DATE:            August 25, 2000

 REPORT ON THE ABA ANNUAL MEETING

The 122" Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association (the "ABA") was held July 6-12, 2000, in New York, New York. A wide variety of programs were sponsored by committees, sections, divisions, and affiliated organizations. The House of Delegates (the "House") met for one and one-half days. The Nominating Committee of the House also met.

Some of the highlights of the meeting were:

           The Nominating Committee sponsored a "Meet the Candidates" Forum on Sunday, July 9, 2000. The following candidates who are seeking nomination at the 2001 Midyear Meeting gave speeches to the Nominating Committee and to members of the Association present: Allan J. Joseph of California and Carolyn P. Kelly of Connecticut, candidates for Treasurer, Lynne Z. Gold-Bikin of Pennsylvania and Ellen F. Rosenblum of Oregon, candidates for Secretary; and Alfred P. Carlton, Jr. of North Carolina, Jack F. Dunbar of Mississippi and Darrell E. Jordan of Texas, candidates for President-Elect.

           The Opening Assembly was held on Saturday, July 8, and remarks were delivered by Phillip Lader, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

           The ABA Medal was presented to Oliver Hill of Richmond, Virginia at the House of Delegates meeting.

 THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES

The House met on Monday, July 10, and Tuesday, July 11, 2000. Robert J. Grey, Jr., of Richmond, Virginia, presided as Chair of the House.

Chair Grey called the House to order on Monday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. and welcomed the delegates to New York.

Reverend Clarence Grant of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church delivered the invocation for the Home.

The Chair of the House Committee on Credentials and Admissions, Sharon Stem Gerstman of New York, welcomed the new members of the House.

The Chair of the House Committee on Rules and Calendar, Harriet E. Miers of Texas, discussed the rules and procedures to be adhered to by the House. Electronic voting was once again used throughout the meeting of the House.

For more details of the House meeting, see the following two-part report of the House session. The first part of the report provides a synopsis of the speeches and reports made to the Home. The second part provides a summary of the action taken on the resolutions presented to the House.

1.         SPEECHES AND REPORTS MADE TO THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES

The Secretary of the Association, Jack B. Middleton, named members of the House who had died since the last meeting of the House of Delegates. Mr. Darrell E. Jordan of Texas gave remarks in memory of former House member, Morris Han-ell. Mr. Harrell was remembered for his service as President of the Dallas Bar Association, President of the Texas Bar Association, President of the American Bar Association and as a recipient of the ABA Medal - the highest award given by our Association. He was honored as "a giant" in the profession.

Joanne M. Gzavey of California announced that Leonard Janofsky had passed away. Mr. Janofsky served as ABA President from 1979 to 1980. Mr. John Pickering of Washington, DC, recalled that foremost among Mr. Janofsky's many achievements, he was a "marvelous human being."

Chair Grey briefly addressed the House and called for 100% participation from the members of the House in making a financial contribution to the Fund for Justice and Education ("FJE"). FJE is the charitable arm of the American Bar Association. Chair Grey stated that it is tremendously important that members of the House of Delegates participate in contributing to FJE.

Earle F. Lasseter, Treasurer of the ABA, referred the House to his detailed written report. Treasurer Lasseter explained the Association is "very strong" financially. He noted that them has been an increase in the number of "Class 7 members" of the Association. He stated that members of Class 7 pay 80% of the dues collected on behalf of the Association. Mr. Lasseter did indicate that the London portion of the meeting has been a "financial disappointment." Approximately $900,000 will be drawn from the ABA safety fund to cover budgetary shortfalls associated Aith the London portion of the Annual Meeting. The expiration of the Association's lease on its headquarters facility in Chicago, which terminates in the year 2004, is another issue which will have tremendous financial implications for the Association but the leadership is planning now for the lease expiration.

ABA President, William G. Paul of Oklahoma, then addressed the House of Delegates. President Paul indicated that it had been a "joy to serve" and that he had been extremely honored to represent the Association and the profession. He recognized his wife, Barbara, who worked hard for the ABA over the course of the past year. He went on to thank the partners in his law firm, the other members of the ABA leadership team, and the ABA staff. He indicated that the ABA staff had always given a " 150% effort".

President Paul devoted the past year to the proposition of "lawyers serving society in the new millennium." During the past year, President Paul was committed to ensuring that the title of law was preserved and that the Association remained committed to the "timeless principle of public service." Additionally, under President Paul's leadership, the Association never wavered in defending liberty and defending justice.

With respect to the issue of diversity, President Paul vowed to "move from rhetoric to action." When President Paid took office, he created the Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund. The Fund is designed to raise money for minority scholarships in hopes that diversity within the profession will increase as a result. A year ago, President Paul announced a goal of raising $1,000,000 during his term of office. To date, over $1.3 million bas been raised for the Fund. Twenty scholarship recipients have been selected from a field of more than 1,200 candidates. To keep the dream alive, President Paul exhorted members of the House to continue giving. He pledged that he and his wife, Barbara, will continue to contribute annually to the Scholarship Fund. President Paul indicated that the ABA will be seeking matching tuition waivers from accredited law schools in an effort to "double the bang for the buck! "

President Paul discussed the need to use technology to make legal services mom available and more affordable. He reminded members of the House that the ABA is expanding its international legal outreach through the creation of programs similar to the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative ("CEELI"). To promote the rule of law around the world, regional councils have been approved for Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

President Paul closed by: calling for a moratorium on the death penalty until minimum due process standards are assured; indicating that "we refuse to believe that there is no solution" to the epidemic problem of domestic violence; calling for lawyers to work to lessen the plight of immigrants; and noting that serving as ABA President was the "ultimate gift" he could ever receive.

After a moving and inspirational speech from one of the Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund recipients, Ketema Ross, President Paul presented the ABA Medal to Oliver Hill. Mr. Hill was described as a "true hero." Mr. Hill was a pioneer civil rights lawyer who paved the way for equality in education. Mr. Hill's work "forever changed the course of our nation's history."

Mr. Hill graduated from Howard University Law School in 1933, where he was second in his class behind U.S. Supreme Court Justice Marshall. In 1948, Mr. Hill became the first African-American to serve on the Richmond, Virginia City Council since Reconstruction.

Martha W. Barnett of Florida, ABA President-Elect, spoke to the House. Ms. Barnett began by saying, I love lawyers." She stated that she will begin every speech she gives over the course of the next year proclaiming her love of attorneys.

Martha spoke about the pleasure she had serving with President Paul. She described Bill Paul as "a leader in the classic sense."

She spoke from the heart about having led a charmed life, noting she had a wonderful husband (Rick) and two children (Sarah and Richard) of whom she is very proud. Her husband, a renowned architect, has been in many ways "die architect of her life."

Martha noted how proud she is to be a partner in the Holland & Knight law firm. She had to laugh about the fact that her law firm is double the size of her hometown. On a related note, she recognized her "friend, mentor, partner and personal hero," Chesterfield Smith (a former ABA President).

Stating "the ABA's plate is full," Ms. Barnett does not plan to undertake my major new initiatives. Instead, she will focus on making your priorities her priorities - on promoting what is already on-going within the Association.

That having been said, she believes we must seize the future. One way of doing this will be to study the issue of multi-jurisdictional practice. Harriet E. Miffs of Texas will chair the Commission on Multi-Jurisdictional Practice. Robert J. Grey, Jr. will chair the "Futures Committee."

A summit on the death penalty will be held in the coming year. Calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, Martha said "the issue is not the death penalty, the issue is ensuring competent counsel." According to Ms. Barnett, them must be zero tolerance with respect to the execution of innocent Americans.

She noted that she is "for many things." These include: (i) the Legal Services Corporation because we need to ensure access for all; (ii) the uniquely American concept of judicial independence; (iii) the rule of law, which we must continue to preserve and protect; (iv) substance abuse issues because "silence on the issue can be deadly"; and (v) the staff of the ABA and members of the House.

Martha Barnett concluded by remarking "the lawyers of America can be the architects of our nations future."

Robert E. Hirshon of Maine, who will become ABA President-Elect at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting, also addressed the House. He thanked his firm and his family for their support and introduced his oldest daughter, Sarah, who is a first year law student.

Mr. Hirshon expressed his vision of providing value to members for their dues dollars. He encouraged everyone to help "all of our members enjoy all of the fruits of membership."

Mr. Hirshon said we must help "Main Street lawyers" make their practices more effective and more efficient.

Mr. Hirshon will seek new ways to ensure access to justice for all Americans. He wants to ensure both access to our courts and access to our profession. He stated he will fight to protect our judiciary and that "civility and professionalism are to remain our twin goals within the profession."

Mr. Hirshon called for continued unyielding support of the Legal Services Corporation and noted that "if not for the ABA, there would be no LSC - no legal code of ethics." He stated that our association helps ordinary lawyers help ordinary people with ordinary problems, and that by doing so performs extraordinary achievements.

He closed by asking members of the House to join him on a journey of learning, noting that "together, we can make a better Association, better profession, and better America."

Robert A. Stein, Executive Director, addressed the body. N&. Stein referenced his written report and highlighted that the Association is extremely strong. Mr. Stein focused his comments on three exciting aspects of the Association s work: (i) membership; (ii) technology and website development; and (iii) international outreach.

Mr. Stein advised the House that membership had increased each year for the past four years and that new record levels of membership had been achieved during the past two yews. This record of membership development is unmatched by any other large, professional, volunteer association. Mr. Stein reminded members of the House that this year is a dues increase year. Each time we have had a dues increase, we have seen a corresponding decrease in membership. Projections indicate we can expect approximately a six percent decrease. Mr. Stein said there has been "a full-court press" to actually increase membership this year despite the dues increase.

According to Mr. Stein, the Association has been making tremendous and rapid progress with respect to its development of technology and a state-of-the-art website. This is one of the Association's highest priorities.

In describing the Association's international outreach efforts, Mr. Stein stated the ABA is "bringing the blessing of the rule of law to other developing nations." The heads of forty-seven international bar associations were in attendance at the annual meeting.

Thomas M. Fitzpatrick, a member of the Board of Governors, rose on a point of personal privilege. He advised members of the House that Joe Gordon, from Tacoma, Washington, was completing his one-hundredth consecutive meeting of the House of Delegates!

THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The Nominating Committee met on Sunday, July 9. The Chair of the Steering Committee of the Nominating Committee, H. Thomas Wells, Jr., of Alabama, presented the Nominating Committee report and announced the following officers of the Association and members of the Board of Governors had been nominated for the terms indicated:

President-Elect (2000-01)

Robert E. Hirshon of Maine

Chair of the House of Deleeates (2000-02)

Karen J. Mathis of Colorado

Members of the Board of Governors (2000-03)

District Members

District 3: Saul A. Wolfe of New Jersey
District 5: Wm. T. Robinson III of Kentucky
District 9: Honorable Cam Lee T. Neville of Minnesota
District 14: John L. McDonnell, Jr. of California
District 15: Sharon Stem Gerstman of New York
District 16: William L. Pope of South Carolina
District 17: James B. Lee of Utah

Section Members-at-Large
Family Law. Richard J. Podell of Wisconsin
Taxation: Irwin L. Treiger of Washington

Judicial Member-at-Large
Honorable John Michael Vittone of Washington, DC

Minority Member-at-Large
Paul W. Lee of Massachusetts

Young Lawyer Member-at-Large
Martin N. Olsen of Utah

These individuals were unanimously elected by the House to serve as President-Elect of the Association, Chair of the House of Delegates and members of the Board of Governors for terms beginning at the conclusion of this meeting. It was noted that the Association's Constitution provides that the President-Elect automatically becomes the President at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting and Martha W. Barnett of Florida will assume that office.

OTHER ELECTIONS

The Scope Nominating Committee nominated Michael F. Flowers of Ohio to the Committee on Scope and Con-elation of Work. The House unanimously elected Mr. Flowers to a five-year term to begin at the conclusion of this meeting.

The House was informed that the following individuals were elected as Delegates-at­Large to the House for three-year terms beginning at the conclusion of this meeting: Alice E. Richmond of Massachusetts (District 2); Hilarie F. Bass of Florida (District 8); Llewelyn G. Pritchard of Washington (District 13); Seth Rosner of New York (District 15); Pamela A. Bresnahan of Maryland (District 16); and Tom Bolt of the Virgin Islands (Territorial Representative).

11. RECOMMENDATIONS VOTED ON BY THE HOUSE

A brief summary of the action taken on recommendations brought before the House follows. The recommendations are categorized by topic areas, and the number of the recommendation is noted in brackets.

ABA CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS AND
HOUSE RULES OF PROCEDURE

[11-1] No action was taken on the proposal to amend '1.2 of the Constitution to include the following language as one of the purposes of the Association: "to defend the right to life of all innocent human beings, including all those conceived but not yet born," because there was no presenter in attendance.

[11-2] The proposal to amend '2-1 and '9.2(a) of the Constitution to provide for representation of the United States Territories on the Nominating Committee was withdrawn.

[11-3] The House approved the proposal to amend '43.1 of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Delegates to provide that the calendar for the midyear meeting of the House must include a report on the legislative priorities.

[11-4] The House approved the proposal to amend '31.7 of the Bylaws to eliminate the Standing Committee on Law and Literacy.

[11-5] The House approved the proposal to amend '5.3 of the Constitution and '23.1 of the Bylaws to clarify and cross-reference the provisions that pertain to resolutions submitted by Association members who are not delegates.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

[113] The House approved the recommendation which urges Congress to consider certain guidelines in connection with any firture legislation mandating hearings and to amend the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to provide for the use of formal APA proceedings in such legislation in the absence of an express contrary congressional determination.

[116A] The recommendation which supports the greater use of "ombudsmen" to receive, review and resolve complaints involving public or private entities and endorses the Standards for the Establishment and Operation of Ombudsman Offices, dated July 2000 was withdrawn by the proponents.

[116B] The House approved the recommendation which urges Congress to expand the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to include review of all purely legal issues decided by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, formerly the Court of Veterans Appeals.

BOARD OF GOVERNORS RECOMMENDATION AND
REPORT WITH RECOMMENDATION ON ARCHIVING

[177A] The House approved the continuation of Committees as listed in Board of Governors Transmittal Report to the House of Delegates.

[400] The House approved the recommendation, as revised, which recommends that certain Association policies that pertain to public issues and are 10 years old or older be archived. The following policy was removed from the list of policies to be archived and will remain on the active policy list: Policy No. 82, Public Housing Projects.

BUSINESS LAW

[105] The recommendation urging Congress to approve the "Electronic Commerce in Bankruptcy Recognition Act", dated July 2000, interpreting signature and writing requirements contained within Title 11 by reference to applicable non-bankruptcy law; and supporting the enactment of federal legislation to eliminate unnecessary legal and functional barriers to electronic commerce contained in Title 11 of the United States Code was withdrawn by the proponent.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

[10A] The House approved the revised substitute recommendation, which urges Congress and state legislatures to enact campaign finance reform that reflects a series of goals, opposes the solicitation and use of soft money contributions in federal election campaigns, and supports public financing of congressional and presidential campaigns.

COPYRIGHT, LICENSING

[10B] The House approved the recommendation, as; revised, which urges the ABA to negotiate an ABA member discounted rate for members seeking to receive copyright licensing protection from the Copyright Clearance Center.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

[115] The House approved the recommendation, as revised and amended, which urges federal, state, local and territorial jurisdictions to adhere to principles concerning biological evidence collected in conjunction with the investigation of a criminal case.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

[109A] The House approved the recommendation which encourages states, territories, local governments, courts and attorneys to take action to provide for the safety of adult and child domestic violence victims during visitation and visitation exchange.

[109B] The House approved the recommendation which recommends that court-mandated mediation include an opt-out prerogative in any action in which one party has perpetrated domestic violence upon the other party.

[111] The House approved the recommendation which urges the extension of remedies, protections; and services, within domestic violence statutes to adolescents, and urges educational authorities, law enforcement officials, juvenile courts, and other government agencies to support more effectively adolescent dating awareness programs, domestic violence awareness programs, adolescent victim services and teen offender intervention programs.

ELECTION LAW

[107] The House approved the recommendation, as revised, urging Congress, states and territories to review their respective election laws as they relate to election and campaign activity on the Internet and to apply those laws in a manner that encourages political activity through this medium, upholds First Amendment guarantees of free speech and association, and seeks to eliminate opportunities for unfairness, corruption or undue influence.

HEALTH LAW

[102] The House approved the recommendation which urges the federal government, states and territories to construe, apply, and if necessary, amend laws regulating the health professions, controlled substances, insurance, and both public and private health benefit programs so that these laws do not impose barriers to quality pain and symptom management.

HEALTH LAW (cont.)

[112] The House approved the recommendation, as revised, to recommend that the ABA partner with the public health community to improve access to legal services for breast cancer and patients; and urges Congress, states, territories and local governments to provide adequate Banding for basic research and clinical trials to find a cure for breast cancer and other women's health conditions in that die present level of spending is not adequate.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

[301] The House approved the recommendation which favors in principle that Congress provide that all revenue generated by fees paid by patent and trademark applicants and owners to the United States Patent and Trademark Office remain with the USPTO without limitation, and specifically, that the Association opposes the withholding or diversion of my such revenue to fund any unrelated programs.

INTERNATIONAL LAW

[10H] The House approved the recommendation which: 1) reaffirms ABA support for an effective United Nations; 2) urges the U.S. to pay its outstanding dues to the UN; and 3) urges the U.S. to ratify specific treaties previously endorsed by the House of Delegates.

[106A] The House approved die recommendation, as revised, to support UN adoption and U.S. ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts.

[106B] The House approved the recommendation, as revised, to support UN adoption and U.S. ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION

[114] The House approved, as revised, the Standards for State Judicial Retirement dated July 2000, which calls for mandatory retirement of a judge at age 75 years, with the opportunity for a retired judge at my age, up to age 80 years, to apply for Senior Judge status for a two-year term, if the judge is physically and mentally fit.

[10G] The recommendation urging states, territories and possessions to increase access to the system of justice for limited and non-English speaking people by providing through legislation or court rule that qualified interpreters who are employed by a telecommunications or other technology-based interpretation service may be appointed in my judicial or administrative proceeding was withdrawn by the proponents.

JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

[108] The House approved the recommendation to adopt the black letter of the "Standards on State Judicial Selection", dated July 2000.

LEGAL EDUCATION

[103] The House approved the recommendation granting reapproval and extension of the term of approval to several legal assistant education programs.

[300A] The House approved the recommendation to concur with the action of the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar that the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law be granted provisional, approval by the American Bar Association.

[300B] The House approved the recommendation to concur with the action of the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar in adopting revisions to the Standards for Approval of Law Schools by the American Bar Association.

MILITARY LAW

[10C] The House approved the recommendation, as revised, to urge Congress not to enact legislation restricting or modifying the jurisdiction of federal courts, or modifying the remedies available therein, in cases involving military selection boards as proposed by the Department of Defense in Title V, Subtitle F (Sections 551 to 554) of the proposed DOD Authorization Act for FY2001.

[104] The Home approved the recommendation which commends the armed services for steps they have taken to implement continuation pay for judge advocates, in order to encourage recruiting and retention of well-qualified attorneys in the armed services; and urges effective and ongoing utilization of such authority.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PRACTICE

[10D] The recommendation urging that the ABA make no changes to rules due to advances of multidisciplinary practice because such change necessarily compromises the independence of the legal profession and the loyalty to clients that is codified in the Rules of Professional Conduct was withdrawn by the proponents.

[10E] The recommendation calling for the ABA to state unequivocally that multidisciplinary practice (MDP) not be authorized or sanctioned was withdrawn by the proponents.

[10F] The House approved the recommendation, as revised, which urges that the ABA make no changes to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct to permit lawyers to share legal fees with nonlawyers.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PRACTICE (cont.)

[10I] The recommendation that the ABA should establish a procedure to insure that the best interests of clients is maintained and that the core values of the legal profession are adequately protected before voting on the current MDP proposal was withdrawn by the proponent.

[10J] The recommendation that the ABA take no action that in my way discourages further discussion of MDP until a more substantial number of state and local bar associations and ABA entities currently studying MDP have had an opportunity to conclude their studies and that MDP be subject to the jurisdiction of Committee on Research into the Future of the Legal Profession was not considered because the motion to substitute 10J for Revised 10F failed.

[100] The recommendation urging each jurisdiction to implement its law governing lawyers, principles that permit certain forms of multidisciplinary practice but preclude nonlawyer involvement in the practice of law and preserve the core values of the American legal profession was withdrawn by the proponent.

[117] The recommendation that the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct be amended to permit lawyers to share fees and join with nonlawyer professionals in a practice that delivers both legal and nonlegal professional services (Multidisciplinary Practice), provided that the lawyers have the control and authority necessary to assure lawyer independence in the rendering of legal services was withdrawn by the proponents. 

PUBLIC CONTRACT LAW

[110] The House approved the American Bar Association 2000 Model Procurement Code for State and Local Governments, dated July 2000.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LAW

[101] The House approved the recommendation to change the name of the Section of Science and Technology to the Section of Science and Technology Law.