After years of attempts to unify but decades of disagreement, the bars of Ohio's largest county and second-largest city are finally one. The Cleveland Bar Association and Cuyahoga County Bar Association approved a merger to create the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. The new bar is headquartered in downtown Cleveland.

D. Larkin Chenault, former executive director of the Cleveland Bar, was named to the same position with the metro bar. Other staff were likewise taken from the merged bars. Chenault called the merger "a huge accomplishment" that "represents…serious, creative overcoming of deep-seated political resistance."

The foundations of the two merged bars are also considering merging.

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The ABA is asking for bar association support for a program to prevent voter disenfranchisement during the 2008 election. The program, Election Protection, monitors polling places and performs several other duties to make sure all votes are counted. The association wants bar help in working with local legal committees, staffing the program's national hotline, and preparing materials for voters.

Election Protection was started after the 2000 general election, when millions of voters were reported disenfranchised. The hotline received more than 200,000 calls during the 2004 general election.

For more on the program, click here or contact Rachel Patrick at Rachel.Patrick@americanbar.org or (312) 988-5408.

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The YLD Assembly, which sets policy for the ABA's Young Lawyers Division, is seeking delegates to its 2008 meeting. Assembly delegates will debate and vote on resolutions presented.

The Assembly will convene during the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City. For more on the Assembly, including 2008 forms and deadlines, click here.

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The International Legal Resource Center is seeking legal professionals to help create legal reform in developing countries. Volunteers work pro bono both in the US and abroad, supporting projects such as assessing existing laws and helping form new laws.

The center, housed in the ABA's Section of International Law, is a partnership of the ABA and the United Nations Development Programme, or UNDP. It has more than 1,300 volunteers from 90 countries.

For more on the center, including the volunteer application, click here or e-mail Andrea Vesa or Jacqueline Gichinga.

The Division for Public Education is accepting applications for its 2008 Law Day Outstanding Activity Awards. The awards honor creative and successful Law Day programs. The application deadline is Friday, June 13. For more on the awards, click here.

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The Law Practice Management Section is accepting applications for its Leadership Development Program for young lawyers. Participants attend section meetings, work with section leaders, and serve on committees that determine the section's direction.

The program takes two applicants each year to serve two-year terms. Click here to apply for the 08-09 term. The application deadline is Sunday, June 1.

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The Young Lawyers' Division is accepting applications for its 2008 Awards of Achievement. The awards recognize bar and public service projects sponsored by YLD affiliates. The application deadline is Friday, June 13. For more on the awards, click here.

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The Young Lawyers' Division is accepting applications for the ABA YLD Scholarship Program. The program encourages lawyers to join and participate in the division. The application deadline is Sunday, June 15. For more on the scholarship, click here.

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The ABA's Young Lawyers Division is accepting nominations for its 2008 Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. The nomination deadline is Thursday, August 28. For more on the award, click here.

The ABA Journal has created a free "widget" for legal organization Web pages and blogs. The widget – a few lines of Web code – creates a box with headlines from the Journal's Web site, abajournal.com. The box is updated continuously on business days and includes a date and time stamp for each article. For more on the widget, click here or e-mail Molly McDonough.

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The Division for Public Education publishes a free e-newsletter on law-related education. Called Law Matters, it reports on new developments, ideas, programs, and resources in the field of public education. To sign up, click here.

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The Commission on Domestic Violence has released two publications to help judges and lawyers handle domestic violence cases and clients: Domestic Violence Judicial Checklist, a list of items for judges to consider when handling such cases; and Comprehensive Issue Spotting, a questionnaire to give lawyers a complete picture of their clients' situation and legal needs.

To download a free PDF of either publication, click here. To order hard copies of Spotting, e-mail the commission.

Each publication listed, unless otherwise noted, can be ordered from the ABA Web Store, or by calling the ABA Service Center at (800) 285-2221 and referencing its product code. Click any publication cover to open its Web store page.

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