WASHINGTON – “Our immigration system is in crisis, overburdened and under-resourced,” said Karen Grisez, chair of the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration yesterday at a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

The American Bar Association has launched a new website, ABA Home Front, dedicated to providing servicemembers and military families with resources for understanding legal issues and obtaining law-related assistance for the problems they face every day. This site features an Information Center, a Directory of Programs and a Military Pro Bono Center, all designed to deliver legal information and expert assistance to military families.

Roberta Liebenberg, chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, served as chair of the 2011 Women’s Power Summit on Law and Leadership sponsored by the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas Law School in Austin, Texas.

During “Intellectual Property as a Corporate Asset and Managing Outside Counsel,” a panel of in-house lawyers discussed their roles, and offered insight into the qualities they seek when hiring outside counsel. An in-house lawyer routinely interacts with a much wider spectrum of individuals on a professional level than outside counsel do, said two in-house counsel who have experience in both roles.

Elizabeth Miller, professor of law at Baylor University since 1991 and a nationally recognized authority on the law of limited liability companies (LLCs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs), has been named the 2011 recipient of the Jean Allard Glass Cutter Award from the American Bar Association Business Law Section.

The American Bar Association Center for Human Rights convened its first Human Rights Summit in April in Washington, D.C. Center Co-Chairs Michael S. Greco and Walter H. White Jr., led the discussion and listened to more than a dozen directors and chairs from human rights-related ABA entities and sections.

Volunteer attorneys, law firms and corporate law departments enhance the lives of individuals and families by developing, supporting and participating in medical-legal partnerships, an innovative way to provide legal services, which improves patients’ lives and builds healthier communities.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today became the newest member of the American Bar Association, joining nearly 400,000 members of the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. Graham is the senior U.S. senator from South Carolina, serving since 2003.

Join the ABA Health Law Section as they host their annual Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law conference at the Ritz Carlton New Orleans. Come learn about the latest topics facing the healthcare bar and participate in more than 16 hours of CLE programming, including five plenary sessions, 12 concurrent Interest Group CLE programs and an ethics session. This year’s conference will also offer pre-conference sessions—including the ABA’s Breast Cancer Legal Advocacy Workshop.

Do you know a high school student who loves history? Or a teen who loves recording and editing video? The American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division is inviting high school students to participate in its Law Day Video Contest for a chance to win a trip to Washington, D.C., to celebrate Law Day. This is the first year of the contest and the division plans to host it annually.

After a 15-year hiatus, the Administrative Conference of the United States is back and re-energized. During a program in Washington, D.C., titled “ACUS 2.0: The Reincarnation of the Administrative Conference of the United States,” a number of leading experts—including ACUS Chairman Paul R. Verkuil—spoke about the history of the conference, celebrated its reestablishment and looked at future potential areas of study.

The Nov. 2 election was historic both in terms of the change it brought about in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures, and also in the amount of money — much of it secret — that was spent in the races. A Supreme Court ruling, in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, led to the creation this summer of “super PACs” that can raise unlimited money to expressly advocate for or against candidates. Much of the disclosure that is required of such entities won’t happen until after the elections.