AALS President's Hot Topic Program

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Session Type: AALS Programs

Session Capacity: 178

Hotel: New York Hilton Midtown

Room: Murray Hill West

Floor: Second Floor

The ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services was formed by President William Hubbard in August 2014 in order to thoroughly examine opportunities and initiatives to respond to the dynamic changes in the legal profession and the spaces in which individuals seek legal services. As one commissioner put it early in this process, “this is a process about the well-being of consumers, not of lawyers.” In the succeeding months, the Futures Commission has considered various proposals for reshaping legal services. Some of these proposals have been controversial, in that they challenge the current structure of professional regulation; others have endeavored to synthesize changes already well underway in the legal sector, for example, the advancement and development of technological initiatives in the legal world to deal with the complexity of modern economic and social life. Dean Andy Perlman of Suffolk Law School is the Reporter for the Futures Commission and thus has a central role in, and perspective on, the work of the Commission. Dean Perlman, and Dan Rodriguez, the dean of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and also a commissioner, will provide an overview of the work of the Commission and will answer questions and invite input.

This is an important project that is unfolding at the crossroads of extraordinary change in our profession. Please join us for an open, candid forum on the work of the Commission.