Photos by Carlos Villarreal
The 43rd annual Progressive Lawyering Day was held at Golden Gate University again this year, and as in previous years was a great success! Over 100 people attended the 6 panels which showcased the scope and diversity of issues and causes being pursued by the Bay Area progressive legal community. The panel Surveillance and Racial Profiling in the Arab, Middle Eastern and South Asian Communities: A Legal Response featured members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, The Asian Law Caucus and our very own Nadia Kayyali, NLG National Law Student Vice President. The panel on Prison Law After Plata v. Brown heard a lively discussion between the directors of Legal Services for Prisoners With Children and Justice Now. Exonerating the Innocent brought attorneys from the Northern California Innocence Project to the table. Change Through Conflict had attorneys sharing strategies for impact litigation. The panel Organized Labor: Overcoming Backlash covered the hyper relevant activity taking place in the labor movement. Finally, the panel on International Environmental Human Rights Law heard inspiring testimony from members of Justice in Nigeria Now, Accountability Counsel and the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute.
Our keynote speaker this year was Matt Gonzalez who shared his history participating in progressive causes over the course of decades in the bay area. He spoke on several topics including what it was like running for various national and local offices, holding an elected position and the necessity of making controversial decisions in order to stay true to one's convictions. Our reception after the event saw students from nearly every law school in the greater bay area mingling with practicing progressive attorneys. All of us on the organizing committee are proud to have been a part of nearly a half century of progressive legal tradition, and we're all looking forward to another great event next year! - PLD Planning Committee
