2025 ABA Midyear Meeting brings members to Phoenix
ABA members will come together in Phoenix this week to discuss and debate the latest issues and trends impacting the legal profession. (Image from Shutterstock)
ABA members will come together in Phoenix this week to discuss and debate the latest issues and trends impacting the legal profession.
The 2025 ABA Midyear Meeting runs from Wednesday, Jan. 29 through Monday, Feb. 3. It offers a full agenda of special events, CLE programs and other panel discussions.
An ABA press release with highlights is here.
Among its governance meetings, the ABA Board of Governors convenes Friday to review the association’s business matters. The ABA House of Delegates meets Monday to consider nearly 30 proposed resolutions, including measures involving flexible work arrangements, conditional bar admission and federal case assignments. The ABA Journal will provide coverage of the House of Delegates deliberations on our midyear meeting page.
Special events
The ABA is celebrating inspiring leaders at numerous key events during the midyear meeting.
On Friday, the Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division and the Law Practice Division host the Present and Powerful Speaker Series with Natasha Adair, head coach of the Arizona State University women’s basketball team, at 4 p.m. (All times are provided in Mountain time.)
A joint reception honoring recipients of the Alexander Award for Excellence in the Pipeline Diversity, the Impacto Award and the Spirit of Excellence Award begins at 6 p.m. Friday.
The Council for Diversity in the Educational Pipeline is presenting the Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program, the Eversheds Sutherland Scholars program and the Forman Watkins & Krutz Diversity Pipeline Program with its annual Alexander Awards.
The Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities also is presenting its inaugural Impacto Awards to Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, and Phoenix civil rights attorney Danny Ortega.
Follow along with the ABA Journal’s coverage of the 2025 ABA Midyear Meeting here.
The Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession sponsors the Spirit of Excellence Awards celebration and luncheon at noon Saturday. Tickets are $150.
This year’s Spirit of Excellence honorees are Col. James M. Durant III, chief counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science; Craig B. Glidden, president and chief administrative officer of Cruise; Judge Diane J. Humetewa of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona; Kalpana Kotagal, a member of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and Karol Corbin Walker, a partner with Kaufman Dolowich.
At 5 p.m. Saturday, the Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity honors Judge D. Zeke Zeidler of the Los Angeles Superior Court; Judge Victoria Kolakowski of the Alameda County Superior Court; and Kristen Galles, the founder of Equity Legal, with its annual Stonewall Awards.
The Center for Human Rights Luncheon, one of the ABA Midyear Meeting’s final events, begins at noon Monday. Tickets are $75.
Most events will be hosted in the Sheraton Phoenix and Hyatt Regency Phoenix hotels. The ABA House of Delegates will meet in the Phoenix Convention Center. (Photo from Shutterstock)Programs and panels
In addition to special events, the ABA will explore timely legal topics during the midyear meeting’s CLE programs and panel discussions.
The Section of State and Local Government Law sponsors several CLE programs, including “Tribal Sovereignty, Water, and Land Use, Oh My!” at 2:45 p.m. Thursday and “A Legal Retrospective and Prospective of Ferguson and Policing” at 9 a.m. Friday. Members can pay $35 per program or buy the entire package for $175.
Also on Friday, the Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities presents “Legal Obstacles Impeding Latinos’ Access to Equitable Civic Engagement” at 1 p.m.
Several other entities host programs Saturday. The Judicial Division’s program “Water Is Life: The Ongoing Struggle to Protect and Enforce Indigenous Water Rights” begins at 8 a.m. The Commission on Women in the Profession presents “Impacts of Parenthood and Child Caregiving on Legal Careers” at 10 a.m.
The Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity’s “Beyond Visibility: How LGBTQ+ Judges Have Strengthened the Justice System, Inside and Outside the Courtroom” starts at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
(Photo by Gregory E. Clifford/Shutterstock)Future of ABA leadership
On Sunday, the House of Delegates’ Nominating Committee will vote on the next president-elect nominee.
Barbara Howard, the principal at Barbara J. Howard Co. in Cincinnati, is running unopposed. She served as chair of the House of Delegates from 2020 to 2022. She also was a past chair of ABA Day, the Standing Committee on Specialization and the Standing Committee on Meetings and Travel.
The Nominating Committee will make its recommendation to the full House of Delegates for a final selection Monday. If approved, Howard will serve as president-elect for the 2025-2026 term.
Additionally, Andrew Schpak is seeking the nomination for treasurer-elect for the 2025-2026 term.
Schpak, the co-managing partner at Barran Liebman in Portland, Oregon, served as a member of the Board of Governors. He is a member of the House of Delegates, the Standing Committee on Audit and the Fund for Justice and Education.
The full schedule for the 2025 ABA Midyear Meeting can be found on its website. While much of the meeting takes place at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, some events and programs are in other nearby locations.
Registration is complimentary for all ABA members and nonmembers. Attendees can register for ticketed events and programs through the midyear meeting website.
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