APDA Conference 2026: Full Schedule

You will be able to validate your attendance (Check-In to sessions) using your personal schedule.

arrow_back View All Dates

8:15am MST

ETHICS: Your License or Mine: Ethical Responsibilities and Issue for Supervisors and Attorneys in Public Defender Offices

Friday June 19, 2026 8:15am - 9:45am MST

Joshua Tree

Balancing the independence and responsibilities of representation of clients can bechallenging. Managing them is also challenging. The class will examine the dayto day ethical challenges involved in managing attorneys and staff in PublicDefender Offices, balancing them against the responsibilities to your clients. Itwill also address the ethical issues arising from oversight by city and countyadministrators and elected officials. The class will use scenarios to invitediscussion about these challenges and the applicable ethical rules and law thatspeak and offer guidance to them.

Faculty

Gary Pearlmutter

Attorney, Southwest Center for Equal Justice

Wendy White

Attorney, Southwest Center for Equal Justice

Friday June 19, 2026 8:15am - 9:45am MST
Joshua Tree

Professional Development

CLE Hours 1.5
Ethics hours 1.5

8:15am MST

Excel 101 for Paralegals

Friday June 19, 2026 8:15am - 9:45am MST

Dolores

This is an introductory course that explores tools both in and outside of Microsoft Excel that will benefit your practice as a paralegal. Get ready to learn how to use helpful computer shortcuts, excel formulas and data tools, and even plain-text script files. Once you’ve finished this course, you will be able to create links to 100 documents in less than a minute, make 100 folders in less than 5 minutes, and be just a bit more confident in your computer skills than you were before.

Faculty

Tillie Jones

Paralegal, Maricopa Co. Legal Defender

Friday June 19, 2026 8:15am - 9:45am MST
Dolores

Professional Development

10:00am MST

ETHICS: Lights, Camera, Ethics! Memorable Film Scenes and Exploring the Ethical Dilemmas They Spark

Friday June 19, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am MST

Palm Ballroom C&F

Join us for popcorn, movie magic, and a dive into ethics through the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct.

Faculty

Amanda Lauer

Attorney, Maricopa Co. Legal Defender

Amanda is a trial attorney who has practiced in Arizona for over 20 years. The bulk of her career has focused on parental defense in CPS cases, and she has spent the past three years practicing criminal defense for indigent clients. She has taught CLEs both locally and nationally.In... Read More →

Friday June 19, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am MST
Palm Ballroom C&F

Professional Development

CLE Hours 1.5
Ethics hours 1.5

2:45pm MST

ETHICS: Dark Humor The Ethics of Coping

Friday June 19, 2026 2:45pm - 4:15pm MST

Palm Ballroom B&E

Trigger Warning: This class does contain dark humor, that may or may not be funny.
Practicing law can be heavy, the stakes are real, and sometimes the only thing standing between an attorney and burnout is a well-timed, ethically appropriate laugh. This CLE explores how lawyers cope with trauma through humor—what’s healthy, what’s risky, and what crosses the ethical line—while grounding the discussion firmly in professional responsibility, client dignity, confidentiality, and courtroom decorum. Attendees will examine when humor can be critical in relieving a mental pressure valve and when it can become a professional liability. Equal parts candid, thoughtful, and self-aware, this course reminds attorneys that coping is human—but ethics are non-negotiable.

Faculty

Kacie Nickel

Attorney, Maricopa Co. Public Defender

Kacie Nickel has been an attorney with the Maricopa Co. Public Defender’s for over eight years. She has worked in Early Disposition Court, the Trial Group, and currently serves in the Specialty Court Unit, where she assists clients navigating therapeutic courts. Kacie has a particular... Read More →

Madison Best

Attorney, Maricopa Co. Public Defender

Madison Best first started at the public Defender r as an extern while in law school. After graduating from ASU Law in May 2018, she worked as a clerk until she passed the bar and joined the as an attorney. Over the last seven years she has worked at the defending all levels of felony... Read More →

Friday June 19, 2026 2:45pm - 4:15pm MST
Palm Ballroom B&E

Professional Development

CLE Hours 1.5
Ethics hours 1.5

APDA Conference 2026

8:15am MST

Gary Pearlmutter

Wendy White

8:15am MST

Tillie Jones

10:00am MST

Amanda Lauer

2:45pm MST

Kacie Nickel

Madison Best

Get help with the event