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Melanne Verveer
/
June For Friday /
beach
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
REMARKS FOR AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONVENTION
YOUNG LAWYERS DIVISION DINNER
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
AUGUST 1, 1996
[Acknowledgments: Roberta Ramo, ABA president; Raquel Rodriguez,
chair of Young Lawyers Division; Bob Geltzer, event coordinator,
who will introduce you.]
Thank you. I am very honored to receive this award and to
be counted among such a distinguished group of past recipients
and lawyers.
You know, after reading Art Buchwald's syndicated column the
other day, I was a little worried about coming here and being
seen with so many lawyers. Mr. Buchwald says that the one reason
I've been getting so much criticism these days isn't because I'm
Bill Clinton's wife, or a Democrat, or a Chicago Cubs fan; it's
because I'm a lawyer.
But seriously, I am delighted that I could join all of you -
- the members, fellows, and supporters of the Young Lawyers
Division -- tonight.
I want to thank you for the passion and commitment you bring
to serving our communities and to helping all members of our
profession fulfill our most important purpose -- that of making
our society more just, and justice more accessible to all our
citizens.
Through such efforts as the Affiliate Outreach Project, the
Greater Access and Assistance Project, and the Disaster Legal
Services Committee, you have helped countless Americans resolve
disputes, overcome problems large and small, and in turn, gain a
greater respect for our country's system of justice.
I want especially to thank you for your continuing
commitment to the Center on Children and the Law. I am convinced
that the persistent and heartbreaking problems of child abuse,
neglect, and foster care must be addressed seriously by lawyers.
It can't be left to overburdened social workers who are trying to
do their best under very tough circumstances. Lawyers can and
should be leaders in the effort to develop laws and legal
precedents that protect children and strengthen families.
As all of you here tonight have already found out, the most
valuable reward of a Juris Doctor isn't necessarily a six-figure
salary or a precise knowledge of the tax code. Rather it's the
power to serve others in our community, to help those who have no
voice, who do not have the means or the skills to seek justice
for themselves and for their families.
"Freedom. Justice. Liberty. Without lawyers they're only
words" is the theme you are exploring and celebrating at this
year's convention. For millions of Americans, "freedom, justice,
and liberty" will certainly mean little if Congress succeeds in
its short-sighted crusade to destroy a once-bipartisan, 22-year
old American institution, the Legal Services Corporation.
From the very beginning, the Legal Services Corporation has
had to weather many challenges to its existence. I know from my
own experience.
I was just one year out of law school when President Nixon
signed the bipartisan bill creating the Legal Services
Corporation in 1974. My service on the House Judiciary
Committee's impeachment inquiry into President Nixon and I needed
to find a new job. I decided to call the dean of the law school
at the University of Arkansas -- where a young man I knew from
Yale was also teaching -- and asked him if his long-standing
offer of a professorship was still open. The dean said yes. But
when I asked him what he wanted me to teach, he answered, "I
don't know. I'll tell you when you get here."
Two weeks later, I arrived in a place where I had never
lived to take a job I knew nothing about. [Love can do strange
things to a person.] When I went to see the dean, he said, "Well
I've given this some thought. I want you to teach criminal law.
I want you to run the prison projects at the state and federal
prisons. I want you to teach trial advocacy. Oh, and by the
way, I want you to set up and run the new legal aid clinic."
I was already feeling a little overwhelmed and daunted when
I met a prominent judge at the local bar association's welcoming
cocktail party for the law faculty. The president of the bar
introduced me to the judge saying, "Judge, this is the new lady
law professor. She is going to teach criminal law and run the
legal aid clinic." And this tall, distinguished man with a
handlebar gray mustache looked down at me and said, "Well, I
don't have any use for lady law professors or legal aid clinics,
but we're glad to have you here anyway."
I didn't have too much time to let the doubts about my
career choice chase me out of Arkansas, because classes started
the next day. And I went to work -- desperately trying to stay
at least one class ahead of my students, furiously filling out
all the paperwork to create the legal aid clinic, and recruiting
students and volunteers to help. I believed firmly that having
the opportunity to represent real-life clients with real problems
would be an important part of my students' education.
While I have met many more people like that judge over the
past 22 years, legal aid societies have become a part of American
life. Last year, legal services programs throughout the country
helped five million people who otherwise could not afford legal
assistance with evictions, divorces, and child support
collections. As most of you know and have first-hand experience
2
with -- the vast majority of these cases require little more than
basic advice, a referral, a patient ear, a letter, or a phone
call to solve the problem. Very few cases need to be resolved in
the courts.
As President Nixon said when he first proposed the legal
services legislation, "These are small claims in the Nation's
eye, but they loom large in the hearts and lives of poor
Americans."
And from my own experiences, not just as a legal aid lawyer,
but also as a former chair of the Legal Services Corporation, I
know how simple assistance can head off more complicated
problems.
[add personal experiences here?]
As you know, the very survival of the Legal Services
Corporation hangs in the balance. This Spring, despite strong
efforts by the Administration, the ABA, and countless others
around the country, Congress slashed funding for Legal Services
by one third. Congress tied the hands of legal aid lawyers by
banning them from filing class action suits. And even more
language
troubling, the same Congress that touts less federal involvement
in local programs restricted the funds that legal aid programs
asme
are allowed to raise from private sources.
restrictive
ploud restrition
This summer, congressional opponents are continuing their
effort to eliminate legal services. A House committee voted to
slash funding in the new budget by another $100 million to $178.
But there are some on both sides of the aisle who are working to
prevent further harm. Last month, the house passed a bipartisan
amendment to restore most of that funding. The Senate voted to
increase funding for 1997 by $10 million. Hopefully, Congress
will at least hold the line on any further debilitating cuts
while we await a time when a greater commitment to legal services
and "justice for all" will be possible.
I want to thank the ABA for the leadership you have provided
over this past year in the effort to save legal services. And I
want to thank all the private law firms, local bar associations
and individual lawyers for stepping in to fill at least some of
the void created by the drastic cuts. As you already know, pro-
bono hours and donations have long been part of the legal
services equation. There are always more people than can be
helped.
The effort to undermine legal services hasn't just hurt
millions of poor Americans with legal troubles or the hundreds of
dedicated lawyers who have lost jobs they loved. It has harmed
our society's fundamental commitment to justice, to law, and to
progress.
I believe that our society and our profession became truer
3
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with -- the vast majority of these cases require little more than Septem
basic advice, a referral, a patient ear, a letter, or a phone
call to solve the problem. Very few cases need to be resolved in
the courts.
As President Nixon said when he first proposed the legal
services legislation, "These are small claims in the Nation's
eye, but they loom large in the hearts and lives of poor
Americans."
And from my own experiences, not just as a legal aid lawyer,
but also as a former chair of the Legal Services Corporation, I
know how simple assistance can head off more complicated
problems.
Jr In
[add personal experiences here?
time
F496 adopted afrapia
As you know, the very survival of the Legal Services
Corporation hangs in the balance. This Spring, despite strong
your
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efforts by the Administration the ABA, and countless others
around the country, Congress slashed funding for Legal Services
by one third Congress tied the hands of legal aid lawyers by
banning them from filing class action suits. And even more
Kangrage
troubling, the same Congress that touts less federal involvement
in local programs restricted the funds that legal aid programs
are allowed to raise from private sources.
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This summer, congressional opponents are continuing their
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effort to eliminate legal services. A House committee voted to
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slash funding in the new budget by another $100 million to $178.
But there are some on both sides of the aisle who are working to
burget
prevent further harm. Last month, the house passed a bipartisan
amendment to restore most of that funding The Senate voted to
is
increase funding for 1997 by $10 million.
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Congress
will at least hold the line on any further debilitating cuts from accentlends
while we await a time when a greater commitment to legal services
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and "justice for all" will be possible.
14250m afey day
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I want to thank the ABA for the leadership you have provided
almost
over this past year in the effort to save legal services. And I H
200
want to thank all the private law firms, local bar associations
miller
and individual lawyers for stepping in to fill at least some of
the void created by the drastic cuts. As you already know pro-
lesther
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services equation. There are always more people than can be
Pres,
helped.
budget
The effort to undermine legal services hasn't just hurt
millions of poor Americans with legal troubles or the hundreds of
request
dedicated lawyers who have lost jobs they loved. It has harmed
340
our society's fundamental commitment to justice, to law, and to
m.
progress.
I believe that our society and our profession became truer
hi a remarkable
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to our fundamental values with the founding of the Legal Services
Corporation 22 years ago. The thousands of legal aid lawyers and
the many more thousands of private lawyers who donate time to
legal aid work are the heart and soul of our profession. They
are helping our country uphold the one true contract individuals
have with America -- the Constitution, and specifically its
promise of justice for all.
As the President said in a proclamation for National Legal
Services Week: "The very nature of justice demands that it be
available to all. True justice cannot be rationed -- it cannot
be accorded to some while others are denied the full benefit of
their rights. Our founders understood that privilege and
responsibility are inextricably linked. The words "Equal Justice
under the Law," inscribed over the portal of our highest court,
represent a solemn promise made to every American."
Each time a legal aid lawyer helps a mother petition for
child support, or forces a nursing home to live up to its
obligations to its elderly residents, this country and our
profession move closer to our ideals. I'm not asking all of you
to go out and become legal aid lawyers. I'm just asking that all
of us consider what it means to be a lawyer today and what it
would mean to our profession if none of us were able to be legal
aid lawyers. A career in the law should mean a life of service
and a commitment to justice, whether it is in a legal aid office,
a classroom, or a law firm.
As the Fellows and former "Young Lawyers" in this room will
tell you, one of the wonderful things about growing older is
discovering that the struggle for progress is often as important,
if not more so, than the end result. At some point, however
idealistic we may be or have been, we accept that the principles
of fairness, justice, and equality often become flawed in their
application. We accept that we will not solve all the problems
we see in our lifetime. But we keep striving, we keep struggling
for these ideals that we believe must be kept alive. We remain
committed to the promise of a better future.
As so many of you already know, and as many of you are
learning, the cause of justice is worth a lifelong struggle. I
commend you for being willing, in times that are not always
favorable to lawyers, to play leadership roles in a profession
that is so essential to the continue vitality of our country's
cherished ideals.
###
4
My minister gave a sermon recently in which he related the
story in Leviticus about the ancient Israelites who annually
placed all of their miseries and sins on the head of a goat and
then sent the goat off into the wilderness. When the goat reached
the wilderness, the tribe was cleansed of all problems, all
evils, all sins. This is an apt parable for what is happening in
America today. In today's society, the goat is poor children and
their parents. And somehow, we think we can rid ourselves of all
our social problems by scapegoating children and exiling them to
a wilderness of greater poverty and hopelessness.
So today we find ourselves at a crucial moment in our own
history when the very notion of what we stand for as a society is
at stake. Our Constitution reminds us that the twin purposes of
government are to "secure the blessings of liberty" and to
"establish justice."
And, as the President said in last year's Proclamation for
National Legal Services Week: "The very nature of justice demands
that it be available to all. True justice cannot be rationed --
it cannot be accorded to some while others are denied the full
benefit of their rights. Our Founders understood that privilege
and responsibility are inextricably linked. The words "Equal
Justice under the Law," inscribed over the portal of our highest
court, represent a solemn promise made to every American.'
Yet today we find in Congress a broad and mean-spirited
attack on the poor and vulnerable that includes the greatest
threat to the Legal Services program we have ever seen.
Whether we are public service or pro bono lawyers, public
servants or concerned citizens, we must join together to defend
and strengthen the American promise of equal justice. This should
not be a partisan cause, but rather one that speaks to the larger
values and aspirations of our society.
Many organizations represented here tonight have already
made their voices heard, and the President and I applaud you for
speaking out about the importance of the Legal Services program.
I hope all of you will join in reminding America that the
Legal Services program is not just about providing legal help for
the poor, but about offering proof that the American dream of
freedom and justice is a promise that our nation is committed to
fulfilling.
Let me conclude by offering a prayer by the South African
writer and poet, Alan Paton, that seems so fitting tonight:
Open my eyes that I may see the needs of others;
Open my ears that I may hear their cries;
Open my heart so that they need not be without succor;
4
TO
2384012024566244
P.03
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Established the ABA Commission OR Domestic Violence. The Commission consists of
17 national leaders in such fields as law, medicine, social work, law enforcement and
education.
Led the ABA Delegation to the Fourth World Conference on Women and participated
in an ABA sponsored workshop on legislative responses to domestic violence.
Representatives of nine countries worked with the ABA to address common issues and
unique solutions to domestic violence issues.
when you N
Produced in partnership with The Walt Disney Company a video entitled "It's Not O.K.:
have
Let's Talk About Domestic Violence." The video is designed to reach children who have
been exposed to incidents of domestic violence. It has been used as a training tool by
the New York State Family Courts, the California District Attorney's Association and
is being shown to all 13,000 members of the Chicago Police Force.
Produced a handbook for lawyers entitled The Impact of Domestic Violence on Your
Legal Practice. The handbook, a first of its kind, recognizes that all attorneys need to
be able to recognize the issues surrounding domestic violence and be prepared to
respond regardless of their usual area of practice.
Serves on the Attorney General's and Secretary of Health and Human Services' Advisory
Council on Violence Against Women
LEGAL SERVICES
Led the ABA's campaign to save the Legal Services Corporation. Mobilized lawyers
to
across the country into taking an active role in working to preserve access to justice for
all Americans.
RESOURCE TEAM
Established in response to the O.J. Simpson trial an ABA Resource Team for High
Profile Trials. The Team consists of judges, defense counsel, prosecutors, academics
and media representatives. It serves to improve the fair and efficient administration of
justice in high profile trials and enhance public confidence in the American justice
system. It has already been contacted in the Oklahoma City bombing case.
INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY
Worked to defend the independence of the judiciary in light of increasing attacks on
federal judges. Called on all politicians to not weaken the judicial system by using
judges as scapegoats for national problems such as crime.
JUL-28-1996
22:29
FROM AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
TO
2384012024566244
P.01
ABA-RELATED INITIATIVES
Established task forces to examine the way the ABA carries out its mission. Led a
renewed effort to address membership as the Association's top priority which bas resulted
in an Increase in membership numbers over last year.
ANNUAL MEETING
???
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Appeared with Mickey Mouse in promos for the Annual Meeting.
15 seconds on Oprah discussing the courts" response to children in homes where there
is domestic violence
ABA president who, during a trip to London, predicted on the first day of jury
deliberations in the most celebrated and controversial case in American history that a
verdict would be a long time coming, only to reappear that evening when a verdict had
been reached.
TOTAL P.01
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
REMARKS FOR SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
DALLAS, TEXAS
MARCH 5, 1996
[Acknowledgments: Gerald Turner, SMU President; Paul Rogers, Dean of Law School;
Todd Gilbert, President of Student Bar Association; Jackie Gabbidon, [GAB-id-din] Vice-
President of Student Bar Association]
Friends, colleagues, and fellow lawyers; future lawyers and teachers of the law who
are here this evening: Thank-you very much for inviting me to give this eighteenth annual
Roy Ray Lecture.
I welcome this opportunity because it gives me a chance to reflect on what a legal
education and a career in the law has meant in my life -- and could mean in the lives of the
students here in this room. It is also an opportunity to think about the ways a legal career
can fulfill its most important purpose -- to be an instrument of good, a vehicle for making
our society a more just one for all citizens.
I went to law school in the early 1970s, during a time of great political and social
ferment. To me and many aspiring lawyers of my generation, law was an avenue for
positive social change. For helping the vulnerable, the weak, the poor. For protecting the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Then, as now, there were many ways to reach one's goals as a lawyer. One could
become an advocate, a legislator, a teacher, a corporate litigator, a prosecutor, or a public
defender. I'm sure all of those choices will be reflected in the careers you choose when you
leave here. And I know how difficult that choice can be because I've tried a number of
those careers myself.
But being here on a law school campus, I'm reminded mostly of my experiences as a
law professor in Arkansas.
I had never thought of teaching law until the summer of 1974, when my service on
the House impeachment committee was ending and I needed to find a new job. I decided to
call the dean of the law school at the University of Arkansas where a young man I knew
was then teaching -- and took the dean up on his long-standing offer of a professorship.
When I asked him what he wanted me to teach, he answered, "I don't know. I'll tell you
when you get here."
I showed up in Fayetteville in August 1974. And he said, "Well, I want you to
teach criminal law and run the legal aid clinic, and run the prison projects at the state and
federal prisons, and by the way, I want you to teach trial advocacy, too." I swallowed hard
and immediately began trying to figure out how to start.
1
The very first evening I was in town, I was invited to the county bar association's
welcoming cocktail party for the law school faculty. The President of the Bar took me
around to meet everyone. He introduced me to one of the senior judges by saying, "Judge,
this is the new lady law professor. She is going to teach criminal law and run the legal aid
clinic." The judge looked down at me and said, "Well, I don't have any use for either lady
law professors or legal aid clinics."
In the years since that cocktail party, I have met many people like that judge who do
not believe in legal services for people who could not afford them. But despite those
opponents, the Legal Services Corporation, which was founded by bipartisan Congress and
signed into law by President Nixon to fund local legal aid programs, still managed to help
millions of Americans.
After twenty-two years, legal aid societies have become a part of American life. The
Legal Services Corporation is one of the instruments our society has to nurture and practice
one of its most cherished ideals -- that of justice for all Americans.
Last year, legal services programs helped 5 million people who otherwise could not
afford legal assistance. The vast majority of cases handled were non-controversial:
evictions, foreclosures, divorces. Often advice, a referral, a few letters or phone calls were
enough to solve the problem. Very few of these cases needed to be resolved in the courts.
From my own experience as founder of Ozarks Legal Services in Arkansas and as a
former chair of the Legal Services Corporation, I know how such simple assistance can head
off more complicated legal troubles and make a world of difference in the lives of clients.
But today, the very survival of the Legal Services Corporation hangs in the balance.
Over the past year, opponents in Congress have tried to cut funding. Still other members are
determined to kill this vital institution. As of the first of this year, funding for the Legal
Services Corporation in a temporary spending measure was slashed by one-third. LSC's
final fate will be determined later this year.
While private law firms, bar associations, and individual lawyers have increased their
donations and pro-bono hours to make up for some of the lost funds, Legal Aid societies still
have had to scale back dramatically on the number of cases they accept. Entire offices have
closed. Many lawyers have been laid-off.
What that means for American citizens who happen to be poor is that somewhere a
couple and their young children must sleep in an unheated car because of an unlawful
eviction; a woman is cowering in her bedroom, trapped in a marriage to an abusive spouse;
and a child is going to school hungry because his father refuses to pay child support. Under
the Congressional cuts, some 1.3 million people will be denied help.
Congress is also trying to tie the hands of legal aid lawyers by banning them from
2
Fellows Award
filing class action suits. Legal aid lawyers would not be able to bring suits on behalf of a
group of poor citizens who want to challenge unfair housing practices or consumer fraud.
Legal services lawyers also would not be able to participate in cases involving welfare
reform and would be prohibited from lobbying legislatures or governments.
You may be asking how this debate over the very existence of the Legal Services
Corporation affects you -- our nation's future lawyers. Well, it has to do with our society's
fundamental commitment to justice, to law, and to progress.
A famous law school dean [Roscoe Pound, Harvard] once said: "Law must be
stable, and yet it cannot stand still." He meant that law must evolve with the times, offering
the security of permanence and hope for change.
I believe that our society became more just and our profession became truer to its
fundamental mission with the founding of the Legal Services Corporation 22 years ago. The
thousands of legal aid lawyers and the many more thousands of private lawyers who donate
time to legal aid work are the heart and soul of our profession. They are helping our
country uphold the one true contract individuals have with America -- the Constitution, and
specifically, its promise of justice for all.
Each time a legal aid lawyer helps a mother petition for child support, or forces a
nursing home to live up to its contract of taking care of its elderly residents, this country,
this society lives closer to its ideals.
I'm not asking all of you to become legal aid lawyers. I'm just asking you to
consider how the law can and does affect the daily lives of people at every level of society.
A career in the law should mean a life of service and a commitment to justice. These ideals
are embodied in the work of the Legal Services Corporation, which in the current political
climate needs your support more than ever.
One of the most wonderful things about growing older is discovering that the struggle
for progress in our society is often as important as the end result.
At some point, however idealistic we may be, we accept that the principles of
fairness, justice, and equality often become flawed in their application. We accept that we
will not solve all problems in our lifetimes.
But we keep striving, keep struggling for these ideals because we have to keep alive
commitment and hope for the next generation.
As so many of you already now, and as so many of you will learn, the cause of
justice is worth a lifelong struggle. Thank-you.
###
3
Page 3
1ST STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1996 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
July 30, 1996, Tuesday, Final Edition
SECTION: STYLE; Pg. E01; ART BUCHWALD
LENGTH: 505 words
HEADLINE: That's No Lawyer, That's My Wife
BYLINE: Art Buchwald, Los Angeles Times Syndicate
BODY:
Republicans are trying desperately to make Hillary Clinton the political
issue of the campaign. I know this because I keep hearing from people who ask
when I'm going to stop bashing Bob Dole and begin pummeling the first lady.
The policy of this column is to defend first ladies, no matter what political
party they are affiliated with. This is because, without exception, they are
much brighter than their spouses, and America needs them to keep their husbands
from screwing up the country.
Mrs. Clinton has created more heat than most presidential wives, and we need
to examine why.
Her problem is not that she is married to the president, or even that she is
one of the most active first ladies we have had but rather that Mrs. Clinton
is a lawyer.
This is not a sexist thing. Lawyers can get into trouble just because they
are destined to be the wife of the president of the United States.
During all the time she practiced law with the Rose firm in Arkansas, she
probably never said to herself, "I better be careful about how I handle this
because someday I'm going to be first lady and the special prosecutor will
wonder what kind of advice I gave my clients."
In retrospect, it is regrettable that some of Mrs. Clinton's clients turned
out to be scoundrels, but scoundrels are what pay a law firm's rent. As a
lawyer, Mrs. Clinton had only one role, and that was to save her clients from
going to jail.
But now she is being criticized for doing even that. Isn't this what
lawyers get paid to do? If she had stayed in Little Rock nobody would have cared
if Mrs. Clinton had left her fingerprints on the billing records. It was only
when she moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. that her Rose Law Firm work took on a
new significance. I doubt that there's a lawyer in America who could withstand
the kind of scrutiny she has been subjected to concerning the defense of a
client.
Ever since the heat has been on Hillary Clinton, people who hate lawyers (and
Page 4
The Washington Post, July 30, 1996
we're talking tens of millions) have come to believe that she did something
wrong.
I don't subscribe to this. Just because some of her clients were scalawags
does not detract from the fact that she is a fine first lady. Any lawyer in
Arkansas would have done the same things she did -- and probably has.
As for Mrs. Clinton's Whitewater investment -- the whole country knows that
it was lousy. In hindsight, if the president and first lady had their druthers,
they would have invested in Mozambique Telephone Bonds.
If we were to question further the animosity toward Mrs. Clinton, we would
probably discover that it was because many people think that she is smarter than
her husband. Even if this is true, and I'm not saying it is, it is a mistake to
criticize her. Having an intelligent female lawyer in the White House is a big
plus for the country, and we will all benefit from it.
When someone tells the president, "My country right or wrong," only a woman's
legal advice could instruct him on what would be the right thing to do.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: July 30, 1996
[158] May 5
Public Papers of the Presidents
U. ALEXIS JOHNSON, Career Ambassador, Un-
with great distinction. Their exceptional
der Secretary for Political Affairs, Depart-
achievements have moved the Nation for.
ment of State.
DR. EDWARD F. KNIPLING, Director, Entomol-
ward in such diverse fields as budgeting
ogy Research Division, Agricultural Re-
and finance, international relations, envi-
search Service, Department of Agriculture.
ronmental science, lifesaving surgical
DR. FRED LEONARD, Scientific Director, Army
techniques, and the world's monetary sys-
Medical Biomechanical Research Labora-
tem. I know all of you share my gratitude
tory, Walter Reed Army Medical Center,
for their superlative, although usually
Department of the Army.
GEORGE H. WILLIS, Deputy to the Assistant
anonymous services to their country.
Secretary for International Affairs, De-
RICHARD NIXON
partment of the Treasury.
NOTE: The memorandum was dated May 4,
These individuals are outstanding
1971, and released May 5.
among the many men and women who
The President presented the awards for 1971
serve their country and fellow citizens
in a ceremony at the White House on May 5.
159 Special Message to the Congress Proposing
Establishment of a Legal Services Corporation.
May 5, 1971
To the Congress of the United States:
port to the legal services concept. The
In the long, uphill struggle to secure
concept has also had the support of both
equal rights in America, the Federal pro-
political parties.
gram of legal services for the poor is a
The crux of the program, however, re-
relative newcomer to the cause. Yet it has
mains in the neighborhood law office.
already become a workhorse in this effort,
Here each day the old, the unemployed,
pulling briskly and tirelessly at the task
the underprivileged, and the largely for-
as the Nation moves ahead.
gotten people of our Nation may seek
The legal services program began six
help. Perhaps it is an eviction, a marital
years ago as a small experiment within
conflict, repossession of a car, or misun-
the Office of Economic Opportunity. It
derstanding over a welfare check-each
grew swiftly, so rapidly that today more
problem may have a legal solution. These
than 2000 lawyers work for the poor in
are small claims in the Nation's eye, but
some 900 neighborhood law offices. No
they loom large in the hearts and lives of
less than a million cases a year are now
poor Americans.
processed by these dedicated attorneys,
with each case giving those in need new
A NEW DIRECTION
reason to believe that they too are part
of "the system."
The Nation has learned many lessons
A large measure of credit is due the
in these six short years. This program has
organized bar. Acting in accordance with
not been without travail. Much of the liti-
the highest standards of its profession, it
gation initiated by legal services has
has given admirable and consistent sup-
placed it in direct conflict with local and
618
Richard Nixon, 1971
May 5 [159]
State governments. The program is con-
second, that the lawyers in the program
cerned with social issues and is thus sub-
have full freedom to protect the best in-
ject to unusually strong political pressures.
terests of their clients in keeping with the
Even though surrounded by contro-
Canons of Ethics and the high standards
versy, this program can provide a most
of the legal profession; and third, that the
effective mechanism for settling differ-
Nation be encouraged to continue giving
ences and securing justice within the sys-
the program the support it needs in order
tem and not on the streets. For many of
to become a permanent and vital part of
our citizens, legal services has reaffirmed
the American system of justice.
faith in our government of laws. How-
ever, if we are to preserve the strength of
INDEPENDENCE FOR THE CORPORATION
the program, we must make it immune
to political pressures and make it a per-
True independence for a corporation
manent part of our system of justice.
created by the Government demands a
For two years, this administration has
governing body drawn from a wide spec-
studied means of delivering improved,
trum and safeguarded against partisan in-
high quality legal services to those in need,
terference after its appointment. I believe
as well as the question of what the proper
that we can best meet these requirements
role and structure of the legal services pro-
by appointing the board of directors for
gram should be. In 1969, we upgraded
the Legal Services Corporation on the
the status of legal services, recognizing it
following bases:
as a separate program within the Office
-The members of the board should be
of Economic Opportunity. Because of its
appointed by the President, by and
importance, I also specifically asked the
with the advice and consent of the
President's Advisory Council on Executive
Senate.
Organization (The Ash Council) to ex-
-The board should consist of eleven
amine the question, and last November
members, no more than six of whom
the Council recommended that the Gov-
may be of the same political party.
ernment create a special corporation for
-A majority should be members of the
the program. The role of legal services
bar of the highest court of a juris-
lawyers was also considered by the recent
diction, and none should be a full-
White House Conference on Youth, and
time employee of the United States.
a task force there expressed strong con-
-Members should be appointed for
cern that the independence of these at-
three-year terms and serve no longer
torneys be maintained.
than nine years consecutively.
Today, after carefully considering the
-The board chairman should be
alternatives, I propose the creation of a
elected by the members from among
separate, nonprofit Legal Services Cor-
their number and serve a term of
poration. The legislation being sent to
one year.
the Congress to accomplish this has three
-No board member should be involun-
major objectives: First, that the corpora-
tarily removed except by a vote of
tion itself be structured and financed so
at least seven members, and only for
that it will be assured of independence;
reasons of malfeasance, persistent
619
[159] May 5
Public Papers of the Presidents
neglect, or inability to perform. Po-
or contract for that area, so that full con-
litical pressures cannot be a basis for
sideration could be given to the views of
removal.
that executive. Thus the legitimate con-
These provisions, all painstakingly de-
cerns of the jurisdiction involved could be
signed to insulate the board from outside
taken into account before proceeding,
pressures, find an apt precedent in the
but the corporation would retain its
corporation created four years ago to
independence.
promote freedom and initiative in non-
As yet another guarantee of that in-
commercial broadcasting. In establishing
dependence, and also to assure continuity
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,
and facilitate long-range planning, I pro-
the Congress was once again dealing with
pose that funding by the Congress be
a sensitive area of our national life, and it
appropriated on a three-year basis.
chose much the same course that I am
recommending today.
INDEPENDENCE FOR THE LAWYER
The primary mission of the Legal Serv-
ices Corporation should be the review and
While it is important to insulate the
approval of applications for funds sub-
corporate structure so that public funds
mitted by neighborhood law offices, spe-
can be properly channeled into the field,
cial units of private law firms, and other
it is even more important that the lawyers
attorneys who seek to provide legal as-
on the receiving end be able to use the
sistance to the poor. The decision in the
money ethically, wisely and without un-
case of each individual grant or contract
necessary or encumbering restrictions.
should be made by the corporation's pres-
The legal problems of the poor are of
ident-an official employed by the
sufficient scope that we should not restrict
board-based upon guidelines established
the right of their attorneys to bring any
by the board.
type of civil suit. Only in this manner can
To advise the board of the Legal Serv-
we maintain the integrity of the adversary
ices Corporation, I propose that an ad-
process and fully protect the attorney-
visory council also be established with its
client relationship so central to our judi-
membership including eligible poor clients
cial process.
and representatives of the organized bar.
At the same time, it would be a waste
As a further means of assuring its in-
of our resources and a dilution of the legal
dependence, I recommend that grants
services program if these same lawyers
made by the corporation to neighborhood
were also to become involved in criminal
offices and other recipients not be subject
suits, since legal representation in crimi-
to veto by governmental officials. It is
nal cases is already available to the poor
important, however, that State and local
under many other programs. Counsel for
officials be given ample notice of new
the indigent has been held by the Supreme
grants. Therefore, I propose that the cor-
Court to be a constitutional requirement
poration be required to notify the Chief
in felony cases. States now provide for
Executive Officer of the State, Common-
such counsel, and the Federal Govern-
wealth, District of Columbia or possession
ment has made substantial sums of money
at least 30 days prior to approving a grant
available for criminal representation.
620
Richard Nixon, 1971
May 5 [159]
Thus I propose that legal services
ceed in so delicate an undertaking we
lawyers be prohibited from criminal
must devise a program which will have
representation.
the full support not only of the Congress
For this same reason, legal services at-
and the executive branch, but of the peo-
torneys who are given full-time grants or
ple as well.
contracts should devote their entire pro-
The full financial support of the govern-
fessional efforts to representation of eligi-
ment is clearly needed in this endeavor.
ble clients, and should not be permitted to
I propose that upon the date of incor-
engage in the outside practice of law.
poration, all of the funds then appropri-
Certain lobbying activities, as well as
ated for legal services activities in the
partisan political action, should also be
Office of Economic Opportunity, includ-
proscribed. The latter two activities would
ing those for research and training,
be another dilution of resources, and
be transferred to the Legal Services Cor-
would have the further disadvantage of
poration, so that it can undertake exist-
placing the Legal Services Corporation
ing Office of Economic Opportunity
itself squarely in the political arena,
obligations.
where it does not belong-and thus invit-
To help us broaden the attack on our
ing those political pressures from which
unmet needs, I am also proposing two new
its independence is designed to insulate it.
initiatives:
On the other hand, these limitations
-First, I propose that specific authori-
should not impair the right of the legal
zation be given for grants to indi-
services attorney to prepare model legis-
vidual lawyers. This will increase the
lation or to respond to the inquiries of
opportunity for the private bar to
legislators. Such actions are traditionally
participate in legal services and will
within the scope of the attorney's right to
enable the corporation to channel
represent a client and must be preserved.
greater resources into rural areas.
-Second, I propose that the Legal
STRENGTH FOR THE FUTURE
Services Corporation be authorized
to identify the principal legal prob-
In discussing the broad contours of this
lems of the poor involving the Fed-
program, we must not overlook the chal-
eral Government and then work with
lenges ahead. The Nation can be proud
appropriate governmental agencies
that we have come so far already.
in trying to solve them. Hopefully,
Under this administration alone, the legal
this effort might in many cases elimi-
services caseload has increased some
nate the need for poor persons to
97%-from approximately 610,000 cases
seek redress in our overcrowded
in fiscal year 1969 to an estimated
courts. It would also conserve the
1,200,000 cases in fiscal year 1971-and
resources of the corporation with-
the budget allocations have increased dur-
out denying to any lawyer the right
ing this period by approximately one-
to bring a suit which he deems
third. Yet today, perhaps four out of every
necessary.
five legal problems of the poor still go
The Federal program of providing legal
unattended. The challenge to us is thus
pay for them is a dramatic symbol of this
a significant one, and if we are to suc-
services to Americans otherwise unable to
621
[159] May 5
Public Papers of the Presidents
Nation's commitment to the concept of
NOTE: The proposed Legal Services Corpora-
contrary, it
equal justice. It is a program both new
tion bill was introduced as S. 1769 and H.R.
greater effo.
and unparalleled by any other system of
8163.
mechanism
On the same day, the White House released
justice in the world. I urge the Congress
a fact sheet summarizing the major features
to join with me in adopting this proposal
of the proposed bill and the transcript of a
to give it new strength for the future.
news briefing on the Corporation by Frank C.
161
R
Carlucci, Director, Office of Economic
RICHARD NIXON
Opportunity.
The White House
Secretary
May 5, 1971
Mitchell, (
guests on tl
160 Statement About Agreements With Panama and
day, the Sa
The Sec:
Colombia To Complete the Pan American Highway.
formed me
May 6, 1971
sentative g
gathered ir
THE AGREEMENTS signed today by
unifying international project.
Secretary of Transportation Volpe,
This effort is possible only because of
single meeti:
it seems to D
Panamanian Minister of Public Works
the strong support it has received from
Fabrega, and Colombian Minister of Pub-
the United States Congress, the Pan
My probl
American Highway Congresses, and the
begin this di
lic Works Duran will enable our govern-
for the occa
ments to begin construction of the last
Governments of the Republics of Panama
major section-the Darien Gap-needed
and Colombia. I firmly believe that the
During th
be briefed Of
to link together existing sections of the
completion of this highway joining the
Pan American Highway System.
Americas will serve as an invaluable sym-
matters by tl
I welcome this development with the
bol of New World unity as well as an
eral Haig,1
others; mat
greatest enthusiasm-I believe that the
avenue of commerce and culture.
completion of the Darien Gap portion
The Darien Gap Highway project calls
every family
over the next several years will constitute
for only 250 miles of new roadway, but
course, that f
live in rural
an historic milestone along the road to
these are a very significant 250 miles. I
concern with
understanding and unity within our
believe that when they are completed, the
What I WC
hemisphere.
Pan American Highway will become a
Upon completion, this link for the Pan
pulsing artery of trade, travel, and under-
remarks is I
American Highway will allow the motorist
standing. It will further the inter-Ameri-
perspective,
to drive the entire 14,000 mile journey
can spirit of solidarity and will accelerate
Secretary of
from Fairbanks, Alaska, to the southern-
the pace of economic growth and social
and the Wh
most tip of South America.
progress in the hemisphere. It will fulfill
salute to Ag:
For a long time experts thought that
a dream which dates back, in the United
America's fa
families alone
this section could not be built: the "bot-
States at least, to a proposal made in the
tomless" Atrato Swamp which it must
Congress in 1884 to build a railroad con-
it was approp
necting the countries of North and South
ciation to Am
cross could not be conquered; the fact
you have dor
that this project will now be undertaken
America.
is a tribute not only to modern engineering
Building this final link in the highways
Brig. Gen.
but also to the determination of our coun-
of the Americas does not represent the
Deputy Assistar
tries to forge this final link in a great,
end of our common undertaking. On the
Security Affairs.
622
Current $278 t arvail
House menuted
more proputers hines
a Concerted effort
when a greater Cannit-
m a bipates am
meal to justice for alls
isice be possible
6vendment
FAE to resistate
This only hogered
because f your efforts
put bruts bring,
0 meen like you X
the leave in Fy 97
beron me country x
but appear lue to 250
too n
ower Committee work
Crdm. waving to
+end tontrague to LSC) of 178-
Cagrees that distri
the scarte walk
Cut (guote 5t8)
Minacceptable.
is $288 Hopefully,
inadequate Mangh
in me conference
metimately me
maintain LSC as
Congres will artere
Lead Poisoning Prevention Project
415-777-5267
7/31/96
@11:57 AM
1/1
July 31, 1996
Dear White House Officials,
1 am writing to urge you to VETO the Welfare Reform Bill. This bill will
endanger America's poorest children and families, and therefore hurt EVERY
American.
Sincerely,
Caroline Mitchell
Caroline Mitchell
521 Easterby St
Sausalito CA 94965
criteria, more caseload reductions,
threaten life or shelter."
a weapon involved?' I'm afraid we're
and more skeletal forms of service.
Often in the past, legal ser-
sending the message that some
"We're doing a kind of triage,"
vices couldn't take on divorce cases
level of violence is acceptable."
laments Phyllis Holmen, executive
unless spousal abuse was involved.
Client populations, whose legal
director of the Georgia Legal Ser-
"Now," says Paula Zimmer,
needs were estimated as being met
vices Program based in Atlanta,
president of Legal Services Associa-
only 20 percent of the time prior to
which so far lost a fourth of its
tion of Michigan, an ad hoc group
the cuts, can expect to receive hast-
staff, going from 185 to 139 in the
representing the state's legal aid of-
ier, more cursory representation, or
past year. "We're only taking emer-
fices, "we have to ask, 'How many
none at all.
gency cases, meaning those that
times were you hit? And was there
Rural Legal Services of Ten-
COMMENTARY
Don't Let Them Kill the LSC
and compassion.
Does it serve a left-wing agenda to
help a farmer in Missouri who is
threatened with losing his farm because
BY JOHN J. CURTIN JR.
Legal Services Corp. is
an illness has led to a fight with an
far from over. The battle
insurance company? There were 250,000
We spend a lot of time
to protect access to
improper farm foreclosures by the
talking about tort reform and
justice is not over.
Federal Housing Administration in the
about improving the civil
last decade.
justice system. Too often,
Ongoing Battles
Is it anti-family to help a young
these discussions are
The effort to kill
woman seek a divorce from and
centered on big cases,
LSC is as old as the act
protective order against an abusive
complex litigation and big
itself. Twenty-one years
husband, to work to ensure that a
money matters. For too many
ago when the original
divorced father meet his obligations to his
Americans, however, the
Legal Services Corp. Act
own children?
legal system is not a matter of
was before Congress, the
Are we really at the point where we
dollars and cents-it is a
very concept was
defeat the will of the American people if
matter of life and death.
attacked.
we demand that reforms of government
Our support for local legal services
Some said that creating local legal
programs meet a simple test-that they
programs funded through the Legal
services programs would allow members
be constitutional?
Services Corp. is, at its core, support for
of the bar to escape their pro bono
Yes, legal services lawyers have
people in these life and death situations.
obligations, that creating a federal
offended many. Because of their success,
It is about providing people a measure of
program would only increase litigation.
the LSC will continue to be under siege.
dignity in dealing with their most difficult
Some even said there really was no need
There are those on Capitol Hill who
problems.
for free legal services.
would strip the Legal Services Corp. of
Last year, lawyers around the
In the 1981 campaign to kill the
any funding in favor of block grants
country rallied to save the LSC. Despite
program, there was a new twist to an old
directly to states. Yet even under ideal
some claims to the contrary, the LSC
argument. Critics said then that local
conditions, block grants would provide far
remains alive. Yes, the LSC now has
legal services programs were the tools of
fewer resources than are necessary to
fewer resources-a cut from $400 million
the ideological left, that programs were
meet even the baseline of legal services
to $278 nationally. Local legal services
being directed by 1960s radicals forcing
to the poor.
lawyers are further restricted in the work
their agenda through class action
they can do. But we still believe that the
lawsuits and politically motivated
Opponents Are Active
LSC-even with less money and more
litigation.
The recently imposed restrictions
restrictions-is worth saving.
In the past several months, the
on local programs make clear that
This "saving" in and of itself is no
historic opponents of legal services have
opponents of legal services will try to kill
small feat. Many had predicted and
added new arguments to the old, that
the LSC, using the strategy of "death by a
worked for the demise of the LSC. One
local legal services programs are anti-
thousand cuts."
senator, at least according to a story that
family-fostering divorces.
If you still doubt that our battle to
may be apocryphal, was quoted last year
Opponents charge that legal
save the Legal Services Corporation is
as saying that even prayer would not save
services programs are destructive to the
really a battle to preserve legal services
the LSC. But prayer, hard work and the
community, more concerned with
for the poor, consider this. Local legal
collective commitment of thousands of
defending drug dealers than with
services programs are now prohibited
lawyers from across the country paid off
cleaning up inner-city housing projects.
from using money they raise on their own
-in part.
Most recently, it is said that the
in pursuit of any case of activity restricted
However, the battle to save the
programs attempt to thwart the political
by Congress. Does this strike you as
winds of change by opposing welfare
incongruous?
John J. Curtin Jr. of Boston
reform. so popular among the American
Imagine a Congress committed to
was president of the ABA during
people.
"divesting" power to the states suddenly
1990-91 and is chair of the Ad Hoc
Lawyers know the truth. Lawyers
taking such a contrary position of federal
Committee on State Justice Initia-
know that what local legal services
control. Congress has limited the
tives.
programs really provide is hope, dignity
advisory boards of local programs from
62 ABA JOURNAL / JULY 1996
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AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
for
YOUNG LAWYERS DIVISION
INFORMATIONAL REPORT TO THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES
AUGUST 1996
Providing leadership in serving the public and the profession and promoting excellence and
fulfillment in the practice of law constitute the mission of the ABA Young Lawyers Division
("YLD"). Its extensive committee structure and network of affiliated organizations set the stage
from which the Division's myriad contributions emanate. With numbers approximating forty
percent of total ABA membership, the Young Lawyers Division plays a central role in influencing
bar participation among newer, or younger lawyers.
After more than sixty years of service to the public and the profession, the YLD continues to lead
the way in presenting innovative service projects, programs, and publications. Included in this
report are the ABA/YLD's Center on Children and the Law, the Division's Affiliate Outreach
Project, Bar Leadership Development Project, special projects on professionalism and minority
issues. enhanced and improved publications. and heightened communications and membership
development/retention efforts.
The Division uses its twelve standing committees to promote child advocacy and protection,
minorities in the profession, participation by young lawyer affiliates in pro bono and public service
activities, continuing legal education, and increased membership in the ABA. Its 28 substantive
committees generate programs as diverse as the delivery of legal services to persons of modest
means and the elderly, aid to the homeless, health care law, family law, and alternative dispute
resolution. Other program areas include citizenship education, substance abuse in the profession,
women in the profession, quality of life issues, law student outreach, and law practice management.
The dedication shared by YLD members enables the Division (1) to address. in a meaningful way.
many of the critical issues facing our society, and (2) to help improve and enhance the professional
lives of its members. The ABA Young Lawyers Division is proud of its public service and
professional development programs and activities, and is pleased to describe several of them herein.
1995-96 SPECIAL PROJECTS
1.
Young Lawyers Division Professional Development Conference
In keeping with its commitment to offer substantive developmental programming for its
membership, the YLD presented its inaugural Professional Development Conference during
the 1996 Midyear meeting in Baltimore. Entitled "Lawyering in the '90s: A Professional
Development Conference for Young Lawyers." this day-long CLE program offered top-
quality speakers on practical issues of importance and concern to young lawyers, including
ethics, professionalism, and day-to-day lawyering. More than 200 persons took advantage
of this tremendously successful conference.
1
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2.
Minority Bar Passage Project
Promoting diversity within the profession continues to be a primary goal of the YLD. This
year, the Division is helping to address the disparate rate of bar passage among minority
exam takers through the development and implementation of specially designed
supplemental bar review courses. These courses are being offered in preparation for the July
1996 Bar Examination in Miami, Florida, and Wilmington, Delaware, and the program will
be implemented in Houston, Detroit, and Los Angeles in preparation for the February 1997
Examination.
3.
Domestic Violence Handbook
During the 1995-96 bar year, the Division highlighted the importance of working to
reduce the incidence of domestic violence nationwide. Part of this effort included the
development and promotion of a Program Guide entitled "Addressing Domestic
Violence in Communities," which contains resources and projects for use by young
lawyer affiliates. The Program Guide also addresses the topics of public awareness,
fundraising, counseling, training, and advocacy topics.
OTHER PROJECT AND COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES
1.
The Affiliate Outreach Project
Since its inception, the Affiliate Outreach Project (AOP) has been dedicated to promoting
public service work within the legal profession. The AOP now encompasses both public
service and professional development projects, and continues to assist more than 325 state,
local and special interest young lawyer organizations in creating. managing and maintaining
their programs. This coordination is accomplished through national conferences, and
technical assistance in the form of site visits, outreach meetings, grants, and publications.
In May 1996, the AOP held its Spring national conference in Tucson, Arizona. More than
350 young lawyer leaders attended workshop presentations that included both public and
professional service projects such as "Conflict Resolution for Youth" and "Alternative
Work Schedules: Improving Your Quality of Life." Twenty-four workshop presentations
were complemented by the development and distribution of as many project pamphlets.
This conference also hosted the recipients of the annual YLD Child Advocacy Law award.
The Division has advanced its commitment to public service by sponsoring community
outreach or fundraising efforts in conjunction with all major YLD meetings. During the
Spring conference, for example, young lawyers raised funds through a charity golf
tournament to benefit Tucson's Brewster Center for victims of domestic violence.
2
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The AOP also produces The Affiliate newsletter which offers direct project assistance and
project clearinghouse functions. Invaluable technical assistance is available to bar
associations through the AOP Affiliate Assistance Program. providing on-site assistance
sessions throughout the bar year. These sessions help affiliates develop well-organized and
financially sound programs.
In addition, the AOP's Public Service Subgrant Program provides seed money to implement
public service projects in communities across the country. This year's program awarded
$36,000 in grant monies for public service projects during the ABA/YLD Midyear Meeting
Assembly. Seed money for member development programming was also provided during
this bar year pursuant to a new member service grants program.
2.
Bar Leadership Development Project
The Division created its Bar Leadership Development Project to provide young lawyer
affiliates with intensive programming and training in the area of bar leadership. The project
epitomizes the ABA/YLD commitment to develop effective bar leaders across the country
and provide them with necessary tools to build well-organized and financially sound young
lawyer organizations. The project's fifth national conference was held in conjunction with
the ABA Midyear meeting in Baltimore. More than 300 young lawyer leaders attended
workshops on a variety of topics including building community coalitions, effective
communications, developing leadership styles, and public speaking. Attendees also received
the Division's Bar Leadership Handbook, an A-to-Z guide for bar leaders to effectively
direct their organization's resources. A special feature of this year's conference provided
young lawyers with the opportunity to meet ABA leaders in order to learn about further
involvement in the ABA.
3.
Access to Justice: Filling the GAAP ("Greater Access and Assistance Project")
Modeled after similar programs in Richmond, Virginia, and Tampa, Florida, this project
provides free legal assistance to the "gap" group, or those persons whose income precludes
them from receiving local Legal Services Corporation entity assistance, but who cannot
afford the services of a private attorney. As a priority of the Young Lawyers Division, the
"GAAP" project has been replicated throughout the country, thanks in part to small "start-
up" grants administered by the YLD.. Thirteen affiliated young lawyer groups have already
implemented a GAAP program in their respective localities, and another twenty-five
organizations are examining the feasibility of implementation.
4.
Responding to the Unmet Legal Needs of America's Children
The Division continues to help address and meet the unmet legal needs of America's
children. In response to a request from the ABA Steering Committee on the Unmet Legal
Needs of America's Children, the YLD continues to help implement many of the
recommendations set forth in the Steering Committee's landmark report, America's Children
at Risk. These efforts include the release of a one-thousand page compilation of more than
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60 public service projects on behalf of children, plus the dissemination of a supplemental
report. Another example is the nationwide replication of the YLD's Children's Courthouse
Waiting Room project, designed to provide temporary safe havens for children involved in
divorce, custody, and other legal proceedings. During the Midyear meeting in Baltimore,
Division volunteers prepared waiting rooms in the Baltimore City Courthouse, which drew
substantial press coverage. To date, nineteen such waiting rooms have been established by
affiliates nationwide, and thirty-nine young lawyer groups have indicated substantial interest
in the project. In her address to the ABA House of Delegates in Baltimore, U.S. Attorney
General Janet Reno singled out the courthouse waiting room project as an important service
to the nation's children.
5.
Pre-Law Conferences for Minority High School Students
In conjunction with its four major meetings, the Division sponsors pre-law conferences that
attract more than 300 local minority high school students. These students are interested in
learning more about the legal system, and about being a lawyer. Minority lawyers and
judges lead discussions covering important tips for law school applicants, and the day to day
truths of being a lawyer. This year, pre-law conferences were held in Milwaukee, Baltimore,
and Tucson.
6.
ABA/YLD Response to Natural Disasters
The ABA/YLD's Disaster Legal Services Committee continues to provide victim legal
assistance in the event of federally-declared disasters, pursuant to the ABA/YLD's
agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA"). As a result of
District restructuring and improved training procedures, the Committee, together with state
and local bar organizations and legal services providers, can respond quickly and efficiently
when disaster strikes. Most recently, young lawyers mobilized to provide disaster legal
assistance in response to fires in Alaska, tornados in Arkansas and Kentucky, and floods in
Pennsylvania. Throughout the 1995-96 bar year, the Division and its Affiliates responded
to more than fifteen federally declared disasters.
7.
Communications/Membership Development
The Division shares the Association's commitment to improved and enhanced
communications and membership recruitment/retention. The YLD continues to circulate its
"YLD at a Glance" newsletter to help the Association leadership and others stay abreast of
important Division projects, programs, and activities. This year, the YLD initiated its own
home page on the World Wide web. Since its inception in October 1995, the site's visitors
increased from 64 to over 475 in April. More important, the Division's Task Force on
Communications Options has recommended exciting new communications approaches that
are expected to be implemented in the coming bar year.
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8.
Newsletters/Publications
Many of the Division's substantive committees are publishing newsletters this year,
including Admiralty Law, Corporate In-house Counsel, Ethics and Professionalism,
Litigation, and Probate and Trust Law. Sales of Changing Jobs: A Handbook for Lawyers
in the 90s, published in cooperation with the Law Practice Management Section, are steadily
increasing. The YLD also released this year the results of its most recent career satisfaction
and membership survey.
9.
YLD Assemblies
The YLD Assembly is the Division's principal policy-making body and is comprised of
approximately 350 delegates from state and local young lawyer organizations. Three
resolutions recently debated by the YLD Assembly will be presented for consideration by
the ABA House of Delegates in Orlando. The Assembly generally considers a host of
resolutions on matters of interest to the public, the profession, the Association, and young
lawyers members.
CENTER ON CHILDREN AND THE LAWR
Located in the ABA's Washington, D.C. office, the 18-year-old ABA/YLD Center on Children and
the Law remains one of the Association's largest and most active public interest programs. For the
last several fiscal years, the Center's annual budget has been approximately $3 million, less than 7
percent of which is ABA General Revenue.
The Center presently has outside funding to support the work of over 20 research, training, and
technical assistance projects. These include projects that: assist states and communities to develop
child maltreatment death review teams and train team members; train attorneys and judges on the
handling of child support, child abuse, child sexual abuse, and parental child abduction cases;
provide technical assistance to public child welfare agencies; evaluate state court handling of child
welfare cases; and improve the NYC foster care placement system.
Most Center projects address cutting edge legal issues and result in research findings, legal
educational materials and training, and publications aimed at the bench and bar, policy makers, and
other professionals involved with children and youth. For example, the Center has recently: 1)
designed a curriculum and organized and conducted a national training program, attended by judges
and judicial educators from over 40 states, on the new Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
(supported by the State Justice Institute); 2) published, with support from the Edna McConnell Clark
Foundation, the book Family Group Conferences in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Learning from
the New Zealand Experience, which will help state child welfare agencies implement this new child
welfare practice; and 3) commissioned, with support from the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, a series of papers on little-understood legal issues affecting adolescent health care.
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Since the ABA Midyear meeting in Baltimore, the Center has received new funds to:
study the relationship between sexual abuse of children, including statutory rape, and
subsequent teen pregnancy (supported by Annie E. Casey Foundation and the
Carnegie Corp. of New York). The project will examine laws and prosecutorial
policies to see how the legal system can help break this cycle;
conduct an evaluation of the California state court system's handling of abuse and
neglect, foster care, termination of parental rights, and adoption cases;
conduct advanced trial skills training for child welfare attorneys of the Ohio
Department of Social Services;
identify and provide training to attorneys to represent parents, on a pro bono basis,
whose children have been illegally abducted and brought to this country by the other
parent in violation of Hague Convention on International Child Abduction; and
design and write legal modules for a national curriculum for foster care review
bodies.
The Center also has received preliminary notification that the State Justice Institute is awarding two
new grants for the Center to develop legal manuals on guardian ad litem representation and the
resolution of child welfare issues across state lines.
In addition. the Center has revamped. revised. and renamed its monthly law reporter-- now ABA
Child Law Practice (formerly ABA Juvenile and Child Welfare Law Reporter). The Reporter, one
of the few ABA periodicals supported 100% through subscription revenue, remains the nation's best
source for timely legal news and analysis in the growing practice area of "children's law."
In June 1996, the Center conducted the 8th (biannual) ABA National Conference on Children and
the Law in Washington, D.C. This year's conference was themed around conflict resolution and
youth, and cosponsored by the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution. U.S. Attorney General Janet
Reno and Secretary of Education Dick Riley were presenters (covered by C-SPAN and CNN).
Other ABA cosponsors included TIPS, Section of Family Law, Steering Committee on the Unmet
Legal Needs of Children, JAD, and the Special Committee on Youth Education for Citizenship.
Both TIPS and the ABA Standing Committee on Continuing Education of the Bar provided
generous scholarship support.
As demonstrated by the conference, the Center actively seeks the input and participation from other
interested ABA entities. Its advisory board is comprised of liaisons from over a half dozen ABA
groups, such as the Section of Family Law, and Steering Committee on the Unmet Legal Needs of
Children.
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CONCLUSION
This report describes only several of the many projects and programs of the ABA Young Lawyers
Division and its Center on Children and the Law. The dedication and commitment of countless
volunteers has sustained the Division in its efforts over the years, and 1995-96 has been no different.
As always, the Division welcomes and values the input, advice, and comments of interested
Association entities to help better serve the Association, the legal profession, and our society.
Respectfully submitted,
Raquel A. Rodriguez
Chair, ABA Young Lawyers Division
August 1996
7
TOTAL P.10
ELAINE WEISS
Associate Executive Director
Administration
melanne -
Background Info
an aBa Innual meeting
Please pass along to
Lissa Muscatine
2/50, I think the SMU
speech is very adaptable
to this audience (Most
of it)
Elaine
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
750 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611
(312)988-5227
FAX: (312)988-5151
AA
1996 ANNUAL MEETING
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
ABA SPEAKERS
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
JUSTICE
LIBERTY
WITHOUT LAWYERS THEY'RE ONLY WORDS
AA
1996 ANNUAL MEETING
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
SATURDAY, AUGUST 3
Opening Assembly
Swan Ballroom, Ground Level
Walt Disney World Swan
5:30 p.m.
Honorable John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice,
Supreme Court of the United States
SUNDAY, AUGUST 4
Prayer Breakfast
Southern Hemisphere, Ballroom Level
Walt Disney World Dolphin
8:00 a.m.
Elie Wiesel
Nobel Peace Laureate
Ticket: $25
MONDAY, AUGUST 5
ABA Pro Bono Luncheon
Southern Hemisphere, Ballroom Level
Walt Disney World Dolphin
12:00 p.m.
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
Ticker: 530
TUESDAY. AUGUST 6
ABA Gavel Awards Luncheon
Southern Hemisphere, Ballroom Level
White Pistics World Polphur
12:00 p.m.
Gene Siskel
Film ( the
Ticket: 530
"THE GREATEST LAW SCHOOL LECTURES YOU NEVER HEARD" SERIES
FRIDAY, AUGUST 2
SATURDAY, AUGUST }
MONDAY. AUG ST 5
Pelican Room, Ground Level
Pelican Room. Ground Level
Pelican Room. Ground Level
Walt Disney World Swan
Walt Disney World Swan
Walt Disney World Swam
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
8:30a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
30am. to am.
Guest Speaker:
Guest Speaker:
Guest Speaker:
Alex Sanders
Michael Tigar
Jesse McCrary
President. College of Twelest
Attorney Representing
Lingator and Distingurshed
"Real Life Case Studies in
Natiols in the Oklahoma
Orator
Political Correctness"
mbing
"Lawyers: The Salt of
or
"Tustice or Just Us' The
Democracy"
"Are Real Lawyers Sensitive"
tenson Between Equality
not breedom"
ABA COMMISSION
no COMMISSION
ON WOMEN IN
THE PROFESSION
American Bar Association
CHAIR
Laurel G. Bellows
MEMBERS
J. David Andrews
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
Kim J. Askew
Dolores S. Atencio
Teveia Barnes
Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey
Marcia D. Greenberger
Mark I. Harrison
Sheryl Ramstad Hvass
Raymond C. Marshall
Estelle H. Rogers
Diane C. Yu
SPECIAL ADVISOR
Commission on
Cory M. Amron
BOARD OF
GOVERNORS LIAISON
Samuel S. Smith
LIAISONS
Prof. Mary Becker
Women
Mary B. Cranston
Dianne K. Dailey
Parthenia B. Evans
Cecilia I. Johnstone
Profession
Armando Lasa-Ferrer, Sr.
Bettina Lawton
Georgia A. Niedzielko
Jamienne S. Studley
Eugene C. Thomas
STAFF
Ellen T. Mayer,
Director
Jane Nosbisch,
Assistant Director
Veronica M. Muñoz,
Research Specialist
Karen Berenbaum,
Meeting Planner
Bridgette Williams,
Administrative Assistant
ABA
American Bar Association
Women are
History
"To bring
23% of all lawyers in the
Commission on
meaningful
United States
n August 1987, the American Bar
change,
Association (ABA) created the
nen
44% of law school students
Commission on Women in the
women need
35% of lawyers in executive
Profession and established these
in the
to take on
branch agencies
primary objectives:
Profession
28% of professionals in legal
more leaders
education
I
Assess the current status of
women in the legal profession
roles and
28% of government lawyers
and identify their career paths
become a
25% of American Bar Association
and goals.
membership
part of the
20% of solo practitioners
II
Identify barriers that prevent
Mission
women lawyers from full
policymaking
participation in the work,
body."
responsibilities and rewards
But women are only
of the profession.
Goal IX
o secure the full and equal
Report Card, 199
participation of women in
19% of corporate general counsels
III
Develop educational programs
the American Bar Association,
17% of law school professors
to address discrimination against
the legal profession, and the
women lawyers and the unique
13% of law firm partners
justice system.
problems they encounter in
13% of state and local bar presidents
pursuing their professional
9% of judges
careers.
8% of law school deans
IV
Make recommendations to the
ABA for action to solve problems
the Commission identifies.
The ABA Commission on Women
in the Profession, comprised of
Commission Chairs:
members appointed by the ABA
Laurel G. Bellows
President, develops programs,
(1994-present)
policies and products to advance
Cory M. Amron
and assist women lawyers and to
(1991-1994)
educate the profession about work
Hillary Rodham Clinton
and family issues that affect all
(1987-1991)
lawyers.
ДТА
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
The Commission hosts events to
celebrate women and their progress
Votes for Women Rally:
"The true
in the profession as well as society.
Make Your Voice Count
republic- -
The following have been among
the most popular and widely-
men,
ugust 1995 marked the
attended ABA events:
75th Anniversary of women winning the
their rights
Margaret Brent Women Lawyers
right to vote in the United States. In
commemoration, the Commission on
and nothing
of Achievement Awards
Women in the Profession in cooperation
more;
with the Law Practice Management
Section Women Rainmakers' Interest
women,
Group hosted a reception at the ABA
their rights
Annual Meeting. Recreating a 1920's
amed after the first woman
right to vote rally, actors in period cos-
lawyer in America, this annual award
and nothing
tumes performed vignettes and engaged
was established by former Commission
the audience in debate. A reproduction
less."
Chair Hillary Rodham Clinton in 1991.
of the 1848 Declaration of Seneca Falls
Susan B. Anthony
Its purpose is to recognize and
(the document which launched the
1820-1906
celebrate the accomplishments
women's suffrage movement) was
of women lawyers from around
signed by all guests.
the country who have achieved
professional excellence in their
An historical timeline of suffrage pho-
area of specialty and have
tographs and documents was presented
paved the way to success for
at the event and is currently displayed at
other women lawyers.
the American Bar Center in Chicago. A
smaller, traveling exhibit also is available
The largest ticketed event at
on loan to educational organizations.
the ABA Annual Meeting, this
For more information, contact the
ceremony has featured some of
Commission directly.
the country's most notable
(Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore)
women, such as Professor Anita
F. Hill, Attorney General Janet Reno,
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Professor
Barbara Jordan, Professor Lani Guinier,
Women's Caucus
and the Honorable Bella Abzug.
"In 1648, Margaret Brent requests 'a vote
he Commission sponsors the
and a voyce' in the Maryland Assembly. By
Women's Caucus at the ABA Midyear
this action [she] undoubtedly placed herself
and Annual meetings, which gives women
on record as the first woman in America to
an opportunity to meet informally and
make a stand for her sex."
exchange information.
- Harper's magazine, 1898
jjj
ograms ana
Clearinghouse:
nferences:
he Commission clearinghouse
Commission has conducted a
serves as a national resource of informa-
Perspectives
ty of educational programs and
tion for and about women lawyers. It
rences:
consists primarily of articles, speeches,
and reports collected from a wide vari-
ety of sources. Some topics covered in
"Did any woman
ublished quarterly, this popular
le Future of Women in the
gal Profession
the clearinghouse include:
ever acknowledge
newsletter is a unique and indispensable
source of news and insights for and
al World Solutions to the Mommy
Affirmative action
profundity in
about women lawyers. It reports on
ack Debate
another woman's
key issues such as rainmaking, going
Alternative work schedules
solo, salary compensation, and features
creasing Women's Participation
Career paths
mind, or justice in
profiles of women leaders in all areas
ABA Sections and Divisions
of practice.
Child care
oT Adam's Rib to L.A. Law:
another woman's
Gender bias
e Image of Women Lawyers in
heart?"
$16.00 for a one-year subscription;
'evision and Film
Glass ceiling
$29.00 for a two-year subscription
eaking the Silence: Sexual
Law schools
- Friedrich Nietzsche
To subscribe, call the ABA Service
trassment in the Legal Profession
Parental leave
Center at 312-988-5522.
w to Talk to a Sexist
Sexual harassment
(Perspectives Does!
e Politics of Breast Cancer
Violence against women
Subscribe Today)
The Multicultural
it For Women Only: Model Programs
To obtain clearinghouse materials,
Bar Associations
contact the Commission directly and a
Women Attorneys
e Voices of Women: A Conference
staff member will assist you. There is
Network (MWAN)
Women in Legal Education
a charge for duplication and postage.
The Network, a joint committee of
e Critical Difference: Managing Legal
American Bar Association
the Commission on Women and the
ent for Success in the 90's
ABA Commission on Opportunities for
Commission on Women
Minorities in the Profession, addresses
men Lawyers in Government
in the Profession
issues of special concern to multicultural
750 North Lake Shore Drive
women lawyers. It produces programs,
: Next Frontier: Bringing Effective
Chicago, IL 60611
roundtables and publications to identify
cual Harassment Policies to the
Tel: 312-988-5715
the impact of race/ethnicity and gender
Fax: 312-988-5688
on the professional development of
al Workplace
multicultural women lawyers.
E-mail: [email protected]
ce in Lawyerland: Through the
(See Burdens of Both, Privileges
ISS Ceiling
of Neither)
powerment Strategies for
nority Women Lawyers
he Law Male?
men and Power
ДТА
ports and
ELUSIVE EQUALITY:
PATHWAYS TO LEADERSHIP:
Executive Summary &
An ABA Roadmap
Videotapes:
ablications:
Recommendations
Provides information on the various
A summary of the previous report with the
ALL IN A DAY'S WORK
paths to leadership positions within the
recommendations to improve gender
ABA, including the Assembly, House of
This video and discussion guide address
E BASIC FACTS from Women
atmosphere in law schools.
Delegates, Board of Governors, Officers,
gender bias in the legal profession. Video
aw: A Look at the Numbers
38 pp.
Paper
1996
PC: 4920014
Sections and Divisions, Committees and
includes vignettes about gender stereotyp
ick summary of the most asked
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Commissions, and affiliated organizations
mentoring, sexual harassment and efforts
tions about statistics on women in
to enhance opportunities for women,
to balance work and family responsibilitie
egal profession.
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minorities and others.
Co-sponsored with Queen's Bench in San
op.
Paper
1995
PC: 4920012
LIVES: A Guide to Drafting and
24 pp.
Paper
1993
PC: 4920007
Francisco and produced and directed by
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Implementing Workplace Policies
$5.00
Abby Ginzberg, the video is designed for
.00 with the purchase of Unfinished
for Lawyers
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
use in law firms, law schools, and legal
siness: Overcoming the Sisyphus Factor.
A manual of ways to practice law in an
OVERCOMING THE SISYPHUS
workplaces.
environment that encourages and accommo-
FACTOR - A Report on the Status
25 minutes
1993
PC: 4920006
E BURDENS OF BOTH, THE
dates a balance between professional and
of Women in the Legal Profession
$49.95 (Includes discussion materials)
VILEGES OF NEITHER
personal life. The guide includes sample
port of the Multicultural Women
policies that will help firms formulate, draft
This report documents the overt
meys Network on the status of multi-
and implement policies on parental leave,
and subtle barriers impeding the full
MARGARET BRENT WOMEN
alternative work schedules and sexual
integration and equal participation of
LAWYERS OF ACHIEVEMENT
iral women lawyers. The substance
harassment.
women in the law. It explores the extent
AWARDS
is report was gathered through the
to which those barriers have or have not
ysis of available statistical data, and
90 pp.
Binder
1990
PC: 4920001
been eliminated since the Commission's
The 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995 Awards
conversations with women of color
$44.95
initial 1988 report.
ceremonies captured on video.
undtable discussions and conferences
around the country.
LAWYERS AND BALANCED
28 pp.
Paper
1995
PC: 4920013
2 hours
Video and transcript: $29.95
Paper
LIVES: A Guide to Drafting and
$15.00
Transcript only: $5.00
pp.
1994
PC: 4520003
Implementing Sexual Harassment
[For Award ceremony videos, contact the
0.00
UNFINISHED BUSINESS &
Policies for Lawyers
THE BASIC FACTS
Commission on Women in the Profession
directly at Tel: 312-988-5715
RECTORY OF ASSOCIATIONS
Provides legal employers with a quick and
A package deal that combines both
or Fax: 312-988-5688 /
R WOMEN LAWYERS
inexpensive reference that contains sample
reports for a discounted price.
mprehensive directory containing over
sexual harassment policies. (Chapter
28 pp. & 6 pp.
Paper
1995
istings for national, state, and local
excerpted from above manual.)
To order reports. publications and
PC: 492011
$19.00
videotapes, contact:
en's bar associations and multicultural
37 pp.
Paper
1990
PC: 4920004
en's bar associations. This year, the
$15.00
WOMEN IN THE LAW:
American Bar Association
:tory has been expanded to include state
A Look at the Numbers
Publication Orders
local bar associations that have a com-
OPTIONS AND OBSTACLES:
Full report of a survey on statistics cur-
P.O. Box 10892
ee, section, commission, etc. for women
A Survey of the Studies of the
rently available documenting women's
Chicago, IL 60610-0892
ers and/or women's issues. Updated
Careers of Women Lawyers
role in all sectors of the legal profession.
Tel: 312-988-5522
ially in October.
This report identifies barriers that inhibit
67 pp.
Paper
1995
PC: 4920010
Fax: 312-988-5568
pp.
Paper
PC: 4920008
women's career and advancement, and
$15.00
E-mail: [email protected]
'0.00
points out areas where gathering more
information would assist the profession
[See order form in back
JSIVE EQUALITY:
in understanding and eliminating those
Experiences of Women in
barriers. This survey is derived from an
of brochure]
al Education
analysis of exhaustive review of state bar
report distills findings from national
surveys, gender bias surveys, satisfaction
ings at which students, administrators,
surveys, law review articles, doctoral
dissertations and books.
Ity and deans provided their perspec-
on gender influences in law schools.
60 pp.
Paper
1994
PC: 4920009
IS is on concrete recommendations to
$10.00
rove the gender atmosphere for all
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icipants in the education process.
are available. Ask your service
) pp.
Paper
1996
PC: 4920015
representative.
ДА
8.00
ree Publications:
Report and Recommendation on
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Sexual Harassment
(For free publications, contact the Commission. Tel: 312-988-5715
In 1992, the ABA House of Delegates
or Fax: 312-988-5688)
al IX Report Card
adopted a resolution recognizing that
ry year the Commission issues a report
sexual harassment is a serious problem
NAME OF PUBLICATION
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QUANTITY
PRICE
TOTAL
1 that provides statistics on women's
in all workplace settings, including the
olvement in the ABA and measures
legal profession.
men's progress in attaining leadership
itions in ABA sections and divisions
Report and Recommendation on
I in ABA governance.
Discriminatory Clubs
In 1993, the ABA Board of Governors
men and the ABA:
adopted a resolution that it is inappropri-
History of Women's Involvement
ate for an officer of the Association or a
the American Bar Association,
member of the Board of Governors to be
5-1989
a member of a club which discriminates
depth research report on the historical
on the basis of race, color, sex, religion,
olvement of women in the ABA over 25
sexual orientation, disability or national
rs; evaluates the status of women with-
origin.
ill areas of the Association.
Report and Recommendation on
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tes for Women: An Historical
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(on subtotal only)
and discrimination based on race and
meline covering the main events of the
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man suffrage movement with a short
gender that prevent multicultural women
Total s
tion focusing on the suffrage movement
from gaining full and equal participation
llinois. This booklet was produced for
in the legal profession, and actively
event held at the 1995 ABA Annual
supports efforts to eradicate such bias
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sistence of overt and subtle barriers to
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men's full integration and equal partici-
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Street Address
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ards of the profession.
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AI
Recycled paper
CWPBR
American Bar Association
Presents:
THE GREATEST LAW
SCHOOL LECTURES
YOU NEVER HEARD
STARRING:
MICHAEL TIGAR
JESSE McCRARY
ALEX SANDERS
Friday, August 2
Saturday, August 3
Monday, August 5
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Walt Disney World Swan
Walt Disney World Swan
Walt Disney World Swan
Pelican Room
Pelican Room
Pelican Room
Ground Level
Ground Level
Ground Level
Alex Sanders
Michael Tigar
Jesse McCrary
President, College of Charleston
Lead Attorney Representing Terry Nichols
Litigator and Distinguished Orator
in the Oklahoma City Bombing
"Real Life Case Studies in
"Justice, or 'Just Us'?
"Lawyers: The Salt
Political Correctness"
The Tension Between
of Democracy"
or,
Equality and Freedom"
"Are Real Lawyers Sensitive?"
Alex Sanders is an extraordinarily
Is there a more erudite
Jesse McCrary provides
gifted speaker with a powerful
speaker? One who can
an inspirational rallying
message-an absolute 'must' to hear
mix Cicero and Li'l Abner
response to those who
by everyone who respects the law.
in the same paragraph.
would ridicule and
Jack Dunbar
As corny as Jerry Jeff Walker
trivialize the role of
Oxford, Mississippi
and as profound as John
lawyers in our society.
Stuart Mill. He'll captivate
Wayne J. Positan
And the winner is...
you; he'll flatter you; he'll
Roseland, New Jersey
Alex Sanders-for best actor in a
leading role in legal and judicial
persuade you; and you'll
laugh during the entire
A feel bad-feel good kind
education and for his powerful but
of speaker. Jesse McCrary
humorous insight into the law and
performance.
reminds us of the real
its role in today's society.
Larry Fox
reason we became lawyers.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Judge Deannell Reece Tacha
Nadia Mykytiuk Jannetta
Lawrence, Kansas
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
freedom
JUSTICE
liberty
Without Lawyers They're Only Words.
American Bar Association
Annual Meeting
August 1-7, 1996
Orlando, Florida
Inform if Registration Form
AA
American Bar Association
Dear Colleague:
It's great fun for me to invite you to attend the 1996 Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association to
be held August 1 - 7, the first ABA Annual Meeting ever to be held at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
The theme for the meeting, "Freedom. Justice. Liberty. Without Lawyers, They're Only Words." was
selected to remind each of us of the absolutely critical role we, as lawyers, play in our society. Our goal is
to ensure that you leave Orlando enlightened and inspired and with renewed pride in being a lawyer.
The Association's Annual Meeting is a fascinating, stimulating and inspiring event, and we are working to
make the 1996 meeting the best ever. You will have numerous opportunities to hear provocative and
inspiring speakers, explore emerging legal issues and to engage in open debate about matters affecting
our profession and our system of justice. The expansive programming at an Annual Meeting provides
enough CLE to satisfy up to a year's worth of credit for most states.
You will also have time to establish new friendships, rekindle old ones and enjoy time with your families.
I strongly encourage you to make this a family affair, not only to take advantage of Disney's many attrac-
tions. but $0 your children can learn more about what mom or dad does as a lawyer.
With more than 2,500 meetings, seminars and special events occurring over a seven-day period, I realize
that the Annual Meeting can be an overwhelming experience. A number of changes will be implemented
at the 1996 meeting to make the experience pleasurable for newcomers as well as veterans. There will be
an insider's guide, a revamped, user-friendly Annual Meeting Program Book, and a centrally located
section information center. We will have program tracks for lawyers in small firms and solo practice.
You can take advantage of a substantial discount and increase your chances of getting your first choice
of accommodations by registering for the meeting by May 31. The attached registration form contains
further information. If you have any questions, please call the ABA Meetings and Travel Department at
312/988-5870.
The Orlando Advisory and Planning Committees and the whole ABA are working to make the Orlando
meeting the most fun and the most inspiring. I'll look for each of you there!
1 Rem
Roberta Cooper Ramo
ORLANDO9
JUSTIFICERTY
The ABA Annual Meeting
August 1 - August 7
The 118th Annual Meeting: See the ABA in a Whole New Way!
WITHOUT LAWYERS THEY RE ONLY WORDS
For the first time in its 118-year history, the ABA Annual Meeting, August 1
You'll want to leave your business suits at home. Pack your resort clothes
through August 7, 1996, will be held in Orlando. Organizers are busy
and take advantage of the Florida sunshine while you devour a whole
planning an event that is truly spectacular.
year's worth of CLE classes in just one week! This
"I strongly encourage you to make this
benefit alone can more than pay for your registration.
" We are working to make the 1996 meeting the best
a family affair not only to take advantage
ever. You will have numerous opportunities to hear
of Orlando's many attractions, but so
Also, in 1996 we designed Program Tracks to steer you
provocative and inspiring speakers, explore emerging
toward the vital sessions related to your specialty.
legal issues and to engage in open debate about matters
your children can leam more about
This essential planning tool will help you to get the
affecting our profession and our system of justice,"
what mom or dad does as a lawyer."
most out of the Annual Meeting.
says Roberta Cooper Ramo, President of the American
ABA President Roberta Cooper Ramo
Bar Association.
The Section Forum is another Annual Meeting first.
At the Section Forum you'll learn about Annual Meeting
There are many other "firsts" in 1996 that make this
activities and programs and how Section membership
Annual Meeting unlike any of the others. For the first
will benefit your practice.
time ever, the ABA Annual Meeting not only welcomes
your entire family but has special events planned with
As a lawyer, you play a critical role in protecting the
them in mind. And there is no better place to host
world's greatest democracy. The theme for the 1996
the gathering than in Orlando, a family's dream
Annual Meeting, "Freedom, Justice, Liberty. Without Lawyers, They're
vacation destination.
Only Words," reminds us of that role. With more than 2,500 meetings,
programs and events from which to choose, you'll leave Orlando with a
Your family can learn more about your career and enjoy all of the great
renewed dedication to the profession.
summertime fun that abounds in Orlando - The WALT DISNEY WORLD®
Resort, Universal Studios, Sea World and many other exciting attractions.
Come to Orlando '96. You'll see the ABA in a whole new way!
Disney Discounts
Discover the magic of Walt Disney World in three spectacular theme parks
July 1. You'll enjoy unlimited visits to
and an entire island of nighttime entertainment. During the meeting,
MAGIC KINGDOM Park', Epcot*, and
special discount Convention Passports are available for ABA members
Disney-MGM Studios.
and their families. Save time and money when you order your passports
by mail.
Transportation is available between all
ABA hotels and the Disney Theme
Once your registration is confirmed, a ticket order form will be mailed to
Parks. See page 6 for more exciting news about Disney attractions and
you. Special discounted tickets are available only by mail or on-site in the
discount Convention Passport rates.
ABA Registration Area. For the best rates, order by mail before Monday,
What's In It For Me?
You'll get the latest news related to your profession, build your career,
Orlando '96 is an incredibly convenient -
enjoy networking opportunities, discuss compelling issues and hear the
and fun - way to access thousands of programs,
opinions of some of the most influential legal minds all the while soaking
events and classes. Whatever your specialty,
up the sun and embracing the magic of Orlando, Florida.
you'll find dozens of choices to suit your
needs. It could be overwhelming if this
At just $300 for ABA members who register before Friday, May 31, you'll
year's organizers weren't working overtime
find the Annual Meeting an incredible value. Plus, there are significant dis-
to make sure that you won't have to
Make it "user-friendly" and mon meaningful. that was the Presidential
counts for young lawyers, law students and others. In many states, one
challenge for 1996. We did Bu: don't take our word for it. Come see for
year of mandatory CLE sessions would cost far more.
yourself you'll be glad you did
Inside
AA
ON
NET
The Early Bird
THE
Gets The Savings!
Presidential Showcase program to feature Johnnie Cochran
Details on Attorney General Janet Reno luncheon in Big Names
Pg. 3.
Need to know more about the
Register by May 31, 1996
Find out how to Get on the Fast Track
ABA An nual M eeting in Orl ando?
Pg. 4
For the most up-to-date information, visit our
and $AVE!
Lawyers Have Heart 5K
Pg. 6
new World Wide Web site on the Internet:
Registration Form
Section Forum
Pg. 9
http//www.abanet.org.
Enclosed
Registration Form attached
Pg. 11
Greatest Law School Lectures You Never Heard
Another ABA Annual Meeting first, this provocative morning lecture
On the final day of the series, Monday,
series will feature three of the most accomplished speakers you'll ever
August 5, Jesse McCrary, renowned orator
have the pleasure to hear. On Friday, August 2, the series presents
and lively litigator will present an inspirational
Alex Sanders, president of the College of Charleston. Michael Tigar,
lecture. Those early morning law school
lead attorney representing Terry Nichols in the Oklahoma City bombing,
classes were never like this!
Jesse
will join us on Saturday, August 3.
McCrary
Presidential Showcase Programs
Where will you be when you feel that first rush of adrenaline?
Simpson Aftershock: Seismic Changes for Justice?
Quite possibly, you'll be enjoying one of the seven extraordinary
Primary sponsor: Section of Litigation
Presidential Showcase Programs.
Sunday, August 4, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
This year, you'll hear the most riveting speakers on historical
What are the long-term implications of the O.J. Simpson trial? Don't
and current issues that have relevance for today's increasingly
miss the exclusive opportunity to hear what Johnnie Cochran, Professor
challenging legal environment.
Arthur Miller and other experts have to say about the impact of the trial
on issues such as jury selection, public perception of lawyers and judges
and the role of the media.
America: What the Republic Will Look Like
in the 21st Century
Underaged/Overexposed:
Modern Media and America's Children
Primary sponsor: Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division
Friday, August 2, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Primary sponsor: Forum on Communications Law/Young Lawyers Division
Monday, August 5, 9:00 AM to noon
Join Judge Abner J. Mikva and futurist James Daitor to learn how the
legal profession will function beyond the year 2000 amidst profound
Each day, countless numbers of American children are exposed to sex
demographic, technological and environmental change.
and violence - through the media. Learn how to help your family
critically appraise what they view on television by participating in a
viewing workshop. Then, learn from the experts the latest trends to
The Magical World of Client Relations-
regulate today's media.
Success Stories from Service Leaders
Primary sponsor: Law Practice Management Section
It's Everyone's Business:
Saturday, August 3, 9:00 AM to noon
The Complete Community Response to
Discover from service industry leaders like Disney and Ritz-Carlton how
Domestic Violence
to create customer service magic in your law office. Innovative firms,
Primary sponsor: Commission on Domestic Violence
small law offices and court systems from across the country will show
Monday, August 5, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
you how they have made it a reality.
Dynamic community solutions are being developed in the field of
domestic violence. Join us for a comprehensive overview and learn how
The Trial of Jesse James-
lawyers can form partnerships with other professionals to assist victims.
High Tech Meets the Wild West
Primary sponsors: Law Practice Management Section/
Trial of the Century: Sacco and Vanzetti
General Practice Section
Primary sponsor: Section of Litigation
Sunday, August 4, 9:00 AM to noon
Part I: Monday, August 5, 1:15 PM to 5:00 PM
Did Jesse James fake his own death in 1882? This fascinating mock trial
Part II: Tuesday, August 6, 8:30 AM to noon
will show how modern technology and forensic science techniques are
Re-live this infamous 1921 trial as it's reenacted by renowned trial counsel
revolutionizing today's trials and our understanding of the past. Your
and analyzed by a distinguished panel giving today's perspective on the
kids will love this one!
tactics, techniques and strategies used in the original trial.
Annual Meeting Highlights
Thursday, August 1
Sunday, August 4
Registration Opens 12:00 noon, Walt Disney World Dolphin
Prayer Breakfast, 8:00 AM, Walt Disney World Dolphin
ABA EXPO Opens 12:00 noon, Walt Disney World Dolphin
Red Mass, 9:30 AM, Buena Vista Palace Hotel
Saturday, August 3
Monday, August 5
Pro-Bono Luncheon, 12:00 noon, Walt Disney World Dolphin
Section Forum, 9:00 AM, Walt Disney World Dolphin
House of Delegates, 2:00 PM, Walt Disney World Dolphin
lewish Sabbath Service, 9:00 AM, Walt Disney World Dolphin
Opening Assembly, 5:30 PM, Walt Disney World Swan
Tuesday, August 6
President's Reception, 7:00 PM, Walt Disney World Dolphin
House of Delegates, 9:00 AM, Walt Disney World Dolphin
Gavel Awards Luncheon, 12:00 noon, Walt Disney World Dolphin
ABA EXPO is an exclusive opportunity
publishing
nearly everything you need to invigorate your practice.
ABA
to see demonstrations of the latest legal
Visit ABA EXPO in the exhibit hall of the Walt Disney World Dolphin
products and services including cutting
Thursday, August 1 through Sunday, August 4. Hours vary daily
edge communications equipment,
so check the ABA Information Desks conveniently located in the hotel for
computer hardware and software, office
EXPO
more specific information. ABA staff will be on hand in the ABA-at-a-
equipment and appointments, and
Glance area to show you how your ABA membership can work for you.
receive valuable information on
Here you will also find information regarding the latest programs,
continuing legal education, insurance
products and services available only to ABA members.
2
and financial services, and legal
Big Names Abound in Orlando '96
We have dynamic speakers and celebrity personalities already lined up
for this year's Annual Meeting, plus more surprises to be announced.
The Florida Bar's Government Lawyer Section will present a special
Side
Lifetime Achievement Award to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
The luncheon is hosted by the ABA Government and Public Sector
Lawyers Division and will be held on Saturday, August 3, at 12 noon,
at the Hilton at Walt Disney World Village. Tickets are $40 and may be
ordered in advance by calling 1-800-342-8060, ext. 5625. Or you can
purchase tickets on-site at the Registration Desk at the Walt Disney
World Dolphin. Seats are limited so don't delay.
BAR
Associate Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is the
keynote speaker for the Opening Assembly on Saturday,
August 3, at the Walt Disney World Swan. The President's
Reception following the Opening Assembly will be a gala
Important Deadlines:
extravaganza with entertainment, dancing, food and
activities for everyone. Children are more than welcome!
In order to receive hotel accommodations,
you must register by Monday, July 1, 1996.
Meet Johnnie Cochran, sponsored by the
To appear in the Advance Registration
Section of Litigation, when he participates
U.S.
List, I.T.S. must receive your registration
in the Presidential Showcase Program,
Atty. General
form by the deadline which is
Simpson Aftershock:
Janet Reno
5 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 10.
Seismic Changes for Justice?
After that time, you may register on-site
beginning Thursday, August 1 at the
The Senior Lawyers Division
Walt Disney World Dolphin.
presents Dr. Jane Goodall,
renowned zoologist.
Early Bird Registration: You must register
Gene Siskel, famous film critic,
by May 31 to receive the Early Bird
will speak at the
discount. Don't delay. Send in your
Gavel Awards Luncheon.
registration form today!
Michael Tigar, lead attorney
representing Terry Nichols in the
Weather and Dress:
Oklahoma City bombing,
hosts the second session of
Sunny and warm is always the forecast
The Greatest Law School Lectures
for balmy Orlando, Florida. High
You Never Heard.
temperatures range from the upper 80s
Johnnie Cochran
to mid 90s with lows in the upper 60s to
Deputy Attorney General
mid 70s. The climate is relatively humid
Jamie Gorelick and
with frequent afternoon thunder showers.
Associate Supreme Court Justice
Stephen Breyer have been
Break out the shorts and summer attire.
invited by the Criminal Justice
No business suits allowed! Pack clothes
Section to participate in a CLE
that are casual, lightweight and
session on the 30th Anniversary
Dr. Jane Goodall
comfortable. You may want to include a
of the Miranda decision.
sweater or lightweight jacket since
air-conditioning can make some indoor
The Central and East European
facilities a bit cool. Coats and ties for men
Law Initiative (CEELI) will hold
are not required for most restaurants,
its third annual luncheon at the
although sports jackets are popular for
Walt Disney World Dolphin on
evening dining.
Saturday, August 3. Ambassador
Madeleine K. Albright,
Most of the hotels have fitness centers so
United States Permanent
include your workout gear. Bring a hat
Representative to the United
and some sunscreen to ward off those
Nations, will deliver the
damaging UV rays. And, finally don't
keynote address.
forget your sunglasses and comfortable
Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize
walking shoes to wear while exploring the
winner, Holocaust survivor and
endless miles of theme parks.
one of the world's greatest
Gene Siskel
advocates for freedom will
speak at the Prayer Breakfast.
Insider's Guide:
The Sixth Annual Margaret Brent
Register and you'll receive a free copy of
Women Lawyers of Achievement
the Insider's Guide. It's packed with
Awards Luncheon will be Sunday,
time-saving tips and everything you need
to know to make the most of the Annual
August 4, at the Walt Disney World
Dolphin. The keynote speaker
Meeting experience-whether you're a
first-timer or a veteran attendee.
will be Madeleine K. Albright,
Madelcine K. Albright
United States l'ermanent
Representative to the United Nations.
3
1996 ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM TRACKS
Get on the Fast Track
The Solo Track will steer the
The Corporate Counsel Track will
Finally, there's the Technology Track.
Where did everybody go? If you want to
independent practitioner toward
guide you to hundreds of resourceful and
Here you II find innovative computer
know where to go and what to do next, get
programs that help grow your
informative programs. These programs
solutions for office and courtroom, plus
on Track. At the ABA Annual Meeting in
business through effective marketing,
explore the latest developments in corporate
participate in hands-on demonstrations of
Orlando, you won't have to miss a single
breakthrough office automation,
law and its affect on business and
the software that will propel you into the
essential program related to your specialty...
efficient practice management and
corporations. Focusing on the needs of
next century. You'll learn how to use
Program Tracks are daily guides that have
new billing alternatives. Designed
corporate counsel and private attorneys
today's technology - including the Internet
been developed especially for the Solo
for solos and small firm lawyers,
working with in-house counsel, this track
to provide high quality services for your
Practitioner, Corporate Counsel and
these substantive topics can be
provides sessions on critical current issues
clientsand gain the competitive advantage...
"Techie." It's a necessary planning tool that
applied to lawyers in any size firm.
and ethical concerns, as well.
in all types of firms.
helps you use your time to best advantage.
SOLO &
CORPORATE
SOLO &
CORPORATE
SMALL FIRM
COUNSEL
TECHNOLOGY
SMALL FIRM
COUNSEL
TECHNOLOGY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 1
SATURDAY, AUGUST
3
(Continued)
12:00 Noon to
ABA: Internet Center
2:00 p.m. to
"Hi-Ho, Where
"Ethical Considerations
5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
Will Our Relationship Go?
Arising from Defense of
Pressures on the Tri-
an Insured by In-House
3:00 p.m. to
"The Law After O.J.:
Partite Relationship
or Captive Counsel"
5:00 p.m.
Technology in the
Courtroom"
3:00 p.m. to
"Structuring and
Structuring and
FRIDAY, AUGUST 2
6:00 p.m.
Negotiating Computer
Negotiating Computer
and Software Deals;
and Software Deals;
New Problems and
New Problems and
8:30 a.m. to
The Practical Law
Solutions"
Solutions'
10:30 a.m.
Practice: Problems and
Solutions for the Minority
Solo and Small Firm
3:30 p.m. to
"Impact of the Service's
"Use of Technology in
Practitioner"
5:00 p.m.
Budgetary Limitations"
Tax Litigation"
"Tax Apportionment
10:00 a.m. to
"Opportunities for
How to Allocate the
11:45 a.m.
Minority In-House
Estate Tax Burden"
Counsel"
10:00 a.m. to
Second Annual Supreme
"International Real
12:00 Noon
Court Symposium
Estate Investment"
3:30 p.m. to
"Child Support and
"Current Partnership
10:00 a.m. to
ABA Internet Center
5:30 p.m.
Income Tax Rules"
Planning Techniques"
6:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. to
"Hazards of the Job:
"A Winning Combination:
"Electronic Commerce:
4:00 p.m.
How to Recognize Legal
You and Your Marketing
Finance and Fraud on the
SUNDAY, AUGUST 4
Malpractice Pitfalls and
Effort"
Information
Purchase Insurance to
Superhighway"
8:00 a.m. to
"Basic National Labor
"Basic National Labor
Cover Them"
10:00 a.m.
Relations Act Practice"
Relations Act Practice"
3:00 p.m. to
"Hot Issues in Federal
"The Mouse That Roared:
8:00 a.m. to
"The Internet Lawyer:
5:00 p.m.
Sentencing"
The Technologically
12:00 Noon
Virtual Legality
4:00 p.m. to
Challenged Judge'
Technological
6:00 p.m.
Acrobatics While Usin
The Net
SATURDAY, AUGUST 3
8:30 a.m. to
"Electronic Commerce
"Electronic Commerce
'Electronic Commerce
11:30 a.m.
Primer"
Primer"
Primer"
8:00 a.m. to
'Guiding the Solo &
11:30 a.m.
Small Practice into the
9:00 a.m. to
"Trademarks and Patents
"Trademarks and Patents
21st Century
11:00 a.m.
for the Non-Specialist"
for the Non-Specialist"
9:00 a.m. to
"The Law After O.J.:
"The Law After O.J.:
"Preparing for Crisis"
11:00 a.m.
The Power of the Pen
The Power of the Pen -
How to be a Media
How to be a Media
"The Law After O.J.:
"The Law After O.J.:
Darling"
Darling"
Domestic Violence"
Domestic Violence"
"Can a Tax Attorney
9:00 a.m. to
"Hot Tips from the
"Ethical Issues in
Ethical Issues n
Represent Both Husband
12:00 Noon
Experts"
Representing High
Repre senting High
and Wife?"
Technology Companies"
Technology Companies
"The Lawyers Role in
9:00 a.m. to
"Making Rain: Business
"A Corporate Dilemma:
Preventing Liability"
12:00 Noon
Development and
Cooperation or
9:00 a.m. to
ABA Internet Center
Professionalism"
Capitulation Under the
4:00 p.m.
Sentencing Guidelines -
"Ethical Responsibilities
An Interactive Seminar"
12:00 Noon
"Hollywood Goes Digital:
"Hollywood Goes Digital:
of Lawyers Who
to 3:00 p.m.
The Making of a
The Making of a
Represent Joint Filers in
Multimedia Production"
Multimedia Production"
Cases that may present
an Innocent Spouse
2:00 p.m. to
"Miranda at 30:
Defense"
4:00 p.m.
Still Good After All
These Years?"
"Get a Life Is a Home
9:30 a.m. to
"Breaking Up Is Hard To
Office the Answer?"
12:00 Noon
Do: Damage Control
When Key People Leave
"Alternative Billing that
"Alternative Billing that
and/or the Law Firm
Clients Rush 10 Dav"
Clients Rush to Pay"
Splits Up"
4
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
REMARKS FOR AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONVENTION
YOUNG LAWYERS DIVISION DINNER
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
AUGUST 2, 1996
[Acknowledgments: Roberta Ramo, ABA president; Raquel Rodriguez,
chair of Young Lawyers Division; Bob Geltzer, event coordinator]
Thank you. I am very honored to receive this award and to
be counted among such a distinguished group of past recipients
and lawyers.
You know, after reading Art Buchwald's syndicated column the
other day, I was a little worried about coming here and being
seen with so many lawyers. Mr. Buchwald says that the one reason
I've been getting so much criticism these days isn't because I'm
Bill Clinton's wife, or a Democrat, or a Chicago Cubs fan; it's
because I'm a lawyer.
But seriously, I am delighted that I could join all of you -
- the Fellows, members, and supporters of the Young Lawyers
Division -- tonight.
I want to thank you for the passion and commitment you bring
to serving our communities and to helping all members of our
profession fulfill our most important purpose -- that of making
our society more just, and justice more accessible to all our
citizens.
Through such efforts as the Affiliate Outreach Project, the
Greater Access and Assistance Project, and the Disaster Legal
Services Committee, you have helped countless Americans resolve
disputes, overcome problems large and small, and in turn, gain a
greater respect for our country's system of justice.
I want especially to thank you for your continuing
commitment to the Center on Children and the Law. I am convinced
that the persistent and heartbreaking problems of child abuse,
neglect, and foster care must be addressed seriously by lawyers.
It can't be left to overburdened social workers who are trying to
do their best under very tough circumstances. Lawyers can and
should be leaders in the effort to develop laws and legal
precedents that protect children and strengthen families.
As all of you here tonight have already found out, the most
valuable reward of a Juris Doctor isn't necessarily a six-figure
salary or a precise knowledge of the tax code. Rather it's the
power to serve others in our community, to help those who have no
voice, who do not have the means or the skills to seek justice
for themselves and for their families.
1
"Freedom. Justice. Liberty. Without lawyers they're only
words" is the theme you are exploring and celebrating at this
year's convention. For millions of Americans, "freedom, justice,
and liberty" will certainly mean little if Congress succeeds in
its short-sighted crusade to destroy a once-bipartisan, 22-year
old American institution, the Legal Services Corporation.
From the very beginning, the Legal Services Corporation has
had to weather many challenges to its existence. I know from my
own experience.
I was just one year out of law school when President Nixon
signed the bipartisan bill creating the Legal Services
Corporation in 1974. My service on the House Judiciary
Committee's impeachment inquiry into President Nixon was ending
and I needed to find a new job. I decided to call the dean of
the law school at the University of Arkansas -- where a young man
I knew from Yale was also teaching -- and asked him if his long-
standing offer of a professorship was still open. The dean said
yes. But when I asked him what he wanted me to teach, he
answered, "I don't know. I'll tell you when you get here.'
Two weeks later, I arrived in a place where I had never
lived to take a job I knew nothing about. [Love can do strange
things to a person.] When I went to see the dean, he said, "Well
I've given this some thought. I want you to teach criminal law.
I want you to run the prison projects at the state and federal
prisons. I want you to teach trial advocacy. Oh, and by the
way, I want you to set up and run the new legal aid clinic."
I was already feeling a little overwhelmed when I met a
prominent judge at the local bar association's welcoming cocktail
party for the law faculty. The president of the bar introduced
me to the judge saying, "Judge, this is the new lady law
professor. She is going to teach criminal law and run the legal
aid clinic." And this tall, distinguished man with a handlebar
gray mustache looked down at me and said, "Well, I don't have any
use for lady law professors or legal aid clinics, but we're glad
to have you here anyway.
I didn't have too much time to let the doubts about my
career choice chase me out of Arkansas because classes started
the next day. And I went to work -- desperately trying to stay
at least one class ahead of my students, furiously filling out
all the paperwork to create the legal aid clinic, and recruiting
students and volunteers to help. I believed firmly that having
the opportunity to represent real-life clients with real problems
would be an important part of my students' education.
[Some experiences you used in SMU speech:
At Yale, I represented a poor foster mother who was trying
2
to keep the young girl she had raised for four years after a
wealthier couple offered to adopt her.
In Arkansas, legal aid represented a young mother of eight
who wanted to divorce her coal miner husband. After
scouring courthouse files, we found out she was never
legally married to begin with.]
As a former legal aid lawyer and a former chair of the Legal
Services Corporation, I've met many more people like that judge
over the past 22 years. But despite such opposition, legal aid
societies have become a part of American life. Last year, legal
services programs throughout the country helped five million
people who otherwise could not afford legal assistance with
evictions, divorces, and child support collections. As most of
you know and have first-hand experience with -- the vast majority
of these cases require little more than basic advice, a referral,
a patient ear, a letter, or a phone call to solve the problem.
Very few cases need to be resolved in the courts.
As President Nixon said when he first proposed the legal
services legislation, "These are small claims in the Nation's
eye, but they loom large in the hearts and lives of poor
Americans."
As you know, the very survival of the Legal Services
Corporation hangs in the balance. Despite strong efforts by the
Administration, the ABA, and countless others around the country,
Congress slashed funding for Legal Services by one third to $278
million in the FY '96 budget. Congress also tied the hands of
legal aid lawyers by banning them from filing class action suits.
And even more troubling, the same Congress that touts less
federal involvement in local programs placed many restrictions on
the funds that legal aid programs are allowed to raise from
private sources.
A quarter of Legal Services' professional staff have left,
more than 100 offices have closed, and thousands of low-income
Americans have been denied access to our legal system.
The magnitude of the problem is apparent in the area of
domestic abuse. According to the Legal Services Corporation, one
in every three cases they handle is a family law case. 59,000 of
the cases handled in 1995 were attempts by poor women to get
legal protection from abusive husbands. About 9,300 of them
involved neglected and abused children. As the President said in
California last week, "If we want to protect people against
domestic violence, we must not destroy the Legal Services
Corporation. We ought to let legal aid lawyers do their jobs so
they can help the rest of us protect people."
Congressional opponents are trying once again to eliminate
3
the Legal Services Corporation. The House Appropriations
Committee voted to slash funding in the new budget by another
$100 million to $178 million -- almost $200 million less than the
President's budget request of $340 million. But there are some
on both sides of the aisle who are working to counter this
assault. Last month, the House, in a remarkable vote, passed a
bipartisan amendment to restore most of that funding to $250
million. Yesterday, in a letter to the Senate, the
Administration once again strongly urged the Committee to provide
$340 million for Legal Services and once again, expressed serious
concerns about the existing restrictions. The Senate
Appropriations Committee approved $288 million. The House and
Senate levels will have to be reconciled.
Hopefully, Congress will at least hold the line on any
further debilitating cuts from current levels while we await a
time when a greater commitment to legal aid and "justice for all"
will be possible.
I want to thank the ABA for your leadership in this effort
to save Legal Services. And I want to thank all the private law
firms, local bar associations and individual lawyers for stepping
in to fill at least some of the void created by the drastic cuts.
As you already know, pro-bono hours and donations have long been
part of the legal services equation. There are always more
people than can be helped.
The effort to undermine legal services hasn't just hurt
thousands of poor Americans with legal troubles or the hundreds
of dedicated lawyers who have lost jobs they loved. It has
harmed our society's fundamental commitment to justice, to law,
and to progress.
I believe that our society and our profession became truer
to our fundamental values with the founding of the Legal Services
Corporation. The thousands of legal aid lawyers and the many
more thousands of private lawyers who donate time to legal aid
work are the heart and soul of our profession. They are helping
our country uphold the one true contract individuals have with
America -- the Constitution, and specifically its promise of
justice for all.
As the President said in a proclamation for National Legal
Services Week: "The very nature of justice demands that it be
available to all. True justice cannot be rationed -- it cannot
be accorded to some while others are denied the full benefit of
their rights. Our founders understood that privilege and
responsibility are inextricably linked. The words 'Equal Justice
under the Law,' inscribed over the portal of our highest court,
represent a solemn promise made to every American."
Each time a legal aid lawyer helps a mother petition for
4
child support, or forces a nursing home to live up to its
obligations to its elderly residents, this country and our
profession move closer to our ideals. I'm not asking all of you
to go out and become legal aid lawyers. I'm just asking that all
of us consider what it means to be a lawyer today and what it
would mean to our profession if none of us were able to be legal
aid lawyers. A career in the law should mean a life of service
and a commitment to justice, whether it is in a legal aid office,
a classroom, or a law firm.
As the Fellows and former "Young Lawyers" in this room will
agree, one of the wonderful things about growing older is
discovering that the struggle for progress is often as important,
if not more so, than the end result. At some point, however
idealistic we may be or have been, we accept that the principles
of fairness, justice, and equality often become flawed in their
application. We accept that we will not solve all the problems
we see in our lifetime. But we keep striving, we keep struggling
for these ideals that we believe must be kept alive. We remain
committed to the promise of a better future.
As so many of you already know, and as many of you are
learning, the cause of justice is worth a lifelong struggle. I
commend you for being willing, in times that are not always
favorable to lawyers, to play leadership roles in a profession
that is so essential to the continuing vitality of our country's
cherished ideals.
###
5
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THE WHITE HOUSE
stoff
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 5, 1996
REMARKS BY FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
AT SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY
DALLAS, TEXAS
MRS. CLINTON:
This lecture which I'm very honored to
give. I want to thank my friend Ms. Branson and her husband
Frank for their encouragement for me to do this. And it is a
great pleasure. I had a wonderful day in Texas. I started in
Corpus Christi visiting a school, talking with parents and
teachers and students and community leaders about what they are
doing to help students, particularly from poor backgrounds, to
get the kind of help that they need. I went from there to Uvalde
to a great gathering at the former home and now museum of John
Nance Garner. I learned that that is a part of Texas and a part
of America that produces more mohair than any other.
I love to saddle around learning such things. It gives me
great pleasure to see the extraordinary diversity in our country
and then be able to come here to SMU, an institution that I
admire and have followed with great interest for many years.
This is a real opportunity for me to reflect on what a legal
education and a career in the law has meant in my own life, and
not only could mean, but I assume will mean, in the lives of many
of the students here and will find some precedence in the lives
and careers of those who are teachers and practitioners as well.
It is also an opportunity for me to think aloud with you about
the ways a career in the law can fulfill its most important
purpose to be an instrument for promoting the common good, a
vehicle for making our society a more just one for all of its
citizens.
I started law school, as the dean has told you, in 1969.
And that was a time of great political and social ferment. Many
of us in law school at that time saw the law as an avenue for
positive social change for helping the vulnerable, the weak, the
poor, for protecting and advancing the Constitution and the Bill
of Rights. Then, as now, there were many ways to reach one's
goals as a lawyer. And those ways have not diminished but, in
fact, expanded in the years since. One could become an advocate,
a legislator, a teacher, a litigator, a business counsel, a
prosecutor, a public defender -- all the many ways that people
with legal training find to fulfill that training in a positive,
productive contribution to society. I'm sure all these and many
other choices will be reflected in the careers chosen by those
who graduate from SMU. But being here on a law school campus,
I'm reminded particularly of my experiences as a law professor at
the University of Arkansas.
are reflected in The young Invrgus Sutz
as may are Then one the propersion today
I came to that university in the summer of 1974. I had been
working on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee. And its
impeachment inquiry into President Nixon. That ended with the
president's resignation on August 8, and I needed to find a job.
I had visited Arkansas because I had met a young man at Yale who
was from Arkansas and, literally, that's all he ever talked about
was Arkansas. And, when he graduated in 1973, he knew very well
what he wanted to do, and that was to go home to teach at the
University and see whether or not a legal opportunity existed for
him to use his legal career in public service. When I visited
him in Arkansas, I met the dean of the law school. And in a
casual conversation at dinner one night, the dean said, "You
know, if you ever want to teach, give me a call." Life was a lot
simpler in those days.
So, after President Nixon's resignation, I, with some
trepidation, picked up the phone and called the then dean. I
said, "Remember when you said 'if I ever wanted to teach to give
you a call ?' Well, I have an interest in teaching and an
interest in living in Arkansas to see what it is like. Is that
offer still good?" He said, "Oh, absolutely." So I then said,
"Well, in order to get prepared, what would you like me to
teach?" He answered, "I don't know. I'll tell you when you get
here."
So, about two weeks later, I arrived at a place where I had
never lived to take a job I knew nothing about. And there in
August of 1974, I began my career as a law teacher. The dean,
upon my greeting him when I arrived, said, "Well, I've given this
some thought. I want you to teach first-year criminal law. I
want you to run the legal aid clinic. I want you to run the
prison projects in the state federal prisons. And, by the way, I
want you to teach trial advocacy." All of which I had
extraordinary experiences in, but had never done in the past.
So, I swallowed hard and immediately began trying to figure out
how to start.
The very first evening after having been given that
assignment, I was invited to the town bar association's welcoming
cocktail party for the new law school faculty. I don't know if
there is a comparable kind of event for new faculty members here,
but it was very kind of the president of the bar to take me and
to show me around. I quickly concluded that it was also quite
amusing because he would take me up to everyone and he would say,
"I would like you to meet the new lady law professor." And I
would smile and I'd say "How do you do ?" and everyone was very
cordial. Until he introduced me to one of the formidable judges
in the state at that time, a long-serving chancellor because
Arkansas had still chancellery divisions. And he said, "Judge,
this is the new lady law professor. She's going to teach them
the law and run the legal aid clinic." And this very tall,
distinguished man with a handlebar grey mustache looked down at
2
me and said, "Well, I don't have any use for lady law professors
or legal aid clinics, but we're glad to have you here anyway."
At this moment, I began to wonder about my career choice,
but I didn't have much time to reflect upon it because classes
started the very next day. So, I desperately tried to stay at
least one class ahead of my students. And I began to work in and
help create a legal aid program at the University. I knew that
there were many people who then, as well as now, did not cotton
through the idea of free legal services, and I knew because I had
worked in legal aid programs when I was at Yale that it would be
something of an uphill struggle. But I never doubted for a
minute that it was an important part of my students' experience
in law school to have the opportunity to represent real clients
with real problems. And I never doubted that it was a critical
amendment of our profession.
Some of the experiences that I had, both when I was a
student doing legal aid work, and then later as the director of
the University of Arkansas legal aid clinic, were some of the
best experiences I've had in the law. Certainly my interest in
working on behalf of children and families was piqued when as a
law student, I worked with a local lawyer and a legal aid lawyer
in bringing some challenges to the state of Connecticut's
policies as to who could or could not adopt children. And the
case I remember very well was of a young girl about four years
old who'd been with a foster mother for her entire life. And the
state decided that they found a better home for her, and they
were going to take her from that environment and place her with
another family who had been waiting to adopt a child. And the
foster mother desperately wanted to adopt this child herself. So
we represented this poor foster mother who did not have
sufficient funds to hire a lawyer, but who had a very good
argument as to why she had created a mother-child relationship
with this little girl.
And the case was hard fought. In those days, the decision
was that it would be better for the child to be moved to an
environment that had more material possibilities than to stay
with the mother that she had known. A decision that I disagreed
with then and a decision I disagree with now. But working on
that case opened up my eyes to many of the psychological and
emotional and other issues having to do with adoption and foster
care.
When I began working at the legal aid clinic at the
University of Arkansas, I encountered other kinds of challenges.
I will never forget a young woman who showed up with her father
wanting a divorce. And her father was an elderly gentleman.
He'd been a coal miner in western Arkansas. And this young woman
had eight children, and she recited to me all the reasons why she
wanted a divorce. She told me where she got married and soon
3
P4
began looking for the marriage certificate so that they could
make the necessary pleadings. We could not find the place that
she had been legally married anywhere. And I was especially
concerned about telling this poor woman with eight children that
she had never been legally married. Some student came to me and
said, "You know, we looked in all the neighboring counties,
there's nothing on record. We don't think shes' ever been
legally married."
So we had her come back in with her father. She sat in my
office, and I was just trying to summon up all my empathy,
everything I could to let her know what had happened. And I
started off by saying, "Well, I've got some difficult news to
deliver. We don't think you've ever been legally married." She
just gasped and her father said, "Good. I never liked him
anyway."
We had experiences like that that you can only have in the
kind of practice that comes in the door of a legal aid clinic.
In the years since, I have encountered many people like that
formidable judge who do not believe in legal services for people
who cannot afford them. But despite that opposition, the Legal
Services Corporation was created by a bipartisan Congress and
signed into law by President Nixon with the idea that local legal
aid programs would be funded to assist millions of Americans with
their legal problems -- problems that would otherwise go
unaddressed.
After 22 years, legal aid societies have become a way of
American life, and the Legal Services Corporation is one of the
institutions our society has to nurture and practice one of its
most cherished ideals -- that of justice for all Americans. Last
year, legal services programs here and throughout the country
helped five million people who otherwise could not afford
assistance with evictions and foreclosures and divorces. Often,
advice, a referral, a listening ear, a letter, or a phone call is
enough to solve a problem. Very few of these cases, as with most
practices, need to be resolved in the courts.
From my own experiences, which not only included legal aid
work, but as a founder of the Ozark Legal Services Corporation in
Arkansas, as a former member and then chair of Legal Services
Corporation, I know how simple assistance can often head off more
complicated problems. But today, the Legal Services
Corporation's survival hangs in the balance. Over the past year,
opponents in Congress have tried to cut funding and even to kill
the Legal Services Corporation. As of the first of this year,
funding for the corporation in a temporary spending measure was
slashed by one third, and the final fate will be determined later
this year.
t efforts Continue
4
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to kill
particularly proud
9 leadership AB A, grain her
At the same time that the Legal Services Corporation has
been under a frontal assault, private law firms, bar
nets
associations, and individual lawyers have not only sprung (as
they have consistently for more than 20 years) to the defense of
legal services, but increased their own donations and pro bono
me
hours to make up for some of the lost funds. That is a critical
part of the legal services equation, because even if one has a
Tits
needed for representing poor clients, that is not enough. And imember
corporation with paid staff to perform most of the functions
it were not for private attorneys, both who contribute dollars to
existing legal services operations but, more importantly,
contribute their time, there is no way we could reach the many
people who need the services.
What it means for a poor American who is denied legal
services can be seen in the kinds of cases that I used to take
care of and that many of you in this room work on as well. We
know that if we were in trouble, because for whatever combination
of reasons we were to be evicted, or we were subjected to
domestic abuse, or we didn't have what we thought we were
entitled to with respect to fair pay or fair treatment, we would
want someone's help. The poor are no different Under the
chk
current cuts, some 1.3 million people would have been denied
help. It would be very difficult to make the distinctions
between those who will receive it and those who will not.
Despite stiong efforts su Adm ABA countries payperters and county, the
Congress is also trying to tie the hands of legal aid
lawyers by putting restrictions on what kinds of cases such
lawyers can take. More troubling to me is that Congress is also
trying to restrict the non-public private donations that come
from law firms and other sources, so that they, too, cannot be
Carger
used freely by legal services offices.
Add current situation
to
278m.
The
1
Now, some of you may be asking yourselves how a debate over
the existence of the Legal Services Corporation affects you, our
nation's future lawyers. Well, for those who wish to serve in
some capacity on behalf of legal services, it is obviously a
direct impact. But for most of you, and in fact, for most of us
who are lawyers, it has more to do with our society's fundamental
commitment to justice, to law, and to progress. Roscoe Pound,
the famous dean of the Harvard Law School, once said, "Law must
be stable and yet it cannot stand still." He meant that the law
must evolve with the times, offering the security of permanence,
the hope for change, and new opportunities for us to use the law
to benefit the larger society.
I believe that both our society and our profession became
truer to our fundamental values with the founding of the Legal
Services Corporation 22 years ago. The thousands of legal aid
lawyers and the many more thousands of private lawyers who donate
time to legal aid work are the heart and soul of our profession.
They are helping our country uphold the one true contract
5
Started in process rennd Mis in you. frue Gral recurreding 7 claiming 150
Rafic.
individuals have with America -- the Constitution, and
specifically its promise of justice for all.
Each time a legal aid lawyer helps a mother petition for
child support, or forces a nursing home to live up to its
obligations of taking care of its elderly residents, this
country, this society, our profession moves closer to its ideals.
I'm not asking all of you to become legal aid lawyers. I'm just
asking that all of us consider what it means to be a lawyer today
and the absence that those who do practice legal aid would mean
to how we fulfill our roles. A career in the law should mean a
life of service and a commitment to justice, whether it is in a
legal aid office or a classroom or in any other setting where
lawyers practice.)
) a low or
One of the experiences about growing older is discovering
that the struggle for progress in a society is often as
important, if not more so, than the end result. At some point,
however idealistic we may be or have been, we accept that the
principles of fairness, justice, and equality often become flawed
in their application. We accept that we will and no one will
solve all the problems we see in our lifetime. But we keep
striving, we keep struggling for these ideals that we believe
have to be kept alive. We remain committed to the process of
living up to our own better natures and the values we espouse and
the promise of a better future.
As so many of you already know, and as many of you are
learning, the cause of justice is worth a lifelong struggle. I
commend you for being willing in times that are not always
play
a
favorable to lawyers for being willing to take your place in a
profession that is so essential, not only to the operations of a
leader-
complex society, but to the ideals that that society should
attempt to achieve. Thank you very much.
8 rale
[The moderator then asked Mrs. Clinton questions that had been
written by members of the audience. Due to the fact that the
moderator's questions were barely audible, the wording of the
questions has been paraphrased.]
MODERATOR: You have time for a few questions. This is a
little bit different. We have a third-year law student who has
spent many thousand dollars on a degree. How can a person
perform pro bono work while faced with paying off law school
loans?
MRS. CLINTON: Good question, because I know a lot of you
have incurred debt. I know that both my husband and I borrowed
money and took loans to get through law school. And the debt
load wasn't as great as some of you face, and certainly not
$80,000, but it was something we had to deal with.
6
I believe that there is still an opportunity, no matter
what job you take when you graduate, to do some pro bono work,
even if it's just one case, even if its just volunteering in some
way. But there is that opportunity, and I would urge you to take
it. It doesn't have to be direct service for a client. It could
also be work on behalf of a not-for-profit organization that
needs some legal assistance. That was one of the things that I
enjoyed doing as much as anything in my work in the past --
working with groups that were trying to get organized and get
focused and do what they can. So, I would just urge you, even
with the debt load that you have and the hours that you will have
to work in order to pay that back, save at least maybe a couple
hours a month to do something pro bono.
MODERATOR: Is the Legal Services Corporation the best way
to provide legal services for the poor? Are there any existing
services that could substitute for the functions that the
corporation performs?
MRS. CLINTON: Well, of course, the Legal Services
Corporation distributes funds to local legal aid offices that are
governed by local boards and make their own decisions. I've
served on the board of one, I've worked with one, I have followed
how they operate. So I do think that, as I said, the Legal
Services Corporation cannot be the only way of providing legal
services to the poor. But, I think it's a necessary base that
provides a structure that does try to reach into every community.
And although it is spread thin, I think it does provide that
presence. So, although I encourage local bars and state bars to
continue to do and even increase what they're doing directly with
legal services and in support of the Legal Services Corporation,
I don't think that it would be an efficient way to substitute for
what the Legal Services Corporation does.
MODERATOR: Do you feel that there are still good
opportunities available in public service?
MRS. CLINTON: Well, I think there are many opportunities.
I believe you have to do what you care about and what you are
motivated to do, and not just look for something that makes sense
on paper if it doesn't fill you with the desire to make a
difference. I think public life -- elected office -- is a very
important role for both men and women, but particularly for young
women to look to. But, I also think government service -- public
service at all levels of government -- is important for people.
I'm saddened when I see that the climate seems to suggest
that it is not worth government or public life because it is
tough, it is not pleasant. I would not stand up here and tell
you that it was, because it has not gotten any better, but
instead it's gotten worse in the years that I've observed and
been part of it. And so you have to know that it's a challenge.
7
But, on the other hand, if that's what you're interested in,
I would urge you to do it and just take the risks that go along
with it because there are risks doing anything in life. There is
no free ride no matter what career choice you make. And there's
no guarantee that what you do when you're 25 or 35 will be what
you're doing when you're 45 or 55.
I did not have a career plan to end up living in the White
House married to the President of the United States. That was
not something that ever crossed my mind or looked like it might
actually happen. So, you can't predict what you're going to do
in your own life. So you have to do every day what gives you
satisfaction, and if that's public service and its many forms,
then please, do it, pursue it, and you all have to stand up and
advocate on behalf of what you believe.
MODERATOR: What is your viewpoint on the state of ethics in
America?
MRS. CLINTON: Oh, I think that generally in America,
whether its American politics or the American legal profession, I
think that if you look and compare the United States to any other
country I'm aware of, or any other point in past history, by and
large people are ethical, they try live up to their ethical
obligations. They can be second-guessed ---- I know that from
firsthand experience. But, most people I know that I have the
chance to observe and work with have tried very hard to fulfill
their ethical obligations as lawyers.
Now, I do believe that you have to constantly be vigilant
and where there are problems, you have to resolve them. But I
think sometimes we can get to the point where we strain at a gnat
and swallow a camel. There are a lot of choices in the law, just
as in life, that are difficult choices. And you do the best you
can, and you try to be as ethical and careful as possible. But,
if you always keep that in mind, then you are more likely than
not to live with yourself and be able to maintain your own
standards. And at the end of the day, that is what is really
important.
So, yes, we have to be conscious of ethical lapses of
ourselves and others in the profession. We have to do what we
can to make those not be spreaded but instead be refined and
possibly be cured. But we also have to recognize that I think we
do on balance a better job than sometimes the public gives the
legal profession credit for.
MODERATOR: What is one of the most important qualities that
a lawyer should possess?
MRS. CLINTON: I don't have any idea. I mean, for a woman,
probably a good haircut.
8
I think that is such a difficult question. Obviously, you
know, integrity, character, the things that make for a good
person make for a good lawyer. I've often thought that there are
many people in professions, not just law, but in other
professions as well, who at the end of the day what you look for
is good judgement and good judgement is based on experience and
thoughtfulness and a sense of a center for the person and the
values more important than either the degrees on the wall or the
entry in the Martindale (inaudible). So it's very difficult to
go beyond what is, you know, basic to what makes a good person.
MODERATOR: We have time for one more question. This is
from -- we'll give the faculty a little time here -- this is from
Professor (inaudible). What role should lawyers play in cases
involving children, and how can lawyers provide that
representation?
MRS. CLINTON: Well, I think that this is one of the
continuing challenges that the legal profession has because what
we have to do is do a better job in strengthening families and in
educating parents to take care of their own children and to limit
the amount of intervention into any family on behalf of a child.
That is the general principle that should be followed in nearly
every case.
The unfortunate fact is that we had quite an increase -- and
particularly a fanatic increase in the last few years -- in child
abuse and neglect. The most numbers of increased cases are in
children under four. So that we know that there are, for
whatever combination of reasons, children were not being
adequately cared for by their own family members. And because we
have this conflict, both in the law and inside each of us about
wanting to protect the sanctity of the family and enable the
family to make decisions for children, on the other hand, not
wanting to keep children in dangerous situations and wanting to,
insofar as humanly possible, give children a second chance at a
loving family, there is a constant conflict in the law and among
decision makers when it comes to intervening into families,
possibly terminating parental rights, and stepping in as parents
patriae and making decisions on behalf of the child.
Having both been involved in such cases and having watched
this now for about 25 years, I think that we have to be much more
careful about when we intervene. But when we intervene, we have
to be much more willing to move to terminate parental rights and
release children for adoption as soon as possible. And there are
many children -- about 100,000 right now -- who are in the limbo
of foster care, which is about 450,000 children. And those
100,000 are there despite the fact that they could and should be
released for adoption or placement with another family.
9
So I would like to see more effort on the part of lawyers to
try to structure some remedies in every state that would use
volunteer lawyers to act as advocates for children in the foster
care system, volunteer judges keeping the courts open. I think
this is a real emergency. So that perhaps within a year or two,
as I wrote and suggested in my book, we could make permanent
decisions on behalf of the children who are caught in the foster
care system.
There also has to be clearer direction to parents from whom
a child is taken as to what they must do to prove that they are
capable of caring for that child. If they are drug addicts, they
have to be in some kind of program or forfeit their rights. At a
certain point, you have to move the from emphasis on parental
rights to looking at what is in the best interest of a child. It
is not an easy transition to make, but we leave too many children
in dangerous, neglectful situations for too long. So, I would
hope that some of the good minds at SMU and other places around
the country who care about children, would begin to think through
in a practical way, what we can do to solve this constant
conflict between the rights of the family and the parents and the
needs of the child. And I think lawyers and law students have a
great opportunity to be of service in this.
I would just like to conclude by saying that one of the
things that always noticed (both when I was in law school and
when I taught in the law schools) is that domestic relations law
-- laws having to do with children -- were not considered to be
of the same status as, you know, studying tax code or corporate
law or anti-trust and things like that. I always thought that
was a real loss for our society.
that caring about what
happens in the way the law affects our lives as family members is
critical to making it possible to strengthen families as opposed
to just continuing to allow social conditions to overwhelm them.
I think we're at a point now where many people feel that way, and
that lawyers have a chance to lead the way.
We need to look at divorce laws. I believe divorce laws
where children are involved should be harder, or should be
breaking mechanisms. I don't know the answers, but I would love
to have some people who think seriously about this come up with
them. I think this whole foster care/adoption situation is very
troubling. The abuse and neglect of children has got to be
addressed seriously by lawyers, and not left to overburdened
social workers who are doing the best they can often under very
tough circumstances.
So, there's a real opportunity to look at issues that are
difficult and emotional. It's a lot easier reading the code --
believe me. I mean, it doesn't yell at you on the phone, it
doesn't cry in your office. But, the issues as to what we're
going to do with the family and how we're going to preserve it
10
and strengthen families is, I would argue, one of the most
critical issues to the functioning of society and therefore
should command the attention and respect of more lawyers so that
they can be part of the solutions that we need to find together.
Thank you very much.
###
11
LSC APPROPRIATIONS HISTORY FROM FY 95 TO FY 97
FY 95
o
Administration requested $500 million.
o
LSC initially requested $848 million, and then $500 million.
o
Appropriations level was $415 million pre-rescission and $400 million post-rescission.
FY 96
o
Administration requested $440 million.
o
The Budget Resolution agreed to by the House proposed funding LSC at $278 in FY 96,
$141 million in FY 97 and the elimination of funding in FY 98. The Budget Resolution
agreed to by the Senate would cut LSC funding by 35% in FY 96 (to $270 million
from the originally enacted FY 95 appropriation of $415 million). Appropriations would
then remain at that level through FY 2002. At conference House and Senate conferees
were unable to reconcile the differences between their two versions of the Budget
Resolution. Therefore, no language on LSC was included in the final FY 96 budget
resolution.
o
LSC requested $440 million.
o
In July 1995, the House passed a Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related
Agencies appropriation bill for FY 96 (H.R. 2076), which includes $278 million for LSC
(a 33% cut from the originally enacted Fiscal Year 1995 appropriation of $415 million).
The bill also placed many new restrictions on how LSC and its grantees can use LSC as
well as all sources of funding.
0
In September 1995, the Senate Subcommittee marked-up a bill that abolished LSC and
appropriated $210 million for state block grants administered by DOJ for the
delivery of legal services to the poor.
o
In floor action, the Senate adopted by voice vote an amendment offered by Senators
Domenici and Hollings that restored LSC and the current delivery system. The
amendment was similar to the appropriations bill passed by the House, and had a funding
level for LSC of $340 million for FY 96. The entire appropriations bill (which includes
the Domenici amendment) was then passed by the Senate.
1
WHOZIS
0000 SBOTAJBS INES
A conference on the Senate and House passed versions of the Commerce, Justice, State,
the Judiciary and Related Agencies appropriations bills was held on November 29. 1995.
The Conference Bill provided $278 million for LSC for FY 96 rather the higher Senate
figure of $340 million. It also included most of the restrictions contained in both the
House and Senate FY 96 appropriations bills.
On December 19, 1995, President Clinton vetoed the Commerce, Justice, State, the
Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, H.R. 2076. The House failed in its
attempt to override the veto.
In the absence of an enacted Commerce Justice appropriations bill for FY 96, LSC was
funded in the early months of FY 96 pursuant to a series of continuing resolutions. Under
these continuing resolutions, LSC was funded at a rate of $278 million and the restrictions
contained in its FY 95 Appropriations bill remained in effect.
In April 1996, President Clinton signed the Omnibus Appropriations Act, Pub. L. 104-
134 which, among other things, funded LSC for the remaining part of fiscal year 1996.
The law provided $278 million in funding and included most of the restrictions contained
in the earlier House and Senate FY 96 appropriations bills.
FY 97
0
The Administration requested $340 million.
The Budget Resolution agreed to by the House proposed funding LSC at $95 million in
FY 97 and the elimination of funding in FY 98. The Senate Budget Resolution did not
include language on LSC funding. The final FY 97 resolution also did not include
language on LSC funding.
LSC requested $340 million.
On July 9, 1996, the House Commerce Justice Subcommittee marked-up its appropriation
bill for FY 97 (H.R. 3814). which contains an appropriation of $141 million for LSC. or
this amount, $5.3 million is designated for management and administration and $1.125
million for the OIG. The bill includes all the LSC provisions and restrictions contained in
the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY 96 (H.R. 3019) as well as a provision that allows
the use of non-LSC funds for representation of undocumented aliens in domestic violence
and related matters. On July 11, 1996, the bill was passed out of the full Appropriations
Committee.
0
On July 23, 1996, an amendment offered by Reps. Alan Mollohan and Jon Fox to H.R.
3814 to increase LSC FY 97 funding was agreed to by a vote of 247 to 179. The
2
-807110 W897:9 96-18-1 0000 Services INES
amendment increases LSC funding to $250 million and makes no changes in the funding
level for management and administration, the OIG or the provisions or restrictions in the
Committee bill.
O
On July 30, 1996, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee approved a bill that funds
LSC in FY 97 at $288 million, with $7.1 million for management and administration and
$1.5 million for the OIG. The bill includes all the LSC provisions and restrictions
contained in the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY 96 (H.R. 3019) as well as a provision
that allows the use of non-LSC funds for representation of undocumented aliens in
domestic violence and related matters. The full Senate Appropriation Committee is
expected to consider the bill on August 1, 1996.
3
097: WH97:9 due SECTATES
7
LSC APPROPRIATIONS HISTORY
YEAR
AUTHORITY
AMOUNT
1976
$ 92,300,000
1977
$125,000,000
1978
$205,000,000
1979
$270,000,000
1980
Public Law 96-68, 93 Stat. 433 (9/24/79)
$300,000,000
1981
Public Law 96-536, 94 Stat.3169 (12/16/80
$321,000,000
1982
Public Law 97-92, 95 Stat. 1191 (12/15/81)
$241,000,000
1983
Public Law 97-377. 96 Stat.1874 (12/21/92*
$241,000,000
1984
Public Law 98-166, 97 Stat.1088 (11/28/83)
$275,000,000
1985
Public Law 98-411, 98 Stat.1563 (8/30/84)
$305,000,000
1986
Public Law 99-180, 99 Stat. 1162 (12/13/85)
$305,500,000
1987
Public Law 99-591, 100 Stat.3341 (10/30/86)*
$305,500,000
1988
Public Law 100-202. 101 Stat. 1329-33 (12/22/87
$305,500,000
1989
Public Law 100-459, 102 Stat, 2218 (10/1/88)
$308,555,000
1990
Public Law 101 -162
$316,525,000**
1991
Public Law 101-515
$328,186,000***
1992
Public Law 102-140
$350,000,000
1993
Public Law 102-395, 106 Stat. 1828 (10/6/92)
$357,000,000
1994
Public Law 103-121
$400,000,000
1995
Public Law 103-317
$415,000,000****
*Continuing Appropriations
** Sequestered. Original approp. $321,000,000
***Includes $1 million supplemental approp. P.L. 102-27, 105 Stat 138 (4/10/91
****$15 million of this amount was rescinded in H.R. 889. The Defense Supplemental
Appropriations Bill.
: #100000896
OST: WHAZ:S ! drop 12507:18 INES
LSC APPROPRIATIONS: 1982 - 1996
COMPARED TO 1982 IN 1994 DOLLARS
sections 2537.10
75
50
25
Appropriation in 1994 Dollars
0
Millions
-25
-50
-75
-100
-125
-150
1982 - 1996
Appropriation Level
1996 Projected at 35% Cut
THE ADMINISTRATION'S REMARKS ON LSC
President Clinton declared the week of September 26 through October 2, 1994, "National
Legal Services Week" on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Legal Services
Corporation.
White House Counsel Abner Mikva, Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, and FEMA
General Counsel John Carey all testified in favor of reauthorizing LSC at a hearing held by
the House Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee held on May 16, 1995.
O
On September 11, 1995, Attorney General Janet Reno and White House Counsel Abner
Mikva sent a letter to the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Henry Hyde, in
strong opposition to H.R. 2277, the Legal Aid Act of 1995, which abolished LSC and
appropriated $210 million for state block grants administered by DOJ for the delivery of
legal services to the poor.
o
On December 19. 1995, President Clinton vetoed the Commerce, Justice, State, the
Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, H.R. 2076. President Clinton
included LSC in his veto message stating that: "It cripples the capacity of LSC to fulfill
its historic mission of serving people in need - slashing its overall funding. sharply limiting
the administrative funds LSC needs to conduct its business, and imposing excessive
restrictions on LSC's operations. I.SC should be allowed to carry on its work in an
appropriate manner, both in its basic programs and in special initiatives like the migrant
legal services program."
On March 6, 1996, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton gave 2 speech in support of LSC
at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX
On April 23, 1996, support for LSC was the subject of First Lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton's weekly newspaper column.
On July 23, 1996, President Clinton made the following remarks during a speech in
Sacramento California: "To give you an idea of what a big problem this [domestic abuse]
is, listen to this. The national Legal Services Corporation, present in most communities in
our country, says that one in every three cases they handle is a family law case. one in
three. In 1995, 59,000 of them were attempts by poor women to get legal protection from
abusive husbands, 9,300 of them involved negleoted and abused children. If we want to
protect people against domestic violence we must not destroy the Legal Services
Corporation, we ought to let them do their jobs 30 they can help the rest of US protect
people."
LEOTING
duon
Administration Positions on FY 1997 Appropriations
for the Legal Services Corporation
July 11, 1996, letter to Rep. Livingston (House Appropriations Chairman) - Full Committee
"The Administration strongly objects to the Subcommittee's funding level of $141
million for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The bill would cut the Corporation's funding
level by roughly 50 percent from last year's level of $278 million and is almost two-thirds below
the FY 1995 level. It would provide approximately $200 million less than the President's
request of $340 million. One fourth of LSC's professional staff have already left, over 100
offices have been closed, and thousands of low-income individuals who would have been
assisted have been denied access to the legal system. Further reductions in funding would
deprive LSC of the resources it needs to carry out its mission, essentially bankrupting the
Corporation and denying the neediest members of our society access to the Nation' judicial
system.
"In addition, the Administration notes that the bill contains many restrictions on the
activities of LSC grantees that were contained in the FY 1996 appropriations act. The
Administration continues to have serious concerns with these restrictions, particularly the
restrictions on the use of funds from non-LSC sources."
July 16, 1996, Statement of Administration Policy - House Rules
"The Administration strongly objects to the Committee's funding level of $141 million
for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The bill would cut the Corporation's funding level by
roughly 50 percent from last year's level of $278 million and is almost two-thirds below the FY
1995 level. It would provide approximately $200 million less than the President's request of
$340 million. Further reductions in funding would deprive LSC of the resources it needs to carry
out its mission, essentially bankrupting the Corporation and denying the neediest members of our
society access to the Nation's judicial system.
"In addition, the Administration notes that the bill contains many restrictions on the
activities of LSC grantees that were contained in the FY 1996 appropriations act. The
Administration continues to have serious concerns with these restrictions, particularly the
restrictions on the use of funds from non-LSC sources."
July 17, 1996, Statement of Administration Policy - House Floor -- Same as Rules SAP above
July 30, 1996, letter to Senator Hatfield (Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman) -
Subcommittee Action
"While the House floor vote to restore $109 million to the Legal Services Corporation
(LSC) recognizes the inadequacy of the Committee funding level, the Administration strongly
objects to the House-passed funding level of $250 million. The House-passed level is $90
million below the President's request of $340 million and $28 million lower than the FY 1996
enacted level. Such a reduction in funding would deprive LSC of resources it needs to carry out
its mission, further reducing the already limited access of the nation's poor to the judicial system.
"In addition, the House bill would reduce funding for LSC's management and
administration by 25 percent, from $7.1 million in FY 1996 to $5.3 million in FY 1997. At this
funding level, LSC would be forced to reduce its staff to approximately 20 employees, down
from 96 in FY 1995. With a staff of this size, the Corporation would not be able to carry out its
statutory responsibilities, including monitoring compliance, evaluating program quality, and
maintaining a competitive grant system, in any meaningful way.
"Finally, the bill contains many restrictions on the activities of LSC grantees that were
contained in the FY 1996 appropriations act. The Administration continues to have serious
concerns with these restrictions, particularly those on the use of funds from non-LSC sources."
August 1, 1996, letter to Senator Hatfield -Full Committee
"The Administration commends the Subcommittee for increasing the funding level for
the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). However, while $288 million is $10 million over the FY
1996 level, we continue to strongly urge the Committee to provide the full request of $340
million, which is needed to carry out LSC's mission to provide the Nation's poor with access to
the judicial system.
"The Administration understands that the Subcommittee bill contains many restrictions
on the activities of LSC grantees that were contained in the FY 1996 appropriations act. The
Administration continues to have serious concerns with these restrictions, particularly those on
the use of funds from non-LSC sources."
2
gave
Page 17
not
58TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright (c) American Bar Association, 1994.
ABA Journal
August, 1994
note here never, thair trailenge sat Sat.Am
80 Aug. ABA J. 100
for
LENGTH: 759 words
pt
SECTION: Your ABA
TITLE: Peaceful Presidential Politics: Election of ABA leaders at annual meeting
is no contest
AUTHOR: James Podgers
TEXT:
If you're looking for excitement at the upcoming ABA Annual Meeting in New
Orleans, you won't find it in the association's presidential election process.
The annual foregone conclusion of the ABA leadership succession is about to
become reality again at the annual meeting, being held on Aug. 4-11.
The ABA's House of Delegates, which convenes on Aug. 9-10, will elect
Roberta Cooper Ramo of Albuquerque, N.M., to a one-year term as ABA president
starting at the end of the 1995 annual meeting in Chicago. She will become
president-elect at the close of the New Orleans meeting, as George E. Bushnell
Jr. of Detroit takes over the presidential reins from R. William Ide III of
Atlanta.
Ramo's election is, for all intents and purposes, a done deal, and has been
since she was selected by the ABA Nominating Committee in February at the
midyear meeting in Kansas City.
Such a sure thing is not the result of some sort of machine-politics fix,
just the nature of the ABA's discreet style of governance. While the
politicking for leadership posts sometimes is intense in its early stages,
matters are generally settled by the time they reach the Nominating Committee,
and to see a race actually contested in the House is practically unheard of.
The only time it has happened in the past 60 years was 1976, when William B.
Spann Jr. of Atlanta easily beat back a challenge in the House by Leroy Jeffers
of Houston.
Candidates for national political office should have it so easy.
Unlike Bill Clinton, however, who had to campaign hard from nomination to
election, Ramo has been able to enjoy the acclaim of being the first woman
nominated to the ABA presidency, a fact that gives her upcoming election a dose
of historical punch. She also has gotten a head start on the endless round of
appearances and interviews that cram the schedules of ABA presidents.
Page 18
(c) ABA, ABA Journal, August, 1994
Just as certain a candidate as Ramo is Martha W. Barnett of Tallahassee,
Fla., who stands to be elected as the first woman chair of the 533-member House
starting at the end of the meeting in New Orleans. The first year of
Barnett's two-year term will coincide with Ramo's presidential term.
Actually, Ramo is moving into the ABA presidency on her second try after
having been involved in one of the most closely contested presidential races in
the association's history. In 1991, the Nominating Committee required 88
ballots to sort out a three-way race in which J. Michael McWilliams of Baltimore
was finally chosen. His final election was, of course, uncontested.
Occasionally, the ABA has been urged to open up the process of selecting the
president and other officers, which could make it a bit more raucous.
The latest round of such proposals is being reviewed by the Special Committee
on Governance, according to chair Clarence W. Walker of Charlotte, N.C.
Among the "great variety of models for selecting officers" that has been
considered by the committee, says Walker, one would have the Nominating
Committee send two nominees for consideration by the House. Having the House
serve as nominating committee as a whole and opening elections to the full
association membership also have been suggested, he adds.
Since the existing selection process has been largely successful, Walker
suggests that the primary benefit of expanding that process would be to enhance
"the perception that there is a bridge between the general membership and the
leadership."
The Governance Committee plans to issue a report on all principal aspects of
association governance for consideration at the 1995 annual meeting by the House
and the Assembly (composed of any ABA members in attendance).
It's Always Something
While ABA presidential elections are generally matters of acclimation rather
than acrimony, few annual meetings fail to rouse controversy and excitement on
other fronts.
For instance:
*
The 1993 annual meeting in New York City turned into something of a coming
out party for new U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, who seemingly was everywhere
during the meeting.
*
In 1992, at a meeting in San Francisco at which women's issues received
particular prominence, the House of Delegates adopted a pro-choice policy on
abortion only a year after adopting a neutral position in a continuing struggle
with the issue dating back to 1990.
*
In 1991, then U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle called for sweeping changes in
the nation's legal system in a controversial speech to the House of Delegates in
Atlanta, the repercussions of which were felt all the way into the 1992
presidential election.
Page 19
(c) ABA, ABA Journal, August, 1994
*
Many attendees at the 1990 meeting in Chicago were talking about a survey
conducted for the Young Lawyers Division indicating that lawyers were becoming
increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs.
As with most annual meetings, it is difficult to predict what will develop as
the controversial policy, program or speaker in New Orleans. Will it be the
growing challenge to the ABA's law school accreditation process? Gun control?
The selection of a new executive director for the association? The brewing
concern over nonlawyer practice?
One thing certain is that, anytime thousands of lawyers gather in one place,
it's bound to be something.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: Picture, ABA President-elect nominee Roberta Cooper Ramo, ABAL/KIM JEW
Page 4
2ND STORY of Focus printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1989 The New York Law Publishing Company
The National Law Journal
April 10, 1989
SECTION: Pg. 1
LENGTH: 2668 words
HEADLINE: Power Grab
BYLINE: BY TERRY CARTER, National Law Journal Staff Reporter
HIGHLIGHT:
ABA presidential politics once involved backroom deals. Now its sections are
seen as one way to the top.
BODY:
THERE HAVE been several swings back and forth during the 1980s from so-called
liberals to so-called conservatives at the helm of the American Bar
Association, a relative distinction at most.
But maybe none them has been so clearly defined as the man most recently
tapped as the next in line for president of this, the world's largest
professional organization, for the 1990-'91 term.
In a body that traditionally trucks no extremes and subsists by consensus,
John J. Curtin Jr. was the prime mover behind the ABA's endorsement of a ban on
discrimination against homosexuals, made at its recent mid-year meeting in
Denver. The controversial move had failed in 1983 and 1985, but passed this
year by a surprisingly resounding 251-121 vote, far more than the simple
majority needed.
Mr. Curtin's position would have been considered extreme in the ABA of not so
long ago, when waves were made mostly by stirring drinks. But in today's
version, he even went unopposed for the nomination, which is tantamount to
election at this summer's annual meeting.
"That it didn't preclude me from being chosen for the office, I guess that's
the interesting thing," says Mr. Curtin of his role in the gay rights issue in
the ABA House of Delegates. He represented the Massachussetts State Bar, which
proposed the measure. And his real power base within the ABA comes from having
chaired one of its more muscular arms, the Litigation Section.
To many, Mr. Curtin's rise to the top, despite taking a controversial stand,
is further evidence of the fast-expanding role of the ABA's substantive sections
in the past few years, evidence of the once-glacial organization now responding
to the overwhelming inevitability of changing times. Where not long ago a
candidate for ABA president was measured by the old-fashioned politics of
paybacks for favors given, toil in the right vineyards and the size of the
shrimp at his cocktail parties, today's would-be leader must debate opponents on
serious issues and be prepared to take the lead on them.
Page 5
1989 The National Law Journal, April 10, 1989
FOCUS
Perhaps a more telling example of the increasing power of the sections in the
ABA is an unprecedented meeting scheduled for April 18 in Chicago, which
points to a new alignment and meshing of gears in the complex machine that
parcels ABA revenues, mostly membership dues. For the first time, the incoming
section chairs will meet with ABA senior management staff to talk about the
proposed budget.
As a result of the emerging power of the sections, the old system of a few
"kingmakers" is gone, and the paths to presidency are more numerous and diverse.
"The few don't have the tight control they once had," says Bert H. Early, who
retired in 1982 after 19 years as executive director of the ABA, the top staff
management position, and still is a delegate from Illinois. "The kingmakers are
different people today and there are more of them. It's no longer a tight
little circle. It's like the studios used to control movie-making, but now
there are all kinds of people making movies."
The new balance of power is fast changing -- at least by ABA standards the
face of the association, figuratively and literally. The sections have quickly
become the avenue to the power circles and leadership positions for minorities
and women. It is not expected to be long before one of them becomes ABA
president.
Mr. Early recalls that before new sections were created in years past, they
first had to be capable of existing solely by their funding. Then, as they grew
in significance within the ABA, the question became how much money to give them
from the general funds. That question has become more pointed.
Money tight money has been one of the most important issues within the
ABA for the past three or four years and the friction between the sections and
the association in general has been growing. The budgetary pie will increase a
mere 4 percent next year, which certainly will not cover both inflation and the
sheer growth within the ABA. And that makes it all the more significant that
the sections, which for several years have successfully clamored for more and
more of the pie, have been invited to offer input as the staff renders the
recipe.
"This meeting will have a major impact on the thinking of the senior
management staff as never before," says Dennis W. Archer, chairman of the
Conference of Section Chairman of the Conference of Section Chairmen. He is a
"hot property" these days in the ABA, according to one senior ABA management
staffer in Chicago.
A member of the Michigan Supreme Court since 1986, Justice Archer, a black,
is a mover and shaker who, interestingly, did not rise to power in the ABA
through the Judicial Administration Division. His other ABA duties include
Michigan representative in the House of Delegates, board of editors of the ABA
Journal, chairman of the Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the
Profession and last retiring chairman of the General Practice Section, which he
headed after taking the bench and which was his initial path to power.
The greatly increased role of the sections in the past five years, especially
in ABA governance, "has been very healthy for the association across the board,"
Justice Archer says. "There is a desire to work cohesively, not remake the
Page 6
1989 The National Law Journal, April 10, 1989
FOCUS
wheel. "
IT WAS JUST five years ago that the ABA's health was seriously threatened by
revolt of the sections. They were willing to remake the wheel. The movement
was so strong and the stakes so high that there was fear of splintering along
the lines of that suffered by the American Medical Association, which split up
essentially into separate human body parts, with new associations formed for
medical specialties.
The ABA sections' revolt came just two years on the heels of corporations'
in-house lawyers bolting from the precursor of today's Business Law Section in
1982 and forming their own American Corporate Counsel Association.
It was that call to battle by the sections -- born of the frustrations of the
growing numbers of the disenfranchised -- that led to what became known as the
Beckham Amendment of 1984. In what is proving more and more to have been a
radical change in ABA governance, it brought representatives of the sections
onto the Nominating Committee, which at the time was composed of 50 state
delegates who picked the president and other top officers. There are now nine
representatives of the 44 sections and divisions on the Nominating Committee.
The change in 1984 also added five section representatives to the now 35-member
Board of Governors, bringing the total to six.
(The Board of Governor's most important job is formulation and administration
of the budget; the 458-member House of Delegates controls ABA policy and
supervises and directs the board.)
Although those additional numbers gave no real muscle to the sections as far
as voting is concerned, the changes did bring section representatives into the
decision-making and the spotlight, where those with leadership talents have been
recognized and main-streamed into the full association.
"The sections' having representatives on the nominating committee has greatly
enhanced the presence of our leaders who are now coming into key positions,"
says Justice Archer, chairman of the Sections Conference.
The battle to get them there had been high-stakes poker, and the cards were
dealt in large part by Walter H. Beckham Jr. of Miami's Podhurst, Orseck, Parks,
Josefsberg, Eaton, Meadow & Olin P.A. From the mid-1970s to early '80s, Mr.
Beckham had chaired the Torts and Insurance Section and then been the section's
representative in the House of Delegates. For more than 20 years, he watched
the sections grow in every way but participation in governance.
Preparing for battle, says Mr. Beckham, "I checked the records to see how
many people outside the cadre of state delegates had actually been elected to
high office and on the [Board of Governors]. I found what I was looking for and
let it be known that I was going to present in the delegates that the Nominating
Committee couldn't find anybody qualified but themselves."
The showdown took place at the annual meeting in Atlanta in 1983, and the
sections, after several years of brooding, were spoiling for a fight. The
sections people had the numbers to control the Assembly and scheduled their
programs to ensure no conflicts would prevent a large turnout at the Assembly
meeting. Their opponents controlled the House of Delegates. An amendment would
Page 7
1989 The National Law Journal, April 10, 1989
FOCUS
have to pass both bodies, and if it didn't, the Assembly could put it before the
full ABA membership for a vote -- something that has never been done.
"The idea was that if the Assembly passed it and the House didn't, the
Assembly would ask for a referendum," Mr. Beckham recalls. The fight was bitter
but led to the creation of a commission, which recommended the changes the
sections wanted.
The term "Beckham Amendment" was first used derisively "by someone who was
later that 'we called it that because we though we were going to bury you with
it, Mr. Beckham says.
"One year nobody would have cocktails with me," he continues, "and the next
year they wanted me to nominate them. That's politics. Later I was named
secretary, and I'm in the middle of my term."
WITH LIGHTNING speed by ABA standards, a sort of "perestroika" took hold when
the sections suddenly found themselves no longer second-class citizens, but
rather on what Mr. Beckham calls "the first team." Although their numbers were
not greatly increased in the House of Delegates and on the Board of Governors,
those additions coupled with entry onto the powerful Nominating Committee was
enough that, within a year or two, the restructuring brought about significant
change.
"One result is that on the agendas of the last four years in the House of
Delegates, an enormous percentage of matters has become from the sections, says
Roberta Cooper Ramo of Albuquerque, N.M.'s Poole, Tinnin & Martin, who in 1984
was the first elected chairman of the Conference of Section Chairmen. Before
the restructuring and the new strength of the sections, that position had been
by rotation.
his year, 51 percent of the reports with recommendations before the House of
Delegates at the Denver mid-year meeting originated in the sections.
"It shows that the substantive issues facing the practice are being addressed
by the sections by and large," says Ms. Ramo. "It's partly the nature of the
issues. The law has become more complex, especially in its interface with
society, and fortunately the sections working in the American Bar Association
and through the delegates have exercised a lot of leadership in trying to
address these substantive issues as they relate not just to the profession but
to the whole system of American law and justice."
Mr. Curtin, who bears the unwieldy title of president-elect nominee, says
"the net result of that activity has been a recognition that the sections are
playing a larger and larger role in the operation of the American Bar
Association."
With the explosion in the number of lawyers in recent years. ABA membership
has increased as well, but not proportionately. The percentage of practicing
lawyers who join the ABA slipped in recent years to several percentage points
below half. That was remedied by giving automatic, free membership to new
lawyers and bumped the numbers back up. But during the same period, renewal
rates by dues-paying section members remained higher than that of the general
membership. Nearly two-thirds of the members belong to sections, and the more
Page 8
1989 The National Law Journal, April 10, 1989
FOCUS
sections a lawyer is involved in, the more likely he or she is to remain in the
ABA.
"The sections are where the action is," says one senior ABA management
staffer. "They're putting on the education programs and putting out the books.
That's what today's lawyers want and need."
No small part of the ABA's mission in years past has been the preservation of
exclusive privileges enjoyed by lawyers, some of which were eroded in losing
battles like the one over no-fault insurance. Now, law office management and
continuing legal education -- especially in practice areas in which expertise
can have a brief shelf life -- are of greater concern. The two missions are
today's playing field of the old and new.
Richard Allen, who edited the ABA Journal for 20 years and now is active in
the Senior Lawyers Division, believes the role of the sections will continue to
expand and change that playing field.
"The state delegates still remain powerful and as territorial
representatives, but the recognition of the sections is the recognition that the
practice of law transcends state lines," says Mr. Allen. "And the constituency
is the fields of practice more than the states."
The sections have proved more of a meritocracy, says Ms. Ramo, who now is
trying to parlay her high-profile sections work into the ABA presidency for the
1991-'92 term.
"In the sections, advancement has not been political in the usual sense," she
says. "Those who do a good job are quickly picked up to go to the next level of
responsibility."
THE LONG-TERM insiders are not betting on an abrupt change in the path to the
ABA presidency which has continued to go to traditional types -- those with the
right ABA resume, the right look, the right manner and the right connections.
Even Mr. Curtin, although his greatest source of power in the ABA comes from
having chaired the Litigation Section, has done a lot in the House of Delegates,
both as a representative of the Boston Bar Association and of the section.
"I'm just something of a bridge," says Mr. Curtin. "I sort of spanned both
the general bar work and the section work."
It is Ms. Ramo who is trying to cut the new path. Her ABA work has been
through the Economics of Law Practice section, which she chaired during
1983-'84, and probably more significantly, her term as the first elected
chairman of the Conference of Section Chairmen from 1984-'86. The latter was
during the critical two years after the "Beckham Amendment" enfranchised the
sections.
Critics say the Economics Section lacks the power to catapult someone to the
top. "They're the 'techies,' one ABA old hand says derisively of the section
and its emphasis on state-of-the-art law office management and the importance of
computerization and other technological efficiency.
"Yes, I'm a techie," says Ms. Ramo proudly. "But its not just technology.
Page 9
1989 The National Law Journal, April 10, 1989
FOCUS
It's how we deal with the information explosion and the skills necessary for
being lawyers. Most people don't go into big firms, so how can people keep
learning how to negotiate, how to interview, how to draft documents. The law
schools can't cope by themselves."
Her first opponent in the race is tradition. The two other contenders, J.
Michael McWilliams of Baltimore's Tydings and Rosenberg and Allen E. Brennecke
of Marshalltown, Iowa's Welp, Harrison, Brennecke & Moore, are former chairmen
of the House of Delegates, which has often been a stepping stone to the
presidency.
Ms. Ramo hopes hopes to beat them on the issues. "I hope we'll have the
opportunity to spend a lot of time talking about the issues because that's where
you'll find a lot of difference between us."
There is considerably more opportunity for substantive debate among
presidential contenders these days, with invitations to appear before some state
caucuses, the Board of Governors, the National Conference of Bar Presidents and
various sections.
But even at that, the presidency of the 352,294-lawyer ABA -- barring another
challenge along the lines of the revolt of five years ago -- still comes down to
31 votes, a simple majority of the Nominating Committee.
The ABA is ready for a woman president, most agree. Whether it is this
particular woman with a sections-based ABA resume at this particular time is
another matter. But there's something blowing in the wind.
GRAPHIC: Picture 1, VOCAL: John J. Curtin Jr. at the Denver convention fought
for a vote on a gay rights resolution -- an unusual stand for an ABA
presidential nominee. Rick Friedman; Picture 2, MORE: Bert H. Early says there
are different -- and more -- kingmakers today.; Picture 3, HOT: Michigan Supreme
Court Justice Dennis W. Archer is considered a comer.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Page 11
60TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1994 American Lawyer Newspapers Group Inc.
Legal Times
April 18, 1994
SECTION: Pg. 9
LENGTH: 2026 words
HEADLINE: Barring Disaster;
ABA Leader Quieted Rumors of Firm's Woes
BYLINE: BY MONICA BAY; Monica Bay is a reporter for The Recorder of San
Francisco. This article was distributed by the American Lawyer News Service.
DATELINE: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
BODY:
As Roberta Cooper Ramo marched toward a victory that will make her the first
woman president of the American Bar Association, she was shadowed constantly by
an event that had the potential to spell disaster for her campaign.
Six months before her February election, Ramo's Albuquerque law firm, Poole,
Kelly & Ramo, collapsed, and rumors were set flying about what role Ramo played
in the demise. Gossips found it especially ironic that Ramo, the former head of
the ABA's Section on Law Practice Management, had led a firm that broke down
into bitter factions and left a trail of feuding debtors.
Unchecked, the rumors could have derailed Ramo's candidacy. But Ramo never
let that happen.
Observers, friends, and even foes say that Ramo squelched talk about her
firm's disintegration with such finesse that she generated more sympathy for
herself than doubts about her leadership abilities. By "playing possum" with
most people, but keeping the ABA's key decision-makers informed, Ramo never
allowed the firm's breakup to become a campaign issue.
In fact, her unanimous selection as 1995-96 president took all of 30 seconds,
says one member of the nominating committee. All that remains is the ABA House
of Delegates' August ratification.
Thomas Smegal Jr. of San Francisco's Graham & James, who will join the ABA
Board of Governors this summer, says Ramo "clarified her law-firm problems with
those who counted. She did everything right.
I didn't even know she was
having a law-firm problem until after the fact. "
Those who did know suggest reasons why Ramo was able to deflect any heat: Her
campaign was far enough along by the time word got out that nothing short of a
murder conviction could have derailed it, and many lawyers empathized with
Ramo's plight.
Besides, they say, her troubles do not compare to the antics of some recent
Page 12
Legal Times, April 18, 1994
ABA leaders especially Jill Wine Banks, the ABA's first woman executive
director, who resigned in 1990 after trying to have her veterinarian disciplined
for failing to save her Dalmatian; and President L. Stanley Chauvin, who at
the 1990 annual meeting reported the theft of $ 50,000 from a Chicago hotel
safe, but never explained why he was traveling with so much cash in his pockets.
Furthermore, few people believe that Ramo alone was at fault for her firm's
demise. They cite the severity of the recession in the Southwest, the defection
of key partners, risky financial gambles, the senior partner's death, and the
inability of disparate personalities to agree on a common survival plan.
"I don't think this is the Finley, Kumble of Albuquerque," says ABA Colorado
State Delegate Karen Mathis, principal of a seven-lawyer Denver firm. "I don't
think you are looking at bad management and bad practices."
Adds ABA Governor Barbara Mayden, of New York's Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher
& Flom: "People understood that 'just for the grace of God this could be my
firm.
Poole, Kelly & Ramo -- which had 45 lawyers at its height -- closed in
August, just as the ABA was convening its New York annual meeting. A petition
was filed Nov. 1 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Mexico, seeking Chapter 11
protection during liquidation.
Court papers in Albuquerque show that the firm had debts of $ 1.04 million
and assets of $ 548,600. Creditors include 36 support staff who claim unpaid
compensation and benefits, and three former partners who each stand to lose more
than $ 100,000 of deferred compensation.
Ramo, calling firms "fragile organisms," insists that what happened to Poole,
Kelly & Ramo did not happen in isolation.
"Groups break up. Martin and Lewis broke up. The Beatles broke up. And law
firms break up," she says.
But some former partners, admittedly bitter, complain that Ramo was the chief
architect of the firm's downfall.
"The firm imploded because she has this mind-set, which might have been great
in the early '80s, that you keep up appearances by borrowing money," argues
Marshall Martin, who left the firm in 1989 when it was still called Poole,
Tinnin & Martin and was one of New Mexico's strongest general-practice firms.
Identity Problem
Ramo joined the firm and its management committee in 1977, and became
managing partner the next year. At the time, her ABA career was beginning to
soar. By the time she was elected 1983-84 head of the Law Practice Management
Section, her presidential ambitions were well-known.
Founding partner Robert Poole, a reported wizard at consensus building, was
the undisputed firm leader. But around 1985 he developed cancer, and his health
quickly deteriorated -- and so did the buffer he had maintained between the
firm's strong personalities and philosophies.
Page 13
Legal Times, April 18, 1994
Ramo -- along with partners Henry Kelly, Barbara Shapiro, and Robert
Muehlenweg -- was among those pushing the firm to take a "national" law-firm
approach, which included financial risks. An opposing faction -- including
then name partners Martin and Robert Tinnin Jr. -- say they were increasingly
worried about firm finances.
"I certainly felt that there was an atmosphere of trying to solve problems by
throwing money at them, trying to preserve an illusion of prosperity," Tinnin
says.
Some partners resented Ramo's ABA activities and her civic involvements.
Muehlenweg says the split was between the "billable-hours police" and the pro
bono activists.
Kelly, a Ramo ally who now oversees the firm's bankruptcy proceedings, says
the firm failed to predict the full impact of the recession on New Mexico. He
says it gambled on a growing legal economy that never materialized.
"We reacted to that change in economic circumstances about as poorly as one
can," he says. "We were not anticipatory. We were reactive."
Shapiro recalls that things got SO nasty that at one point two partners
became incensed because they felt they were not adequately consulted about a
furniture purchase.
The slide toward collapse began when Martin joined Albuquerque's 75-lawyer
Hinkle, Cox, Eaton, Coffield & Hensley. Soon after, Tinnin, partner Nicholas
Noeding, and six others left for the Albuquerque office of Denver's Sherman &
Howard.
"I had reached the point where I didn't want my name on the firm, Martin
recalls. "I was embarrassed."
Shapiro says, however, that Ramo is unfairly targeted, insisting that she
frequently tried to red-flag potential financial hazards only to be outvoted.
"There was definitely a conflict between Tinnin and Martin, and Roberta,"
says Shapiro. "It really had to do with [Tinnin's and Martin's] unwillingness
to give up power."
'Revisionist History'
To this day, Ramo and some of her former partners disagree about whether
Ramo's 1988 resignation as managing partner was her idea or whether she was
pressured out.
Ramo angrily argues that it was voluntary and that any other perception is
"revisionist history." She says she stepped down in part to make her first --
and unsuccessful run for the presidency of the ABA.
But by 1993, Ramo was the front-runner in a four-way race, and the now-named
Poole, Kelly & Ramo was in an unstoppable downhill spiral.
Page 14
Legal Times, April 18, 1994
The firm made a last, fatal decision just before Ramo reassumed the
managing-partner post in 1990: It signed a huge lease for office space. In the
spring of 1993, Ramo stepped down as managing partner a second time to pursue
her second bid for the ABA presidency and to attempt last-ditch rainmaking for
the firm.
Ramo says she intentionally kept her second ABA campaign simple, talking
about issues of interest to lawyers.
"To the extent that I was successful, it's because the nominating committee
thought I struck a responsive chord," she says.
It also helped that Ramo had made a pre-emptive strike. Before arriving in
New York, she telephoned members of the nominating committee to 'fess up to her
firm's woes.
"I didn't want anyone to be surprised," she says.
Committee members weren't concerned about the firm's collapse, Ramo says, but
instead raised ancillary concerns: They wanted to be sure Ramo would have
adequate financial support, because the presidency is virtually a full-time job.
And they wanted to verify Ramo's commitment, because rumors had been circulating
that she might be interested in running for her state's governorship.
Ramo, who later joined Albuquerque's nearly 70-lawyer Modrall, Sperling,
Roehl, Harris & Sisk, assured the committee she had no designs on the
guber-natorial mansion and that she wouldn't have financial problems.
Ramo got another break shortly before the annual meeting. Two opponents --
Joanne Garvey, of San Francisco's Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, and Blake
Tartt, of Houston's Fulbright & Jaworski dropped out of the presidential
race, leaving only liberal Jerome Shestack of Philadelphia's Wolf, Block, Schorr
and Solis-Cohen (who exited just before the February election).
Tartt now says that he might have stayed in the race if he had known earlier
of Ramo's problems. He learned about them after arriving for the New York
meeting, when a friend traveling in New Mexico faxed copies of new stories. "If
it had come out six months or a year before, it would have made a difference,"
he asserts.
Tartt also contends that Ramo profited from her gender. "If some male had
come to the table with what she had [in the way of credentials], he wouldn't
have gotten [the presidency], Tartt maintains.
But Tartt also says he pledges his support to Ramo. "I'm glad that we now
have a woman," he says.
Like Tartt, Albuquerque's Tinnin speculates that timing was of the essence
for Ramo. By the time the firm headed into Bankruptcy Court, her campaign was
"too far away down the road
And I had heard that there was concern, in
'the year of the woman, to turn on her."
New Mexico State Delegate John McCarthy Jr., of Santa Fe's White, Koch, Kelly
Page 15
Legal Times, April 18, 1994
& McCarthy, declares that neither Ramo's gender nor the timing of her candidacy
had anything to do with her victory.
"Those who nominated Roberta were basing their judgment on their experience
with Roberta over a number of years, not just short term," he says. "Frankly,
after the initial publicity [about her firm] went out, it died down very
quickly, and then was not an issue in the campaign."
But former Poole, Kelly & Ramo partner Jason Kent says Ramo is sidestepping
culpability for what happened to her firm.
"That doesn't mean that she has to take responsibility for the collapse of
the firm, but I think she is trying too hard to escape any responsibility," Kent
says. "And for people who are close to the situation, that engenders a whole
lot of resentment, and that has diminished the respect that some of us have
always felt for Roberta."
Ramo says the Poole firm was solidly behind her bid for the ABA presidency.
And that's supported by Kent and others.
"There was always an undercurrent that it would be good for business," says
Kent, now of Albuquerque's Kent & Widland. "Someone had said that the ABA
presidency was worth a million a year to the firm."
Kent and others say they never knew exactly what the firm invested in Ramo's
campaign. "One of the great mysteries,
even
up
to
the
bitter
end,
was
how
much [her bid] was costing the firm, how much Roberta underwrote on her own,"
and how much money was generated from her friends in the legal community, Kent
says.
Muehlenweg, the final managing partner of the doomed firm, says any money
contributed was purely on an individual basis.
Ramo declines to discuss firm finances, other than to say she enjoyed the
firm's support.
Many former partners, including adversaries, expect Ramo to be an exceptional
president. Kelly says he's glad that "this brouhaha did not adversely affect
her ability to attain the post of president-elect.'
And most former partners of the defunct firm agree that everybody must share
some of the blame.
"I really think that it's not the right thing for anybody to come out of this
situation as the devil, the demon, or so forth," Kent says. "I think what
people should learn from this is that we all have responsibility for what
happens in our law firms. That never goes away."
GRAPHIC: Picture 1, Roberta Cooper Ramo's firm collapsed six months before her
selection as 1995-96 president of the ABA. AARON WILSON; Picture 2, Thomas
Smegal Jr.: Ramo was open with those who needed to know. MERYL SCHENKER;
Picture 3, HENRY KELLY Poole, Kelly & Ramo, AARON WILSON
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Page 6
16TH STORY of Focus printed in FULL format.
Copyright (c) American Bar Association, 1996.
ABA Journal
July, 1996
82 July ABA J. 8
LENGTH: 411 words
SECTION: President's Message
AUTHOR: Roberta Cooper Ramo, President
TEXT:
DEAR MEAD DATA CENTRAL LEXIS:
You should be proud that the ABA saved the Legal Services Corp. from
extinction during the last year. But those who believe the poor do not deserve
civil justice have not given up. Congress will soon decide the ultimate fate of
the LSC. The U.S. House of Representatives has already begun the process of
deciding FY97 (which begins October 1996) appropriations for all federal
programs. Many members of the House, including some in leadership positions,
have vowed to end all federal funding for LSC in FY97. Achieving a majority
approval for continued funding of LSC remains a great challenge. Over the years,
the ABA presidents from Lewis J. Powell Jr. (who put his name on a letter of
support only last fall) on have worked to make sure access to civil justice is
not denied to the poor.
Last year, thousands of ABA members contacted their congressional delegations
to urge them to appropriate funds for this vital program. At this critical time,
I ask that you again send a strong message to your representative in support of
LSC. Congress kept LSC alive in 1995, although it cut LSC's budget by one-third
to $ 278 million. We anticipate the legislative battle to be even more difficult
in 1996. Many in Congress have stated that their goal is to kill the Federal
Legal Services Program. Only your help can save the Legal Services Corp. and the
effective problem-solving it offers to our elderly poor, to abused women and
working families. We know that it is easier for lawyers to do pro bono work
because of the effective civil-justice emergency room that federal legal
services offices provide.
To assure a strong response to this threat, the ABA has established a special
phone number (1-888-KEEP-LSC) for our association's members to use to support
LSC. Your call will produce a personalized letter to your House member in
support of LSC that will be hand-delivered to your member on the next day. The
letter will state the association's position in support of federal funding for
LSC.
The price for this call is $ 7.50 to cover our costs. When we walk the halls
of Congress to work on this key effort, we know well when your good work has
preceded it. Please make this small investment to help assure that America keeps
its commitment to "equal justice." I thank you for all who believe in the
American justice system.
Page 3
115TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
The Associated Press
The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Associated Press.
January 27, 1994, Thursday, AM cycle
SECTION: Domestic News
LENGTH: 234 words
HEADLINE: New Mexico Attorney Likely To Become First Woman ABA President
BYLINE: By JOAN GOESSL, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
BODY:
New Mexico attorney Roberta Cooper Ramo is a virtual shoo-in to become the
first female president of the American Bar Association.
Ramo was to be nominated when the ABA's nominating committee meets Feb. 8 in
Kansas City as part of the organization's mid-year meeting. She was the only
candidate for the one-year term that begins in August 1995.
"Her presidency will be a symbol for the entire legal profession, not just
the ABA, said Cory Amron, chairwoman of the ABA's commission on women in the
profession. "It's also a symbol that women attorneys can and do rise to the top
and they make excellent leaders."
In 1991, Ramo sought the top spot of the nation's largest lawyers' group but
was defeated when the nominating committee chose J. Michael McWilliams of
Baltimore.
Rochelle Evans, an assistant at ABA headquarters in Chicago, said it was
unlikely any new candidates will emerge before next week's meeting.
Ramo, 51, and other partners of an Albuquerque law firm disbanded and filed
for bankruptcy protection last fall. Amron said the bankruptcy filing was a sign
of the times and won't affect Ramo's nomination to succeed Detroit lawyer George
E. Bushnell Jr.
Ramo now works for the Albuquerque law firm of Modrall, Sperling, Roehl,
Harris & Sisk. She is a former president of the Albuquerque Bar Association and
former president of the University of New Mexico board of regents.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: January 27, 1994
Page 3
11TH STORY of Focus printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1996 PR Newswire Association, Inc.
PR Newswire
July 12, 1996, Friday;
Correction Appended
SECTION: Washington Dateline
DISTRIBUTION: TO NATIONAL AND LEGAL EDITORS
LENGTH: 238 words
HEADLINE: STATEMENT OF ROBERTA COOPER RAMO, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN
BAR ASSOCIATION, JULY 12, 1996
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, July 12
BODY:
The American Bar Association issued the following statement by Roberta
Cooper Ramo:
"A Congressional House panel took action this week that will deny
justice to millions of poor citizens of this country.
"The House Appropriations subcommittee voted Wednesday to cut the
budget of the Legal Services Corporation by 50 percent to $141 million.
It is no coincidence that the $141 million appropriation adopted by the
House panel is precisely the figure advocated by those who wish to
eliminate this program.
as
"The U.S. spends less per capita on civil legal services than any
other western democratic country. The federal contribution to this
your
program is quite modest, currently only $278 million. Eliminating this
decentralized, locally-controlled program will mean the beginning of the
ur
end of our system of justice.
"The success of our democracy ultimately depends on the faith of our
citizens that they will have access to justice. The Legal Services
Corporation is our government's best and only vehicle for ensuring that
justice is available to all our citizens. This is the American dream.
These congressional actions would steal that dream from millions of our
most vulnerable citizens.
"A vote for $141 million is a vote to kill this essential program.
We urge all House Members to restore funding for LSC at no less than
$278 million."
CONTACT: Dolores Beasley of the American Bar Association, 202-662-1092
CORRECTION-DATE: July 12, 1996, Friday
CORRECTION:
In DCF005, Statement of Roberta Cooper Ramo, President of the American Bar
Association, moved earlier today, we are advised by the organization that the
third graph, first line should read, "House Appropriations Committee voted
yesterday," rather than "House Appropriations subcommittee voted Wednesday, as
originally issued.
Page 5
12TH STORY of Focus printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1996 PR Newswire Association, Inc.
PR Newswire
July 12, 1996, Friday
SECTION: Washington Dateline
DISTRIBUTION: TO NATIONAL AND LEGAL EDITORS
LENGTH: 56 words
BODY:
In DCF005, Statement of Roberta Cooper Ramo, President of the American Bar
Association, moved earlier today, we are advised by the organization that the
third graph, first line should read, "House Appropriations Committee voted
yesterday," rather than "House Appropriations subcommittee voted Wednesday," as
originally issued.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: July 13, 1996
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 5, 1996
REMARKS BY FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
AT SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY
DALLAS, TEXAS
MRS. CLINTON:
...
This lecture which I'm very honored to
give. I want to thank my friend Ms. Branson and her husband
Frank for their encouragement for me to do this. And it is a
great pleasure. I had a wonderful day in Texas. I started in
Corpus Christi visiting a school, talking with parents and
teachers and students and community leaders about what they are
doing to help students, particularly from poor backgrounds, to
get the kind of help that they need. I went from there to Uvalde
to a great gathering at the former home and now museum of John
Nance Garner. I learned that that is a part of Texas and a part
of America that produces more mohair than any other.
I love to saddle around learning such things. It gives me
great pleasure to see the extraordinary diversity in our country
and then be able to come here to SMU, an institution that I
admire and have followed with great interest for many years.
This is a real opportunity for me to reflect on what a legal
education and a career in the law has meant in my own life, and
not only could mean, but I assume will mean, in the lives of many
of the students here and will find some precedence in the lives
and careers of those who are teachers and practitioners as well.
It is also an opportunity for me to think aloud with you about
the ways a career in the law can fulfill its most important
purpose -- to be an instrument for promoting the common good, a
vehicle for making our society a more just one for all of its
citizens.
I started law school, as the dean has told you, in 1969.
And that was a time of great political and social ferment. Many
of us in law school at that time saw the law as an avenue for
positive social change for helping the vulnerable, the weak, the
poor, for protecting and advancing the Constitution and the Bill
of Rights. Then, as now, there were many ways to reach one's
goals as a lawyer. And those ways have not diminished but, in
fact, expanded in the years since. One could become an advocate,
a legislator, a teacher, a litigator, a business counsel, a
prosecutor, a public defender -- all the many ways that people
with legal training find to fulfill that training in a positive,
productive contribution to society. I'm sure all these and many
other choices will be reflected in the careers chosen by those
who graduate from SMU. But being here on a law school campus,
I'm reminded particularly of my experiences as a law professor at
the University of Arkansas.
I came to that university in the summer of 1974. I had been
working on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee. And its
impeachment inquiry into President Nixon. That ended with the
president's resignation on August 8, and I needed to find a job.
I had visited Arkansas because I had met a young man at Yale who
was from Arkansas and, literally, that's all he ever talked about
was Arkansas. And, when he graduated in 1973, he knew very well
what he wanted to do, and that was to go home to teach at the
University and see whether or not a legal opportunity existed for
him to use his legal career in public service. When I visited
him in Arkansas, I met the dean of the law school. And in a
casual conversation at dinner one night, the dean said, "You
know, if you ever want to teach, give me a call." Life was a lot
simpler in those days.
So, after President Nixon's resignation, I, with some
trepidation, picked up the phone and called the then dean. I
said, "Remember when you said 'if I ever wanted to teach to give
you a call ?' Well, I have an interest in teaching and an
interest in living in Arkansas to see what it is like. Is that
offer still good?" He said, "Oh, absolutely." So I then said,
"Well, in order to get prepared, what would you like me to
teach?" He answered, "I don't know. I'll tell you when you get
here."
So, about two weeks later, I arrived at a place where I had
never lived to take a job I knew nothing about. And there in
August of 1974, I began my career as a law teacher. The dean,
upon my greeting him when I arrived, said, "Well, I've given this
some thought. I want you to teach first-year criminal law. I
want you to run the legal aid clinic. I want you to run the
prison projects in the state federal prisons. And, by the way, I
want you to teach trial advocacy." All of which I had
extraordinary experiences in, but had never done in the past.
So, I swallowed hard and immediately began trying to figure out
how to start.
The very first evening after having been given that
assignment, I was invited to the town bar association's welcoming
cocktail party for the new law school faculty. I don't know if
there is a comparable kind of event for new faculty members here,
but it was very kind of the president of the bar to take me and
to show me around. I quickly concluded that it was also quite
amusing because he would take me up to everyone and he would say,
"I would like you to meet the new lady law professor." And I
would smile and I'd say "How do you do ?" and everyone was very
cordial. Until he introduced me to one of the formidable judges
in the state at that time, a long-serving chancellor because
Arkansas had still chancellery divisions. And he said, "Judge,
this is the new lady law professor. She's going to teach them
the law and run the legal aid clinic." And this very tall,
distinguished man with a handlebar grey mustache looked down at
2
me and said, "Well, I don't have any use for lady law professors
or legal aid clinics, but we're glad to have you here anyway."
At this moment, I began to wonder about my career choice,
but I didn't have much time to reflect upon it because classes
started the very next day. So, I desperately tried to stay at
least one class ahead of my students. And I began to work in and
help create a legal aid program at the University. I knew that
there were many people who then, as well as now, did not cotton
through the idea of free legal services, and I knew because I had
worked in legal aid programs when I was at Yale that it would be
something of an uphill struggle. But I never doubted for a
minute that it was an important part of my students' experience
in law school to have the opportunity to represent real clients
with real problems. And I never doubted that it was a critical
amendment of our profession.
Some of the experiences that I had, both when I was a
student doing legal aid work, and then later as the director of
the University of Arkansas legal aid clinic, were some of the
best experiences I've had in the law. Certainly my interest in
working on behalf of children and families was piqued when as a
law student, I worked with a local lawyer and a legal aid lawyer
in bringing some challenges to the state of Connecticut's
policies as to who could or could not adopt children. And the
case I remember very well was of a young girl about four years
old who'd been with a foster mother for her entire life. And the
state decided that they found a better home for her, and they
were going to take her from that environment and place her with
another family who had been waiting to adopt a child. And the
foster mother desperately wanted to adopt this child herself. So
we represented this poor foster mother who did not have
sufficient funds to hire a lawyer, but who had a very good
argument as to why she had created a mother-child relationship
with this little girl.
And the case was hard fought. In those days, the decision
was that it would be better for the child to be moved to an
environment that had more material possibilities than to stay
with the mother that she had known. A decision that I disagreed
with then and a decision I disagree with now. But working on
that case opened up my eyes to many of the psychological and
emotional and other issues having to do with adoption and foster
care.
When I began working at the legal aid clinic at the
University of Arkansas, I encountered other kinds of challenges.
I will never forget a young woman who showed up with her father
wanting a divorce. And her father was an elderly gentleman.
He'd been a coal miner in western Arkansas. And this young woman
had eight children, and she recited to me all the reasons why she
wanted a divorce. She told me where she got married and soon
3
began looking for the marriage certificate so that they could
make the necessary pleadings. We could not find the place that
she had been legally married anywhere. And I was especially
concerned about telling this poor woman with eight children that
she had never been legally married. Some student came to me and
said, "You know, we looked in all the neighboring counties,
there's nothing on record. We don't think shes' ever been
legally married."
So we had her come back in with her father. She sat in my
office, and I was just trying to summon up all my empathy,
everything I could to let her know what had happened. And I
started off by saying, "Well, I've got some difficult news to
deliver. We don't think you've ever been legally married." She
just gasped and her father said, "Good. I never liked him
anyway.'
We had experiences like that that you can only have in the
kind of practice that comes in the door of a legal aid clinic.
In the years since, I have encountered many people like that
formidable judge who do not believe in legal services for people
who cannot afford them. But despite that opposition, the Legal
Services Corporation was created by a bipartisan Congress and
signed into law by President Nixon with the idea that local legal
aid programs would be funded to assist millions of Americans with
their legal problems -- problems that would otherwise go
unaddressed.
After 22 years, legal aid societies have become a way of
American life, and the Legal Services Corporation is one of the
institutions our society has to nurture and practice one of its
most cherished ideals -- that of justice for all Americans. Last
year, legal services programs here and throughout the country
helped five million people who otherwise could not afford
assistance with evictions and foreclosures and divorces. Often,
advice, a referral, a listening ear, a letter, or a phone call is
enough to solve a problem. Very few of these cases, as with most
practices, need to be resolved in the courts.
From my own experiences, which not only included legal aid
work, but as a founder of the Ozark Legal Services Corporation in
Arkansas, as a former member and then chair of Legal Services
Corporation, I know how simple assistance can often head off more
complicated problems. But today, the Legal Services
Corporation's survival hangs in the balance. Over the past year,
opponents in Congress have tried to cut funding and even to kill
the Legal Services Corporation. As of the first of this year,
funding for the corporation in a temporary spending measure was
slashed by one third, and the final fate will be determined later
this year.
4
At the same time that the Legal Services Corporation has
been under a frontal assault, private law firms, bar
associations, and individual lawyers have not only sprung (as
they have consistently for more than 20 years) to the defense of
legal services, but increased their own donations and pro bono
hours to make up for some of the lost funds. That is a critical
part of the legal services equation, because even if one has a
corporation with paid staff to perform most of the functions
needed for representing poor clients, that is not enough. And if
it were not for private attorneys, both who contribute dollars to
existing legal services operations but, more importantly,
contribute their time, there is no way we could reach the many
people who need the services.
What it means for a poor American who is denied legal
services can be seen in the kinds of cases that I used to take
care of and that many of you in this room work on as well. We
know that if we were in trouble, because for whatever combination
of reasons we were to be evicted, or we were subjected to
domestic abuse, or we didn't have what we thought we were
entitled to with respect to fair pay or fair treatment, we would
want someone's help. The poor are no different. Under the
current cuts, some 1.3 million people would have been denied
help. It would be very difficult to make the distinctions
between those who will receive it and those who will not.
Congress is also trying to tie the hands of legal aid
lawyers by putting restrictions on what kinds of cases such
lawyers can take. More troubling to me is that Congress is also
trying to restrict the non-public private donations that come
from law firms and other sources, so that they, too, cannot be
used freely by legal services offices.
Now, some of you may be asking yourselves how a debate over
the existence of the Legal Services Corporation affects you, our
nation's future lawyers. Well, for those who wish to serve in
some capacity on behalf of legal services, it is obviously a
direct impact. But for most of you, and in fact, for most of us
who are lawyers, it has more to do with our society's fundamental
commitment to justice, to law, and to progress. Roscoe Pound,
the famous dean of the Harvard Law School, once said, "Law must
be stable and yet it cannot stand still." He meant that the law
must evolve with the times, offering the security of permanence,
the hope for change, and new opportunities for us to use the law
to benefit the larger society.
I believe that both our society and our profession became
truer to our fundamental values with the founding of the Legal
Services Corporation 22 years ago. The thousands of legal aid
lawyers and the many more thousands of private lawyers who donate
time to legal aid work are the heart and soul of our profession.
They are helping our country uphold the one true contract
5
individuals have with America -- the Constitution, and
specifically its promise of justice for all.
Each time a legal aid lawyer helps a mother petition for
child support, or forces a nursing home to live up to its
obligations of taking care of its elderly residents, this
country, this society, our profession moves closer to its ideals.
I'm not asking all of you to become legal aid lawyers. I'm just
asking that all of us consider what it means to be a lawyer today
and the absence that those who do practice legal aid would mean
to how we fulfill our roles. A career in the law should mean a
life of service and a commitment to justice, whether it is in a
legal aid office or a classroom or in any other setting where
lawyers practice.
One of the experiences about growing older is discovering
that the struggle for progress in a society is often as
important, if not more so, than the end result. At some point,
however idealistic we may be or have been, we accept that the
principles of fairness, justice, and equality often become flawed
in their application. We accept that we will and no one will
solve all the problems we see in our lifetime. But we keep
striving, we keep struggling for these ideals that we believe
have to be kept alive. We remain committed to the process of
living up to our own better natures and the values we espouse and
the promise of a better future.
As so many of you already know, and as many of you are
learning, the cause of justice is worth a lifelong struggle. I
commend you for being willing in times that are not always
favorable to lawyers for being willing to take your place in a
profession that is so essential, not only to the operations of a
complex society, but to the ideals that that society should
attempt to achieve. Thank you very much.
[The moderator then asked Mrs. Clinton questions that had been
written by members of the audience. Due to the fact that the
moderator's questions were barely audible, the wording of the
questions has been paraphrased.]
MODERATOR: You have time for a few questions. This is a
little bit different. We have a third-year law student who has
spent many thousand dollars on a degree. How can a person
perform pro bono work while faced with paying off law school
loans?
MRS. CLINTON: Good question, because I know a lot of you
have incurred debt. I know that both my husband and I borrowed
money and took loans to get through law school. And the debt
load wasn't as great as some of you face, and certainly not
$80,000, but it was something we had to deal with.
6
I believe that there is still an opportunity, no matter
what job you take when you graduate, to do some pro bono work,
even if it's just one case, even if its just volunteering in some
way. But there is that opportunity, and I would urge you to take
it. It doesn't have to be direct service for a client. It could
also be work on behalf of a not-for-profit organization that
needs some legal assistance. That was one of the things that I
enjoyed doing as much as anything in my work in the past --
working with groups that were trying to get organized and get
focused and do what they can. So, I would just urge you, even
with the debt load that you have and the hours that you will have
to work in order to pay that back, save at least maybe a couple
hours a month to do something pro bono.
MODERATOR: Is the Legal Services Corporation the best way
to provide legal services for the poor? Are there any existing
services that could substitute for the functions that the
corporation performs?
MRS. CLINTON: Well, of course, the Legal Services
Corporation distributes funds to local legal aid offices that are
governed by local boards and make their own decisions. I've
served on the board of one, I've worked with one, I have followed
how they operate. So I do think that, as I said, the Legal
Services Corporation cannot be the only way of providing legal
services to the poor. But, I think it's a necessary base that
provides a structure that does try to reach into every community.
And although it is spread thin, I think it does provide that
presence. So, although I encourage local bars and state bars to
continue to do and even increase what they're doing directly with
legal services and in support of the Legal Services Corporation,
I don't think that it would be an efficient way to substitute for
what the Legal Services Corporation does.
MODERATOR: Do you feel that there are still good
opportunities available in public service?
MRS. CLINTON: Well, I think there are many opportunities.
I believe you have to do what you care about and what you are
motivated to do, and not just look for something that makes sense
on paper if it doesn't fill you with the desire to make a
difference. I think public life -- elected office -- is a very
important role for both men and women, but particularly for young
women to look to. But, I also think government service -- public
service at all levels of government -- is important for people.
I'm saddened when I see that the climate seems to suggest
that it is not worth government or public life because it is
tough, it is not pleasant. I would not stand up here and tell
you that it was, because it has not gotten any better, but
instead it's gotten worse in the years that I've observed and
been part of it. And so you have to know that it's a challenge.
7
But, on the other hand, if that's what you're interested in,
I would urge you to do it and just take the risks that go along
with it because there are risks doing anything in life. There is
no free ride no matter what career choice you make. And there's
no guarantee that what you do when you're 25 or 35 will be what
you're doing when you're 45 or 55.
I did not have a career plan to end up living in the White
House married to the President of the United States. That was
not something that ever crossed my mind or looked like it might
actually happen. So, you can't predict what you're going to do
in your own life. So you have to do every day what gives you
satisfaction, and if that's public service and its many forms,
then please, do it, pursue it, and you all have to stand up and
advocate on behalf of what you believe.
MODERATOR: What is your viewpoint on the state of ethics in
America?
MRS. CLINTON: Oh, I think that generally in America,
whether its American politics or the American legal profession, I
think that if you look and compare the United States to any other
country I'm aware of, or any other point in past history, by and
large people are ethical, they try live up to their ethical
obligations. They can be second-guessed -- I know that from
firsthand experience. But, most people I know that I have the
chance to observe and work with have tried very hard to fulfill
their ethical obligations as lawyers.
Now, I do believe that you have to constantly be vigilant
and where there are problems, you have to resolve them. But I
think sometimes we can get to the point where we strain at a gnat
and swallow a camel. There are a lot of choices in the law, just
as in life, that are difficult choices. And you do the best you
can, and you try to be as ethical and careful as possible. But,
if you always keep that in mind, then you are more likely than
not to live with yourself and be able to maintain your own
standards. And at the end of the day, that is what is really
important.
So, yes, we have to be conscious of ethical lapses of
ourselves and others in the profession. We have to do what we
can to make those not be spreaded but instead be refined and
possibly be cured. But we also have to recognize that I think we
do on balance a better job than sometimes the public gives the
legal profession credit for.
MODERATOR: What is one of the most important qualities that
a lawyer should possess?
MRS. CLINTON: I don't have any idea. I mean, for a woman,
probably a good haircut.
8
I think that is such a difficult question. Obviously, you
know, integrity, character, the things that make for a good
person make for a good lawyer. I've often thought that there are
many people in professions, not just law, but in other
professions as well, who at the end of the day what you look for
is good judgement and good judgement is based on experience and
thoughtfulness and a sense of a center for the person and the
values more important than either the degrees on the wall or the
entry in the Martindale (inaudible). So it's very difficult to
go beyond what is, you know, basic to what makes a good person.
MODERATOR: We have time for one more question. This is
from -- we'll give the faculty a little time here -- this is from
Professor (inaudible). What role should lawyers play in cases
involving children, and how can lawyers provide that
representation?
MRS. CLINTON: Well, I think that this is one of the
continuing challenges that the legal profession has because what
we have to do is do a better job in strengthening families and in
educating parents to take care of their own children and to limit
the amount of intervention into any family on behalf of a child.
That is the general principle that should be followed in nearly
every case.
The unfortunate fact is that we had quite an increase -- and
particularly a fanatic increase in the last few years -- in child
abuse and neglect. The most numbers of increased cases are in
children under four. So that we know that there are, for
whatever combination of reasons, children were not being
adequately cared for by their own family members. And because we
have this conflict, both in the law and inside each of us about
wanting to protect the sanctity of the family and enable the
family to make decisions for children, on the other hand, not
wanting to keep children in dangerous situations and wanting to,
insofar as humanly possible, give children a second chance at a
loving family, there is a constant conflict in the law and among
decision makers when it comes to intervening into families,
possibly terminating parental rights, and stepping in as parents
patriae and making decisions on behalf of the child.
Having both been involved in such cases and having watched
this now for about 25 years, I think that we have to be much more
careful about when we intervene. But when we intervene, we have
to be much more willing to move to terminate parental rights and
release children for adoption as soon as possible. And there are
many children -- about 100,000 right now -- who are in the limbo
of foster care, which is about 450,000 children. And those
100,000 are there despite the fact that they could and should be
released for adoption or placement with another family.
9
So I would like to see more effort on the part of lawyers to
try to structure some remedies in every state that would use
volunteer lawyers to act as advocates for children in the foster
care system, volunteer judges keeping the courts open. I think
this is a real emergency. So that perhaps within a year or two,
as I wrote and suggested in my book, we could make permanent
decisions on behalf of the children who are caught in the foster
care system.
There also has to be clearer direction to parents from whom
a child is taken as to what they must do to prove that they are
capable of caring for that child. If they are drug addicts, they
have to be in some kind of program or forfeit their rights. At a
certain point, you have to move the from emphasis on parental
rights to looking at what is in the best interest of a child. It
is not an easy transition to make, but we leave too many children
in dangerous, neglectful situations for too long. So, I would
hope that some of the good minds at SMU and other places around
the country who care about children, would begin to think through
in a practical way, what we can do to solve this constant
conflict between the rights of the family and the parents and the
needs of the child. And I think lawyers and law students have a
great opportunity to be of service in this.
I would just like to conclude by saying that one of the
things that always noticed (both when I was in law school and
when I taught in the law schools) is that domestic relations law
-- laws having to do with children -- were not considered to be
of the same status as, you know, studying tax code or corporate
law or anti-trust and things like that. I always thought that
was a real loss for our society.
that caring about what
happens in the way the law affects our lives as family members is
critical to making it possible to strengthen families as opposed
to just continuing to allow social conditions to overwhelm them.
I think we're at a point now where many people feel that way, and
that lawyers have a chance to lead the way.
We need to look at divorce laws. I believe divorce laws
where children are involved should be harder, or should be
breaking mechanisms. I don't know the answers, but I would love
to have some people who think seriously about this come up with
them. I think this whole foster care/adoption situation is very
troubling. The abuse and neglect of children has got to be
addressed seriously by lawyers, and not left to overburdened
social workers who are doing the best they can often under very
tough circumstances.
So, there's a real opportunity to look at issues that are
difficult and emotional. It's a lot easier reading the code --
believe me. I mean, it doesn't yell at you on the phone, it
doesn't cry in your office. But, the issues as to what we're
going to do with the family and how we're going to preserve it
10
and strengthen families is, I would argue, one of the most
critical issues to the functioning of society and therefore
should command the attention and respect of more lawyers so that
they can be part of the solutions that we need to find together.
Thank you very much.
###
11
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