By Zaena Ballon
AALS welcomed 74 attendees to the AALS Workshop for New Law School Teachers from June 6-8 in Washington, DC. Experienced law professors greeted new faculty and presented sessions focused on balancing the competing demands of teaching, scholarship, and institutional service.
On Thursday, programming began in the evening with small group discussions on attendees’ path to the legal academy and their goals for the workshop. The various groups reconvened on the final day and reflected on the discussions.
“Workshop attendees may be excited, terrified, and humbled to be entering the legal academy, and I hope they know that is okay to have those feelings!” said workshop planning committee chair Nancy Soonpaa (Texas Tech University School of Law). “We hope the various sessions at the workshop will help them feel fully prepared for the fall semester.”
The Thursday evening session closed with a welcome to the conference by Soonpaa, followed by a keynote from AALS President Melanie D. Wilson (Washington and Lee University School of Law).
“I want to welcome you to, I think one of the most amazing, gratifying, intellectually stimulating careers that anybody could have – certainly that a lawyer could have,” said Wilson. “Being here at the New Law Teachers Workshop is a great start to an amazing career.”
“At this workshop, you are going to create relationships that you will have for the rest of your career,” Soonpaa said “You’ll create contacts not only amongst yourselves, but with all of the speakers, so this is an exciting time and important part of your careers.”
On Friday, the conference started with an opening session with a welcome from Kellye Y. Testy, then-incoming AALS Executive Director and CEO, and a workshop overview from Soonpaa.
“The privilege of this position is that you have that positionality to be able to really make a difference in the lives of colleagues, students, and the public,” said Testy. “I want you to use this position to uplift and empower others and help our system of law stay strong and get a little closer to the promise of equal justice.”
The workshop continued with a general session on “Foundations for Excellent Teaching,” with Olympia R. Duhart (Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law) and David A. Super (Georgetown University Law Center). The presenters reviewed academic research on student learning, teaching theory, and teaching strategies and then provided advice on incorporating those findings in the classroom.
During lunch, Elizabeth A. Keyes (University of Baltimore School of Law) moderated a session on fostering diversity and academic freedom without divisiveness. She was joined by panelists Llezlie L. Green (Georgetown University Law Center) and Kyle C. Velte (University of Kansas School of Law). The session addressed how new faculty can teach, mentor, and collaborate effectively in a diverse community.
The topics for the afternoon teaching breakout sessions covered course design, being an effective teacher, interacting with students, and using technology in the classroom.
The afternoon also included general sessions on “Assessment” presented by Kris Franklin (New York Law School) and Rory Bahadur (Washburn University School of Law) and “The Demands and Delights of Institutional Citizenship: Exploring a Range of Service Opportunities” with Dionne L. Koller (University of Baltimore School of Law), Mariela Olivares (Howard University School of Law), and moderated by Howard M. Erichson (Fordham University School of Law).
On Saturday, the general session “Why Scholarship Matters” opened with an introduction by Erichson and included speakers Margaret E. Johnson (University of Baltimore School of Law) and Jayesh Rathod (American University Washington College of Law). The session highlighted the importance for faculty to produce sound legal scholarship to aid stakeholders and the public in understanding the law.
Workshop Planning Committee Chair Nancy J. Soonpaa (Texas Tech University School of Law) welcomes attendees to the 2024 AALS Workshop for New Law School Teachers. 
AALS Executive Director and CEO Kellye Testy addresses attendees during the Welcome & Keynote session. 
Attendees networking at the AALS Reception. 
Rory Bahadur (Washburn University School of Law) during the General Session on Assessment. 
Kris Franklin (New York Law School) presenting during the General Session on Assessment. 
Shanta Trivedi (University of Baltimore School of Law) facilitates the Concurrent Session on Scholarship, “Distributing Your Ideas.”
Afternoon breakout sessions on scholarship included designing a research agenda, building a scholarly community/network, distributing scholarship, developing scholarship on clinical/experiential legal education, and engaging in scholarship and advocacy. The concurrent sessions were followed by a general session on “Keeping it All Together” moderated by Keyes with speakers Duhart and Jill C. Engle (Penn State Law). The session focused on ways to navigate work/life balance for faculty and the students they teach.
During the workshop, three AALS affinity sections hosted informal breakfasts and evening receptions: the Section on Minority Groups, the Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues, and the Section on Women in Legal Education.
Attendees are also invited to participate in a reunion at the 2025 AALS Annual Meeting in San Francisco this January to reflect on their first semesters in the academy.
“Having a cohort is so important—new faculty will have people to share ideas with and people to reach out to for the rest of their careers,” said Soonpaa “I’m so glad that AALS formalized the reception to recognize that importance. I highly advise newcomers to attend the AALS Annual Meeting and stay after sessions to become more active in the association’s 108 sections,” Soonpaa said. “It is so easy to become involved! Raise your hand and step forward when they ask for volunteers!”
Several exhibitors attended the conference and met with attendees between sessions and during receptions, including Aspen Publishing, Carolina Academic Press, LexisNexis, and West Academic.
The workshop planning committee included:
- Sherley Cruz, University of Tennessee College of Law
- Howard M. Erichson, Fordham University School of Law
- Elizabeth A. Keyes, University of Baltimore School of Law
- Sarah Rogerson, Albany Law School
- Nancy J. Soonpaa, Texas Tech University School of Law, Chair