By Darby Dickerson, AALS President and Dean, UIC John Marshall Law School
“The theme for my presidential year is “The Power of Words.” During my January 2020 presidential address, I emphasized three words—“caste,” “candor,” and “change”—and for each word, I posed a challenge to the legal academy. This final column addresses “caste” and calls on the academy to abolish the caste system present in most law schools.”
The following individuals have been nominated: Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California, Berkeley School of Law for President-Elect; Danielle M. Conway, The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson Law and Dan Filler, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law for a three-year term on the Executive Committee.
AALS looks forward to the first sessions of the virtual 2021 AALS Annual Meeting beginning in just over six weeks. Attendees will hear from leaders in legal academia and the legal profession, enjoy section networking events, and participate in a full range of sessions including panels, works-in-progress, and discussion groups.
The AALS Executive Committee established the Impact Award this year to honor individuals or a group of individuals who have had a significant positive impact on legal education or the legal profession. The inaugural award will be presented to the five law deans who created the Law Deans Antiracist Clearinghouse Project.
AALS has announced the winner of the 2021 AALS Scholarly Papers Competition for law school faculty members in the field for five years or fewer. The competition’s selection committee recognized Matthew A. Shapiro’s paper, “Distributing Civil Justice.”
The Section on Balance in Legal Education seeks to investigate, discover, and inspire those practices that support the well-being of law students, lawyers, and judges. AALS sat down with the section’s leadership for a Q&A.
The Section on National Security Law provides for the professional development and exchange of information among law school faculty members interested in and involved with the laws governing national security. AALS sat down with the section’s leadership for a Q&A.
