ALSB 2010, RICHMOND VIRGINIA 

Dear Friends and Colleagues;

The 2010 ALSB Conference, August 4-8, in Richmond, Virginia is set to an historical tune!  Events are planned for you to see the famous sites of Williamsburg, Yorktown, St. John’s Church, and the Virginia Capitol. 

The ALSB is also making its own history by using conference management software for the first time for the call for participation. The Registration remains the same, but please pay special attention to the instructions for submitting your abstract, paper and participation.

Of course, the conference location, and schedule, is merely a vessel to host the dissemination of your excellent research and teaching pedagogy; while I am very happy to extend this welcome and to share some details about the conference, I am most excited about what is yet to come, your contributions!

The Academic Program

We are ready to accept your academic submissions of research, pedagogy and panel presentations! It will be quite evident that we adopted a new system for submissions, one that will allow us to simplify and consolidate the process. This year you can submit all your proposals at the same site, except for separate calls and separate submission instructions for the Master-Teacher, Student paper and the (new) ABLJ Invited Scholar competitions. In the future we should be able to offer a “one-stop” submission process for all aspects of the conference. Use the link on the website for the call for papers/participation, and a confirmation email will be sent to you ----don’t overlook the attached instructions on how to use the site! In addition, consider these suggestions as you complete your submission;

• Organize a panel. Your colleagues have already begun organizing two panels, addressing the topics of distance learning and assessment.
• Volunteer to be a reviewer. This is an important function for our conference and we need and appreciate your participation.
• Submit both your abstract and your final paper at the same submission website. Submit your abstract by June 1, 2010, and return to the same website to submit your final paper by July 1, 2010. Submissions for Research Discussions do not require the final paper submission.

The American Business Law Journal is sponsoring a new, pre-conference opportunity for aspiring researchers; the Invited Scholars Colloquium. Stephanie Greene, past Editor in Chief of the ABLJ, is facilitating this opportunity for emerging scholars. We hope that this will evolve into an annual event. See more details in the call for papers email sent to members, or contact Stephanie at millerst@bc.edu.

I am pleased to announce that our keynote speaker for the Plenary Luncheon is Mr. David Baugh. Mr. Baugh presently serves as the Capital Defender for the Central Virginia Indigent Defense Commission. He is a prominent defender of the Bill of Rights, has been called a “free speech hero” by Alan Dershowitz, named a “Human Rights Hero” by the American Bar Association, and awarded the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Pro Bono Award by the Virginia State Bar.

Non-Academic Program

The conference begins with a different flair; a trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown to visit the birthplace of our nation, in many ways. After walking down the streets of the restored and rebuilt colonial Williamsburg, buses will take us to Yorktown, where you will see the Revolutionary battlefields and visit original streets and houses. Dinner will be held in the “Freight Shed” on the York River, a 1930’s structure build by the National Park Service and refurbished for its present use. 

Later in the week, the social event takes us first to a reenactment of the Patrick Henry Speech at St. John’s Church, and then to the Virginia State Capitol, where you can tour the Greek inspired building designed by Thomas Jefferson and enjoy a buffet dinner.

Look for more information about all there is to do in Richmond at http://www.visitrichmondva.com and on the conference website.

Richmond and The Jefferson Hotel

We are fortunate to have the Jefferson Hotel as the conference headquarters. The Jefferson, http://jeffersonhotel.com/, is an historic hotel, a Virginia Green Hotel, and holds two five star ratings. Use the direct hotel registration link on the conference website to take advantage of the conference rate of $159 (plus parking and taxes).  The Lemaire restaurant at the hotel is also a great place for lunch or dinner, and was named by Esquire Magazine as one of 2009’s Best New Restaurants.

The Jefferson is a short drive from Shockoe Slip, a revitalized warehouse district next to the James River that hosts taverns, shops and restaurants on a cobblestone street with gas lights. http://www.shockoeslip.org/  While you are there you can also take a canal tour or visit the American Civil War Center, which is the first museum to include the perspectives of African-American, Union and Confederate troops.

John Marshall’s house, the Richmond Valentine Museum, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, the Science Museum of Virginia, Theatre IV for children, the Richmond Ballet, and the new minor league baseball team, are just a few of the other activities that abound in the city. You can even go rafting on the James River. There is so much to do in and around Richmond;  I suggest the place to start planning your trip is the visitrichmondva.com website link. Be sure to let me know if you have any particular questions and I will do my best to help!

AND . . .

If you are able to take more time, and have a car, just try this; using a compass make a circle of the area within 2 hours of Richmond. You will find the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Jamestown in the Historic Triangle of Tidewater Virginia. Not to mention the Atlantic Ocean, Virginia Beach, and, well, I could go on and on. But, you get the idea.

I look forward to welcoming you in person at the Richmond conference!

Best regards,
Janine Hiller, 2010 ALSB Program Chair
Professor of Business Law, Virginia Tech