Click here for the 2021 Symposium Agenda, Session Descriptions, and Sponsors

Click here for the 2021 Session Materials

At ONDCP, Hazlett will help form policy focused on improving the quality of life in rural America, coordinate interagency efforts on drug control activity impacting rural communities, and build coalitions and grassroots strategies in these areas centered on prevention, treatment and recovery.

Hazlett is former chairperson of the AALA Membership Committee, a former member of the AALA Board of Directors, and has been a frequent speaker at the annual AALA symposium.

“Brian Buescher has had a successful legal career. His background, experience, and judicial philosophy are the reasons I recommended him to President Trump for this judgeship. I look forward to a fair and swift Senate confirmation process so that Mr. Buescher can soon serve on the Nebraska federal bench,” said Senator Fischer.

“Nebraska’s commitment to the rule of law and the Constitution are hallmarks of our state. Brian Buescher is a proud Nebraskan and will serve our state well in his new calling,” said Senator Sasse.

Now that the President has announced Buescher’s nomination, the Senate confirmation process begins. A confirmation hearing will take place before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and once that hearing has concluded, the committee will vote on the nomination. If the nomination clears committee, it will then head to the full Senate for a vote.

Buescher is a partner at Kutak Rock LLP in Omaha, Nebraska, where he leads the firm’s agribusiness litigation team. He also practices in the areas of environmental, food law, real estate, product liability, and banking. Buescher has been a frequent speaker at AALA’s annual agricultural law educational symposia and chaired the AALA Awards Committee from 2014 – 2016.

Buescher graduated from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and served as Editor in Chief for the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics.

It is with regret and sadness that AALA mourns the loss of Jake Looney who was one of the founding members of the AALA and served as its President from 1983-1984. Mr. Looney received the AALA Distinguished Service Award in 1988, and served the association and its members in many ways. He died October 22, 2018 at the age of 74.

The University of Arkansas Law School hired Jake in 1980 to start the LL.M. Program. He established the Program and served as Director from 1980-1982. He served as Dean of the Law School from 1982-1990.

After stepping down as Dean, Jake returned to the law faculty, teaching in both the the J.D. and LL.M. Programs. He authored a number of agricultural law books and spoke at countless conferences. He left the law school to return to his home town and his beloved ranch in Mena, Arkansas. There, he returned to private practice and later served on the bench as Polk County District Court Judge.

Looney completed his undergraduate education at University of Arkansas in 1966, having also attended Southern Arkansas University. He then went on to complete two master’s degree at the University of Missouri, one in 1968 and one in 1976. He received his J.D. from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, where he was on the law review, in 1971. Looney received a master’s in 2008 and doctorate in 2012 from the National Judicial College/University of Nevada-Reno under a joint program for education of judges. He also earned a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas.

A link to his obituary may be found here.

AALA members who know of a member’s passing should email AALA’s executive director.