Please be advised that registration for all Training Division Events is limited to persons who provide services pursuant to the Federal Criminal Justice Act (CJA). For more information please read our Training Events Registration Disclaimer. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) accreditation for DSO Training Division Programs will be requested unless otherwise noted. Program Credit hours will always be subject to each state's approval and credit rounding rules. Approved programs and credit hours will be made available at the conclusion of applicable programs.
For CLE information and available resources pertaining to your state, please visit the CLE Information Center.
If you have any questions about registering, please emailus.
10 - 12
Federal Defense Race Conference: Strategies in Pursuit of Justice
In July, Defender Nation will gather in Philadelphia to share litigation ideas, foster friendships, and strengthen our collective resilience and hope in our work at the Race Conference.
The American criminal legal system’s history is steeped in racial inequities, from the oppression of Indigenous Tribes to the disproportionate incarceration of Black people and the targeted prosecution of Latinx communities. The Race Conference is designed to address these critical issues and many more head-on, providing everyone with tools and strategies to combat racial injustice.
We will cover a wide range of topics, including:
- Strategies for litigating race from street encounters to Fourth Amendment challenges, and a blueprint on winning selective enforcement claims
- Navigating the evolving landscape of federal drug policy
- Practical tips for defending noncitizens
- Methods to reduce racial disparities in detention hearings, charging, pleas, and sentencing
- Techniques for de-biasing the court and creating more inclusive environments
- Approaches to recruiting and retaining diverse talent
- Effective ways to have difficult conversations about race
We will also hear and learn directly from those who have experienced the unnecessary cruelty of the law firsthand.
This program is open to everyone working pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act. Yes, that means heads of offices, administrative officers, attorneys, investigators, legal assistants, paralegals, and literally all CJA defense professionals. Feedback from past conferences has highlighted the immense value of this training, with many remarking it should be “mandatory.”
If you have questions about the content of this program, please contact Akin Adepoju at Akin_Adepoju@ao.uscourts.gov.
Continuing Legal Education (CLE) accreditation for this program will be sought in all applicable jurisdictions. This program may satisfy CLE requirements in ethics, elimination of bias, inclusion and cultural competency, and professionalism.
8 - 12
The Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop - Virtual Style
This is the sixth virtual Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop (SAW). In contrast to the in-person 2½-day program, virtual SAW will be a course that engages participants in multiple ways over the course of five consecutive days, from Monday, September 8, 2025, through Friday, September 12, 2025.
The Sentencing Advocacy Workshop teaches a comprehensive approach to sentencing where participants are trained to develop persuasive, fact-based, sentencing theories, and are provided with the advocacy skills necessary to advance their theories both in writing and during sentencing hearings. Pre-recorded presentations for this workshop include client-centered communication, interviewing for mitigation, fact busting, developing persuasive theories and themes, storytelling at sentencing, persuasive writing, and persuasive presentation.
This virtual program will use a combination of pre-recorded presentations and live workshop sessions. Each of the recorded presentations will correspond with one or more of the workshop sessions. The recording corresponding to the workshop session must be viewed prior to attending the workshop session. For example, for Day 1, prior to attending the live Workshop Session 1, “Fact-Busting the Case,” on September 8, 2025, participants must view the 60-minute Recording 1, “Fact-Busting the Case.” All recordings will be available to view approximately two weeks prior to the corresponding live workshop session. Instructions for watching the pre-recorded videos and attending the workshop sessions will be provided in advance of the start of this program.
The five live 120-minute workshop sessions will be led by skilled facilitators in small group settings. These sessions will be held from 3:30 – 5:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on five consecutive days, Monday, September 8, 2025, through Friday, December 12, 2025.
As with our traditional in-person workshops, participants will get on their (virtual) feet and practice skills and receive peer feedback. Participants are encouraged to bring their own case to this program.
We have a limited number of spots in this workshop; therefore, we require each participant to commit to timely watching the recorded presentations (total of 7 hours, plus 1 optional hour) and to actively attending all live workshop sessions (total of 10 hours).