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GAZETTE
N E W S
SEPTEMBER 1993
ABA Conference:
Justice For All - All For Justice
"America's justice system continues to
deteriorate and in many parts of the
United States is on the verge of collapse
due to inadequate funding" said ABA
President,
Michael McWilliams
, at the
Í start of the American Bar Association
Annual Conference which had as its
theme "Justice for All -All for Justice".
The Annual Conference attended by
over 13,000 American lawyers and
lawyers from all common law juris-
dictions throughout the world including
delegations from Ireland, Northern
Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales,
also focused on the inadequacy of the
legal system in serving the needs of
America's children. A leitmotif running
through many presidential speeches,
press briefings and showcase pro-
grammes at the ABA was a deepening
unease about the level of gun-related
violence throughout the United States.
Pointing out that nearly one-quarter of
all children under the age of six in
America live in poverty, Michael
McWilliams told a press conference that
guns kill or injure forty children every
day in the United States and gunshot
wounds were the leading cause of death
among both white and African/
American teenage boys. Lawyers, he
said, must lead the way in calling for
reform of the legal system's handling of
childrens' cases. "We must give children
the same level of zealous advocacy now
given to adult and corporate clients.
Because if we don't, our children won't
reach adulthood with the strength and
self-sufficiency necessary to fully
! participate in, and contribute to, both our
economy and our democracy - and that
puts both in great jeopardy." Michael
McWilliams said that teenagers could
easily obtain guns through "straw
purchasers" because the simple step of
performing a criminal background check
prior to selling an individual handguns
and other firearms was not compulsory.
He called for the enactment of the Brady
Bill which would provide for a waiting
period to ensure that handguns were not
purchased over the counter without
J. Michael McWilliams, President
outgoing of the ABA.
background checks being done on the
criminal record of the purchaser.
Rights of Children
In her address to the Opening Assembly
of the ABA Conference, US Attorney
General,
Janet Reno,
said that
America's children had suffered
indifference and neglect for far too long.
Lawyers must rise to the challenge of
solving the problems faced by children
because without them it would not be
possible to maintain America. "We must
give our children a chance to grow to be
strong, constructive human beings," she
said. "If we can send a man to the moon
we can do something about teenage
pregnancy. There is something wrong
with a nation which says, sorry, we have
no preventative medical care. Lawyers
must join with doctors, teachers and
police in working together to make sure
that children can have an opportunity to
secure their nation and to build their
communities."
She said lawyers had a duty not to wait
until a crisis occurred. "Solve it before
it gets to court" she told delegates. She
suggested that lawyers must become
active in campaigning for a change in
welfare law. Advocates should
maintain contact with first-time
offenders that they represented to make
sure that they did not offend again.
Lawyers could take community
initiatives such as "adopting a block"
i.e. ensuring that landlords treated
tenants in an apartment block according
to the terms of the lease. "Lawyers
must reach out to help the children of
America", she concluded, "they need
hugs and encouragement, they need to
be treated with respect."
•
Justice for
alii
Ide to Tackle
Communication
The President-elect of the ABA, R.
William Ide, III, said during his year as
President the ABA would concentrate
on helping sole practitioners, communi-
cating with the public, improving the
justice system, and elevating the
standing of lawyers.
He said he believed that poor client
relations were hurting the image of
lawyers. Many lawyers did not return
client phone calls quickly enough and
needed to brush up in general on their
client relations skills. Clients were
frustrated in their dealings with lawyers
and that contributed to a poor image for
lawyers. He said he was unhappy with
some of the quality of advertising by
lawyers and that the ABA would have to
set a norm to eliminate offensive ads.
The new ABA President is currently
developing a communications plan
designed to help the ABA respond more
quickly to issues as they arise. In
addition to the President and President
elect, eighteen members of the ABA
will act as spokespersons for the
Association throughout the United
States.
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