The Fellows CLE, “The Future of Latinos in the United States: Law, Opportunity and Mobility,” presented at the 2016 ABA Midyear Meeting in San Diego on February 6 was based on the American Bar Foundation (ABF) Research Project of the same name and sought to imagine the different futures of Latinos that are possible by 2050, when the Latino population is projected to account for 30% of the nation’s population. According to a brief paper written about the project by co-directors Rachel F. Moran and Robert L. Nelson, “the project is a nation-wide, interdisciplinary research initiative devoted to understanding the current condition of Latinos in the United States, the structural barriers that impede full equality and integration for this emerging population, and the sites of intervention that promise to be most impactful in promoting opportunity and mobility through law and policy.”

Moderated by Manuel Medrano, trial lawyer and broadcast journalist, the program included presentations given by Rachel F. Moran, inaugural holder of the William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Diversity and Law at the ABF and Dean Emerita and Michael J. Connell Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA Law; Robert L. Nelson, MacCrate Research Chair in the Legal Profession and Past Director at the ABF and Professor of Sociology and Law at Northwestern University; and Luz Herrera, Assistant Dean for Clinical Education, Experiential Learning, and Public Service, UCLA Law. Panelists also included Alexander Acosta, Chair of the ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights & Responsibilities and Dean at College of Law at Florida International University; Sonia Gonzales, Executive Director of the California Bar Foundation; and Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel at MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund).The ABF project is co-directed by Rachel F. Moran and Robert L. Nelson.

Read the full report of the event in the Spring 2016 issue of “Researching Law.”

The CLE was presented in two parts. First, presentations were given on the ABF project research. Second, panelists discussed four key areas of interest: education, immigration, political and civil participation and economic opportunity.