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Leaders in Legal Business
Goal III: Eliminate Bias and Enhance Diversity.
Objectives:
1. Promote full and equal participation in the Association, our profession, and
the justice system by all persons.
2. Eliminate bias in the legal profession and the justice system.
Goal IV: Advance the Rule of Law.
Objectives:
1. Increase public understanding of and respect for the rule of law, the legal
process, and the role of the legal profession at home and throughout the world.
2. Hold governments accountable under law.
3. Work for just laws, including human rights, and a fair legal process.
4. Assure meaningful access to justice for all persons.
5. Preserve the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary.
The ABA takes great pride in its mission, and these four goals are at the core of everything the Association
does. For almost all ABA members, the continued existence of a free and democratic society depends upon a
sound system of justice that is based on the rule of law. America’s lawyers are officers of the court who play a
vital role in the preservation of society.
Goal I: Serve Our Members.
The ABA’s strength comes from its members. Over the years, the ABA has grown from 75 founding
members from across the United States to nearly 400,000 members worldwide. At the founding of the Association,
seven committees were created, which include Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Judicial
Administration, International Law, and Commercial Law. Today, the ABA has 3,500 entities, including 21
Sections, seven Divisions, and six Forums, and thousands of committees working on programs, policies, and
member development. The ABA’s committees offer Association members essential information on emerging
topics, skills enhancement, and timely issues facing the legal profession. Last year, ABA Sections, Divisions, and
Forums hosted more than 300 live Continuing Legal Education programs and 490 webinars/teleconferences, with
a combined total of 59,303 participants.3
In addition, the ABA and its members work continuously throughout the year to create original substantive
content to advance the legal profession in the United States and around the globe. Each year the ABA produces
more than 1,000 print offerings, creating one of the world's most comprehensive legal libraries.
Goal II: Improve Our Profession.
From the very beginning, the American Bar Association has been synonymous with American legal
education. One of the ABA’s earliest committees was the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions to the
Bar. Written bar examinations were just coming into vogue at the time of the ABA’s founding; while previously
used and required by most states, the examinations had mostly been informal oral tests.4 As such, legal education
and subsequent admission to the bar have been intertwined from the very beginning of the ABA.
The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar embodies legal leadership and offers
services to those institutions and individuals that educate law students and admit lawyers to practice. The Section's
Council and its Accreditation Committee are acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Education as the national
3 To learn more about the ABA Section Officers Conference and the many resources it provides, see ABA SECTION OFFICERS CONFERENCE,
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/leadership/section_officers_conference.html (last visited May 11, 2015).
4 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/about_us.html (last visited February 6, 2015).
105
Goal III: Eliminate Bias and Enhance Diversity.
Objectives:
1. Promote full and equal participation in the Association, our profession, and
the justice system by all persons.
2. Eliminate bias in the legal profession and the justice system.
Goal IV: Advance the Rule of Law.
Objectives:
1. Increase public understanding of and respect for the rule of law, the legal
process, and the role of the legal profession at home and throughout the world.
2. Hold governments accountable under law.
3. Work for just laws, including human rights, and a fair legal process.
4. Assure meaningful access to justice for all persons.
5. Preserve the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary.
The ABA takes great pride in its mission, and these four goals are at the core of everything the Association
does. For almost all ABA members, the continued existence of a free and democratic society depends upon a
sound system of justice that is based on the rule of law. America’s lawyers are officers of the court who play a
vital role in the preservation of society.
Goal I: Serve Our Members.
The ABA’s strength comes from its members. Over the years, the ABA has grown from 75 founding
members from across the United States to nearly 400,000 members worldwide. At the founding of the Association,
seven committees were created, which include Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Judicial
Administration, International Law, and Commercial Law. Today, the ABA has 3,500 entities, including 21
Sections, seven Divisions, and six Forums, and thousands of committees working on programs, policies, and
member development. The ABA’s committees offer Association members essential information on emerging
topics, skills enhancement, and timely issues facing the legal profession. Last year, ABA Sections, Divisions, and
Forums hosted more than 300 live Continuing Legal Education programs and 490 webinars/teleconferences, with
a combined total of 59,303 participants.3
In addition, the ABA and its members work continuously throughout the year to create original substantive
content to advance the legal profession in the United States and around the globe. Each year the ABA produces
more than 1,000 print offerings, creating one of the world's most comprehensive legal libraries.
Goal II: Improve Our Profession.
From the very beginning, the American Bar Association has been synonymous with American legal
education. One of the ABA’s earliest committees was the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions to the
Bar. Written bar examinations were just coming into vogue at the time of the ABA’s founding; while previously
used and required by most states, the examinations had mostly been informal oral tests.4 As such, legal education
and subsequent admission to the bar have been intertwined from the very beginning of the ABA.
The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar embodies legal leadership and offers
services to those institutions and individuals that educate law students and admit lawyers to practice. The Section's
Council and its Accreditation Committee are acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Education as the national
3 To learn more about the ABA Section Officers Conference and the many resources it provides, see ABA SECTION OFFICERS CONFERENCE,
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/leadership/section_officers_conference.html (last visited May 11, 2015).
4 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/about_us.html (last visited February 6, 2015).
105
