map out effective strategies tailored to the particular needs of current and future law students," said President Leo Martinez, Albert Abramson Professor of Law and former acting chancellor and dean of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Martinez added, "This year's meeting also will address some of the most pressing legal issues in our society. We expect insightful and vigorous debate on both the law and the underlying policy concerns." More than 3,000 law teachers, scholars, librarians, and administrators from AALS member law schools, non-member schools, and law schools outside the U.S. attend the Annual Meeting. One highlight will be a luncheon on Saturday, Jan. 4, featuring Jamienne S. Studley, deputy under secretary of education of the U.S. Department of Education. The entire program is on the Association's website, www.aals.org/am2014. Published: Fri, Dec 20, 2013