CALIFORNIA
Law school group switches locations
August 19, 2008
Amid a threatened boycott by groups representing thousands of law professors, the Association of American Law Schools has decided not to hold its annual meeting at a San Diego hotel whose owner is a foe of same-sex marriage.
The AALS issued a statement last week saying that although it would adhere to its contract with the hotel to reserve a block of rooms for the conference, the meetings, seminars and other events would be held elsewhere.
The decision came after three legal education groups sent letters to the AALS calling for it to move the meeting site away from the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
The hotel's owner, Douglas Manchester, has donated $125,000 to a citizens' initiative that would outlaw same-sex marriage in California.
The groups, which included the Legal Writing Institute; the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning and Research; and the AALS Section on Teaching Methods, had said that they would not attend events held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. The Society of American Law Teachers also had urged the AALS to move the meeting. See Letter to the Editor, page 23.
Mark Wojcik, chairman of the AALS Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues, said on Aug. 18 that he was satisfied with the decision.
"It sends a big message," he said. "They're ensuring that not one additional penny goes to support these discriminatory moves." Wojcik is director of global legal studies at John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
Manchester was not available for comment.
Most Popular Headlines
- Top ABA staffers exit amid reorganization
- Daschle departing Alston for DLA Piper
- Unanimous 7th Circuit finds mezuzah removal worth a lawsuit
- Employers unsure about medical marijuana
- Obama shakes up counsel's office
- The 2009 NLJ 250
- New approaches to law firm recruitment
- Hasan case to test military justice system
- 'He had the ability to do anything'
- No quiet time for new justice
