Annual Meeting

ABA Annual Meeting in Boston features a new format to reduce conflicts, inspire a sense of community

Boston is one of America’s oldest cities, but everything will seem new this month when the ABA holds its first annual meeting there in more than 60 years. One of the highlights will be an address by U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Aug. 11. In Boston, the…

Aug 1, 2014 7:00 AM CDT

Legal ed section presents its review of accreditation standards to ABA House this month

The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has wrapped up its comprehensive review of the Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools. Following the council’s actions at its June meeting, the end of the lengthy and often difficult process of…

Aug 1, 2014 6:50 AM CDT

Legal Ed Section’s council wraps standards review, keeps ban on academic credit for paid externships

The governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has wrapped up its comprehensive review of the law school accreditation standards. The council, which met Friday in Cleveland, approved five of the six remaining proposed changes in the standards, including one that would permit…

Jun 9, 2014 7:18 PM CDT

Paulette Brown will be the first woman of color to serve as ABA president

In a speech to the ABA House of Delegates in February during the association’s 2014 midyear meeting, Paulette Brown acknowledged the significance of her nomination to become the first woman of color to serve as ABA president. “I know I have a unique responsibility,” said Brown, a partner at Edwards…

May 1, 2014 7:30 AM CDT

ABA committee reaffirms proposal to remove ban on academic credit for paid externships

An ABA committee has wrapped up its comprehensive review of the law school accreditation standards after deciding not to make any changes in the last of its pending proposals to amend the standards. The Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar’s standards review committee, which met Friday in…

Apr 28, 2014 10:08 PM CDT

Next leader wants a ‘go-to’ ABA

Paulette Brown of New Jersey has been formally nominated to become ABA president in 2015. She will be the first woman of color to head the nearly 400,000-member association. Brown’s nomination was announced as the House of Delegates met during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Chicago. Brown said that she…

Apr 1, 2014 7:00 AM CDT

2 books to commemorate 800 years of the Magna Carta

The legal legacy of the Magna Carta is the subject of two books being produced to help mark the 800th anniversary of the charter’s signing. Both books are expected to be published in time for the 2014 ABA Annual Meeting in Boston, where the association will officially launch its Magna…

Apr 1, 2014 6:00 AM CDT

Legal Ed Section’s council deadlocks over tenure requirement in law school accreditation standards

The governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar approved a lot of changes in the law school accreditation standards at its meeting last weekend in San Diego. But the meeting may be remembered more for the one proposed change in the standards it…

Mar 17, 2014 10:20 PM CDT

Access-to-Justice Hackathon: Call for ideas

The ABA Journal and Suffolk University Law School are planning to host a “hackathon” in conjunction with the ABA Annual Meeting this Aug. 7-12 in Boston. There’s been no formal theme selected. But there’s a general consensus that the project should further access-to-justice efforts in some way. During the hackathon,…

Feb 5, 2014 10:03 PM CST

New legislative strategy is tougher on human trafficking and more supportive of victims

There is a growing body of legislation at the state level that targets modern human slavery, which occurs primarily in the forms of forced labor and forced sex. The U.S. State Department estimates in its Trafficking in Persons Report for 2012 that as many as 27 million women, children and…

Dec 1, 2013 8:00 AM CST

ABA Announcements

2014 REGULAR STATE DELEGATE ELECTION The following jurisdictions will elect a State Delegate for a three-year term beginning at the adjournment of the 2014 Annual Meeting: Arizona Connecticut District of Columbia Illinois Iowa Maine Michigan Mississippi Montana Nebraska New Jersey Oklahoma Puerto Rico South Carolina South Dakota Texas Washington Wyoming…

Nov 1, 2013 5:50 AM CDT

Attorney general’s speech reflects ABA push against overcriminalization

When U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told the ABA’s 560-member House of Delegates about his sweeping initiative that in effect renounced decades of tough-on-crime anti-drug legislation and policies, it fell on welcoming ears. For years, the ABA has been calling for these and other reforms to criminal laws. “The attorney…

Oct 1, 2013 7:10 AM CDT

Legal ed council offers choice on law professors’ job security

The governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar tentatively approved three more chapters of proposed amendments to the law school accreditation standards. The council, which met during the annual meeting, voted to post the proposed changes to chapters 1, 3 and 4 of…

Oct 1, 2013 7:00 AM CDT

Ex-secretary of state Hillary Clinton calls for voting rights action

Adding a taste of political campaign 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called strongly for protection and restoration of voting rights when addressing the ABA’s House of Delegates in San Francisco. She announced that this would be the first in a series of policy-oriented speeches she intends to give…

Oct 1, 2013 6:50 AM CDT

House of Delegates supports key measure to fight human trafficking

The ABA House of Delegates has approved a uniform law that could become an important weapon in the war against human trafficking in the United States. The 560-member House, which sets policy for the ABA, approved the Uniform Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking Act (PDF) in August “as…

Oct 1, 2013 6:40 AM CDT