Pepperdine Law Represented at 2019 AALS Annual Meeting
January 9, 2019 | To kick off a new year in legal education, thousands of law faculty, deans, and administrators gathered in the Big Easy for the 2019 Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting. Dean Paul Caron and members of the Pepperdine Law faculty were among those who attended this year's event in New Orleans. The AALS Annual Meeting serves as an opportunity to connect and collaborate with colleagues from across the nation in legal education to discuss emerging legal issues and share best practices. The programming for this year was based on the theme of "building bridges", and the Pepperdine Law faculty played an active role in the more than 250 sessions focused on shaping fresh perspectives on law and education.
On Friday evening, Dean Caron hosted a Pepperdine Law reception that saw a packed house of deans and faculty from many law schools. Dean Caron said, "It was great to catch up with old friends and make new ones." The reception also served as an opportunity to thank colleagues for their help and support during the trying time of the Woolsey fires.
The Pepperdine Law faculty was well-represented among the 900 moderators, discussion leaders, and speakers participating in the annual program. Official program speakers included:
Christine Chambers Goodman
Session: Evidence, Co-Sponsored by Minority Groups
Donald E. Childress, III
Session: Conflict of Laws
Barry P. McDonald
Session: AALS Hot Topic Program
Derek T. Muller
Session: Federalist Society Annual Faculty Conference 7 Minute Presentations of Works in Progress Panel 1-A
Shelley Ross Saxer
Session: Agricultural and Food Law, Environmental Law and Natural Resources and Energy Law
A number of Pepperdine faculty have also assumed new leadership roles within the AALS organization for 2019. Christine Chambers Goodman is now the Chair of the Evidence Section, Secretary of the Litigation Section and remains on the Executive Committees of both. Associate Dean for Faculty and Research Michael Helfand was named new section chair for the AALS Law & Religion Section. Derek Muller was elected Treasurer of the Election Law section. Mark Scarberry elected to serve on the Executive Committee for the AALS Section on Constitutional Law. Shelley Saxer was elected to Treasurer for the State and Local Government Section. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Victoria Schwartz was named to the 2019 Executive Board of the Intellectual Property Section of the Association of American Law Schools. Tanya Asim Cooper was appointed to the AALS New Law Teachers 2020 Planning Committee, and Richard Cupp was elected to the Executive Committee of the AALS Section on Animal Law.
The Association of American Law Schools is a 501(c)(3) 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.
