Expanding Partners & Outreach: Strategic Update on the Future of the National Agricultural Law Center

Topic:

In the midst of the 1980’s Farm Crisis, Congress created the National Agricultural Law Center to serve as a nonpartisan, objective resource for public and private sector non-attorneys and attorneys throughout the nation’s agricultural community. Thirty-five years later, the NALC continues to fulfill its mission as the nation’s leading source of agriculture and food law research and information.  In doing so, the NALC is the only institution of its kind in the United States, serving non-attorney and attorney stakeholders in both the public and private sectors at all levels of the agriculture and food supply chain.

The NALC has placed a high priority on expanding its partnerships and outreach throughout all regions of the United States, including but not limited to efforts such as the inaugural Western Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference, the establishment of the Western Ag Industry Advisory Board, and the NALC Bridges Initiative. This webinar will help lay the foundation for further expansion, specifically including an invitation for new partnerships and collaborations with law schools, state departments of agriculture, law firms, individual attorneys, commodity and trade organizations, and many others. We invite longstanding supporters of the NALC’s mission, as well as those interested in its future growth, to learn more by registering for this webinar.

Time and Date: 

 Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Noon – 1 p.m. (EDT)

11 a.m. – Noon (CDT)

Participation:

View a Recording of the Webinar Here

Presenters:

Harrison Pittman, Director, National Agricultural Law Center

Harrison received his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, after attending Mississippi State University and graduating from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He then earned an LL.M. in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law’s Graduate Program in Agricultural Law. Harrison has worked at the Center since 2001.  During that time, his title and job duties have spanned the range of graduate assistant, staff attorney, co-director, interim director, and currently, director; in which capacity he has served since 2007.

He has taught at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law as part of the Ben J. Altheimer Distinguished Professorship for Agricultural Law and has also served as a visiting professor at the Drake University Law School.  In addition, he has taught Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Introduction to Agricultural Law in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, & Life Sciences, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness.  In that role, he was awarded the 2011-2012 Agricultural Business Club Teaching Award.

He is an active member of the American Agricultural Law Association (AALA), the nation’s only professional organization focused on the legal needs of the agricultural community, and was the first recipient of the AALA’s Excellence in Agricultural Law award in 2010.  Additionally, he is an active member of the Arkansas Bar Association, where he helped found the Agricultural Law Section, later served as interim chair and chair, and currently serves as vice-chair.  He is a frequent presenter on a range of topics and issues, including the farm bill, water law, and environmental law. He has authored articles on numerous subjects, including the National Organic Program, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, the constitutionality of corporate farming laws, pesticide regulation and litigation, agritourism, states’ recreational use statutes, the Packers and Stockyards Act, agricultural bankruptcy issues, and environmental laws impacting agriculture.

Research & Materials:

Slides from Presentation