Section of Individual Rights &
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Directory of lawyers practicing disability law available The ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law has published the first directory of lawyers who practice on disability law issues, including mental health, housing, worker's compensation, Social Security benefits, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The result of a year-long national outreach campaign to identify lawyers practicing in the disability field, the directory contains more than 3,000 listings of disability law practitioners and organizations. It is organized by jurisdiction— covering the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico—and lists lawyers' names, addresses, telephone, fax, and TTY numbers, as well as their specific areas of disability law practice. The directory is intended to be a reference tool for persons with disabilities in need of legal advice and representation, as well as for practitioners who want to network on disability law issues and cases. The ABA does not endorse or sponsor any attorney listed in the directory. The directory costs $55, plus shipping and handling. Individual state listings are also available for purchase, priced separately. Contact the Commission at 202/662-1570 (phone), 202/662-1012 (TTY), or cmpdl@abanet.org (e-mail) for ordering information. The Commission maintains a disability lawyer database, which served as a basis for the directory and will function as a means to update the directory. A lawyer who wishes to register for that database may call the Commission at 202/662-1570 (phone) or 202/662-1012 (TTY), send e-mail to cmpdl@abanet.org, or sign up on the Commission's Web page.
Guide shows how to make sure law schools relate to women A greater selection of qualified law school applicants, the potential for more alumnae donations, and correcting harmful misperceptions about the law school are among the benefits a law school can receive from conducting a gender self-study to evaluate its environment and degree of gender-friendliness, according to a new publication by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. To encourage schools to perform their own surveys of gender fairness, copies of "Don't Just Hear It Through the Grapevine: Studying Gender Questions at Your Law School" are being distributed to deans of all ABA-accredited law schools. A follow-up to the landmark 1996 commission study about the pervasive gender bias that still exists on many levels at American law schools, Elusive Equality: The Experiences of Women in Legal Education, the publication provides concrete steps that law schools can take to perform self-studies to determine the level of gender-parity of students' experiences at their own law schools. The 95-page report includes key statistical information, persuasive arguments for conducting the self-studies, and steps to take based on the findings of the study. In thorough appendices, the publication also features a summary of recent self-studies of law schools and sample student surveys from the University of Pennsylvania, Brooklyn Law School, Chapman University School of Law, Orange, Cal., and the University of Chicago, and a sample alumni survey from Stanford Law School. In addition to the reports donated to deans of the 180 ABA-accredited law schools, the report is available for purchase for $9.99, plus $2 shipping and handling. To order, contact the ABA Service Center at 800/258-2221.
Lawyers honoredfor overcoming obstacles facing minorities A crusading lawyer, a judge, a museum director and a former state governor received the Spirit of Excellence Award from the ABA Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the Profession, presented during the 1998 Midyear Meeting in Nashville. The awards went to: • Adelfa B. Callejo, a partner in the Dallas law firm of Callego and Callego, the daughter of migrant farm laborers who remains a community activist despite having achieved wealth and political influence; • U.S. District Court Judge Robert H. Takasugi, Central District of California, the first Japanese-American person in history to be named to a federal district court; • W. Richard West, the founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian at The Smithsonian Institution, formerly a lawyer in practice in Albuquerque, N.M.; and • Lawrence Douglas Wilder, the grandson of slaves, who rose to become governor of Virginia. Selected by the ABA Commission to receive Inspirational Awards are: • Judge Benjamin Aranda III of the Municipal Court, South Bay Judicial District of California; and • U.S. District Court Judge Matthew J. Perry, District of South Carolina, the only African-American lawyer in Spartanburg, S.C., during the 1950s, who brought cases resulting in desegregation at Clemson University and reapportionment of the state House of Representatives. "In these days of affirmative action debate, it is important to remember the people of color who overcame enormous obstacles, competing on the same terms as the white males who for so many years held a near monopoly on opportunity, to achieve outstanding success in professional life," said José Gaitan, chair of the ABA Commission. "While it is unclear now where and how the goal of equality of opportunity for all U.S. citizens will be achieved," said ABA President Jerome J. Shestack, "there is no question that talented, educated and forceful leaders like these honorees will help us advance toward that end." "We have benefited enormously from the contributions of these individuals. It is imperative that we continue to work for equal opportunities for all people in the country, and to assure development of future leaders who will contribute to our nation's growth and development," Shestack said.
AARP hotline honored for legal access The Legal Hotline Project of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and its Legal Advocacy Group received the 1998 ABA Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access. The award was presented during the 1998 Midyear Meeting in Nashville. The AARP project began in 1985 with the design and implementation of the first successful statewide legal hotline for older adults. Since then, the hotline has handled nearly half a million telephone calls from seniors, and has served as a blueprint for other organizations. The Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access is sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, which is dedicated to improving the delivery of legal services to moderate-income people who do not qualify for subsidized legal assistance, yet lack the discretionary income to pay for traditional legal services. The award honors Louis M. Brown for his 60-year-long dedication to expanding access to legal services. Brown was the founder and chair of the National Center for Preventive Law and the originator of personal legal checkups and corporate legal audits. "AARP and its Legal Advocacy Group have demonstrated the highest commitment toward providing affordable legal information and services," according to John S. Skilton, chair of the ABA's Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. "They are not only superb hotline administrators. They are outstanding advocates—active in conferences, publications and hands-on assistance— advancing a delivery system throughout our society."
New guide for judges handling interstate cases involving kids What are risk factors for parental kidnapping and what can a judge do to prevent a likely abduction? Does a court have jurisdiction to modify another state's custody order? What provisions should a court include in a custody order to aid interstate enforcement? How does domestic violence affect interstate child custody matters? These and other questions are answered in a new guide by the ABA Center on Children and the Law. Interstate Family Practice Guide: A Primer for Judges is a unique manual designed to help judges who are hearing disputes involving children and families, that have an interstate dimension. The Guide focuses on three areas of practice: child support, child custody and parental kidnapping, and domestic violence. The Guide serves as a quick reference tool by answering more than 40 of the most frequently asked, or most complicated, questions judges raise in these areas. Among the questions answered are: if parties obtain ex parte protection orders in different states, how should the court resolve the conflicting orders; and, once a state enacts the new Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), what law applies to pending cases. "New federal and uniform acts, such as UIFSA and the Violence Against Women Act, are dramatically changing interstate practice in cases affecting children," said Kristin Brewer, chair of the governing committee of the ABA Center on Children. "That makes this excellent Guide, written by attorneys from the Center on Children and the Law and ABA Commission on Domestic Violence, remarkably timely." Furthermore, though designed for judges, the Guide "is equally suitable for attorneys practicing in this area." The 400+-page Guide includes references to other resources, more than 50 pages of federally approved forms and sample orders that conform with new UIFSA requirements, and citations to more than 100 leading cases. The Guide was developed under a grant from the State Justice Institute. It is available for $25 by calling the ABA Service Center at 800/285-2221. To expedite your order, use catalog code #549-0275. For more information, visit the Center on Children and the Law's Web site.
Changes in mental disability litigation The number of disability court decisions based on claims related to issues within the community is far eclipsing those decisions based on claims related to mental health institutions. The types of litigation most responsible for this shift are Americans with Disabilities Act employment and education cases, Fair Housing Amendments Act cases, and prison-related cases. There has been a trend away from litigation in favor of other advocacy methods. To help disability law professionals keep track of significant changes such as these, the ABA's Mental and Physical Disability Law Reporter publishes the only comprehensive mental and physical disability law alphabetical and subject matter indexes. These annual indexes are featured in the Reporter's November-December 1997 issue. The Reporter's subject key numbering system with word descriptors allows readers to identify case decisions and legislation on hundreds of topics over the past 21 years. In 1997, the number of cases and new laws exceeded 2,000, and the entries by topic exceeded 6,000. Also included in this issue is an alphabetical listing of case decisions with updated citations. To order the Reporter index, become a Reporter subscriber, or make a legal research request, contact the ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law, 740 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005-1022, 202/662-1570 (voice), 202/662-1012 (TTY), 202/662-1032 (fax).
Grants help immigrants in six states As Congress prepares to reexamine the effects of the massive, and often damaging, changes it made to the nation's immigration laws, immigrants, refugees and newcomers continue to flood local legal aid offices seeking help in understanding and complying with the ever-changing set of rules. In its continuing effort to help immigrants gain access to the courts, the ABA's Immigration Pro Bono Development Project, with generous support from the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Institute, has awarded more than a quarter-million dollars in grants to volunteer attorney programs in six states, including Washington, California, Texas, Illinois, Arizona and Florida. The grants, up to $40,000 each, are being given to state and local bar-sponsored programs that will provide members of local immigrant communities with free legal services through the help of volunteer attorneys. "There is a pressing need for lawyers to provide representation to immigrants, who often do not understand our language, courts, and customs," says ABA President Jerome J. Shestack. "It is critical that lawyers ensure that there is justice for all, and the ABA is delighted to help state and local bars in their efforts to provide justice for immigrants. Through these grants, the private bar is increasing its efforts to involve lawyers in assisting this vulnerable, often-neglected group of people." Working closely with community organizations, volunteer lawyers in these six states will provide a variety of legal services, including: • assisting battered women and children whose problems are often exacerbated by their immigration status; • helping immigrants affected by changes in state and federal welfare laws; • aiding refugees fleeing political persecution in their home countries; and • recruiting other lawyers to volunteer their services. For more information on the grants, contact Christina DeConcini, ABA Immigration Pro Bono Development Project, 740 15th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005-1022, phone: 202/662-1008, e-mail: cdeconcini@staff.abanet.org.
ABA has new guide for the elderly Just when you thought these were your golden years and you had it all under control... • your spouse is the victim of corporate downsizing, • you're having a dispute with Social Security over your benefits, • a friend tells you you've got to have Medigap insurance...but what is it exactly, and how can you pick a good policy? • on top of everything else, your aunt may no longer be able to live on her own; what are her options? All these issues have essential legal dimensions, and all, plus many others, are addressed in The American Bar Association Legal Guide for Older Americans. The publication, written by legal experts from among ABA membership, is concise and straightforward, with easy to read, practical information on a host of everyday topics that affect Americans over 50. Many readers will find it of value not only for themselves, but also for their parents and older relatives. The 251-page publication, published by Times Books and produced by the ABA Division of Public Education, is the sixth book in the ABA's series of practical law handbooks.
IR&R loses two leaders A former Section chair and a council member were remembered fondly when news of their deaths reached IR&R friends. Cecil F. Poole, a former chair of the IR&R Section, was saluted for his work in civil rights and equal justice. "He touched the lives of all of us," said ABA President Jerome J. Shestack, who is also a former IR&R Section chair. "He sat with us and talked with us and shared his wisdom. With his humor and insight he pierced the confusion that surrounded our problems. He helped us travel on sure courses." Poole was the first black lawyer to lead an ABA Section. He was one of the first African- American assistant district attorneys in San Francisco and later became the first black U.S. Attorney in the Northern District. Allan Terl, a Section council member in the early 1990s and an active participant on the ABA AIDS Coordinating Committee, died of lymphoma, an AIDS-related cancer. He was 51. Committee chair Robert Stein remembered Terl for successfully trying the first AIDS discrimination case under Florida law. Terl spearheaded the campaign that led to the Broward County Commission's decision in 1995 to include sexual orientation in the county's civil rights law. Recalling Terl, Stein noted, "He was a constant presence reminding us that HIV affected people, not just statistics. His insights as well as his acerbic wit will be missed in our work."
ABA House supports judges against unwarranted attacks The ABA House of Delegates voted to encourage local and state bar associations to adopt programs to respond to unfair criticism of judges. The vote came during the ABA's Midyear Meeting in Nashville. "The positive action of the House of Delegates' urging lawyers to assist local and state bar associations to carry out their responsibilities to the courts is very helpful, and will greatly strengthen the work of the ABA Special Committee on Judicial Independence," said William S. Sessions, chair of the committee. "Often because of ethics, tradition and judicial constraints, judges cannot defend or respond to outside criticism, which is causing an erosion of the judicial system," he said. "The courts are the essential cornerstone of our system of justice and the rule of law. It is very important for all Americans to understand the role of the court in ensuring democracy." Sessions, former director of the FBI and U.S. district judge, now in private practice in San Antonio, is chair of the 11-member committee. The ABA Board of Governors created the committee to work for merit selection of judges, raise public awareness of the role of the judiciary, and defend state and local judges against unwarranted attacks. The proponents' report to the House of Delegates noted, "It is undesirable for a judge to answer criticism of her or his own actions appearing in the news media. This policy has been developed to ensure the dignity of the administration of justice, to prevent interference with pending litigation, and to reaffirm the commitment to an independent judiciary, a judiciary dedicated to decision making based on facts and law as presented." The report also noted that in responding to criticism a judge risks appearing self-serving, and more importantly, answering charges has "the potential of reflecting on pending litigation and may have an undesirable effect on litigants." With Sessions on the committee are: Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer; George S. Frazza of New York; Morris Harrell of Dallas, former ABA president and member of the Judicial Fellows Commission and the Federal Courts Study Committee; former White House Counsel and former U.S. Circuit Judge Abner Mikva, now of the University of Chicago Law School; Arthur R. Miller, the Bruce Bromley Professor of Law at Harvard Law School; Minnesota State Judge Cara Lee Neville of Minneapolis; Bruce M. Ramer of Beverly Hills, Cal.; U.S. District Judge Norma L. Shapiro of Philadelphia; Marna S. Tucker of Washington, D.C.; and Thomas J. Wagner, executive vice president and general counsel for the Cigna Corp. in Philadelphia. For more information, contact Luke Bierman, director of the ABA Judicial Division, at 312/988-5703.
ABA Releases Report on Professionalism Efforts When he took office as president of the ABA, Jerome J. Shestack asked every ABA entity to focus on professionalism in their programs during his term in office. With that in mind, Shestack released Promoting Professionalism, a first-of-its-kind report that pulls together information on every "professionalism"-related program of the ABA. The report defines professionalism thus: "A professional lawyer is an expert in law pursuing a learned art in service to clients and in the spirit of public service; and engaging in these pursuits as part of a common calling to promote justice and public good." Shestack identified six components as being the essence of that definition: • ethics, integrity and professional standards • competent service to clients while maintaining independent judgment • continuing education • civility • obligations to the rule of law and the justice system, and • pro bono service "The quest for professionalism is not a matter of small significance," Shestack said. "Many believe that there has been a decline in professionalism at the bar, and a resulting diminution in the esteem in which the legal profession is held." The report is broken into six chapters, one focusing on and developing each of the characteristics of professionalism. The report volume looks at programs ranging from the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the upcoming Ethics 2000 effort to review those rules, professional discipline and client protection through law school accreditation, continuing education, specialization, the ABA Code of Civility, efforts to eliminate bias in the administration of justice, ensuring access to justice, and the pro bono initiatives of many ABA entities. Shestack said that by increased mobilization of the bar to advance professionalism, the ABA can enhance professional values, increase respect for the legal profession, and advance the rule of law and our system of justice. The report also includes an index to the referenced entities, as well as a list of contacts for each. Promoting Professionalism is available free of charge by calling the ABA Service Center at 800/285-2221.
Guidebook available for gay asylum questions Persecution against sexual minorities is a tragically routine occurrence throughout the world. Consider how in Islamic fundamentalist countries, homosexuality may be punished by the death penalty; in Russia and China, homosexuals are subject to electroshock therapy to convert them into heterosexuals; and in several Latin American countries, death squads hunt and exterminate homosexuals as part of their "social cleansing" efforts. This persecution goes unpunished when the government inflicts or condones the abuse or mistreatment. Without legal redress available, many victims flee to the United States for safety given the relatively better treatment and rule of law they can find here against such violations. Homosexuals who have experienced or fear persecution in their homelands have been eligible for asylum in the United States as members of a particular social group since June 1994 when Toboso-Alfonso, 20 I&N Dec. 819 (BIA 1990), the Board of Immigration Appeals case involving a Cuban gay asylum-seeker, was designated as precedent. On April 1, 1998, an unprecedented one-year filing deadline on asylum claims took effect, requiring that all asylum applicants file within one year of arrival in the United States unless they can prove "exceptional circumstances" for their failure to file. Concerned that sexual minorities will fall through the cracks without greater outreach and education to advocates and the gay and lesbian community, the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights and the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force have produced the innovative, practical publication entitled, "Preparing Sexual Orientation-Based Asylum Claims: A Handbook for Advocates and Asylum-Seekers." Authored by Heather McClure, Christopher Nugent and Lavi Soloway, the 178-page handbook provides an in-depth focus on preparing affirmative applications for asylum by gays and lesbians, and insightful information and resources to aid sexual minority asylum-seekers and their advocates in the preparation and representation of bona fide asylum claims. Foregrounding the needs of sexual minority asylum-seekers, the handbook includes chapters on the history of asylum based on sexual orientation; client-centered approaches to working with the applicant, techniques to raise relevant information and facilitate the client's affidavit; guidelines and resources for securing supporting documentation for sexual orientation-based claims; considerations when preparing the client to testify; and further resources for legal, social, medical and psychological support for the asylum-seeker. The handbook also addresses legal concerns for HIV-positive asylum-seekers. The handbook is a component of the Emergency Asylum Campaign launched by the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force and the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission to alert potential gay and lesbian asylum-seekers to the April 1st deadline and to help with any questions that will come up beyond that deadline. Asylum claims by gays or lesbians have been rare with less than 200 identified by the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission in San Francisco. There are several reasons for the low numbers of these asylum claims: client's unfamiliarity with their eligibility to apply; reluctance to disclose their fears based on their sexual orientation to a lawyer in this "foreign" land; and advocates' difficulties in eliciting from clients such relevant information or, once discovered, the difficulties in evaluating or developing asylum claims. "It is our hope that the handbook will serve as an invaluable resource to get the work out to potential asylum-seekers about the April 1st filing deadline and to support practitioners' rigorous evaluation, preparation and representation of gay and lesbian asylum-seekers before asylum offices nationwide," said Christopher Nugent. "Preparing Sexual Orientation-Based Asylum Claims: A Handbook for Advocates and Asylum-Seekers" is available through the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights at 312/629-4500 ext. 4531.
Section Nomination Process Underway The IR&R Section Nominating Committee has begun the process of developing a slate of officers and council members to be nominated for the 1998-99 year. Four full-term council seats and the offices of chair-elect, vice chair, secretary, and recording secretary are up for election this year. The council positions are for three-year terms; the officer positions are one-year terms. Any ABA member who has been a dues-paying Section member for at least six months preceding the election is eligible for nomination. The election will take place at the Section's Annual Meeting, to be held on Friday, July 31, during the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada. Nominations may be submitted to Nominating Committee Chair:
Janet R. Studley Please include a brief biographical statement for any nominee. Contact the Section office (202/662-1030) for further information. |