Does the ABA Do Good? (Part I)

No. (This, however, is a polemic, and as such I am unfairly neglecting some of the fine work done by some ABA sections.) As a law student, I had an inchoate thought that the ABA could be a kind of strong mediating institution between the state and the individual that would make it beneficial to the public, not just a large lobbying organization protecting the business interests of lawyers. I had a woeful lack of knowledge of the quite sketchy history of the ABA. I thought the ABA could use its organizational heft to improve the quality of applicants to the profession, improve the ethical standards required of all lawyers, and advance the public profession of the law.

One issue of importance to the ABA during my formative years as a lawyer (and even now) was its role in the vetting process for federal court nominees. Having joined the legal profession in 1982, I was quite familiar with the burgeoning culture wars, including their cousin, the judicial appointment wars. I never thought much of the ABA’s efforts to control (or at least channel) judicial selection through its Committee on the Federal Judiciary, particularly after it couldn’t determine, based on its own “non-ideological” criteria, whether Robert Bork was highly qualified, qualified, or a hopeless disaster in the making. I don’t mind the ABA’s efforts to evaluate federal judicial nominees; what bothers me is that it claims to do so as an independent, neutral, unbiased expert.

But neither its history nor its tiresome efforts to wield an oddly refractive kind of political influence is what really bothers me. No, the ABA does harm because it can’t get it right on what should be its two most important areas of concern: legal ethics (this Part) and legal education (Part II). 

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English-Only Rule Comes to a Yale-Area Bookstore

Books From the New York Times:

A popular bookstore and cafe near Yale University wants its many Hispanic employees to speak only English around customers, sparking controversy in immigrant-friendly New Haven, where students fight for immigrant rights.

Atticus Bookstore and Cafe recently issued a policy stating that English should be the only language spoken on the floor and behind the counter. ”Spanish is allowed in the prep area, the dishwasher area and the lower level. Let’s make our customers feel welcome and comfortable,” the policy states, according to New Haven Workers Association, a group of activists who said employees gave them a copy.

”I’m really appalled,” said Tim Stewart-Winter, a Yale lecturer. ”As a New Haven resident and member of the Yale community, I think diversity is a strength of this country.”
Stewart-Winter said he likes to take out-of-town guests to Atticus, but may not now because of the policy.

As we have pointed out before, the EEOC generally frowns on English-only rules enforced at all times.  However, when English is only required at certain times (e.g., when talking to customers), the EEOC permits such policies if required by a business necessity (“An employer may have a rule requiring that employees speak only in English at certain times where the employer can show that the rule is justified by business necessity.”). 

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New Law Review Website Debuts

The Marquette Law Review today launches its cutting-edge new website: http://law.marquette.edu/lawreview. Among other new features, the website includes the entire archive of the Law Review stretching back to 1916. With full-text searchability, the new archive represents a leap forward in the accessibility of scholarship published in the Law Review. (For those interested in the preoccupations of Marquette students and faculty members in earlier eras, individual issues are easily browsed.) The new website also includes draft versions of forthcoming articles, abstracts of recently published articles, links to the most downloaded articles, information for prospective authors and members, and a subscription feature. Coming soon will be video recordings and other media associated with recent Law Review symposia.

Today’s launch marks the culmination of a year’s worth of effort by many talented people. Particular thanks are owed to the Law Review’s Editor-in-Chief Marvin Bynum and Technology Editor Bryant Ferguson for their leadership. Thanks also to Raynor Library’s Ann Hanlon and to Dax Phillips, Julie Norton, and Megan O’Brien at the Law School for lending their expertise to the project. Ann played a particularly important role in helping us to work effectively with the Berkeley Electronic Press Digital Commons (where our diligent contact was Jonathan Cadle). Dan Blinka, Patricia Cervenka, Melissa McCord, and Stephen Boyett (the latter two of last year’s Law Review board) also made valuable contributions in the initial planning stages. Students Caitlin Brock and Mark Positano put a great deal of meticulous work into the creation of the archive PDFs. Finally, Dean Kearney has been unstintingly supportive of this initiative from start to finish.

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