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Bar News - October 17, 2003 ABA Actions at Annual Meeting Reviewed By: L. Jonathan Ross THE AMERICAN BAR Association held its 2003 annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif., Aug. 6-12, 2003. It featured a wide variety of programs sponsored by committees, sections, and affiliated organizations. The following is a summary of actions and policy discussions conducted there. Officers, Nominations At the end of the session, the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association met for two days. During the meeting of the House, Dennis W. Archer of Michigan became the first African-American president of the American Bar Association and Robert J. Grey, Jr. of Virginia, also an African-American, became president-elect of the Association. New Hampshire was represented in the House of Delegates by ABA State Delegate Stephen L. Tober of Portsmouth; Jack L. Middleton of Manchester, former ABA secretary; and New Hampshire Bar Association Delegate L. Jonathan Ross of Manchester. The Nominations Committee heard presentations from candidates for ABA offices. Running for president-elect are Michael S. Greco of Massachusetts and Earle F. Lasseter of Georgia. Candidates for chair of the House of Delegates are Donald Bivens of Arizona and Stephen N. Zack of Florida. The candidate for treasurer is William T. Robinson, III of Kentucky, while four candidates are vying for secretary: Armando Lasa-Ferrer of Puerto Rico; John L. McDonnell, Jr. of California; Cara Lee T. Neville of Minnesota; and Joseph J. Roszkowski of Rhode Island. The election will be held in San Antonio, Texas in February 2004. Task Force on Corporate Responsibility The House of Delegates adopted recommendations from the Task Force on Corporate Responsibility. ABA Model Rules of Conduct Rule 1.6(b) was amended to permit a lawyer to reveal information relating to representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary (Report 119A). The House adopted Report [119B] amending Rule 1.13 to require the lawyer for an organizational client to report certain violations of law to a higher organizational authority in certain circumstances, unless reasonably believed not to be necessarily in the best interest of the organization. Lastly, the House adopted Report [119C] providing for corporate governance policies and related government practices that involve structural and procedural reforms designed to enhance the independence and resources of outside directors of public corporations, increase the flow of material information and analysis to those directors, and enhance the ability of lawyers representing public corporations to exercise and bear independent professional judgment. Criminal Justice, Patriot Act Concerns The House adopted a policy recommending that all interrogations of criminal suspects held at police precincts, courthouses, detention centers or other places where suspects are held for questioning be videotaped, and also adopted the ABA Criminal Justice Standards on Collateral Sanctions and Discretionary Disqualification of Convicted Persons, dated August 2003. With respect to enemy combatants, Report [301], as approved, calls upon Congress and the executive branch to ensure that all defendants in any military commission trials have the opportunity to receive the zealous and effective assistance of civilian defense counsel. Also, Report [112B], sponsored by the Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section, was adopted urging Congress to conduct a thorough review of the implementation of the powers granted to the executive branch under the PATRIOT Act of 2001 before considering any extension or expansion of surveillance authority under the Act. Family Law Issues In the family law area, the House adopted Report [116B], Standards of Practice for Lawyers Representing Children in Custody Cases, dated August 2003, which clarifies that a lawyer remains a lawyer whether representing a child or a child's best interests. The Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section also supported a proposal that court decisions permit the establishment of legal parent-child relationships through joint adoptions and second-parent adoptions by unmarried persons who are functioning as a child's parents when such adoptions are in the best interests of the child. The House also approved this recommendation. Judicial Salaries, Protection of Independence The ABA has a standing policy to recommend increases in federal judicial salaries and the House adopted a similar proposal as it related to state judiciary. The House of Delegates adopted revised Report [103] concerning Principles and Conclusions of the Commission on the 21st Century of the Judiciary, dated August 2003. The report seeks to ensure judicial independence, accountability and efficiency and urges all state, local and territorial bar associations to ensure the integrity of state and territorial judiciaries by promoting the implementation of the report's principles and conclusions. An amendment to the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct was adopted in light of certain First Amendment challenges to judicial campaign speech restrictions. Law School Loan Forgiveness The House approved a recommendation submitted by the Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness reaffirming encouragement of law schools; state, local and territorial bar associations and foundations; IOLTA programs; public service employers and others to establish such programs and to give public service scholarships to enable law graduates to accept and remain in lower-paying government and public service legal employment. Proposed Definition of Practice of Law Not Adopted There was debate about the definition of the practice of law, and the model definition of the practice of law initially proposed by an ABA Task Force was not adopted. ABA Medal Presented During the course of the meeting, Talbot D. "Sandy" D'Alemberte of Florida was awarded the ABA Medal, the Association's highest award. Former President D'Alemberte was very active in the Commission on Federal Election Reform, worked extensively with the Commission on Women in the Profession, the Standing Committee on Legal Education, the Central and East European Law Initiative and many other ABA entities. Attorney D'Alemberte is a true hero and leader within the organized Bar, and the award was well deserved. The ABA next meets in February 2004 in San Antonio, Texas. L. Jonathan Ross, the NHBA association delegate, is a member of the ABA's House of Delegates. He practices with the Manchester law firm of Wiggin & Nourie and is a former president of the NH Bar. For more information about the ABA, visit www.abanet.org.
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