Jerry Sandusky, Casey Anthony and alleged terrorists … what’s a lawyer to do when representing an unpopular client? A panel of expert lawyers spoke to the issue at a meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C. The formal prohibitions on who a lawyer or firm can represent are quite narrow, said Thomas D. Morgan, professor, George Washington University Law School. However, it’s a moral issue and “we all make judgments on who we will represent.”

The American Bar Association is front and center in an effort to make gender equality a national priority. The initiative, called Vision 2020, is organized by Drexel University College of Medicine’s Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership. The ABA is one of 46 national allies, representing more than 20 million women and girls. The movement is hoping to leverage those numbers to accelerate gender equality by the year 2020, the centennial anniversary of women’s suffrage.

American Bar Association President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III today announced that the association is now offering free continuing legal education programs to its members. “The ABA affirms its commitment to member service and education through our new CLE Premier Speaker Series,” Robinson said. “Each year, the series will provide ABA members up to 18 free continuing legal education credits through monthly programs.

Four lawyers who have broken down barriers for women, people of color and people with disabilities, regardless of sexual orientation, have been honored with Difference Maker Awards by the American Bar Association General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division. The Division presented the awards at the National Solo & Small Firm Conference in Denver Oct. 21.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet, a woman of many firsts, is the recipient of the 2011 Rule of Law Award from the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative. Bachelet, also the executive director of U.N. Women, received the award on October 5 during ABA ROLI’s Annual Rule of Law Award Dinner in Washington, D.C.

James M. Redwine of Motors Liquidation Company, and David R. Berz of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, are the recipients of the 2011 Excellence in Environmental, Energy, and Resources Stewardship Award from the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources.

A panel of analysts and reporters who cover the U.S. Supreme Court met Tuesday to talk about the hottest issues the high court faced last year and to predict the cases it might hear next year. “Being a U.S. Supreme Court justice now days, because of rapidly evolving technology, must be one of the most difficult jobs in public service,” said panelist Neal Katyal, a professor at Georgetown University Law School.

The use of digital technology to convey information and process routine transactions is becoming more and more widespread. Two men have dedicated their lives to making sure the blind or visually impaired are not left behind. Together, Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, and Daniel Goldstein, a partner at Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, have used the law to force changes in technology to accommodate those who are blind.

With much of the East Coast still shaking from Tuesday’s earthquake and the rest of the coast bracing itself for Hurricane Irene, we are constantly reminded that it’s always the right time to be prepared for a disaster. Here are legal tips so that families and businesses can prepare now to help cope after a disaster.

Keith Swisher, Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Assistant Professor at the Phoenix School of Law, is the 2011 recipient of the Rosner & Rosner Young Lawyers Professionalism Award. His contributions to the profession include teaching, scholarship, pro bono defense, speaker and panelist.

Alexandra Newman, a 2010 graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and a staff law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, is the winner of the 2011 Bert W. Levit Essay Contest, sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability. Newman’s essay addressed the legal issue of whether an individual who has engaged in fraud has standing to sue a lawyer who was engaged in that fraud for fraud and legal malpractice.

Harvard Professor Laurence H. Tribe cautioned that he may “offend” during his testimony at the American Bar Association’s public hearing Thursday on court funding and access to justice at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. While no one seemed to find them offensive, his remarks may have raised a few eyebrows as he called the U.S. Supreme Court “blind” and the justice system “fundamentally broken”.