2023 ABA Midyear Meeting brings members to the Big Easy
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The 2023 ABA Midyear Meeting begins this week in New Orleans, giving members the chance to attend dozens of special events, programs and business meetings; catch up with friends and colleagues; and take in the city’s world-renowned cuisine, music and culture.
The annual conference runs from Wednesday, Feb. 1 through Monday, Feb. 6 at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel. It is the association’s first in-person midyear meeting since February 2020, when members came together in Austin, Texas. The 2021 and 2022 midyear meetings were virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Business matters
Among other governance meetings, the Board of Governors will convene Friday to discuss the association’s business matters.
The House of Delegates Nominating Committee will vote on the next president-elect nominee after its meeting Sunday. Bill Bay, a partner with Thompson Coburn in St. Louis and past chair of the House of Delegates, is running unopposed. His other ABA leadership roles include serving as co-chair of the Coordinating Group on Practice Forward and chair of the Section of Litigation.
The Nominating Committee will make its recommendation to the full House of Delegates for a final selection at its meeting Monday. If approved, Bay will serve as president-elect for the 2023-2024 term.
Marvin S. C. Dang, managing member of the Law Offices of Marvin S. C. Dang in Honolulu, also is running unopposed for the role of ABA secretary for the 2023-2026 term. He is a member of the Board of Governors and past chair of the Senior Lawyers Division.
The House of Delegates is expected to consider nearly 30 proposed resolutions and amendments during its meeting Monday. They cover a number of issues, including the possession of firearms on university campuses, use of artificial intelligence and right of individuals to travel across state lines for medical care.
Special events
On Friday, the Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division will host the Keithe E. Nelson Memorial Military Law Luncheon at noon. (All times are provided in Central Time.) Tickets are $40. GPSolo, along with the Law Practice Division, will also host the Present and Powerful Speaker Series featuring political strategist and analyst Donna Brazile at 4 p.m.
Saturday’s notable events include the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession’s Spirit of Excellence Awards luncheon at noon. Immediate past ABA President Reginald Turner; California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin H. Liu; Chief Judge Roger Gregory of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia; and Diandra Benally, the first female general counsel of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, are this year’s recipients. Tickets are $150.
The Center for Professional Responsibility will host an information-gathering session on Model Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5 on multijurisdictional law practice at 2 p.m. Stakeholders who are interested in possible revisions to the model rule will have the opportunity to offer their input.
Also on Saturday, the Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will present its Stonewall Awards to Judge Pamela Chen of the Eastern District of New York; Ellie Krug, a transgender activist, author and lawyer; and Jennifer Pizer, the chief legal officer of Lambda Legal. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m.
The Center for Human Rights Luncheon is one of the 2023 ABA Midyear Meeting’s final events. It begins at noon Monday. Tickets are $75.
Follow along with the ABA Journal’s coverage of the 2023 ABA Midyear Meeting here.
Programs and panels
In addition to special events, the ABA’s midyear meeting offers CLE programs on timely legal and justice topics.
On Friday, the Center for Public Interest Law presents several complimentary sessions as part of its #ForAll CLE track. The opening program, “Join In! The Rise of American Organizing: Democracy, Civil Society, and the American Bar Association,” begins at 9 a.m. “Forced Marriage Is a Global Problem: That Includes U.S.!” and “How the ‘Fourth Branch’ Can Help Preserve the Rule of Law in Elections” follow at 10:45 a.m.
Image from TLF Images/Shutterstock.Two more programs, “Pro Bono Across the ABA” and “Big Freedia Got a Gun: Community Perspectives on Gun Violence in New Orleans,” start at 1:30 p.m. The final #ForAll CLE session, “Forced Climate Displacement: A Case for Protection Under the U.S. Immigration Law,” is at 3:15 p.m. Friday.
Other entities, including the Criminal Justice Section, will host CLE programs at the midyear meeting. Its session “Sending Children to Angola Prison Death Row: Implications for Families, Justice & Reform” begins at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. One of its other programs, “What Can the On-Screen Sherlock Holmes Teach Us About Brilliant Inferences Versus Implicit and Explicit Biases?” which is co-sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division and the Litigation Section, is at 11:30 a.m. Friday. They are complimentary.
Among other CLE programs and panel discussions, the Section of State and Local Government Law will present “We Are (All of) What We Are: Litigating Intersectional Discrimination Claims” at 3 p.m. Thursday; and the Judicial Division will present “Dare to Be Different: Think Outside the Box to Improve Juvenile Justice in Your Community” at 1 p.m. Friday. Tickets for Section of State and Local Government Law programs are $35. The Judicial Division session is complimentary.
On Saturday, the Cornerstones of Democracy Commission will host “Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility, Collaboration” at 2:30 p.m. ABA leaders will join this discussion to highlight what judges, lawyers, teachers, legislators and business leaders can do to improve civics education in schools and their communities.
The Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice will lead the “Halting the School-to-Prison Pipeline Stakeholders Convening,” which brings together members and other interested legal professionals to discuss and provide feedback on an ABA toolkit of legislative policies related to the school-to-prison pipeline, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
An ABA press release with additional highlights is here. The full schedule can be found on the 2023 ABA Midyear Meeting website. While much of the meeting takes place at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, some events and programs are in other nearby locations.
Registration for the 2023 ABA Midyear Meeting is complimentary for all ABA members and nonmembers. Attendees can also register for ticketed events through the midyear meeting website.
