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AILA Texas/New Mexico/Oklahoma Fall Conference
December 3, 2025 - December 5, 2025
Secrets Playa Blanca Costa Mujeres
$375.00 – $575.00The AILA Texas/New Mexico/Oklahoma Fall 2025 Chapter Conference is Wednesday, December 3 – Friday, December 5 at the Secrets Playa Blanca Costa Mujeres resort near Cancún. The conference will be dual-track, featuring wellness and practice management. Click the “Tickets & Reservations” tab to purchase conference tickets. Click the “Agenda” tab to view the agenda.
Our discounted block of hotel rooms is sold out; however, you can contact Julie at Sun Spirit Travel for assistance or contact the hotel directly to make a reservation.
Optional group excursion on Friday afternoon – Sunset catamaran sail and snorkeling. Departs Isla Mujeres Marina (10 minutes from the resort) at 3:30 p.m. Cost: $135 per person. Includes private roundtrip transportation, Lomas concierge escort, and reef tax. Snorkeling is subject to weather and government authorization. Click here to RSVP by October 31 so we can confirm numbers and secure the reservation.
Wednesday, December 3
| Start Time | End Time | Track | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:30 pm | 7:00 pm | All | Registration Welcome cocktail and reception Location: Rooftop Terrace |
Thursday, December 4
| Start Time | End Time | Track | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 am | 8:00 am | All | Yoga and meditation Leader: Weipeng Zhuo, Maryland Location: Garden Terrace (Baby Courtyard) |
| 8:00 am | 9:00 am | All | Registration and coffee |
| 9:00 am | 9:10 am | All | Conference kick-off with Chapter Chair and welcome by the Conference Planning Committee Location: Room 3 |
| 9:10 am | 10:10 am | All | Panel 1: JOINT/PLENARY SESSION Mission and Vision, Core Firm Values Our businesses are driven by a mission, vision, and values. You already have these—but do you know what they are? This panel will help you clarify and learn techniques for using them to improve culture, operations, and your bottom line. Speakers: Location: Room 3 |
| 10:15 am | 11:15 am | Wellness | Panel 2 Diet and Exercise: Tips and Resources to Help Busy Lawyers Keep Up With the Wellbeing Basics Focus: Nutrition tips and tricks, physical fitness, weight loss and maintenance of fitness Why: Busy lawyers often sacrifice these essentials first, leading to health and performance challenges. Speakers: Location: Room 4/5 |
| 10:15 am | 11:15 am | Law Practice Management | Panel 2 Future-Proofing Your Law Firm: Trends in Technology and Innovation Focus: AI, automation, client portals, virtual staffing, and legal tech tools Why: Every firm must stay ahead of tech-driven change to remain competitive. Speakers: Location: Room 3 |
| 11:20 am | 12:20 pm | All | Lunch and networking Oceana Restaurant opens at 11 a.m. Seaside Restaurant opens at noon |
| 12:25 pm | 1:25 pm | Wellness | Panel 3 Mental Toughness: Courage, Discipline, Strength, and Resilience Through Tough Times Focus: How to turn toward the challenges of this moment, do good work, and remain resilient despite the stress Why: This administration has created tougher, more combative conditions than many of us have dealt with before, and many of us are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress. This panel will focus on how we can stay in the fight for the long term and come out of the challenges we face with our hope and our self-respect intact. Speakers: Location: Room 4/5 |
| 12:25 pm | 1:25 pm | Law Practice Management | Panel 3 Profitable and Ethical Practice Models: Flat Fees, Subscriptions, and Unbundled Services Focus: Alternative billing, value-based pricing, access to justice, and ethics Why: These models improve client affordability while increasing sustainability. Speakers: Location: Room 3 |
| 1:30 pm | 2:30 pm | Wellness | Panel 4 Restoring Resilience: Reiki for Immigration Lawyers to Prevent Burnout Immigration law can be emotionally and mentally demanding. This CLE introduces Reiki and other simple energy-balancing tools designed to help immigration attorneys protect their energy, prevent burnout, and stay grounded amid challenging work. Join Ruby Powers and Tekla C. Ayers of Be Rooted Healing Arts to learn practical techniques you can use in your daily practice to clear energy that isn’t yours, restore calm, and build lasting resilience. You’ll also hear first-hand stories from practitioners who’ve used these methods to find renewed focus, compassion, and balance in their legal careers. Speakers: Location: Room 4/5 |
| 1:30 pm | 2:30 pm | Law Practice Management | Panel 4 Marketing in the Modern Era: Personal Branding, Social Media, and Automation Focus: Authentic marketing, thought leadership, lead funnels, CRMs, and analytics Why: Visibility drives growth. Most firms underinvest in strategic marketing. Speakers: Location: Room 3 |
| 2:35 pm | 3:35 pm | Wellness | Panel 5 Protecting the Temple: Medical Expertise for Hardworking Professionals Focus: Medical education and information to help us recognize our body’s signals and know what to do in response to symptoms and changes we may notice Why: Every lawyer is a human, with a physical body, that is vulnerable to illness, especially as we age. This panel will give us insights to enable us to respond to physical symptoms in a timely and effective manner. Speakers: Location: Room 4/5 |
| 2:35 pm | 3:35 pm | Law Practice Management | Panel 5 From Chaos to Clarity: Workflow Design, Automation, and Legal Project Management Focus: SOPs, case management systems, dashboards, productivity tools Why: Efficiency reduces burnout, increases profitability, and ensures quality. Speakers: Location: Room 3 |
| 3:40 pm | 4:40 pm | Wellness | Panel 6 Wellness Jeopardy: How Sports, Music, Art, and Playfulness Make Us Better Lawyers Focus: A data-driven gameshow to help us understand the scientific truth underlying the importance of playtime and fun Why: Many experts theorize that burnout is often the result of a lack of play, rather than just too much work. This panel will remind us about the reasons and ways to incorporate more joy into our daily lives. Speakers: Location: Room 4/5 |
| 3:40 pm | 4:40 pm | Law Practice Management | Panel 6 Law Firm Dashboards: Turning Data Into Decisions and Using KPIs to Guide Growth Focus: Learn how to harness KPIs and dashboards to make smarter decisions and drive sustainable law firm growth. Why: Because law firms that track the right data make better decisions, improve performance, and grow with intention Speakers: Location: Room 3 |
| 4:45 pm | 5:45 pm | All | Panel 7: JOINT/PLENARY SESSION The Power of Delegation: Leveraging Staff and Systems to Protect Your Time and Reduce Procrastination Speakers: Location: Room 3 |
| 6:00 pm | 7:00 pm | Family | Happy hour! Location: Rendezvous Bar |
Friday, December 5
| Start Time | End Time | Track | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 am | 8:00 am | All | Yoga and meditation Location: Garden Terrace (Baby Courtyard) |
| 9:00 am | 10:00 am | Wellness | Panel 8 Anxiety, Dread, and Self-Abuse: How to Manage and Change Painful Mental Habits Focus: Tools from a coach and a therapist for learning how to reduce emotions that cause unnecessary suffering Why: If we routinely experience anxiety, dread, or self-criticism, we will tend to burn out, numb out, or check out—especially in times of heightened stress. But brains can be retrained to manage these emotional habits more effectively. This panel will provide tools for reducing emotional toxicity and creating more space for gratitude, self-acceptance, and enjoyment of life. Speakers: Location: Room 4/5 |
| 9:00 am | 10:00 am | Law Practice Management | Panel 8 What Clients Want (And How to Deliver It): Improving the Client Experience in the Age of AI and Automation Focus: Client experience in the age of AI and automation Speakers: Location: Room 3 |
| 10:05 am | 11:05 am | Wellness | Panel 9 Delivering Tough Feedback (Without Being a D*@k ): What’s the Magic Formula? Focus: Research and strategies for striking the right balance between holding staff accountable without being disrespectful Why: Managing people requires holding them accountable. However, when leaders treat staff disrespectfully, office cultures become toxic and performance suffers. Speakers: Location: Room 4/5 |
| 10:05 am | 11:05 am | Law Practice Management | Panel 9 The Entrepreneurial Attorney: From Billables to Business Empires (Side Hustles, Multiple Revenue Streams, and Serial Entrepreneurship) Speakers: Location: Room 3 |
| 11:10 am | 12:10 pm | All | Panel 10: JOINT/PLENARY SESSION Team Culture by Design: Building a Law Firm People Want to Join—and Stay In Description: Your people are your greatest asset—and your firm’s culture is what keeps them. In this panel, we’ll explore how to intentionally shape a workplace that attracts top talent and supports their growth. From modern recruitment strategies and meaningful onboarding to career development, DEI initiatives, and thriving in remote/hybrid settings, learn how to create a culture where people feel valued, connected, and motivated to stay. Discover systems and leadership approaches that turn your law firm into a place where great people want to do great work. Speakers Location: Room 3 |
| 12:15 pm | 12:20 pm | All | Conference closing remarks Location: Room 3 |
| 12:20 pm | 12:40 pm | All | Closing meditation Leader: Lynn Calder, Raleigh, NC Location: Room 3 |
| 12:40 pm | All | Conference adjourns |
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| 3:30 pm | 7:30 pm | All | OPTIONAL GROUP EXCURSION Sunset catamaran sail and snorkeling Departs Isla Mujeres Marina (10 minutes from the resort) at 3:30 p.m. Cost includes private roundtrip transportation, Lomas concierge escort, and reef tax. Snorkeling is subject to weather and government authorization. Cost: $135 per person Click here to RSVP by October 31 so we can confirm numbers and secure the reservation.
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As of October 21, the discounted block of accommodations through our travel partner Sun Spirit Travel is sold out. You can email Julie at Sun Spirit Travel for assistance or schedule a time for her to call you. You can also contact the hotel directly for reservations.
PLEASE NOTE: Previously purchased discounted accommodations include all expenses and fees associated with the conference. If you arrange your own accommodations, the resort requires visitors to pay a daily surcharge to cover these expenses. This surcharge will be $150 per day for guests staying through 5 p.m., and $300 for guests staying through 10 p.m.
Click the following link to RSVP for the optional Friday afternoon excursion – a sunset catamaran sail and snorkeling out of Isla Mujeres (10 minutes from the resort):
RSVP by October 31 for Sunset Catamaran Sail & Snorkeling
Conference tickets are available to purchase now. There will be no refunds for cancellations made after Monday, November 3, 2025.