Anti-Trust Litigation Webinar
2021-05-27 13:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York)
Municipal Class Actions: When to Opt-Out and When to Lead or Stay in the Class?
Class action antitrust litigation is often the most cost-effective way to obtain damages when a municipal entity is harmed by anti-competitive corporate conduct. In some instances, however, a municipality may do better to opt out of the class and become an active opt-out litigant. Opt-out class members have more input into directing litigation strategy, and have the flexibility to settle without obtaining court approval. Even when settlement is the preferred outcome, better results are achieved when counsel actively pursues discovery and prepares for trial from the outset of the litigation. This session examines the terrain of municipal antitrust suits, the pros and cons of opting out, and how to maximize recoveries.
Speaker: Robert Eisler, Deborah Elman & Suzanne Sangree

IMLA in Canada Program
2021-06-03 13:00 - 18:00, 2021-06-04 13:00 - 16:30
To view more details, click here.

Ethics Webinar
2021-06-07 13:00 - 14:00
Questions to an Ethics Hotline
This presentation will cover questions regularly raised by local government lawyers about the Rules of Professional Conduct and discuss how and which Rules answer such questions. The presentation will generally cover several of the ABA Model Rules having particular applicability to local government lawyers, including the Preamble and Scope and Rules 1.0 through 1.11, 1.13, 1.16, 1.18, Rules 3.1 through 3.5 and Rules 3.8 and 3.9, Rules 5.1 through 5.4 and Rules 8.3 and 8.4 to the extent time allows. The program anticipates that lawyers attending the program will have a better appreciation of how the Ruled of Professional Conduct apply in various situations that can regularly arise in the course of representing a local government client, how best to address their conduct in responding to those situations and what their duties and responsibilities are to the court and the bar.
Speaker: Charles W. Thompson, Jr.

Eminent Domain Webinar
2021-06-15 13:00 - 14:15
A Practical Guide on Condemnation Law from Planning to Trial
This presentation serves as a practical guide for attorneys new to condemnation, covering aspects from planning for its use, including ensuring authority to condemn, the existence of a public purpose, considering alternatives, project costs, and political/community considerations; due diligence including determining if fee or easements, among others, are needed, performing title work review, surveying and environmental studies, and appraisal hiring and review; negotiation for needed parcels; and preparation for filing of a formal petition to condemn. It will also discuss strategy for direct examination of a hired appraiser at trial.
Speaker: Julian Grant

Construction Webinar
2021-06-17 13:00 - 14:00
2021 Global Construction Disputes Report – How COVID-19 Has Impacted Projects
The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing event affecting construction projects across the globe. This webinar focuses on the impacts of the pandemic on the construction industry in 2020 and then considers how these factors will affect the industry in 2021 and beyond. The webinar will also provide participants with tangible actions they can take to mitigate disputes on their projects that are affected by COVID-19.
Speaker: Roy Cooper & Greg Holness

Contracts Webinar
2021-06-22 13:00 - 14:00
Electronic Signatures in Government Contracting
This webinar will include a brief overview of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act, and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). Discussion will then focus on the experiences of Montgomery County, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in adopting electronic signatures for use with commercial contracts, including integration with existing contracting procedures, record retention policies, lessons learned and recommended practices.
Speaker: Phillip Bullard & Trevor Ashbarry

Personnel Webinar
2021-06-24 13:00 - 14:30
Dealing with COVID-19 Related Leave Requests and the New 100% COBRA Entitlement
With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, municipalities continue to deal with leave requests from employees for various COVID related reasons. Addressing such requests can be challenging because they may implicate various overlapping laws. On June 24, IMLA will be presenting a webinar outlining how municipalities should handle these challenges, especially the intersection of the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the recently extended and expanded tax credits available under the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The American Rescue Plan Act extended the availability of the FFCRA tax credits on a voluntary basis until September 30, 2021 and expanded the situations in which municipalities may obtain tax credits for providing leave to employees. The presentation will also discuss the 100% Family COBRA entitlement, effective April 1, 2021.
Speaker: Jonathan Mook and Robin Cross

Disaster Webinar
2021-06-28 13:00 - 14:00
Government Disaster Declarations: 2020 Lessons Learned
Karen Kennard, Shareholder of Global Law Firm Greenberg Traurig and former Austin City Attorney and Texas Municipal League General Counsel, will give a year-in-review presentation focused on lessons learned from 2020—the year of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic—and things municipal attorneys need to know regarding government emergencies and disaster declarations.
Speaker: Karen Kennard

Disaster Webinar
2021-07-20 13:00 - 14:00
COVID-19 Litigation: Public Health Orders, Enforcement Challenges and Related First Amendment Challenges
Cities, counties, and health officials across the country are facing a rapidly escalating number of lawsuits that challenge public health orders, enforcement issues and First Amendment challenges related to COVID-19. In this webinar, Deborah Fox, Chair of Meyers Nave’s Trial and Litigation Practice and First Amendment Practice, will explain the legal issues that are involved in these litigations, including complex constitutional questions regarding local and state governmental powers during public health and safety emergencies intertwined with alleged violations of various rights under the U.S. Constitution, ranging from First Amendment freedoms of expression, religion and assembly to civil rights claims for alleged violations of the due process and equal protection clauses to economic claims under the takings and commerce clauses.
Speaker: Deborah Fox & Margaret (Meg) Rosequist

Securities Webinar
2021-07-22 13:00 - 14:00
The Municipality as Shareholder: Securities Litigation in the Age of Fiscal and Social Responsibility
Securities litigation is often viewed as benefiting individual shareholders who have been harmed due to misstatements, omissions, negligence, or intentional acts of public companies. But the reality is that millions of others participate in the capital markets as employees of municipalities and local government subdivisions—counties, cities, townships, school districts, fire and police departments and more—who act on behalf of these workers as shareholders in publicly traded entities through pension plans, risk management pools and similar vehicles. This presentation will discuss how these entities can add and have added their influence to obtain recourse for corporate wrongdoing and to effect socially responsible change in corporate policies in areas ranging from gender and race discrimination, systemic racial and gender inequality, Covid, the opioid epidemic, environmental wrongdoing, money laundering and more.
Speaker: Joshua H. Grabar & Seth D. Rigrodsky

First Amendment Webinar
2021-07-27 13:00 - 14:00
Dos and Don’ts For Advertising On Buses And Other Municipal Owned Property
This webinar will examine First Amendment jurisprudence as it applies to advertising on buses and other municipally owned property including bus stops, street furniture, subways, and airports. The webinar will provide practical pointers for drafting constitutionally sound regulations for advertising on such municipally owned property. While the First Amendment usually requires that non-commercial speech be treated more favorably than commercial speech, the reverse is often true when looking at regulations for advertising on buses and other municipally owned property. Forum analysis plays a critical role in determining what restrictions will pass muster as does the consistency with which policies are followed and enforced. These issues along with applicable case law will be highlighted during the webinar.
Speaker: Margaret (Meg) Rosequist

Personnel Webinar
2021-07-29 13:00 - 14:00
What Labor & Employment Attorneys Should Understand About Human Resources!
Depending on the local government, the Human Resources Department may entail a variety of areas that need sound and practical advice from a Labor & Employment Attorney and knowing how to handle when the advice is not followed. In local government, Human Resources has to perform a balancing act – balancing what the City Manager/Mayor wants for the organization and being fair to the employees. There are other parties such as the elected officials (politicians) and the unions which bring another wrinkle on how Human Resources manages any situation. Remember HR is seen as both the good and the bad…hires and fires….and much more.
Speaker: Elsa I. Jaramillo-Velez & Roberta “Robin” Cross

Bankruptcy Webinar
2021-08-10 13:00 - 14:30
Bankruptcy: Help Us Put the Pieces Together
Bankruptcy cases can have implications for a City beyond the collection of revenue. When that happens, the attorneys in the City of Philadelphia Law Department’s Bankruptcy Unit rely heavily on the expertise of other members of the Law Department to issue spot, educate, marshal documents and more. Achieving this type of symbiosis at the very outset of a bankruptcy proceeding is critical. The presentation will provide a brief overview of bankruptcy basics, review samples of communications from the court or the debtors to be on the look-out for and include an informal discussion surrounding how to gear up quickly to achieve the best level of representation in these often fast-moving matters.
Speaker: Pamela Thurmond, Megan Harper, & Joshua Domer

Public Records Webinar
2021-08-24 13:00 - 14:00
Public Records Responses: Then and Now
Hilary Ruley has worked in Baltimore’s Public Records Response process for over 15 years. In this presentation, Hilary will discuss key and current legal cases on body cameras. This presentation will also discuss video redaction and some of the practical challenges of being an attorney involved in the public records process.
Speaker: Hilary Ruley & Jen Snyder

Construction Webinar
2021-10-19 13:00 - 14:00
Back to Basics: Guide to Resolving Construction Claims
The construction industry has faced many unique challenges since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As the industry adjusts to the new “normal” way of working, it is important for construction project participants to maintain their focus on the basic techniques that are effective in managing construction risks inherent to every construction project. This session will bring participants “back to basics” and provide guidelines to apply for the mitigation and resolution of construction claims that often manifest into cumbersome litigation.
Speaker: Christi Fu & Brenda Radmacher

Preemption Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2021-10-26 13:00 - 14:00
Preempting to Thwart Racial Justice
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
This session builds on our spring webinar documenting the 2021 legislative session as a session like no other. To recap, state legislatures continued to target local authority, but the disturbing trend that this webinar will focus on was the use of preemption to prevent or limit local jurisdictions from taking steps to pursue racial justice initiatives. In direct reaction to the racial justice conversations of summer 2020, states passed laws that force higher penalties for protesters, prevent cities from reducing their law enforcement budgets, and ban the teaching of critical race theory. This legislative session marked an escalation of preemption to engage in racially targeted culture wars.
Speaker: Kim Haddow, Rick Su & Marissa Roy

Affirmative Litigation Webinar
2021-11-18 13:00 - 14:00
Affirmative Litigation – The Municipality as Plaintiff
This presentation is a review of various major affirmative litigation activities by local governments, including false claims, video services, e-cigarettes, PFAS, climate change, and opioids. This presentation will also discuss causes of action, defenses, and case trajectories.
Speaker: Erich Eiselt, Sara Gross & Michael Bologna

Animal Law Webinar
2021-12-01 13:00 - 14:00
Herding Cats- Augmenting Animal Services in a Post-COVID World
95% of Americans now view pets as members of their family and animal services is evolving to reflect new community values and expectations, similar to the evolving role of policing. Best Friends staff with expertise in these issues will discuss empowering animal field services officers to be more responsive and efficient in the field, effective policies concerning dangerous dogs and reckless owners, community engagement of volunteers and legal frameworks to reduce the risk of liability.
Speaker: Ledy VanKavage, Scott Giacoppo, Tammy Jo Hallman & Rebecca Huss

Homelessness Working Group Conference Call
2021-12-01 15:00 - 16:00, 2021-12-02 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-01-06 15:00 - 16:00
If you care to take part in this call, please email cstorer@imla.org.

Ethics Webinar
2021-12-07 13:00 - 14:00
Ethics: the Local Government Attorney’s Role as a Competent Advisor
One of the primary functions and a day-to-day responsibility of a local government attorney is providing advice. All attorneys advise clients, but the advice a local government attorney gives the local government governing body, boards, commissions, and staff affects an entire community and in a broader sense, our society. This presentation examines the interplay of ABA Model Ethics Rules 1.1 (Attorney Competence) and 2.1 (Attorney’s Role as Advisor) and how those rules affect local government attorneys regular professional life when advising governing bodies and staff, including the need to: (1) Be straightforward; (2) present other considerations beyond strictly technical legal advice; and (3) consider the timing and process of offering advice.
Speaker: Judge Rodney D. Adams, Cathy Cunningham & Roger Horner

Diversity/Equity/Inclusion Book Club Meeting
2021-12-08 15:00 - 16:00
If you care to take part in this call, please email cstorer@imla.org.

The book is: Standing Bear is a Person

Preemption Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2021-12-09 13:00 - 14:00
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, particularly during COVID, and expand affordable housing . 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 has particularly come to a head during the COVID-19 pandemic as local governments have sought to impose eviction moratoriums and extend other support to burdened renters. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for local government leadership on equitable housing policies, and even where state preemption exists, local governments may still be able advance housing equity through collaboration with the federal government through the American Rescue Plan.
Speaker: Nestor Davidson, Sarah Beth Gehl, Lauren A. Lowery & Ben Winig

Last day for members to register for the Mega Bundle
2021-12-31
2022 MEGA Bundle

All THREE listed below for one low price!
2022 Mid-Year Seminar, 87th Annual Conference & 2022 Kitchen Sink Subscription

April 8-11, 2022 | Washington, D.C. | Omni Shoreham Hotel
October 19-23, 2022 | Portland, OR | Hilton Portland Downtown & The Duniway, A Hilton Hotel

Last day for members to register for lower price Kitchen Sink
2021-12-31
2022 Kitchen Sink Subscription

Your ENTIRE office will receive 40+ CLE distance learning events for a fraction of what it would cost separately!

“The work of the city and county attorney gets more complex with each passing year. One significant challenge is keeping abreast of recent developments in federal law and regulatory actions affecting public agencies. Each year, IMLA puts on 40+ webinars which allow me and my staff to stay current and be in the best position possible to advise our clients on these difficult issues. It is without a doubt the best training resource we have for legal issues at the federal level.”

Code Enforcement Conference Call
2022-01-05 13:00 - 14:00

Telecommunications Webinar
2022-01-06 13:00 - 14:30
Key Legal Issues: From Preliminary Assessment Through Detailed Project Planning
In this two-part presentation, lawyers from Keller and Heckman LLP will address the critical legal and regulatory issues that public broadband initiatives and partnerships typically encounter at each stage of a project from initial opportunity assessment to ongoing operation and regulatory compliance. They will focus on authority issues; federal and state funding opportunities; infrastructure challenges (rights-of-way, easements, franchises, pole attachments, wireless matters, etc.); and access to customers, content, and services. This presentation will also discuss telephony issues (including 911); organizational and governance issues; and partnerships. Part 2 is scheduled for February 8, 2022.
Speaker: Jim Baller, Sean Stokes, Casey Lide, Tracy Marshall & Wes Wright

Young Lawyers Conference Call
2022-01-10 13:00 - 14:00
