TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

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ABA Scuttles Plan to Kill Law School Admissions Exam Requirement

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 7, 2018
News Type: ABA Meeting News
The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar withdrew a resolution before the ABA House of Delegates on Monday that called for cutting a required exam for law school admission, the ABA Journal reports. On Friday, the Young Lawyers Division Assembly voted against changing the test requirement. And as Monday’s House session began, a letter was circulated on the House floor from the Minority Network, a group of law school admissions professionals, saying the LSAT is better than any other admissions test in predicting a candidate's success in law school.

Montana Lawyer Takes Office as ABA President

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 7, 2018
News Type: ABA Meeting News
Bob Carlson, a shareholder with the Butte, Montana, law firm of Corette Black Carlson and Mickelson PC, became president of the American Bar Association today at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting in Chicago. He will serve a one-year term ending in August 2019. Carlson said he will focus on ABA initiatives to promote lawyer and law student wellness, advance diversity in the association and the profession, fight for access to justice for all and for an independent judiciary, and assess the state of legal education and bar admission.

ABA to Change Dues Structure

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 6, 2018
News Type: ABA Meeting News

The American Bar Association House of Delegates approved a simplified dues structure at its meeting today in Chicago. The new membership model that will streamline the current 157 dues price points down to five: $75, $150, $250, $350 and $450, depending on years as a lawyer and type of practice area.

ABA House of Delegates to Meet, Consider Proposals

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 3, 2018
News Type: ABA Meeting News
The American Bar Association’s House of Delegates will meet on Monday and Tuesday to consider a number of new resolutions, the ABA Journal reports. While the final slate will not be determined until Sunday afternoon, some of the issues that might be voted on include a resolution to amend the ABA’s dues structure and a resolution to eliminate the requirement that law schools use a “valid and reliable admission test” as a part of the application process.

ABA Sees Rare Contested Race for President for 2020-21 Bar Year

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Feb 1, 2018
News Type: ABA Meeting News
For the first time in years, the race for the presidency of the American Bar Association will be a contested one, the ABA Journal reports. Patricia Lee Refo of Arizona, the immediate past chair of the ABA House of Delegates, is facing off against former ABA Treasurer G. Nicholas Casey of West Virginia for the seat of president-elect for the 2019-2020 bar year. The candidates will speak at a forum this week at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Vancouver, and the election will be held at the ABA’s 2019 Midyear Meeting in Las Vegas.

ABA House to Consider Expanding ATJ, Mandatory Sentencing, Attorney Well-Being

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jan 22, 2018
News Type: ABA Meeting News
The American Bar Association House of Delegates will consider about three dozen resolutions at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Vancouver, B.C., including recommendations to expand access to the courts, limit use of mandatory sentences, encourage more attention to lawyer health and well-being, and improve civil rights protections for Americans, particularly on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The 601-member House will meet Feb. 5 at 8:30 a.m. to conclude the Midyear Meeting, which begins Jan. 31.

ABA Certifies Tennessee’s Tarpley to House of Delegates

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Nov 10, 2017
News Type: ABA Meeting News
The American Bar Association Board of Elections was polled via email on Nov. 7 and certified Tennessee attorney John R. Tarpley as the Tennessee State Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates.  The term for this position commences immediately and will expire at the conclusion of the 2019 Annual Meeting. Also certified were Wendell G. Large of Maine and Tracy A. Giles of Virginia.

Memphis Judge Moderates ABA Panel on Batson Decision

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Feb 6, 2017
News Type: ABA Meeting News
Judge Bernice Donald of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit moderated a panel reviewing the 30 years of the Batson v. Kentucky decision of 1986. It ruled that a prosecutor’s exercise of race-based peremptory challenges to jurors violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The panelists at the ABA Midyear Meeting event called the ruling a “tremendous failure,” and said that lawyers need to be trained on how to choose a jury without excluding due to race. Read more at the ABA website.

ABA Rejects Tighter Law School Standards

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Feb 6, 2017
News Type: ABA Meeting News
The American Bar Association House of Delegates today voted against a proposal to tighten bar passage rate standards for accredited law schools, the ABA Journal reports. The proposal faced criticism due to concerns including different state scoring standards and a failure to address racial inequalities in the admissions process. The resolution comes after a recent investigation shows LSAT numbers and bar-pass rates getting worse at so-called “high-risk” law schools – institutions seen as the most at risk for exploiting students. 

Independence of Judiciary Not Up for Negotiation, ABA President Says

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Feb 6, 2017
News Type: ABA Meeting News
American Bar Association President Linda Klein today called on lawyers to defend the rule of law despite comments against the judiciary coming from the U.S. executive branch, according to the ABA Journal. “Let us be clear. The independence of the judiciary is not up for negotiation,” Klein said in an address to the ABA House of Delegates. The House later adopted a resolution urging the U.S. government to withdraw the Executive Order barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Klein also announced the launch of an online portal to coordinate efforts of lawyers helping immigrants affected by the ban.
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