Stephen Skinner and Shawn Hogbin spent the last week of July in downtown Chicago at the American Association for Justice Annual Convention. They came home with a full notebook of ideas we can put to work for our clients.
One of the Largest Gatherings of Trial Lawyers in the Country
The AAJ Annual Convention draws plaintiffs’ attorneys from across the United States for a week of continuing legal education, case strategy sessions, and conversation about where the civil justice system is heading.
For a personal injury firm, that matters in a practical way. Trial techniques evolve, defense tactics shift, and the lawyers who handle these cases every day spot the changes first. Sitting in a room with several thousand of them is one of the fastest ways to learn what is working right now in courtrooms around the country.
Shawn Hogbin Speaks on Attracting Gen Z Talent to Personal Injury Law
Shawn spoke on a panel titled “Understanding Gen Z Talent: What Today’s Law Students and New Lawyers Expect.”
The panel tackled a question facing trial lawyer associations nationwide, including AAJ, the West Virginia Association for Justice, and the Maryland Association for Justice: how do we bring the next generation of attorneys into personal injury and consumer protection work?
The concern is real. Many personal injury firms are solo practices or small firms run by attorneys with no one lined up to replace them when they retire. When those lawyers close their doors, entire communities can lose access to injury representation altogether. Trial lawyer associations call these legal deserts and preventing them has become a genuine priority.
Consequently, the recruiting question is not just a business problem for law firms. Injured people need lawyers who will take their cases, and the supply of those lawyers depends on whether law students see personal injury work as a career worth choosing.
The audience clearly agreed. Attendees kept asking questions past the next speaker’s start time, and several followed Shawn and the other panelists out of the room to keep the conversation going.
Time for the City, Too
Stephen and Shawn also made time for Chicago itself, which was Shawn’s first visit to the city.
“It was really memorable,” Stephen said about the trip. “There were amazing speakers and great opportunities to talk to and learn from other plaintiffs’ lawyers.”
What This Means for Our Clients
Conferences like this one are part of how a personal injury practice stays sharp. Every session on trial advocacy, every conversation about a difficult case, and every new connection with a lawyer in another state feeds back into the work we do for the people who walk through our door.
Furthermore, our involvement in AAJ and our state trial lawyer associations reflects something we believe about this work: the plaintiffs’ bar functions best when its members teach one another and invest in the lawyers coming up behind them.
Contact Skinner Accident & Injury Lawyers
Skinner Accident & Injury Lawyers represents injured clients throughout West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. If you or a family member has been hurt, contact us to schedule a consultation.