ABA Annual Meeting to kick off with appearance by Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein
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Thursday marks the beginning of the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is scheduled to deliver the opening night speech.
Rosenstein, who is overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, will be speaking about the rule of law and the supremacy of the law. Rosenstein was targeted last week in a later-tabled impeachment bid by several House Republicans.
The annual meeting will run Aug. 2-7, and include sessions on immigration law, the #MeToo movement, cyberattacks on court networks, attacks on democratic institutions, solutions to the opioid epidemic, and many other topics. A complete list of events can be found at ambar.org/annual, and on an app available for Apple and Android-based phones.
The meeting is a great opportunity for ABA members to interact with people outside of their own practice areas and ABA entities, ABA President Hilarie Bass told the ABA Journal in an Asked and Answered podcast promoting meeting highlights.
On Thursday, lawyers who want to earn CLE credit can attend a day of seminars in a CLE in the City series. These sessions, held at law firms and law schools, are free to people who those who registered for all-access attendance at the meeting, and cost $35 a session for others.
On Friday, Chicago-based performers from Broadway, cabaret and local companies will perform to raise awareness about the important work of the Legal Services Corp. It’s the second year for such an event. Last year’s concert in New York City “was a phenomenal concert,” Bass said.
Rosenstein is among several high-profile people making appearances at the meeting. Others include former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder; Tina Tchen, founder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund; Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative.
On Saturday, Stevenson is receiving the ABA’s highest honor, the ABA Medal, for his public interest work dedicated to helping poor and imprisoned people.
Holder, who is considering a run for president, is receiving the Thurgood Marshall Award on Saturday from the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice. He is being honored for his efforts to protect civil rights and to promote the rule of law. Ifill will be the keynote speaker at the event.
Tchen is one of five women receiving the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award on Sunday. The award recognizes the accomplishments of women lawyers. She will also appear with Bass at a Thursday program on sexual harassment in the workplace.
It’s not the only discussion of the #MeToo movement on the agenda. Another panel on Thursday will consider best practices in a #MeToo world, along with a discussion of Rule 8.4(g) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibits lawyers from engaging in harassing or discriminatory conduct. Sexual harassment is the subject of another program on Saturday sponsored by the Section of Civil Rights and Justice, with a panel that includes Jenny Yang, the former chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Another Saturday event is the ABA JusticeHack Chicago 2018, where participants will spend the day at John Marshall Law School developing apps to address challenges facing law enforcement and communities of colors.
The policy-making ABA House of Delegates meets next Monday and Tuesday, where it will review a number of resolutions, including proposed changes to the ABA Model Rules that affect lawyer advertising and communications with clients. Also before the House are proposed changes to rules and procedures affecting how the ABA accredits the nation’s 204 law schools.
During the House of Delegates’ Monday recess, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative will hold its annual luncheon, honoring outstanding pro bono providers and international human rights advocates. A discussion on the rule of law challenges of international migration will be held by former UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Alex Aleinikoff and Judge Margaret McKeown of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
At the close of the annual meeting, Bass’ term in office will conclude, and she will pass the gavel to the president-elect, Robert M. Carlson.
To follow the ABA Journal’s annual meeting coverage, click here or follow #ABAAnnual on Twitter.
