The final headcount was 7,017 ABA member registrants, as of Monday, plus 1,540 guests for a total of 8,557 legal enthusiasts showing up in Chicago for the largest legal trade organization’s annual meeting.
In conclusion, Carolyn Lamm told attendees that, in her first act as the new ABA president, she was taking them all to Disney World. The meeting wrapped with a round of the Mickey Mouse Club song, in honor of the mid-year meeting set for Orlando, Fla., next February. Proceedings there will unfold at the Walt Disney Swan and Dolphin hotels.
Members left the Chicago gathering with a rice-crispy gift in the shape of Mickey’s head.
This year's meeting in Chicago was really great. The weather in Chicago was great, not humid or too hot. The city treated us with open arms. The CLE's were uniformly interesting and worthwhile and it is a real rush to see what the sections are doing. It is hard to get your head around just how big the ABA is. Not being a member is just not really an alternative if you care about law as a profession. Not going to an annual meeting is not an alternative if you really care about the ABA. I know Ms. Lamb has set her sights on increasing dues paying membership. It is incumbent on us all to support her efforts. It isn't about the politics, it is about the professional serice and the work we do to better the practice of law that makes the ABA one of the most important organizations in a lawyers life.
Posted by: Anthony J. Colleluori | 08/05/2009 at 07:00 PM