Propose a Program

AALS Sections organize 75 percent of Annual Meeting programs; see below for more information. The rest of the programs are chosen by AALS program committees from RFPs. Proposals are open for all types of AALS programs. Each type is detailed below. 

The 2027 Annual Meeting theme, selected by AALS President Danielle Conway, is Emancipate. Academic. Freedom. Addressing the theme is not required, but the Program Committee encourages organizers to use it in framing proposals and will give consideration to programs using the 2027 theme.

Section Programs

AALS Sections organize 75 percent of Annual Meeting programs. Each Section has the discretion to design a program that meets the needs of its members and may have unique requirements for participation. The best way to get involved is to be an active member of a section. Joining is simple: just click here.

Section programs may be jointly sponsored with one or more other sections, as one of the most valuable features of the Annual Meeting is the ability to engage multiple constituencies on a common topic. Program formats may include: 

  • Panel presentations, for which Section organizers may choose speakers from a call for papers; 
  • Works-in-Progress, in which junior scholars receive feedback on drafts from more experienced colleagues; or 
  • Pedagogy/Alternative formats. 

AALS Programs & Requests for Proposals

AALS program committees select the rest of the Annual Meeting programs from proposals in five categories:

  1. Arc of Career Programs: These address a broad spectrum of issues related to the professional careers of law faculty and administrators. For those looking forward to the future of your career, what would you like to know? For those who are more senior in your career, what would you have wanted to know as you began your career?
  2. Open-Source Programs: These offer an opportunity to present either traditional or innovatively structured programs that stand apart from those proposed by AALS sections.
  3. Discussion Groups: These provide a setting for focused discussions among a small group of invited discussants and engaged participation by the audience.
  4. Symposia: These are extended half-day sessions that focus on in-depth scholarly exploration of a topic of academic interest.
  5. Hot Topic Programs: These focus on topics that emerged too late in the year to be included in section programming.

Arc of Career, Open Source, Discussion Group, and Hot Topic programs run for 75 minutes and should allow 15-20 minutes for audience participation and Q&A.

Symposia run for a half-day (3 hours) and should include sufficient time for audience participation at the end of each panel.

Deadlines

August 7, 2026 for Arc of Career, Discussion Groups, Open Source, Symposia.

November 13, 2026 for Hot Topics.

General Submission Guidelines

Full-time faculty members or administrators at AALS Member or Fee-Paid law schools may propose programs. International faculty, visiting faculty (who have no permanent affiliation at another Member or Fee-Paid law school), graduate students, and non-law school faculty are not eligible to submit proposals but may serve as speakers.

A proposal for any of the categories should include:

  • Program title.
  • Names, affiliations, and contact information of the proposal’s organizers.
  • Detailed description of the proposed program, including:
  • The format of the proposed program.
  • An explanation of the overall goal of the program.
  • If applicable, an indication that one or more speakers will be selected from a call for participants.
  • Names, titles, and affiliations of speakers to be invited, including links to or copies of their CVs. The number of speakers per program or Symposium panel should be limited to a maximum of four, plus one moderator. Discussion Groups typically have between eight and 12 discussants. Speakers should represent a mix of institutional affiliations.
  • If applicable, proposals should name the journal or edited volume that will be publishing any papers that are presented.

The scheduled program time should be used only for the academic discussion itself; if there is any “business” to take care of (e.g., discussion of whether to form a new AALS section or combine with an existing section), those discussions should take place outside of the allotted programming time. If you have questions, please contact AALS staff.

Download Open Submission RFP
Download Arc of Career RFP
Submission Form

Open Source Program Proposals

Open Source programs may take many shapes: programs may be interdisciplinary, address themes outside the scope of any existing section, or focus on specific issues such as recent cases or developments in a given area of law. The Program Committee also welcomes innovative formats. For example, Open Source proposals might offer the following:

  • A roundtable-style program in which speakers answer a series of questions posed by the moderator and the audience. 
  • A program where speakers engage in one or more role-play sessions.
  • A program that invites extended engagement with specific scholarly work, such as an “Author Meets Reader” program that discusses a significant new book, or a “Living Legend” program that invites attention to the overall work of an established scholarly figure.
  • A program that consists of short presentations coupled with questions designed to set the presentations against one another to foster debate and discussion.

Discussion Group Proposals

Discussion Groups will not feature formal presentations. Instead, at least six and no more than 10 discussants will typically prepare brief remarks (or “opening statements”) of 3-5 minutes. These initial presentations are intended to stimulate a lively and engaging discussion that will include both the discussants and members of the audience. Proposals should identify some discussants and include a Call for Participation (facilitated by AALS staff) to select the rest. The final discussant list chosen by the organizers is subject to review and approval by the Program Committee.

Symposium Proposals

The Program Committee encourages Symposium organizers to arrange for the publication of the papers in a journal or edited volume. If the Symposium is published in a student-edited law review, the AALS will waive the registration fee for up to two student editors from that law review to attend the Annual Meeting.

Because Symposium sessions run simultaneously with other programs during the Annual Meeting, attendees may attend panels more sporadically than is common for traditional symposia. For that reason, organizers should think of each symposium panel as a self-contained event and must be attentive to the quality of each session.

Hot Topic Program Proposals

Hot Topic programs focus on topics that emerge too late in the year to be included in other types of programs. The Program Committee typically receive significantly more strong submissions for “Hot Topic” programs than we can schedule. Organizers should check the preliminary Annual Meeting program on the AALS website to be sure their proposal does not substantially replicate a program already on the schedule.