Overview
The Section hosted its 2022 Fall Council Meeting in-person alongside the Section of State and Local Government Law and the Young Lawyers Division in Portland, OR from September 29 to October 2. The joint conference featured four days of business meetings, networking and collaborative opportunities, CLE panels, and a dinner cruise on the Willamette River.
The Section would like to thank Snell & Wilmer for their generous support of the 2022 Joint Fall Conference and for contributing significantly to advance CRSJ goals, projects, and initiatives.
Section Council Meeting
During the hybrid meeting of the Section Council, Section Chair Juan R. Thomas outlined his plans and initiatives for the 2022-23 Bar Year. Section Vice Chair Lacy L. Durham provided an update on the progress of the Section's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan review, and Section Chair-Elect provided an update on the Section's Bylaws review. Section members actively participated in discussions on proposed updates to the Section's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan and Section Bylaws. In addition, Committee leaders provided reports on their work plans for the 2022-23 Bar Year and liaisons reported on the work of their respective entities. Section Chair Thomas announced that 2011-12 Section Chair Kay Hodge will receive the 2023 Father Robert F. Drinan Award for Distinguished Service during the Section's 2023 Midyear Council Meeting.
Reception
Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Section of State and Local Government Law, and Young Lawyers Division members gathered for a rooftop reception at The Duniway Portland. The reception featured remarks by Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha L. Walters.
Opening Plenary: Perfecting Democracy Jeopardy: How Lawyers Can Make a Difference
CRSJ Liaison to the Section of State and Local Government Law Elizabeth M. Yang led a lively and interactive Jeopardy-style CLE program, featuring Section Chair Juan R. Thomas, on the ways in which lawyers and law students can get involved in a pro bono or volunteer capacity to ensure that eligible voters have access to the ballot box and their votes are counted.
The Racial and Financial Implications of Climate Disasters and Natural Hazards
The second CLE program of the joint conference provided attendees with a historical context of how segregation, discrimination, and redlining have isolated communities of color in areas more susceptible to natural disasters, with a focus on who pays—and who should pay—for natural disasters, as well as a look into non-financial elements of recovery.
Housing Policy to Combat Modern Exclusionary Practices
The third CLE program included a discussion of modern-day exclusionary zoning and government spending practices that have the redlining effect outlawed by the Fair Housing Act.
Hot Topics Out of the Supreme Court
The fourth CLE program, featuring Section Council Member and Rights of Women Committee Co-Chair Aracely Muñoz, reviewed Supreme Court decisions of the 2021 term, including commercial signange, abortion access, affirmative action, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and voting rights.
Judges Panel (CLE)
Moderated by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, the fifth CLE program highlighted judges and their expectations from lawyers who appear before them, as well as insight into the diverse pathways each judge took to the bench and their views on the elimination of bias.
Closing Plenary: Protests
The sixth CLE program examined public protest, including existing law and the adaptability of the law to modern protest methods. The panel also examined the enormous challenges that modern protest methods create for municipalities and police departments, as well as how courts will likely review the street-level, moment-by-moment decision-making of polie officers who confront spontaneous demonstrations conducted without a permit.
Portland Spirit Cruise
Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Section of State and Local Government Law, and Young Lawyers Division members came together for a dinner cruise and tour of the Willamette River.
Managing Student Loan Debt
In this non-CLE program, panelists discussed important updates and deadlines related to federal student loans, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness limited waiver opportunity, income-driven repayment account adjustment, and federal student loan servicer updates.
ABA Opportunities after YLD
Featuring Section Vice Chair Lacy L. Durham, Section Secretary Mario A. Sullivan, and Section Council Member Roula Allouch, the seventh CLE program provided attendees with ways to successfully navigate and become actively involved in the ABA after time in the Young Lawyers Division.
Pandemic Potpourri
The eighth CLE program, featuring Section Delegate and Task Force on Fair Elections and Voting Rights Co-Chair Wendy K. Mariner and Section Council Member and Liaison to the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense Malia Brink, highlighted the magnification of inequalities resulting from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.