Every spring the president-elect begins work on committee appointments for the subsequent year and appoints members of the following standing committees for three-year terms and the following special committees and planning committee for one-year terms.

Standing Committees

Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure (CAFT)

This committee serves as a resource for member schools that request an assessment of their procedures for protecting academic freedom or tenure. Requests from individual faculty members are referred to the Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure, & Governance of the American Association of University Professors.

Committee on Arc of Career Programs

This standing committee solicits and selects proposals for programs at the Annual Meeting that focus on the different stages of careers in legal education rather than on substantive fields of law. The committee also organizes a session for first-time meeting attendees.

Journal of Legal Education Editorial Board

The Editorial Board assists the Coordinating Editors of the Journal in reviewing manuscripts presented for possible publication in the Journal and provides general policy guidance. The Journal is a quarterly publication devoted to issues confronting legal educators, including curriculum development and legal scholarship. It also serves as an outlet for emerging areas of scholarship and teaching.

Membership Review Committee (MRC)

The Membership Review Committee reviews law school applications for membership in the Association and approves sabbatical site evaluation reports on member law schools. The committee meets twice a year to evaluate schools up for sabbatical review and to make recommendations to the Executive Committee on the actions it should take.

Recruitment and Retention of Law School Teachers and Students 

This committee is charged with recommending to the Executive Committee how the Association can better assist member and fee-paid schools in the recruitment and retention of law teachers and students.

Sections Committee

The Sections Committee mission is to improve the operation of Sections throughout the year, as well as their programming for the Annual Meeting.

AALS 2027 Special Committees

Nominating Committee for 2028 Officers and Members of the Executive Committee

The Nominating Committee has the task of nominating faculty from member law schools to serve on the AALS Executive Committee in the following year. The committee reviews nominations solicited by the AALS and recommends to the AALS House of Representatives two nominees for the Executive Committee and the next President-Elect. The Committee meets once in September.

Program Committee for the 2028 Annual Meeting

This committee solicits and selects proposals for “open submission” programs for the Annual Meeting that do not come from Sections. There are four types of “open submission” programs: symposium programs, small discussion groups, open source programs not sponsored by a Section, and hot topics. The Committee meets early in the year to review and critique all “open submission” programs and to plan for the new year.

Scholarly Papers for the 2028 Annual Meeting

The committee selects the winner(s) of the Scholarly Papers Competition that is open to faculty at AALS member and fee-paid schools who have been in teaching for five years or less. The winning author(s) is/are recognized at the next Annual Meeting. The Committee meets by conference call in October or November to select the awardee(s) after a winnowing process that begins in August.

Planning Committees for 2027 and 2028 Workshops and Conferences

Planning committees are responsible for organizing a workshop or conference. They typically meet once at AALS headquarters to begin the planning process and the appointments are for one-year term.

• 2028 Clinical Conference
• 2028 Deans Forum Workshop (All committee members must be sitting deans.)
• 2027 Workshop for New Law Teachers
• 2028 Workshop for Pretenured Law School Faculty
• 2027 Workshop for Appointment Committees
• 2027 Workshop for Adjunct Faculty/Lecturers

AALS President-Elect Kevin Washburn now invites recommendations for new members for any of the committees with openings (PDF). You may recommend any full-time faculty or staff member at an AALS member school, including yourself, by Friday, May 22, 2026. Please include your insights into the person’s strengths in the context of the service you propose. You may direct recommendations and questions via email to 2027Committees@aals.org.

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