The American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities will present Seattle lawyer Llewelyn G. Pritchard with its 2010 Robert F. Drinan Award for Distinguished Service, which recognizes service to the section through advancing its mission of providing leadership to the legal profession in protecting and advancing human rights, civil liberties and social justice.

The ABA has assembled a collection of legal resources relevant to the Haiti earthquake at http://www.abanet.org/disaster/haiti.html for use by bar associations, lawyers and programs assisting those in need.

Introducing today’s high school students to the role young people played in the Civil Rights Movement is the goal of the year-long “They Had a Dream Too: Young Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement,” the Young Lawyers Division 2009-2010 public service project.

Why is today’s immigration court system functioning so poorly? What are the greatest pressure points on its operation? What should be the most urgent priorities for reform? A new, comprehensive study of the immigration adjudication process has been prepared for the American Bar Association, leading the association to consider a host of policy changes to fix the currently overwhelmed system.

Nationally-recognized advocates for children participated in a hands-on training session for New Orleans juvenile public defenders sponsored by the Children’s Rights Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation during a winter leadership meeting for the Section of Litigation on January, 15, in New Orleans.

Vice Admiral Ann E. Rondeau, USN, and president, National Defense University, will speak at a lunch meeting next Wednesday regarding the changing needs in military education as new threats and new missions face our country. The meeting is sponsored by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security.

The American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section will host a teleconference, “What Hath Congress Wrought? Dealing with Estate Tax Repeal, Carryover Basis and Other Potential Complications of Congressional Inaction,” on Jan. 21, to discuss the implications of the temporary estate tax repeal and the elimination of stepped-up basis valuations of inherited property that are in effect for 2010.

Members of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation will participate in a public service project to help restore historic City Park and Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans. The project will take place on Saturday, Jan. 16 from 1 – 4:30 p.m. at the conclusion of the section’s winter leadership meeting at the Hotel Monteleone.

Examining whether a failure of corporate governance led to the stock market meltdown of 2008, the lead article in the November 2009 issue of The Business Lawyer considers the situation of 37 companies removed from the Standard & Poor’s 500 index during that year.

The American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section is honoring Samuel P. King of Orlando, Fla. with the Pursuit of Justice Award, which recognizes lawyers and judges who have shown outstanding merit and who excel in providing access to justice for all.

From cancelled summer programs, deferrals and rescinded job offers to high debt with no prospects for employment, recent law school grads have taken the brunt of the economic downturn and its impact on the legal community since 2007. But wait, it’s déjà vu—this recession conjures memories of a similar occurrence that redirected grads in the legal world nearly 20 years ago. Those with resilience, ingenuity, persistence and patience fared well, and some even took paths they would never have imagined.

American Bar Association President-elect Stephen N. Zack will speak to the graduating class of the California Western School of Law in San Diego at the school’s commencement ceremony Dec. 21. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, located at One Park Boulevard.