IMLA

Personnel Webinar
2023-12-26 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
What to Expect When They are Expecting: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)
This webinar will cover topics including rollout of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The PWFA was effective June 27, 2023; the EEOC’s 275 pages of Proposed Regulations were published about 5 weeks later, on August 11, 2023. The PWFA requires the EEOC to issue final regulations by December 29, 2023. Be ready for this happy event!
Speaker: Robin Cross

Code Enforcement Working Group Call
2023-12-25 15:00, 2023-11-27 15:00, 2023-10-30 15:00
If you care to take part in this call, please email cstorer@imla.org.

Mental Health and Wellness Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2023-12-21 13:00 - 14:00
Sleep, Neuroscience, and Ethics
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
Sleep impairment impacts all aspects of client representation, including competence, focus, diligence, decision-making, effective client communication, and case management. Sleep deprivation predicts lawyer misconduct by increasing anxiety, interrupting working memory, and impairing effective executive thinking. This program provides the latest neuroscience behind sleep, and its impact on mental health, substance use, ethical behavior, and performance.
Speaker: Joan Bibelhausen, JD & Robin Wolpert, Esq,

Police Alternatives Meeting
2023-12-19 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-11-21 14:00 - 15:00
If you care to take part in this call or working group, please email cstorer@imla.org.

Police Webinar
2023-12-19 13:00 - 14:00
Managing Risk by Embedding Mental Health Co-responders in Police Departments
As communities across the country continue to examine ways to improve outcomes and reduce the costs of interactions between police officers and individuals experiencing mental illness, many have adopted a risk management approach. This presentation will examine the potential benefits of embedding mental health co-responders within police departments. The potential benefits include increasing the safety of those involved in such encounters; helping ensure that people experiencing mental illness are directed to the most appropriate resources; decreasing the number of police encounters with such individuals; reducing the costs associated with these encounters (including litigation costs); and improving the speed with which problems associated with these encounters are solved.
Speaker: Doug Hoffer

First Amendment & Public Comment Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2023-12-15 13:00 - 14:00
Public Comment – The Good, The Bad, and The Legal
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
As Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) from the show Parks and Rec humorously stated: “What I hear when I’m being yelled at [during a public meeting] is people caring loudly at me.” This presentation will explore the benefits of public comment, some of the issues commonly associated with public comment, and what you can do to address those issues.
Speaker: Randall Van Vleck & Todd Sheeran

General Webinar
2023-12-14 13:00 - 14:00
Local Government Attorney Essentials
Local Government attorneys need to handle a wide variety of legal responsibilities, some unique to local government. The number of issues and topics requiring legal proficiency can be overwhelming. This presentation will help city and county attorneys develop a plan for navigating their initiation into local government law. While this webinar is designed for attorneys who are new to local government, experienced local government attorneys can also benefit from a review of the basics of municipal law.
Speaker: Roger Horner

Elected Attorney Meeting
2023-12-11 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-11-13 14:00 - 15:00

Ethics Webinar
2023-12-08 13:00 - 14:00
My Client, My Enemy? Ethical Challenges When Representing Cities
This presentation will discuss ABA Rules 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.7 when discussing the challenges faced with representing cities. Rule 1.3 addresses organizations as clients, and Comment 1 touches upon entities acting through their officers, directors, etc. Complexities arise when Rule 1.1 calls for competent representation and the need to abide by client decisions under Rule 1.2, but individual city officers find themselves in positions contrary to the city they serve. Rule 1.7 provides guidance on Conflicts of Interest. Rule 1.3 requires lawyers dealing with a city’s officers to explain the nature of the relationship and address when interests diverge. This presentation will provide a variety of scenarios and pose hypothetical questions illustrating these points.
Speaker: Alan Bojorquez

Homelessness Working Group Conference Call
2023-12-07 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-11-02 14:00 - 15:00

Free Speech Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2023-12-07 13:00 - 14:00
First Amendment Audits – How to Handle and Protect Against Liability
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
There has been an increase in private citizens, known as First Amendment Auditors, engaging in activities against local governments designed to provoke a response that violates the First Amendment. First Amendment audits typically involve an individual photographing or filming his or her surroundings from a public space, and is often categorized by its practitioners as activism and citizen journalism designed to test whether local government officials will uphold the auditor’s constitutional rights – including the right to photograph and video record in a public space. There is a growing consensus of federal Courts of Appeals holding that the First Amendment generally protects the rights of citizens to film or record public officials, including police officers, performing their duties in public. However, the right to film is not absolute, as it is subject to a reasonable time, place and manner restriction. It is important for local governments to understand the rights involved and how to distinguish protected behavior from unprotected behavior, so as to ensure these matters are appropriately handled by local government officials in order to limit potential liability.
Speaker: James Benjamin & Bambi Glenn

Negotiations Webinar
2023-11-30 13:00 - 14:00
The Three Barriers to Resolution
Have you ever listened like a cow? Predicted United Nations membership? Determined how to make an offer? In this session you will learn how issues in understanding, planning, and executing negotiations creates barriers to reaching resolution. Immediate Past Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution and University of North Dakota Law Dean Brian Pappas will provide the exercises and information that will give you new tools and ideas for making your next negotiation a success.
Speaker: Brian Pappas

DEI Webinar
2023-11-28 13:00 - 14:00
Governing with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as Fundamental Principles
Addressing community issues such as lack of access to affordable housing and infrastructure, economic and health disparities, sustainability, and systemic racism requires sound legal advice. Best practices include creating an environment where creative solutions to social issues are valued and respected and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are fundamental principles. This discussion will include DEI policies and state preemptions surrounding these policies, including structural racism initiatives; anti-LGBTQ+ legislation; environmental, social and governance limitations; and the resulting protests surrounding these issues.
Speaker: Jeannine S. Williams

Small/Rural Communities Working Group Call
2023-11-20 14:00 - 15:00

Protests and First Amendment Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2023-11-16 13:00 - 14:00
Protest and Demonstration Permits
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
A presentation discussing key considerations for governmental entities creating regulations that require permits for public protests and demonstrations. The webinar will cover the First Amendment standards for prior restraints – including strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, limiting the discretion of government officials, justifications supporting the regulation, narrowly tailoring the permit requirements, content neutrality, and permit conditions.
Speaker: Ian Williams

Climate Change Webinar
2023-11-14 13:00 - 14:00
The Climate Change Litigation and Municipalities as Plaintiffs
Municipalities are often defendants in court, but increasingly they have become plaintiffs, suing a variety of industries and seeking remedies for city-wide injuries that also further public-policy goals. The climate-change litigation provides a prism for understanding how state law can provide some of the tools for this type of litigation and the types of roadblocks defendants throw up to reliance on state law through removal to federal court and the use of federal-officer removal to mount appeals that can delay proceeding to the merits. With cases now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, the litigation has the potential to establish a clearer path for municipalities as plaintiffs.
Speaker: Robert Peck

Technology Webinar
2023-11-07 13:00 - 14:00
Artificial Intelligence with Real Consequences: A Government Lawyer’s Survival Guide of Navigating the Brave New World
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that has the potential to revolutionize the way in which governments work. AI-powered tools are already being used to review documents, conduct legal research, and write descriptions for webinars. However, the adoption of AI also comes with many risks, such as misinformation, bias, and discrimination. This webinar will explore the legal, ethical, and practical risks of AI adoption in government and will also discuss the possible solutions to these risks.
Speaker: Andrew B. Dunkiel

New Lawyers Group Meeting
2023-11-06 14:00 - 15:00
If you care to take part in this call or working group, please email dshahnami@imla.org.

Land Use Webinar
2023-11-02 13:00 - 14:00
Drafting Short-Term Rental Regulations
Regulating short-term rentals has become a significant issue for municipalities throughout the United States. In Texas, traditional ordinances governing land use and zoning do not always provide adequate regulations to preserve the character of residential neighborhoods amid an influx of short-term rental uses. When trying to regulate these uses, the priorities of local governments and residents have clashed with certain rights and interests of property owners and rental occupants. In the absence of definitive legislative or judicial guidance, drafting short-term rental regulations becomes a balancing act. This presentation will discuss approaches to drafting short-term rental regulations that balance those competing concerns and solve problems instead of creating further issues.
Speaker: Rachel Raggio

Counties Meeting
2023-11-01 15:00 - 16:00

Local Government Legal Center Supreme Court Review Webinar
2023-10-31 13:00 - 14:00
Supreme Court Preview for Local Governments: 2023-2024 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 new Supreme Court term and what decisions local governments should watch. The Supreme Court will rule on several major cases this term, including on issues related to:

A possible new standard for employment liability under Title VII;
Whether a public official’s social media account can constitute state action for the purposes of the First Amendment;
Whether the Supreme Court should overrule Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which relates to deference that courts should provide administrative agencies; and
Whether firearm regulations prohibiting individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders violate the Second Amendment

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), International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) and Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) 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.
Speaker: Michelle Kallen & Robert Loeb
Moderator: Erich Eiselt, IMLA’s Deputy General Counsel

Police Alternatives Working Group Call
2023-10-17 14:00 - 15:00

DEI Book Club Meeting
2023-10-11 15:00 - 16:00
If you care to take part in this call or working group, please email dshahnami@imla.org.
Join us September 13th from 3-4 pm ET to discuss From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America from Elizabeth Hinton. This hour will discuss the content of the book with those who read it and a general discussion on the topic that may include people who did not read it.
Amazon Synopsis: In the United States today, one in every thirty-one adults is under some form of penal control, including one in eleven African American men. How did the “land of the free” become the home of the world’s largest prison system? Challenging the belief that America’s prison problem originated with the Reagan administration’s War on Drugs, Elizabeth Hinton traces the rise of mass incarceration to an ironic source: the social welfare programs of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society at the height of the civil rights era.
Johnson’s War on Poverty policies sought to foster equality and economic opportunity. But these initiatives were also rooted in widely shared assumptions about African Americans’ role in urban disorder, which prompted Johnson to call for a simultaneous War on Crime. The 1965 Law Enforcement Assistance Act empowered the national government to take a direct role in militarizing local police. Federal anticrime funding soon incentivized social service providers to ally with police departments, courts, and prisons. Under Richard Nixon and his successors, welfare programs fell by the wayside while investment in policing and punishment expanded. Anticipating future crime, policymakers urged states to build new prisons and introduced law enforcement measures into urban schools and public housing, turning neighborhoods into targets of police surveillance.
By the 1980s, crime control and incarceration dominated national responses to poverty and inequality. The initiatives of that decade were less a sharp departure than the full realization of the punitive transformation of urban policy implemented by Republicans and Democrats alike since the 1960s.

PFAS Settlement Discussion
2023-10-10 15:00 - 16:00
If you care to take part in this call or working group, please email amorris@imla.org.
This call is intended to provide a forum for discussion about the proposed 3M and Dupont settlements.
Attached as well is the link www.pfaswatersettlement.com previously provided by our colleague Sara Gross at the City of Baltimore, which includes an extensive Q&A about the settlement processes/timing/required filings, and links to many of the significant documents in the litigation, from complaints to the settlement agreements.
On the call will be Stephanie Biehl, a partner at Sher Edling, a member of the PFAS Plaintiffs Executive Committee. She will not be providing advice but should be helpful in assisting us to better understand the settlement agreements and the various options facing local governments.
