ABA

Lamm Becomes ABA President

Carolyn Lamm assumed the presidency of the ABA at the 2009 Annual Meeting in Chicago, telling the House of Delegates that “the term rule of law may sound like an abstraction, but history is full of evidence that reminds us otherwise.”

Sep 2, 2009 12:50 AM CDT

ABA Sues FTC Over Red Flags Rule

As the Nov. 1 deadline nears for enforcing the Federal Trade Commission’s controversial new Red Flags Rule, the American Bar Association has filed suit over the agency’s inclusion of practicing lawyers in its definition of creditors required to take measures to prevent identity theft. The lawsuit, which was filed in…

Aug 27, 2009 6:50 PM CDT

Where Are They Now? Ex-ABA Leaders Grey and Stein Take on New Roles

Two former ABA leaders are taking on leadership roles in organizations promoting a better legal profession and improved laws. Former ABA President Robert J. Grey Jr. has been appointed interim executive director of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, formed in May to promote diversity in the legal profession, according…

Aug 26, 2009 6:33 PM CDT

ABA Group Launches Pro Bono Website on Domestic Violence

The ABA Commission on Domestic Violence this week announced the first national online directory of resources for attorneys seeking to help victims on a pro bono basis. The new website includes a directory of national programs and the types of services they provide. It also points volunteer attorneys to pro…

Aug 21, 2009 12:06 AM CDT

ABA President Calls Suu Kyi Conviction an ‘Affront to the Just Rule of Law’

ABA President Carolyn B. Lamm is condemning the conviction and sentence of former Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as a violation of international law. Suu Kyi was convicted of violating the terms of her house arrest on Tuesday and sentenced to 18 months of additional house arrest.…

Aug 13, 2009 11:54 AM CDT

ABA Finances: So Far, So Good—and No Dues Increase #ABAChicago

All things considered, the ABA is moving into its new budget year on a solid footing. Not all of the financial news for the ABA is good, Alice E. Richmond cautioned in her report to the House of Delegates on Tuesday, the closing day of the 2009 ABA Annual Meeting…

Aug 6, 2009 4:14 PM CDT

Zack Announces American Bar Academy; Grads to Get Loaded iPods #ABAChicago

Incoming ABA President-Elect Stephen Zack, a partner in the Miami office of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, called on the ABA to create an innovative program of civic education that he called the American Bar Academy. Zack, who begins his one-year term as president-elect at the end of the annual meeting,…

Aug 4, 2009 3:39 PM CDT

ABA Supports Universal Access to Health Care #ABAChicago

The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates today approved a resolution calling for access to quality health care for all Americans, regardless of income. It passed on an overwhelming voice vote, and no one spoke in opposition to the measure. The ABA has been on record since 1972 as being in…

Aug 4, 2009 2:28 PM CDT

Lamm, a White & Case Partner, Becomes ABA President #ABAChicago

Carolyn Lamm, an international trade and litigation lawyer at the Washington, D.C. office of White & Case, assumed the presidency of the ABA today, telling the House of Delegates that “the term rule of law may sound like an abstraction, but history is full of evidence that reminds us otherwise.”…

Aug 3, 2009 9:30 PM CDT

Gay Marriage Measure Passes House Without Debate #ABAChicago

Corrected: The ABA policy-making House of Delegates passed by an overwhelming voice vote a resolution calling on Congress to repeal a section of the Defense of Marriage Act that denies federal marital benefits and protections to lawfully married same-sex couples. Despite the controversial nature of same-sex marriage, no one spoke…

Aug 3, 2009 8:47 PM CDT

AG Holder Calls for Getting ‘Smart on Crime’ #ABAChicago

Drawing a sharp contrast between the Bush and Obama administrations, without ever naming the former, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told the ABA House of Delegates that “we no longer must choose between more prisoners or more crime.” He declared the Department of Justice under his watch will “embrace the…

Aug 3, 2009 8:31 PM CDT

American Samoa Seeks its Place in House of Delegates #ABAChicago

The 92 members of the American Samoa Bar Association will have to wait a while to learn whether they will be granted representation in the ABA House of Delegates. The House on Monday morning declined to amend the ABA Constitution to add one more delegate to its ranks so that…

Aug 3, 2009 7:09 PM CDT

House Considering U.N. Initiative to Bolster World’s Response to Genocide #ABAChicago

When the U.N. General Assembly convened a World Summit in 2005, it set forth the doctrine that states have an obligation to protect their citizens from genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing; and if a state fails to do so, then the responsibility falls to the larger community of nations.…

Aug 3, 2009 5:50 PM CDT

Zack Understands Legal Concerns, Language of Hispanic Community #ABAChicago

It was just one moment in a hallway outside another hotel meeting room, but it offered a telling glimpse into the impact Stephen N. Zack is likely to have when he takes his turn as ABA president. He was giving an interview to a television crew on Friday morning during…

Aug 3, 2009 5:29 PM CDT

With Bill Gates Jr. Looking On, Gates Sr. Accepts ABA’s Highest Honor #ABAChicago

With his son—the founder of a software company in Redmond, Wash.—looking on, Seattle attorney William H. Gates Sr. received the ABA Medal this morning at the House of Delegates meeting in Chicago. The award is the ABA’s highest honor, given to those who advance the jurisprudence of the United States.…

Aug 3, 2009 4:44 PM CDT