D.C. Bar to Host National and International Legislation and Law Reform Experts

D.C. Bar to Host National and International Legislation and Law Reform Experts

October 23, 2026

By Jeremy Conrad

On October 29 and 30, experts in law and legislation from around the world will gather at the D.C. Bar to discuss common concerns and considerations relating to legislative drafting and policy at the international, national, and subnational levels.

Presented by the International Legislation and Law Reform Foundation, the ninth annual International Conference on Legislation and Law Reform features a number of CLE-eligible sessions covering a variety of emerging issues.

The D.C. Bar recently spoke with program chair Sean J. Kealy, clinical professor of law at Boston University School of Law, about what attendees can expect from this year's conference.

Who might find value in attending the Conference on Legislation and Law Reform?

The conference draws lawyers from all around the world, [including] a significant contingent from the United States. Many of those in attendance are people engaged in the drafting of legislation, including some from professional drafting houses. Some of our organizers are from the House and Senate [Office of the] Legislative Counsel. We're going to have quite a few participants this year from state drafting offices, as well, and people from Africa, Europe, and Asia.

We also draw quite a few attendees who are simply interested in law reform, the second part of the event's title. We see law reform as part and parcel of legislative drafting in many ways. How do you reform the law? How do you make meaningful changes in the law? Many people will think of going to the courts, but often the best approach is to change the statutes, or create a new statute, and accomplish your goals that way.

What are some of the issues the conference will address?

Our program includes programs covering countries that have undergone significant changes in recent years. We are fortunate enough to draw panelists that have frontline experiences in making those changes, describing what they went through in accomplishing their goals. This is particularly valuable for drafters and advocates.

This year we have a session that will examine the modernization of Indigenous law in the Pacific Islands. A session on the second day of the conference looks at how the Sri Lankan Parliament worked to improve rule of law by pushing back against executive dominance. Another session examines law reform in the Philippines, where alternative law reform mechanisms have been used to attempt to address gender justice issues in the criminal code.

We will also have sessions addressing the rise of AI, something we have worked to cover in free webinars we conduct between conferences. One of the sessions at the conference addresses using AI to evaluate legislation, while another covers drafting legislation in a fast-paced world and includes a discussion about how AI could provide solutions for emerging drafting challenges. Another examines AI and legislation through case studies from Canada and Germany, evaluating different approaches to the incorporation of the technology into legislative processes.

Which speakers or sessions are most interesting or exciting to you?

Some of the highlights of the conference will be the keynote address - we have, as a late addition, the White House correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Natalie Andrews. We are thrilled to have her. We're all waiting to see what happens at the midterm elections, to find out what kind of Congress we are going to have next year, what the agenda will look like, and how the White House will respond. Her perspective will be fantastic.

There is also a plenary session with the attorney general from Montserrat. She'll have a perspective on the problems facing Montserrat and how the parliament and government are going to address them.

Interesting things take place even around the edges of the conference. At our last conference, between speaking and attending sessions, members of the Turks and Caicos attorney general's office finalized their new constitution in our break room.

Another valuable contribution comes from the Library of Congress, which has been a terrific and longstanding partner. They generously give our attendees an opportunity to tour the Library of Congress that they shape according to the background of the people who sign up, so the delegation of a particular country has an opportunity to meet the library's expert in that area of law and discuss their collections. We will also have tours of the Supreme Court and the Capitol.

The D.C. Bar is co-sponsoring the Ninth International Conference on Legislation and Law Reform on October 29-30, 2026. Join in person or virtually.