NAACA is pleased to invite you to our 2025 Conference to be held at the Sheraton Salt Lake City on July 8-11, 2025.
TUITION AND FEES
Conference tuition is $450 for NAACA members and $675 for non-members. There is a separate fee of $75 for guests attending social events ($100 for families).
The registration deadline is June 16, 2025.
Please fill out the
online registration form where payment can be made via PayPal; or you may send a check payable to NAACA (Fed. Tax ID No. 42-1676557) to NAACA, P.O. Box 2154, Mechanicsville, VA, 23116. Courts wishing to pay by EFT should email NAACA’s Executive Directors at
naacaexecutivedirectors@gmail.com to make arrangements.
SOCIAL EVENTS
Included in your conference tuition are three social events for members and two for non-members: (1) the opening reception on July 8 in the Zion Room at the hotel following registration on Tuesday, July 8; (2) the T-shirt exchange/reception on Wednesday, July 9, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Squatters Pub Brewery, 147 W. Broadway, SLC; and, (3) for NAACA members, the business lunch on Friday, July 11, at 12:45 p.m. at the hotel. For those unfamiliar with the T-shirt exchange, a NAACA tradition, attendees bring a T-shirt from their home state/city/town (or the host city) depicting an event (festival, special occasion, etc.). At the reception, you will pick a number (blindly, from a hat) and “swap” T-shirts with other participants for a set period of time (usually about 30 minutes). Your T-shirt will be displayed on your back for other participants to view. The lower the number, the better. For example, if you have #5, you can force a “swap” of your T-shirt with anyone who has #6 or higher. It’s great fun and an excellent way to meet other conference attendees!
DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE
Attendees from any appellate court within the USCA 10th Circuit (Colorado, Utah, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming) receive a 10% discount on tuition. Courts sending five or more attorneys also receive a 10% discount on tuition. The discounts cannot be combined.
If you have questions, please contact NAACA's Executive Directors at
naacaexecutivedirectors@gmail.com.
SCHOLARSHIPS
For 2025, NAACA is offering four Branham Scholarships. Each scholarship covers the cost of conference tuition and the two evening social events. The scholarships are funded by the James L. Branham Scholarship Fund, which was established with a generous bequest from Jim Branham, a long time NAACA member who died in 2022.
Branham Scholarships are available to NAACA members and non-members, so everyone is welcome to apply. The deadline for applications is April 30, 2025. To apply, please email
naacaexecutivedirectors@gmail.com with the subject line: 2025 NAACA Scholarship Application. Your email should include your name, court, email address, and phone number, and answer the following questions:
(1) Have you attended a prior NAACA Conference? If so, in what year(s)?
(2) What additional information, if any, would you like to consider? (e.g., information about your court or personal finances, including whether your court is willing/able to cover any of your expenses; whether other members of your court will be attending this conference or have attended a prior conference; and how attendance might benefit you or your court.)
Applications will be kept confidential and recipients will be announced by May 10, 2025.
MEMBERSHIP
If you are interested in becoming a member of NAACA to take advantage of the
lower tuition rate for NAACA members, please visit
www.naacaonline.org or email NAACA’s
Executive Directors at
naacaexecutivedirectors@gmail.com.
ACCOMMODATIONS
The conference is being held at the Sheraton Salt Lake City, 150 W 500 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. A block of rooms has been reserved until June 16, 2025. The room rate is $142/night, plus taxes and fees. All reservations
can be made online or by calling Marriott’s Reservations toll free number at (888) 627-8152 and identifying yourself as being with NAACA to get the group rate. Conference rates extend three days before and after the end of the conference, based on availability. Reservations made after June 16, 2025, will depend on room availability.
AIRLINE AND GROUND TRANSPORTATION
Salt Lake City is serviced by the Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). You have a number of options to travel between the airport and the hotel. The least expensive option is the Tram, Line 704, which runs every 30 minutes and costs $2-$3. The trip takes about 30 minutes. Exit at the Courthouse Station, then it’s a 5 minute walk to the hotel. Uber and Lyft are available, costing about $20-$22, as is taxi service, costing about $25.
REFUND POLICY
All registration fees, less a $50 fee to defray fixed conference expenses and
processing costs, will be refunded for cancellations received on or before June
30, 2025. Refunds for cancellations received after June 30, 2025, will be at the
discretion of NAACA. Refund requests must be made by emailing
naacaexecutivedirectors@gmail.com no later than July 11, 2025.
WHAT TO PACK
Dress is casual. Weather in Salt Lake City in July tends to be hot with an average high temperature of 90 degrees and an average low temperature of 70 degrees.
Some comments from attendees at recent NAACA Conferences:
“The lineup and subject matter [were] probably the best of any [legal] conference I’ve attended in my 16 years as a lawyer.”
“I truly enjoyed the educational content and meeting fellow staff attorneys from around the country.”
“I especially appreciated the quality of the vast majority of speakers, the variation and availability of social activities, and location in a large city with lots to do/see.
”
Detailed Conference Information is below, or you may download our conference brochure.
PROGRAM AGENDA
Tuesday, July 8
4:00-5:00 Conference Registration – Lodge Lobby, The Sheraton Salt Lake City
5:00-7:00 Opening Reception – Zion Room, The Sheraton Salt Lake City
Wednesday, July 9
8:45-9:00 Welcome Remarks
9:00-10:15
The Legal Scope of Presidential Powers: A Panel Discussion
Professor Samuel R. Bagenstos, University of Michigan Law School
Professor John Ruple, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
A panel of experts in areas including constitutional law, governance, environmental law and federal public lands, labor law, and health law will examine the executive orders and actions implemented during President Donald Trump’s second term. Panel members will discuss constitutional limits on presidential power, the legality and impact of specific presidential actions, and resulting legal challenges.
10:15-10:30 Break
10:45-11:30
From Lawfluencers to #AttorneyTok: Legal Ethics in the Age of Social Media
Professor Ashley London, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
Professor London will lead a lively discussion focused on government appellate lawyers’ ethical obligations in the use of social media, including ethical implications of online/social media speech, information gathering, and networking. The discussion will also forecast future ethical issues given the ongoing and rapid changes in technology impacting the practice of law (e.g., AI, large language models, corpus linguistics, etc.).
11:30-11:45 Break
11:45 to 12:45 Breakout Sessions
(1)
Growing Trends in Climate Change Litigation and Environmental Justice
Professor Cliff Villa, University of New Mexico School of Law
This session will focus on the ways in which recent developments in administrative law, in tandem with an expanded exercise of executive authority, have shaped the current and future landscapes of litigation and legislation related to climate change and environmental justice.
(2)
Revolution or Rhetoric? The Impacts of the Progressive Prosecutor Movement
Professor Rebecca Goldstein, UC Berkeley Law
The late 2010s saw a wave of “progressive prosecutors” rise to prominence in major cities, running on platforms of criminal justice reform rather than the tough-on-crime approaches of their predecessors. Has the movement, now almost a decade in, been successful? Professor Goldstein will present her research, the first nationwide study of progressive prosecutors as political leaders, and discuss the impact on the criminal justice system
12:45-2:15 Lunch Break
2:15-3:15 Breakout Sessions
(1)
Leveraging AI for Increased Productivity
Sean A. Harrington, Director of Technology and Innovation, University of Oklahoma College of Law
This session will give an overview of the AI landscape in the legal profession and explore the ways that generative AI can help streamline daily tasks and increase productivity in staff attorney work.
(2)
Indian Law and Litigation under the Indian Child Welfare Act
Professor Kathryn E. Fort, Michigan State University College of Law
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) addresses the historically disproportionate removal of American Indian/Native American children from their families by requiring placement within their own communities whenever possible. In this session, Professor Fort will provide an overview of the ICWA and discuss the impact of Texas v. Haaland (the Brackeen case) and recent legislation intended to enhance ICWA implementation.
3:15-3:30 Break
3:30-5:00
SCOTUS Criminal Law Review
Professor Corinna Lain, University of Richmond School of Law
Professor Lain will present her review of important criminal law cases from the Supreme Court’s 2024-2025 term
Thursday June 10
8:45-10:15
Artificial Intelligence and the Legal Community: Emerging Technology, Themes, & Issues
Professor Patrick Barry, University of Michigan Law School
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the law and its practice – not only offering opportunities for enhanced efficiency, data-driven insights, and democratized access, but also raising ethical and practical concerns.
10:15-10:30 Break
10:30-11:30 Breakout Sessions
(1)
Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection
Professor Corinna Lain, University of Richmond School of Law
Professor Lain, who has been called “the nation’s pre-eminent expert on lethal injection as a mode of execution,” will detail her research in litigation files, scientific studies, investigative journalism, autopsy reports, interviews, and scholarship across numerous fields, all of which culminated in her recently released book,
Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection.
(2)
Transgender Disenfranchisement
Professor Patrick Barry, University of Michigan Law School
This presentation will outline the anti-transgender laws instituted by the Trump Administration and by several states. It will explain how these laws function together to exclude transgender people from public life, and opine that they are best understood as motivated by unconstitutional animus in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
11:30-11:45 Break
11:45-12:45
Feedback Loops: Giving and Receiving Professional Feedback
Professor Patrick Barry, University of Michigan Law School
How can you improve as an attorney (or anything else for that matter) if you’re not given a clear sense of what you’re doing wrong, what you’re doing right, and what steps are needed to reach the next level of performance? In this session, Professor Patrick Barry will provide feedback frameworks, offer areas of focus, and give attendees the opportunity to hone their own feedback skills.
12:45-2:15 Lunch Break
2:15-3:45
The Evolving Administrative Law Landscape
Professor Daniel B. Rodriguez, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Administrative law has seen significant developments in recent years, influenced by judicial interpretation, regulatory reform, and changes in political administration. In this session, Professor Rodriguez will review the state of administrative law after Loper Bright and address how courts are reacting.
Friday, July 11
8:45-10:15
SCOTUS Civil Law Review
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, UC Berkeley School of Law
Dean Chemerinsky presents his much-anticipated review of the important civil cases from the Supreme Court’s 2024-2025 Term.
10:15-10:30 Break
10:30-11:30
No Democracy Lasts Forever – An Interactive Discussion
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, UC Berkeley School of Law
Dean Chemerinsky’s most recent book begins with a warning: American democracy is in grave danger. In No Democracy Lasts Forever, he asserts that the inherent flaws in the Constitution have made it a threat to the United States. The solution, he argues, is a new constitutional convention during which the document will be rewritten from start to finish. NAACA moderators will interview Dean Chemerinsky about this daring plan to preserve American democracy and present questions submitted by audience members.
12:30-11:45 Break
11:45-12:45 Breakout Sessions
(1)
Make Your Writing Even Better with These Five Weird Tricks: Areas Where Staff Attorneys Can Improve Their Legal Writing
Professor Diana Simon, University of Arizona Law
As one blogger so aptly stated, “You don’t need innate talent to succeed at writing, but you do need plenty of ass-in-chair. You need to hone your grammar, read constantly (when you’re not writing, that is), study great writers, and write, write, write.” Even those with significant writing experience have room for improvement. This sometimes-irreverent and frequently science-based session highlights five areas where staff attorneys can hone their skills and make their writing products more effective.
(2)
Beyond Track Changes: Strategies for Effective Legal Writing Revision
Professor Kristin Gerdy Kyle, BYU Law
This session will offer a framework and strategies for editing and revising other attorneys’ legal writing, including improving organization, style, and legal analysis. Additionally, Professor Gerdy Kyle will provide guidance on making comments and feedback more helpful and effective.
12:45-2:15 Lunch Break (NAACA Business Lunch)
2:15-3:15 Breakout Sessions
(1)
Emerging Developments in Reproductive Rights Law
Professor Matthew Tokson, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
Nearly three years after SCOTUS issued its ruling in Dobbs, the impacts of a post-Roe jurisprudence continue to play out in state legislatures and courts across the country. This session will focus on the current legal landscape of reproductive rights and examine the effects—including those that were not widely anticipated—of continued efforts in litigation and legislation to either protect or further erode such rights.
(2)
Developing Technology and the Fourth Amendment
Professor Kristin Gerdy Kyle, BYU Law
Professor Tokson will discuss the current state of the law and forecasts regarding future developments in light of the growing ubiquity of digital data, GPS, genetic evidence, etc..
3:15-3:30 Break
3:30-4:30 Breakout Sessions
(1)
How Masculinity Shapes Our Constitution, Laws, and Public Discourse
Professor John M. Kang, University of New Mexico School of Law
Most legal scholarship regarding gender has focused on women; if such scholarship discusses men, it does so in the context of gender bias. This session seeks to widen this lens and explore how ideas of “manliness” and male identity shaped the American Constitution and how they continue to impact our understanding of the law, power, and authority.
(2)
International Law Told Through the Lens of Palestine
Professor Michael Lynk, Faculty of Law, Western University in London, Ontario
An analysis of international law, vis-à-vis the territory of Palestine and the rights of the Palestinian people, presented by former UN Special Rapporteur and human rights expert Michael Lynk
4:30-4:45 Closing Remarks
