Page 186 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (n)
P. 186
The American Bar Association
Hilarie Bass2
Past President, American Bar
Association
The original Constitution of the American Bar Association defined the purpose of the ABA
as being for “the advancement of the science of jurisprudence, the promotion of the administration
of justice and a uniformity of legislation throughout the country.”
While this Constitution still considerably shapes the focus of the ABA, today’s legal
profession is very different from what it was when the ABA was first formed 140 years ago in
Saratoga Springs, New York. When 75 lawyers from 20 states and the District of Columbia met
to create the American Bar Association on August 21, 1878, there was no national code of ethics.3
Most lawyers practiced solo. There were no universal standards for law schools because most
lawyers did not have law degrees, and attending law school at that time was rare. Young lawyers
learned their craft through apprenticeships
and by reading classic legal texts.
Improving diversity within the profession
was almost certainly not a topic of
conversation.
Today, the ABA is as committed as
ever to improving the justice system and the
rule of law. It works to serve its members,
the legal profession, and the public by
defending liberty and pursuing justice as the
national voice of the legal profession.
Goal I: Serve Our Members.
Objective:
1. Provide benefits, programs, and services that promote members’ professional
growth and quality of life.
2 Hilarie Bass is one of the most recognized women attorneys in the United States. Bass currently serves as President of the Bass Institute for
Diversity and Inclusion and is a past president of the American Bar Association, and As co-president of international law firm Greenberg Traurig,
she helped chart the course for the multi-practice firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys across 38 offices worldwide. She served on the firm’s
Executive Committee and previously served an eight-year term as national chair of its 600-member litigation department. She was also the founder
and former chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Women's Initiative. Bass has successfully represented high-profile corporate clients in jury and non-jury
trials involving hundreds of millions of dollars in controversy. She has worked and settled more than 100 cases, tried more than 20 cases to
conclusion, and argued numerous appeals. In recognition of that success, she was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. She is
widely recognized for her pro bono work on behalf of two foster children that led to the elimination and declaration as unconstitutional Florida’s
20-year-old ban on gay adoption.
3 AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, http://www.americanbar.org/about_the_aba/history.html.
171
Hilarie Bass2
Past President, American Bar
Association
The original Constitution of the American Bar Association defined the purpose of the ABA
as being for “the advancement of the science of jurisprudence, the promotion of the administration
of justice and a uniformity of legislation throughout the country.”
While this Constitution still considerably shapes the focus of the ABA, today’s legal
profession is very different from what it was when the ABA was first formed 140 years ago in
Saratoga Springs, New York. When 75 lawyers from 20 states and the District of Columbia met
to create the American Bar Association on August 21, 1878, there was no national code of ethics.3
Most lawyers practiced solo. There were no universal standards for law schools because most
lawyers did not have law degrees, and attending law school at that time was rare. Young lawyers
learned their craft through apprenticeships
and by reading classic legal texts.
Improving diversity within the profession
was almost certainly not a topic of
conversation.
Today, the ABA is as committed as
ever to improving the justice system and the
rule of law. It works to serve its members,
the legal profession, and the public by
defending liberty and pursuing justice as the
national voice of the legal profession.
Goal I: Serve Our Members.
Objective:
1. Provide benefits, programs, and services that promote members’ professional
growth and quality of life.
2 Hilarie Bass is one of the most recognized women attorneys in the United States. Bass currently serves as President of the Bass Institute for
Diversity and Inclusion and is a past president of the American Bar Association, and As co-president of international law firm Greenberg Traurig,
she helped chart the course for the multi-practice firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys across 38 offices worldwide. She served on the firm’s
Executive Committee and previously served an eight-year term as national chair of its 600-member litigation department. She was also the founder
and former chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Women's Initiative. Bass has successfully represented high-profile corporate clients in jury and non-jury
trials involving hundreds of millions of dollars in controversy. She has worked and settled more than 100 cases, tried more than 20 cases to
conclusion, and argued numerous appeals. In recognition of that success, she was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. She is
widely recognized for her pro bono work on behalf of two foster children that led to the elimination and declaration as unconstitutional Florida’s
20-year-old ban on gay adoption.
3 AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, http://www.americanbar.org/about_the_aba/history.html.
171
