A new website features the final work product of the ABA’s Diversity and Inclusion 360 Commission. The group, established by past president Paulette Brown, studied ways to improve diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. Available materials include policies, online tools, videos, surveys and templates that can be used by bar groups, schools and communities. Some of the group's recommendations called for implicit bias training for jurors, diversity training in CLE programs and a survey of local law firm diversity. The ABA unveiled the commission’s work at its Annual Meeting in San Fransisco last week.

Legal Services Corporation Chair John G. Levi told attendees at the recent ABA Annual Meeting that technology and public education will be critical to closing the justice gap, and that the agency has partnered with Microsoft Corp. to develop online portals to direct those with legal needs to services. Levi also said the public at large needs to be aware of the country’s justice gap. To that end, the LSC has formed a leadership council with high-profile ambassadors such as baseball player Hank Aaron and author John Grisham to increase awareness.

Atlanta lawyer Linda Klein, senior managing shareholder at Baker Donelson, was sworn in as president of the ABA yesterday and outlined her goals for the year, which include a focus on veterans’ legal needs, promotion of voting in the upcoming election and support for quality education. A new ABA Commission on Veterans’ Legal Services will provide resources for local legal groups to serve veterans and their families, and explore ways to provide legal services at VA medical facilities. Tennessee will be represented on the commission by TBA Executive Director Allan Ramsaur. The voting initiative, ABA Votes 2016, will provide a state-by-state summary of voter laws as well as resources lawyers can use to encourage participation. Finally, a new education commission will study ways to address substandard education in rural and inner city communities and improve opportunities for children with disabilities.

The ABA House of Delegates approved a model professional conduct rule that prohibits harassment and discrimination by lawyers “on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status or socioeconomic status” during its annual meeting in San Francisco. The National Association of Women Lawyers strongly supported the move, while critics argued it would have a chilling effect on lawyers' First Amendment rights, The New York Times reports. During two days of deliberation, the body also approved proposals to (1) permit law school students to earn academic credit and compensation for externships at the same time, (2) broaden diversity and inclusion in the profession, (3) urge state and local governments to abolish offender-funded probation systems and provide Miranda warnings in Spanish, and (4) urge legislatures to eliminate the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

The American Bar Association (ABA) annual meeting in San Francisco continues today. Offerings at the meeting include updates about the legal implications of electronic devices such as home security systems, cellphones and fitness trackers that collect and exchange data, and the Zika virus. Today, FBI Director James Comey was among experts who examined the use of emerging technology by criminals and terrorists to evade detection, and Marcia Clark, who was the lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson case, was on tap to discuss her new work of fiction.

The ABA House of Delegates will meet Aug. 8-9 in San Francisco for its annual meeting. Items on the agenda include a proposal that would permit law school students to earn academic credit and compensation for externships at the same time; an amendment to the model rules of conduct to add anti-discrimination and anti-harassment provisions; a proposal urging states to abolish probation systems supervised by private, for-profit firms; and initiatives that expand ABA efforts to diversify the legal profession and the judiciary.

The ABA House of Delegates met Monday in Houston, adopting a number of resolutions, including: (1) calling for counsel to be appointed to unaccompanied minor immigrants and special training be provided to courts that hear their cases, (2) opposing stand-your-ground laws, (3) condemning foreclosure rescue fraud, (4) urging states to grant protective orders even though a victim and perpetrator have no established domestic relationship, (5) requiring a unanimous jury verdict before imposing the death penalty, (6) calling for open and transparent disclosure of execution protocols, (7) urging governments to adopt a presumption against the shackling of juveniles in court, and (8) urging law schools and bar associations to counsel young attorneys on student loan debt. The body considered but sponsors ultimately withdrew resolutions calling for federal regulation of paid tax preparers and stronger laws to protect the privacy of consumer data.

Immigration, access to justice for persons of modest means and money’s influence on elections are just some of the issues that will be tackled by attendees in hearings and panel programs during the 2015 ABA Midyear Meeting. The meeting runs through Monday when the 560-member House of Delegates, which sets policy for the ABA, convenes. The Tennessee Bar Association with support from Tennessee law schools will host a reception in Houston Saturday for former TBA president Danny Van Horn. View the invitiation here.