2007 Annual Meeting and Educational Conference

10:45 am – 11:45 am
Concurrent Sessions—Select One

What’s at the End of the Diversity Pipeline?
The struggle to diversify the legal profession takes effort at every stage. Admission professionals work hard to recruit and admit diverse classes, but what are law firms and other employers doing further down the pipeline with our law students and graduates? While many law firms have diversity plans in place, how effective are they at increasing the firms’ overall diversity? Have firms changed their hiring practices by looking at students from schools with greater diversity but less prestige? In an effort to prevent attrition from the associate ranks, have firms changed their hiring criteria? In addition to discussing what is happening at law firms, participants will have time to collaborate on efforts to prime the employment pipeline before it gets clogged.

Moderator:
Cristina Gapasin

Presenters:
James Leipold, Tiffany Simmons

Diversity Pipeline Leipold (PPT)

Forum Decorum
The LSAC forums have played a major role in the recruiting process for many years—helping us to reach out to candidates from all over the country in a very efficient and productive manner. They provide a valuable meeting place for face-to-face interaction with prospective applicants. Over the years, the climate of the forums has changed. With the advent of technology, the decline in the applicant pool, and a new generation of applicants, there are different challenges that affect the dynamic of the interaction between prospective applicants and admission professionals. This panel will explore innovative ways to invigorate and energize both new and seasoned admission professionals to meet these challenges, so that we maximize the effectiveness of LSAC forums for prospective applicants who are eager to have stimulating, informative, and educational interactions with admission professionals.

Moderator:
Gail Ellis

Presenters:
Collins Byrd, Melissa Fruscione, Jennifer Kott

Forum Decorum Fruscione (PPT)

Are They Getting the Message?
Have you ever wondered whether your law school’s marketing materials are sending the right message? Do you know how effective your website is as a recruitment tool? Are you trying to find more successful ways to communicate with your admitted students? Surveying your applicant pool is a good place to start. Representatives from SurveyGold.com will show you how to create a professional online survey that will help you collect constructive feedback, better tailor your outreach, and further cater to the needs of your applicants and admitted students.

Moderator:
Shani Butts

Presenter:
Chuck Boudreau

The New Future of LSAC Technology Services
Come join us for an update on technology-based services provided by LSAC. Now that many schools are getting more than 80 percent of their applications from LSDAS Electronic Applications, how can the process for creating these e-apps be better? Give us your feedback and hear LSAC’s ideas for improving the process. Learn what UPS and LSAC can do for you in tracking the delivery of paper to your school. This past year, ACES² began its beta (early-adopter) testing. We are ready to share the results and our plans for the future. You won’t want to miss this conversation about these and other interesting topics.

Presenters:
Joyce Coley, Jay Shively

noon – 1:00 pm
Concurrent Sessions—Select One

Recruiting and Admitting the Millennial Generation: Back by Popular Demand
Sometimes referred to as the Net Generation (“N-Gen”) or as Generation Y, the Millennials are different from members of previous generations. Every fall, admission professionals across North America are out recruiting the best and brightest students for their law schools, and each winter and spring we are programming to convert our offers into acceptances by selected candidates. However, are we doing so in ways that interest and appeal to our candidates? We have all seen them, spoken with them (and/or their parents), and communicated with them in technologically new ways. Exactly who are these new prospective law students, the “Millennials”? What are their characteristics and expectations? How are admission professionals best able to interact with them? Join us for an interesting (and humorous) journey into the minds and interests of the Millennials with a student services professional who has studied and researched them well.

Presenter:
Chris McGrath

Using LSAC Grants to Increase Diversity
The Law School Admission Council has a variety of grant programs for the specific purpose of encouraging the recruitment, admission, and retention of minority law students. One program involves grants available for individual law schools to undertake programming between January 15 and March 15 in a given year, targeting minority juniors and seniors in high school and/or freshman and juniors in college. Another program involves grants for three or more law schools that collaborate for the purpose of targeting minority students interested in attending law school. This panel presentation will highlight these and other grants, and discuss successful model programs in Alaska, Georgia, and Texas that have been underwritten with funds from these grant programs.

Moderator:
Kent Lollis

Presenters:
Cheryl Jester George, Sandra Madrid, Rey Valencia

LSAC Grants Madrid (PDF)
LSACGrantsValencia1of4 (PDF)
LSACGrantsValencia2of4 (PDF)
LSACGrantsValencia3of4 (PDF)
LSACGrantsValencia4of4 (PDF)
PROGRAM-PTTF1-Hurst-2 (PDF)

The Transfer Student Dilemma—Another Perspective
Please join us as we continue the ongoing conversation about the dilemma schools face with regard to transfer students. Should a school be concerned when its best students are raided by other schools? How can a school address those concerns? What do we say to students who wish to transfer? From the student’s perspective, are there legitimate reasons for wanting to transfer? Does the reason for the transfer make a difference? Is this an ethical dilemma? Our three panelists will discuss this topic from a variety of angles and perspectives, with the goal of better understanding all sides of this topic.

Moderator:
Alicia Cramer

Presenters:
James J. Alfini, R. Lawrence Dessem, Kevin Washburn

Where Do I Go From Here?—Career Paths for Admission Professionals
This session will provide insight into how experience gained from working in the admission office can lead to a career path as an administrator. Based on their varied education and experiences, each presenter offers a unique perspective on building a career path. In addition to providing tools to help young professionals market themselves for promotion, presenters will offer helpful guides for senior administrators to identify staff worthy of promotion.

Moderator:
Monica Ingram

Presenters:
Sherolyn Hurst, Reymundo Ramos, Akira Shiroma