Sen. Hillary Clinton, award-winning novelist Scott Turow, and Steven Levitt, The New York Times Magazine columnist and author of the best-selling book Freakonomics, will be among the high-powered speakers featured at the American Bar Association's 128th Annual Meeting being held August 4 to 9 in Chicago. The headquarters for the meeting will be the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Also featured will be hot legal issues such as CSI Meets the Courts: The Brave New World of Forensic Technology; Welcome Back Fluffy: The Legal, Ethical and Economical Issues of Cloning; Working With the Media in High-Profile Cases, and a legislative update on stem cell research.
Among the scheduled events are:
Thursday, August 4
Attorney-client communication may not be as privileged as it once was with the SEC, Department of Justice, state attorneys general and other government agencies aggressively investigating and prosecuting companies' mutual funds, officers and directors. Sponsored by the ABA Section of Litigation, Assault on the Attorney-Client Privilege: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know will explore recent case law, regulations and sentencing guidelines that have eroded the attorney-client and work product protections. This program will be held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Grand Ballroom A, Gold Level, East Tower from 3:45-5:15 p.m.
Friday, August 5
High-Tech Stalkers: The Dark Side of Cyberspace and the Information Highway will identify cases presenting new challenges to enforcing stalking laws. This program, sponsored by the ABA Criminal Justice Section, will be held from 9 a.m.-noon at the Swissotel, Alpine Ballroom II, Ballroom Level.
ABA President Robert J. Grey will present the 2005 Michael Franck Professional Responsibility Award to former Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice E. Norman Veasey at 5 p.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel. The award recognizes one person each year for contributions over the course of his/her legal career to advancing professional ethics among lawyers and judges.
Saturday, August 6
What attracts women of color to the legal profession? How do legal employers hinder or increase job satisfaction? Why do women of color change practice areas, organizations, or leave the profession entirely at such an alarming rate? Panelists will attack these and other questions at Plight of Women Attorneys of Color in the Legal Profession, a program sponsored by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. The session will be held from 10 a.m.-noon at InterContinental Chicago, Camelot Room, 3rd floor.
Sunday, August 7
Sen. Clinton and five other women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence in their area of practice, will receive the 2005 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award at a special luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Grand Ballroom from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The award is presented by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.
Monday, August 8
A dialogue with Allan Beller, director of the SEC Division of Corporate Finance, will be presented by the ABA Section of Business Law from 8-9 a.m. at the Westin Michigan Avenue, Wellington Ballroom 2, 2nd floor.
Tuesday, August 9
You Can't Do That to Me, I'm a Whistleblower! will explore how relationships within the workplace change once an employee complains to his employer or an outside agency about unlawful conduct occurring at work. Expert panelists will discuss how to manage this situation and minimize risk to everyone. This program, sponsored by the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, will be held from 9-10:30 a.m. at the Swissotel, Grand Ballroom III, Ballroom Level.
For further information, visit www.abanet.org.