In selecting the CLE programs, the Co-Chairs should be mindful of the following criteria:
1. Commitment Pledge is required by the panel chair
2. Timely and interesting topics with a national scope in the areas of:
- Employment
- General commercial litigation
- Transactional
- IP
- Insurance
- Ethics – Ethics CLEs should be drafted in a manner that they include and directly reference ABA Ethics rules; significant materials are expected to obtain credit in all states
- Topics specific to location of Annual Meeting such as a particular practice area or regional interest
- Other. Some examples include insurance, sports and entertainment.
3. Expertise and speaking ability of the panel
4. Organizational abilities of the person who submitted the proposal
5. Diversity of the proposed panel (race, gender, geographic)
6. Preferably, the members of the panel will not have presented at an annual meeting (individual and firm) in the prior year so as to allow other members to have an opportunity to present
7. Participation by corporate counsel
8. New and creative approaches for communicating the CLE
9. The CLE should be designed to attract new corporate members to the meeting to increase the exposure to NAMWOLF
10. Although a topic may be very good, if it is submitted by a member who has recently presented or is a member of another firm already chosen, NAMWOLF should consider asking that member if the idea can be used by another group.
Post-CLE Selection
Each CLE panel is expected to have approximately four telephonic meetings to determine:
- The title, subtitle
- The outline
- A creative approach to communicate the CLE
- The plan to prepare the materials in advance of the deadline
- The plan for the presentation itself
The suggested plan for the four telephone meetings led by the panel chair:
- The first meeting should target to occur within 2 weeks of notification and should include a discussion among panelists of the topic coverage and result in a division of responsibilities with each panel member to research the topic, gather materials, and prepare a five to ten page memorandum discussing the legal issues applicable to their assigned topic. It should also include ideas and concepts for making the presentation more interesting to avoid the “talking head and Powerpoint” approach.
- The second meeting is approximately 6 weeks post-notification to discuss ideas for the scope and focus of the presentation based upon the research performed by the panelists and to set deadlines for turning in their sections of the materials. The draft materials are due to NAMWOLF May 1st so that NAMWOLF can work to obtain CLE credit from each state. Discussion should also include a decision regarding the structure of the presentation and assignments related to same.
- The third meeting is in June to discuss progress of each participant’s assignment related to the structure of the presentation and adjust according to content, theme and entertainment.
- The fourth meeting is in early July to finalize the planning of the panel’s oral presentation at the Annual Meeting. It is also to confirm if updates are necessary to finalize the written materials for NAMWOLF. Final materials are due on July 15th.
- Final materials for circulation will include:
1. CLE Presentation
2. Written Materials (see infra)
3. Any other materials the group would like their attendees to have.
4. Speaker engagement form that each panel submits identifying A/V needs.
- Additional meetings may be necessary in August and September to practice, perform walk-throughs to evaluate timing.
Each CLE panel should be a collaboration among the entire panel rather than having one person write the entire CLE or use one previously presented. The oral presentation should include meaningful participation by all panelists.
Written Materials
- Timed Outline of CLE (required) (do not include introductions in this outline)
- Memorandum on topic – 10-20 pages is optional but strongly suggested (*although required by ethics CLE panels)
- PowerPoint presentations may not be submitted as the only written materials
- ABA rules or related materials (*required for ethics CLE panels)
- Articles may only be included if they have obtained copyright permission. It is permissible to reference the article and provide a links
- Spreadsheets/charts
- References
- Statutes
- Video/photos
Each CLE panel is required to submit its Materials to NAMWOLF in a timely and organized manner
- All materials must be submitted in one .pdf file with pages numbered at the bottom of each page.
- All materials are required to be consistent and use the template provided by NAMWOLF and be prepared in Times New Roman with a 12 point font.
* Page one must include only the title, NAMWOLF Annual Meeting , National Association of Women and Minority Law Firms, NAMWOLF logo, and date of the presentation.
* Page two can include the panel’s participants and moderator.
* Page three can include the outline of the materials if needed.
- NAMWOLF template PowerPoint pages will be provided to each panel so as to ensure a NAMWOLF branded style.
- CLE panels should not include on the materials submitted to NAMWOLF for accreditation an “Introductions” section as the number of CLE credits allowed by some states will be reduced.
Note
- CLE panel members should be advised that each panel member (in house counsel and law firm members) must register for the Annual Meeting (even if not otherwise attending the Annual Meeting) at least 4 weeks in advance of the meeting and obtain their own hotel rooms as NAMWOLF occasionally exceeds the room block.
- In house counsel panel members should also be encouraged to attend the EXPO.
- At this time NAMWOLF does not provide travel and or accommodation expenses for speakers.
- In house attendees are not charged a registration fee, but are responsible for any a la carte expenses.
NAMWOLF does have a history of obtaining discount codes for flights and hotels as long as reservations are made well in advance of the Annual Meeting.
During the Annual Meeting
- Each CLE panel is encouraged to meet in person to go over the presentation, review the room and room setup
- If a CLE Panel is planning a presentation that requires more than a standard PowerPoint, 4 panel members and a moderator, the group is responsible to get in touch with Jane Kalata at NAMWOLF at least 2 months in advance of the Annual Meeting to discuss what is needed with the understanding that NAMWOLF is not able to pay for any additional set-up, A/V or other costs such as internet, phone, etc.
- If a CLE panel does not communication its needs in advance, there is no guarantee that NAMWOLF will be able to accommodate on site requests.
