ABA House Tackles Packed Agenda; Addresses Practice-Ready Legal Training and Civics
The ABA House of Delegates convened in Toronto this morning to kick off a two-day policy-making session at its 2011 Annual Meeting.
The session opened with the singing of national anthems of the United States and Canada by a quartet of lawyers in both countries who perform in musical groups. But, the Pledge of Allegiance was not said because the State Department advised the ABA that the pledge is not to be said at functions outside the boundaries of the United States.
In her welcoming remarks, Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada stressed the important work ahead for the largest governing body of U.S. lawyers as the country struggles through the Great Recession.
“The ABA is the key player in protecting the institutions of democracy and justice,” Abella said, “and your country has never needed you more.”
The House is expected to tackle a full slate of recommendations, including a late submission from the New York State Bar Association regarding the practical legal training of lawyers.
The Commission on Civic Education in the Nation’s Schools is calling for the ABA to recommend that school boards mandate civic education classes in elementary and high schools. And, the International Property Law Section is recommending that the ABA support the principal that laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas are not eligible for patenting under U.S. law.
The House will also hear from outgoing ABA President Stephen N. Zack, incoming president Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III and Laurel G. Bellows, who will be become president-elect at the end of the meeting.
