Prison Law &
Advocacy Conference
November 5-7, 2026
Prison Law &
Advocacy Conference
November 5-7, 2026
Prison Law &
Advocacy Conference
November 5-7, 2026
About the Conference
The next Prison Law and Advocacy Conference (PLAC), will be held in Cambridge, MA, from November 5-7, 2026, hosted by Harvard Law School’s Prison Legal Assistance Project at Harvard University (1585 Massachusetts Dr.).
PLAC is an opportunity for advocates, system-impacted people, academics, and experts to gather in order to strategize, inspire, and reflect on where we are in our fight against inhumane carceral conditions.
Occurring biannually, PLAC has previously been held in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New Haven, New Orleans, and Washington DC.
Attendance is restricted to advocates for people in custody, students, and people who were formerly incarcerated. Continuing Legal Education credit will be available.
This page will be updated periodically as information becomes available. You can also join the mailing list to be notified when registration opens.
Planning to attend? Please register here and complete this brief survey to help us plan.
Questions? Contact 26PLAC@gmail.com.
About the Conference
The next Prison Law and Advocacy Conference (PLAC), will be held in Cambridge, MA, from November 5-7, 2026, hosted by Harvard Law School’s Prison Legal Assistance Project at Harvard University (1585 Massachusetts Dr.).
PLAC is an opportunity for advocates, system-impacted people, academics, and experts to gather in order to strategize, inspire, and reflect on where we are in our fight against inhumane carceral conditions.
Occurring biannually, PLAC has previously been held in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New Haven, New Orleans, and Washington DC.
Attendance is restricted to advocates for people in custody, students, and people who were formerly incarcerated. Continuing Legal Education credit will be available.
This page will be updated periodically as information becomes available. You can also join the mailing list to be notified when registration opens.
Planning to attend? Please register here and complete this brief survey to help us plan.
Questions? Contact 26PLAC@gmail.com.
Schedule
The first day of the conference (Nov. 5th) will offer a 2-3 hour afternoon primer on strategic litigation skills for newer lawyers advocating on behalf of (and with) incarcerated people. On the second and third days, We anticipate providing programming from 9 am – 5 pm each day, including breakfast and lunch. We plan to close out each day with a reception. The program will include keynote speakers, plenary presentations, and concurrent panels.
Panel topics include: Conditions of Confinement; Solitary Confinement; Prisoner Labor; Damages; Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA); Artificial Intelligence; Consent Decree Enforcement; Carceral Data; Investigations; Private Entities; Decarceral Strategies; Medical Care and Mental Health; Prisoner Rape Elimination Act (PREA); Habeas Corpus; State Courts; Academic & Public Interest Partnerships; and additional emerging issues.
Thursday, November 5
Friday, November 6
Saturday, November 7
Thursday, November 5
2:00pm – 5:00pm | Early-Career Attorney Investigation Training (WCC 3016)
2:30pm – 6:30pm (approximately) | Tour of the Middlesex County Jail and House of Correction (Meet outside of WCC at 2:30pm)
Friday, November 6
8:00am – 8:45am | Registration & Breakfast (Milstein West)
9:00am – 9:20am | Welcome (Milstein West)
9:20am – 10:30am | Challenging Conditions of Confinement in Immigration Detention (Milstein West)
10:30am – 10:50am | Morning Break
10:50am – 12:00pm | Concurrent Panels I
- Alternatives to Solitary Confinement (Langdell 225)
- Strategies for Decarceration (WCC 3018)
- AI in the Carceral State: Perils and Promise (WCC 3019)
12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lunch (Milstein West)
1:00pm – 2:10pm | Concurrent Panels II
- Bringing Creativity and Tenacity to Prison/Jail Investigations (WCC 1015)
- The Federal Tort Claims Act – Training (WCC B010)
- Financial Exploitation of Incarcerated People (WCC B015)
2:10pm – 2:20pm | Afternoon Break
2:20pm – 3:30pm | Concurrent Panels III
- Effecting Real Change Post Consent Decree (WCC 1015)
- Suing the Carceral-Industrial Complex: Damages, Records, and Immunities against Corporate Actors (WCC B010)
- Extreme Heat and Incarceration (WCC B015)
3:30 – 4:00pm | Networking
4:00pm – 5:30pm | Keynote Address – Dee Farmer (Milstein West)
5:30pm – 7:00pm | Reception (Harkness)
Saturday, November 7
8:30am – 9:00am | Breakfast (Milstein West)
9:00am – 10:20am | Doctrinal Developments: Risks and Opportunities (Milstein West)
10:20am – 10:30am | Announcement – Civil Rights Clearinghouse (Milstein West)
10:30am – 10:50am | Morning Break
10:50am – 12:00pm | Concurrent Panels IV
- Success in the State Courts (WCC 1015)
- Attacks on the Rights and Legal Protections of Incarcerated LGBTQ+ People (WCC 1019)
- Sleep (WCC 1023)
12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lunch (Milstein West)
1:00pm – 2:10pm | Concurrent Panels V
- Jailhouse Lawyering (WCC 1015)
- Advocacy and Practice Strategies for Improving Mental Health Care and Equity for Incarcerated People (WCC 1019)
- BOP (WCC 1023)
2:10pm – 2:30pm | Afternoon Break
2:30pm – 3:40pm | Concurrent Panels VI
- Advancing Higher Standards of Medical Care for Incarcerated People through Partnership with Community Providers (WCC 1015)
- Carceral Data (WCC 1019)
- Damages (WCC 1023)
3:40pm – 4:00pm | Afternoon Break
4:00pm – 5:30pm | Reports from the Field (Milstein West)
5:30pm – 7:00pm | Reception (Harkness)
Schedule
The first day of the conference (Nov. 5th) will offer a 2-3 hour afternoon primer on strategic litigation skills for newer lawyers advocating on behalf of (and with) incarcerated people. On the second and third days, We anticipate providing programming from 9 am – 5 pm each day, including breakfast and lunch. We plan to close out each day with a reception. The program will include keynote speakers, plenary presentations, and concurrent panels.
Panel topics include: Conditions of Confinement; Solitary Confinement; Prisoner Labor; Damages; Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA); Artificial Intelligence; Consent Decree Enforcement; Carceral Data; Investigations; Private Entities; Decarceral Strategies; Medical Care and Mental Health; Prisoner Rape Elimination Act (PREA); Habeas Corpus; State Courts; Academic & Public Interest Partnerships; and additional emerging issues.
Thursday, November 5
Friday, November 6
Saturday, November 7
Thursday, November 5
2:00pm – 5:00pm | Early-Career Attorney Investigation Training (WCC 3016)
2:30pm – 6:30pm (approximately) | Tour of the Middlesex County Jail and House of Correction (Meet outside of WCC at 2:30pm)
Friday, November 6
8:00am – 8:45am | Registration & Breakfast (Milstein West)
9:00am – 9:20am | Welcome (Milstein West)
9:20am – 10:30am | Challenging Conditions of Confinement in Immigration Detention (Milstein West)
10:30am – 10:50am | Morning Break
10:50am – 12:00pm | Concurrent Panels I
- Alternatives to Solitary Confinement (Langdell 225)
- Strategies for Decarceration (WCC 3018)
- AI in the Carceral State: Perils and Promise (WCC 3019)
12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lunch (Milstein West)
1:00pm – 2:10pm | Concurrent Panels II
- Bringing Creativity and Tenacity to Prison/Jail Investigations (WCC 1015)
- The Federal Tort Claims Act – Training (WCC B010)
- Financial Exploitation of Incarcerated People (WCC B015)
2:10pm – 2:20pm | Afternoon Break
2:20pm – 3:30pm | Concurrent Panels III
- Effecting Real Change Post Consent Decree (WCC 1015)
- Suing the Carceral-Industrial Complex: Damages, Records, and Immunities against Corporate Actors (WCC B010)
- Extreme Heat and Incarceration (WCC B015)
3:30 – 4:00pm | Networking
4:00pm – 5:30pm | Keynote Address – Dee Farmer (Milstein West)
5:30pm – 7:00pm | Reception (Harkness)
Saturday, November 7
8:30am – 9:00am | Breakfast (Milstein West)
9:00am – 10:20am | Doctrinal Developments: Risks and Opportunities (Milstein West)
10:20am – 10:30am | Announcement – Civil Rights Clearinghouse (Milstein West)
10:30am – 10:50am | Morning Break
10:50am – 12:00pm | Concurrent Panels IV
- Success in the State Courts (WCC 1015)
- Attacks on the Rights and Legal Protections of Incarcerated LGBTQ+ People (WCC 1019)
- Sleep (WCC 1023)
12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lunch (Milstein West)
1:00pm – 2:10pm | Concurrent Panels V
- Jailhouse Lawyering (WCC 1015)
- Advocacy and Practice Strategies for Improving Mental Health Care and Equity for Incarcerated People (WCC 1019)
- BOP (WCC 1023)
2:10pm – 2:30pm | Afternoon Break
2:30pm – 3:40pm | Concurrent Panels VI
- Advancing Higher Standards of Medical Care for Incarcerated People through Partnership with Community Providers (WCC 1015)
- Carceral Data (WCC 1019)
- Damages (WCC 1023)
3:40pm – 4:00pm | Afternoon Break
4:00pm – 5:30pm | Reports from the Field (Milstein West)
5:30pm – 7:00pm | Reception (Harkness)
Explore the Sessions
Accommodations
A hotel block is available at THE CHARLES HOTEL, HARVARD SQUARE (1 Bennett St. Harvard Sq., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138). Rooms are subject to availability.
Accommodations
A hotel block is available at THE CHARLES HOTEL, HARVARD SQUARE (1 Bennett St. Harvard Sq., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138). Rooms are subject to availability.
Planning Committee
Thank you to the advocates who have volunteered their time to make this conference a success.
- Joel Thompson, Conference Chair of PLAC; Managing Attorney, Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project
- Andrea Armstong, Professor, Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law
- Emma Douglas, Senior Staff Attorney, Southern Poverty Law Center
- Sarah Grady, Partner, Kaplan & Grady
- Daniel Greenfield, Senior Staff Attorney, Prison Law Office
- Atteeyah Hollie, Deputy Director, Southern Center for Human Rights
- Renaldo Hudson, Director of Education, Illinois Prison Project
- Haller Jackson, Staff, UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project
- Nishi Kumar, Director of Medical Legal Project, Medical Justice Alliance
- Aaron Littman, Assistant Professor, UCLA School of Law; Faculty Director, Prisoners’ Rights Clinic
- Mercedes Montagnes, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Justice Catalyst
- Alan Mills, Of Counsel, Kaplan & Grady
- Margot Mendelson, Executive Director, Prison Law Office
- Laura Rovner, Professor, Denver Sturm College of Law
- Richard Saenz, Senior Attorney & Criminal Justice Strategist, Lambda Legal
- Margo Schlanger, Professor, University of Michigan Law School; Director, Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
- Rebecca Shaeffer, Staff Attorney, National Disability Rights Network
Conference Planning Committee
Thank you to the advocates who have volunteered their time to make this conference a success.
- Joel Thompson, Conference Chair of PLAC; Managing Attorney, Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project
- Andrea Armstong, Professor, Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law
- Emma Douglas, Senior Staff Attorney, Southern Poverty Law Center
- Sarah Grady, Partner, Kaplan & Grady
- Daniel Greenfield, Senior Staff Attorney, Prison Law Office
- Atteeyah Hollie, Deputy Director, Southern Center for Human Rights
- Renaldo Hudson, Director of Education, Illinois Prison Project
- Haller Jackson, Staff, UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project
- Nishi Kumar, Director of Medical Legal Project, Medical Justice Alliance
- Aaron Littman, Assistant Professor, UCLA School of Law; Faculty Director, Prisoners’ Rights Clinic
- Mercedes Montagnes, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Justice Catalyst
- Alan Mills, Of Counsel, Kaplan & Grady
- Margot Mendelson, Executive Director, Prison Law Office
- Laura Rovner, Professor, Denver Sturm College of Law
- Richard Saenz, Senior Attorney & Criminal Justice Strategist, Lambda Legal
- Margo Schlanger, Professor, University of Michigan Law School; Director, Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
- Rebecca Shaeffer, Staff Attorney, National Disability Rights Network
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Many thanks to the following sponsors of the 2026 Prison Law & Advocacy Conference.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Many thanks to the following sponsors of the 2026 Prison Law & Advocacy Conference.
Prison Law & Advocacy Conference
Nov. 5–7, 2026
Harvard Law School
Prison Legal Assistance Project
1585 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Questions? 26PLAC@gmail.com
Prison Law & Advocacy Conference
Nov. 5–7, 2026
Harvard Law School
Prison Legal Assistance Project
1585 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Questions? 26PLAC@gmail.com
Prison Law & Advocacy Conference
Harvard Law School
Prison Legal Assistance Project
1585 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Nov. 5–7, 2026
Questions?
26PLAC@gmail.com