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strong>Hamilton Ballroom [clear filter]
Wednesday, October 30
 

9:00am CDT

[CLE] Military Resistance and the Law [Hybrid]
Wednesday October 30, 2024 9:00am - 4:00pm CDT
This CLE will be happening in-person at the NLG National Convention on October 30, 2024 from 9 am-4 pm Central Time (with a lunch break from 12-1 pm), as well as live via zoom. The programming will also be available in recorded/on-demand format beginning on November 1.

This event requires separate registration: To register please click here!

Program Description:

This program focuses on the issues of Military Resistance and Protest, Anti-Imperialism, and Legal Support for Military Resistance.

The CLE will include six one-hour sessions, each with a different panel. It will begin with a discussion of military resistance by resisters; and continue with separate sessions on military policies on dissent and protest; court-martial defense for resisters; complaints and redress of grievances; conscientious objection and other discharges; and a summary including why we (attorneys and legal workers/military counselors) do military law. It is designed for beginning practitioners and counselors, but will include discussion of value to those more experienced in this work. Each session will include commentary on working with and supporting resisters, as well as legal policies.

Our presenters:
Our other speakers will be listed here soon after availability is confirmed.

James M. Branum has practiced military law (including court-martials, administrative boards, and discharge upgrade boards) since 2006. He is a member of the steering committee of the MLTF and is a past chair. He is a graduate of Oklahoma City University of School of Law, and is the author of the book US Army AWOL: A Practice Guide and Formbook. Outside of legal work, he is an interfaith minister, peace activist, and is the editor of Humanistic Judaism magazine.

Jonathan W. Hutto, Sr. is an anti-oppression community organizer and author who has made substantial contributions within both non-profits and grassroots organizations for over a quarter century. Jonathan embraced his calling as an Undergraduate Student at Howard University in the late 1990’s. In 2006, as an enlisted member of the United States Navy, he co-founded the Appeal For Redress from the Iraq War, which was awarded the 2007 Letelier Moffitt Human Rights Award from the Institute for Policy Studies. He is also the author of Anti-War Soldier: How to Dissent with the Ranks of the Military.

How to attend: The cost of this program is $25 per session or $100 for all six sessions (for attorneys seeking CLE credit) or a donation of any amount for all others.

We also will waive the attorney fee for any attorney who agrees to accept a pro-bono referral from the MLTF in the next 12 months. Law students are warmly welcomed and can attend for free (and are eligible to join the MLTF for free as well!)
To register. Please click here.

CLE Credit:
  • California: Accreditation pending
  • Other jurisdictions: Attorneys in other states will be given a “uniform application for accreditation of CLE credit” which can be submitted to one’s state bar. We cannot guarantee that a state bar will approve the CLE credit but most states will likely do so (Texas is a notable exception – if you are a Texas lawyer, please contact us, as we may be able to apply for accreditation for the program if we have sufficient interest to justify the cost.). Your state may also require you to pay a nominal fee for submitting this form, which would be your responsibility.
Materials:
Sponsors: This program was made possible for the funding of the NLG foundation.
Wednesday October 30, 2024 9:00am - 4:00pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

4:30pm CDT

Convention Welcome! [In-person]
Wednesday October 30, 2024 4:30pm - 5:30pm CDT
Welcome to Birmingham, Alabama for the 2024 #Law4thePeople Convention!

Join this opening session to ground yourself in the rich history of this year's host site. Learn from local movement leaders to recognize and honor the city that is hosting us for the NLG's largest annual event. Whether you are local or from out of town, start the convention off right by gathering for this inspiring welcome!
Wednesday October 30, 2024 4:30pm - 5:30pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom
 
Thursday, October 31
 

9:00am CDT

Solidarity with Uhuru 3: Rising Political Repression in the US [In-Person]
Thursday October 31, 2024 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Sponsored by the NLG Mass Incarceration Committee.

The Uhuru 3 are Omali Yeshitela, Chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP); Penny Hess, Chair of the African People’s Solidarity Committee (APSC); and Jesse Nevel, Chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement (USM). In April 2023, the Uhuru 3 were indicted by the U.S. government on bogus charges of being “agents of a foreign government”. The charges came nine months after the FBI and local police violently raided seven homes and properties of the APSP and Uhuru Movement in St. Louis, MO and St. Petersburg, FL on July 29, 2022.These charges carry prison sentences of up to 15 years each. The case came to trial on September 3rd in a federal courthouse in Tampa, Florida and the jury repudiated the foreign agent charges. However, according to one of the defendants… “the prosecutors unleashed a barrage of lies and distortions of the law, along with deliberately confusing jury instructions, to mislead the jury into returning an inconsistent verdict, convicting us on the lesser charge of “conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States,” ‘

This workshop will feature a small panel of defendants and one lawyer to present on the details of the prosecution of the UHURU 3 and the abuse of FARA and Conspiracy laws. Panelists will talk about this in the context of growing political repression and rising number of civil and criminal charges targeting several movements in the United States with a focus on how to fight back.

Speakers:
Dr. Aisha Fields, African People's Socialist Part
Jesse Nevel, Uhuru Solidarity Movement
Penny Hess, African People’s Solidarity Committee
Leonard Goodman, Attorney
Audrey Bomse, NLG Mass Incarceration Committee
Speakers
avatar for Audrey Bomse

Audrey Bomse

NLG Mass Incarceration Committee Chair
Audrey has been a lawyer and member of the National Lawyers Guild since 1980, and an activist all her life. She practiced criminal law as a Public Defender and civil rights law (largely class actions) at the NJ Office of Inmate Advocacy. She was legal director of the Prisoners Legal... Read More →
avatar for Dr. Aisha Fields

Dr. Aisha Fields

All African People’s Development & Empowerment Project
Dr. Aisha Fields, African People's Socialist Party, is an applied optical physicist and International Director of the All African People’s Development & Empowerment Project (AAPDEP), a non-profit development organization founded by the Uhuru Movement in 2007. As the AAPDEP Director... Read More →
avatar for Jesse Nevel

Jesse Nevel

Uhuru Solidarity Movement
Jesse Nevel is the Chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement (USM), the mass organization of white solidarity with Black Power, under the leadership of the African People’s Socialist Party.  As part of the APSP-led strategy to popularize the demand for reparations, Jesse ran for mayor... Read More →
avatar for Penny Hess

Penny Hess

African People’s Solidarity Committee
Penny Hess is the Chairwoman of the African People’s Solidarity Committee (APSC), the organization of white people under the direct leadership of the African People’s Socialist Party, working for reparations to African people. Penny has been a member of APSC since its founding... Read More →
avatar for Leonard Goodman

Leonard Goodman

Uhuru 3 Attorney
Leonard Goodman is the attorney representing Penny Hess, one of the Uhuru 3. Goodman is a distinguished criminal law attorney based in Chicago who has won high profile and precedent-setting cases including in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Illinois Supreme Court. He is a prolific... Read More →
Thursday October 31, 2024 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

10:30am CDT

NLG Foundation Board Meeting
Thursday October 31, 2024 10:30am - 11:30am CDT
NOTE: This meeting is only for current members of the NLG Foundation Board. 
Thursday October 31, 2024 10:30am - 11:30am CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

3:00pm CDT

Canary in the Coal Mine: Exploring the Intersection of Environmental Justice and the Labor Movement through Alabama’s Black Warrior River [In-Person]
Thursday October 31, 2024 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Sponsored by the NLG Environmental Justice Committee.

This panel will bring together Alabamians with different relationships to the environmental justice movement in order to explore the aftermath of the strike at Warrior Met Coal, the longest strike in Alabama history. During the strike, Warrior Met’s Mine 7 discharged large amounts of pollutants into Black Warrior River, a major source of drinking water for the area. We will discuss the lawsuit brought by Black Warrior Riverkeeper against Warrior Met as well as the strike, and will explore the intersections of workers’ rights and environmental justice.

Speakers:
Eva Dillard, Black Warrior Riverkeeper
Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper
Ryan Anderson, Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC)
Speakers
avatar for Nelson Brooke

Nelson Brooke

Black Warrior Riverkeepers
Nelson Brooke, a Birmingham native, is an Eagle Scout and outdoor enthusiast who has enjoyed fishing and hunting along the banks of the Black Warrior River since he was seven years old. Nelson obtained an anthropology degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Nelson has been... Read More →
avatar for Eva Dillard

Eva Dillard

Black Warrior Riverkeepers
Eva Dillard became Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s Staff Attorney in 2010. She is a graduate of Mary Baldwin College and the University of Virginia School of Law. Her practice has been split between litigation and advising clients in both the public and private sector. She is a former... Read More →
Thursday October 31, 2024 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

4:30pm CDT

NLG Military Law Task Force Meeting [In-Person]
Thursday October 31, 2024 4:30pm - 5:30pm CDT
The Task Force meeting is open to all who are interested in our work. The meeting will be informational, and we will discuss the mission, structure and current projects of the Task Force. There will also be time to discuss why we do military law and organizing, and opportunities to get involved with our work in the year ahead. Rumor has it there will be a social event following the meeting. Virtual attendees can join the meeting by going to: Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: MLTF meeting at NLG National Convention. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.


MLTF will also hold its annual membership meeting by zoom on Monday, November 11 (yes, Veterans Day) at 4 p.m. pacific time, 6 p.m. central time, or 7 p.m. eastern time. It will include a general discussion of US imperial military policy, reports from our working committees, plans for the coming year, and nomination of steering committee members. You can join the meeting by going to: Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: MLTF Annual Members' Meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Thursday October 31, 2024 4:30pm - 5:30pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

7:00pm CDT

🎃👑💅🏿 Drag the Patriarchy: A Fierce Halloween Extravaganza! 👑🎃💅🏿
Thursday October 31, 2024 7:00pm - 9:30pm CDT


Get ready for a spooktacular night of empowerment and glitter as we celebrate Halloween with a purpose! Join us on October 31st for Drag the Patriarchy, a dazzling event where drag queens, kings, and non-binary royalty come together to put a fabulous spin on social justice.In partnership with the incredible local organization Take Bham, an organization formed by trans women of color who are organizing to break down barriers and to set standards within the Birmingham community for trans-related issues, we're bringing you a night full of fierce performances, captivating talent, and a bold message: Everyone deserves equal rights and opportunities.

Tickets are just $15 for general admission and $25 for Spooktacular Duo Entry! Small bites will be served to keep your energy up as you dance and celebrate.

Come dressed in your Halloween finest—whether it’s a classic spooky look or a creative costume of your own. We reject cultural appropriation and encourage you to be respectful in your outfit choices. Let's make this a night to remember for all the right reasons!

Grab your tickets now and be part of a night where we not only have a blast but also amplify the message that equity and justice shouldn’t be scary—it should be a given. See you there!

🕸️Tickets: $15 General Admission | $25 Spooktacular Duo Entry
🍴 Small Bites Provided**
📅 Date: October 31st
📍 Location:
808 20th Street South,
Birmingham, Alabama, 35205
Thursday October 31, 2024 7:00pm - 9:30pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom
 
Friday, November 1
 

9:00am CDT

How NLG Can Support in the Unhoused Crisis [In-Person]
Friday November 1, 2024 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
This workshop will highlight the many ways that NLG can be involved in supporting our unhoused community members and countering the effects of discriminatory and traumatizing policies that continue to place folks in harm's way. Expanding on organizing efforts happening in the Far West at the local and state levels, participants will learn how individuals from different areas of intersect can engage, from direct outreach and services to ticket defense clinics, legal observation, and the development of impact litigation.

Speakers:
Legal Worker Vice President Khanstoshea Zingapan (They/She)
Far West Regional Representative Dee Mouton (She/Her)
Far West Regional Representative Carie Martin (They/Them)
Speakers
avatar for Deanna Mouton

Deanna Mouton

NLG Far West Regional Representative and SFBA NLG Vice-President
Deanna Mouton is a San Francisco native that was raised in the Mission. They are a law graduate from San Francisco Law School where they were the recipient of the Blum Academic Scholarship, a scholarship granted to the top three students of the entire law class. Deanna helped establish... Read More →
Friday November 1, 2024 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

10:30am CDT

Representing Revolutionaries [Hybrid]
Friday November 1, 2024 10:30am - 12:00pm CDT
Sponsored by the NLG Mass Incarceration Committee.

The panel will focus on the period from the late 1960's to early 1980's when progressive attorneys, many members of the NLG, stepped up to represent members of the BLA, FALN and other revolutionary groups. Other attorneys, including other members of the NLG shunned these revolutionaries. The panelists will be asked to address why they took on that representation, the political issues involved, the lessons they learned and how those lessons an help us today.

Speakers:
Jan Susler
Bob Bloom
Soffiyah Elijah
Jenipher Jones
Jamal Joseph (moderator)
Speakers
avatar for Soffiyah Elijah

Soffiyah Elijah

Alliance of Families for Justice
Soffiyah Elijah is the Executive Director of the Alliance of Families for Justice. Established in 2016 in New York, the mission of the Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ) is to support families of incarcerated people and people whose lives have beenimpacted by incarceration, empower... Read More →
avatar for Jamal Joseph

Jamal Joseph

Jamal Joseph is a writer, director, producer educator and activist. His film and television writer/director credits include Chapter & Verse (theatrical and BET) which won the Pan African Film Festival’s Audience Choice Award and was a New York Times Critic’s pick, Drive By and... Read More →
Friday November 1, 2024 10:30am - 12:00pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

1:00pm CDT

Plenary 1: Governance [Hybrid]
Friday November 1, 2024 1:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
Friday November 1, 2024 1:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

3:30pm CDT

NLG Legal Worker Caucus [Hybrid]
Friday November 1, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
This meeting is open to all current NLG Legal Worker members!
Friday November 1, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

5:00pm CDT

Friday Keynote Address: Noura Erakat [Livestreamed]
Friday November 1, 2024 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Noura Erakat is a human rights attorney and Professor of Africana Studies and the Program of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She is the author of Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2019), which received the Palestine Book Award and the Bronze Medal for the Independent Publishers Book Award in Current Events/Foreign Affairs. She is co- founding editor of Jadaliyya and an editorial board member of the Journal of Palestine Studies. Noura is a co-founding board member of the DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival and a Board Member of Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights. In 2024, she served as the Co-Chair of an Independent Task Force on the Application of National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel, which submitted a report to the White House recommending suspending U.S. weapons transfers to Israel. She has served as Legal Counsel for a Congressional Subcommittee in the US House of Representatives, as Legal Advocate for the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Refugee and Residency Rights, and as national organizer of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Noura has also produced video documentaries, including "Gaza In Context" and "Black Palestinian Solidarity.” Her writings have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The
Nation, Al Jazeera,
and Boston Review. She is a frequent commentator on CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, Fox News, the BBC, and NPR, among others. She has been awarded fellowships at Harvard Divinity School and Brown University’s Center for Middle East Studies. In 2022, she was selected as a Freedom Fellow by the Marguerite Casey Foundation.
Speakers
avatar for Noura Erakat

Noura Erakat

Keynote Presenter
Noura Erakat is a human rights attorney and Professor of Africana Studies and the Program of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She is the author of Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2019), which received the Palestine... Read More →

Friday November 1, 2024 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom
 
Saturday, November 2
 

9:00am CDT

TUPOCC Session: Solidarity Is Our Power!!!!! [Hybrid]
Saturday November 2, 2024 9:00am - 12:00pm CDT
This session is about the people that we show up for. It’s a reminder of our shared fights and our opportunities for solidarity across issues.  We’ll hear directly from  impacted people and organizers who are working in their local communities on issues like ending qualified immunity, tackling environmental injustices  and ending mass incarceration and racial injustices.

NOTE: This is a space for BIPOC people only. Non-BIPOC people should attend the Anti-Racism training taking place simultaneously
Speakers
avatar for NaKeshia Taylor

NaKeshia Taylor

NaKeshia Taylor, Social Justice and community activist, Niece of Narene Crosby and cousin of Ryan Stokes. NaKeshia Taylor is an RN who is currently working towards advancing her career and is in school to receive her BSN.  Keshia works at University Health medical center in Kansas... Read More →
avatar for Justice Gatson

Justice Gatson

Reale Justice Network
Justice Gatson is a social justice doula from Kansas City Missouri. She earned a degree in Mass Communications from Bennett College, an HBCU in North Carolina. She is a community organizer,founder and director of Reale Justice Network.  Justice is a founding member of the MO KAN... Read More →
avatar for Narene Crosby

Narene Crosby

Ryan Stokes: Speaking Truth To Power
Mrs. Narene Crosby is a retired medical professional from Kansas City, Missouri.  She is a mom, grandmother and community advocate fighting for those who have been harmed by police violence. Narene's world was forever changed the day that a Kansas City police officer took the life... Read More →
avatar for Ock (Thomas Bowers)

Ock (Thomas Bowers)

Kansas City NLG President
Ock (Thomas Bowers) is a community organizer living in Kansas City Missouri.  He is the current chair of the Kansas City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.  Ock is a previously incarcerated leader who uses his lived experiences to advocate for others.  He is the Director of... Read More →
avatar for Veronica Johnson

Veronica Johnson

Alabama Justice Initiative
A native of Alabama, Veronica R. Johnson currently serves as the Deputy Director of Alabama Justice Initiative. During her time with Alabama Justice Initiative, she, along with other partner organizations, formed Communities Not Prisons. Through this coalition, they were able to stop... Read More →
Saturday November 2, 2024 9:00am - 12:00pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

1:00pm CDT

Plenary 2: TUPOCC Then & Now: Visions for the Next 20 Years [Hybrid]
Saturday November 2, 2024 1:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
In revolutionary salute, we are gathering to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The United People of Color Caucus (TUPOCC).  We are extremely honored to be joined by two of its founding leaders, Renee Sanchez and Russell Bloom. They will be joined by past TUPOCC Chair and newly elected president Ría Thompson-Washington. They will engage in a robust discussion about the founding of TUPOCC that will be moderated by Justice Gatson, the current chair of TUPOCC.

We’ll hear directly from the people who were there in Birmingham 20 years ago. We’ll learn from them how it all came about, and the labor that it took to see it through. Each panelist will also have an opportunity to share their story about the struggles they faced as TUPOCC leaders and how they continued to fight in the face of opposition. We'll learn about the vision and creation of the Alabama Manifesto and its importance in establishing a framework for TUPOCC.

We’ll  highlight the work that TUPOCC has done over the last 20 years and the founding leaders will engage in dialogue with the most recent past chair of TUPOCC, sharing their perspectives on the past, present and future of TUPOCC.  
We’ll be able to reflect on their challenges, sacrifices and struggles but also their strength, power, dedication, tenacity and resilience. This will be a powerful and inspiring discussion that centers radical truth telling, accountability and our commitment to advancing racial justice.

This is also our opportunity to give these amazing visionary leaders their well-deserved flowers and show our deep appreciation for the work that they have done to create The United People Of Color Caucus.  
Speakers
avatar for Russell Bloom

Russell Bloom

BART Independent Police Auditor
Russell Bloom is the Independent Police Auditor at the BART Office of the Independent Police Auditor (OIPA). Mr. Bloom came to OIPA as an Investigator in 2014 after working as an in-house investigator at an Oakland, CA civil litigation firm. Bloom is also an Associate Monitor of the... Read More →
avatar for Justice Gatson

Justice Gatson

Reale Justice Network
Justice Gatson is a social justice doula from Kansas City Missouri. She earned a degree in Mass Communications from Bennett College, an HBCU in North Carolina. She is a community organizer,founder and director of Reale Justice Network.  Justice is a founding member of the MO KAN... Read More →
avatar for Ría Thompson-Washington

Ría Thompson-Washington

NLG President
Ría Thompson-Washington (they/themme) is an anti-racist activist, Afro-Latine, Queer, nonbinary feminist living on unceded Piscataway and Anacostean land known as Washington, DC. They have spent over twenty years organizing and training Black and Latine people, working on various... Read More →
Saturday November 2, 2024 1:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

3:30pm CDT

Law as a Tool: Litigating for Palestine [Hybrid]
Saturday November 2, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Sponsored by Palestine Legal.

Over the past year, universities, employers and government officials have been engaging in a McCarthyite crackdown on advocacy for Palestinian rights. But activists are fighting back -- with help from movement lawyers! From challenging the Biden administration's complicity in genocide, to suing Columbia for unlawfully suspending the Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace chapters, movement lawyers are using litigation as a tool to defend those at the frontlines of the movement. Join panelists as they speak on the successes and challenges of litigating Palestine in the courtroom -- and learn how you can help the movement at this critical time.

Speakers:
Radhika Sainath (Attorney at Palestine Legal)
Maria LaHood (Attorney at CCR)
Jonathan Wallace (NLG member)
Mark Kleiman (NLG member)
Noura Erakat (Moderator)
Speakers
avatar for Maria LaHood

Maria LaHood

Center for Constitutional Rights
Maria LaHood is Deputy Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she has worked since 2003, seeking accountability for international law violations and defending Palestinian rights advocates under attack in the United States. She works to defend the constitutional rights of Palestinian rights advocates in the United States in cases such... Read More →
avatar for Noura Erakat

Noura Erakat

Keynote Presenter
Noura Erakat is a human rights attorney and Professor of Africana Studies and the Program of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She is the author of Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2019), which received the Palestine... Read More →
avatar for Radhika Sainath

Radhika Sainath

Senior Staff Attorney, Palestine Legal
Radhika Sainath is a senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal, where she oversees the organization’s case work. She has advised hundreds of students, professors and activists on matters relating to free speech, censorship, anti-Palestinian discrimination, and academic freedom. She... Read More →
Saturday November 2, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

5:00pm CDT

Saturday Keynote: Jaribu HIll [Livestreamed]
Saturday November 2, 2024 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Jaribu Hill is the Founder and Executive Director of the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights. Hill is an author and an international spokesperson on Civil and Human Rights topics. Through her organization, Attorney Hill has provided legal representation and advocacy for hundreds of workers in the state. Her efforts have led to the adoption of “Zero Tolerance Against Hate” policies being implemented in workplaces across the state. Hill also won an important judgment against the Ku Klux Klan in Pelion, South Carolina and has assisted Mississippi Delta parents in their fight for school equity.
Speakers
avatar for Jaribu Hill

Jaribu Hill

Keynote Presenter
Jaribu Hill is the Founder and Executive Director of the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights. Hill is an author and an international spokesperson on Civil and Human Rights topics. Through her organization, Attorney Hill has provided legal representation and advocacy for... Read More →

Saturday November 2, 2024 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom

7:00pm CDT

Awards Celebration [Hybrid]
Saturday November 2, 2024 7:00pm - 10:00pm CDT

At the 2024 #Law4ThePeople Awards Celebration, the National Lawyers Guild will honor members and activists whose work embodies extraordinary commitment to our mission of human rights and the rights of ecosystems over property interests. Show your support for the NLG, get inspired by the remarkable achievements of our members, connect with friends--old and new, and renew your commitment to our vision and values!

There will be live music, snacks, and a cash bar! This event is free and open to all convention registrants, but we will be seeking donations during the program to propel the NLG into the future.

* Please note, your convention name tag serves as your entry ticket
Saturday November 2, 2024 7:00pm - 10:00pm CDT
Hamilton Ballroom
 
Sunday, November 3
 

9:00am CST

[CLE] How to Sue US Government Officials and Companies Who Incite and Profit in Genocide, War Crimes, and Apartheid [In-Person]
Sunday November 3, 2024 9:00am - 10:00am CST
This event is pending approval for 1 General CLE credit through the Alabama State Bar.

This one hour workshop is designed to be a birds-eye blueprint to provide interested litigators the overview to begin suing companies and officials that contribute to war crimes, apartheid and genocide. The workshop will particularly focus on private litigators suing these criminal actors for money damages in US courts.

The panelists will speak from their specialized experience and scholarship about US statutes and federal court precedent and how they may be used, or were not successful in being used- to address these particular crimes in US Courts. Discussions will be had about direct liability, aiding and abetting, civil remedies, status of past international and domestic law and cases on these issues. This workshop will examine recent legislation and international law, including the ICJ’s recent findings and anti-BDS legislation. The panelists will briefly introduce statutory vehicles that have been successfully used by victims of terrorism in the past. Participants will be provided with pitfalls and successes in suing US companies for their human rights violations, and how this has been/can be extended to weapons manufacturers, banks, and technology companies in US courts, under specific US statutes, US court precedent, and using internationally adopted/ ratified laws. Anti Terrorism Statutes will be discussed, specifically 18 U.S.C. 2333(a) and (d), Alien Tort Statute as vehicles in pursuit of accountability.

Speakers:
Elizabeth Beavers, National Security Legal Scholar and Public Interest Policy Advocate
Maria Lahood, Center for Constitutional Rights
Terry Collingsworth, Executive Director of International Rights Advocates
Maryam Jamshidi, Associate Professor of Law at Colorado Law School
Gabor Rona, Professor of Practice at Cardozo Law School
P. Jenny Marashi (Moderator)
Speakers
avatar for P. Jenny Marashi

P. Jenny Marashi

Solo Practitioner
Poupa Jenny Marashi has been practicing civil rights and copyright law as a solo in NYC since 2009.  She has represented a broad range of clients from Norman Finkelstein to Kanye West to prisoners in solitary confinement, those held illegally at Rikers Island, the wrongfully arrested... Read More →
avatar for Terry Collingsworth

Terry Collingsworth

International Rights Advocates
Terry Collingsworth is the founder and Executive Director of the International Rights Advocates. Before becoming a lawyer, Terry worked for five years as an overhead crane operator in a copper mill in Cleveland, Ohio. This experience introduced him to the importance of trade unions... Read More →
avatar for Gabor Rona

Gabor Rona

Cardozo Law
After a 15-year career in private practice in Vermont, where he represented the Abenaki Indian Nation in fishing rights litigation, Gabor Rona was a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights in NY, where he worked on civil lawsuits against human rights violators from... Read More →
avatar for Maria LaHood

Maria LaHood

Center for Constitutional Rights
Maria LaHood is Deputy Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she has worked since 2003, seeking accountability for international law violations and defending Palestinian rights advocates under attack in the United States. She works to defend the constitutional rights of Palestinian rights advocates in the United States in cases such... Read More →
avatar for Maryam Jamshidi

Maryam Jamshidi

University of Colorado Law
Maryam Jamshidi is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Law School, where she teaches and writes in the areas of national security law, public international law, the law of foreign relations, and tort law. Maryam publishes widely in scholarly and popular outlets... Read More →
Sunday November 3, 2024 9:00am - 10:00am CST
Hamilton Ballroom

10:30am CST

Criminalizing the Right to Dissent for Palestine and Cross-Movement Solidarity [Hybrid]
Sunday November 3, 2024 10:30am - 12:00pm CST
Sponsored by the NLG Palestine Subcommittee and Palestine Legal.

Since October 7, the Palestine solidarity movement has endured attacks at unprecedented levels. We’ve seen attempts to stifle Palestinian activism through legislation, the criminalization of campus encampments/protests, employment repercussions, harassment and discrimination, and more. Tactics used against the Palestine liberation movement are the same ones historically deployed against other social justice movements, namely #StopCopCity, the struggle for Indigenous sovereignty, and the movement for Black lives. This panel will highlight the importance of building cross-movement solidarity and ways to fight against repression as we continue to move toward collective liberation.

Speakers:
Luna Martinez
Christian Snow
Suad Abdel aziz
Rifqa Falaneh
Speakers
avatar for Suad Abdel aziz

Suad Abdel aziz

Southern Center for Human Rights
Suad Abdel aziz is a Sudanese American lawyer and legal fellow at the Southern Center for Human Rights working to support activists facing political repression. She coordinates mass defense efforts within the First Amendment Bridge Project.Suad has previously worked with Palestine... Read More →
avatar for Rifqa Falaneh

Rifqa Falaneh

Palestine Legal
Rifqa Falaneh is the Michael Ratner Justice Fellow at Palestine Legal where she challenges the censorship, surveillance, and suppression of advocates for Palestinian liberation. Rifqa graduated from the University of Illinois (UIUC) College of Law in 2023. She is the founder of Bar... Read More →
Sunday November 3, 2024 10:30am - 12:00pm CST
Hamilton Ballroom

1:00pm CST

NLG Mass Defense Committee Meeting [Hybrid]
Sunday November 3, 2024 1:00pm - 3:00pm CST
This meeting is for any current member of the NLG Mass Defense Committee.
Sunday November 3, 2024 1:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Hamilton Ballroom