Midyear Meeting

Provide legal counsel at public expense for when physical liberty is at stake, ABA House urges

Legislatures should pass laws ensuring that low-income people are provided with legal counsel at public expense for any proceeding—criminal or civil and regardless of whether it was initiated by a governmental entity—which could result in the loss of their physical liberty, according to a resolution passed by the ABA House…

Feb 5, 2018 8:33 PM CST

ABA House resolutions address juror discrimination, remedies for convictions based on bad science

The ABA House of Delegates overwhelmingly passed two resolutions related to criminal trials on Monday at the ABA Midyear Meeting at Vancouver, British Columbia. In the wake of numerous news stories about flawed forensic science and mix-ups and malfeasance at labs, the House was asked to approve a call for…

Feb 5, 2018 8:30 PM CST

ABA should ‘trumpet the essential values of our democracy,’ says president-elect nominee Martinez

The ABA remains the voice of the legal profession, says ABA president-elect nominee Judy Perry Martinez, and “we must use that voice to trumpet the essential values of our democracy.” Martinez addressed the ABA House of Delegates on Monday at the 2018 ABA Midyear Meeting in Vancouver. She opened by…

Feb 5, 2018 7:15 PM CST

‘We will not stand by and say nothing’ when democratic principles are challenged, ABA president says

In her first six months as ABA president, Hilarie Bass has traveled the globe, visiting a dozen countries and some 30 cities.

She shared one moment from those visits with the ABA’s House of Delegates on Monday.

Feb 5, 2018 6:59 PM CST

ABA executive director urges increased efforts to reverse decline in paid membership

Updated: ABA Executive Director Jack Rives called on ABA leadership Monday to take action to increase lawyer members.

Feb 5, 2018 5:00 PM CST

ABA House passes measure urging curbs on solitary confinement: ‘This is inhumane’

The ABA House of Delegates approved a call to curtail the use of solitary confinement. Legislatures were urged to draw up laws allowing solitary confinement “only in exceptional cases as a measure of last resort, where less restrictive settings are insufficient, and for no longer than is necessary to address…

Feb 5, 2018 4:46 PM CST

Privacy law specialty certification program narrowly approved after spirited debate in ABA House

A spirited debate preceded Monday’s vote by the ABA House of Delegates to allow the accreditation of a privacy law specialty certification program. The program was proposed by the International Association of Privacy Professionals from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Standing Committee on Specialization from the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility…

Feb 5, 2018 2:14 PM CST

Female litigators should be given equal opportunities to gain trial experience, ABA House urges

Law firms, corporate clients, general counsel and the judiciary should all be taking steps to provide women with more opportunities to gain trial and courtroom experience, the ABA House of Delegates resolved Monday.

Feb 5, 2018 1:05 PM CST

Would an overhaul of federal student-loan programs help bring down law school tuition?

Could reforming the federal student-loan program be a way to halt the skyrocketing cost of attending law school? At the 2018 ABA Midyear Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, the American Bar Foundation gathered a panel together to discuss the issue in “The Perennial (and Stubborn) Challenge of Cost, Affordability and Access in Legal Education: Has it Finally Hit the Fan?”

Feb 4, 2018 12:32 PM CST

Could Canada be a refuge for DACA recipients if no immigration deal is reached?

When President Donald Trump canceled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in September, the fate of about 700,000 young adults was thrown into doubt. With DACA recipients set to begin losing their status in March, and no legislation yet agreed upon, could they find a safe harbor in Canada?

Feb 4, 2018 11:46 AM CST

US is an outlier on death penalty attitudes in North America, ACLU attorney says

When it comes to imposing the death penalty, the United States has long outpaced North American neighbors Canada and Mexico, according to the director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project.

Feb 3, 2018 2:00 PM CST

Are you a woman considering running for office? ‘Go for it,’ says Oregon attorney general

Ellen Rosenblum, the first woman to serve as attorney general for Oregon, has a message for all women considering a run for office: Don't overthink it.

Feb 3, 2018 11:20 AM CST

ABA president: Special counsel must be unfettered by threats and intimidation tactics

ABA President Hilarie Bass released a statement on Thursday that said special counsel Robert Mueller should not be undermined by “threats, intimidation tactics and interference by other branches of government.”

Feb 1, 2018 3:35 PM CST

Midyear Meeting kicks off rare contested ABA presidential race

For the first time in years, the presidency of the ABA will be contested at the association's Midyear Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. The contested election is not for the next presidency of the association, which is scheduled to pass to president-elect, Robert Carlson of Montana, at the close of the ABA Annual Meeting in August. Nor is it for the president-elect position for 2018-19, for which Judy Perry Martinez is running unopposed.

Feb 1, 2018 7:00 AM CST

Immigration, access to justice and homeless youth among topics on tap at ABA Midyear Meeting

Though the setting will be Canadian when the ABA Midyear Meeting opens in Vancouver, British Columbia, many of the key topics of discussion will be legal issues Americans are grappling with.

Jan 31, 2018 8:00 AM CST