Annual Meeting

Battle of the Lawyer Bands, Brought to You by the ABA

Do you practice law and play a musical instrument as well? The American Bar Association might have a deal for you.This year, the organization is sponsoring a battle of the lawyer bands; to qualify, groups must have a majority of attorney members. A gig playing the President’s Reception at the…

Feb 6, 2012 5:00 PM CST

ABA Announcements

UNCONTESTED 2012 STATE DELEGATE ELECTIONS The Association’s Constitution at § 6.3(a) provides that if only one valid nominating petition is filed in a State Delegate election, the Board of Elections shall certify to the House of Delegates that the sole nominee is elected. Accordingly, on December 15, 2011 the Board…

Feb 1, 2012 7:20 AM CST

Letting Them Be: ABA Takes a Hands-Off Stance Toward Lawyer Ranking Services

Illustration by Sam Payne The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 has concluded that the logical policy for the association to take toward companies that rank law firms and lawyers is to pretty much just leave them alone. And it appears that is what the ABA is going to do. The…

Oct 1, 2011 6:35 AM CDT

The Crisis Grows: Concerns Over Funding for State Courts Dominate ABA Annual Meeting

Photograph courtesy of Tourism Toronto. This year’s ABA Annual Meeting was held in Toronto during a mood of deepening economic gloom: Though the U.S. debt ceiling was raised, one rating agency’s drop of the nation’s credit rating and international economic developments helped trigger several days of plunging stock prices. But…

Sep 1, 2011 6:40 AM CDT

Bellows Calls for United Effort

In her first official address to the House of Delegates as ABA president-elect, Laurel G. Bellows spoke to the strength of the organization during the Great Recession and the important lobbying role of the ABA’s policymaking body on lawmakers. Bellows will automatically become president next August at the ABA Annual…

Sep 1, 2011 6:30 AM CDT

From Many Voices, A Call for Public Civility

Photo of outgoing ABA President, Steve Zack, at the ABA Annual Meeting by Stephanie Lake/Canadian Press. Outgoing ABA President Stephen N. Zack called on lawyers to take the lead in returning civility to a public arena that has come to be dominated by anger and insult. Speaking at the opening…

Sep 1, 2011 6:20 AM CDT

Defending Birthright: ABA House Urges Rejection of Proposals to Limit Citizenship

The ABA House of Delegates voted in Toronto to urge federal lawmakers to reject attempts to change the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution regarding birthright citizenship. Resolution 303 (PDF) “urges Congress to reject any resolution proposing an amendment to the United States Constitution that would alter, in any way,…

Sep 1, 2011 6:10 AM CDT

Breyer: Civics an Issue in Blue and Red

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer says he has seen the evidence that America is be coming increasingly polarized, and it’s colored in red and blue. Breyer tells of looking at two maps, one from 1976 and the other from 2011. Counties where elections were a “landslide” in favor…

Sep 1, 2011 6:00 AM CDT

Military Tribunals Draw No Flak

If there is significant opposition to the U.S. war on terror, it wasn’t apparent in a roomful of lawyers at one annual meeting program. Salli Swartz, outgoing chair of the ABA Section of International Law, mentioned xenophobia and a “mass intrusion on privacy” as she moderated “9/11—A Decade Later and…

Sep 1, 2011 5:50 AM CDT

Silkenat to Lead ABA in 2013

The ABA Nominating Committee turned into a two-man show as the races for the association’s two highest posts became uncontested. James R. Silkenat, a partner at Sullivan & Worcester in New York City, will be selected as the president-elect nominee when the committee next meets in February at the ABA…

Sep 1, 2011 5:40 AM CDT

ABA Rejects Proposed Measure for Collaborative Law Guidelines

After much debate, the ABA House of Delegates rejected a resolution calling for the ABA to approve the Uniform Collaborative Law Rules/Act. Resolution 110B (PDF), submitted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, was turned back Monday by a vote of 298 to 154. In its report…

Aug 9, 2011 6:28 PM CDT

ABA Urges Congress to Reject Changes to Birthright Citizenship Laws

The House of Delegates voted Tuesday in Toronto to urge federal lawmakers to reject attempts to change the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution regarding citizenship birthrights. Resolution 303 (PDF), “urges Congress to reject any resolution proposing an amendment to the United States Constitution that would alter, in any way,…

Aug 9, 2011 5:01 PM CDT

New ABA President-Elect Bellows Calls for Cooperative Efforts on Legal Issues

In her first official address to the House of Delegates as ABA president elect, Laurel G. Bellows, spoke to the strength of the organization during the Great Recession and the important lobbying role of the ABA’s policy-making body on lawmakers. Bellows will automatically become president next August at the ABA…

Aug 9, 2011 3:50 PM CDT

ABA Urges Law Schools to Adopt More Practical Training for Students

The ABA House of Delegates voted Tuesday to adopt a resolution to urge law schools to more adequately prepare law students for the real-life experience of practicing law and bolster CLE training to better bridge the gap between law school and actual practice. Submitted to the House in a late…

Aug 9, 2011 2:59 PM CDT

ABA Asks US Government to Address Heavy Student Loan Debts

In the face of mounting debt among the nation’s students, the ABA House of Delegates voted today to urge the U.S. government to provide for more flexible and competitive terms for federal student loans. The House also passed a resolution that calls for increased transparency in the reporting of employment…

Aug 8, 2011 10:23 PM CDT