Call for Programs Now Closed

Thank you for your interest in submitting a proposal for the 2020 NAPABA Convention. The Call for Programs is now closed. All submitters will receive a decision via email the week of June 22-26. Please keep in mind that NAPABA receives over 100 submissions and can only accommodate a portion of the submissions received. 

General CLE Programming

We strive to represent a broad range of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds in our Friday and Saturday CLE programming so as to appeal to the broadest extent of NAPABA’s diverse and multi-faceted membership.We are also mindful of the feedback we have received from past attendees, such as requests to include more programs about public interest and non-traditional lawyering. We are committed to inclusivity and innovation, but we need your help to expand the scope of submissions to include all of the topics that are of interest to our membership.

Thursday Specialty Programming

What is Thursday Specialty Programming? On Thursday of the Convention, special workshops and programs are held by our committees and networks to provide you with the deep-dive skills and knowledge to excel in your practice and career. This series of workshops is designed to give you experiential learning opportunities in an immersive and interactive environment and provide you with the opportunity to get into the details with experts in the field, beyond what may be possible during a general CLE session. This year’s Thursday Specialty Programming tracks, held concurrently, include:

1. International Law Symposium presented by the International Law Committee
2. Solo & Small Firm Bootcamp presented by the Solo & Small Firm Committee
3. Women's Leadership Workshop presented by the Women's Leadership Network

Important Dates

• April 20, 2020 at 5 p.m. ET | All program submissions are due
• May 5-July 24, 2020 | CLE Committee review period
• August 3-7, 2020 | All submitters will be notified about the status of their submission
• September 15, 2020 | CLE Written Materials DUE to NAPABA for accepted programs 

On-Demand Pass

Miss the 2020 NAPABA Convention | Virtual Experience live event but still looking to get your CLE hours for the year? The on-demand pass for the NAPABA Convention is now available for purchase! Gain access to our CLE sessions, plenaries, Keynote Series, and more!

NAPABA members are eligible to save up to $165 off their registration. Become a member or renew your membership today! Click here to learn more about our membership benefits.

Before registering, please ensure that your NAPABA membership is current to receive member discounts. NAPABA will not reimburse you the difference if you become a member after you have already registered for the conference.

Questions about your membership? Contact membership@napaba.org.

 

Purchase Pass

Schedule

Click here to view the full Convention agenda.

Attendees

Click here to see a full list of Convention attendees.

2020 Continuing Legal Education

2020 Speaker Resources

Deadlines

• Friday, August 7, 2020 – Primary contacts will be notified of their program status.
• Monday, August 10, 2020 – Early bird registration opens.
• Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 5 p.m. EDT
  • FINAL CLE materials are due.
  • Speaker release forms for moderators and speakers are due.
• Nov. 5-8, 2020 - See you at our virtual experience!

NAPABA Scholarship Program

Application Now Closed

We recognize that our members may be facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we understand the financial impact many in our community are facing, we also know that now more than ever, the need to connect is powerful. In partnership with Prudential, NAPABA will offer scholarships to waive the registration fee for members that have been financially impacted by COVID-19.

Assistance

Scholarships will be awarded in the form of a discount code equal to the amount of your NAPABA Convention registration fee at the early bird rate. Because the application period closes after the early bird deadline, NAPABA will extend the early bird rate to awardees.

Eligibility Criteria

• You must be a current NAPABA member. NAPABA will check your membership status upon review of your application, so please make sure that you are a member PRIOR to applying for the scholarship. If you are unsure about your NAPABA membership, sign in to your NAPABA member profile here.
• You must demonstrate financial need due to COVID-19. This may include, but is not limited to the following:
  • Involuntarily unemployed after March 11.
  • On involuntary no-pay leave after March 11.
  • Experiencing reduced monthly salary after March 11.

Application Window

• Friday, September 11 | Application Opens
• Monday, October 12 | Application Closes
• Week of October 19 | Final Notification to Applicants

Application Deadline | 5 pm ET, Monday, October 12

To be considered for a scholarship, applications must be received by 5 pm ET, Monday, October 12. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered for an award.

Note: You must be logged in to NAPABA Social to view the application form.

The NAPABA Scholarship Program is generously supported by

Keynote Series

From its very inception, NAPABA’s spirit and strength as an organization has been firmly rooted in the rich diversity and inclusive nature of its membership. Especially during challenging times, NAPABA’s members tighten their embrace of these important core values with the full realization that we as a community are stronger together than we are divided. It is with this principle at heart that we proudly announce NAPABA in Conversation: Keynote Series, which will be featured during the 2020 NAPABA Convention.

Featuring:

A Conversation with Admiral Brett Giroir
Moderated by Judge Karen Gren Scholer

November 4 - 4:30-5:15 PM ET

Admiral Brett Giroir, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Admiral Brett Giroir is the 16th Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and leads more than 6,000 officers in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. As the Secretary’s principal public health and science advisor, the ASH is leading America to healthier lives through promoting vaccination across the lifespan, developing the nation’s report card for health (Healthy People 2030), ending America’s HIV epidemic, preventing and treating substance use disorders, and improving the lives of all suffering health disparities, with a special emphasis on Sickle Cell Disease. In addition to his role as the ASH, ADM Giroir represents the United States on the World Health Organization Executive Board and was appointed on March 12 to lead the coordination of COVID-19 testing efforts across HHS.He has served in numerous leadership positions in the federal government and in academic institutions. Most notably, serving as the Acting FDA Commissioner in 2019, and the first physician to serve as an office director at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2007. As a pediatric critical care physician, ADM Giroir brings that hands-on, patient-centered perspective to his work as the ASH.

Judge Karen Gren Scholer, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas The Honorable Karen Gren Scholer was sworn in as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas on March 7, 2018, after being confirmed by the United States Senate 95-0. She has the distinct honor of being nominated to be an Article III judge by two different Administrations for two different Districts – by President Trump for the Northern District of Texas (Dallas) and by President Obama for the Eastern District of Texas (Plano). She is the first Asian American federal district judge in Texas and the entire Fifth Circuit. Before her appointment to the federal bench, Judge Scholer was both a trial lawyer and state trial judge. She was elected as Judge of the 95th District Court for two terms, serving from 2001 to 2008. While on the state court bench, Judge Scholer served as the Presiding Judge of the Dallas County Civil District Judges in 2007 and was appointed by the Governor of the State of Texas to serve as a temporary Justice on the Tenth Court of Appeals. In private practice, Judge Scholer was a co-managing and named partner at litigation boutique law firm Carter Scholer (2014-2018) and a litigation partner at Jones Day (2009-2013), Andrews & Kurth (1996-2000), and Strasburger & Price (1982-1996). She was repeatedly recognized as one of the top lawyers in Texas, selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers® (Texas), D Magazine’s Best Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America. She was identified as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers® and earned the rating of AV Preeminent (5.0 out of 5) Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell. She was honored by the Texas Lawyer as a 2019 Finalist for Attorney of the Year. Over her long career, Judge Scholer has received numerous other honors for professional excellence and dedication to community service, including the Dallas Women Lawyers Association Louise Raggio Award, the Dallas Asian American Bar Association Lifetime Achievement Award and Judicial Trailblazer Award, the Dallas Fort Worth Asian American Citizens Council Chair’s Award and Civil Servant of the Year Award, the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce Judicial Excellence Award, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Trailblazer Award. Judge Scholer is a former chair and Life Benefactor Fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation. She has served as co-chair of Attorneys Serving the Community and in leadership positions in the Dallas Bar Association and State Bar of Texas. In demand as a speaker and panelist, she has been honored as the keynote speaker to many audiences. Judge Scholer is a graduate of Rice University and Cornell University Law School. She has served on the board of directors for the Association of Rice Alumni and the Cornell Law Association Executive Board.

A Conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer
Moderated by Judge Vince Chhabria

November 4 - 7:00-7:45 PM ET

Justice Stephen G. Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court Stephen Breyer, born in San Francisco in 1938, is a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a graduate of Stanford, Oxford, and Harvard Law School. He taught law for many years as a professor at Harvard Law School and at the Kennedy School of Government. He has also worked as a Supreme Court law clerk (for Justice Arthur Goldberg), a Justice Department lawyer (antitrust division), an Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor, and Chief Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee (working closely with Senator Edward M. Kennedy to pass the Airline Deregulation Act). In 1980 he was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by President Carter, becoming Chief Judge in 1990. In 1994 he was appointed a Supreme Court Justice by President Clinton. He has written books and articles about administrative law, economic regulation, and constitutional law, including Regulation and Its Reform, Breaking the Vicious Circle: Toward Effective Risk Regulation, Active Liberty, Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge’s View and, The Court and the World which was recently published. His wife, Joanna, was born in Great Britain and is a retired clinical psychologist. They have three children (Chloe, Nell, and Michael) and five grandchildren.

Judge Vince Chhabria, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Vince Chhabria is a Federal District Judge in the Northern District of California, based in San Francisco. He was nominated by Barack Obama in July 2013 and confirmed by the Senate in March 2014. Before taking the bench, Judge Chhabria was Chief of Appellate Litigation for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, as well as a deputy on the Government Litigation Team for that office. He successfully defended a challenge to San Francisco’s universal health care program, and was part of the legal team that successfully challenged California’s ban on same‐sex marriage. He also defended the City in: a First Amendment challenge to an ordinance requiring cell phone retailers to warn customers about possible health risks from rf energy exposure from cell phones; an Establishment Clause challenge to a resolution passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors criticizing Vatican statements and policies regarding adoption by same‐sex couples; separate First Amendment and Equal Protection challenges to an ordinance banning tobacco sales in drug stores; a state law preemption challenge to an ordinance requiring landlords to pay relocation assistance to evicted tenants; and a Due Process challenge to the City's red light camera program. On the bench, Judge Chhabria has presided over a number of noteworthy cases, including a challenge to the Trump Administration’s decision to cut Affordable Care Act subsidies, a challenge to the federal government’s detention of unaccompanied minors accused of gang affiliation, a case about whether Lyft Drivers are employees or independent contractors, an MDL involving allegations that Monsanto’s Roundup causes cancer, and an MDL arising from Cambridge Analytica’s acquisition of Facebook user data. Judge Chhabria served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer during the 2001‐2002 term.

A Conversation with Viet Dinh
Moderated by Judge Patrick Bumatay

November 5 - 6:00-6:45 PM ET

Viet Dinh, Fox Corporation Viet D. Dinh is Chief Legal and Policy Officer for Fox Corporation, where he leads all legal, compliance, and regulatory matters, and also oversees government and public affairs. In addition, Mr. Dinh serves as a member of the Office of the Chairman with Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch and Chief Operating Officer John Nallen. Mr. Dinh joined FOX in September 2018 and helped establish the company ahead of the March 2019 launch of FOX as a standalone public company. Before joining FOX, Mr. Dinh was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. He founded Bancroft PLLC, a leading Supreme Court and high-stakes litigation firm until it was acquired by Kirkland. He was a Georgetown University law professor for 20 years and U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy from 2001 to 2003. He previously served on the Boards of Directors for 21st Century Fox, Revlon, LPL Financial, Scientific Games, and MacAndrews & Forbes Worldwide. Mr. Dinh is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and clerked for Judge Laurence Silberman and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Judge Patrick Bumatay, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Patrick Bumatay was confirmed as a Circuit Judge on the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in December 2019. Judge Bumatay previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, where he was a member of the Appellate and Narcotics Sections. He was also a Counselor to the Attorney General on various criminal issues, including on national opioid strategy and combating transnational organized crime. Judge Bumatay has also worked in other positions in the Department of Justice, including the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the Office of the Associate Attorney General, where he was responsible for overseeing various aspects of the Department’s civil enforcement programs, and the Office of Legal Policy. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Bumatay served as a law clerk to Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He also clerked for Judge Sandra L. Townes of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Bumatay earned his B.A., cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

A Conversation with NAPABA President's Award Recipient Helen Zia
Moderated by Emily Zia

November 6 - 6:00-6:45 PM ET

Helen Zia, Activist, Author, & Former Journalist Helen Zia is a writer, activist and Fulbright Scholar. Her latest book, Last Boat out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese who Fled Mao's Revolution, was an NPR best book of 2019 and shortlisted for a 2020 national PEN AMERICA award. Her other books include Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, about the contemporary civil rights struggles of Asian Americans; and My Country Versus Me, which described how racial profiling led to the false arrest and nine-month solitary confinement of the Chinese American physicist who was wrongly accused by the New York Times of being the "worst spy since the Rosenbergs." The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Helen was born and raised in New Jersey during the civil rights, anti-war and women’s movements, which she was eager to be part of. Later, as she worked as a magazine editor and journalist, her special passion involved stories of ordinary people in pursuit of social change and justice. She was the Executive Editor of Ms. Magazine, where she received numerous journalism awards. Her investigation of date rape at the University of Michigan led to campus demonstrations and an administrative overhaul of its policies, while her research on neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations sparked new thinking on the relationship between race and gender in hate violence. Helen has been outspoken on issues ranging from human rights to countering gender and hate violence and homophobia. She gave testimony before the Commission on Civil Rights about racially discriminatory portrayals in the news media. Her work on the Asian American landmark civil rights case of anti-Asian violence is documented in the Oscar-nominated film, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" In 2010, Helen became a witness in the federal case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made marriage equality the law of the land. She has received an honorary doctorates from the University of San Francisco and the City University of New York Law School. She attended Princeton University on a full scholarship and was a member of its first graduating class of women. Helen quit medical school to work as a construction laborer, an autoworker, and a community organizer, until she discovered her life’s work as a journalist and writer.

Emily Zia, Maryland Legal Aid Emily Zia is originally from Honolulu, Hawai'i, and a graduate of Wellesley College and the University of California Berkeley School of Law. Before going to law school, she was a special education teacher with Teach for America Hawai'i and then the program coordinator for a historical internment camp site with the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i. While at Berkeley Law, she received the Prosser Prize in Asian Americans and the Law and served as the Co-President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Co-Chair of the Coalition for Diversity, and Development Editor of the Asian American Law Journal. She also published an article, “What Side are We On?: A Call to Arms to the Asian American Community,” 23 Asian Am. L. J. 169 (2016), urging the Asian American community to support affirmative action. After graduating from law school, she briefly worked as a corporate attorney at Goodwin Proctor, then moved to the public interest space as an eviction defense attorney at D.C. nonprofit Bread for the City. She is currently a Child in Need of Assistance attorney at Maryland Legal Aid, representing youth ages 0-21 in foster care in Prince George's County, Maryland. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Ben, and their puppy Bailey.

A Conversation with Secretary Elaine L. Chao
Moderated by Judge James C. Ho

November 7 - 6:00-6:45 PM ET

Secretary Elaine L. Chao, U.S. Department of Transportation This is Secretary Chao’s second cabinet position. Previously, she was U.S. Secretary of Labor, the first Asian American woman appointed to the President's cabinet in American history. Secretary Chao has a distinguished career in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She came to America at the age of eight speaking no English and has devoted most of her professional life to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to build better lives for themselves and their families. Secretary Chao has never forgotten her roots. At the Department of Labor, she created many initiatives to help Asian Pacific Americans—and other traditionally underserved communities—access opportunities in mainstream America. She launched the annual Asian Pacific American Federal Career Advancement Summit and the annual Opportunity Conference. During her tenure, the Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting the employment data on Asians in America as a distinct category, a historic first. To help the Asian American community, Secretary Chao ensured that labor law materials were translated into multiple languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. At the U.S. Department of Transportation, she initiated leadership conferences for Asian Pacific American Federal employees. She also established paid summer intern programs and hosted job fairs to increase workforce diversity. In May 2019, she traveled to Utah to give long overdue recognition of the vital role that Chinese railroad workers played in the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Secretary Chao is Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Secretary Chao has been a banker in the private sector and also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of America and Director of the Peace Corps. She earned her MBA from the Harvard Business School, and is the recipient of 37 honorary degrees. She is the eldest of six daughters born to Dr. James S.C. Chao and the late Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao.

Judge James C. Ho, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit James C. Ho is a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Before his appointment on January 4, 2018, he was co-chair of the national Appellate and Constitutional Law practice group of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. As an appellate litigator for over a decade, Judge Ho presented 50 oral arguments in federal and state courts nationwide. He won numerous appeals as lead counsel, including three at the U.S. Supreme Court (Sause v. Bauer, 138 S. Ct. 2561 (2018); Sossamon v. Texas, 563 U.S. 277 (2011); Thaler v. Haynes, 559 U.S. 43 (2010)). He was routinely ranked among leading advocates nationwide by Benchmark, Chambers USA, Law360, The Legal 500, The National Law Journal, and other publications. His decade as an appellate lawyer also included three years of service as the Solicitor General of Texas, the state’s chief appellate and Supreme Court litigator. He won three Supreme Court Best Brief Awards from the National Association of Attorneys General, and he is the only state solicitor general in history to be invited by the U.S. Supreme Court to express the views of a state. Judge Ho previously served in all three branches of the federal government. On the Senate Judiciary Committee, he served as chief counsel of the Subcommittees on the Constitution and Immigration under Senator John Cornyn. At the Justice Department, he served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and an attorney-advisor at the Office of Legal Counsel. He clerked for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court. His record of public service also includes appointments as vice chair of the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee in Texas, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, member of the U.S. Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the Northern District of Texas, member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and member of the Continuity of Government Commission. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law, senior editor of The Green Bag, and co-editor of Pub. L. Misc. Judge Ho graduated from Stanford University with honors and a B.A. in Public Policy, and the University of Chicago Law School with high honors. Before law school, he was a legislative aide to California State Senator Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco). Taiwanese by birth and Texan by marriage, Judge Ho and his wife Allyson live in Dallas, Texas, with their twin daughter and son.

Don't Miss an Advance Screening of "RUTH - Justice Ginsburg in her Own Words"

On Friday, November 6 at 7 PM ET, NAPABA will feature a special tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg featuring Academy and Emmy Award winning documentarist Freida Lee Mock, former Ginsburg law clerks Justice Goodwin Liu, Sue-Yun Ahn, Ryan Park, Devi Rao, Kathy Ku, and NAPABA Leadership. Don't miss the exclusive screening of Mock's documentary “RUTH – Justice Ginsburg in her Own Words” scheduled to be released next year.