Agenda Faculty CLE Hotel Exhibitor/Sponsor Scholarships Pricing Register Online Register by PDF
Make the case...for your client's life at NACDL's 27th Annual Making the Case for Life Seminar.
This seminar is designed to help capital defenders, investigators, and mitigation specialists. Participants will hear cutting-edge presentations regarding pretrial investigations, capital jury selection, new perspectives on discovering the story of the client and mitigation evidence. Attendees will learn from seasoned capital trial lawyers, nationally-known law professors, and jury consultants, who will offer their personal perspectives, advice, and proven strategies for making the best case for life. If you are handling or may handle a case in which your client is facing the death penalty, then this is a must-attend seminar for you!
Agenda
The program agenda and faculty are subject to change.
| Wednesday, August 27, 2025 | |
|---|---|
| 3:30-6:00 pm | Early Registration & Exhibits |
| Thursday, August 28, 2025 | |
|---|---|
| 7:10 am | Registration, Exhibits, and Continental Breakfast |
| 8:05 am | Welcome, Introductions, Announcements – NACDL President Andrew S. Birrell (Minneapolis, MN) and Program Co-Chairs Jerilyn Bell (Atlanta, GA), Theresa M. Duncan (Santa Fe, NM), Casey Secor (Lexington, SC), and S. Boyd Young (Columbia, SC) |
| 8:15 am | Using ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) in Answering “How Did We Get Here?” – Dr. Adriana L. Flores (Atlanta, GA) |
| 9:15 am | Dangerous Minds: Combating the Fear of Mental Illness in the Defense – Eric J. Davis (Houston, TX) |
| 10:15 am | Exhibits, Networking & Refreshment Break |
| 10:35 am | Current Ways of Thinking About Trauma and How to Inform Our Narrative, Our Work with Clients and Witnesses, and Our Presentation – Susan Marcus (New York, NY) |
| 11:35 am | ASD: Why it Matters to Culpability and to Mitigation – Doug Passon (Scottsdale, AZ) |
| 12:35 pm | Lunch break on your own |
| 2:00 pm | Working with Post-Conviction Counsel– Lindsey Vann (Columbia, SC) |
| 3:00 pm | Witness Interviewing – Susan Marcus (New York, NY) |
| 4:00 pm | Exhibits, Networking & Refreshment Break |
| 4:20 pm | Using Video in Storytelling for Mitigation – Doug Passon (Scottsdale, AZ) |
| 5:20 pm | Adjourn for the day |
| Friday, August 29, 2025 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00 am | Exhibits and Continental Breakfast |
| 8:05 am | Morning Announcements - Program Co-Chairs |
| 8:15 am | End Stage Litigation/Executions – Lindsey Vann (Columbia, SC) |
| 9:15 am | Leveraging AI in Capital Cases: Practical Strategies and Ethical Considerations for Better Advocacy – Felix Valenzuela (El Paso, TX) |
| 10:15 am | Refreshment Break |
| 10:35 am | The Why of Where: Considering the Role of Place in Mitigation – Dr. Julie Urbanik (Shawnee, KS) |
| 11:35 am | Video Games, Discord, and Online Communities - Max Rudy (Bismarck, ND) |
| 12:35 pm | Lunch break on your own |
| 2:00 pm | Capital Voir Dire – Vivian Hernandez (Arlington, VA) |
| 3:00 pm | Challenging the Jury Pool – Jeffrey Martin (Atlanta, GA) |
| 4:00 pm | Refreshment Break |
| 4:20 pm | Testing for Intellectual Disability: The When, the How, and the What – Dr. Dale G. Watson, Ph.D. (Antioch, CA) |
| 5:50 pm | Seminar Adjourns until 2026 in New Orleans! |
Faculty
- Eric J. Davis (Houston, TX) *NACDL MEMBER
- Dr. Adriana L. Flores (Atlanta, GA)
- Vivian Hernandez (Arlington, VA)
- Susan Marcus (New York, NY) *NACDL MEMBER
- Jeffrey Martin (Atlanta, GA)
- Doug Passon (Scottsdale, AZ) *NACDL MEMBER
- Max Rudy (Bismarck, ND)
- Dr. Julie Urbanik (Shawnee, KS)
- Felix Valenzuela (El Paso, TX) *NACDL MEMBER
- Lindsey Vann (Columbia, SC) *NACDL MEMBER
- Dr. Dale G. Watson, Ph.D. (Antioch, CA)
CLE Information
NACDL is an accredited provider of CLE in all states requiring mandatory CLE Training. NACDL will apply for at least 14.00 credit hours in every state requiring pre-approval. Approved hours for each state will be identified at the seminar. Some states, IL, GA, NE, NM, PA, SC, TN and UT require additional fees by the attendee in order to receive credit.
Hotel
Sahara Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
2535 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
All reservations within NACDL room block must be booked using the online reservations link below. Reservations over the phone are not available.
Online Reservations: https://book.passkey.com/e/50882930
Group rate: $84 + tax Wednesday & Thursday / $149 + tax Friday (expires August 6, 2025).
Rooms/discounted group rates are not guaranteed once the block has been filled.
Sponsorship and Exhibits
Disclaimer: NACDL does not necessarily endorse or guarantee the quality, applicability, or discounts of the products and/or services of its exhibitors. Users of these products and/or services do so at their sole discretion and NACDL assumes no responsibility for them.
For information on exhibiting or sponsorships, please contact NACDL's Sales and Marketing Manager Jason Petty at jpetty@nacdl.org or call (202) 465-7637.
NACDL would like to thank the following sponsors, exhibitors, and affinity partners for their support and contributions:
PLATINUM Sponsor:
still available...
GOLD Sponsor:
still available...
SILVER Sponsor:
still available...
BRONZE Sponsor:
still available...
Welcoming Reception Sponsors:
still available...
Wi-Fi Sponsor:
still available...
Seminar Materials Sponsor:
still available...
Lanyards Sponsor:
still available...
Tote Bag Sponsor:
still available...
Exhibitors:
Scholarships
NACDL offers a variety of scholarships for this event ranging from partially discounted to fully funded. Each type of scholarship has different application requirements. To apply for any of the following scholarships, please follow the instructions for that specific scholarship.
OPTION 1: Needs Based Scholarships
Based on need, scholarships are available to NACDL members for up to 50% off the standard seminar fee of $319. Approved recipients are responsible for the remainder of the tuition fee, which is $160 (all other expenses are not included). The reduced scholarship fee includes seminar tuition, admission to all evening social events, and downloadable seminar materials. Travel, hotel, and other costs are not included.
To Apply: Prepare and e-mail a letter of no more than two pages explaining the reason why you believe you should receive the grant to: NACDL Senior Director of Events Akvile Athanason, at aathanason@nacdl.org.
All applications must be submitted before registering for the seminar and received by July 25, 2024.
NACDL MEMBERSHIP AND RESERVATION AT THE HOST HOTEL ARE REQUIRED TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR NEEDS-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS.
OPTION 2: Public Defense Scholarships
As a result of generous grant funding, NACDL is able to offer scholarship assistance to public defense providers to attend this NACDL training program. Scholarships will be awarded in the form of full or partial reimbursement of the registration costs of the program. Limited travel reimbursement stipends may also be awarded to qualifying individuals to help defray the costs of travel and lodging.
Completed public defense scholarship applications should be emailed to: PDTScholarship@nacdl.org
Apply for a Public Defense Scholarship
Pricing
Register Online Register by PDF
Members of NACDL enjoy exclusive registration rates for our seminars along with all the benefits from joining.
| Registration Fees | |
|---|---|
| NACDL MEMBERS: Regular, Life, President's Club and Sustaining Members | $319 |
| NACDL MEMBERS: Public Defender, Associate, Investigator, Professor, New Lawyer, International and Military | $269 |
| Non-Members: Private Practitioners (includes 1-year membership) | $469 |
| Non-Member Public Defenders | $289 |
| All Mitigation Specialists/Investigators | $269 |
| ALL Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah Lawyers (Residents Only) | $279 |
| Groups of 4 or more PDs (must register at the same time; 1 payment; no changes or cancellations allowed). To register a group, please visit: http://www.nacdl.org/PDGroups | $259 |
| Non-Attendee Materials / Recordings | |
|---|---|
| Audio Recording of Seminar (pre-sale) | $225 |
| Video Recording of Seminar (pre-sale) | $299 |
CANCELLATIONS: There is a $75 cancellation fee. Cancellations must be received in writing via e-mail to cancel@nacdl.org by 5:30 pm E.T. Friday, August 22, 2025, to receive a refund, less the cancellation fee. No refunds can be issued after the cancellation deadline.
Code of Conduct
NACDL endeavors to foster a working, learning, and social environment free of harassment, discrimination, intimidation, and insult. To that end, NACDL has adopted a Code of Conduct for Affiliated Persons that applies to all attendees and participants of any kind at all NACDL sponsored events.
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