Free: Thousands of Programs on Tap for American Bar Convention

Starting today, more than 10,000 attorneys and their families will be in town for the American Bar Association's 131st annual meeting.

Attendees at the six-day convention will shuttle between 2,106 programs at venues throughout New York City.

See the Program Book.

One program is likely to have a particular resonance for throngs of convention participants navigating packed city streets: a discussion on how to ease urban congestion.

The two-part discussion on renewable energy and transportation, slated to take place at the Waldorf-Astoria on Sunday, is one of several presentations aimed at New Yorkers. Other New York-oriented events will cover litigation tactics to stem homelessness, Workers' Compensation in the wake of 9/11, legal issues raised by efforts to protect the city from terrorist attacks and tribal land claims in the state.

Panelists also will weigh in on issues of global import such as the use of private military contractors in the Middle East, the rights of Guatánamo Bay detainees in light of U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the use of a "cultural defense" by immigrants who invoke the customs of their homelands in court to explain their actions.

The meeting will climax on Monday and Tuesday, when the ABA's 555-member House of Delegates convenes at the New York Hilton Grand Ballroom to debate and vote on over two dozen policy proposals and hear from U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

The ABA last held its annual meeting in New York in 2000. According to Martin Balogh, its director of meetings and travel, the group historically comes to New York City every seven to nine years, and plans to return in 2017.

The event will be a boost to the local economy. According to an ABA press release, participants have booked more than 7,800 nights at 10 hotels through the group's travel agent, Expedient.

The ABA plans to donate leftover food to City Harvest, a non-profit organization that distributes meals to hungry New Yorkers.

The vast majority of the participants come from the United States, Mr. Balogh said, although certain distinguished international guests also plan to attend. More than 1,000 attorneys have registered from the tri-state region, including 924 from New York state, 159 from New Jersey, and 104 from Connecticut.

Alan Rothstein, general counsel of the New York City Bar Association, said the local bar group will cosponsor events on at-risk youths and special education.

Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye said in an interview that the youth-at-risk event, set for today, will offer strategies law firms and bar associations can use to help move children out of foster care and to keep them out of the criminal justice system.

Tomorrow, Chief Judge Kaye will present a keynote speech that emphasizes the need for youths to "understand" and "respect" the rule of law. A panel discussion featuring former foster children will follow Judge Kaye's address.

Tomorrow evening, the city bar will host a reception for bar presidents and executives from around the country. Mr. Rothstein said the meeting will not only be a "good opportunity for a lot of ABA members to see the city," but a chance to "showcase" the city bar.

The city bar will also co-sponsor a program on capital punishment and several of its staffers will participate in different ABA events, including Lynn M. Kelly, director of its Justice Center, who is scheduled to speak on the bar group's Lawyers' Foreclosure Intervention Network.

Several New Yorkers will be recognized during the convention. Tomorrow, Chief Judge Kaye will receive the Jury Award from the ABA Judicial Division. On Sunday, Brooklyn Law School professor Roberta Karmel and Debevoise & Plimpton partner Mary Jo White will be among those receiving the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award.

-Noeleen.Walder@incisivemedia.com