Annual Meeting

Campuses that handle sexual assaults must balance victims’ rights, due process

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics just 7 percent of college student sexual assaults were reported to police.

Oct 1, 2016 1:30 AM CDT

NAACP’s Sherrilyn Ifill: Lawyers must step up in cop-shootings crisis

Sherrilyn Ifill warns of a crisis of confidence in the rule of law.

Oct 1, 2016 1:20 AM CDT

‘Internet of things’ panel has a thing about security

Panelists for the CLE discussion had a lot of warnings about security and liability.

Oct 1, 2016 1:10 AM CDT

TV creators agree: They blur the lines of legal fact, fiction

Early on during a rambling dialogue about the impact that television and other forms of entertainment are having on public perceptions of justice in the United States, David E. Kelley downplayed his role as one of the leading purveyors of TV shows about the law.

Oct 1, 2016 1:00 AM CDT

Speakers tell personal stories about militarized police forces

A sobering look at how police use of military tactics and equipment can lead to unnecessary loss of life.

Oct 1, 2016 12:50 AM CDT

Oct. 29, 1929: The Great Stock Market Crash shakes the nation

On Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1929, as much as $9 billion was lost on a volume of more than 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange alone. So much was traded so quickly that hundreds of extra runners had to be recruited from nearby telegraph offices. Stock tickers ran more than two hours behind the trades they were reporting. Similar turmoil was reported by the dozens of exchanges operating in cities, including Boston, Chicago, Montreal and San Francisco. So abject were the losses, so disarrayed were the overloaded markets that a final tally of the day’s disaster was ultimately deemed irrelevant.

Oct 1, 2016 12:30 AM CDT

Dennis Archer receives the ABA Medal

Dennis Archer receives the ABA Medal in recognition of a career that has had impact far beyond his home state of Michigan

Sep 1, 2016 1:00 AM CDT

ABA announces plan to create Center for Innovation

The ABA has wasted no time acting on one of the recommendations from the Commission on the Future of Legal Services’ final report. On Monday, the ABA announced the creation of a Center for Innovation, which will be located at the ABA’s headquarters in Chicago. The purpose of the Center…

Aug 16, 2016 1:08 PM CDT

Public at large—not just lawyers—needs to be aware of the justice gap, LSC board chair says

The Legal Services Corp. is expanding its efforts to provide innovative technology to close the justice gap and trying to raise public awareness of the legal aid crisis, said John G. Levi, the board chair of the publicly funded nonprofit, to the ABA House of Delegates at the association’s annual…

Aug 10, 2016 8:45 AM CDT

Hilarie Bass calls for an embrace of technology as she accepts position of ABA president-elect

Hilarie Bass accepted the position of president-elect of the American Bar Association on Tuesday at its annual meeting in San Francisco in a speech that began with one of the reasons why she’s worked over the years for equality and an end to discrimination. Bass’ grandfather came to the United…

Aug 9, 2016 5:51 PM CDT

ABA House adopts measures intended to fight bias in schools and on juries

The ABA continued its series of measures on diversity and inclusion—a theme for outgoing ABA President Paulette Brown—on Tuesday by passing two resolutions on the subject. Passing without strong opposition was Resolution 115, which calls on local governments to adopt laws and policies aimed at ending the “school-to-prison pipeline.” That’s…

Aug 9, 2016 4:05 PM CDT

ABA condemns mass detentions and arrests of Turkish legal community

In the wake of a failed coup attempt by the Turkish military, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrested about 3,000 lawyers, judges and journalists in the country without charges or access to counsel. On Tuesday morning, the ABA’s House of Delegates condemned any state’s detention of people without charge or…

Aug 9, 2016 3:32 PM CDT

After debate, ABA House calls for publication of privately drafted standards used in legislation

A resolution calling on Congress to make privately drafted parts of the law freely available attracted accusations in the House of Delegates that the ABA was trying to give away other people’s intellectual property. When federal agencies incorporate privately drafted standards into their rules by reference, Resolution 112, passed by…

Aug 9, 2016 3:20 PM CDT

The ABA should embrace change and not be ‘left in the dust,’ executive director says

In a speech to the ABA’s House of Delegates at its annual meeting in San Francisco on Monday, Executive Director Jack Rives talked about daunting realities of contraction and wide-ranging possibilities for growth as the association faces challenges in providing enough value to members to attract and keep them. Rives…

Aug 8, 2016 10:45 PM CDT

Education, veterans’ rights and expanding services for ABA members will be focus of Klein’s term

In ABA President Linda A. Klein’s inaugural speech on Monday at the association’s annual meeting in San Francisco, she outlined three ambitious initiatives for her year-long term. These initiatives will help veterans with legal problems; ensure children get quality educations; and assist lawyers, especially small-firm and solos, in getting the…

Aug 8, 2016 9:25 PM CDT