Laurel Bellows becomes President-Elect of American Bar Association

Laurel Bellows of Chicago takes the helm as President-Elect of the American Bar Association for the 2011-2012 term.  She spoke her welcome at the opening of the House of Delegates, the association’s policy-making body, as it met in Toronto on August 9, 2011. She commended what she called the “unstoppable, unbeatable power of this association.” “We together we have changed laws; we have changed policies; we have changed attitudes; we have changed lives,” she said. She detailed several goals she hoped the association would work toward: to end trafficking of women and girls, improve legal education, propose national legislation to ensure national security while protecting privacy, and help solo and small firm law practitioners. The ABA president-elect automatically becomes the president of the association for the next year-long term. Bellows will serve as president for the 2012-13 term.