American Bar Association
The
American Bar Association (
ABA) is a
voluntary bar association of
lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the
United States. The ABA's most important activities are the setting of academic standards for
law schools, and the formulation of model legal codes.
The most important role of the ABA is its creation and maintenance of a code of ethical standards for lawyers. The
Model Code of Professional Responsibility (1969) and/or the newer
Model Rules of Professional Conduct (1983) have been adopted in 49
state jurisdictions and the
District of Columbia. One exception is
California, which has refused to adopt either (see
State Bar of California), although a few sections of the California Rules of Professional Responsibility were clearly influenced by the ABA models.
According to the ABA, it "provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public. The Mission of the American Bar Association is to be the national representative of the legal profession, serving the public and the profession by promoting justice, professional excellence and respect for the law." (www.abanet.org)
The Association publishes a general magazine for all members, the
ABA Journal. ABA members may also join subject-specific "sections," and each section publishes a variety of newsletters and magazines for its members. The sections also hold their own meetings.
The ABA has a House of Delegates which acts as the organization's primary body for adopting new policies and recommendations as part of the association's official position.
The ABA has been criticized for perceived elitism and overrepresentation of white male corporate defense lawyers among its membership; in 1925, African-American lawyers formed the
National Bar Association at a time when ABA would not allow them to be members.
However, since the 1960s, the ABA has made great strides in increasing the diversity of its membership. Its membership has grown from less than 11 percent of all American lawyers to roughly 50 percent today. In recent years, the ABA has also drawn some criticism, mainly from the conservative side of the political spectrum, for taking positions on controversial public policy topics such as
abortion,
capital punishment and
gun control. The ABA's official position in favor of abortion rights led to the formation of a (much smaller) alternative organization for lawyers, the
National Lawyers Association. The
Federalist Society sponsors a twice-a-year publication called "ABA Watch" that reports on the political activities of the ABA.
In 1995 Roberta Cooper Ramo became the first woman president of the American Bar Association since its inception in 1878. In 2003
Dennis W. Archer, former mayor of
Detroit, Michigan, became the first African-American president of the ABA. He was followed immediately by the second,
Robert J. Grey, Jr. of
Richmond, Virginia for the 2004-2005 term. Following Grey,
Michael S. Greco of
Boston, Massachusetts became the first foreign-born American Bar Association president.
Greco immigrated to the United States as a child from
Italy.
For decades, the ABA has participated in the federal judicial nomination process by vetting nominees and giving them a rating ranging from "not qualified" to "well qualified." The process has been accused by some (including the Federalist Society) of having a
liberal bias. For example, the ABA gave
Ronald Reagan's judicial nominees
Richard Posner and
Frank H. Easterbrook low "qualified/not qualified" ratings;[
1] later, the ABA gave
Bill Clinton judicial nominees with similar resumes "well qualified" ratings.[
2] Meanwhile, Judges Posner and Easterbrook have gone on to become the two most highly-cited judges in the federal appellate judiciary.[
3] In 2001, the
George W. Bush administration announced that it would cease cooperating with the ABA in advance of judicial nominations. The ABA continues to rate nominees. In 2005, the ABA gave
John Roberts,
George W. Bush's nomination for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a unanimous "well-qualified" rating. It also gave a unanimous "well qualified" rating to appellate court nominee
Miguel Estrada, who never took his seat because his nomination was
filibustered. However, it gave only a "qualified/not-qualified" rating to nominee
Janice Rogers Brown.[
4]. In
2006, the ABA gave a unanimous "well-qualified" rating to Judge
Samuel Alito, Bush's appointee for
Sandra Day O'Connor's Associate Justice position.
In July 2006, an ABA task force released a report which concluded that George W. Bush's use of "signing statements" violates the Constitution. These are documents attached by the President to bills he signs, in which he states that he will enforce the new law only to the extent that he feels the law conforms to his interpretation of the Constitution.[
5]
*
Attorney-at-law*
ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct*
ABA digital signature guidelines*
Armenian-American Bar Association*
The Lithuanian-American Bar Association*
The Ukrainian American Bar Association*
Official website*
ABA Law Student Division*
ABA Student Lawyer magazine*
ABA Health Law Section*
Federalist Society ABA Watch
