Annual Meeting

The ABA and Canadian Bar Put Their Special Relationship into Writing

The U.S. and Canada share perhaps the longest unguarded border of any two countries in the world, running from the Atlantic Ocean across the North American continent. There is an arch spanning one of the many border crossings in sight of the Pacific Ocean south of Vancouver. A message is…

Aug 7, 2011 2:08 AM CDT

ABA President Calls for Return to Civility; Breyer Notes Justices Don’t Raise Voices in Chambers

ABA President Stephen N. Zack today called on lawyers to take the lead in returning civility to a public arena that has come to be dominated by anger and insult. “Civility used to be inherent in public discourse,” Zack said in an address this evening to the Opening Assembly of…

Aug 7, 2011 1:48 AM CDT

Panelists: Judges Should Watch Whom They ‘Friend’ on Social Media and What Friends Post About Them

“When in Rome.” That was the motto extolled Saturday at the ABA Annual Meeting Toronto by a group of jurists who endorsed the use of social media in—and out—of the courtroom. However, adherence to the code of judicial conduct should always govern the courts’ presence on social networks such as…

Aug 6, 2011 11:04 PM CDT

Libya’s Ouster from Human Rights Council Shows Benefits of US Participation, Panelists Say

Libya’s ouster from the United Nations Human Rights Council this spring is evidence of progress, according to participants at an ABA Annual Meeting program. Panelists said the Human Rights Council isn’t perfect, but it is getting better, especially since the U.S. began participating in 2009. The council performed “really pretty…

Aug 6, 2011 10:22 PM CDT

Law Firms Overlook Vulnerabilities to Cyberattacks, Panel Says

While applauding Google’s unprecedented decision to disclose that its networks had been infiltrated by a China-based espionage operation in 2010, panelists at the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto expressed doubts that law firms would disclose similar breaches to clients—despite possible ethical duties to do so. In fact, although lawyers routinely…

Aug 6, 2011 10:16 PM CDT

For Justice Breyer, the Need for Civic Education Is as Clear as Blue and Red

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer says he has seen the evidence that America is becoming increasingly polarized, and it’s colored in red and blue. Breyer tells of looking at two maps, one from 1976 and the other from 2011. Counties where elections were a “landslide” in favor of…

Aug 6, 2011 5:38 PM CDT

NALP Backs Off Threat to Sue ABA, Renews Spirit of Collaboration

Following a threat to sue earlier this week, James G. Leipold, executive director of the National Association for Law Placement appeared before the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar council meeting Friday, ready to make amends. Leipold, along with NALP president Marcelyn R. Cox, were invited…

Aug 5, 2011 9:50 PM CDT

Scalia Has Had an Impact, But Is It Lasting? Supreme Court Experts Disagree

Just how influential is Justice Antonin Scalia? USA Today’s Supreme Court reporter, Joan Biskupic, is offering some hard evidence in the debate. Scalia has written several blockbuster majority opinions this term, suggesting that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. trusts him to “hold five,” Biskupic says. At an ABA Annual…

Aug 5, 2011 9:30 PM CDT

With a Show of Hands, Lawyers Endorse Military Commissions over Civilian Trials

If there is significant opposition to the U.S. war on terror, it wasn’t apparent in a roomful of lawyers on Friday. Salli Swartz, chair of the ABA Section of International Law, mentioned xenophobia and a “mass intrusion on privacy” as she moderated an ABA Annual Meeting program on the impact…

Aug 5, 2011 7:39 PM CDT

As Nonlawyer Vendors, Would-Be Clients Take on More Legal Tasks, How Can Practitioners Get Ahead?

Increased competition from nonlawyer entities and blurred distinctions between legal and nonlegal work are just two of the major impactors redefining modern law firms, regardless of their size. As a result, lawyers need to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit more than ever. Indeed, they should distinguish themselves by providing value, beyond…

Aug 5, 2011 6:54 PM CDT

NY State Bar Urges ABA to Encourage Law Schools to Focus on Educating ‘Practice Ready’ Attorneys

Corrected: Arriving at the American Bar Association’s annual meeting in Toronto with a draft resolution in hand, the New York State Bar Association is urging the ABA to consider increasing the focus on teaching practice skills to law students while they are still in law school. “Legal education should have…

Aug 5, 2011 1:59 PM CDT

Pro Bono Goes High-Tech, and Homeless Veterans Benefit

Skype can be used to talk to your spouse, catch up with a friend, or talk over a business matter. The Minnesota Justice Foundation has found another use for the technology—linking low-income people in need of legal help with lawyers who have the expertise to counsel them. This spring, the…

Aug 4, 2011 11:53 PM CDT

Hispanic Rights Commission to Ask ABA to Take Stand Against Efforts to Limit Birthright Citizenship

The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates is being asked to take a stand opposing efforts to limit the right to U.S. citizenship for anyone born in this country, regardless of the status of their parents. The recommendation, submitted as a late report (PDF) by the Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights…

Aug 4, 2011 11:28 PM CDT

ABA Annual Meeting Gets Under Way in Toronto, Features Prominent Jurists

Not one, but two U.S. Supreme Court Justices will join the more than 5,000 lawyers gathered in Toronto this week for the ABA Annual Meeting. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer and retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will speak on the state of civil education in the nation’s schools…

Aug 3, 2011 7:22 PM CDT

ABA Plan to Collect Detailed Law School Employment Data Riles NALP

The ABA’s latest plan for collecting more detailed employment and placement information about law school graduates has created a rift with the National Association for Law Placement. Under the new plan, the ABA would collect the data directly from the schools rather than rely on NALP to collect and process…

Aug 2, 2011 8:39 PM CDT