ABA Section of Business Law

ABA Section of Business Law
Business Law Today
September/October 1998

Section sound bites

Annual Meeting Update

About 1,200 Section members attended Section events at the Toronto Annual Meeting. Members had the opportunity to attend more than 60 Section-sponsored CLE programs and more than 200 committee and subcommittee meetings held over this four-day event.

Officers and Council elected:
At the Section's business luncheon in Toronto, Section members elected these Officers and Council members:

• For chair-elect, for a one-year term - Michael E. Flowers of Columbus, Ohio.
• For secretary for a one-year term - Thomas L. Ambro of Wilmington, Del.
• For budget officer for a two-year term - Renie Y. Grohl of Washington
• For Section delegate to the ABA House of Delegates for a three-year term - Frank R. Morris Jr., Columbus, Ohio
• For Council members for a four-year term ending 2002 -
  David G. Heiman, Cleveland
  Charles E. McCallum, Grand Rapids, Mich.
  Margaret L. Milroy, Arlington, Va.
  Jack W. Martin Jr., Dearborn, Mich.
  John F. Olson, Washington
• For Council member to complete the unexpired term of Benjamin M. Vandegrift, ending 2000 - Linda C. Hayman, New York City

The Nominating Committee is chaired by Herbert S. Wander. The other members are George S. Frazza, Mary Ann Hynes, Alvin W. Thompson, E. Norman Veasey, Maury B. Poscover, ex-officio and James H. Cheek III, ex-officio.

Writing contest winner
Andrew K. Niebler of Georgetown University Law Center was the winner of the 1997-1998 Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest, sponsored by the Section. Niebler's article, "In Search of Bargained-For Fees for Class Action Plaintiffs' Attorneys: The Promise and Pitfalls of Auctioning the Position of Lead Counsel" was considered the best of 25 entries in terms of originality, research and analysis and its contribution to the body of literature available on the subject. Niebler was honored at a luncheon in Toronto.

Authors recognized
At the Annual Meeting, the Section recognized its authors of recently published Section books. At the Section luncheon, the following authors and editors were honored:

• Robert B. Dickie, author, and Philip Saunders Jr., contributor - Financial Statement Analysis and Business Valuation for the Practical Lawyer
• James G. Barnes, James E. Byrne and Amelia H. Boss - ABCs of the UCC, Article 5: Letters of Credit
• William W. Barker, SEC Registration of Public Offerings under the Securities Act of 1933

Section Chair's Award
Corinne Cooper of Kansas City was honored at the Section's business luncheon as the recipient of the Section Chair's Award. This award was created to recognize an individual who has made significant contributions to the Section. Cooper has served in numerous roles: Council member, editor-in-chief of Business Law Today, liaison to the Commission on Women, chair of the Membership Committee, chair of the Dispute Resolution Committee. She was instrumental in the development of the Women's Business Law Network. Cooper continues to be active in Section and ABA activities.

Resolution adopted
At the meeting, the ABA House of Delegates adopted a Section of Business Law Resolution on Independent Guarantees and Stand-by Letters of Credit. The resolution urges the ABA to support the signing and ratification of the UN Convention on Independent Guarantees and Stand-by Letters of Credit by the United States. The resolution "will be of assistance to U.S. parties doing business in those countries that do not have a developed body of law governing letters of credit, and in those countries (such as the United States) in which practice is concentrated in one or the other of the instruments governed by the Convention, and thus would further international trade."

Taken as a whole, the UN Convention is not in conflict with domestic law, will be compatible with current international trade practices, and will be of aid to U.S. parties to international letter of credit or independent guarantee undertakings.

Glass cutter of the year
At the Section Luncheon in Toronto, the 7th annual Glass Cutter Award was presented to Barbara Mendel Mayden of Nashville, Tenn. This award recognizes a woman who has achieved outstanding success in breaking through the barriers in the practice of business law. She currently serves as a Business Law Section delegate to the ABA House of Delegates.