The American Bar Association's (ABA) House of Delegates voted Monday to withdraw a proposed diversity and inclusion resolution, Standard 206. The resolution was revised three times between spring 2021 and February 2022, and an ABA spokesperson told Law.com that "[t]he resolution, aimed at bolstering the ABA’s existing diversity and inclusion standard, was withdrawn to await further consideration and discussion with other entities." Christine Charnosky reports, "The most recent amendments to Standard 206 would have required individual law schools to ensure the effective educational use of diversity by providing (1) full access to the study of law and membership in the profession to all persons with a particular focus on underrepresented groups related to race and ethnicity, (2) a faculty and staff that includes members of underrepresented groups with the same focus related to race and ethnicity, and (3) an inclusive and equitable environment for a larger list of groups, according to the executive summary." A PDF of the full article is available.

At the American Bar Association annual meeting this past week in Chicago, three Tennessee lawyers were recognized. Former TBA president Danny Van Horn took office as chair of the ABA’s Litigation Section and was celebrated at a reception hosted by his firm. He will serve during the 2022-2023 bar year, which marks the section’s 50th anniversary year. Van Horn is a trial attorney in the Memphis office of Butler Snow. Then at a reception hosted by the TBA, Knoxville lawyer Heidi Barcus and Nashville lawyer Sam H. Poteet Jr. were honored for their ABA service. Barcus, a special counsel at Lewis Thomason, is the immediate past chair of the ABA Law Practice Management Section and an ABA Fellow. Poteet, a principal at Manier & Herod, is a past chair of the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section and past chair of the ABA Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Fidelity & Surety Law Committee. See more photos from the meeting.

The American Bar Association’s policymaking body, the House of Delegates (HOD), convenes next month to conclude the ABA 2022 Annual Meeting with more than 30 items on the agenda, including several resolutions that address the country’s incarceration challenges and other criminal justice issues. Also, the HOD will host a roundtable discussion “Democracy in Peril: How Can We Change the Course for America?” on Aug. 8, at 11 a.m. CDT. The program will explore the causes of concern about the future of U.S. democracy and of those around the world. 

The American Bar Association House of Delegates adopted a number of new policies at its Mid-Winter meeting last week. Two will impact law schools and law students, Reuters reports. First, law schools must now provide (1) education in bias, cross-cultural competency and racism both at the beginning of students’ legal studies and again later in their law school careers; (2) information about financial aid and student loan debt resources; and (3) well-being resources. Second, bar admissions authorities were asked to adopt clear and uniform policies allowing for accommodations for lactating individuals during bar exams. See all resolutions considered.

The 2022 ABA Midyear Meeting, which will take place Feb. 9-14, had been scheduled to held in-person in Seattle, Washington. Yesterday, the group’s board of governors decided to transition the meeting to a fully virtual format given the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Watch for updates on the meeting webpage.

New ABA officers were installed on Tuesday at the end of the group’s annual meeting in Chicago. Detroit lawyer Reginald M. Turner assumed the role of ABA president, while New York dispute resolution lawyer Deborah Enix-Ross took office as president-elect. The ABA House of Delegates also met during the meeting and considered a number of policy issues. Among those adopted was a resolution calling on Congress to permit student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy without needing to prove undue hardship. Supporters of the change say it could help thousands of young lawyers grappling with a challenging job environment and $145,000 or more in student loans. Read about all proposals adopted.

Memphis lawyer and former TBA president Lucian Pera, a partner at Adams and Reese, is one of two candidates running for American Bar Association (ABA) president-elect. Pera and Mary Smith of Illinois appeared before the ABA House of Delegates Nominating Committee yesterday during the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago to make their case why they are the best candidate for the job. Both have served as ABA officers. Pera has served seven years on the ABA Board of Governors, including three as treasurer. Smith also served on the board for seven years and as secretary for three. The 69-member nominating committee will make its recommendation to the full House of Delegates for a final selection at the 2022 ABA Midyear Meeting, scheduled for next February in Seattle. Read more about their presentations to the nominating committee in this ABA press release. Pera outlines his credentials in this Linkedin post.

TBA delegates to the American Bar Association annual meeting today got personal briefings from a number of ABA leaders, including House of Delegates Chair Barbara Howard and ABA Executive Director Jack Rives at the Tennessee delegation breakfast in Chicago. The delegation, led by former TBA President John Tarpley, also hosted a reception for about 100 lawyers and officials from across the country Sunday afternoon. That event is jointly supported by the University of Tennessee College of Law, the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, the Belmont University College of Law and the Vanderbilt University Law School.

The ABA is holding its Annual Meeting Aug. 4-10 with programs being offered in person as well as virtually. Among topics to be considered are police reform, cryptocurrency, voter suppression, environmental justice and student free speech rights. On Wednesday, ABA President Patricia Lee Refo will join nine past female presidents of the association to discuss the progress of and remaining challenges to the advancement of women in the profession. The ABA House of Delegates will meet Wednesday and Thursday to consider more than three dozen proposals. Awards also will be presented to Dr. Clarence B. Jones, adviser and lawyer to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and to Lawrence Fox, a champion of legal ethics, professional responsibility and lawyer volunteerism. Read more about the meeting.

The American Bar Association will hold its annual ABA Day virtually this year with two days of programming tomorrow and Wednesday. Sessions will be focused on urging Congress to increase legal aid funding to help low-income people resolve problems resulting from the pandemic, and passing legislation to strengthen judicial security. ABA representatives will be meeting with legislators on Zoom and lawyers across the country are invited to join in these conversations. Training videos on how to be an effective advocate are available online as are briefing materials on the two focus issues. Register here.