BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//AILA MidSouth Chapter//Vice v. Virtue 2026//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:AILA MidSouth 2026 · Session 11
X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Chicago
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Chicago
X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Chicago
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0600
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:CDT
DTSTART:19700308T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0600
TZNAME:CST
DTSTART:19701101T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:aila-midsouth-2026-session-11@vice-v-virtue
DTSTAMP:20261112T130745Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261113T152000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261113T162000
SUMMARY:11 · Thou Shalt Not Gatekeep: Making Federal Litigation More Inclu
 sive
LOCATION:Room A\, Renaissance New Orleans Arts Hotel\, 700 Tchoupitoulas St
 reet\, New Orleans\, LA 70130
DESCRIPTION:Vice v. Virtue: Immigration Law in a Complex World\nAILA MidSou
 th Chapter Conference 2026 · Session 11 · Room A\n\nPanelists:\n• Hiro
 ko Kusuda (Loyola University New Orleans College of Law\, New Orleans\, Lo
 uisiana)\n• Hon. Janis van Meerveld (Chief Magistrate Judge\, U.S. Distr
 ict Court\, Eastern District of Louisiana\, New Orleans\, Louisiana)\n• 
 Sabrina Damast (Law Office of Sabrina Damast\, Los Angeles\, California)\n
 • Samuel Scillitani (Assistant Federal Public Defender\, New Orleans\, L
 ouisiana)\n\nFederal litigation is increasingly an essential tool for achi
 eving meaningful outcomes for immigration clients. Yet many attorneys\, pa
 rticularly solo practitioners\, small-firm lawyers\, and those from histor
 ically underrepresented backgrounds\, lack access to the mentorship\, trai
 ning\, and professional networks that often serve as gateways to federal c
 ourt practice.\n\nThis panel demystifies federal litigation\, provides pra
 ctical guidance for getting started\, and explores how greater inclusion i
 n the federal bar can expand access to justice for both attorneys and the 
 communities they serve.\n\nThe panel will discuss:\n• Federal court basi
 cs for immigration practitioners\, including APA\, mandamus\, habeas\, and
  other common federal actions.\n• Breaking down barriers to entry for so
 lo\, small-firm\, rural\, and underrepresented attorneys.\n• Building co
 nfidence through mentors\, co-counsel\, inclusive professional networks\, 
 and practical first-case strategies.\n• Expanding access to justice by b
 roadening participation in the federal bar and leveraging AILA and other l
 itigation resources.
CATEGORIES:AILA MidSouth 2026,Room A
STATUS:CONFIRMED
TRANSP:OPAQUE
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR