Revisiting the Teaching of Lawyer Leadership: Empirics, Skills, and Values, April 29, 2026

Joan Heminway, Director of Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law and Rick Rose Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Tennessee Winston College of Law, moderated a discussion with Professors Hillary Sale, Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Leadership and Corporate Governance and Professor of Management at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, and Kate Schaffzin, Director of the Reeves Institute for Professional Leadership and Douglas A. Blaze Distinguished Professor of Law at The University of Tennessee Winston College of Law, about their work teaching and researching lawyer leadership. They shared observations from their research and offered key insights on why researching and teaching lawyer leadership remains so important in an era of rapid legal change, what leadership knowledge and skills lawyers need to survive and thrive, and what law teachers can do to foster that knowledge and those skills. Watch the recording at Revisiting the Teaching of Lawyer Leadership: Empirics, Skills and Values.

AI & Leadership, June 25, 2026

April Barton, Dean and Professor of Law at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University, and Leah Teague, Professor of Law and Director of Leadership Development at Baylor University School of Law, discussed the impact of generative AI on the landscape of legal practice, emphasizing that the need for leadership development is even greater because of that impact. While AI excels at information processing and task automation, the irreducible core of legal practice remains beyond the reach of any algorithm. Sound judgment, sophisticated analysis, authentic advocacy, meaningful communication, emotional intelligence, relationship and trust building, conflict resolution, consensus building, and the full range of leadership and management competencies are essential components of a lawyer’s professional obligations. Watch the recording at AI & Leadership • AALS.

Leadership Development in Legal Education: Building Programs That Fit Your Law School, July 29, 2026

Jennifer A. Henfey, Associate Dean for Professional Development and Leadership, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, Greg Miarecki, Executive Assistant Dean for Career Planning and Professional Development, Lecturer in Law, University of Illinois College of Law, and Leah Teague, Professor of Law and Director of Leadership Development, Baylor University Law School, lead a conversation about opportunities and challenges of creating and building leadership development programming at law schools. They began by sharing examples of leadership programming at their schools. In a 10-minute Speed Round segment, audience members shared aspect of the leadership development programming from their schools.  The remainder of the program was a conversation about strategies for creating, adapting, or expanding leadership development efforts that are both meaningful and institutionally sustainable. Watch the recording at ADD