South Carolina lawyer William C. Hubbard accepted the gavel as the new president of the ABA and urged lawyers to join him in his signature effort: closing the legal services delivery gap for the poor. Hubbard outlined several ways to accomplish that goal, including connecting lawyers, judges and academics with technology innovators who are spending millions of dollars on finding new ways of providing legal services. “We must marry this creativity with our own justice system to provide greater access while protecting the public,” he said. He also noted that several specific issues “clamor for our attention and rational evidence-based solutions.” These include a criminal justice system that is breaking down fiscally, the continued imprisonment of low-level offenders, the number of mentally ill in prison, the need for more pro bono representation for domestic violence victims, and the balance between privacy and security. Read more about Hubbard’s goals for the year in the ABA Journal.

The ABA Annual Meeting continued yesterday with a number of actions by the group’s House of Delegates. The body approved new standards and procedural rules to be used in the accreditation process for U.S. law schools and adopted resolutions urging:

• Appellate courts across the country to adopt rules permitting in-house counsel to provide pro bono services;
• States to adopt judicial recusal procedures related to campaign financing;
• Bar associations, law firms and other legal organizations to help newly admitted lawyers do pro bono;
• Law schools to create veterans’ law clinics to ensure veterans’ legal needs are met;
• States and local governments to develop written contingency plans to preserve the election process during an emergency;
• States to adopt laws that permit an executed individual’s successors to litigate a claim of actual innocence;
• Congress to enact legislation to prevent and punish crimes against humanity;
• Employers to enact formal policies on workplace responses to stalking and domestic violence;
• Private and public organizations to develop, implement and maintain cybersecurity programs; and
• Condemning worldwide laws and practices that discriminate against LGBT people.

Memphis attorney Harrison D. McIver II, executive director/CEO of Memphis Area Legal Services, was honored two times during the ABA Annual meeting in Boston. First, McIver received the 2014 Dorsey Award in recognition of exceptional work as a legal aid adviser. Later he was honored for his service to the Tennessee legal community at the Tennessee Reception, an event hosted by the TBA with support from the University of Tennessee College of Law, University of Memphis School of Law, Belmont University College of Law and Vanderbilt University Law School. See photos from the events.

The TBA will host a reception in honor of Memphis lawyer Harrison D. McIver on Saturday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. The Tennessee Reception is made possible through the generous support of the University of Tennessee College of Law, University of Memphis School of Law, Belmont University College of Law and Vanderbilt University Law School. McIver is executive director and CEO of Memphis Area Legal Services.

The ABA Annual Meeting kicks off tomorrow in Boston. Among the programs planned are a keynote address by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, screening of “The Case Against 8” and a presentation by David Boies and Theodore B. Olson on marriage equality, and a keynote speech by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts. The House of Delegates will meet Monday and Tuesday and consider a number of policy resolutions. At the conclusion of the meeting outgoing president James R. Silkenat of New York will hand the gavel to his successor William C. Hubbard of South Carolina. The ABA Journal provides an overview of the meeting.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts will launch the ABA's yearlong, 800th anniversary commemoration of the Magna Carta during the ABA Annual Meeting in Boston this week. In his address to the House of Delegates, Roberts will talk about the historical and current significance of the document sealed by King John of England in 1215 in response to demands by landowning barons. A traveling exhibit curated by the Library of Congress, “Magna Carta: Enduring Legacy 1215-2015,” will be unveiled at the meeting and then move to cities around the country. Its travel will culminate with the ABA's London Sessions next June in England. The ABA Journal has more.

Attorneys from across the country joined their Tennessee colleagues at a reception honoring former TBA President Gail Vaughn Ashworth during the recent ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The event was hosted by the Tennessee Bar Association with generous support from the University of Tennessee College of Law, the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School and Belmont University College of Law. See photos from the event.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Congress to reinstate provisions of the Voting Rights Act recently struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in remarks this week to the ABA House of Delegates. She also announced a series of speeches across the country on problems that challenge society, government and the legal system, the ABA Journal reports. After Clinton’s remarks, the House adopted a resolution urging legislators to restore the portions of the 1965 law rejected by the court. Other resolutions considered by the House included those calling for new laws to fight computer hacking by foreign governments, rules protecting attorney-client privilege when advice is given to law firm personnel by in-house counsel, and laws prohibiting the use of certain defenses, such as “gay panic” and “trans panic,” by criminal defendants. Read more about all the issues considered by the body.

The TBA YLD was recognized for a number of programs and activities at the ABA YLD Annual Meeting this past weekend in San Francisco. The YLD was awarded first place in the Minority Project category for its new invited guest program, which seeks to include the broadest range of perspectives and experiences on its governing board by inviting representatives from all specialty and minority bars in the state to attend meetings and participate in decision-making. It also received special recognition for its annual Mock Trial Competition and its overall member service and public service initiatives. Read more in a message from YLD President David McDowell.

Four Tennessee lawyers were selected for leadership positions in the ABA and other national organizations this past week: former TBA President and Memphis lawyer Danny Van Horn was named chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Membership; Knoxville lawyer Carole Lynch Worthington was elected to an at-large seat in the ABA House of Delegates; and Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper was named to another term as a delegate to the ABA House, representing the National Association of Attorneys General. In addition, former Nashville Bar Association President and TBA Delegate to the ABA Jonathan Cole was elected secretary of the National Conference of Bar Presidents -- a move that puts him in line to lead the group in several years. Cole is only the third Tennessean to hold that position, following in the footsteps of Memphis lawyer Shepherd Tate and Worthington.