Every odd year, ALWD hosts a national conference for the legal writing community. The conference provides an opportunity for colleagues from across the country to come together to share ideas about teaching, leadership, scholarship, and the issues affecting legal education generally and legal writing programs specifically. Additionally, the conference provides both formal and informal opportunities for legal writing colleagues to build relationships with one another. The conference typically takes place over two and a half days in the summer at a location that varies from conference to conference.
The biennial conference is planned by the Conference Committee, which has three sub-committees. The Site Selection Committee administers the site selection process, the Site Planning Committee organizes the conference logistics, and the Program Committee plans the substantive program.
The Site Selection Committee typically calls for proposals to host the biennial conference in the fall of an even year. After reviewing the proposals, the Site Selection Committee makes a recommendation to the ALWD Board regarding the conference site. The ALWD Board has adopted site-selection criteria to guide the Site Committee’s review of the site proposals and the Board’s selection of the conference site. The Board typically selects and announces the conference site approximately two years in advance of the conference.
Once the site has been selected, the Site Planning Committee begans planning the conference logistics, from hotel arrangements to major events like the Gala..
The Program Committee typically solicits presentation proposals in the late summer or early fall immediately preceding the conference and notifies selected presenters by late winter or early spring.