ABA Section of Business Law
ABA Section of Business Law
Business Law Today
September/October 1999
Section sound bites
Annual Meeting Update
About 1,200 Section members attended events at the ABA Annual Meeting in Atlanta. Members had the opportunity to attend more than 60 Section-sponsored CLE programs on recent developments in business law. Registrants had the chance to attend and participate in more than 200 committee and subcommittee meetings. What follow are some highlights from the meeting.
Officers and Council elected
At the Section’s Business Luncheon in Atlanta, Section members elected these officers and Council members:
• For chair-elect of the Section for a one-year term: Amelia H. Boss, Philadelphia
• For secretary of the Section for a one-year term: Harold S. Barron, Blue Bell, Pa.
• For Section delegates to the ABA House of Delegates for three-year terms ending in 2002: M. Peter Moser, Baltimore; Myles V. Lynk, Washington
• For Council members for four-year terms ending in 2003: Deborah L. Fletcher, Charlotte, N.C.; James J. Hanks Jr., Baltimore; Thurston R. Moore, Richmond, Va.; Karen L. Shapiro, Newark, N.J.; Edwin E. Smith, Boston
• For Council member to complete the unexpired term of John W. Martin Jr., ending in 2002: Mary Beth M. Clary, Naples, Fla.
• For Council member to complete the unexpired term of Harold S. Barron, ending in 2001: James Fulcher Tune, Seattle
The Nominating Committee is chaired by George S. Frazza. The other members are Maury B. Poscover, Herbert S. Wander, Jean Allard, Franklin Balotti, Barbara Mendel Mayden, James H. Cheek, ex-officio and Michael E. Flowers, ex-officio.
Writing contest winner
M. Breen Haire of New York University Law School was the winner of the 1998-1999 Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest, sponsored by the Section. Haire’s article, "The Fiduciary Responsibilities of Investment Bankers in Change-of-Control Transactions: In re Daisy Systems Corp." was considered the best of 30 entries in terms of originality, research and analysis as well as its contribution to the body of literature available on the subject. Haire was honored at the Section Luncheon in Atlanta where he received $2,500 and an all-expense-paid trip to the Annual Meeting.
Authors recognized
At the Annual Meeting, the Section recognized its authors of recently published Section books:
• Stephanie A. Heller, chair, and Paul S. Turner, vice-chair, the Subcommittee on Payments of the UCC Committee: Model Positive Pay Services Agreement and Commentary
• Donald R. Cruver: Complying with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Second Edition
• Corinne Cooper, editor; Edwin E. Smith and Steven O. Weise, contributing authors: The New Article 9
• Karen L. Shapiro and Margaret L. Milroy, editors: Business Law for Fun ... Just for Fun
Section Chair’s Award
Mary Beth Clary of Naples, Fla., was honored at the Section’s business luncheon as the recipient of the Section’s Chair’s Award. This award was created to recognize an individual who has made significant contributions to the Section. Clary was recognized for her outstanding leadership of the Diversity Committee and the instrumental role she played in the creation and adoption of the Section’s Diversity Plan.
During her term as chair, both the Commission on Women in the Profession and the Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the Profession named the Section to their respective honor rolls in the recently released GOAL IX Report Cards.
Resolutions sponsored
At the meeting, the ABA House of Delegates voted on the adoption of two resolutions that the Section cosponsored. The first amends the Model Rules of Professional Conduct to include a new Model Rule 7.6, "Political Contri-butions to Obtain Government Legal Engagements or Appointments by Judges." This proposed rule declares that a lawyer shall not make a political contribution to a public official for the purpose of obtaining a government legal engagement.
The second resolution adopts the black letter of the Civil Discovery Standards dated August, 1999, which address practical aspects of discovery that regularly recur but are not fully addressed by substantive law and procedural rules.
To learn if these resolutions were adopted by the House of Delegates, visit the ABA Web site at www.abanet.org.
New benefit for members only
Unable to attend the last Spring Meeting? Don’t worry, original materials prepared for the Spring Meeting are now available in full text on the Section’s Web site — free of charge. Check out the Section’s site at www.abanet.org/buslaw for a complete listing of available materials.
For those of you unable to attend the ABA Annual Meeting, materials were posted online, in full text, at the end of August. As Section members, you have unlimited access to these materials — free of charge.
