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ABA Announces Nominations

By James Podgers

April 1, 2010, 5:28 am CDT

The quirks of the ABA’s governance rules gave rise to an unusual circumstance in February when the Nominating Committee of the House of Delegates announced candidates for all of the association’s top officer posts.

The Nominating Committee also announced candidates for nine seats on the Board of Governors. The House will vote on the nominees in August when it convenes at the 2010 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The committee’s selections are virtually assured of being elected.

For the first time since 2004, the committee named candidates to serve as president-elect, chair of the House, secretary and treasurer. That alignment of nominations does not occur more often because the terms of those positions are not the same.

Under the ABA Constitution, Bill Robinson of Florence, Ky., will serve as president-elect for a year after the House confirms his selection in August. He will then serve a one-year term as president starting in August 2011 at the close of that year’s annual meeting in Toronto.

Linda A. Klein of Atlanta, the nominee for chair of the House of Delegates, will begin serving a two-year term in that position starting at the close of the 2010 annual meeting.

The Nominating Committee’s selections for secretary, Cara Lee Neville of Minneapolis, and treasurer, Lucian T. Pera of Memphis, Tenn., will serve three-year terms starting in August 2011.

The nominees to the 38-member Board will serve three-year terms starting in August. Six of the nominees will represent regional districts. Two will represent sections, and one will serve as a woman member-at-large.

BILL ROBINSON

President-Elect

WHO HE IS: Member-in-charge of the northern Kentucky offices of Frost Brown Todd, he also has an office with the firm in Cincinnati. ABA treasurer in 2005-08. Served on the Board of Governors in that capacity after serving earlier term in 2000-03. Chaired Finance Committee in 2002-03. Current member of Strategic Planning Committee. Member of House of Delegates in 1986-2003 and again since 2004. Member of Nominating Committee in 1989-98. Chaired House committees on Hearings in 1990-91; State and Local Bars in 1996-98; and Technology in 1998-2000. Chairs Standing Committee on Governmental Affairs. Past chair of standing committees on Bar Activities and Services (1993-94) and Substance Abuse (1998-2000). Member of Standing Committee on Audit in 2003-04. Council member for Senior Lawyers Division. Member of American Bar Foundation Board of Directors. Served as 50th president of Kentucky Bar Association in 1985-86. President of National Caucus of State Bar Associations in 1995-96. Member of executive council of National Conference of Bar Presidents in 1987-90. Received JD in 1971 from University of Kentucky College of Law in Lexington.

LINDA A. KLEIN

CHAIR HOUSE OF DELEGATES

WHO SHE IS: Managing shareholder, based in Atlanta, of the Georgia offices of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, and a member of the firm’s board of directors. Member of ABA House of Delegates since 1998 (currently represents State Bar of Georgia). Member of House Committee on Technology and Communications. Immediate-past chair of Committee on Rules and Calendar. Chairs ABA Coalition for Justice and serves on Coordinating Council of the Justice Center. Member of Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services in 2001-04, and Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services in 2000-01. Past member of Standing Committee on Publishing Oversight. Chaired Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section in 2003-04. Recipient in 2004 of Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award sponsored by Commission on Women in the Profession. In 1997-98, served as first female president of State Bar of Georgia. Member of executive council of National Conference of Bar Presidents in 1998-2001. President of National Caucus of State Bar Associations in 2001-02. Received JD in 1983 from Washing ton and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Va.

CARA LEE NEVILLE

SECRETARY

WHO SHE IS: Minnesota district court judge in Hennepin County since 1986. Member of ABA Board of Governors in 2000-03; and chaired Program, Evaluation and Planning Committee. Member of House of Delegates since 1986 (currently serves on Nominating Committee as state delegate for Minnesota). Secretary of House Committee on Scope and Correlation of Work. Chairs Coordinating Council of ABA Justice Center. Past member of Standing Committee on Judicial Independence. Served on Judges Advisory Committee to Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Past chair of Criminal Justice Section. Member of board of directors for American Judicature Society. President of National Association of Women Judges in 1991-92. Received JD in 1975 from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn.

LUCIAN T. PERA

TREASURER

WHO HE IS: Partner in the litigation practice group at Adams and Reese in Memphis, Tenn. Member of ABA Board of Governors in 1994-97, and chaired Finance Committee in 1996-97. Member of House of Delegates since 1991 (currently represents Tennessee Bar Association). Member of House Committee on Technology and Communications. Special adviser to Standing Committee on Strategic Communications. Past chair of Standing Committee on Technology and Information Systems. Served on Ethics 2000 Commission. President of Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and represents association as liaison to Coordinating Council for ABA Center for Professional Responsibility. Editorial board member for ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct. Received JD in 1985 from Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tenn.

CHERYL I. NIRO

DISTRICT 7

WHO SHE IS: Attorney at RobinsonNiro in Chicago, a consulting firm that ad vises lawyers on ethics issues and strategies for managing change. Served in 2006-09 as executive director of Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. Member of ABA House of Delegates in 1994-2009. Served on House committees on Drafting, Resolution and Impact Review, and Technology and Communications. Member of Standing Committee on Professionalism. Chairs Consortium on Professionalism in ABA Center for Professional Responsibility. Past member of standing committees on Bar Activities and Services, and Medical Professional Liability. Council member for Section of Dispute Resolution in 2000-03. President of Illinois State Bar Association in 1999-2000. Past president of National Caucus of State Bar Associations. Received JD in 1980 from Northern Illinois University College of Law in DeKalb. (District 7 encompasses Illinois and Ohio.)

EDITH G. OSMAN

DISTRICT 8

WHO SHE IS: Shareholder at Carlton Fields in Miami and leader of the firm’s family law practice group. Member of ABA House of Delegates since 1998 (currently represents the Florida Bar). Member of House Select Committee in 2004-07. Member of Commission on Women in the Profession. Member of Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services in 2003-07 and Standing Committee on Judicial Independence in 2000-03. President of the Florida Bar in 1999-2000. Received JD in 1983 from University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables. (District 8 encompasses Florida and Texas.)

JAMES S. HILL

DISTRICT 10

WHO HE IS: Partner at Zuger Kirmis & Smith in Bismarck, N.D. Member of ABA House of Delegates since 1994 (currently represents State Bar Association of North Dakota). President of State Bar Association of North Dakota in 1991-92. Received JD in 1974 from University of North Dakota School of Law in Grand Forks. (District 10 encompasses Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.)

JAMES F. CARR

DISTRICT 11

WHO HE IS: Sole practitioner and mediator in Littleton, Colo. Senior assistant attorney general in Colorado in 1979-81 and 1985-2009. Member of ABA House of Delegates in 1996-2002 and again since 2004 (currently represents Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section). Member of Standing Committee on Specialization. Member of Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law in 1995-98 and chair in 1998-2001. Council member for Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division in 1991-97 and again since 2005. Council member for TIPS in 1999-2002 and again since 2004. Secretary of TIPS in 1997-99. Received JD in 1971 from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. (District 11 encompasses Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma.)

CARLOS A. RODRIGUEZ-VIDAL

DISTRICT 13

WHO HE IS: President of Goldman Antonetti & Córdova in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Chairs firm’s litigation and trial practice department. Member of ABA House of Delegates since 1995 (currently represents Bar Association of Puerto Rico). Received JD in 1982 from Columbia University School of Law in New York City. (District 13 encompasses Alaska, Montana, Oregon and Puerto Rico.)

JAMES DIMOS

DISTRICT 18

WHO HE IS: Member of Frost Brown Todd in Indianapolis. Member of ABA House of Delegates since 1994 (currently represents Indiana State Bar Association). Chairs House Committee on Technology and Communications. Member of Standing Committee on Publishing Oversight. President of Indianapolis Bar Association in 2001. Received JD in 1986 from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. (District 18 encompasses Indiana, Maryland and Washington.)

MARY ELLEN COSTER WILLIAMS

SECTION OF PUBLIC CONTRACT LAW

WHO SHE IS: Judge on U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., since 2003. Served as assistant U.S. attorney in 1983-87. Member of ABA House of Delegates in 2003-08. Member of Commission on Youth at Risk. Member of President’s Task Force on Government Lawyers in 2000-01. Chaired Section of Public Contract Law in 2002-03. Vice-chair of section committees on Contract Claims and Disputes Resolution; Legislative Coordinating; and Membership, Diversity and Outreach. Received JD in 1977 from Duke University School of Law in Durham, N.C.

PETER A. WINOGRAD

SECTION OF LEGAL EDUCATION AND ADMISSIONS TO THE BAR

WHO HE IS: Professor emeritus and former associate dean at University of New Mexico School of Law in Albuquerque. Secretary of ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar in 2005-09 and member of section council in 2000-05. Chaired Special Committee on Transparency in the Ac creditation Process in 2007-08. Participated in section site evaluations of more than 30 law schools across United States since 1978. President of Law School Admission Council in 1989-91. Received JD in 1963 from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass., and received LLM in 1965 from New York University School of Law.

MICHELLE A. BEHNKE

WOMAN MEMBER-AT-LARGE

WHO SHE IS: Principal at Michelle Behnke & Associates in Madison, Wis. Member of ABA House of Delegates since 2008 (currently represents State Bar of Wisconsin). Member of Standing Committee on Membership. Served on Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services in 2005-09, and chaired committee in 2006-09. President of State Bar of Wisconsin in 2004-05. Received JD in 1988 from University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison.