Recent Developments in the Law CLE

Overview

KU Law hosts a Recent Developments in the Law CLE program each spring. Attorneys are invited to learn about the latest developments in a wide range of law practice areas. Attendees can earn CLE hours in Kansas and Missouri.

Schedule

7:30 - 8 a.m. | Check-in and Continental Breakfast

8 - 8:50 a.m. | Recent Developments in Federal Administrative Law 

Richard E. Levy, J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law

Professor Levy will provide an update on recent developments in federal administrative law, including the strengthening of separation of powers limits on agency power and the rejection of Chevron deference. He will also discuss pending issues, such as the President’s power to remove members of independent agencies.

8:50 - 9 a.m. | Break

9 - 9:50 a.m. | What’s Happening Now in Family Law? 2025 Updates

Melanie Daily, Director, Legal Aid Clinic; Clinical Associate Professor

Professor Daily will provide an update on recent case law and statutory developments affecting the practice of family law in Kansas. This program will include a survey of recently published decisions. 

9:50 - 10 a.m. | Break

10 - 10:50 a.m. | Recent Developments in Securities Regulation

Alex Platt, Associate Professor of Law; Director, Polsinelli Transactional Law Center

This session will cover important recent developments in federal securities regulation across a variety of areas, including recent judicial decisions, regulatory changes, and enforcement trends.

10:50 - 11 a.m. | Break

11 - 11:50 a.m. | Pro Bono Service: Challenges and Opportunities in Changing Times (ethics)

Meredith Schnug, Associate Director, Legal Aid Clinic; Clinical Associate Professor

This session will examine attorneys’ professional responsibility under Kansas Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1 to engage in pro bono service, and the persistent gap between our profession’s aspiration and actual practice. This session will explore the questions: What is the need for service and how can we meet it? What are the barriers to getting more attorneys involved? How can we build a culture of commitment starting with students? How can we innovate service in changing times?

11:50 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Lunch on your own

1 - 1:50 p.m. | The Paradigmatic Shift in International Trade Law: From Free (or Managed) Trade to Aggressive Neo-Mercantilism

Eric Witmer, Research Attorney, Kansas Court of Appeals; Guest Lecturer, KU School of Law 

This presentation will explain the dramatic shift in multilateral, regional, and U.S. trade law from free trade, or at least managed trade, to aggressive neo-mercantilism. The presentation will cover many recent developments across the first and second Trump Administrations, and the Biden Administration, highlighting continuity as well as change, in specific areas like tariffs, non-tariff barriers, export controls, trade sanctions, and industrial policy.

1:50 - 2 p.m. | Break

2 - 2:50 p.m. | The State of SOGI Law 

Kyle Velte, Associate Dean, Faculty; Karelitz Chair in Evidence Law; Professor of Law

Professor Velte will discuss the status of state and federal law regarding sexual orientation and gender identity (“SOGI”), as well as what is on the legal horizon for the LGBTQ+ community. Topics will include employment discrimination, religious exemptions from antidiscrimination laws, and anti-transgender legislation.

2:50 - 3 p.m. | Break

3 - 3:50 | AI & Ethical Rules: Mid-year Update (ethics)

Mike Hoeflich, John H. & John M. Kane Distinguished Professor of Law

This presentation will focus on professionalism and the ethical implications of using AI in legal practice. The session will cover both generative and other forms of AI for legal practice, including use of AI for client-facing tasks and communications and AI for investigation and discovery purposes as well. It will include a review of recent cases and the Rules of Professional Conduct that AI involves.

3:50 - 4 p.m. | Break

4 - 4:50 p.m. | A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: New Federal Rule of Evidence 107 and the Attempt to Draw the Line Between Illustrative Aids and Demonstrative Evidence

Adam Sokoloff, Supervising Attorney, Project for Innocence & Post-Conviction Remedies; Instructor, Trial Advocacy and Mock Trial

Brand new Federal Rule of Evidence 107 tries to distinguish between items used to aid the trier in fact in understanding evidence versus demonstrative evidence itself. This critical distinction, which impacts not only trial presentation but also post-trial motions and appellate litigation, may or may not be made clearer by the new rule. This presentation discusses the origins of the new rule, the Committee's espoused intent behind its enaction, and the potential impacts we can expect to see, if any, in future litigation.