Your AALS Legal Writing Online Dance Card

The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) holds its annual meeting this week online instead of in San Francisco. Most U.S. law schools (and maybe all of the accredited ones?) have purchased packages that allow faculty members to attend all of the sessions without having to register individually. If you're a faculty member at a U.S. law school you should look into this right away -- the AALS Conference starts on Tuesday!

The 2021 AALS Annual Meeting is also notable because it's the first time that the Annual Meeting is taking place with a former legal writing professor as AALS President. Dean Darby Dickerson of the UIC John Marshall Law School has chosen "The Power of Words" as her theme for the meeting.

Here is a list of events of particular interest to legal writing professors and law librarians: your 2021 Legal Writing Online Dance Card!

All times listed here are Eastern Standard Time (EST). Programs sponsored or co-sponsored by the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research are in bold. Visit the AALS website for descriptions of each panel and the lineup of speakers.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EST. Section on Teaching Methods, Co-Sponsored by Balance in Legal Education: Mindfulness in Legal Pedagogy

12:15 to 1:15 p.m. EST. Section on Law Libraries and Legal Education - Law Libraries and Legal Information Award Presentation to Pauline Aranas (University of Southern California, Gould School of Law).

1:15 to 2:30 p.m. EST. AALS Awards Ceremony: Honoring AALS Impact Award Winners, Scholarly Paper Winners, Section Award Winners, and Teachers of the Year.

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

12:15 to 1:15 p.m. EST. Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research - Presentation of the AALS Section Award for Lifetime Contributions to Legal Writing Education to Cassandra L. Hill (Northern Illinois University College of Law).

1:15 to 2:30 p.m. EST. Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research Co-Sponsored by Technology, Law and Legal Education, Law Libraries and Legal Information: The Future Has Arrived - The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Legal Writing and Research.

2:45 to 4:00 p.m. EST. Section on Global Engagement, Co-Sponsored by Teaching Methods, Technology and Law and Legal Education: Virtual Mobility: Innovating and Promoting Global Legal Education in Times of Crisis.

Thursday, January 7, 2021 [some programs of interest are at the same time]

12:15 to 1:15 EST. Section on Law Libraries and Legal Information - Networking Session.

1:15 to 2:30 EST. AALS Hot Topic Program: Breaking News in U.S. Legal Regulatory Reform.

1:15 to 2:30 EST. Law School Admission Council Program: The Future of Assessment in Legal Education - New Tools that Advance Learning in Law.

1:15 to 2:30 EST. Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution: Effective Twitter Advocacy - Is it Possible? 

2:45 to 4:00 EST. AALS Discussion Group: How the Pandemic Made Me a Better Teacher - Lessons Learned and Plans for Change.

2:45 to 4:00 p.m. EST. AALS Open Source Program: Rhetoric, Justice and the Construction of Law

2:45 to 4:00 p.m. EST. AALS Open Source Program, Author Meets Reader: Paving the Way: The First American Women Law Professors: A Discussion of Herma Hill Kay's Forthcoming Book.

4:15 to 5:30 p.m. EST. AALS Open Source Program: Author Meets Reader: Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court.

Friday, January 8, 2021 [some programs of interest are at the same time]

11:00 a.m to 12:15 p.m. EST. AALS Discussion Group: Race, Racism & the Language of Law School: Power of Words in Shaping Professional Identity.

2:45 to 4:00 p.m. EST. Section on Law Libraries and Legal Information: What Does the Modern Law Library Look Like? 

2:45 to 4:00 p.m. EST. Section on New Law Professors: Spreading the Word - Law Professors as Teachers, Scholars, and Legal Influencers 

4:15 to 5:30 p.m. EST. Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research: New Scholars Showcase. Session with Abigail A. Patthoff (Chapman), Adam Eckart (Suffolk), Maria Termini (Brooklyn), and J. Danielle Tully (Northeastern).

7:15 to 8:30 p.m. EST. Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) Annual Celebration to honor recipients of the Great Teacher Award, the M. Shanara Gilbert Human Rights Award, and the Junior Faculty Teaching Award. Register here: https://msu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwpf-yppjktE9GFoQFAYGq37xyas1LBwkqF

Saturday, January 9, 2021 [some times overlap]

1:15 to 2:30 p.m. EST. Section on Scholarship, Co-Sponsored by Constitutional Law, Comparative Law, and Law and Anthropology: Defining Scholarship in the Twenty-First Century.

1:30 to 2:30 p.m. EST. As a side event to the AALS Annual Meeting, the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) and the American Constitution Society (ACS) host a panel discussion on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, "The Notorious RBG: Looking Back with her Clerks." The panel will examine RBG's legacy through the eyes of her former clerks. Register in advance for this webinar: https://msu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Beej_wimT8uz4tW9UUHChw

4:15 to 5:30 p.m. EST. Section on International Law: New Voices in International Law and International Legal Research Update.

Visit the AALS website for the full program of offerings this week.

(mew)