For Immediate Release February 16, 2006

For More Information Contact: Diane Brown, 317-274-7711 habrown@iupui.edu

Annual Amaker Conference to Tackle Poverty and Injustice Issues

INDIANAPOLIS – Natural catastrophes during the past year, including the Sago mine tragedy and Hurricane Katrina, are the special focus of this year's public interest law conference sponsored by the IU School of Law-Indianapolis.

The fifth annual Norman Amaker Public Interest Law Retreat will be held Friday through Sunday, February 24-26, 2006, at the Bradford Wood's Retreat Center, Indiana University's Retreat and Conference Center, 5040 State Road 67 North, Martinsville, Ind.

“Injustice and the Impoverished” is the theme for the conference, which will include speakers from law schools across the country. The retreat is open to anyone with a passion for public interest law and social justice issues.

Retreat topics include legal ramifications of natural disasters, healthcare unavailability, predatory lending, AIDS victims and fair legal representation, and discrimination in education.

Guest speakers include West Virginia University College of Law Professor Patrick C. McGinley who, with three students from IU School of Law-Indianapolis, will discuss the Sago mine and Katrina disasters.

Students from around the country will attend the event designed to forge a coalition of students, professors and practitioners to support social justice-oriented law students pursuing careers in public interest law. The conference is sponsored by the Society of American Law Teachers and the IU School of Law-Indianapolis.

Registration, $100, includes lodging and meals.

Visit the Web site http://www.indylaw.indiana.edu/clinics/amaker/retreat.htm for additional information.

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