Tania Luma moderated a captivating discussion for our 2026 AALS annual meeting program, Impact, Excellence, Resilience, and Professional Integrity: Educating Lawyers as Leaders. Panelists were: William Bay, a partner at Thompson Coburn LLP and the American Bar Association’s Immediate Past President; Austen L. Parrish, Dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law and AALS 2025 President;  James E. Graves, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; and Cory T. Wilson, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The discussion focused on the legal profession’s obligation to ensure the integrity of its members and the stability of legal institutions. The conversation was particularly important and timely in the face of recent growing partisanship, declining civility, and low levels of social trust. The session explored different perspectives on what principled leadership looks like in contexts of uncertainty and raised questions about free speech, the rule of law, the nature of democratic legitimacy, and how law schools might better prepare law students for the dynamic environment of the legal profession. To access the audio recording of the program, go to Impact, Excellence, Resilience, and Professional Integrity: Educating Lawyers as Leaders.

At the 2026 AALS annual meeting, the Section on Leadership also cosponsored Doing Well-Being Without Losing Your Mind: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Law Student, Faculty, and Staff Well-Being with the Section on Balance & Well-Being in Legal Education.