Steven Zack Takes Over The Reins At The ABA

Stephen Zack's four main initiatives for his royal reign will be to preserve the justice system (whatever that means), civic education (provide more funding to the American Federation of Teachers), hispanic legal rights (amnesty), and disaster preparedness (close gitmo). Clearly, Mr. Zack wants to use his position to brandish political credentials and gain influence in Democratic circles.

As for the issues of regulating the profession, accrediting law schools, exploding debt, ABA schools that blatantly falsify marketing statistics, former biglaw associates scrubbing toilets, and corrupt deans channeling money through and sitting on the boards of directors of non-for-profit (in name only) lending institutions, he is notably silent.

When it comes to the issue of outsourcing entry-level legal work to the Indian subcontinent however, Zack is a little more proactive:

In remarks to the commission, ABA President-Elect Stephen Zack said that although he is "agnostic" on the issue of outsourcing, he recognizes that the lack of an official ABA position on the subject is a real problem. An opinion on outsourcing issued by the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, ABA Formal Ethics Op. 08-451 (2008), has been taken by others as a formal ABA endorsement, he noted. . . . . The ABA House of Delegates needs an opportunity to consider outsourcing, he said.

Jaime Gorelick said that the commission's work on outsourcing will be put out for public comment, so that by the time the report comes before the delegates at the 2011midyear meeting it will be "fully vetted."

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:_EXqCwjSoDIJ:www.abanet.org/ethics2020/bnart.2.pdf+Stephen+Zack+outsourcing&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgolEijPapNAS7ZO-cG8rGgSIh27e2LPLpefs_zctgjOOdgLikBY5_eVq0yPcGHYdWVabZ2j6Xevg2wblpmkMEtEY95ynReA7dSnAUZ8e7gZGR1TMewVwKnMe8uhsc37tupTXfi&sig=AHIEtbSs8P4HIsWVdh1UAJgL-17Jr-7-zw

Jaime Gorelick remember, is that horrible bank lobbying creature that took slush money from Sallie Mae and unsuccessfully tried to kill off the student loan reform bill last year. She also took $26.4 million away from Fannie Mae, money which was later found by federal regulators to have been given out because management manipulated earnings. Talk about ethics!

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/02/05/bank-lobbyist-jamie-goreleck-endangers-student-loan-reform/

Make no doubt it, for however "agnostic" Mr. Hack pretends to be, the ABA will indeed put their full seal of approval on Indian outsourcing later next year. Thanksgiving dinner will be served up early next year and the turkeys will be you and me!