The Chicagoland Junior Scholars conference hosted by the Northern Illinois University College of Law offers junior scholars the opportunity to present works in progress, receive feedback from a senior faculty reader and other attendees, and network with other legal scholars from the greater Chicagoland area.
Preference is given to law faculty who have been teaching for fewer than ten years in a law school or similar setting. Papers may be presented at any stage of development.
We are especially grateful to the 32 Junior Scholars who will be presenting papers during the ninth conference in 2026 and to our senior commentators. We expect it to be an engaging, informative, and enjoyable two days.
Please check back regularly for further updates.
Please feel free to contact the organizing committee at any time via email at juniorscholars@niu.edu.
The conference will be held in person at Loyola University Chicago School of Law on Sept. 25-26, 2026. We are planning for a full day on Friday and a half day on Saturday.
A draft schedule will be available in late July is updated regularly.
Papers are due Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, by email to juniorscholars@niu.edu. Each paper will be assigned to one senior commentator and two participating junior scholars.
Senior commentators will receive a copy of their assigned paper via email. Participating junior scholars will receive a protected link to all of the conference papers.
Presentations will last approximately 50 minutes. Please arrive in the room for your sessions five minutes before the appointed start time.
A member of the organizing committee will be present in each room to begin the session and keep the queue. Sessions will end at the appointed time on the schedule.
Each participating junior scholar will have 10 minutes to present their work, followed by approximately 20 minutes for the senior commentator. The balance of the time will include feedback from the two assigned participating junior scholars as well as others in the audience.
Presenters who wish to use slides should plan to have them available on a flash drive or email them to the conference organizers.
The Conference will be held at the Loyola University School of Law (25 E. Pearson St., Chicago, IL, 60611). Parking for a fee is available in nearby garages (e.g., off Superior between Dearborn and State, SP+ Parking off of Chestnut, at Water Tower Place).
If taking public transit, the Chicago stop on the Red Line is the closest station.
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Union League Club of Chicago (65 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604) at the rate of $279 plus taxes and fees (22%). Please reserve by September 3, 2026. A reservation may be made by email at clubservices@ulcc.org, by phone at 800-443-0578 or 312-427-7800 or online reservations can be made using group code:353579.