WONK Breakfast

During this discussion, we will talk about strategies and opportunities to improve living conditions for low-income households while trying to avoid displacement and dealing with a recalcitrant property owner/manager.

Host:

Patricia “Trish” Link
Division Chief, Land Use and Real Estate
Austin, Texas

Get a sneak peek of our upcoming Construction Law Program (in Providence, RI) discussing hot topics and best practices for construction projects.

Host:

Jillian Jagling
Senior Counsel
West Group Law PLLC

Natural disasters, cyberattacks, and other emergencies can severely disrupt municipal operations, posing legal, financial, and logistical challenges for local governments. This table will explore best practices for disaster recovery planning, including legal considerations, interagency coordination, and strategies to ensure continuity of essential services. Participants will share experiences, lessons learned, and policies that have proven effective in mitigating risks, expediting recovery, and protecting municipal assets and public safety.

Host:

Edward Maggio
Associate Counsel and Magazine Editor
IMLA

The table will discuss a few topics like election security, misinformation and any other topics the group is interested in.

Host:

Mike Haas
City Attorney
Madison, WI

This table will cover use of local resources, local control & sanctuary cities.

Host:

Susana Alcala Wood
City Attorney
Sacramento, CA

A fundamental component of any real estate transaction is understanding the value of a property to the tenant. Local government property owners often make their property available to wireless providers but struggle with determining the market value. At this table BBK will share the latest comp rates we’ve compiled for ground leases, rooftops and towers and provide tips on how to handle rate negotiations.

Host:

Gerry Lederer
Partner
Best Best & Krieger LLP

The IMLA Fellows Program identifies attorneys with special knowledge, skills, and proficiency, and confirms to the public that they are certified local government lawyers. This table will give new applicants and others interested in the IMLA Fellows Program practical tips and information to help them navigate the application and testing components of the Program. Issues to be discussed include: completing the application, choosing exam questions, drafting exam responses.

Hosts:

Wynetta Massey
City Attorney
Colorado Springs, CO

Randy Van Vleck
Village Attorney
Village of Milan, NM

This table will give IMLA members an opportunity to share information (and stories) about parliamentary procedure for elected officials. Issues to be discussed include: sources of parliamentary procedure, role of the presiding officer, meeting agendas, motion practice, and tools for educating elected officials.

Host:

Ben Mount
Senior Assistant General Counsel
North Carolina League of Municipalities

Front Yard Art, Weeds and Wildflowers, Dangerous Buildings and More

Host:

Marianne Landers Banks
City Attorney
Fairfield, TX & Liberty Hill, TX

We will discuss potential uses and best practices for AI in municipal law. Or, as AI put it: Join us for an engaging conversation on the implications and applications of artificial intelligence within the realm of municipal law. We will explore current uses, potential benefits, and ethical considerations, providing a comprehensive overview of how AI is shaping our legal landscape.

Host:

Darren Shulman
City Attorney
Upper Arlington, Ohio

A table for chief legal officers and that will discuss law office management issues.

Can DEI survive into the future? If so, how will it change?

Host:

Kelly Y. Schwab
City Attorney/Risk Manager
Chandler, AZ

Balancing Community Concerns with the needs of the homeless/unsheltered population to include law enforcement in encampments, removal/dismantling of encampments, providing municipally available wrap around services in tandem with law enforcement best practices.

Host:

Rosemary Humway-Warmuth
City Solicitor
Wheeling, West Virginia

This roundtable discussion will explore ways we can seek to improve or modify the anti-police violence in many jury pools. Jury selection is the only time lawyers get to speak directly with prospective jurors. Creating an atmosphere of inclusion during the process has the potential to alter the dynamic in the Jury Room. What has worked for you? What hasn’t worked? What might work?

Host:

Chris Balch
City Attorney
Pine Lake, GA

The Denver Metro has a handful of experienced “First Amendment auditors”, that generally know exactly how far they can toe the line to avoid civil or criminal liability, while harassing and slandering staff and elected officials both during public comment and within public facilities. This table will discuss experiences, lessons learned, and policies/procedures for cities to ensure First Amendment compliance while protecting staff and minimizing operational disruptions.

Host:

Tamara Niles
City Attorney
Englewood, CO

Airbnb, VRBO, Hometogo, and other short-term rentals are a fixture in our communities, providing both positives and detriments. Local efforts to regulate and tax STRs have met with differing degrees of success, whether due to preemption, resistance and litigation by the STR companies, ineffective statutory language, and otherwise. This roundtable will allow participants to discuss best practices in dealing with STRs, from requiring registration by hosts, limits on number/duration/proximity of STRs, noise/hours/parking issues, collection of lodging tax by STR companies, and so on.

Host:

Erich Eiselt
Deputy General Counsel and Director of Legal Advocacy
IMLA

Speculate on future trends in employment discrimination litigation, including how municipalities should prepare for evolving challenges in this area.

Host:

Suntrease Williams-Maynard
Deputy City Attorney
Mobile, AL

This would explore the toll that a shooting, especially a fatal shooting, takes on the officer who fired. The officer is never seen in the public eye (primarily, the media) as a victim, since he’s the one who did the shooting. But the public often doesn’t know what led to the shooting—not just that a suspect appeared to reach for a weapon that might not have been there, but that the suspect sometimes actually shoots or stabs or otherwise seriously assaults the officer before the officer uses deadly force. And then there are the officers who live with the trauma of killing someone who reasonably appeared to be a threat but in hindsight might not have been. These officers get maligned in the press and threatened at times by members of the public. They probably didn’t want to kill someone that day, yet they did, and they have to live with it. The “other side” would answer that the key word there is “live” while the suspect no longer does. What can be done for these officers?

Host:

Robert W. Higgason
Senior Assistant City Attorney
Houston, TX

Join this round-table discussion on updated cases and orders on federal funds. This will be an open discussion on freezes, access and any effect (if any) on current and future funds.

Host:

Deanna Shahnami
Assistant General Counsel and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
IMLA