Knowing how to sell groceries, fly airplanes or pick up garbage are generally not in the average lawyer’s skill set or on her to-do list. But increased government regulation and the need to navigate international laws and treaties are just two of the reasons more lawyers are moving into the corner office in Fortune 50 companies—including Kroger Co., Continental Airlines and Waste Management Inc.—according to “CEO, Esq.” the cover story in the May issue of ABA Journal.

Nearly 40 percent of the respondents to the 2009 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report acknowledge that it is very important for them to get training on their firm’s technology. But who has the time? If ABA members have as little as 15 minutes to spare they can get caught up on tricks, tips, shortcuts and features of commonly used office and legal software on Training Tuesdays.

Martha Bergmark, president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Justice, is a recipient of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation’s 2010 John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award. The section also recognized the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership during a special luncheon at the section’s annual conference Friday in New York City.

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.

“This is a way to get new bar admittees plugged in early and to give them opportunities to really understand how they can use the ABA in the beginning of their careers and use it to build their careers,” said Eric Koester, membership director of Young Lawyers Division.

The American Bar Association Section of Family Law joined with Parkway Partners during the section’s Spring Conference in New Orleans April 14 – 17 to contribute to the city’s ongoing revitalization efforts. Members of the section spent four hours on April 15 planting Bogalusa, or long-leaf pine, at the base of more than 100 trees along the Broad Street corridor.

With sales of the recently released iPad from Apple exceeding expectations comes news of a new app for those with an interest in news from the legal community. The first legal news app developed specifically for the iPad was released this week by the ABA Journal, the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association.

The intersection of marriage, long-term care and the rights of those involved will be among the issues explored at the upcoming meeting of the American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities spring council meeting May 15-17 in New Orleans.

On April 12, members of the American Bar Association met with United Nations’ officials as part of the annual ABA Day at the U.N. For more than 15 years, ABA members have been meeting with U.N. officials to discuss how association members can assist in mobilizing various initiatives through reports, projects and policy endorsements of U.N. treaties.