Danielle M. Conway of Penn State Dickinson Law and School of International Affairs was inducted as President of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) on January 9, during the organization’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans. She assumes responsibility from Austen L. Parrish of UC Irvine School of Law, who will now serve as Immediate Past President of the AALS Executive Committee.
“I am both honored and humbled by the responsibility of serving as President of the Association of American Law Schools,” said Conway in her inaugural address. “My friends, colleagues, and coalition partners within AALS have entrusted me to lead at a time when the nation, the legal academy, and the legal profession face existential threats to the rule of law, democratic institutions, and the shared values of equality and justice for all. I embrace this leadership position because I believe in the potential of law to serve the public good. Every day is a good day to stand up for the rule of law and to lean into the work to sustain it for the benefit of current and future generations of people who deserve to inherent a more just society.”
Read more about Conway and her goals as AALS President in this Penn State Law piece.
Additionally, Kevin K. Washburn of UC Berkeley School of Law was named 2026 President-Elect and will assume AALS Presidency in 2027.
“With numerous hard-working leaders serving more than one hundred sections and committees, including the Executive Committee, the AALS has worked hard to maintain community during complicated times,” said Washburn in the AALS news release. “I will follow the path of recent leaders in focusing on this important role for AALS in legal education.”
The AALS House of Representatives also approved the nominations of Elizabeth Kronk Warner of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law and Richard E. Moberly of the University of Nebraska College of Law to serve a three-year term on the AALS Executive Committee.
AALS News Release: https://www.aals.org/2026-aals-leadership/