Seattle University School of Law hosted two prominent American Bar Association workshops this past week that drew a sold-out attendance of approximately 130 law school deans from around the nation, and an array of top leaders in law, to Sullivan Hall.
The ABA’s annual New Deans’ Workshop and Deans’ Workshop provided a range of collaboration, networking, and skills-building opportunities for decanal attendees, with panels and roundtables by some of the nation’s foremost legal experts.
“It is an honor to be able to host these important and influential workshops,” said Seattle U Law Dean Anthony E. Varona. “Doing so promotes collegiality, collaboration, and positive working relationships among our many law schools and their respective leaders, as well as between Seattle U Law and the rest of the American legal academy.”
Varona co-chaired the Deans’ Workshop Planning Committee, which included deans from across the country, with Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law Dean Hari Osofsky.
Seattle University President Eduardo Peñalver delivered the keynote address for the dual conference, in which he spoke of the need for free speech and open discourse on university campuses.
“To educate effective lawyers and citizens, to prepare the leaders of the future, law schools and universities need to expose our students to the broad range of perspectives they will encounter in civic life and to teach them the best and most effective ways to engage with others across their inevitable disagreements,” he said. “The future of our democracy depends on the successful development of those skills among our students, skills that involve both speaking with and listening to those with whom they disagree.”
The New Deans’ Workshop included helpful information for those who are new to the role of dean, with segments such as “A Day in the Life of a Dean” and “Focusing on Vision and What Gives Us Joy.”
The Deans’ Workshop delved into other areas of legal education, including bar exam reforms, the advent of hybrid education, and the role of AI in the legal profession and legal education.
Varona moderated the Listening and Learning Conversation featuring Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Executive Director and CEO Kellye Testy, a former Seattle U Law dean, and Jennifer Rosato Perea, the ABA’s managing director of accreditation and legal education.
“We are very fortunate as law school deans to have these two new leaders in place,” said Varona.
Rosato Perea, who is not only the first Latina woman but also the first woman in her position at the ABA, described her career journey, including the discrimination she faced, her efforts to help found Drexel University’s law school, and life milestones that shaped her decisions.
“I see myself as a collaborator, a partner, an ambassador, and hopefully a convener,” said Rosato Perea.
In her role at the ABA, she plans to increase communication and transparency, provide more guidance and resources for law schools, and to focus on a variety of different areas, including access to justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Let’s model the conversations that we want to have with our communities, let’s presume good faith, let’s communicate, and have mutual trust and respect, because it’s important to have those conversations,” she said. “I’m here for you — let’s open the conversation.”
She expressed her enthusiasm for beginning these conversations at Seattle U Law during the workshops.
“I’m appreciative of the opportunity to be here at Seattle University, to bring all the new deans together and give them a strong start to their leadership careers, to build community with the deans, and face some of the big challenges coming up for legal education,” she said. “This is a great community of support and mentorship.”
Testy shared her experience growing up in rural Indiana, and then as a first-generation law student. She recounted feeling like an outsider at her first AALS gathering and noted that she is motivated to help the organization continue to become more open.
“I want every faculty member to feel like they belong,” said Testy. She told the deans she is looking forward to “working with all of you to use our voice for what matters.”
She plans to expand the AALS’ communications, programs, and pathways to provide more services to more law school professionals, filling in current need gaps. Both Testy and Rosato Perea plan to conduct listening tours around the country to learn how they can make their organizations more accessible.
“Too often there is too much of a set agenda and not enough time to talk about what matters, so I want to create some space for that,” Testy said.
Later the same day, Varona presented alongside Seattle University Vice Provost Jodi O’Brien at a session titled, “Smart Ideas for Successful Provost-Law Dean Relationships,” where they shared their experiences as dean and vice provost, respectively. Provost Shane Martin was unable to join the panel, but his qualities were praised by Varona and O’Brien.
“I am fortunate to be here at Seattle U with Provost Shane Martin — who to me has been an enormous blessing,” Varona said. He added, “Provost Martin’s leadership is exceptionally effective, supportive, and pastoral. He is rigorous and demanding but also encouraging of innovation, transparent, and trusting. He is a great listener, and he strives for fairness and a voice for all stakeholders.”
Varona noted that a key component of the success between dean and provost is collaboration when it comes to problem-solving.
“Shane and Jodi are incredible idea-generators and strategists,” he said. “We come up with solutions together.”
“Tony has distinguished himself in his incredible entrepreneurial approach, but also in his humility and his diplomacy,” O’Brien said. “There’s nothing that defines Tony more than innovation.”
O’Brien noted that Varona has established a strong relationship with the other deans of the university, bridging the gap between the university and the law school.
“Having deans who are willing to be part of that larger mix makes for a very, very effective working partnership,” she said. “That’s one of the things that Tony has demonstrated that I enjoy tremendously and appreciate.”
Professor Brooke Coleman, vice dean for Academic Affairs, presented at the session, “Online and Hybrid Legal Education – Lay of the Land and Outlook.” Seattle U Law’s Flex JD Program is unique as one of the only hybrid-online JD programs in the country, geared toward students who are balancing full-time jobs and family commitments. Coleman noted that the school began developing this program even before the pandemic hit.
“The biggest thing that worked was getting our A-team. People wanted to do it and they were excited about that challenge,” Coleman said. She added, “This is not JD-light. This is a rigorous JD program.”
She was honest about the fact that there have been certain challenges to overcome, such as making Flex JD students feel included in the law school community and establishing guidelines for the program.
“These are the kinds of folks who would never be able to go to law school just because of their circumstances,” she said, pointing to the example of a member of the military who is now studying in the Flex JD Program to become a judge advocate general. “That is the kind of person we’re reaching.”
Professor Jeffrey Minneti, assistant dean for Academic Excellence and Bar Success, moderated “NextGen Bar Exam – Status and Outlook,” which examined the difference between the traditional bar exam and the NextGen bar exam, which will be used in Washington beginning in summer 2026. Minneti served on the state’s Bar Licensure Task Force, which helped bring about reforms to Washington’s bar exam.
Colin Watrin, assistant dean of Administration and chief of staff, presented at “Human Resources, OGC, and Risk Management” during the New Deans’ Conference. The session touched on issues from building security and public safety to employment policies. Watrin advised new deans to have productive working relationships with their provosts and to set clear expectations with staff about task delegation.
“Every decision you make as dean involves some type of risk, at the macro level or the micro level,” Watrin said.
Two Washington Supreme Court justices, Chief Justice Steven González and Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, presented at “Alternative Pathways to Attorney Licensure — Pioneering Reforms in OR and WA, and What’s Happening Across the U.S.,” the lunchtime keynote for both the New Deans’ Conference and Deans’ Conference. Montoya-Lewis co-chaired the Bar Licensure Task Force with Varona. They talked about the process to add different pathways to becoming a licensed attorney, such as through apprenticeships and other types of experiential learning.
“We determined that we can add to the bar exam and not drop the bar exam,” Montoya-Lewis said. “We are not creating pathways that are less than the bar exam. We are creating pathways that ensure that we have minimally competent lawyers who are protecting the public. We are doing this to improve the practice of law, not weaken it.”
The conference concluded with a special meeting and reception of the deans of Jesuit, Catholic law schools at Varona’s home. Over the weekend, Seattle U Law administrators and professors led several excursions to Seattle-area attractions for small groups of deans and their families, including an outing to a Seattle Mariners baseball game with Kelli Rodriguez, assistant dean for Academic Affairs, and a tour of the International District and Pioneer Square with Varona.