On Friday, January 9, 2026, at 9:15-10:30 am at the AALS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, part of the AALS Presidential Program will be a plenary panel on the “Rule of Law, Executive Orders, and the Legal Profession.” Moderated by Professor Ann Southworth, who co-directs the Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession, the panel will explore and discuss the executive orders, regulatory pressure, and public accusations against major law firms, the resulting legal challenges, the different responses by firms, and the implications for the profession. The panel will also discuss some of the legal challenges around attempts to reshape higher education and explore some of the similarities and differences in the Trump administration’s campaign against firms and universities.

The panel consists of leaders who have advised law firms and universities, been involved in litigation, or who have held important programs or workshops related to the executive orders against law firms and universities. Panelists include: Hailyn Chen (Munger Tolles & Olson), Mack Jenkins (Hecker Fink), Deborah Pearlstein (Princeton University), and Peter Zeughauser (Zeughauser Group). More information about the Annual Meeting in New Orleans can be found here: https://am.aals.org