Press Release
Contact:
Jim Greif
[email protected]
(202) 296-1593
Washington, D.C. (June 19, 2015) – The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) will be holding its Midyear Meeting at the Doubletree Hotel in Orlando, Florida from June 22-26. At the meeting, law school faculty from across the country will converge to exchange ideas and hear from experts on some of the most pressing issues in legal education.
The 2015 AALS Midyear Meeting includes of three workshops: Shifting Foundations—Family Law’s Response to Changing Families; Measuring Learning Gains—Institutional Effectiveness for the New Era; and, Next Generation Issues on Sex, Gender, and the Law.
The Workshop on Shifting Foundations: Family Law’s Response to Changing Families (June 22-24) will consider foundational principles in family law at a time of sweeping social transformations. Family life is becoming more diverse as alternative forms of family organization have gained prominence, including cohabitation, LGBTQ relation¬ships, single-parent households, one-person households, and other care networks. Sessions during the workshop will discuss changes in families and family law, the various meanings of inequality in family law, core principles in family law, and projections for the future.
“The workshop is set up to create opportunities for a rich dialogue among both junior and senior faculty about the meaning, contours, and status of changes in family structure and changes in family law,” said Planning Committee Chair Naomi Cahn, The George Washington University Law School.
The Workshop on Measuring Learning Gains: Institutional Effectiveness for the New Era (June 22-24) is designed to provide participants with in-depth understanding and experience with the issues, goals, and strategies associated with the assessment of institutional effectiveness. Workshop participants will draft an assessment plan for their program or school; develop a communications plan to increase understanding, acceptance, and participation in the plan, and; identify resources that will help them improve assessment of student learning.
“As faculty and law school administra¬tors, we are not especially versed in the terminology or the tools needed for effective institutional assessment. Conferences, such as this one, with experienced and skilled presenters will help us navigate the fairly steep learning curve we face,” said Planning Committee Chair Catherine Carpenter, Southwestern Law School.
The Workshop on Next Generation Issues on Sex, Gender, and the Law (June 24-26) will look at the legal issues, challenges, and questions that advocates for gender equality must be prepared to consider. The workshop’s goal will be not only to examine future law-related concerns, but also to provide innovative new approaches to achieving equality for women and those who challenge gender norms in our society. Employment, violence against women, reproductive rights, women’s poverty, and women in legal education will be particular focuses. Sessions will also address the ways in which characteristics other than gender—including race, sexual orientation, immigration status, socioeconomic class, and disability—impact women’s lives.
“The AALS is delighted to be hosting a Midyear Meeting that covers important topics in such a vibrant city,” said Judith Areen, Executive Director of AALS.
About the AALS
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), founded in 1900, is a nonprofit association of 179 law schools. Its members enroll most of the nation’s law students and produce the majority of the country’s lawyers and judges, as well as many of its lawmakers. The mission of AALS is to uphold and advance excellence in legal education. In support of this mission, AALS promotes the core values of excellence in teaching and scholarship, academic freedom, and diversity, including diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints, while seeking to improve the legal profession, to foster justice, and to serve our many communities–local, national and international.
