The American Bar Association has been sponsoring the Homeland Security Law Institute for the past five years. John Pistole, TSA Administrator and former asst FBI Counterterrorism Director, will give the final keynote address of the conference.

After tenure as the first General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, Joe Whitley, now of Greenberg Trauig, was approached by the American Bar Association (ABA) about developing a conference for homeland security law practitioners. The first Institute was held in 2005 and has been an annual event for the past six years. Each year the Institute has grown in attendance. Last year there were over 350 attendees. Of the attendees, approximately 40% were government lawyers (i.e., Federal, State and Local), 30% were from private corporations and 30% were in private practice. Previous speakers at the Institute have included Secretary Tom Ridge, Secretary Michael Chertoff, Attorney General John Ashcroft, Governor Frank Keating, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Deputy Secretary David Martin, and other senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and the Department of Defense.

This year’s Institute will mark the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. The program will consist of a number of interesting and timely panels and breakout sessions that will focus on areas of concern, to include: Cybersecurity, Homeland Security Law Compliance, SAFETY Act issues, Transportation Security, Regulatory Developments, Immigration Issues, State & Local Government Preparedness and Responsibilities, Homeland Defense, Critical Infrastructure, International Issues spotlighting FCPA & Arms Export Control, Energy Security spotlighting on Utilities and the Smart Grid, Homeland Security Funding Opportunities, Law Enforcement for 2011, Natural Disasters, Communications regarding the Public Safety Spectrum, Financial Security, Private Sector and Security, Developments in Chemical and Hazardous Materials Security (CFATS) and the Role of Courts in Terrorism. Alejandro Mayorkas will be giving the opening keynote address with Admiral Thad Allen as the closing keynote speaker on the first day and Stewart Baker will be giving the opening keynote address on the second.

Whitley promises that this year will be the “best ever” and for additional information and to register online, please visit the website HERE.