September 10, 2026
The program for the recent National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA) 2026 Legal Education Conference provides useful insight into the issues currently occupying the attention of public pension lawyers across the country.
While conference agendas never tell the whole story, the topics offer a glimpse of the legal, regulatory, governance, and investment challenges public pension systems now confront.
Held June 15-18 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this year’s conference featured several themes: the rapid integration of artificial intelligence, growing complexity in investment regulation, heightened focus on plan governance and fiduciary duties, continued concern over funding and benefit administration, and increased attention to regulatory enforcement and litigation risk.
Artificial Intelligence Has Moved from Theory to Implementation
First and foremost, the agenda highlighted how much artificial intelligence (AI) has become a mainstream legal issue for public pensions. Where discussion once focused on whether plans should use the technology, the multiple sessions on AI at this year’s event grappled with how public funds can use it responsibly.
One general session examined how public pension systems have implemented AI while safeguarding data privacy and cybersecurity and tracking developments in the evolving state and federal legal landscape. An ethics session addressed lawyers’ professional responsibilities when using generative AI, including duties relating to competence, confidentiality, supervision, client communications, and bias mitigation. A third session focused on practical implementation of AI in investment legal review, including governance frameworks, privilege concerns, contract review processes, and AI-assisted negotiation playbooks.
Taken together, these sessions suggest that AI governance is quickly becoming a core concern for public pension counsel, who increasingly are being asked not only to understand the technology but also to help develop policies that manage legal, ethical, and operational risks associated with its adoption.
Regulatory Change and Enforcement Risk Are Top of Mind
The conference also reflected concern about shifting regulatory priorities and enforcement trends. One general session was devoted to helping attendees stay current with rapidly changing regulatory developments affecting pension systems, from ADA compliance and HIPAA updates to reporting requirements and the SEC’s policy shift in favor of forced arbitration.
Another panel, led by Cohen Milstein partner Daniel S. Sommers, examined evolving SEC enforcement priorities and the impact on institutional investors, including the resulting implications for securities litigation, corporate governance matters, and institutional investor protections. The panel highlighted ways for pension counsel to navigate the increasingly complex and uncertain regulatory enforcement environment. (See Dan’s article on the subject elsewhere in this issue.
The focus on regulatory developments suggests that public pension lawyers are preparing for a period of continued uncertainty. Changes at federal agencies, evolving securities enforcement priorities, and shifting governance expectations all have the potential to affect pension fund operations and investment programs.
Fiduciary Duties and Governance Remain Foundational
Despite the focus on emerging issues, the conference agenda demonstrated that traditional fiduciary and governance concerns remain at the heart of public pension practice.
The conference opened with a comprehensive series of introductory sessions addressing fiduciary duties, benefits administration, actuarial concepts, investment governance, and the legal framework governing public pension plans. These sessions emphasized duties of loyalty and prudence, plan administration principles, funding concepts, and the legal considerations associated with investment oversight.
The prominence of these topics reflects a continuing reality: regardless of technological innovation or regulatory change, pension boards and their counsel remain accountable for ensuring that core fiduciary obligations are met. Public pension attorneys continue to view governance excellence as the foundation upon which all other legal and investment decisions rest
Additional Issues Continue to Demand Attention
The conference also reflected the increasingly complex environment surrounding institutional investing. One prominent session addressed the impact of new laws and regulations affecting alternative investments, including outbound investment restrictions, national security-related regulations, “countries of concern” legislation, anti-boycott measures, and state laws requiring investment decisions to be based on pecuniary factors. The discussion highlighted the growing intersection of investment management, geopolitics, and public policy.
Other investment-focused sessions examined negotiating private fund documentation, while one panel explored the emergence of retail investment opportunities in private markets and the implications for institutional investors and fiduciaries. These topics underscore a broader trend: public pension attorneys are increasingly engaged in investment transactions in new ways, helping systems navigate both traditional fiduciary concerns and emerging regulatory pressures affecting private markets. Another notable theme was the ongoing focus on pension funding and benefit administration. Sessions examined strategies for reducing unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities; addressed employer withdrawals, mergers, outsourcing arrangements; and covered corrections of plan failures under SECURE 2.0, tax qualification requirements for governmental plans, federal garnishments, and IRS levies. The breadth of these sessions suggests that pension counsel continue to devote significant attention to maintaining plan qualification, ensuring accurate benefit administration, and addressing funding challenges—areas that remain central to the long-term sustainability of public retirement systems.
Conclusion
The 2026 NAPPA Legal Education Conference suggests that public pension attorneys are navigating an environment characterized by rapid technological change, increasingly complex investment regulation, evolving enforcement priorities, and continuing pressure to maintain sound governance, funding, and fiduciary practices.
For public pension systems, trustees, asset managers, and service providers, the conference agenda offers a useful roadmap of the issues likely to occupy public pension legal departments and outside counsel throughout the coming year. Far from replacing traditional pension law concerns, emerging issues such as AI and geopolitical investment restrictions are being layered onto an already demanding fiduciary and regulatory framework—expanding the role of public pension counsel as both trusted legal advisor and strategic risk manager.
On a personal note, this conference marked the conclusion of my term as President of NAPPA. It was an honor to serve alongside an exceptional board and membership dedicated to advancing education, collaboration, and professional excellence within the public pension community. The discussions throughout the conference reinforced the critical role public pension attorneys play in helping retirement systems navigate an increasingly complex legal and regulatory landscape.