In rare public remarks, Matthew Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, praised U.S. federal courts as a viable option for prosecuting terrorists, while addressing attendees of an American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security program in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

The American Bar Association announced today its selections for the Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts, which recognize outstanding work that fosters the American public’s understanding of law and the legal system. This is the ABA’s highest honor in recognition of this purpose, and no more than one Silver Gavel is presented in each category.

Lawyers with disabilities have the best chance of success when they “own” their disability, said Lauren E. DeBruicker, a partner in the Philadelphia office of Duane Morris LLP, during a panel session at the Third National Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities in Washington, D.C. Owning one’s disability, DeBruicker explained, means knowing what you need, asking for it and not giving up until you receive it.

Leaders from all political stripes — representing business interests, lawyers and civics organizations — came together on Law Day 2012 to raise awareness of the crisis in state court underfunding.

Calling the bill the single most effective federal effort to respond to domestic violence and sexual assault, American Bar Association President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III urged senators to support S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011, in a letter sent to Capitol Hill today.

Increased attacks in cyberspace, which include those on network services and utilities such as water and electricity, prompt the need for the enactment of new cyber security legislation that would give the Department of Homeland Security more authority to combat such attacks, said Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, today at the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C.

ABA Day in Washington, D.C., brings together hundreds of bar association volunteer leaders to speak to their elected representatives on issues critically important to the profession, to clients and the public at large. In a historic first, the ABA welcomed participation from all 50 states.

The American Bar Association will present six members of Congress with its annual Congressional Justice Award on April 17 to acknowledge their leadership on issues critically important to the legal profession. The awards are given as part of ABA Day, the ABA’s annual effort to connect policymakers with constituents in the legal profession.

President Barack Obama’s remarks on Monday speculating about the Supreme Court’s potential decision in the health care legislation appeal are troubling. Particularly worrisome was his suggestion that the court’s decision in this case could serve as a “good example” of what some commentators have cited as “judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint” by an “unelected group of people.”

American Bar Association President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III has submitted written testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee, highlighting the importance of fiscal year 2013 funding for rule of law assistance. In the March 30 statement Robinson wrote, “Programs to promote the rule of law internationally are valuable and cost-effective investments of U.S. taxpayer dollars that enhance both the national security and economic prosperity of our nation.”

The Republican Study Committee’s proposed fiscal year 2013 budget plan to “eliminate the Legal Services Corporation” ignores the overwhelming needs of struggling families for free legal advice and is remarkably shortsighted. LSC-funded aid providers annually close nearly 1 million cases, including child custody matters, foreclosures and veterans claims.

Citing its expertise in immigration law and experience in immigration detainee programs, the American Bar Association is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that four provisions of Arizona’s controversial anti-illegal immigration law, known as S.B. 1070, are unconstitutional because they are pre-empted by federal immigration law.