There will be keynote sessions and concurrent sessions over the course of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Concurrent sessions are organized by four tracks: food law; in-house/corporate counsel; policy; and private practitioner.

Request for Proposals. The planning committee is tasked with providing high-quality CLE programs and for designing the symposium to serve as a forum for sharing information and discussing laws and public policies affecting agriculture. The goal of the concurrent sessions is to obtain CLE credits in most states. Presenters should plan on preparing presentations and materials that will qualify for such credits. Concurrent sessions will run 60 minutes in length. Session proposals should meet those expectations. The symposium is scheduled to be in person, and presenters are expected to be in person. The planning committee seeks to advance diversity and inclusion at the symposium and encourages proposals that include one or more presenters from underrepresented or diverse backgrounds.

Our popular “Ag Law Updates” will be offered again. The agenda will include an array of speakers and some of the best AALA has had to date.

The symposium also will include AALA’s student competitions (probably on Friday) and its 45th awards luncheon (on Saturday).

Thank you to our generous sponsors, who provide invaluable support to the AALA as we offer our 45th annual educational symposium. For sponsorship information, contact Executive Director Brad Parker at brad@aglaw-assn.org.

We look forward to seeing you in Memphis, Tennessee. For more information, please e-mail us at info@aglaw-assn.org or use this websiteʼs contact form.

* AALA will submit sessions deemed eligible for continuing legal education (CLE) credits to symposium registrants’ states. CLE credits are granted based on individual attendance records and state CLE rules. Note that approvals will vary because each state has different CLE requirements and rules. For example, not every state calculates CLE credits based on the clock hour. Not every state will grant CLE credits for each session submitted by AALA. In all events, AALA is committed to providing top-quality, relevant CLE that will be approved for most states.

Attendees may earn up to 3 CLE credits for Thursday and up to 12 credits of CLE (including 2 ethics hours) for Friday-Saturday.* There are keynote sessions and concurrent sessions over the course of Friday and Saturday. Concurrent sessions are organized by four tracks: food law; in-house/corporate counsel; policy; and private practitioner.

Our popular “Ag Law Updates” will be offered again. We will continue to announce additional session titles and speakers as we can. The agenda will include an array of speakers and some of the best AALA has had to date.

The symposium also includes AALA’s 44th Awards Luncheon on Saturday afternoon.

Thank you to our generous sponsors, who provide invaluable support to the AALA as we offer our 44th annual educational symposium. For sponsorship information, contact Executive Director Brad Parker at brad@aglaw-assn.org.

We look forward to seeing you in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information, please e-mail us at info@aglaw-assn.org or use this websiteʼs contact form.

Click here for the 2023 Symposium Agenda and Session Descriptions

* AALA will submit sessions deemed eligible for continuing legal education (CLE) credits to symposium registrants’ states. CLE credits are granted based on individual attendance records and state CLE rules. Note that approvals will vary because each state has different CLE requirements and rules. For example, not every state calculates CLE credits based on the clock hour. Not every state will grant CLE credits for each session submitted by AALA. In all events, AALA is committed to providing top-quality, relevant CLE that will be approved for most states.

Register here

As the new Biden Administration takes shape, it will be faced with many challenges and opportunities connected to agricultural trade.  Who will be the key players in agricultural trade for the Biden Administration and what might the Administration’s policies look like?  How should the Administration approach current issues such as trade with China, WTO reform, potential U.S actions against agricultural imports (such as phosphate fertilizers), and trade negotiations with foreign countries?  This webinar will explore these and many other agricultural trade questions.

Speakers: Craig Thorn, Partner at DTB Associates, Sharon Bomer Lauristen,  founder of AgTrade Strategies LLC, and Joe Glauber, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Craig Thorn
Partner
DTB Associates[/caption]Craig Thorn is a partner at DTB Associates.  He advises clients on issues related to agricultural trade, trade agreements and trade barriers, including regulatory barriers.  Before founding DTB Associates, Mr. Thorn spent over 15 years with the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  He headed the Agriculture Section in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in Geneva, where he represented the United States at the World Trade Organization on agricultural trade matters during final phase of the Uruguay Round negotiations.   He also served in FAS as Director of the Europe Division and Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Affairs Division and as an attaché in the U.S. Mission to the European Union.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen
Founder
AgTrade Strategies LLC

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen is the founder of AgTrade Strategies LLC, a consulting service on U.S. agricultural trade policies. She retired from the U.S. government in 2020 with 29 years of experience, most recently as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Executive Office the President.

Sharon served at USTR for 15 years leading agriculture trade negotiations for the United States, including with Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and at the World Trade Organization. She also worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, for ten years in senior management positions, and five years leading the agriculture section of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. She started her career in government relations for the United Fresh Produce Association.

Joseph Glauber
Senior Research Fellow
International Food Policy Research Institute

Joe Glauber is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC where his areas of interest are price volatility, global grain reserves, crop insurance and trade. Prior to joining IFPRI, Glauber spent over 30 years at the U.S. Department of Agriculture including as Chief Economist from 2008 to 2014. As Chief Economist, he was responsible for the Department’s agricultural forecasts and projections, oversaw climate, energy and regulatory issues, and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.

From 2007-2009, Glauber was the Special Doha Agricultural Envoy at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative where he served as chief agricultural negotiator in the Doha talks. He served as economic adviser at the so-called Blair House agreements leading to the completion of the Uruguay Round negotiations. He is the author of numerous studies on crop insurance, disaster policy and U.S. farm policy.

Dr. Glauber received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1984 and holds an AB in anthropology from the University of Chicago. In 2012, he was elected Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Additional details will be available soon.