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Austin, Texas, is where we’re at for the next few days, for the 2016 edition of the American Law Institute-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation conference, now in its 33d year. First time we’re in Austin, however, and our registration numbers are looking very good, and we haven’t had this big a turnout in years.

We haven’t been back to Austin in a few years ourselves, so we did what law nerds sometimes do when we go to new towns: visit the local courtroom to check out the scene. So we dropped by the Supreme Court of Texas to take a look. Turns out it was an off-day for the court and it was not in session and the courtroom was locked. But Security suggested that if we asked the Clerk nicely, she might retrieve the key and let us take a look around. And you know what? She did.

Continue Reading ALI-CLE 2016 Eminent Domain Conference: Austin Scouting Report

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We know we’ve been doing the hard sell lately, with multiple posts on the details of the upcoming 2016 Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation / Condemnation 101 Conference, which runs from January 28-30, 2016, in Austin, Texas. And this will be our last pre-conference post, we promise.

But me and my co-planning chairs, Joe Waldo, Jack Sperber, and Andrew Brigham, think we’re put together a very good program that covers a lot of ground, and we really want you to come. This is also the first time the conference has been to Austin, and we’re in a brand new (as in just opened) hotel, so we’re looking forward to this perhaps more than usual.

The full agenda is posted here, but here are highlights:


Continue Reading Final Post: More Reasons To Attend The ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference

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We’re now only a bit more than two weeks away from the 2016 Eminent Domain and Land Valuation LitigationCondemnation 101 Conference, which runs from January 28-30, 2016, in Austin, Texas. 

As we’ve noted here earlier, we think that this is going to be a fantastic conference that will cover a lot of ground, and the hot topics of the day. Here’s the full agenda for the program. If you are not familiar with the conference or have not attended recently, we’ve undergone some formatting changes lately, but are still bringing the best faculty and topics to bear. Here’s a summary of last year’s San Francisco conference, to give you an idea of how we’ve updated the programs, while keeping the best elements and traditions unchanged.  

This is the first time the conference has been held in Austin, and thus far, the registration figures are doing exceedingly

Continue Reading ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference, Austin, TX – Nearly Here, But There’s Still Time To Register

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Here’s our second day of highlights from the upcoming American Law Institute-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation / Condemnation 101 Conference, which will be held in Austin, Texas, from January 28-30, 2016.  

This is the first time the conference has been to Austin, and we’re hoping for a good turnout. Here’s the full agenda for the program. 

  • We especially focused on the ethics component this year, and are looking forward to the session on “Ethics: Tips and Traps for the Eminent Domain Practitioner” at the first plenary session on the second day, taught by Jamila A. Johnson (Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, Seattle), Robert B. Neblett, (Jackson Walker L.L.P., Austin). and Joseph V. Sherman (Waldo & Lyle, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia). 
  • Pipeline takings are a huge issue, and we’ve got the lawyers on the very tip of the spear on these cases. “Pipelines and Energy


Continue Reading More On The Upcoming ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference (Austin, Jan 28-30, 2016)

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We’re exactly one month away from the 2016 Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation / Condemnation 101 Conference, which runs from January 28-30, 2016, in Austin, Texas. 

Together with our friends and colleagues Joe Waldo, Jack Sperber, and Andrew Brigham, we think we’re put together a pretty good program that covers a lot of ground. This is the first time the conference has been to Austin, and we’re hoping for a good turnout. 

Here’s the full agenda for the program. 

If you have not already signed up, there is more than enough room, and there’s still time.

If you haven’t yet pulled the trigger, we’d like to convince you to come. So over the next few days, we’re going to be posting highlights from the agenda, featuring our stellar faculty.

  • We’ll start off with a talk welcoming us to the city by Austin Mayor Steve Adler


Continue Reading Counting Down To The ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference (Austin, Jan 28-30, 2016)

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Whatever you might celebrate at this time of year — Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or whatever (or even if you don’t celebrate anything except good cheer and gift giving) — here’s our suggestion for the gift for the takings nerd in your life: Professor Ilya Somin’s fantastic book, “The Grasping Hand: Kelo v. City of New London & The Limits Of Eminent Domain.”

It’s a book that is both scholarly and readable, and filled with details, history, and perspective. You can’t do better than this. Available as both an e-book and in hardback (for you luddites).

Highly recommended. 

Note: Professor Somin is one of the featured speakers at the upcoming ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation conference in Austin, Texas (January 28-30, 2016) where he will talk about the book and recent developments in our favorite area of law. 


Continue Reading Holiday Gift Suggestion For Takings Nerds: Lawprof Somin’s Kelo Book “The Grasping Hand: Kelo v. City of New London & The Limits Of Eminent Domain”

Here’s the recently-published brochure with more details about the ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation LItigation conference, set for Austin in January 2016. 

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be posting more details about the conference. Our co-planning chairs Joe Waldo, Jack Sperber, and Andrew Brigham have assembled a great agenda, taught by the usual stellar faculty. If eminent domain, appraisal, or land use is your thing, you really should attend. 

33d Annual ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference, Jan. 28-30, 2016, Austin, TX

Continue Reading ALI-CLE Eminent Domain And Land Valuation Conference: Full Brochure

Mark your calendars for next Thursday, November 5, 2015, at 4:30pm at the University of Hawaii Law School Moot Courtroom for the annual Gifford Lecture in Real Property, sponsored by our colleagues at Carlsmith Ball

This year, the lecture is by Columbia Lawprof Thomas W. Merrill (also a recent Brigham-Kanner Property Rights prizewinner), and he will talk about “The Public Trust Doctrine: Some Jurisprudential Variations and Their Implications.”

The postcard is below, so come on up to the law school and take advantage of having a legal scholar of great renown in town. 

2015 Gifford Lecture – Professor Thomas Merrill

Continue Reading Thursday, November 5, 2015, U.H. Law School: Lawprof Thomas Merrill To Speak About Property And Public Trust

Here are some upcoming events in which you may be interested, in chronological order:


Continue Reading Upcoming Events And CLE’s – Appellate, RLUIPA, Sharing Economy, And More

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Here’s the full agenda for the 2016 Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation / Condemnation 101 Conference, January 28-30, 2016, in Austin, Texas. 

Together with our friend and colleague Joe Waldo, we think we’re put together a pretty good program that covers a lot of ground. This is the first time the conference has been to Austin, and we’re starting off with a talk by Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who in his former life was an eminent domain lawyer. Other highlights:

  • Professor Ilya Somin will speak about his recently-published book in a segment entitled “The Impact of Kelo and the Limits of Eminent Domain.”
  • Pipelines and Energy Corridors: Valuation Perspectives of Condemnors and Condemnees” with the lawyers on the front lines of one of the hottest topics in eminent domain law nationwide.
  • Retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul H. Anderson will give us his tips


Continue Reading It’s Here – 2016 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference: Complete Agenda, Faculty, Registration Information