The International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the interests and education of local government lawyers, hosted its 2025 annual national conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. IMLA is comprised of a vast network of local government expert legal professionals that offer key insight into the current uncertainties and ever-changing environment of issues that counties address daily. In attendance were a record number of over 800 attendees, not including our Canadian counterparts who attended virtually.
In addition to benefiting from up-to-date, real-world stories from the presenters, attendees were able to engage and network with other attendees to build relationships for future contacts to address matters and further enhance and develop the framework for proposing or defending legal issues faced by local governments. One poignant concept interwoven in various sessions was that “Every policy has a face. Every face has a story.” Importantly, while the abstract data is important, the human element is as well. With that in mind, policymakers and individuals implementing programs are encouraged to consider the human consequences of their choices in not only urban areas but also rural areas across the state. This element became more realistic as the conference overlapped with the beginning of the Federal shutdown.
Friday, October 17 – Following opening remarks, I attended a session on personnel and employment law. The largest budget item for governments is for personnel costs; therefore, it is beneficial to be able to better navigate the variety of federal and state statutory requirements. The next topic was municipal finance, where discussions were held about generating, expending, and borrowing money. Furthermore, the overview included basic legal issues related to identifying a public purpose, distinguishing between taxes and fees, and municipal borrowing. Next up were sessions on land use and parliamentary procedure. To wrap up the day, the State League Meeting was held, where ADA website accessibility and DOGE efforts at the state level were discussed. This session was intended to apply to state league counsel. In the evening, we found a location that offered up Husker television and local food options.
Saturday, October 18 – Leading off the presentations on this day was the topic of federal immigration priorities: impact, context, and responses. The question of where FEMA will be for the next disaster? was the next topic. The remainder of the day was free, so I took this opportunity to take a river cruise down the Mississippi River and see some of the sights.
Sunday, October 19 – To start off the day, there was a presentation on banning books and drag shows, and once again how to navigate related issues. Then, sessions on zoning referenced key United States Supreme Court cases Nollan v. California Coastal Commission 483 S. Ct. 825 (1987) and Dolan v. City of Tigard 512 S. Ct. 374 (1994) for key concepts, including essential nexus, rough proportionality. Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, 144 S. Ct. 893 (2024) issued an opinion clarifying that the Takings Clause applies to legislatively established land use permit conditions, like development impact fees. As do other present-day cutting-edge conferences, sessions touched on present-day issues, such as generative artificial intelligence (GAI) and using the tool effectively and safely. Among a whole host of things, referenced at the conference’s session on that topic was American Bar Association Formal Opinion 512 (July 29, 2024), which was the first formal opinion covering the growing use of GAI in the practice of law. A session on local government liability in the new age of public protest focused on an array of legal risks that local governments face when doing so. To wrap up the day, there was a session on implicit bias in the workplace and its legal and organizational implications. Attendees were able to explore how unconscious bias can impact employment decisions and create risk under anti-discrimination laws such as Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA.
Monday, October 20 – The first session of the day included a panel discussion about the first nine months of the Trump Administration, DOGE, and the Brendan Carr-led FCC, what is the status of: local governments’ police powers; preservation of property rights, distribution of broadband subsidies, and the legality of the Universal Support. The presenters discussed upcoming threats and opportunities on these topics. To finalize my attendance at the conference, To finalize my attendance, the last session addressed how the 2025 employment law landscape continues to evolve rapidly, driven by significant regulatory changes and emerging workplace dynamics. This session will address EEOC and DOL evolving priorities and enforcement trends, particularly in the harassment area, the continuing impact of Executive Orders, and litigation updates. Panelists provided an overview of how to craft policies to manage the changes. This session assisted municipal employers in managing the continued and significant updates in employment law, including changes to increase pay transparency, wage laws, overtime regulations, remote work policies, and anti-discrimination protections and expanded leave benefits, to name a few.
Before leaving the city of New Orleans, I took the opportunity to take a quick Hop On Hop Off open-air bus through the downtown area, where I got to see the French Quarter, Garden District, football stadium, and other notable items. Pointed out to us along the way was Diners, Drive-Ins Ins and Dives restaurant, so we returned there for a very good meal.
IMLA offered a number of concurrent competing sessions. Many of the sessions included issues that have ever-evolving implications due to the issuance of Executive Orders or judicial decisions. issues discussed by legal practitioners and the lessons offered by IMLA at its 2025 Conference will be able to be brought forward by me for additional engagement to share professional offerings with county officials and colleagues moving into the future.
NACO joined IMLA for the initial purpose of further assisting Nebraska counties with resources in 2017 when a county was searching for support to write an amicus brief in a court case. We have maintained our membership to enhance our resources available to counties, including listservs, conferences, webinars, etc.. Individual counties are also able to become individual members, as some have done in the past.
Elaine Menzel currently serves as one of NACO’s Legal Counsel and IMLA’s NE State Chair, who can weigh in on how helpful IMLA can be to your county. We hope to be able to further provide up-to-date information from national experts for your county to implement sound decisions.
