NALP's 2012 Annual Education Conference will be held in Austin, Texas. This page provides links and information from the conference planning team to help attendees learn more about Austin. It will be updated regularly so please come back often! We look forward to seeing you in Austin.

NALP in Austin | Culture and Food | Music Scene | History | Outdoor Activities | Suggested Links

Keynote Speaker Nina Godiwalla Featured in Austin Woman
from Austin Woman — February 2012

One of this year's Annual Education Conference keynote speakers, Nina Godiwalla, is featured in the February 2012 issue of Austin Woman. Read how Nina took executive action as Austin Woman recounts her professional journey as she walked away from Wall Street to do things her way. [Read the Full Feature Article]

NALP in Austin — Your Ticket to Success
from NALP Bulletin — March 2012
by Kathleen T. Pearson

This year’s conference features programming developed from feedback we received directly from members and focuses on topics you wanted addressed.That includes all areas of our profession from recruiting and career counseling to professional development and diversity and inclusion. In addition to a premier line-up of concurrent sessions, we have a Texas-sized conference with plenty of opportunities to network with colleagues and re-energize your career. Here are just a few highlights. [Download the Full Article]

Relax, Recharge, Reconnect, and Perhaps Be Inspired to Reinvent: Why Attending the Annual Education Conference Has Become a Priority for This Small and Solo CSO Professional
from NALP Bulletin — February 2012
by Tasha Everman

For career services offices with only one or two professionals, the NALP Annual Education Conference presents an invaluable opportunity to be part of the larger conversation. It’s an opportunity to spend time with others exploring shared issues and brainstorming novel ways to approach common challenges. With reduced budgets and increased reporting obligations, some CSO professionals may be feeling that they need to stay close to the office. More than ever, however, I believe we need this time to learn from each other. [Download the Full Article]

2012 Annual Education Conference: No Limits!
from NALP Bulletin — January 2012
by Kimberly A. Short and Heather S. Karns

As we begin 2012, we encourage you to start planning for the NALP Annual Education Conference on April 18-21 in Austin. In addition to a great location, this year's conference will provide a forum to discuss current issues and changes in the legal profession as well as a source for practical ideas that can be implemented at your school or firm. [Download the Full Article]

2012 Annual Education Conference: No Limits!
from NALP Bulletin — December 2011
by Kisha Nunez and Susan Steele

The Annual Education Conference Planning Committee is working hard to put together a comprehensive conference based on your feedback. We hope the information that follows will help you do three things: get as excited as we are, plan ahead for what is shaping up to be a great conference, and serve as a light at the end of the tunnel that is winter. [Download the Full Article]

An Inside Look at Planning for the 2012 Conference
from NALP Bulletin — September 2011
by Nicole A. Vikan, Assistant Director, Public Interest & Government Careers at Georgetown Law Center

Last spring I was thrilled to be elected as a NALP Regional Coordinator and thereby to join the 2012 Annual Education Conference Planning Work Group. The conference has played a critical role in my career, from San Diego in 2006, where I learned about the immense variety of specialties within our field and made new friends from across the country, to last year in Palm Springs, when I was once again reinvigorated by the interesting programs and fun events. [Download the full article]

Austin in a Minute: Celebrity Sightings
from NALPnow! — September 22, 2011

"How'd you like to meet Sandra Bullock?" asked one of my former law partners, trying to entice me to help him secure work on a suit against Ms. Bullock. The "meet" would have been deposing her! I — and the firm — declined. You might run into Ms. Bullock at Bess, her restaurant in town, or even at the original Whole Foods Market. If you are more into music, look for Austinites Willie Nelson, Patty Griffin, Larry Gatlin, Alejandro Escovedo, the group Asleep at the Wheel, Grupo Fantasma and more. Among Austin's sports VIP's are Lance Armstrong and Andy Roddick. And, of course, Austin is home to the Texas Longhorns, with their 48 national titles in men's and women's sports. And former University of Texas student Michael Dell started a little company in his dorm room in the 80s. Now Dell Computer is one of Austin's largest employers. For more on everyone/everything Austin, check out www.austin360.com.

36 Hours in Austin, Texas
from The New York Times Travel Guide

THE laid-back capital of Texas has long been a haven for countercultural types, with tattoo artists, bohemian coeds and techies biking side by side along the glistening shores of Lady Bird Lake. But these days, Austin is more chic than shabby. New upscale restaurants — many that rely on local, organic ingredients — are popping up all over the city, along with bars featuring artisanal concoctions.

Top Chef Season 9 Winner Paul Qui
from Bravo TV | ABS CBNnews

Season 9 winner of Top Chef Paul Qui is the executive chef at Uchiko restaurant in Austin, Texas. Uchiko's, a Japanese farmhouse dining and sushi restaurant, menu is a brand new selection of composed dishes and sushi, taken from ideas and dishes created at Uchi — its sister restaurant in Austin.

Why Attend the Annual Conference in Austin? It's as Simple As Your ABC's!
from NALP Bulletin — February 2012
by Amy Hancock and Kelly Mixon Morgan

Having both lived in Austin, we are thrilled to share this amazing city with our NALP colleagues. So, as we continue the countdown to April, we hope this quick reference list will assist you in getting acquainted with our Capital City! [Download the Full Article]

Austin in a Minute: Hill Country BBQ!
from NALPnow! — December 15, 2011

Are you interested in trying a signature Texan food? During the 2012 Annual Education Conference in Austin next April, be sure to carve out time to enjoy some Texas BBQ! Not surprisingly, beef is the top choice for Texas BBQ. NALPers coming from east of the Mississippi, where pork BBQ is king, are in for a real taste treat. According to Wikipedia , there are four different styles of BBQ in Texas. In Central Texas, where Austin is located, the meat is rubbed with spices and cooked over indirect heat from burning wood. The area around Austin is known as the “BBQ Belt”— Lockhart, named “The Barbecue Capitol of Texas” by the State Legislature, is just thirty miles south of the city. You will have plenty of dining options—a search on Yelp produces 93 listings for BBQ restaurants in Austin! Check out reviews of the top restaurants on Chowhound and the Texas BBQ Forum, or read detailed descriptions in The Austin Chronicle’s BBQ Hall of Fame. For a listing of BBQ joints and other restaurants, please visit the Austin conference planning page. We hope to see you in Texas next April!

Scrumptious Food, Delectable Drinks, and Great Entertainment Await in Austin
from NALP Bulletin — November 2011
by Amy Schwarzenbach, Career Counselor, Freshman Class/Private Law Firms and Corporations at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law

The NALP Annual Education Conference is about excellent conference programming, but it is also about networking, which we all know is successfully accomplished over a meal, a drink, or with music in the background. Well, there are few better places than Austin, Texas, for great food, spirits, and awesome live music. As a member of the conference planning committee, I jumped at the chance to write this article about the food, libation, and music venues for NALPers to consider while in Austin from April 18-21, 2012, for the Annual Education Conference. [Download the Full Article]

Austin Isn't Weird, It Just Is To Texans
from The Huffington Post, September 16, 2011

It was like a Shakespearean chorus of voices in my head as I landed in the Texas capital. As soon as I got off the plane, there were shirts, coffee mugs, everything with the city's catchphrase "Keep Austin Weird" written all over them.

Austin Travel Guide
from The New York Times Travel Guide

Expert travel advice about Austin from the New York Times including hotel, restaurant, and vacation tips and deals. Plan your trip to Austin with the New York Times Travel Guide featuring the best restaurants, museums, shopping, and nightlife venues.

Austin in a Minute: The Live Music Capital of the World
from NALPnow! — November 17, 2011

Austin proudly proclaims itself the “Live Music Capital of the World.” With over 1900 bands and performing artists calling Austin home and almost 200 live music venues, any given night presents a myriad of entertainment options. Just a few short blocks from our conference hotel, the Hilton Austin, is the famous Sixth Street nightlife — the center of the live music scene. The party begins Thursday night and lasts through Saturday while Sixth Street closes to vehicle traffic.

Austin is also home to the longest running music series in American television, Austin City Limits. Currently in its 37th season, the show recently changed venues to the fabulous and newly-built Moody Theater. There could not be a better location to host the annual Member Celebration Dinner during the annual conference.

Countless musical legends have performed in Austin since the 1930s. Who knows, maybe NALPers will be lucky enough to hear the next Stevie Ray Vaughan, Janis Joplin, or Willie Nelson while in town for the conference. As they say in Austin, “Don’t just see the sights, hear them!” Find out all Austin has to offer to this year’s conference attendees.

Austin in a Minute: City Facts
from NALPnow! — October 20, 2011

As we prepare for the 2012 Annual Education Conference in Austin, we present some interesting city facts. In 1837, settlers founded the village of Waterloo on the banks of the Colorado River in the central part of the Mexican province of Tejas. Two years later, tiny Waterloo was chosen as the capital of the new Republic of Texas. A new city was quickly built in the wilderness and was named for "the Father of Texas," Stephen F. Austin. Though the Colorado River still skirts Austin, thanks to a series of dams, it's now Lady Bird Lake (formerly "Town Lake") on the south edge of the city. Texas joined the United States in 1845, and the state capitol building is the largest in the US. Not content with just a big building, Austin is also home to North America's largest urban bat population: 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats live under the Congress Avenue Bridge. Every night around sunset, from March to October, they fly out from the bridge in search of food. Austin is also known as the live music capital of the world, with more than 100 live music venues (more on that next month). For more history of Austin, and Texas, visit www.thestoryoftexas.com — and check out www.austintexas.org for everything Austin.

$100 Weekend in Austin, Texas
from Frugal Traveler — January 31, 2012

Five meals, five snacks and six drinks (including one huge margarita). Two museums (one presidential). One odd road race, one odd toy store and one very, very odd game of bingo. All this, plus live blues, indie rock, honky-tonk and qawwali, in one weekend. And all for $100.

Austin in a Minute: Gateway to Texas Hill Country
from NALPnow! — January 19, 2012

Plan to arrive early or stay late so you can explore the Texas Hill Country, which fans westward from Austin and is filled with historic towns and natural features to discover. The area is unique for its terrain as well as its fusion of Spanish and German influences creating a distinctly “Texan” culture. Its prestige landed it a spot in National Geographic’s “Drives of a Lifetime” Series. Thirty-three wineries throughout the region will be participating in the 2012 Hill Country Wine Trail April 13-22 which bookends the Annual Education Conference. Visit antique stores in the small, rustic towns of Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, and Kerrville. Plan a kayak trip along the Medina River which meanders through groves of bald cypress trees. Or, pick strawberries at Marburger Orchard near Fredericksburg. In Texas, wildflowers including Bluebonnets, the Texas state flower, reach their peak in mid-April. Take a scenic wildflower drive along State 16 between Kerrville and Medina. Dig for topaz, the Texas state gem, in Mason County. Hike Enchanted Rock, the second largest granite dome. All this fun will require more than one day so check out B&Bs in the Hill Country. We hope to see you in Texas this April!

Austin in a Minute: Land of Lakes
from NALPnow! — February 16, 2012

The Texas capitol has numerous outside activities to take in during your visit. For aquatic adventures, you're in for a treat as Austin sits on a series of lakes known as the Highland Lakes. With Lady Bird Lake within a stone's throw of the conference hotel, explore the lake in a canoe, or stay on land and hit The Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail, which winds around the lake and city. For a change of pace, take a detour from the trail to visit the lush gardens and wildlife at Zilker Botanical Gardens. If you are looking for more natural beauty, try swimming, fishing, and mountain biking at McKinney Falls State Park. Explore some of the local spring-fed pools and head to Hamilton Pool or Barton Springs Natural Pool. At the end of the day, head to the highest point within Austin city limits for the best sunset view by climbing up the natural rock slap steps of Mount Bonnell. These are but a few of the outdoor activities Austin has to offer, so get out there and explore! Learn more about Austin from the 2012 conference planning team.