The American Bar Association’s newly formed Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities will investigate legal issues affecting the Latino community, including voting rights, civil rights and immigration, among several areas of interest. The end goal is to determine how the ABA can continue to pursue and improve upon its commitment to righting the wrongs of discrimination.

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative is marking two decades of work advancing improvements to laws and legal systems in developing nations around the world. Among its many efforts, ABA ROLI works against systemic rape in Congo, trains judges to handle election disputes in Kyrgyzstan and boosts public attorney effectiveness in the Philippines.

All Americans deserve access to justice in our courts. This is especially important for the military men and women who sacrifice so much for our country. Congress was right to clarify their protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

ABA President Stephen N. Zack and the Section of International Law traveled to Russia for a conference and meetings with top members of the ministry of justice and leaders of two the country’s bar organizations in Moscow. Zack is pictured here with Chief Justice Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Lebedev at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

On the 223rd anniversary of the supreme “law of the land,” ABA President Stephen N. Zack issued a call to all Americans: “Make your own commitment to the document that is the cornerstone of our democratic society.”

Prosecutors and public defenders are heroes in our criminal justice system. That’s why the American Bar Association hails the release of millions in funding to relieve some of the student loan burden carried by these hard-working, very modestly paid lawyers. Senator Durbin in particular should be commended for helping meet the promise made in the John R. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders Act.

The recent European Court of Justice decision is very troubling to the American Bar Association and its members in the U.S. and abroad. The decision reaches far beyond the borders of the European Union to fundamentally damage attorney-client privilege protections for all companies doing business in the EU.

Stephen N. Zack, president of the American Bar Association, has been recognized by the Hispanic National Bar Association for his achievement as first Hispanic in that post, and for rolling out ABA projects focused on the needs of Hispanics in the United States. Zack is pictured here with Róman D. Hernández, HNBA president.

The Gulf Coast has taught this nation a series of critical lessons in recent years. Disasters raise many issues, from the closing of courthouses and loss of information about pending cases before the courts and prison population, to health and environmental impact. We must better prepare.

During its two days of debate, the American Bar Association House of Delegates adopted a broad range of policies relating to federal preemption, the criminal justice system, principles relating to right to counsel, and training of judges, along with many others.

During the final day of debate of the American Bar Association House of Delegates, policy was adopted in support of marriage equality, micro stamping of newly manufactured semi-automatic pistols, and in support of the United States ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

During the afternoon session of Monday’s House of Delegates debate, the policy-making body adopted a series of resolutions dealing with evidence, training and standards, and professional conduct relative to the criminal justice system. In addition, the association adopted policy addressing the issue of federal preemption and civil Gideon, or a right to counsel in civil matters involving basic human needs.