First and foremost, welcome to the community! ASC - the acronym we use for our Annual Statewide Legal Aid Conference - is a multi-day event hosted by the Virginia Poverty Law Center that provides comprehensive training on poverty law issues to the legal community. ASC also gives attendees the opportunity to discuss the most recent case developments and collaborate on creative ways to address the civil legal needs of low-income Virginians.

Below is a quick breakdown of timing on the four days of ASC 2022:

• Tuesday: This is an all virtual, non-CLE conference day designed to help attendees to become familiar with Whova (our conference platform) and prepare for our conference. It will include video tutorials and open office hours with conference planners to ask any last-minute questions you may have.
• Wednesday: First "official" day of the conference, occurring virtually and in-person. Registration begins at 8:30am, and the first conference sessions - including CLE-eligible sessions - begin at 10:00am and end at 4:30pm.
• Thursday: Sessions begin at 8:30am and end at 4:00pm.
• Friday: Sessions begin at 8:30am and end at 12:00pm, marking the end of the conference. Our Ethics CLE session will be 10:00am-12:00pm this day.

Yes! Each year, we have an all-encompassing theme both for the conference and for VPLC’s work as a whole. For 2023, the theme is, “Our Legal Aid Legacy: Celebrating the Past, Building the Future.” We have a number of legal aiders that have been around for decades and coming up to retirement, so we wanted to honor them while simultaneously building upon their work for the future.

There are many reasons we believe you should attend! In a nutshell, attendees will gain access to over 40 high-quality sessions on a wide range of legal issues, both continuing legal education (CLE) and non-CLE. Nearly all sessions will be recorded and available on-demand, so you don’t have to worry about missing anything! Another big reason to attend is for the invaluable networking. Attendees include both legal aid and private attorneys and paralegals, management professionals, community advocates, government employees, military personnel, and clients. The connections are endless!

Yes, the conference will be happening in-person at the Richmond Marriott in downtown Richmond, along with some sessions being livestreamed and all being recorded for virtual attendees. Below you will find our COVID-19 policy (last updated 9/13/22):

• Mandatory testing or proof of vaccination: Only one of these is required. If choosing mandatory testing, your test results must be within 48 hours of the start of the conference (or the first day you plan to attend in-person).
• Masking is required for those who are unvaccinated. It is still strongly recommended for vaccinated individuals, though not required. Unvaccinated attendees, faculty, and staff shall always wear properly fitting masks, covering the mouth and nose, while indoors except while in the actual act of presenting, eating, and drinking. We will consider requests for accommodation to the masking requirements due to an attendee’s disability. If you would like to request an accommodation to these requirements due to a disability, please send an email to edoutreach@vplc.org with details of your request.
• Illness: Any attendee, presenter, or staff member exhibiting symptoms including but not limited to apparent cold or flu-like symptoms, feverish, digestive discomfort, or any other symptom that might be linked to typical COVID-19 symptoms - anytime between 24 hours before the start of the conference through the final day - shall not attend any portion of ASC in-person.
• By attending the conference in-person, you acknowledge the health risks associated with COVID-19 and that you MUST follow all ASC COVID-19 policies. You may NOT attend ASC in-person if you have tested positive for COVID-19 48 hours before the start of the conference, if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or if you are under any self-quarantine orders per CDC guidelines.

Please revisit this FAQ routinely for updates, as we are monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation. THIS GUIDANCE MAY CHANGE AT ANY TIME AND BE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. All updates to this policy will be emailed to registrants in a timely manner. Any questions or concerns regarding ASC’s COVID-19 policy may be directed to edoutreach@vplc.org.

See below for a table of key differences between in-person and virtual attendance! While we are maintaining a hybrid format for the second year in a row, there will only be one session per time slot livestreamed for those joining virtually. All sessions will be recorded and available to all attendees after the conference, so you do not need to worry about missing anything no matter how or when you join!

*Not available virtually and/or not as comprehensive as will be for in-person attendees.
**See next FAQ for more information.

The registration fee depends on what attendee category you fall under. Please see the following table for different categories and rates:

*As in previous years, legal aid organization covers hotel and food and beverage fees for their employees to attend. If attending virtually, legal aid organization covers registration fee.

The registration fee covers virtual access to all available ASC content, conversations, and networking opportunities. The educational content itself, along with all supplemental materials and CLE credits, are free to all attendees thanks to our generous sponsors (check them out below the FAQ!).

For additional information on this new fee, read a more in-depth response here.

Swoogo is an event management website and app that we will be using to hold all conference information, including the schedule, access to handouts from the presenters, livestreaming and recording access, and much, much more. Attendees will be able to directly chat and network with other attendees, share resources with your colleagues, and organize in-person or virtual social events, no matter how attendees choose to attend. Even if someone attends the conference in-person only, they will need a Swoogo account to fully participate and gain access to all conference material.

Yes! See the full program here.

While not every session is CLE-eligible, many are and will be marked as such. The CLE forms will be made available to all registrants via email.

We are committed to making ASC as accessible as possible for all those interested and eligible to attend, whether that is in-person or virtually. Please let us know your accessibility needs on the registration page when it is released so that we can make sure you have a great experience.

First, you can view or modify your existing registration here any time before 10/9.

All cancellation or attendance location change requests received by 11:59pm on Sunday, October 8th will be honored for a full refund if applicable, minus a $20 administrative fee. After this date, a $500 administrative fee will be assessed for all requests, unless you are able to provide official documentation of the reason you are cancelling (e.g., a doctor’s note indicating an active COVID-19 diagnosis). You can submit this documentation and any other supplemental information to edoutreach@vplc.org.

Yes! In addition to recording each conference session to be available on-demand once the conference ends, we will also have a photographer taking candid photos throughout the entire event.

On that note, below is a notice of filming and photography at ASC:

When you join our conference, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. By entering the event premises, you consent to interview(s), photography, audio recording, video recording and its/their release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction to be used for news, web casts, promotional purposes, telecasts, advertising, inclusion on websites, social media, or any other purpose by VPLC and its affiliates and representatives. Images, photos and/or videos may be used to promote similar VPLC events in the future, highlight the event and exhibit the capabilities of VPLC and ASC. You release VPLC, its employees, and each and all persons involved from any liability connected with the taking, recording, digitizing, or publication and use of interviews, photographs, computer images, video and/or or sound recordings. By entering the event premises, you waive all rights you may have to any claims for payment or royalties in connection with any use, exhibition, streaming, web casting, televising, or other publication of these materials, regardless of the purpose or sponsoring of such use, exhibiting, broadcasting, web casting, or other publication irrespective of whether a fee for admission or sponsorship is charged. You also waive any right to inspect or approve any photo, video, or audio recording taken by VPLC or the person or entity designated to do so by VPLC. You have been fully informed of your consent, waiver of liability, and release before entering the event.

Send an email to Ezra Halstead, Director of Outreach and Training and primary conference organizer, at edoutreach@vplc.org.