Experts in trial practice, leading public officials, jurists and representatives of the news media will participate in sessions for the nation’s largest gathering of trial lawyers when the American Bar Association Section of Litigation meets in New York City for its annual conference April 21-23 at the Hilton New York Hotel.

The American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution will hold its 12th Annual Spring Conference April 7-10 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, located at 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco. Panels will focus on a variety of topics including government transparency, class action suits, international negotiations, issues in health care, online dispute resolution, same-sex dissolution, construction industry mediation in the time of the recession and others, with more than 100 programs in all.

The American Bar Association Section of Litigation will recognize Martha Bergmark of Jackson, Miss., the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership with the annual John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award for their contributions to public service. The awards will be presented at a special luncheon during the section’s annual conference on April 23 at 12:45 p.m. in the Mercury Ballroom at the Hilton New York Hotel.

The latest developments since the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, civil and criminal enforcement priorities, Toxic Substances Control Act reform, as well as other important issues related to international environmental law are on the agenda for the American Bar Association 39th Annual Conference on Environmental Law in Salt Lake City at the Grand America Hotel, March 18 – 21.

Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. and the Coca-Cola Company Legal Division are the recipients of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation’s 2010 Diversity Leadership Award. The awards will be presented to them during the section’s annual conference in New York City on April 21 at the Welcome & Outreach Reception, 6 – 7:30 p.m. in the Trianon Complex at the New York Hilton Hotel.

The American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities named civil liberties and human rights attorney Paul M. Smith as the recipient of this year’s Thurgood Marshall Award, which will be presented Aug. 7 at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

In the midst of the H1N1 pandemic, public health has become a primary focus of national security. Pandemics, detaining suspected terrorists, cyber security and civil liberties are just a few of the topics to be covered at the ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice’s 5th Annual Homeland Security Law Institute March 3 and 4.

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.

Insurance industry executives along with more than 150 of the nation’s top insurance company and policyholders’ counsel and other industry leaders will gather in Tucson, Ariz., for the 22nd Annual Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar.

The American Bar Association Law Student Division recognized the winning teams from its annual Negotiation Competition at a special reception on Saturday, Feb. 6 during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Orlando, Fla. This year’s national champions are Dustin Guzior and Ariel Soiffer from Boston University School of Law.

While many lawyers may not be familiar with the intricacies of bioethics, the study is a very important and substantive issue that directly affects the public as it relates to medical discoveries and health care costs. In a roundtable discussion sponsored by the American Bar Association Special Committee on Bioethics and the Law titled “Hot Topics in Bioethics,” experts William Allen, director, Program in Bioethics, Law and Medical Professionalism, University of Florida and Robyn Shapiro, partner at Drinker Biddle in the Health Practice Group, led and facilitated debate on current trends in the field, as well as legal and ethical issues.

A weekend summit at the ABA Midyear Meeting highlighted challenges facing the indigent defense system around the country. The ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants – together with a group of co-sponsors – organized the 6th Annual Summit on Indigent Defense Improvement. During an afternoon panel discussion Saturday, panelists focused on Michigan’s challenges in delivering free or low-cost legal services to the poor.