Keynote Plenary
Chaos, Cacophony, and Clarity: Who We Are
and Need to Be

Sunday, April 27, 9 – 10:30 am 

Welcome to Baltimore, the home of Thurgood Marshall and Freddie Gray. The experiences of both men—one the iconic civil rights lawyer who became the first Black person to serve as United States Solicitor General and United States Supreme Court Justice; the other who died at 25 years of age after suffering fatal injuries while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department in April 2015—offer lessons for confronting these chaotic, perilous, and utterly frightening times. 

We are living through coordinated and dizzying blitzes of orders, policies, and laws at the federal, state, and local levels that rage against our clients, students, community partners, colleagues, friends, and family members, as well as our universities, law schools, clinics, and other vital institutions. So-called safe spaces are narrowing. All of us feel the weight professionally. Most of us live with the weight personally. The sieges are real.   

The opening plenary will focus on us, as lawyers, clinical professors, externship directors, administrators, and members of impacted communities. The panelists will share perspectives on their positions, internally and externally, in this critical moment—of doing the work, teaching (and reaching) students, and, more broadly, building and serving as bricks in the bulwark. They will share insights from their varied practice areas and wealth of experiences.   

This opening plenary will not offer answers, but rather strategies and pathways to reinforce our roles and resolve as lawyers and legal educators, anchored in persistence and preservation. 

Panelists:

Deborah N. Archer (New York University School of Law and President, ACLU)
Monique L. Dixon (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law)
Alexi Freeman (University of Denver Sturm College of Law)
Anya Marino (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law)
Michael Pinard (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law)
Anita Sinha (American University, Washington College of Law)      
David Singleton (University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law)

Awards Luncheon 

The luncheon will be held on Sunday, April 27, 12 – 1:45 pm. The Section on Clinical Legal Education M. Shanara Gilbert Award, Ellmann Memorial Clinical Scholarship Award, William Pincus Award, and CLEA Award will be presented, and we will honor new clinicians.  

Community Gatherings 

Community Gatherings (Monday, April 28, 5 – 6:30 pm) were added to the conference program in recent years. These sessions are an expansion of the working group sessions but are not limited to any specific topic areas. For example, gatherings may be organized by: 

  • Career phase (mid-level, late-career, administrators) 
  • State or region 
  • Affinity groups 
  • Community service project 
  • Just for fun 
  • Another theme of your choice