ABA Section of Business Law
ABA Section of Business Law
Business Law Today
May/June 1998
Section sound bites
Spring Meeting success
The Section recently held its 23rd annual Spring Meeting in St. Louis. This meeting attracted 1,570 attendees. Of the registrants, more than 300 were attending our Spring Meeting for the first time. More than 50 CLE programs and 200 committee and subcommittee meetings were held during the four-day event. If you are interested in purchasing program materials, please check out the Section's home page at www.abanet.org/buslaw for a list of available materials or call Lisa Gruenke in the Section office at 312/988-5627. If you would like to purchase audiotapes of the CLE programs, call Teach 'em Inc. at 1-800-225-3775.
Pro bono winners
Because of the importance of pro bono services, the Section created its National Public Service Award, which is given to recognize significant pro bono services rendered to the poor in a business context, and to recognize the work for the clients and the client groups represented. At the Spring Meeting, the Pro Bono Committee presented the award for individual pro bono contribution to Marion A. Cowell Jr., of Charlotte, N.C. and the award for firm contribution to Goulston & Storrs of Boston.
Cowell serves as executive vice-president and general counsel of First Union National Bank in Charlotte and is being honored for his work in the development and delivery of legal services to the poor of North Carolina. Specifically, Cowell headed up the development and adoption of First Union Bank's policy on pro bono for its legal departments in North Carolina.
The firm of Goulston & Storrs provides legal aid, community resources, management and organizational support to STRIVE, a pre-eminent inner city training service provider. STRIVE was co-founded in 1994 by members of the firm, who organized its tax-exempt status, fund-raising activities, site location and overall strategic planning.
Toronto has it all
The ABA Annual Meeting is still months away, but the Section is busy planning a full schedule of events. If you haven't registered, contact the ABA Meetings and Travel Department at 312/988-5870 for more information. The deadline for housing is June 29 and the deadline for advance registration is July 10. Watch your mail for detailed information on the Section's programs, meetings and other activities.
Who's the Boss?
Congrats go to Amelia H. (Amy) Boss, a member of the Section. She was just named one of the "50 top women lawyers" by The National Law Journal.
Boss' field is electronic commerce. She serves as secretary of the Section and is also a member of the American Law Institute, working on several committees that are "drafting the uniform laws that someday will likely govern cybercommerce," according to the Journal.
She is a professor at the Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia.
Check out Section books
Visit the Section's Web site at www.abanet.org/buslaw to check out complete introductions, tables of contents and sample chapters of the latest Section publications.
Technology exchange
Three ABA entities — the Section of Business Law, the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (SCLAID) and the Section of Litigation — have launched a new project, the Technology Exchange Project, that will seek to match law firms and other legal institutions that want to donate used, serviceable computer equipment to legal services programs that need and can use the equipment. Funding to administer the project has been provided by the Open Society Institute.
The project will approach law firms, corporations and other institutions that are in the process of upgrading their computer equipment and ask that they donate their used but serviceable computers through the project.
Visit the Section's Web site or contact the project coordinator for more information and an application:
Meredith McBurney
ABA Technology Exchange Project
1459 Clayton
Denver, CO 80206
Phone: 303/329-8091;
fax: 303/329-0362
E-mail: MM8091@aol.com
