ABA Appellate Summit in Washington DC November 10-13

By Robyn Hagan Cain on October 28, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

It’s not even Halloween, and we’re already looking forward to Thanksgiving. You probably are, too. After all, the First Circuit Court of Appeals is better-known in the legal world as the circuit where Thanksgiving started.

Even more exciting? Before you fast-forward through November to turkey and football, you have a chance to rub elbows with outstanding appellate lawyers, scholars, and judges at the Appellate Judges Education Institute (AJEI) Summit.

Think of it as a lawyer’s holiday couched between the two calendar holidays that warrant the consumption of mellowcreme pumpkins.

Not on the list for the event? No worries; there's still time to register.

The annual event, co-sponsored Appellate Judges Conference of the American Bar Association's Judicial Division and Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, is November 10-13 in Washington, D.C.

Appellate Summit highlights include opening remarks from Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday, November 10, a luncheon with author Scott Turow, and dinner entertainment from The Capitol Steps on Friday night.

But this conference is more than just celebrity appearances; there's plenty of substance, too. Here is a sampling of the conference topics from the Appellate Summit agenda.

Supreme Court case reviews and current term preview
From Your Court to the Supreme Court: Discretionary Review in the Supreme Court of the United States
Inside the Judicial Sanctum: The Art and Science of Judicial Decision-Making
The Second Amendment in the Courts After Heller and McDonald
Yours, Mine and Ours: The Evolving Relationship Between
Appellate Counsel and Trial Counsel
Building an Appellate Practice in the 21st Century
The Constitution in Wartime - Historical Perspective

Conference fees range between $445 for Council of Appellate Staff Attorneys ABA Members to $695 for Council of Appellate Lawyers Non-ABA Members, so we suggest checking the Summit fees page to find where you fall within that range.

Most of the conference events will occur at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. The group discount rate at the hotel expired earlier this month, but you can still make reservations online through the hotel's website.

For more information about the conference, check out the Summit website, and for more information on the First Circuit Court of Appeals, visit FindLaw's First Circuit blog.

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First Circuit Court of Appeals (US Courts)
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