Once a purchase is made, CLE access information will be automatically emailed to you and downloaded as a document into your account on our website. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Carter by email or by phone at 612-278-6309.
*Some exceptions apply
Immigration law and policy remain major issues in the United States. This CLE will bring attention to these developments and provide an opportunity for successful immigrant attorneys among us to speak about their careers, going through law school in the United States, obtaining a Minnesota law license, and practicing in different settings.
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The objective of this program is to educate attorneys in Minnesota to identify and eliminate biases against formerly incarcerated clients, who are disproportionately Native, Black, and poor. We will familiarize attorneys with incarceration and post-release issues in Minnesota, encourage attorneys to actively inspect their own and others’ biases, and provide practical training on how to address and eliminate these biases through a better and deeper understanding of the reentry experience.
In the early 1940s, Clara Anderson worked as a bartender at a local hotel until the St. Paul City Council enacted an ordinance barring women from working behind the bar as men returned from World War II. Rather than lose her job to a man, Anderson went to court. Her battle lasted three years and involved one tenacious lawyer and nine judges along the way. Ramsey County District Court Judge John Guthmann accidentally discovered this long-forgotten case when conducting research for a judicial portrait dedication at the Ramsey County Law Library.
Young humans who identify as transgender or nonbinary have become far more visible, which is reflective of greater parental and societal acceptance. Still, of the letters in the “LGBTQ+ alphabet” (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer), it’s the “Ts” (transgender and nonbinary humans), especially those who are younger, who more often face unique challenges relative to personal relationships, public interactions, and many other things that non-transgender persons (the technical phrase is “cisgender”) take for granted.
Lawyers are exposed to experiences that can lead to higher stress and greater consequences than those in many other careers. There is a clearly recognized continuum where unresolved chronic stress becomes a predictor for substance use problems and mental illness, particularly depression and anxiety. By understanding this continuum and the facts about addiction and mental illness, lawyers can reduce their risk and, hopefully, get help earlier when there is a mental health, substance use, or related problem.
Attorneys adopt habits and patterns for many good reasons. Efficiency and quality control are just two. Still, we as attorneys may develop practices for counselling our clients or drafting health care directives that need rethinking to meet the needs of individuals with different cultural backgrounds and lived experiences than our own.
Join us for a panel discussion on actionable initiatives for organizations to eliminate healthcare disparities from the government, health plan, and provider perspective. This panel will explore how organizations can put initiatives into action that increase inclusion and remove barriers in healthcare. This informative discussion features Minnesota’s leading health equity experts and you will not want to miss!
As part of a Justice for Families grant, Hennepin County Family Court conducted multi-cultural listening sessions with the goal of creating a more culturally responsive legal system for all communities struggling with domestic violence. This program will share feedback obtained from those sessions about current gaps, barriers and needs in the legal process for those experiencing domestic violence in family court cases; and will discuss the process of developing and holding those listening sessions and its replicability in other communities around the State.
More than a generation ago, Tony Kushner explored homophobia and the complicity of lawyers in perpetuating discrimination in Angels in America. This elimination of bias law and literature CLE revisits this work, asking what we have learned in 30 years and what can we learn from this play at a time when intolerance seems to be on the rise. In two CLE sessions, we shall discuss Angels in America, Part One Millennium Approaches, by Tony Kushner.
Following registration, you will receive the reading materials in advance of the session. Attendees are expected to read the play in advance and come prepared for a lively discussion.
Alma Miklasevics (she/her/hers) talks candidly about her own experiences as a transgender attorney, increased barriers, including attorney bias, that transgender people face when trying to access the legal system, and strategies to overcome that bias to ensure clients receive high quality representation. She will also provide tips for building a gender fluent, more inclusive law practice.
Hundreds of bills have been introduced this year in state capitals around the country targeting LGBTQ people, many of them specifically targeting transgender youth. These bills have included government restrictions and bans on health care, identity documents, sports participation, pronouns usage, bathroom access, drag shows, and more. We will discuss the national legislation landscape including the content of these bills and the context for their introduction. We will also discuss litigation and legal strategies to counter these bills in state and federal courts around the country.
Criminal jurisdiction in Indian country has been referred to as a “maze” by scholars and practitioners, and its complexity has been shown to result in increased rates of violent crimes against Native people. This panel will discuss how recent Minnesota legislation, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Cooley, and other developments may produce better outcomes for Minnesota tribes and their members. The panelists will also offer additional suggestions for tribal, state, and federal reform.
Minnesota has a robust legal services community that provides needed service to help the disadvantaged have access to justice. Every law firm associate should be familiar with the key elements of Minnesota’s legal services network: the need for service, who is served and why, the work done by legal aid providers, how the work is funded, and how to contribute by doing pro bono work. This CLE will explain the basics, looking at how legal aid organizations, pro bono attorneys, and the courts all play an important role.
This Elimination of Bias CLE examines the disposition of 210 bankruptcy adversary cases, and how the intersection of economic status and cognitive bias negatively impacts bankruptcy debtors.
In serving clients, the profession, and the system of justice, lawyers bring intellect, passion, and skill, carry significant workloads, and work long hours in close relationship with others solving difficult problems. Lawyers seek not only justice and successful resolution for clients and others, but also fairness, meaning, and intrinsic and external rewards for themselves. These aspects of a lawyers’ work including bias can cause chronic stress, resulting in burnout, poor physical health, or other health challenges such as anxiety, depression, substance use, addiction, and mental illness. Effectively managing workplace stress is critical to lawyer health, competence, and ethical responsibility.
This presentation by Joanna Labastida of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility will review the American Bar Association Opinion 500 and the ethical implications of language access in the client-lawyer relationship. The discussion will review specific rules of professional conduct, scenarios you might encounter in your practice, pitfalls to avoid and practical resources to ensure you are communicating effectively with your clients.
Lawyer Wellness CLE Series
Presented by Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and co-sponsored by the Criminal Law, Civil Litigation, and Solo Small Practice Experience Sections
The stress lawyers face is a predictor for depression, and untreated depression is the #1 predictor for suicide. Lawyers must also deal with the fact that clients can be suicidal. This program will help you understand the facts and myths about suicide; recognize signs and indicators for clinical depression, anxiety, and suicide; and provide resources and a protocol for offering and seeking help to prevent suicide.
Last year, two-thirds of legal aid clients identified as women. Join us as we discuss the barriers to justice that are behind this high need for legal assistance, including the higher barriers faced by those with intersecting identities, as well as how pro bono can help meet the need for this community. Our panel includes experts on domestic violence, immigration, pro bono management, and working with low-income individuals.