The 2016 Law Review Symposium on Friday, Oct. 7, will focus on “Educational Interventions to Cultivate Professional Identity in Law Students” as part of the 17th Annual Georgia Symposium on Professionalism and Ethics. The symposium will feature nationally renowned scholars and will take place in the first-floor moot courtroom of Mercer Law School from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
The symposium has been approved for 6 CLE hours, including 1 professionalism hour. Registration for the CLE will begin at 8 a.m. The cost is $60 and must be paid by check or money order.
This year's symposium is focused on the development of professional identity, which refers to “a deep sense of self in role.” Professional identity “includes a set of virtues, skills and dispositions that enable the lawyer to serve clients and the public well in complex, stressful and uncertain circumstances, including ones that present questions of ethics, morality and professional responsibility.”
“This symposium reflects Mercer's deep commitment to promoting ethics and professionalism among lawyers,” said Patrick Longan, professor of law and organizer of the symposium. “We are grateful to Judge Hugh Lawson, without whose vision and leadership this symposium series, now in its 17th year, would not exist.”
Click here for the full schedule.
The daylong symposium will start with an introduction at 9 a.m. followed by the first session from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. This session is titled “The Importance of Professional Identity for Responsible Professional Practice and for Attorney Well-being.” Speakers for this session will include, Professor Mickey Bebeau, Professor in the Department of Primary Dental Care at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and University of Minnesota Faculty Affiliate in the Center for Bioethics; and Professor Larry Krieger, Florida State University School of Law Clinical Professor and Co-Director of Clinical Externship Programs. Professor Longan will moderate this session.
The second session, from 10:45 a.m. to Noon, will discuss “Perspectives from Moral Psychology and Clergy Education.” The speakers for this session are Professor Elizabeth Vozzola, University of St. Joseph Professor of Psychology; and Larry Golemon, Ph.D., the Executive Director of the Washington Theological Consortium. Mercer University Professor Paul Lewis will moderate this session.
Following a break for lunch is the third session titled, “Lessons from Medical Education” which takes place from 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Speakers for this session include Dr. Richard Cruess and Dr. Sylvia Cruess, Centre for Medical Education, McGill University. Since 1995, they have taught and carried out independent research on professionalism in medicine. Timothy Floyd, Tommy Malone Distinguished Chair in Trial Advocacy and Director of Experiential Education at the Mercer University Law School, will moderate this session.
The closing session, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. will discuss “Professional Identity Formation and Assessment in Legal Education.” Speakers will include, Professor Neil Hamilton, Holloran Professor of Law and Director of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions at the University of St. Thomas School of Law; Professor Emeritus Jack Sammons, Mercer University Law School; Professor Timothy Floyd; and Professor Kendall Kerew, Assistant Clinical Professor and Director of the Externship Program at the Georgia State University Law School. Mercer University Professor of Law Mark Jones will moderate this session.
The symposium is co-sponsored by the Mercer Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism, the Mercer Law Review and the Mercer Phronesis Project for the Exploration of Character, Practical Wisdom and Professional Formation.
About the Annual Law School Symposia on Ethics and Professionalism in the Practice of Law
Funded by a settlement order entered by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia in 1998, annual Symposia on Ethics and Professionalism in the Practice of Law are held at each ABA-accredited law school in Georgia on a rotating basis. The Commission assists each of the law schools with the design and presentation of these programs, applicable to both law students and practitioners.
