ABA

Breyer: Nat’l Legal Systems Are Finding Common Ground

Updated: The laws of the United States and other nations are increasingly becoming pieces of a larger fabric as they seek to address issues of common interest, said U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer this afternoon in a speech at the 2007 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. “Law…

Aug 12, 2007 3:20 AM CDT

Records Proposal Pulled After Protests

A controversial proposal to limit access to criminal records to make it easier for convicts to find jobs and housing is being withdrawn by the entities that intended to bring it before the ABA’s policymaking body next week. ABA’s Commission on Effective Judicial Sanctions and the Criminal Justice Section were…

Aug 11, 2007 10:57 PM CDT

Green Lawyers Can Rile SOX Enforcers

Five years ago last week, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act took effect, giving the government a whole new set of tools to fight corporate corruption. Its anti-fraud provisions immediately affected public companies with tougher auditing requirements for officers, directors and outside advisers, including accountants and lawyers. For the first time, prison became…

Aug 11, 2007 9:41 PM CDT

QB Vick Now ‘Poster Boy’ for Animal Rights

NFL football star Michael Vick gained high praise today from animal rights activists gathered at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco—though it was much like a linebacker ready to feast on a quarterback who is looking the other way. “Within seconds of Michael Vick’s indictment for dogfighting, the whole…

Aug 11, 2007 8:01 PM CDT

Legal Thriller Author Shares Success Tips

Success didn’t happen the first time James Grippando tried to sell his legal thriller. Or the second. Or the third time. But eventually, Grippando, a former trial lawyer, found an agent, then a publisher. Grippando shared the pain-to-gain experience during a program at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco,…

Aug 11, 2007 7:11 PM CDT

ABA Prez Calls for FISA Changes

ABA President Karen Mathis on Friday urged Congress to reconsider changes it made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. President George W. Bush signed a bill on Sunday that gives the National Security Agency broader authority under FISA to monitor phone calls, e-mails and other communications between people in the…

Aug 11, 2007 12:24 AM CDT

Anger, Frank Talk Help Promote Diversity

Working to diversify the legal profession–which lags significantly behind corporate counterparts–requires, as a first step, talking clearly about the issue. And sometimes anger helps. Or so Stanley Stallworth found about six years ago, as he was on the verge of making a diversity presentation to the executive committee of the…

Aug 10, 2007 10:01 PM CDT

Nat’l Security Panel: Constitution is Key

Paying attention to the U.S. Constitution and involving Congress in setting American policy on anti-terrorism measures isn’t just the right thing to do, legally. It’s also the best way to ensure an effective national security program, according to a panel discussion today at the ABA Annual Meeting. From conducting warrantless…

Aug 10, 2007 8:52 PM CDT

Justice Kennedy Is Key

It may be the Roberts court, but it’s Kennedy-controlled. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is the new swing vote, three U.S. Supreme Court experts said yesterday at the ABA Annual Meeting. “Obviously, Kennedy is the power center,” said Kenneth Starr, a former U.S. solicitor general who is now dean of Pepperdine’s…

Aug 10, 2007 12:51 PM CDT

Being Karen Mathis

Bright and early this morning, ABA Journal senior writer Terry Carter began taking us behind the scenes at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco with ABA President Karen Mathis, shadowing her for every minute of her 15-hour day, which begins at the bottom of the post and ends at…

Aug 9, 2007 5:51 PM CDT

Kennedy Honored as ‘Advocate for All’

When Justice Anthony M. Kennedy receives the ABA’s highest award on Monday, “it’s likely to mark the continuation, not the culmination, of his work as a catalyst in getting the organized bar to take the lead in promoting democracy and the rule of law,” the ABA Journal reports. Kennedy has…

Aug 9, 2007 1:52 PM CDT

ABA to Weigh Position on Forced Retirement

Aging attorneys will be one of the subjects taken up at the ABA Annual Meeting that begins tomorrow in San Francisco. A resolution before the policy-making House of Delegates calls on law firms to discontinue mandatory retirement policies, the National Law Journal reports. ABA President Karen J. Mathis supports the…

Aug 7, 2007 11:07 AM CDT

ABA Crime Groups’ Goals Spark Criticism

Two ABA groups’ suggestions about limiting access to criminal records—in order to make it easier for convicted criminals to find jobs and housing and thus promote their rehabilitation—have sparked a firestorm of criticism from free speech advocates. In recommendations to the ABA House of Delegates expected to come up for…

Aug 3, 2007 3:52 PM CDT

A Big Tent Goes Up

ABA’s World Justice Project to measure the real impact of the rule of law

Aug 1, 2007 12:46 PM CDT

A Year of Service

Children, retirees and the rule of law benefit