Homelessness Working Group Conference Call
2023-05-04 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-06-01 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-07-06 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
If you care to take part in this call, please email cstorer@imla.org.

New Lawyers Call
2023-05-09 13:00 - 14:00
Claims under the Freedom of Information Act (FIOA) can be challenging to handle. This presentation will go over general FOIA issues and how to avoid them.
Presenter: Lynn Sprately, City of Newport News, Virginia
If you care to take part in this call, please email dshahnami@imla.org.

Small/Rural Communities Working Group Call
2023-05-15 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-07-17 14:00 - 15:00

Code Enforcement Call
2023-05-22 15:00 - 16:00
If you care to take part in this call or working group, please email cstorer@imla.org.

Animal Law Webinar
2023-05-23 13:00 - 14:00
Effective Animal Ordinances-Dealing with Nuisances
Safe and humane communities are a priority. Have you examined your animal services ordinances to ensure they effectively address real not perceived nuisances? Are they written so they can’t be weaponized in petty neighborhood arguments wasting the time of your field services workers? We will examine some creative habitual nuisance ordinances and provide examples of creative solutions to your animal issues.
Speaker: Ledy VanKavage & Katie Barnett

DEI Book Club Meeting
2023-05-24 15:00 - 16:00
If you care to take part in this call or working group, please email dshahnami@imla.org.
JOIN US May 10th from 3-4 pm ET to discuss How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood by PE Moskowitz. It is BYOB (Bring Your Own Book/Booze). We welcome those who read the book and those who did not have time but are interested in the topic. This book is also available on Audible! Below is the Amazon description of the book:
The term gentrification has become a buzzword to describe the changes in urban neighborhoods across the country, but we don’t realize just how threatening it is. It means more than the arrival of trendy shops, much-maligned hipsters, and expensive lattes. The very future of American cities as vibrant, equitable spaces hangs in the balance. P. E. Moskowitz’s How to Kill a City takes readers from the kitchen tables of hurting families who can no longer afford their homes to the corporate boardrooms and political backrooms where destructive housing policies are devised. Along the way, Moskowitz uncovers the massive, systemic forces behind gentrification in New Orleans, Detroit, San Francisco, and New York. The deceptively simple question of who can and cannot afford to pay the rent goes to the heart of America’s crises of race and inequality. In the fight for economic opportunity and racial justice, nothing could be more important than housing.

Mental Health Webinar
2023-05-25 13:00 - 14:00
“In This Together” – Well-Being Practices for Lawyers
Since 2016 the ABA and the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs has heightened focus on Lawyer Well-Being. Often neglected in general “wellness” programs, “well-being” represents not only mental and emotional health, but life satisfaction, purpose, and fulfillment. This presentation explores some of the elements that boost well-being, including Zen and how to incorporate it, as well as a review of habits and practices recommended in the ABA activities workbook published in The Lawyer Well-Being Toolkit for Lawyers and Law Firms.
Speaker: Noreen Braman & Paula Garra Sawyer

Annual Conference Early Bird Rates End
2023-05-26 00:00 - 23:30
IMLA’s 88th Annual Conference
September 27- October 1, 2023
La Quinta, California

Construction Webinar
2023-06-01 13:00 - 14:00
Sunshine Laws and the Vulnerability of Consultant Work Product in Public Works Construction Disputes
The United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and similar state-level open records statutes are intended to promote transparent government operations. However, when public agency owners encounter construction disputes, such “sunshine laws” may become an obstacle to resolving them. This presentation will explore the vulnerability of consultant work product to public records act demands against the intersection of attorney-client and work product privilege.
Speaker: Bryan Payne & Charles Montgomery

Virtual Employment Law Program
2023-06-02 12:00 - 15:15
12:00PM to 12:55PM
Informal Networking Lunch
1:00PM to 2:00PM
Great Expectations: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (the PUMP Act)
2:15PM to 3:15PM
Navigating the Legal Complexities of Employees with Substance Abuse Issues

Virtual Employment Law Program
2023-06-05 13:00 - 15:15
1:00PM to 2:00PM
How to Personally Combat Implicit Bias

2:15PM to 3:15PM
Defending Your Municipality Against Harassment and Sexual Harassment Claims

Virtual Employment Law Program
2023-06-06 13:00 - 15:15
1:00PM to 2:00PM
The EEOC’s 2023-2027 Strategic Enforcement Plan: Implications for Your Municipality
2:15PM to 3:15PM
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as Fundamental Principles

2023 IMLA in Canada
2023-06-08 09:00 - 19:00
2023 IMLA in Canada
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
June 8, 2023
David Braley Vaughan Metropolitan Centre of Community
200 Apple Mill Road, 3rd floor in Vaughan, Ontario

Elected Attorney Meeting
2023-06-12 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-07-10 14:00 - 15:00

Award Intent to Nominate Forms are Due
2023-06-16 00:00 - 23:30
Intent to Nominate Forms for the below awards are due.

Marvin J. Glink Private Practice Local Government Attorney Award
Daniel J. Curtin Young Public Lawyer Award
Brown, Mulligan, Rocha Distinguished Public Service Award
Bruce A. Noble Distinguished Canadian Municipal Lawyer Award
William I. Thornton, Jr. IMLA Faculty Award
Outstanding State League Counsel Award
Brad D. Bailey Assistant City/County Attorney Award
Burk E. (Buck) Delventhal Legal Advocacy Award
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award

Finance Webinar
2023-06-20 13:00 - 14:00
Fundamentals of Municipal Finance and Borrowing
Municipal attorneys are often asked, “Can we do this?”, when “this” relates to getting, spending, and borrowing money by their municipal clients. This session will consider the essential legal issues attendant to that question. We will discuss basic constitutional issues like public purpose, corporate purpose, and lending of the public credit; the theoretical distinction between taxes and fees; the legal ramifications of that distinction; and other limitations on the ways that municipalities can get and spend money. We will also briefly consider the role and types of municipal borrowing. Because the laws vary widely from state to state, the session will focus on issue spotting and general questions that the municipal attorney should consider when asked financial questions.
Speaker: Eric Shytle

Preemption Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2023-06-22 13:00 - 14:00
Post-COVID Equitable Housing Preemption
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
This session examines state preemption of local authority to protect tenants and expand access to affordable housing, particularly following the implementation and expiration of emergency measures passed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many state legislatures, in both “red” and “blue” states, preempt local governments from increasing housing supply, crafting inclusionary zoning, or implementing rent regulations to alleviate housing unaffordability. This dynamic often came to a head during the COVID-19 pandemic as local governments sought to impose eviction moratoriums and extend other support to burdened renters. The sunset of these provisions during a time of high inflation and projected recession has demonstrated the need for continued local government leadership on equitable housing policies, and even where state preemption exists. Local governments may still be able advance housing equity despite preemption and there are ways that municipal attorneys can help local leaders navigate this complex landscape.
Speaker: Nestor Davidson, Berbeth Foster & Marissa Roy

Religion Webinar
2023-06-27 13:00 - 14:00
Practical Implications of the Supreme Court’s Recent Free Exercise and Establishment Decisions
This webinar will address the practical implications of recent Supreme Court decisions about the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses. Led by a practicing First Amendment lawyer and a First Amendment specialist at UVA Law School, it will cover religious exemptions from civil rights law, prayer in public schools, school funding decisions, and ways in which rhetoric about religious freedom can affect case outcomes. Both of the speakers have substantial expertise working with (and representing) local governments, and will aim to provide useful guidance to lawyers seeking to navigate the Supreme Court’s rapid transformation of the First Amendment
Speaker: Joshua Matz & Richard Schragger

Code Enforcement Webinar
2023-06-29 13:00 - 14:00
Regulating Short-Term Rentals
Where we’ve been and where we can go. This presentation will discuss lessons learned and recent trends related to regulating short-term rentals (STRs). This includes the application of the dormant commerce clause, due process, equal protection, and takings provisions of the Constitution; and the role of zoning tools, regulating platforms, and business regulations in improving compliance. Lastly, this presentation will consider what success looks like.
Speaker: Patricia “Trish” Link & Ashley J. Becnel

Counties Meeting
2023-07-05 15:00 - 16:00

New Lawyers Meeting
2023-07-10 14:00 - 15:00

Local Government Legal Center Supreme Court Review Webinar - This is not an IMLA Webinar
2023-07-11 13:00 - 14:00
Supreme Court Review for Local Governments: 2022-2023 Term

This is NOT an IMLA webinar and CLE will not be offered by IMLA.
Hosted by the Local Government Legal Center (LGLC), join legal experts in a discussion of the Supreme Court’s important decisions of the term impacting local governments. The Supreme Court will rule on several monumental cases this term, including on issues related to:

Whether the First Amendment allows for exceptions to anti- discrimination ordinances,
The Independent State Legislature Theory,
A new test for Waters of the United States,
An important Title VII / employment law case,
And more.

The LGLC is a coalition of national local government organizations formed in 2023 by the National Association of Counties (NACo), National League of Cities (NLC) and International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) to provide education to local governments regarding the Supreme Court and its impact on local governments and local officials and to advocate for local government positions at the Supreme Court in appropriate cases. Learn more.
Speakers: Aileen McGrath & John Korzen
Moderator: Erich Eiselt, IMLA’s Assistant General Counsel

Historic Preservation Webinar
2023-07-20 13:00 - 14:00
Trends in Local and Federal Historic Preservation Law
This seminar will delve into municipalities’ powers to regulate and protect historic properties. Highlighting new research covering the 11% of municipalities with local preservation ordinances, the seminar will outline the scope of this expanding regulatory sphere. Then the presenters will explain how municipalities may become federally-recognized “certified local governments” and play a role in federal historic preservation review processes, with a focus on Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Finally, they will discuss recent federal guidance influencing local policymaking.
Speaker: Sara Bronin & Kelly Fanizzo

Award Nomination Forms are Due
2023-07-21 00:00 - 23:30
Nomination Forms for the below awards are due.

Charles S. Rhyne Lifetime Achievement Award
James H. Epps III Award for Longevity of Service to a Community Award
Marvin J. Glink Private Practice Local Government Attorney Award
Daniel J. Curtin Young Public Lawyer Award
Brown, Mulligan, Rocha Distinguished Public Service Award
Bruce A. Noble Distinguished Canadian Municipal Lawyer Award
William I. Thornton, Jr. IMLA Faculty Award
Outstanding State League Counsel Award
Brad D. Bailey Assistant City/County Attorney Award
Burk E. (Buck) Delventhal Legal Advocacy Award
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award

Virtual Section 1983 Program
2023-07-27 12:00 - 15:15
12:00PM to 12:55PM
Informal Networking Lunch

1:00PM to 2:00PM
Fourth Amendment Case Law Update
2:15PM to 3:15PM
Protest Litigation

Virtual Section 1983 Program
2023-07-28 12:00 - 15:30
12:00PM to 1:00PM
Trial Practice Skills
1:15PM to 2:15PM
Your Municipality Has Been Served With a Section 1983 Complaint. What now?
2:30PM to 3:30PM
TBA
