2017 ACS Lawyer Chapter Awards

Presentation of ACS Lawyer Chapter Awards, Constance Baker Motley Writing Competition Award, and Student Chapter Awards

Meeting the Moment: ACS Leaders Reflect on the Legal Resistance

During this year's ACS convention, participants discussed a wide range of legal and policy areas important to both the progressive agenda and to the American people, yet in jeopardy on account of actions taken or promised by the Trump Administration. What threads tie these challenges together and how can lawyers, law professors, and law students most effectively meet this moment? What tools are uniquely at our disposal? What new challenges might we face in the coming year and how can we best move forward together?

Run Like a Lawyer: Paths from Practice to Elected Office

In this session, the audience heard from several elected officials who used their law degrees to propel them into state and local office. The panelists, including a judge, attorney general, mayor, and state representatives, shared their experiences of taking first steps towards a run, building a support network, balancing work and running for office, staffing and managing a campaign, and fundraising. The co-founder and executive director of Run for Something provided advice on running for office. The audience came away with concrete steps to take to explore their own potential candidacies for elected office.