Special Interest Groups

• WHAT IS ITS MISSION?
• HOW IS IT STRUCTURED?
• PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
• FAST FACTS
• PROGRAMS
• BUDGET INFORMATION
• HISTORY
• CURRENT POLITICAL ISSUES
• FUTURE DIRECTIONS
• GROUP RESOURCES
• GROUP PUBLICATIONS
• BIBLIOGRAPHY

ESTABLISHED: August 21, 1878
EMPLOYEES: 750
MEMBERS: 392,000
PAC: None

Contact Information:
ADDRESS: 750 N. Lake Shore Dr. Chicago, IL 60611
PHONE: (312) 988-5000
FAX: (312) 988–6081
URL: http://www.abanet.org
PRESIDENT: Philip S. Anderson

WHAT IS ITS MISSION?

The mission of the American Bar Association (ABA), as stated on their Web site, 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." The ABA works to improve the justice system and to guarantee that each citizen is able to find strong legal representation regardless of their economic or social status. The ABA also works on behalf of its members to increase public understanding and appreciation of the legal profession and to guarantee the highest standards of professional conduct and competence among lawyers.

HOW IS IT STRUCTURED?

The American Bar Association is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. According to its Web site, the ABA is the largest voluntary professional association in the world, representing more than 392,000 members. The organization is governed by the ABA house of delegates, which is responsible for making policy decisions on behalf of the ABA. When the house of delegates takes action on a specific issue, that action then becomes official ABA policy. The house of delegates consists of 525 members, including delegates from state and local bar associations, delegates-at-large, and present and former officers and board members, among others. The house of delegates meets twice each year, at the ABA annual and mid-year meetings.

The ABA board of governors has the authority to act for the ABA when the house of delegates is not in session. All actions taken by the board of governors, however, must be in strict accordance with previous actions of the house of delegates. The board of governors has 37 members and it usually meets five times each year. The board of governors oversees the general operation of the ABA and develops action plans for specific issues.

The president of the ABA is elected at the annual meeting of the house of delegates, and serves a one-year term. The president serves as the official spokesperson for the ABA, with the authority to communicate policy positions as determined by the house of delegates. The president also presides over meetings of the board of governors. He or she has the authority to appoint the chairs and members of standing and special committees of the association and the board.

The ABA is organized into over 2,000 different groups, which vary widely in size, purpose, and organizational structure. The ABA's 23 sections and five divisions combined have thousands of members and contain many sub-committees. They serve to bring together lawyers with similar interests, with sub-groupings such as the Business Law section and the Young Lawyers division. Divisions tend to have a more complicated organization, with separate conferences and their own members, officers, and committees. Many sections, divisions, and even committees have their own publications and programs.

Membership in the ABA is open to any lawyer who has been admitted to practice and is in good standing before the bar of any state or territory of the United States. Also eligible to join the ABA are professionals in law-related fields, such as non-lawyer judges, and federal court executives and law school educators, among others. Specific sections and committees may have additional restrictions on membership.

The headquarters for the ABA are located on the campus of the Northwestern University School of Law at the American Bar Center in Chicago. The ABA also has a Washington, D.C., office, which houses its Governmental Affairs Office (GAO). The GAO serves as the "eyes, ears and voice" of the ABA in the U.S. capitol by providing the association's views on a broad range of political issues to various government offices.

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS

The ABA directs its vast resources and energies into two major areas: upholding the professional image, conduct, and prestige of lawyers and other members of the legal profession; and working on behalf of the justice system itself, to ensure that laws are fairly enacted and enforced and that all citizens' have access to legal representation in the court system.

The ABA develops and enforces standards for the ethical behavior of lawyers. These standards focus mainly on professional regulation, professionalism, and client protection mechanisms. The ABA also works to encourage and maintain communication among the various bar organizations and the agencies responsible for supervising and regulating the professional conduct of lawyers and judges. The association does this by organizing conferences, conducting and publishing legal research and ethics opinions, and developing educational programming and curriculum designed to educate the general public about various aspects of the law and ethical legal behavior.

The ABA publishes several legal journals and sponsors continuing legal education seminars through its various sections, divisions, and forums. These seminars ensure that members of the legal profession are aware of the latest legislation and research regarding their own legal specialty. The ABA also evaluates those members of the legal profession nominated to high levels of public office, often providing its professional opinion to members of House and Senate committees. For example the ABA provides the Senate Judiciary Committee with an evaluation and rating for every lawyer who is nominated to the Supreme Court. Although the ABA's recommendation about a nominee's professional conduct and background is not binding, it does carry some weight in the consideration of the nominee's candidacy.

In addition to policing itself and the members of its profession, the ABA also conducts research and presents opinions regarding nearly every piece of legislation that affects the legal profession or the justice system in general. During the 104th Congress alone, the association's GAO testified at 50 congressional hearings and sent more than 150 letters to congressional members, congressional committees, and officers of the executive branch outlining the ABA's position on countless pieces of legislation. The ABA also operates a State Legislative Clearinghouse, which monitors the activities of state legislatures as well.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (right) discusses First Amendment concepts with Boston high school students as part of Law Day 1996. Law Day is a program sponsored by the American Bar Association that promotes legal education and public service. (Photograph by Susan Walsh, AP/Wide World Photo)

Besides monitoring and providing its opinions on important legislation, the ABA also takes legal action to protect what it considers important constitutional rights. The ABA only becomes involved in those legal cases whose outcomes are "a matter of compelling public interest . . . or a case of special significance to lawyers and the legal profession" (ABA Web page).

Finally the ABA is committed to providing legal aid to all citizens, regardless of their ability to pay for legal services. The ABA works diligently to encourage its members to take on pro bono cases—for which lawyers will not be paid—in areas of civil rights and public rights law, the representation of charitable organizations, and the administration of justice. The ABA has established public service commissions in several areas, and it established a division whose sole purpose is to provide support services to those ABA committees providing free legal care to the public.

PROGRAMS

The American Bar Association sponsors, creates, and manages hundreds of programs to achieve its primary goals. The ABA works to ensure that all Americans, regardless of income, have access to legal representation in both criminal and civil cases through a variety of channels. The American Bar Association Center for Pro Bono has developed a directory of local pro bono programs. Pro bono programs match clients with lawyers who will work on their cases for free. Many lawyers who are otherwise employed in the legal profession volunteer their legal services in this way. Although the ABA does not operate these programs directly, it does provide citizens with valuable guidance in locating them. This is especially important, since communities can be served by several legal services programs, and discovering which one is most appropriate for a certain case can be difficult.

The ABA also works to support agencies which secure legal representation for the poor. For example, the Legal Services Corporation, a government-run agency which provides grants to non-profit organizations who, in turn, provide legal services to low-income Americans, has seen its federal funding cut by 33 percent since 1995. By helping to fund such organizations, the ABA helps achieve its goal of ensuring that all citizens have access to legal representation. The ABA also runs a lawyer referral and information service, and it has established standing committees to oversee legal aid for military personnel and indigent defendants, among others.

In an effort to safeguard the independence of the legal profession and encourage the professional excellence of all lawyers, the ABA established the Center for Professional Responsibility. The Center works on behalf of ABA members to promote "discussion and resolution of pressing issues of professional responsibility" (ABA Web page). It also works to create communication among the various bar associations and establish uniform and enforceable standards of professional conduct.

BUDGET INFORMATION

Not made available.

HISTORY

The American Bar Association was formed on August 21, 1878, in Saratoga Springs, New York. It was established by 100 lawyers from 21 states, and its purpose was to provide a forum for discussing the increasingly complex legal profession. Until that time, there was no national code of ethics for lawyers. Individuals studied under a system of apprenticeship, in which people who wished to join the profession simply learned as much as they could from a practicing lawyer. When the ABA formed, its stated purpose was to "advance the science of jurisprudence . . . and promote the administration of justice . . . throughout the country" (ABA Web page).

As the legal profession grew in numbers and prestige, so did the ABA. Between 1878 and the early 1920s, membership in the ABA grew substantially. During this time members also began to articulate their goals for ensuring that all Americans had equal access to legal representation. In 1920 the ABA established the Special Committee on Legal Aid, whose purpose was to help guarantee that any person seeking legal aid or advice could obtain it regardless of their ability to pay for legal services. The organization has since adopted the guarantee of representation as one of its primary goals, and has worked diligently to promote pro bono legal services among its members.

As the legal profession continued to grow and change, the ABA began to articulate national standards of ethical conduct for lawyers. The organization sought to be more than just a network of lawyers—it hoped to serve as a kind of conscience for the profession, holding lawyers to the highest levels of conduct and reminding them of their public and professional responsibilities.

The ABA also began to act as a kind of information clearinghouse, providing a means for lawyers to update their skills and understanding of changing and developing laws. As the organization grew, it gained a greater level of political influence—which it has used to protect the interests of lawyers. In 1957 the ABA established the Governmental Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the GAO is to monitor all federal legislation which would impact the stated goals and concerns of the ABA. The GAO reports on the status of such legislation, sending information to state and local bar associations when necessary. The GAO also tracks important legislation at the state level.

Although it no longer resembles the small forum for discussing legal issues that formed in the nineteenth century, the ABA has remained committed to its initial goals of providing national standards of ethical conduct and guaranteeing legal representation for all Americans. In 1997 membership in the ABA reached more than 392,000 members. Its concerns, nevertheless, have remained remarkably consistent, despite the growing number and diversity of its membership.

CURRENT POLITICAL ISSUES

As an advocate for lawyers and legal privileges, the ABA sometimes finds itself in the midst of very public battles in which the outcome will have profound effects on basic constitutional rights. The ABA's 1998 fight to protect the attorney-client privilege is a case in point.

Case Study: Attorney-Client Privilege

In 1994 Kenneth Starr was appointed independent counsel to investigate charges against President and Mrs. Clinton concerning a development project named Whitewater. The charges were based on loans and investments made in 1978 while Clinton was still governor of Arkansas. Although Starr's original investigation was very narrow, it eventually expanded to include several other issues, including the president's firing of the White House travel office staff in 1993. As part of his investigation into the travel office firings, Starr subpoenaed notes taken during a meeting between then White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster and his lawyer, James Hamilton. That meeting took place in 1993, and nine days later Vincent Foster committed suicide.

Information that is exchanged between lawyers and their clients is protected by something called the attorney-client privilege. This privilege has become almost sacred in the legal profession. It has been effectively defended and protected for centuries. Traditionally the courts have always held that information exchanged between a lawyer and client was absolutely private, which meant that a lawyer could never be asked to testify about their clients. The ABA feels that this privilege is essential to a meaningful lawyer-client relationship, since a client who cannot trust their lawyer may not disclose information vital to a fair legal defense. It helps ensure that clients will feel safe while being absolutely honest with their lawyers, no matter how embarrassing, or even incriminating, their situation may be. Without this privilege, lawyers argue, clients will not be honest with their counsel, out of fear that the information they provide may someday be used against them.

In the case of Vincent Foster, however, Prosecutor Starr argued that the attorney-client privilege ended when Foster died and that the notes taken during the meeting with his attorney should be turned over to Starr to aid in his investigation. In June of 1998, the U.S. District Court of Appeals ruled in Starr's favor. In response to this ruling, the American Bar Association filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn the decision. In its brief the ABA said there were "hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Americans" making plans in case they should die unexpectedly or otherwise. The ABA asserted, "Many of these people undoubtedly have secrets and confidences that, if revealed, would be at the least highly embarrassing to themselves or their friends and loved ones." Disclosing this information after death could have far-reaching negative effects on survivors (New York Times, "Lawyer-Client Privilege Faces a Critical Test." June 7, 1998).

In June of 1998, the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, siding with the American Bar Association. In its decision the Supreme Court said, "many clients might be discouraged from seeking legal advice, given their interest in posthumously (after-death) preserving their reputations and protecting their survivors from the intrusion of investigators" (New York Times, "Justices Deal Starr a Defeat." June 26, 1998.)

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

As the legal profession continues to grow, the ABA plans to take on more responsibilities in its efforts to maintain and enforce ethical standards of conduct within the legal profession, and in working to ensure that all people are granted access to adequate legal representation in the courts. The role of the Governmental Affairs Office (GAO) will continue to expand, focusing on bills in state legislatures as well as those in Congress. As technology grows more complicated and sophisticated, so will the laws governing its use, providing lawyers with a new legal frontier. The ABA has already established a special forum on Communications Law to begin providing resources to members working within this field.

GROUP RESOURCES

The ABA maintains a Web page at http://www.abanet.org which provides a great deal of information on specific ABA committees, forums, organizations, and boards. The ABA can also be contacted at 750 N. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60611. The ABA phone number is (312) 988-5000. The Lawyer Referral Services program, which provides free legal referrals and information services can also be accessed at the ABA Web site. The ABA also manages Legal Help for the Poor and the Center for Pro Bono Programs at its Web site. Information about Pro Bono Programs in different states can be obtained through the links provided by the site. Also the current Directory of Pro Bono Programs can be requested by writing to the Chicago address listed above.

The ABA also provides a great deal of information about the Center for Professional Responsibility, including lawyer's manuals, lawyer assistance programs, client protection and publications. You can contact the center via the ABA Web site or write them at the Center for Professional Responsibility, American Bar Association, 541 N. Fairbanks Ct., Chicago, IL 60611. The center can be reached by telephone at (312) 988-5304 or by E-mail at: ctrprofresp@abanet.org.

GROUP PUBLICATIONS

The ABA calls itself one of the largest publishers in the United States and the largest legal publisher in the world (ABA Web page). It publishes over 60 books a year and over 50 periodicals for ABA sections, divisions, and commissions. Publications include works intended primarily for legal professionals, such as A Guide to Federal Agency Rulemaking. Others are intended for a wider audience, including Finding the Right Lawyer, The American Bar Association Family Legal Guide, and booklets such as Mediation: A Consumer's Guide, and Law and the Courts. Information about these publications can be found at the ABA Publishing home page at http://www.abanet.org/abapubs/home.html. Publications can be ordered at this Web site, over the phone at 1-800-285-2221, or by mail at ABA Publication Orders, PO Box 10892, Chicago, IL 60610-0892.