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    August 2023 Washington Letter

     

    Access to Justice

    HOD strengthens rule on duty of lawyers to review clients, other new policies

    DENVER, Aug. 8, 2023 — The American Bar Association House of Delegates wrapped up its two-day session today by adopting a host of new policies, including a resolution that strengthens a lawyer’s obligation to access whether a client seeks to use the

    This Month's Articles

    Advocates of the Month

    We are proud to honor our outgoing President, Deborah Enix-Ross, and our incoming President, Mary Smith as our Advocates of the Month for August 2023. We thank past-President Enix-Ross for her tireless service and dedication to the ABA. Mary Smith is the first Native American woman to serve as President of the ABA.  Previously, she served as Secretary of the ABA and was the first Native American to serve as one of 13 commissioners on the Commission on Women in the Profession. President Smith also held leadership positions in the ABA Section of Litigation and the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice and served as an ABA representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Mary is an independent board member and former CEO of the Indian Health Service. She currently serves on the board of PTC Therapeutics, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company and on the board of HAI Group, a leading member-owned insurance company for the affordable housing industry. She is also vice chair of the VENG Group, a national consulting firm.

    Legislative Research Tip

    Browse by Congress feature on Congress.gov Congress.gov users can now sort and view legislative materials by congress/year, by clicking the “Browse” link at the top middle of the Congress.gov page. Select a Congress (eg. 104th Congress, 1995-1996) from the drop-down menu at the top left. Then navigate to a particular collection (Committees, Laws, Congressional Record, etc.) from the menu below, and results for that Congress will display automatically. Committee hearing transcripts were also recently added to the collection list.

    About the Washington Letter

    The ABA Washington Letter is a monthly publication produced by the Governmental Affairs Office to report and analyze congressional and executive branch action on legislative issues of interest to the ABA and the legal profession. The newsletter highlights ABA involvement in the federal legislative process and focuses on the association's legislative and governmental priorities and other issues on which the ABA has policy.

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    Questions? Contact Allison Rosenstock, 202-667-1771