News
2011 ABA Midyear Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia
Mark your calendars for Fellows events at the 2011 ABA Midyear Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia! Fellows registration will open in December 2010. Please see below for a preliminary schedule of Fellows events.
Schedule of Fellows Events
Thursday, February 10 - Saturday, February 12
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Registration
Marriott Marquis Hotel
Please drop by to pick up your Fellows ribbons even if you will not be registering for this meeting's Fellows events.
Friday, February 11
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Fellows and YLD CLE - topic and details TBD
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Fellows Opening Reception
Ventanas
275 Baker Street, 14th Floor
Ticketed Event
Saturday, February 12
Approx. 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Fellows Tour - location and details TBD
Ticketed Event
2:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Fellows CLE Research Seminar - topic and details TBD
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
55th Annual Fellows Awards Reception and Banquet
The Fox Theatre
660 Peachtree Street NE
Ticketed Event
Click here for further information about the Fellows Awards
Sunday, February 13
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Fellows State Chair Luncheon - location TBD
For general information about the 2011 ABA Midyear Meeting, including hotel accommodations, please visit http://new.abanet.org/calendar/midyear. You must register through the ABA in order to take advantage of special room rates and online hotel reservations.
Questions? Contact us at gro.nfba@swollef or (800) 292-5065
People to People: 2009 US-India Law Forum Delegation to India
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| Richard and Carolyn Pena, left, and Indian tour guide |
"On India trip, lawyers find it's a small world," by JOHN SIRMAN, posted on April 22 on Texas Bar Blog
A delegation of U.S. lawyers returned from India last month with a simple but important lesson: lawyers everywhere share a common bond, and that's a passion to protect and defend the Rule of Law, sometimes during very difficult circumstances.
The US-India Law Forum was led by former State Bar of Texas president Richard Pena on behalf of People to People Citizen Ambassador Programs, a group originally spun off from the State Department to promote international understanding and friendship through cultural exchange. Pena, a workers compensation lawyer and president of the American Bar Foundation, had led 11 previous legal delegations for People to People, to places like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Tibet. The first trip was a delegation of Texas lawyers to China in 2000.
In the wake of the Mumbai attacks, India is struggling with issues regarding terrorism and how it will respond as a country and a legal community. The group of 26 delegates met personally with the chief justice of the Indian Supreme Court, justices of the New Delhi Supreme Court, and the equivalent of the attorney general of India. They also met a group of lawyers who personally knew Gandhi and are working to promote the principles of peace and peaceful resistance as India works to determine its future. The delegation focused on learning about India's legal system, but also on making personal connections. “A lot of what we’re doing is relationship building,” says Pena. “It’s not unlike what President Obama did on his recent South America trip. You interact and build a foundation for future relationships and support.”
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| Gandhi's living quarters |
The group saw some tourist sites, but Pena explains that these trips are about much more. “The Taj Mahal was great and unique and everyone should see it, but it’s a thing. The people of India and of other countries that we visit are the real story -- the struggles that they face and how lawyers are helping them, sometimes in the face of great odds.”
Another goal of the People to People trips is to expand the world views of participants. “They learn that there are really no borders anymore. We’re all part of a global community,” Pena says. In India and Egypt this may take the form of a legal summit addressing issues of terrorism law.
Pena stresses that the legal delegations never pick “easy” destinations like Paris or London. Instead they go places where they feel they can make a difference.
The next trip is planned for Israel this November. If you’re interested in participating, contact Pena at (512)327-6884.
Oregon Life Fellow Richard J. Stone of Ball Janik, P.C., kept a journal while on the trip. Read it here.
North Carolina Fellow Willis P. Whichard of Moore & Van Allen, PLLC also kept a journal. Read it here.
Roster Errata
Errata from the 2009 Roster
Allen W. Kimbrough, Arizona Life Fellow, is listed incorrectly as a Nevada Life Fellow.
John E. Osborn, Massachusetts Life Patron Fellow, lives in Siasconset, MA.
Gordon S. Rather, Arkansas Fellow, was omitted from the Roster.
Errata from the 2008 Roster
Salvador E. Casellas, Puerto Rico Life Fellow, is listed incorrectly as Salvador E. Casellas-Toro.
E. Norman Veasey, Delaware Sustaining Life Fellow, is listed incorrectly as a Life Fellow.
The Fellows deeply regrets these errors.
If you would like to report an error or update information in the Roster, please contact the Fellows office at 1-800-292-5065 or send us an email.