Legal scholars from around the country will gather at the University of St. Thomas School of Law Friday, Sept. 23, to participate in a symposium on “The Lawyer’s Role and Professional Formation.”

The annual fall symposium, sponsored by the St. Thomas Law Journal and the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Schulze Grand Atrium at the university’s School of Law in downtown Minneapolis.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Rob Vischer commented, “Given the current turmoil in the legal services market,  there is a pressing need to step back and ask foundational questions about the nature of the lawyer’s role in society and how that role should shape the way we educate and form lawyers.

He explained that the symposium gathers many of the leading scholars who are working to help clarify our understanding of the lawyer’s work and to chart the future course of legal education.

“Often the more theoretical conversations about the nature of the lawyer’s role proceed separately from the more practical conversations about the future course of legal education,” he said.  “This symposium brings both conversations together in what promises to be an energized and productive new dialogue.”

Speakers will include:

• Deborah Rhode, Stanford Law School
• Tom Morgan, George Washington Law School
• Brad Wendel, Cornell Law School
• Robert Vischer, University of St. Thomas School of Law
• Paul Paton, McGeorge School of Law
• Paul Tremblay, Boston College Law School
• Judith McMorrow, Boston College Law School
• Mickey Bebeau, University of Minnesota
• Neil Hamilton, University of St. Thomas School of Law
• Richard Painter, University of Minnesota Law School     
• Eli Wald, Sturm College of Law (University of Denver)
• Russ Pearce, Fordham Law School
• Amy Uelmen, Georgetown Law School
• Alice Woolley, University of Calgary
• Kate Kruse, William S. Boyd School of Law (University of Nevada Las Vegas)

Practicing lawyers, legal scholars, and the public are welcome to register for the event, which  has been approved for 5.00 continuing legal education credits. For more information and registration information contact: Bethany Fletcher at (651) 962-4830 or R.S.V.P. here. For more information go here.