CARLISLE, Pa. — A large contingent of Penn State Dickinson Law faculty shared their insights and expertise at the 2025 Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting held in San Francisco on Jan. 7-11.
Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway, who was elected president-elect of AALS on the final day of the meeting, moderated a panel while 13 other faculty members served as moderators, presenters, discussants, and commentators. The theme of the meeting, reflected across the week’s more than 200 sessions, was “Courage in Action.”
Penn State Dickinson Law’s Antiracist Development Institute (ADI) also had a significant presence at the gathering. The ADI presented a systems design workshop at nearby University of San Francisco School of Law on Jan. 5, sponsored a booth at the AALS exhibit hall in Moscone Center, and co-hosted three receptions during the event.
Sessions covering a wide range of legal issues
Conway moderated the panel “Difficult Conversations: Ideas for Navigating Conflicts in a Polarized World,” sponsored by the AALS Committee on Recruitment and Retention of Minority Law Teachers and Students. The panel discussion explored four distinct themes for how to address difficult conversations, including the Equal Protection Clause and 14th Amendment, positionality and core values, culture building, and freedom of expression. Panelists discussed the need to help empower faculty and administrators to be intentional and present when listening to students, how to address issues as they arise, and the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in different geographical regions of the United States.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law Angela R. Dean answered a call for papers to present during the section program for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, co-sponsored by Insurance Law and Law, Medicine and Health Care. Her paper, titled “The American Hustle,” examined the role of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in FMC Corporation vs. Holliday in the creation of an inequitable two-tiered private health insurance system that solidified the distinction between fully insured and self-funded health plans.
Associate Dean for Enrollment, Career Development, Planning & Transition Amanda DiPolvere moderated the panel “Administration and Finance Bootcamp” sponsored by the Law School Administration and Finance and Associate Deans for Academic Affairs and Research. “We have a panel of experts on all things law school administration-related who are going to talk to you about different topics, answer your questions, and prepare you for your move into the dean’s suite, as an associate dean or as a dean — whatever the case may be, we are here for you. We are here to help,” said DiPolvere. She also served as a panelist during the Q&A event “Law School Administration and Finance, Co-Sponsored by Institutional Advancement.”
Assistant Professor of Law, Joseph H. Goldstein Faculty Scholar and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Jeffrey A. Dodge served as a commentator during the “Works-in-Progress” session sponsored by the section on Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Issues. Commenting on a paper about human rights law and marital status discrimination, he praised the review of international human rights treaties and law but suggested that adding a more humanistic element to the argument, such as citing more examples, could enrich the paper.
Jill C. Engle, professor of clinical law, served on the Women in Legal Education panel, “Critiquing Courage in Action.” Here, she shared her experience teaching and designing a course covering racial and gender equity in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. She shared her drive to combat racism in legal education and said, “I was at a point in my scholarship and leadership to lean into this work.” Engle also presented a work-in-progress during another Women in Legal Education panel, titled “Balance & Well-Being in Legal Education.”
Associate Professor of Law Amy C. Gaudion served as moderator for the “Insurance Law and National Security Law Joint Program — Insurance and National Security: Strange Bedfellows?” focused on recent developments in the national security law landscape, including updates relating to the activities of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Then, she moderated a “Works-in-Progress” session for the National Security Law section. She closed out the meeting as a commentator on a paper by University of Houston Law Center’s Christopher Mirasola titled “Domestic Military Deployments after Trump v. United States: A (Broken) System Undone.”
Emeritus Dean Gary S. Gildin, professor of law and Hon. G. Thomas and Anne G. Miller Chair in Advocacy, presented a paper titled “Private Remedies for Violation of State Constitutional Rights: Opportunities and Obstacles” during the “The Future of Private Civil Rights Enforcement” panel sponsored by the section on Civil Rights and co-sponsored by Litigation and Minority Groups. He addressed the opportunities and obstacles that arise when state courts are asked to recognize a civil action in the absence of legislative authorization, reject the qualified immunity defense for individual officials, hold governmental entities vicariously liable without the shield of sovereign immunity, and enable citizens to obtain counsel by permitting the recovery of attorney’s fees.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law Abi Hassen presented during the section on Defamation and Privacy’s panel co-sponsored by the sections on Children and the Law, Criminal Procedure, Employment Discrimination Law, Jurisprudence, and Poverty Law. He highlighted the importance of interrogating what privacy means, urging attendees to consider, “How might we think of the importance of privacy and the value of privacy for the functioning and proposition of liberal democracy?”
Lucy Johnston-Walsh, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Children’s Advocacy Clinic and Center on Children and the Law, presented during the “Works-in-Progress” session sponsored by the section on Family and Juvenile Law. She discussed her article in process, which is titled “Whose Money Is It? Unfair Taking of Foster Kids’ Social Security Benefits to Pay for the Cost of Foster Care” and included suggestions for a change of practice.
Medha D. Makhlouf, Elsie de R. and Samuel P. Orlando Distinguished Professor and the director of Penn State Dickinson Law’s Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, served as a discussant during the Law, Medicine and Healthcare section’s session, “Emerging Issues in Law, Medicine, and Healthcare Works in Progress.” Here, she offered comment on Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Professor Nicole Tuchinda’s paper “The Childhood Trauma of Law.” Makhlouf also served on the scholarship panel “Supporting the Student Scholar,” where she offered practical ways to foster student scholarship, including devoting half of class time to a writing workshop and encouraging students to write their seminar papers with the intention of publishing.
Assistant Professor of Law Andrea J. Martin presented her paper “The Uses and Limits of Definitions of Antisemitism for Addressing Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism on Campus” during the panel sponsored by the section on Jewish Law and co-sponsored by Constitutional Law. She explained how the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism was reached, noting, “We could sit here and debate for years what might be a better definition, which word could be taken out, which word should be inserted. But that is not going to help college students or administrators today in 2025 who are trying to deal with antisemitism on their college campuses.”
Associate Professor of Law and Director of Legal Analysis and Writing Samantha J. Prince presented on “Teaching Transactional Law and Skills” during the Transactional Law and Skills Section panel. She described a simulation she uses with students that draws on her real-life experience as a small business owner. “As a professor, you know when you do projects, there’s going to be heavy lifting and grading throughout the semester, so it’s really important to not forget all of the other things that you do and make sure that you’re strategic about how you place these assignments for your own mental health purposes,” said Prince.
Professor of Law and Lewis H. Vovakis Distinguished Faculty Scholar Shaakirrah R. Sanders moderated the Defamation and Privacy panel that Hassen spoke on. Sanders, who is also associate dean for antiracism and critical pedagogy, praised the work of noted panelist University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s Anita L. Allen. “We are in very rarefied air with Professor Allen, one of the top philosophers in the world on the subject of privacy. One of the facts that blows me away is she is the first individual of African American descent to have both a PhD in philosophy and privacy and a law degree,” said Sanders, who also presented on “Navigating Classroom Disruptions and Interruptions” for the Women in Legal Education Section just a few minutes after her first panel.
Emily Spottswood, visiting professor of law, served on the Criminal Procedure panel “Looking Back — and Forward — After Twenty Years of Crawford v. Washington.” During her panel presentation, she critiqued interpretation of the confrontation clause that locks in broad rules based on opinions and circumstances from 200 years ago and discussed the importance of knowing the long view history of trial process.
AALS awards and section leadership
In addition to holding sessions, AALS sections also presented awards and elected new leaders during the annual meeting. Penn State Dickinson Law’s Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Rebecca Schreiber was recognized with the Financial Aid Change-Maker award.
Visiting Associate Professor Ylli Dautaj received the New Voices in Dispute Resolution award from the Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Additionally, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Academic Success and Bar Passage Titichia M. Jackson was installed as the chair of the Academic Support Section.