More than 700 legal educators attended the AALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education, May 1-5, 2024 in St. Louis. The meeting’s theme, “Unfinished Arcs: Resistance & Resilience Amid Backlash,” explored how teachers, scholars, and advocates can advance justice in the face of political pushback. Various sessions built around the theme examined the skills, strategies, and role of lawyers in change and reform that clinical law professors can impart to today’s students.
“This year, the conference planning committee was particularly mindful of place. We wanted to acknowledge, honor, and gain insights from the long history of resistance and resilience from generations of people in St. Louis,” said conference Planning Committee chair Jenny-Brooke Condon (Seton Hall University School of Law). “We wanted to take stock of the arc of justice 10 years after the Ferguson Uprising and the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in 2014. To do that, we assembled amazing experts and advocates who are on the front lines of the fight for justice and against oppression.”
Incoming AALS Executive Director and CEO Kellye Testy welcomes attendees to the conference. 
Conference Planning Committee Chair Jenny-Brooke Condon (Seton Hall University School of Law) welcomes attendees. 
Panelists during the Plenary Session “Unfinished Arcs: Ferguson and Beyond.” 
Panelists from St. Louis-area legal and civil rights organizations during the Plenary Session “Unfinished Arcs: Ferguson and Beyond.” 
Attendees at the Conference on Clinical Legal Education Plenary Session
Thursday afternoon started with a welcome from incoming AALS Executive Director Kellye Testy.
“You really are at the forefront of so many things that matter in legal education,” Testy said. “I continually hear the call for legal education to do more and help our graduates be ready to meet the challenges of the various work that they go into as they become lawyers. I just want to share my thanks for the work that you do as our students need the professional formation and development that you provide as clinical legal educators.”
The conference’s plenary session after the welcome, “Unfinished Arcs: Ferguson and Beyond,” reflected on the Ferguson Uprising. Panelists from St. Louis-area legal and civil rights organizations discussed the lessons that can be drawn from the Ferguson Uprising and other efforts to advance and protect the rights of marginalized communities in the face of political backlash.
Speakers included Jamala Rogers, Organization for Black Struggle; Blake Strode, Executive Director of ArchCity Defenders, a legal advocacy organization that combats the criminalization of poverty; and Shira Berkowitz, Senior Director Public Policy and Advocacy from PROMO Missouri, an organization focused on addressing LGBTQ+ discrimination and oppression. The session was moderated by Brendan Roediger (St. Louis University School of Law).
Awards
The conference luncheon and awards ceremony on Friday honored several faculty members and clinics for their distinguished careers and accomplishments:
The Shanara Gilbert Award, honoring an outstanding clinician with less than 10 years of experience in the field, was presented to Gautam Hans (Cornell Law School).
The Ellmann Memorial Award for Clinical Scholarship was presented to Ascanio Piomelli (University of California College of the Law, San Francisco).
The William Pincus Award for outstanding contributions to clinical legal education was given to Jon Dubin (Rutgers Law School) and Karen Tokarz (Washington University School of Law).
The Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) honored Leigh Goodmark (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law) as the 2024 Outstanding Advocate for Clinical Education.
The Veterans Legal Clinic at Wake Forest University School of Law was given CLEA’s 2024 Award for Excellence in a Public Interest Case or Project.
Ascanio Piomelli (University of California College of the Law, San Francisco) accepts the Ellmann Memorial Award for Clinical Scholarship. 
The Ellmann Memorial Award for Clinical Scholarship was presented to Ascanio Piomelli (University of California College of the Law, San Francisco). 
The William Pincus Award was presented Karen Tokarz (Washington University School of Law). 
William Pincus Award recipients Jon Dubin (Rutgers Law School) and Karen Tokarz (Washington University School of Law). 
Jon Dubin (Rutgers Law School) receives the William Pincus Award. 
Gautam Hans (Cornell Law School) receives the Shanara Gilbert Award. 
Gautam Hans (Cornell Law School) accepts the Shanara Gilbert Award, honoring an outstanding clinician with less than 10 years of experience in the field. 
Leigh Goodmark (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law) receives CLEA’s 2024 Outstanding Advocate for Clinical Education Award. 
CLEA’s “Excellence in a Public Interest Case or Project” was awarded to the Veterans Legal Clinic at Wake Forest University School of Law.
Programming
During the conference, more than 340 speakers and 125 sessions covered a broad range of topics in clinical legal education, including media engagement, the use of artificial intelligence, bias in the legal profession, clinical professors in law school leadership, helping generations of students thrive, ethics, and building the professional identities of students.
Presenters at the session “Navigating the Complexities of the Clinical Teaching Market.” 
Bellow Scholars provide updates on their projects. 
Presenters during the session “Clinical Professors in Law School Leadership.” 
Attendees at the session, “U Got the [Second] Look: Challenging Excessive Sentences through Second Look Advocacy.” 
Attendees at the session “Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About: Classroom Exercises and Activities that Promote Open Discussion of Race, Class, Gender, and Power.” 
Conference attendees at “Bias in the Legal Profession: Helping Students Cope, Confront, and be Agents of Change.” 
Conference attendees at “Bias in the Legal Profession: Helping Students Cope, Confront, and be Agents of Change.” 
Attendees participate in the session “Educator Authenticity in the Clinical Classroom.”
Attendees presented posters on various projects and topics related to clinical legal education at a reception on Thursday evening.
Katherine Garvey (West Virginia University College of Law) with the poster “Property Law and Partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture.” 
Michelle Newton (Seton Hall University School of Law) with the poster “Why Should We Care About The Family Dog? Domestic Violence and Pets.” 
Elizabeth M. Grant and Brian Atkinson (University of Georgia School of Law) with the poster “Resilience Through Record Restriction.” 
Allison Freedman and Serge Martinez (University of New Mexico School of Law) by the poster “Clinical Collaborations: The New Mexico Center for Housing Law.” 
Attendees at Thursday’s reception. 
Attendees at Thursday’s reception. 
Attendees at Thursday’s reception.
Since 2002, the AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education has hosted the Bellow Scholars program to support the pioneering work of clinical law professors. The program was founded to reflect the ideals of Gary Bellow, one of the founders of clinical legal education who played a crucial role in establishing legal services for the underserved.
On Sunday, the final day of the conference, the 2023-24 Bellow Scholars class delivered research presentations and received feedback from conference attendees and program advisors. Bellow Scholar projects explored paid student externships, in-custody deaths, the reliability of policing technologies, the role of sheriffs as jailors and police, and place-based capital raising.
2023-24 Bellow Scholars, L to R: Edward W. De Barbieri (Albany Law), committee chair Alina Ball (UC Law, San Francisco), Maneka Sinha (University of Maryland Carey Law), committee chair Nermeen Arastu (CUNY Law), Neha Lall (University of Baltimore Law), Madalyn Wasilczuk (University of South Carolina Law), Not pictured: Aaron Littman (UCLA Law).
The biannual Workshop for New Law School Clinical Teachers took place on Wednesday, May 1, immediately before the start of the full conference. The workshop featured sessions on successful strategies for student supervision, engaging in scholarship, and clinic design with critical theory.
The conference also featured exhibitors from various legal and technology-related organizations that interacted with participants during breaks in the programing.
Reflecting on the conference, Condon said, “In a moment when the rights of so many of our clients and our communities continue to be assaulted at the international, federal, and local level and many of our campuses are in turmoil, it was especially valuable to come together as a clinical community to draw lessons and inspiration from St. Louis and to recommit ourselves as teachers and advocates to persevere toward a more peaceful, just, and humane world.”
“I am so grateful to the hundreds of clinicians from across the country who shaped the program, shared their insights and reflections, and inspired our community,” she continued.
The 2024 AALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education Planning Committee included:
- Caitlin Barry, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
- Amber Baylor, Columbia Law School
- Jenny-Brooke Condon, Seton Hall University School of Law, Chair
- Courtney Cross, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law
- Nicole Godfrey, Michigan State University College of Law
- Daniel Harawa, New York University School of Law
- Rachel Moran, University of St. Thomas School of Law
- Natalie Nanasi, SMU Dedman School of Law
AALS thanks the committee for making the conference a success.