ABA

The 800-Year Reunion: ABA to Hold Commemorative Events in 2015 to Mark Magna Carta Signing

The ABA has a long-standing affinity for Runnymede, the idyllic meadow along the banks of the Thames River west of London, where legal history was made nearly eight centuries ago. On June 15, 1215, King John of England met with his barons in that meadow to resolve a power struggle.…

Nov 1, 2012 6:30 AM CDT

Last-Minute Business: ABA Urges US Senate to Approve Ratification of Disabilities Convention

The ABA and other proponents of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are hoping that the Senate will vote before the end of this year to approve ratification by the United States. Supporters of the convention maintain that ratification would allow the United States to reaffirm its…

Nov 1, 2012 6:20 AM CDT

ABA Announcements

2013 REGULAR STATE DELEGATE ELECTIONS The following jurisdictions will elect a State Delegate for a three year term beginning at the adjournment of the 2013 Annual Meeting: Alabama Alaska California Florida Hawaii Kansas Kentucky Massachusetts Missouri New Mexico North Carolina North Dakota Pennsylvania Tennessee Vermont Virginia Wisconsin PETITIONS Nominating petitions…

Nov 1, 2012 6:10 AM CDT

Lawyers Giving Back

Know someone in the legal field who gets a charge out of helping others? Snap a photo at their next event and please submit them to Julie Brown c/o Lawyers Giving Back. We welcome your “action” photographs of lawyers—whether ABA members or not—giving back to their communities. Send jpeg files…

Nov 1, 2012 6:00 AM CDT

Duncan School of Law Drops Lawsuit Against ABA Over Accreditation Denial

Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law has dropped its federal antitrust suit against the ABA over the denial of its bid for provisional accreditation. The school, which has also withdrawn its appeal of a decision before an ABA appeals panel affirming the denial of its application, will file a…

Oct 30, 2012 8:51 PM CDT

Ethics 20/20 Recommends Helping Foreign Lawyers to Practice in US, Sidesteps Nonlawyer Ownership

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 decided last week that its final recommendations to the association’s policy-making House of Delegates will focus on measures that would make it easier for foreign lawyers to obtain limited authority to practice in U.S. jurisdictions. Meeting in Washington, D.C., the commission also decided that…

Oct 30, 2012 3:30 PM CDT

Law School Says Lead Plaintiff in Job Stats Suit Against It Turned Down a Full-Time Law Firm Job

A California woman who says she can’t find work as a lawyer and is suing the law school she graduated from turned down a $60,000-a-year job from a Southern California law firm shortly after graduation, Thomas Jefferson School of Law says in a court filing. Anna Alaburda, the lead plaintiff…

Oct 30, 2012 2:00 PM CDT

ABA Groups and Members Offer Help to Those Affected by Hurricane Sandy

As residents and businesses all along the East Coast are braced to deal with an expected hurricane of “Frankenstorm” proportions, the American Bar Association and its member attorneys have been providing support to law firms planning ahead for disasters and low-income individuals who need legal advice. In a Monday statement,…

Oct 29, 2012 11:10 PM CDT

Former Law School Employee Says in Sworn Statement She Was Pressured to Inflate Graduates’ Job Stats

A former assistant career services director at Thomas Jefferson School of Law has admitted to padding the school’s 2006 graduate employment data to include unemployed graduates who had been employed at any time since graduation. Karen Grant, who held the job for one year in 2006 and 2007, says she…

Oct 24, 2012 7:59 PM CDT

New Stay Granted for Inmate Claiming ‘Grandiose Delusion’ Bars His Execution

A federal appeals court granted a temporary stay of execution on Tuesday for a Florida inmate who believes he is the “prince of God.” The U.S. Supreme Court refused to vacate the stay delaying the execution of John Errol Ferguson by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, report…

Oct 24, 2012 12:17 PM CDT

11th Circuit Lifts Execution Stay for Mass Murderer; ABA Prez Calls for Review of Insanity Claims

Updated: A federal appeals court has vacated a stay of execution for a Florida inmate who believes he is the “prince of God” and he will return to earth after his lethal injection. In a 2-1 decision (PDF), the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a federal judge…

Oct 23, 2012 5:40 PM CDT

ABA Amicus Brief Supports Using Race as a Factor in College Admissions

The ABA is supporting the use of race as a factor in college admissions in a case that will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. At issue is whether the equal protection clause permits the University of Texas to use race as a factor in undergraduate admissions.…

Oct 4, 2012 4:30 PM CDT

Florida Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Case of Undocumented Immigrant Seeking Law License

The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in a controversial case concerning an undocumented immigrant seeking a law license. In addition to other arguments he made earlier, Jose Manuel Godinez-Samperio is now contending he should be admitted to practice in the state because a new immigration policy adopted…

Oct 2, 2012 9:57 PM CDT

A Vote for Fair and Open Elections

American people should have a meaningful voice in shaping our country’s future

Oct 1, 2012 9:20 AM CDT

Clear Track: Ethics 20/20 Commission Can Now Address Issues of Fee-Splitting with Nonlawyers

As the ABA House of Delegates prepared to adjourn late in the afternoon on Aug. 6 after a full day of deliberations, members of the Commission on Ethics 20/20 finally retired to their “war room” to pop open a couple of bottles of champagne and savor the fact that their…

Oct 1, 2012 7:30 AM CDT