Wake Forest University’s School of Law and Program for Leadership and Character will host the inaugural “Leadership and Character in the Law” conference on March 27-28, 2025.

The conference, which is organized in partnership with the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Leadership Section, aims to bring together law professors and lawyer leaders from around the country to share common concerns as well as to develop ideas for developing lawyers of integrity. 

The legal profession is facing a range of challenges, including low and declining levels of trust in lawyers, growing concerns related to the mental health and wellbeing of law students and lawyers, and uncertainty regarding the impact of artificial intelligence on the study and practice of law, among other things. The last 15 years have witnessed the growth of leadership programs in law schools, but many of these programs are still trying to understand and assess their impact. While new ABA standards now require law schools to aid students in developing a professional identity and in gaining cross-cultural competencies, many law schools are still working to understand how to incorporate these aspirations into existing curricula and programming. 

This conference aims to provide space for reflection as well as practical tools for law educators as we learn from and support each other in the work of educating character. 

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson will be the keynote speaker. Jackson has also served as a U.S. Representative from the Charlotte area, a North Carolina state senator, a prosecutor, and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. We’re also holding a discussion about navigating differences, featuring current North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger, Jr. and former justice Michael Morgan.