PHOENIX, Feb. 4, 2025 — The American Bar Association House of Delegates adopted more than two dozen policy matters, including four resolutions addressing the judiciary and some related to recent executive orders when it met during the 2025 ABA Midyear Meeting.
Additional resolutions focusing on lawyer wellbeing, antisemitism education, righting wrongful convictions and bar admission standards were also passed by the HOD.
Resolution 203 put forward by the New York City Bar urges the Supreme Court of the United States to modify the ethics code it adopted in 2023 and adopt a binding ethics code for the Supreme Court that is as strict as the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United States, including a Supreme Court-adopted appropriate enforcement mechanism. This policy builds on previous ABA policy on a Supreme Court ethics code but adds “binding” to the request.
The HOD passed two resolutions concerning judicial security. Resolution 201 encourages state, local, territorial, tribal and specialty bar associations to adopt policies to prioritize enhancing judicial security in their jurisdiction. Resolution 202 urges jurisdictions to enact legislation, regulations or take judicial action to prohibit the disclosure of personally identifiable information of active or former government officials and employees and the immediate family members with whom they share a residence.
Also adopted was Resolution 200, which addresses so-called “judge shopping” and urges Congress to pass federal legislation to eliminate federal case assignment mechanisms that predictably assign cases to a single United States district judge without random assignment to judges in a district when such cases seek to enjoin or mandate the enforcement or declaratory relief concerning enforcement of a state or federal law or regulation.
The Virgin Islands Bar Association introduced two resolutions that were adopted. The resolutions deal with recent actions by the Executive Branch of the federal government. Resolution 402 opposes the investigation or prosecution of bar associations by the federal government for activities protected by the First Amendment, including but not limited to advocacy for or implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion or diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies and urges the modification of the Executive Order issued on Jan. 21, 2025, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” to clarify that it shall not be enforced against bar associations.
Resolution 403 urges the executive branch to reinstate honors or fellowship programs designed for entry-level attorneys, including, but not limited to, the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General’s Honors Program, as well as internship offers for temporary paid or unpaid summer employment, for individuals who had accepted an offer of employment prior to Jan. 20, 2025, but whose offers have since been rescinded due to the federal hiring freeze.
The Young Lawyers Division put forth two resolutions that were adopted in regard to lawyers’ wellbeing. Resolution 505 encourages all legal employers to provide attorneys with at least one consecutive week of fully uninterrupted time per year during which they are relieved of work-related communications and responsibilities and to provide billable hours or paid time-off credit for employees who take time. Resolution 506 encourages legal employers to adopt policies and practices that promote flexible work arrangements and permit lawyers time off to address personal and family needs.
Other resolutions that were passed into ABA policy include:
- Resolution 606 which promotes the introduction and teaching of Jewish and Holocaust studies in K-12 public schools as a tool to combat antisemitism and anti-Jewish hate and discrimination.
- Resolution 503 looks to assist prosecutors seeking to remedy wrongful convictions overcome hurdles such as procedural bars or skepticism by the courts. Resolution 401 urges state, territorial and tribal bar associations to convene a working group comprised of stakeholders in the criminal legal system to study best practices for supporting conviction integrity units and make recommendations for effectively supporting and expanding the capacity of innocence organizations.
- Resolution 609 urges federal, state, territorial and tribal bar admission to develop practices and policies to focus inquiries into bar applicants’ convictions and legal judgments to those that reflect on a bar the applicant’s propensity to engage in fraud, deceit, dishonesty or misrepresentation in the future delivery of legal services.
- Resolution 600 urges Congress to pass laws that provide permanent immigration pathways and visas for individuals who are forced to leave their habitual home and need to relocate to the United States due to climate-induced displacement or natural disasters.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs delivered welcoming remarks to the HOD, stressing access to justice and the important work of the ABA. “Every day, people across the country are depending on people like us to defend the Constitution,” she said. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego also addressed the House.
ABA President Bill Bay talked to the delegates about the “shifting winds” observable in the legal landscape but assured that the ABA “will stand tomorrow for what we stand for today and what we stood for yesterday – the rule of law, the importance of our judicial system, the essential role of lawyers and an inclusive profession.”
Executive Director Alpha Brady and ABA President-elect nominee Barbara Howard also delivered remarks.
The policymaking House is chaired by Jonathan Cole of Tennessee and encompasses nearly 600 delegates from ABA entities and state, local and specialty bar associations. The next HOD meeting is scheduled for August 11-12, 2025, in Toronto.
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