Ward and Smith attorney Chris Edwards will speak at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's 2026 Annual Meeting on Wednesday, August 19, in Chicago.
Chris's presentation, "Speech, Conduct, and Oversight: Regulatory Lessons from Chiles v. Salazar," is scheduled for 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. CT in the Zurich Ballroom.
The session will address the regulatory implication of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Chiles v. Salazar. In Chiles, the Court invalidated a Colorado law prohibiting therapists from engaging in any type of "conversion therapy," including talk therapy, with minors. The Court held that the statute violated the First Amendment to the extent that it prohibited therapists from using talk therapy. Chris's presentation will address the basics of the Court's First Amendment jurisprudence, the Supreme Court's precedent addressing the regulation of professional conduct as speech, and the implications of the Chiles decision for regulators. Attendees will include nursing regulatory leaders and other professionals from NCSBN member organizations.
The NCSBN Annual Meeting will take place August 18 through 21, 2026, at the Swissôtel Chicago. The event brings together representatives of nursing regulatory bodies to discuss current issues affecting nursing regulation, licensure, and public protection.
Chris is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice and co-chair of Ward and Smith's Appellate Practice Group. Based in the firm's Wilmington and Raleigh offices, he has written more than 100 appellate briefs and argued cases before the Supreme Court of North Carolina, the Fourth Circuit, the Federal Circuit, and other appellate courts. His practice focuses exclusively on appellate litigation, and he regularly works with trial counsel from the earliest stages of a case to preserve issues and develop appellate strategy.