We’ve given up on hosting an Off the Clock session in June. Why? Because we cannot compete with a roving band of MSBA staff, volunteers, and legal experts criss-crossing the state, offering up to 50 free CLE credits and a slew of outstanding presentations. As I write this, the MSBA is in Willmar for Day 6 of the journey that is called “9 Days in June.” When it’s all over on June 24 at Target Field in Minneapolis (more about that below), MSBA staff and others will have traveled nearly 2,000 miles to bring Minnesota attorneys more than 60 CLE presentations on dozens of different topics, all for, get this — free. It’s the largest collection of free CLE credits in the history of the planet.

Okay, I exaggerate. But after rolling into Rochester and Ham Lake early next week, the MSBA comes home to Minneapolis and the new Target Field to offer up the following (did I mention free?):

• Bryan Garner, on Humorous Examples of Legal Writing;
• The State of the Judiciary from outgoing Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson;
• Lunch with former Minnesota Twin Kent Hrbek;
• An annual appellate law update from incoming Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lori Gildea;
• An ethics CLE titled “When Good Attorneys Go Bad;”
• A gubernatorial candidate forum with confirmed guests Tom Horner and Matt Entenza;
• A federal court “career perspective” from retiring U.S. District Court Judge James Rosenbaum;

Want lunch with that? Just $30.00 (think of it as the cost of the CLEs, if thirty bucks seems pricey). Or save your appetite and your pocketbook and eat for free at the always excellent law school receptions at the end of the day. Or pay $75 for the full-out VIP treatment, which includes CLEs, lunch, and the president’s reception (one of the ‘be-seen’ legal events of the year). Want entertainment? How about an American Idol style lawyers’ talent show that is emceed by no other than WCCO’s Don Shelby and judged by Brian Melendez and the owner of the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant. Plus dessert and drinks with the New Lawyers Section after that, and a nightcap at Kieran’s Irish Pub after that. Yowza.

So far, more than 1,000 1,300 attorneys statewide are taking advantage of the MSBA’s new convention format, aptly called the “Unconventional Convention.” Why not be a part of that on the final day at Target Field? Hopefully, we’ll see you there.