In a time when demand for legal aid has never been higher and funding for legal aid providers is being slashed across the country, national and local experts who have devoted their careers to law and policy for the public good shared their perspectives about careers in public interest law Feb. 3 at the ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans.

In a time when states are desperately looking for ways to save money, programs for pretrial release and diversion are not just conserving funds but also ensuring fairness and enhancing public safety, according to a panel at the American Bar Association Midyear Meeting in New Orleans.

The American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) will honor Peter J. Neeson of Philadelphia with its James K. Carroll Leadership Award, which honors members who have shown outstanding leadership qualities and service to the section. The award will be presented to Neeson Feb. 4 during the TIPS Joint Reception with the International Law Section and Judicial Division of the 2012 ABA Midyear Meeting.

A worldwide network of countries and organizations could be the latest tool to improve prevention of genocide and other mass atrocities, according to the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights. The Center’s co-chair, Walter White, explains the urgency of the Center’s work toward a mass atrocity prevention network, and why they must keep moving toward that goal.

American Bar Association President-Elect Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III was sworn in to the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in a ceremony at the association’s Midyear Meeting in Atlanta. Robinson is member-in-charge of the Northern Kentucky offices of Frost Brown Todd LLC, a regional law firm with nine offices located in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia and Indiana.

High school students from the D.M. Therrell School of Law, Government and Public Policy spoke with American Bar Association President-elect Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III before attending the ABA House of Delegates session at the association’s Midyear Meeting in Atlanta on Feb. 14. In addressing the students, Robinson spoke about the significance of the ABA and what it does.

As the American Bar Association met for its Midyear Meeting in Atlanta, House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers called for cuts in LSC funding, cuts that would effectively cut Legal Service Corporation’s spending for the remainder of the year by a staggering 28 percent … or at least $10 million less a month to help struggling families around the country.

Six legal luminaries were honored last week during the 2011 Spirit of Excellence Awards Luncheon of the ABA Midyear Meeting in Atlanta. The award’s motto, “Ad Astra per Aspera – To the Stars through Difficulty,” embodies the struggles of the racially and ethnically diverse lawyers who personify excellence as they pave the way for others to reach new heights, both personally and professionally.

“Wow, you speak English so well!” is a comment that Hispanic lawyer Carlos Cruz-Abrams of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP has heard often throughout his life. While the statement is usually meant as a compliment, Cruz-Abrams said that it’s actually a subtle insult, coined by psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce during the seventies as a “microaggression.” At the Midyear Meeting program “Diversity in the Workplace: Microinsults,” Cruz-Abrams and other panelists shared how such slights can devalue individuals and negatively impact the workplace when they happen on the job.

Experts in tort, trial and insurance law shared their secrets of career success during the program, “I’m Getting My J.D. Now What? A Forum on How to Get Your First Job,” on Friday at the ABA Midyear Meeting. Panelists offered law school students tips on landing their first job in this tough and competitive legal market. They emphasized to law students that setting themselves apart from other applicants is key.

Women veterans seeking healthcare encounter unique challenges every day — because beneath a substance abuse problem, a PTSD diagnosis or physical health problem often lurks a history of past sexual assault, either before or during military service. Legal and healthcare experts who gathered at the American Bar Association Midyear Meeting yesterday outlined many of those challenges and made suggestions as to how judges can better serve these veterans when they appear in courts.

For young juvenile offenders, youth courts can be life savers. Stefan Campagna, now 24, told an audience yesterday at the American Bar Association Midyear Meeting in Atlanta about his teenage turnaround after he was sentenced by peers at a youth court trial. He was 16 at the time, had been accused of 27 felonies and had initially been turned down as a candidate for going to youth court for resolution.