MAPLA Conference 2023:
Letter from the President
Winds of Change Conference Program
WIFI INFORMATION:
Network: ESChicago
Password: Embassy2023
Click to jump to a day:
Thursday, September 21, 2023
6:30-9:30 Breakfast for Hotel Guests, Atrium
Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile
8:30am Registration Begins, Foyer
10-11:30 Two Concurrent Sessions:
New Pre-Law Advisor Session, Salon ABC
Law School Representative Session, Salon D
11:45-1:15pm Lunch and Networking, Salon ABC
1:30-3pm Two Concurrent Sessions:
Public Interest Fellowships & LRAPS, Salon ABC
Demystifying the Application Process for First Generation Students, Salon D
3:15-4:45pm Law School Fair, Salon EFG
5-6:30pm Cocktail Reception & Featured Speaker, Salon ABC
6:30-7pm Evening Reception for Hotel Guests, Atrium
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Location: Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile (all day)
Breakfast in lobby for hotel guests
Complimentary cooked to order breakfast, served in Atrium Lobby, available from 6:30am – 9:30am
8:30am Registration Begins
Foyer
Conference sessions are held on ML (Meeting Level) Floor. The elevators have “ML Meeting Rooms & Ballroom” listed on the elevator keypad. Please note – the only elevators that go down to ML level are the ones located by the Front Desk – not the guest elevators. Escalators located behind the guest elevators in Sky Lobby also go down to the meeting level.
WIFI INFORMATION:
Network: ESChicago
Password: Embassy2023
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law.illinois.edu/chicagoprogram
10 – 11:30am Two Concurrent Sessions:
New Pre-Law Advisor Session (10-11:30am Option 1)
Room name: Salon ABC
Presenters:
Janet Mitchell, Pre-Law Advisor, University of Wisconsin – Madison
RJ Holmes-Leopold, Director of the Career Center, Carleton College
This session is designed for new pre-law advisors or those looking for a refresher and will provide an overview of pre-law advising fundamentals, including connecting with key constituents, the roles of pre-law advisors, the law school application process, the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), the LSAT, and campus programming options. Finally, there will be opportunities throughout for discussion of challenges faced by new pre-law advisors and to ask questions.
Law School Representative Session: Experienced Faces in New Places (10-11:30am Option 2)
Room Name: Salon D
Presenters:
Emma Schulze, Asst. Dean of Admissions at Capital University Law School (Moderator)
Jason Owen, Asst. Dean of Admissions at University of Idaho College of Law (Panelist)
Estuardo R. Ponciano, Asst. Dean of Student & Diversity Services at California Western School of Law (Panelist)
Tracy Simmons, Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs at Howard University School of Law (Panelist)
This panel is composed of experienced legal professionals who manage admissions offices across the country and who have recently transitioned into a new (to them) law school. This panel explores that transition in a professional sense – the knowledge gained from working at multiple schools, how to best facilitate a smooth transition into a new role, and how to manage new relationships and expectations. We’ll also share new tips and tricks that we’ve learned along the way! We’ve done the work for you – now enjoy the benefits of hearing what innovations they’ve found in new places, how to foster relationships with new prelaw advisors, and how to react to new applicant pools.
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11:45am – 1:15pm Lunch and Networking by Institution Type
Room Name: Salon ABC
Optional: Discussions based on institution type. We will have signs on tables for large public institutions, small public institutions, small private and liberal arts colleges.
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1:30 – 3:00pm Two Concurrent Sessions:
Public Interest Fellowships & Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (1:30-3pm Option 1)
Room: Salon ABC
Presenters:
Richard Montauk; author of (inter alia) How to Get Into the Top Law Schools, and consulting editor, The LLM Guide;
MA Harvard, JD Stanford
Michelle Vodenik; Director, Public Interest Center; Chicago-Kent College of Law
Elizabeth Payne, Legal Director at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation
Many students hoping to develop public interest legal careers face a difficult problem: the debt incurred to fund law school will dwarf their expected income. Some eschew attending law school; others, recognizing the issue only once in law school, take the highest-paying private sector job available to pay back their debt. There are two primary ways to square the circle: attend a law school with a loan repayment assistance program (LRAP) or gain a large public-interest fellowship. This presentation will examine and evaluate both these options in detail.
For example, we’ll look at the 20+ law schools offering half- to full-tuition public interest fellowships, covering:
- Which schools offer such grants
- The amount of money involved
- Other benefits (including mentoring, summer funding, preferential access to school resources and programs, etc.)
- Obligations during and after law school
- The fellowship application process
- Timing
- Essays
- Recommendations
- Interviews
- The criteria used to judge applicants
- The competition for the awards: number of applicants, winners’ relevant experience, etc.
Along the way, we’ll examine the typical mistakes applicants make in their efforts to win these fellowships, and understand how applicants can instead maximize their chances of winning.
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Demystifying the Law School Application Process for First Generation Students (1:30-3pm Option 2)
Room: Salon D
Presenters:
Demetria Dailey, Assistant Director of Admissions, University of Richmond School of Law
Michelle Preston, Associate Director of Admissions Operations, University of Wisconsin Law School
Katie Vieira, Director of Admissions, Roger Williams University School of Law
This session will focus specifically on the needs of First Generation law students and demystifying the process for that population. As first generation professionals working in the admissions space, the goal of this conversation will be to give pre-law advisors tools to best equip their first-generation students. We will discuss the admissions cycle from start to finish – how to approach law school fairs, analyze and interpret law school data, dissect conversations with admissions officers and law students, and how all of this relates to finding the place where they will thrive.
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3:15 – 4:45pm Law School Fair
Room Name: Salon EFG
Meet with representatives from law schools attending the MAPLA conference to learn about specifics of their admission process, programs, and unique aspects of their schools.
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5:00 – 6:30pm Cocktail Reception & Featured Speaker
Room: Salon ABC
Join your MAPLA colleagues for a cocktail reception including complimentary beverages and appetizers.
Featured Speaker – 6:00pm
Carolyn Shapiro, Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Academic Administration & Strategic Initiatives, Co-Director, Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States (ISCOTUS) and Director, Public Interest Certificate Program at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
Carolyn Shapiro is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Administration and Strategic Initiatives at Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she is also the founder and co-director of Chicago-Kent’s Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States (ISCOTUS), and the faculty director of the Constitutional Democracy Project, a civic education initiative. Professor Shapiro’s scholarship is largely focused on the Supreme Court, its relationship to other courts and institutions, and its role in our constitutional democracy, as well as on other structural constitutional matters and issues related to democracy.
Professor Shapiro attended the University of Chicago Law School. After graduating, she served as a law clerk for Judge Richard A. Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and for Justice Stephen G. Breyer of the United States Supreme Court. After clerking, she had a Skadden Fellowship with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and then spent four years at a small civil rights firm. Professor Shapiro began her career at Chicago-Kent in 2003, From 2014 through mid-2016, she took a leave of absence from Chicago-Kent to serve as Illinois Solicitor General in the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
6:30-7pm Hotel Guests – Complimentary evening reception offered in Atrium Lobby
Offered Daily for guests 5:30 pm-7:00 pm, Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile
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Friday, September 22, 2023
Embassy Suites Downtown Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile
Morning: Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Afternoon: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
6:30-8:45am Breakfast for Hotel Guests, Atrium
8:45am Meet to Lyft or Walk to Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Lobby
9:00am Walk or Lyft to Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
9:30 – 10:30am Three Discussion Based Breakout Sessions:
(Change discussions every half hour, or stay the whole time)
1.“How-to” in Pre-Law, Room 1303
2.US News & World Report Rankings, Room 1401
3.Curriculum and Faculty, Room 1403
10:45am – 12pm Two Concurrent Breakout Sessions:
Your Career After Covid, 1401 Loyola Law
Advising Students Facing Uncertainty in the Application Process, Room 1403
12:15 – 1:15pm Lunch & MAPLA Business Meeting, Room 1040 (Power, Rogers and Smith Courtroom)
1:15pm Meet to walk or Lyft to Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
1:30pm Walk or Lyft to Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
2:00 – 3:00pm LSAC Update, Lincoln Hall
3:15 – 4:30pm Three LSAC Breakout Sessions:
LawReady, Rubloff Hall Room 140 (RB140)
The LSAT, Rubloff Hall Room 175 (RB175)
Law School Transparency, Rubloff Hall Room 180 (RB180)
4:45 – 6pm Cocktail & Networking Reception, Northwestern Pritzker Atrium
6pm Walk or Lyft to Embassy Suites Hotel
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Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile
Breakfast in lobby for hotel guests
Complimentary cooked to order breakfast, served in Atrium Lobby, available from 6:30am- 9:30am
8:45am Meet in lobby to Lyft or Walk to Loyola University Chicago School of Law
9:00am Walk or Lyft to Loyola University Chicago School of Law
The walk is 15 minutes, .7 miles. (25 E Pearson St, Chicago, IL 60611)
Meet at the check-in desk in Sky Lobby for groups wanting to use Lyft. You will be grouped into 3-4 passengers per car. Please note that the Lyft Pass covers the cost of your ride, but not tip. Rides ONLY available between hotel and law schools between the time periods of 8:15am – 10:00am, 1:00pm – 2:00pm, and 4:30pm – 6:30pm on Friday.
Click here to get your Lyft Pass ($20 off per ride for 3 rides; requires mobile device and download of Lyft app)
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9:30 – 10:30am Discussion Based Breakout Sessions:
Change sessions every half hour, or stay the whole time
Discussion Facilitator:
Eddie Visco, Executive Director, Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service, Albion College
This session is meant to encourage sharing amongst colleagues. Learn from others about “how to” in pre-law. Topics will depend on audience, but could include how to engage students, plan an event, use LSAC reports, work with student groups and more.
US News & World Report Rankings – Boycotts, methodology changes and what that means for students (Room 1401)
Discussion Facilitators:
Meg Bingle Krishnan, Director of Admissions and Programs at University of Chicago School of Law
Rebecca Ray, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, University of Illinois College of Law
Law school rankings went through significant upheaval in the last year, with many schools boycotting sharing their data with U.S. News & World Report, and then a resulting overhaul of the methodology behind the numbers. Learn from a panel of Law School Admissions representatives about what this means for applicants, and how you can best guide students. Bring your questions – this is designed to be a discussion.
Curriculum and Faculty (Room 1403)
Discussion Facilitators:
Thomas Bell, Assistant Professor of Political Science & Pre-Law Advisor, Knox College
David Golemboski, Assistant Professor of Government & International Affairs, Augustana University
This session is meant to encourage sharing amongst colleagues. In this facilitated session, learn from others who teach pre-law classes on how curriculum can be used to explore the legal field and build community within pre-law. This session also explores working as a pre-law advisor as a faculty member.
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10:45am – 12pm Two Concurrent Sessions:
Your Career After Covid (10:45am-12pm Option 1)
Room: 1401
Presenters:
Carmen Kelle, Senior Academic Advisor, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dr. Melissa McCoy, Assistant Dean of Admissions, Nebraska College of Law, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
“All Great Changes are Preceded by Chaos” – Deepak Chopra
The great resignation brought about by the pandemic has now led to the great reassessment. There are fundamental changes happening in higher education, as in the entire workforce, brought about by the pandemic. Many people are currently inspired to be more intentional about their career choices with one Feb. 2023 survey finding that 51% of employees plan to leave their current jobs within a year, even in the face of a possible looming recession. A March survey from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources shows that 57.2% of respondents will attempt to change jobs in the next year. Higher ed professionals attending the conference may be considering making a change or perhaps are seeing the opportunities likely to emerge at their institutions or at others as a result of a shifting workforce.
We’ll explore the implications of the shifting employment markets and how higher ed is likely to be affected, including what considerations advisors and law school professionals might think about when contemplating their careers. Two higher ed professionals, one from the academic advising arena and the other from the law school admissions world, will present information about the current trends. Each took different paths in their own careers and will share the factors that went into the choices they made.
When It’s Out of Your Hands: Advising Students Facing Uncertainty in the Law School Application Process
Room: 1403 (10:45am-12pm Option 2)
Presenters:
Amy Best, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Jenny Branson, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Baylor Law
C. Scott Peters, Professor and Department Head, Department of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa
Prospective law students can encounter uncertainty in situations that are outside of their control. It could be they have substantial character and fitness issues, have been justice-impacted, or are experiencing difficult family situations. They also may be unsure of how to approach the application process itself, with new testing and scoring options and with variations in broader trends in law school applications. This session will consider the best advice to give students when various uncertain circumstances may influence their application processes for law schools.
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12:15 – 1:15 Lunch & MAPLA Business Meeting
Room Name: 1040 (Power, Rogers and Smith Ceremonial Courtroom) at Loyola University Chicago School of Law
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1:15pm Meet outside Courtroom to walk or Lyft to Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
1:30pm Groups depart via Lyft or Walking .6 miles (13 minutes) to 375 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Meet near registration desk outside Courtroom for groups wanting to use Lyft. You will be grouped into 3-4 passengers per car. Please note that the Lyft Pass covers the cost of your ride, but not tip. Rides ONLY available between hotel and law schools between the time periods of 8:15am – 10:00am, 1:00pm – 2:00pm, and 4:30pm – 6:30pm on Friday.
Click here to get your Lyft Pass ($20 off per ride for 3 rides; requires mobile device and download of Lyft app)
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2:00 – 3:00pm LSAC Update
Room Name: Lincoln Hall
Presenter:
Katya Valasek, Director of Pre-Law Advising, Law School Admission Council
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3:15 – 4:30pm LSAC Breakout Sessions
LSAC is hosting three breakout Q & A sessions during this time. Feel free to move between sessions as you wish to learn more about all three topics.
LawReady
Room Name: Rubloff Hall 140 (RB140)
Presenter: Steve Kappler, Principal Consultant, LawReady
The LSAT
Room Name: Rubloff Hall 175 (RB175)
Presenter: Jennifer O’Connor, LSAC Ambassador and Volunteer Manager
Law School Transparency
Room Name: Rubloff Hall 180 (RB180)
Presenter: Katya Valasek, Director of Pre-Law Advising, Law School Admission Council
4:45 – 6pm Cocktail & Networking Reception with remarks from Dean Osofsky
Northwestern Pritzker Atrium
Remarks from Dean Osofsky at 5pm
Hari M. Osofsky is dean and Myra and James Bradwell Professor of Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and Professor of Environmental Policy and Culture (courtesy) at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. As dean, her leadership has focused on advancing the innovation that is needed at this time of change in the legal profession and society. This has included ambitious faculty hiring, cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and teaching initiatives, and concrete action to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion and social and racial justice. She also is very involved in mentorship and sponsorship to support greater diversity in law school and university leadership. The American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center recognized her as one of the 2019 Women of Legal-Tech.
Dean Osofsky’s over 50 publications focus on improving governance and addressing injustice in energy and climate change regulation. Her scholarship includes books with Cambridge University Press on climate change litigation, textbooks on both energy and climate change law, and articles in leading law and geography journals.
Dean Osofsky received a PhD in geography from the University of Oregon and a JD from Yale Law School. She clerked for Judge Dorothy W. Nelson of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to joining Northwestern University, Dean Osofsky served as dean of Penn State Law and the Penn State School of International Affairs and on the faculties of University of Minnesota Law School, Washington and Lee University School of Law, the University of Oregon School of Law, and Whittier Law School.
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6:00pm Meet in Atrium to walk or Lyft back to Hotel, .4 miles (10 minutes) walking
For groups wanting to use Lyft, you will be grouped into 3-4 passengers per car. Please note that the Lyft Pass covers the cost of your ride, but not tip. Rides ONLY available between hotel and law schools between the time periods of 8:15am – 10:00am, 1:00pm – 2:00pm, and 4:30pm – 6:30pm on Friday.
Hotel address: Embassy Suites Downtown Magnificent Mile 511 N Columbus Dr, Chicago, IL 60611
Click here to get your Lyft Pass ($20 off per ride for 3 rides; requires mobile device and download of Lyft app)
Saturday, September 22, 2023
6:30-9:00am Breakfast for Hotel Guests, Atrium
Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile
9:00 – 10:15am New Options in Pre-Law Advising: Legal Master’s Programs, Salon ABC
10:30am – 12:00pm Ultimate Guide to AccessLex Pre-Law Tools and Resources, Salon ABC
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Location: Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile (all day)
Breakfast in lobby for hotel guests
Complimentary cooked to order breakfast, served in Atrium Lobby, available from 6:30am- 9:30am
9:00 – 10:15am New Options in Pre-Law Advising: Legal Master’s Programs (Plenary Session)
Room: Salon ABC
Presenter:
Leslie Oster, Director, Master of Science in Law Program, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
This session will focus on new and exciting options in legal education – legal master’s programs. These programs allow students to gain some of the main benefits of studying law – rigorous training, an understanding of how the world works, and a new way of thinking – without the time and monetary commitment of a JD program. They also open myriad professional opportunities for students with a variety of educational backgrounds. This session will explore the range of legal master’s programs currently available and provide pre-law advisors with the information they need to advise students. Attendees can expect to walk away with new information that will help them tailor their approaches in working with students who would make great law school candidates, but may not be on board for earning a J.D.
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10:30am-12:00pm Helping Your Students: The Ultimate Guide to AccessLex Pre-Law Tools & Resources(Plenary Session)
Room: Salon ABC
Presenter:
Natalie Daniels, Regional Director – North Central, AccessLex Institute
Giving law applicants the tools they need to make informed decisions is vital to ensuring their path from Pre-Law preparation to law school graduation is a successful one. This session will give you a tour of the tools and resources AccessLex offers to you and your students so that their law school application journey is a successful one.
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