Leaving for the Workshop on Retention of Minority Law Teachers, I ran into a number of folks who were headed to the National Conference for the Minority Lawyer including our alums, Ben Cormack and Sonya Dodson, and Sonya’s darling daughter, Parker. Sonya’s mom was also traveling with her to take care of Parker while Sonya was in meetings. Miguel Rivera and Myra McKenzie were on their way to the made conference. It was fun to visit with them at the airport before boarding my flight to AALS meeting.

As it turned out (per usual), my connecting flight was delayed so I ended up arriving in Washington, DC late, but also (per usual) I enjoyed a long talk with my cab driver upon leaving the airport. If you’ve followed the blog, you know that I tend to engage my cab drivers in conversations (or vice-versa). This time, the discussion centered on the issue of the upcoming presidential election and my driver’s thoughts about what was happening in the political arena. I have to tell you that it was a pretty lively and interesting chat. I will spare you the details, however.

That evening we met for a speaker review meeting during which we talked about what each of us would present the next day. Our meeting was chaired by Prof. Mike Green of Wake Forest who was also the conference chair (and my torts teacher at Iowa). After the speakers meeting, we all attended the opening reception, which was a fun event.

That evening a group of us went to dinner at an Indian restaurant called Little India. Yumm. I ordered a vegetarian platter. Blog followers know that I’m a big Indian food fan and there’s plenty of great Indian food in Washington, DC. The conference was held at the Marriott Wardman Park and fortunately for foodies like myself, there are a number of ethnic restaurants On Connecticut street including two Indian restaurants. My dinner companions were Prof. Len Baynes of St. John’s University Law School; Hazel Weiser, Executive Director of the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT); Deb Post, President of SALT (Society of American Law Teachers); and Prof. Deleso Washington of Florida A&M.

I enjoyed having the opportunity to dine with them because I’d never met Hazel and she shared upcoming SALT initiatives. It’s always good too, to talk with and meet folks from across the academy who I don’t really know and who don’t teach in my area. Those conversations help me to learn of the issues that may be developing in legal education and to hear their thoughts. It’s also a great opportunity to share with them about the University of Arkansas. It was a lovely dinner and a good way to end the evening.