The American Bar Association House of Delegates (ABA HOD) this week approved a resolution urging bar admission authorities to create a reporting exception for applicants who have been victims of domestic or dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment or stalking so that they do not have to recount any legal, law enforcement, administrative or academic proceedings. Requiring would-be lawyers to “explain their history of abuse” and track down documentation related to their case “retraumatizes” them, according to the resolution. The requirement also may dissuade victims from reporting abuse because they worry about having to disclose it on their admissions application, the group said. Reuters reports on the resolution. 

The American Bar Association House of Delegates (ABA HOD) at its annual meeting Aug. 5 and 6 approved a range of policies, including one that embraces democracy and the rule of law, and another that expresses opposition to government actions that require the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. Altogether, the HOD worked through about four dozen resolutions that also addressed gender-affirming laws, the Equal Rights Amendment and a host of new policies advocating for human rights in countries around the world. The HOD encompasses 590 delegates from ABA entities and state, local and specialty bar associations. Read more in-depth coverage of the policies and resolutions adopted in a press release from the ABA.

Jonathan Cole, a lawyer with Baker Donelson in Nashville, became chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates at the conclusion of the 2024 ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago. As chair of the House of Delegates, the ABA’s policymaking body, Cole will serve for two years in the second-highest office in the association. Action taken by the House of Delegates on specific issues becomes official policy of the ABA. Cole has been a member of the House of Delegates since 2009 and currently serves as one of Tennessee's state delegates. Cole received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1994. Read more in a press release from the ABA and see a photo from the event.

Former TBA President Sherie Edwards was elected to the executive council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP) during the group’s Annual Meeting in Chicago last week. The NCBP — a nonprofit founded in 1950 to provide resources and training for state and local bar association leaders — met in conjunction with the American Bar Association (ABA), ABA Young Lawyers Division and National Association of Bar Professionals. See a photo from the meeting.

The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates (HOD) will meet in Chicago next week as part of the ABA’s 2024 Annual Meeting. The body consider more than three dozen policy matters, including experiential opportunities for law students, flexible work arrangements for lawyers and law firm policies requiring lawyers to take off one week a year with no expectation of checking in with the office. Other resolutions will focus on issues such as heightened judicial security, criminal justice, involuntary civil commitment, homelessness and global human rights. In addition, the HOD will hold a naturalization ceremony, feature a special panel discussion on how the legal profession is changing, and hear from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting will take place in Chicago starting next week. Among the many events being planned is a Tennessee Reception hosted by the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA). The event will take place on Aug. 3 from 5:30-7 p.m. CDT at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, in the Crystal C Ballroom. The TBA regularly recognizes a distinguished Tennessee lawyer at these receptions, and this event will honor Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly M. Kirby. Justice Kirby has served on the court since 2014 and was named chief justice in 2023. Before joining the court, she made history as the first woman in the state to be named to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, where she served for almost 19 years. Any lawyers who will be attending the Annual Meeting are invited to join their colleagues for this reception. View the invitation.

The American Bar Association (ABA) 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago will feature the group’s first-ever Democracy Summit on Aug. 2. The program will be led by former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and former federal Judge J. Michael Luttig, co-chairs of the ABA Task Force for American Democracy. The task force will present its findings on the state of U.S. democracy as well as concrete steps for those in the legal profession to defend the rule of law in their local areas. Other elements of the meeting, which will run from July 31 through Aug. 6, include remarks by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, the second ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice, awards presentations and programs on a range of legal topics. Get details in this release.

Jonathan Cole, a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker Donelson, has been nominated by the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates as chair-elect of the 597-member policymaking body for a two-year term that begins after the Annual Meeting this August. The position is the second ranking officer in the ABA and serves as its chief policy officer. Cole has served as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services and the ABA Young Lawyers Division, and he is past president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents and the Nashville Bar Association. The HOD's 69-member nominating committee endorsed Cole over William D. Johnston of Delaware in a contested election during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. See a photo from the meeting. In other leadership news, Wisconsin lawyer Michelle Behnke was nominated as the ABA's president for 2025-2026. The HOD will formally vote on her election at the August meeting.

Members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) joined lawyers from across the country in Louisville, Kentucky, this past weekend for the 2024 American Bar Association (ABA) Midyear Meeting. YLD members participated in ABA governance meetings and networked with other members of the profession. See photos from some of the events.

The American Bar Association’s (ABA) House of Delegates (HOD) approved a new policy this week that requires law schools to adopt free speech policies in order to maintain their accreditation, reports Reuters. The new policy, approved by a voice vote, requires that law schools develop and publish policies that “encourage and support the free expression of ideas.” The change comes after several high-profile incidents where law students disrupted speakers and amid campus tension over the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The HOD, which is the association’s policymaking body, also approved nearly 30 other new policies, including opposing laws that limit teaching about race or gender; urging governments to follow federal reporting guidelines for deaths in custody; opposing the suspension or removal of elected prosecutors for personal or partisan reasons or without due process; and supporting the Uniform Collaborative Law Rules and Uniform Collaborative Law Act. Read more about the new policies.