Annual Convention

Information

Pre-registration is closed. You may still register for the convention and events in-person 
at the Registration Desk. 

2023 Annual Bar Convention
 September 20-22, 2023
 Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and Conference Center, Fairbanks

Wednesday, September 20 

4:30 – 5:30 p.m. - Registration Open
Westmark Gold Room

6:00 – 8:00 p.m. - Opening Welcome Reception - SOLD OUT
Venue (519 1st Ave.) 

8:00 p.m.  - Hospitality Suite opens
Sponsored by the Tanana Valley Bar Association

Thursday, September 21
** All events in Westmark Gold Room unless noted**

7:30 - 8:20 a.m. - Registration/Breakfast
Exhibits Open -  Westmark Yukon Room

8:20 - 8:30 a.m. - Welcome Address 
Diana Wildland, President, Board of Governors

8:30 - 10:00 a.m. - U.S. Supreme Court Opinions Update (1.5 General)
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California Berkeley Law School
Professor Laurie Levenson, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

10:00 - 10:30 a.m. - Break/Exhibits Open
Westmark Yukon Room

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - U.S. Supreme Court Opinions Update (Con't) (1.5 General)
Dean Chemerinsky and Professor Levenson

12:00 – 1:30 p.m. - Lunch on Own 
See Registration Desk for list of local restaurants

1:30 - 3:00 p.m. - Alaska Appellate Law Update (1.5 General)
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California Berkeley Law School

3:00 – 3:30 p.m. - Break/Exhibits Open
Westmark Yukon Room 

3:30 – 4:00 p.m. - Federal & State Courts Update (.5 General)
Chief Justice Peter Maassen, Alaska Supreme Court
Senior U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline, U.S.; District of Alaska

4:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Featured Speaker: ICWA/ Haaland v Brackeen Update (1.5 General) 
Erin Dougherty Lynch, Native American Rights Fund                                                        

5:30 – 7:30 p.m. - Awards Reception
Westmark Gold/Rampart                                                       

8:00 p.m. - Hospitality Suite opens
Sponsored by the Tanana Valley Bar Association

Friday , September 22
** All events in Westmark Gold Room unless noted**

7:30 – 8:20 a.m.  - Registration/Breakfast
Exhibits Open
Westmark Yukon Room

Local Bar President/Section Chair Breakfast
Westmark Rampart Room

8:20 - 8:30 a.m. - Welcome Address 
Diana Wildland , President, Board of Governors

8:30 - 10:00 a.m. - Keynote Performance (1.5 Ethics)
Makin’ Cake
Dasha Kelly Hamilton, 2020-2022 Poet Laureate for the State of Wisconsin. 

10:00 - 10:30 a.m. - Break/Exhibits Open
Westmark Yukon Room

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. - The Legal Landscape for Alaska's Alcoholic Beverage and Marijuana Licensees: The Top Challenges for 2023 (1.5 General) 
Joan Wilson, Executive Director, Alaska Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office

12:00 – 1:30 p.m. - Lunch on Own 

1:30 - 3:00 p.m. - Embracing Cultural Differences - Working with Tribal Courts and Alaska Native Clients (1.5 Ethics)
Panel Discussion - TBA

3:00 – 3:30 p.m. - Break/Exhibits Open
Westmark Yukon Room

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. - Annual Bar Meeting/Passing of Gavel

4:30 p.m. - Convention ends