With the enactment of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, those youth who face the difficulties of transitioning out of foster care when they reach age 18 may have a chance at a brighter future. On April 15 -16, more than 100 leaders and youth-at-risk experts met at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College in New York City to discuss how to effectively execute the law and ways to further assist these vulnerable youth.

Speaking with one voice, scores of state and territorial bar association presidents signed on to a letter to Congress calling for improved support of Legal Services Corporation. The letter, supported by the National Conference of Bar Presidents, includes the signatures of 61 state bar presidents, as well as bar presidents from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

When it comes to recruiting lawyers to do pro bono legal work, judges walk a fine line. According to David Avery, an Indiana Superior Court Judge, judges can speak with groups about the need for lawyers to handle pro bono work, but not with individual lawyers.

Highlights of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation Annual Conference featured presentations from leading national litigators such as Robert Morvillo and David Boies, as well as guidance from top national legal reporters like Adam Liptak of the New York Times, Dan Abrams of NBC News and David Lat of Abovethelaw.com.

A toolkit for lawyers working with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender survivors of domestic violence has been developed by the American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, Commission on Domestic Violence and Criminal Justice Section, in collaboration will the National LGBT Bar Association.

Giving back to the Denver community was an important part of the 2010 Specialization Roundtable March 11-13. The project on March 13 involved doing outdoor work at Denver’s Karis Community.

The 2010 Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Business Law Section in Denver, April 22-24, will feature discussions on financial services reform, identity theft, working with troubled companies, managing online reputations and board influence on corporate culture, among other topics. The meeting will take place in the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel.

How are new technologies affecting patent and copyright law? What impact does the Google books settlement have on authors, publishers and online competitors? What are the issues and solutions to problems arising from biosimilar regulation in the United States and abroad?

More than 200 of America’s top family law attorneys are set to convene in New Orleans to discuss leading family law issues, including custody involving special needs children, assisted reproductive technology laws, handling adoptions and late-in-life divorce. TheAmerican Bar Association Section of Family Law 2010 Spring CLE Conference will take place April 14 – 17, with headquarters at the Hotel Monteleone.

Harold Koh, legal adviser, U.S. Department of State, will share his views this coming Tuesday on the legal implications of the administration’s national security policy at an American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security breakfast program.

The American Bar Association’s Section of International Law will host its 2010 Spring Meeting April 13-17 at the Grand Hyatt New York, located at 109 E. 42 St. in New York City. The global economy and its effects on the international legal profession and its clients will be the key issue of discussion at the meeting.

The American Bar Association is teaming up with TreeUtah to plant trees in South Jordan City, Utah, as part of the Great Salt Lake Audubon Society’s Jordan River Migratory Bird Habitat Restoration Project, on Saturday, March 20 from 1 – 4 p.m. This service project is being held in conjunction with the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources 39th Annual Conference on Environmental Law.