Faculty and leadership from the University of Miami School of Law attended the American Association of Law Schools at its annual meeting from Jan. 7 to 11, 2025, in San Francisco. "Courage in Action" was the focus of this year's conference.
AALS President Melanie D. Wilson highlighted the importance of courage for law professors and students, urging them to advocate for justice and address diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in their classrooms and communities. The meeting featured creative programming, discussions, and panels exploring how courage shapes legal education and the profession, particularly in light of recent Supreme Court decisions impacting law school admissions.
Seven speakers from the University of Miami School of Law joined the more than 900 moderators and discussion leaders in the 250 sessions over the five-day conference.
Professor William S. Blatt weighed in during the "Balance & Well-Being in Legal Education Section," where activities explore the importance of health, compassion, integrity, and ethics to the effective study and practice of law.
Professor Charlton Copeland, associate dean of Pedagogical Innovation, presented on the panel "Social Justice in the Administrative State after Chevron." The panel explored the impact of the Supreme Court's most recent overturning of the decades-old Chevron doctrine on efforts to ameliorate the effects of racial, gender, and economic inequities through administrative decision-making.
Professor Elizabeth Iglesias and visiting professor Madeleine M. Plasencia presented at the comparative law session, which featured new and established voices presenting their ongoing research projects and engaging in a stimulating discussion about the evolving landscape of comparative law.
Professor Francisco Valdes engaged in a discussion surrounding poverty law. The session focused on the practice and teaching that has always required the courage to stand with the least privileged against oppressive power structures.
Professor Jessica Owley participated in a special pedagogy session that showcased some great ideas for teaching topics in the first-year property course. Owley and other panelists presented a technique, assignment, or lesson that engages students and communicates essential concepts.
Dean Marni Lennon was elevated from chair-elect to chair of the Access to Justice and Pro Bono Section and hosted a panel discussion "AI and Access to Justice: Promise or Peril?" with Stephen Caines, J.D. '19.
The meeting is the largest gathering of law faculty in the world. More than 3,000 deans, law teachers, librarians, and law school administrators from member schools, non-member schools, and law schools of other nations attend the gathering.
Most of the meeting is devoted to programs organized and presented by AALS sections. AALS calls for scholarly papers from full-time faculty who have taught for five years or less to encourage and recognize excellent legal scholarship from new law teachers. Legal scholars select those authors whose papers have made the most substantial contribution to legal literature for special recognition.
In addition to those presenting, Interim Dean Patricia Abril represented the school at the Law School Dean’s Conference, which brought together the nation’s law school deans to discuss the matters pressing to law school education today. Katrin Schroll, associate dean of Enrollment Management, Integrated Marketing, and Data Analytics, is a member of the AALS Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School and the Section on Law School Administration and Finance and attended the conference. School of Law faculty also participates in AALS leadership with Kele Stewart, co-director of the Children and Youth Law Clinic, serving as co-chair of the Clinical Legal Education section.
"Our faculty's national engagement is thriving and vital; it enriches our curriculum and promotes academic growth," said Abril. "By participating in AALS discussions, our faculty exemplifies courage in legal education and highlights the value of collaboration."
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