hawaiioceanlaw.com:

Announcing the 2015 American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education seminar on eminent domain in San Francisco.

Details below, "borrowed" from my partner, Robert H. Thomas, programming chair and blogger extraordinaire.

ALI-CLE 2015 Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation & Condemnation 101 Agendas And Faculty Announced

If you haven't already, please mark you calendars: the agendas and faculty lists for the February 5-7, 2015 ALI-CLE eminent domain programs in San Francisco have been finalized. Registration is ongoing, and there's even a few more days left for the early registration discount. Substantial group discounts are also available.

We're talking, of course, about Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation (the "masters" program, now in its 32nd year), and Condemnation 101: How to Prepare and Present an Eminent Domain Case (the boot camp or refesher course on eminent domain fundamentals). We're the co-Planning Chair of the Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation program along with Joe Waldo, and we think we've assembled an exciting agenda, presented by a faculty comprised of the nation's best-of-the-best in our field of law.

Some highlights:

Eminent Domain National Law Update - Amy Brigham Boulris, Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A., Miami (and me)

Five Simple Rules for Partial Takings - Christian F. Torgrimson, Pursley Friese Torgrimson, Atlanta

When Fourth Amendment Seizures Become Fifth Amendment Takings - Herbert W. Titus, William J. Olson, P.C., Vienna, Virginia

Running the Case: A Team Approach to Working with All the Players – William E. Ryan, Michael W. Ryan, and Lauren E. Ryan, Ryan & Ryan, Chicago

When Judges Overstep Their Authority: What To Do in the Courtroom – Edward G. Burg, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Los Angeles

Condemnors’ Special Considerations When Using Outside Counsel – David L. Arnold, Pender & Coward, P.C., Suffolk, Virginia, and Brandee L. Caswell, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Denver

Pipelines and Immediate Possession: The Looming Circuit Split Controversy – Justin Hodge, Johns Marrs Ellis & Hodge LLP, Houston and Jeremy P. Hopkins, Waldo & Lyle, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia

Contaminated Land: The Impact on Use, Utility, Value and Mitigation – Darius W. Dynkowski, Ackerman Ackerman & Dynkowski P.C., Cleveland; Thomas L. Stokes Jr., Stokes Environmental Associates, Norfolk, Virginia

Equal Access to Justice Act: Recovering Attorney's Fees if Uncle Sam Condemns – Stephen J. Clarke, Waldo & Lyle, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia

The Red-headed Step Child: Overcoming Reluctance to Take Relocation Cases – Jaclyn Casey Brown, Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP, Denver, Robert Denlow, Denlow & Henry, St. Louis, and Michael Sullivan, Range West Consultants LLC, Prescott, Arizona

What's Wrong with the Law of Valuation in Eminent Domain: Four Rules to Change - John C. Murphy, Murphy & Evertz, LLP, Costa Mesa, California

How Jury Instructions Frame Your Case - Andrew Prince Brigham, Brigham Property Rights Law Firm PLLC, Jacksonville, Florida and Jack R. Sperber, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Denver

Challenging the Take - Dana Berliner, Director, Institute for Justice, Arlington, Virginia, Janet Bush Handy, Deputy Counsel, Assistant Attorney General, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore and Matthew W. Fellerhoff, Strauss Troy Co., LPA, Cincinnati

How to Simplify Valuation in the Courtroom - Leslie A. Fields, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Denver, Susan Macpherson,Senior Litigation and Jury Consultant, NJP Litigation Consulting, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Richard Marchitelli, MAI, Executive Managing Director, Valuation and Advisory, Cushman & Wakefield, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Joe Waldo

Proving Your Case: Staying Focused - H. Dixon Montague, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Houston

Entry Statutes: A Taking or a Free Pass? - Norman E. Matteoni, Matteoni O’Laughlin & Hechtman, San Jose, California, Edward V. O'Hanlan, Robinson & Cole LLP, Stamford, Connecticut, and Michael F. Yoshiba, Richards, Watson & Gershon, P.C., Los Angeles

Valuation of Temporary Construction Easements – Keith M. Babcock, Lewis, Babcock & Griffin, LLP, Columbia, South Carolina and Randall A. Smith, Smith & Fawer, L.L.C., New Orleans

Severance Damages in Partial Takings Cases: Lessons Learned and Future Considerations - Anthony F. Della Pelle, McKirdy & Riskin P.A., Morristown, New Jersey

Cross Examining Appraisers: Taking Apart the Key Witness – Jill S. Gelineau, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C., Portland, Oregon and Michael Rikon, Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton, P.C., New York

Dropping the Bomb: Challenging Highest and Best Use – Mark D. Savin, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., Minneapolis

Opening and Closing: Laying Out Your Case and Bringing It Home – Joseph P. Suntum, Miller, Miller & Canby, Chartered, Rockville, Maryland

Denominators and Bright Lines: The Search for the Relevant Parcel in Eminent Domain and Regulatory Takings – Bradford B. Kuhn, Nossaman LLP, Irvine, California, Dwight H. Merriam, Robinson & Cole LLP, Hartford, Connecticut, and Mark M. Murakami, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert, L.C., Honolulu

Update on Regulatory Takings Jurisprudence: Decisions that Hit Close to Home – Michael M. Berger, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Los Angeles

Novel Takings Theories: Testing the Boundaries of Property Rights – James S. Burling, Director of Litigation, Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento

National Forum: Issues Facing Practitioners Around the Nation and Discussion of Stop and Seizures - plenary session, open forum

There will also be a session on Ethics, so you can fulfil your bar association's mandatory ethics CLE requirement, if you have one.

One highlight not listed above is the Friday keynote session with Gideon Kanner (Professor of Law Emeritus, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles) and Michael M. Berger (Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Los Angeles), The Last 30 Years of Eminent Domain Jurisprudence and its Impact on Today's Practice. Gideon and Mike will provide their own unique perspectives, gathered from their decades of experience at the very eye of the eminent domain, inverse condemnation, and regulatory taking storm. This session alone will be worth the price of admission.

Of course, there will be the usual networking and hospitality events where you can meet your colleagues from across the nation, and San Francsico is always a great venue -- the Nikko Hotel is in the heart of the city, and the conference rate of $209 per night is very attractive (so make your reservations now).

The Condemnation 101 program also has a fantastic Thursday agenda, and is a good place for the practitioner at the early stages of his or her career in eminent domain law to learn the fundamentals, or is even a good refesher course on the basics for the seasoned condemnation lawyer.

This annual gathering is, in our opinion, the best of its kind. Register now. See you in San Franciso.