Friday, January 30
Breakfast 8:30-9 am
9 am: Welcome
9:15-10:30 am: Navigating the New Legal Landscape
- Recent directives and regulatory pressures have forced law schools to rethink approaches
- Strategic repositioning vs. commitment: maintaining values while managing legal risk
- Case studies: How law schools are reframing missions
Discussants: Mark Alexander (Villanova), Richard Moberly (Nebraska)
10:30 am: Break
10:30-11:45 am: The Mental Health Crisis: From Awareness to Action
- Nearly 70% of law students indicated they needed help for emotional or mental health problems in the past year, a significant increase from 42% in 2014, with suicidal thoughts increasing from 6% to 11%
- Implementing ABA Standard 303 on professional identity and well-being
- Strategies for normalizing mental health within law school culture and modeling work-life balance
- How to balance the increase in student accommodation requests
- Addressing Gen Z's unique mental health challenges
- Addressing the mental health needs of faculty, staff, and administrators
Discussants: Melanie Jacobs (Louisville), Elizabeth Kronk Warner (Utah)
11:45 am: Guided Mindfulness
12-1:30 pm – Lunch and a conversation with University Leadership
Discussants: Dr. Mitzi Montoya (Utah); Richard Bierschbach (Wayne State)
1:30-2:45 pm: Building Sustainable Pipelines
- LSAC's Plus, Guided Journey program and other pipeline initiatives that address structural barriers for underserved students
- First-generation student support and retention
- Justice-impacted individuals: removing barriers to legal education
- Creating mentorship programs that extend beyond admission
- Rural access to justice
Discussant: Angela Winfield (LSAC)
2:45 pm: Break
3-4:15 pm: Responding to Backlash: Communication and Stakeholder Management
- Managing lawsuits, social media campaigns, shareholder activism, and political pressures while maintaining institutional values
- Internal and external messaging strategies
- Engaging alumni, donors, and boards
- Building coalitions across institutions for mutual support
Discussants: Johanna Bond (Rutgers), Mark Murray (LSAC)
4:15 pm: Break
4:30-5 pm: The Path Forward: Collaborative Solutions for Sustainable Change
- Sharing innovations and promising practices
- Building the Law Deans Network for ongoing collaboration
- Commitments to action for 2026-2027
- Next steps and continued conversation
Discussant: Sudha Setty (LSAC), Camille Davidson (Mitchell Hamline)
5:15 pm – Transportation back to hotel
6:15 pm – Dinner at Caffe Molise
