ABA celebrates 'long-standing ties' with Canadian lawyers at annual meeting
For only the fourth time in its nearly 150-year history, the ABA is hosting its annual meeting in Toronto.
The theme of the 2025 ABA Annual Meeting, which runs today through Tuesday, is “Rule of Law Rising: Advancing Law in a Connected World.” It features a full slate of programs that touch on this theme and other crucial topics for the legal profession. The events, along with governance meetings and social gatherings, will be held at the Fairmont Royal York and other locations downtown.
“It is a great time to be in Toronto for the ABA’s 2025 Annual Meeting,” ABA President Bill Bay says. “We celebrate our long-standing ties with the Canadian Bar Association and every Canadian lawyer.”
The ABA and the Canadian Bar Association have worked closely over the years as two English-speaking, common-law countries that share the longest undefended border in the world.
In the past, the ABA held annual meetings in Toronto in 1988, 1998 and 2011, according to the ABA president’s office. The association also hosted annual meetings in Montreal in 1913, 1966 and 1975.
Bay notes that now more than ever, it is important to renew a shared commitment to the rule of law and to the values that long have served the legal profession.
“It is also our opportunity to remind our neighbors and friends in the United States and Canada why the rule of law matters and the vital role that lawyers and bar associations play in defending liberty and delivering justice,” Bay says.
Follow along with the ABA Journal’s coverage of the 2025 ABA Annual Meeting here.
The Canadian Bar Association, along with the Ontario Bar Association and Canadian Bar Association In-House Lawyers, is hosting several programs that are available to attendees of the annual meeting. Under the theme “Bridging Borders: Canadian and U.S. Legal Perspectives,” this includes discussions on U.S.-Canadian business relationships and differences in American and Canadian litigation styles.
“It’s an opportunity to examine where our legal systems intersect and how we can learn from each other in a cross-border context—an increasingly challenging one at that,” Canadian Bar Association President Lynne Vicars says. “By bringing together experts from both countries, we’re offering a comparative perspective that’s practical, relevant and grounded in the needs of today’s legal practitioners.”
The Canadian Bar Association also will co-sponsor a welcome reception and a CLE program on cross-border relations during the annual meeting.
“At a time when legal systems are under increasing pressure to adapt to global challenges—from digital transformation and economic volatility to rising threats to the rule of law—it’s more critical than ever for the legal profession to come together across borders,” Vicars says. “The CBA views this partnership with the ABA as a reflection of our shared responsibility to uphold justice, ethics and professional excellence in a globalized world.”
Among notable governance meetings, the ABA Board of Governors will convene to discuss the association’s business matters, and the House of Delegates will consider nearly four dozen proposed resolutions and amendments during the annual meeting.
At the close of the House meeting, Michelle Behnke, the current president-elect of the ABA, will begin her one-year term as president of the association.
The complete schedule of events and other information can be found on the 2025 ABA Annual Meeting website.
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