Readers may recall that I attended the National Legal Aid and Defender Association's 2025 Appellate Defender Training earlier this year in Massachusetts.  Although a bit ideological at times, this was by far the best appellate training I have ever experienced.  The tips for handling criminal appeals are priceless.  As I hoped, some of the lessons are proving useful for my civil appeals, too.

This training will be just next door in Mississippi on January 13-16, 2026.  That's a real opportunity for Arkansas appellate attorneys.  If you are interested in registering, you can follow the site to see when registration opens, here: https://www.nlada.org/adt-2026-save-the-date  And if you want to go, keep up and register soon - these programs fill up fast.