EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT: Coming Off Our Best Year YetAuthor(s): ROBERT A. STEIN and Donna C. Willard-JonesSource: ABA Journal, Vol. 84, No. 11 (NOVEMBER 1998), pp. 100-103Published by: American Bar AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27840535 .

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT

Coming Off Our Best Year Yet

BY ROBERT A. STEIN

The AMs record growth and robust

financial picture show that our

strategic plan is

working. This bodes well for our ability to

improve justice at home and around the world.

The aba has a lot to celebrate these days. We have just concluded the most successful year in our 120-year histo ry. New all-time records have been reached in both membership and fi nances.

On Aug. 31, 1998, the end of our 1997-98 association year, membership climbed to a new record high of 400,715, eclipsing the previous record of 400,187 set in 1991-92. This is the third straight year our membership has increased, re versing a decline for three years in the early 1990s.

This record of membership growth is virtually unmatched in other large national professional membership or

CATEGORY 8/31/98 8/31/97 INCREASE Lawyer 347,903 345,561 0.7% Law Student 45,161 39,338 14.8% Associate 7,651 7,519 1.8% TOTAL 400,715 392,418 2.1%

ganizations. Our strategic membership plan is working and is overcoming pow erful demographic forces that are caus ing people to join groups less often now than in the past.

Our membership has increased once again in all three categories of membership?lawyers, law students and associates.

We are particularly pleased with the enormous growth we are experienc ing in law student membership. The law student membership increase of 14.8 percent last year follows a 9 per cent increase the previous year, and an 11 percent increase the year before

that. The law students and young law yers represent our future, and our law student membership growth bodes well for the future health of the ABA.

A key to our membership growth is the strength of our sections. The sec tions provide a professional home and an opportunity for active participation to our members. Many of the products, publications and services our members value most highly are provided by the sections.

I'm happy to report that our fast est-growing section is our newest one? the Health Law Section. Established in 1996, it grew 6 percent last year. Mem bership figures for our 33 sections, di visions and forums as we enter the 1998-99 association year appear below.

Our financial results are also a cause for celebration. The 1998-99 as sociation year is the fifth straight year without a dues increase. That is un precedented in the recorded history of the association, and unmatched by most other organizations.

During the past year, the Board of Governors took dramatic action to stretch out the dues cycle and ensure that any dues increase, when it eventu ally becomes necessary, will be as low as possible. The board reduced expendi tures in the current year planned bud get by over $4 million. Even after infla tion our 1998-99 budget is lower than our 1997-98 budget by more than $1 million.

This is a particularly significant achievement in light of the fact that much of our budget is in the travel and

Section, division and forum membership totals Administrative Law 5,090 Individual Rights & Affordable Housing 1,474 Responsibilities 2,670 Air & Space 1,269 Intellectual Property 15,083

Antitrust 8,753 International Law 11,575 Business Law 49,070 Judicial Administration 4,339 Communications Law Labor & Employment 20,681

Forum 2,923 Law Practice Management 15,540 Construction Forum 5,375 Legal Education 6,878 Criminal Justice 6,828 Litigation 55,445 Dispute Resolution 5,053 Natural Resource 11,917 Entertainment Public Contract 3,639 & Sports Forum 3,840 Public Utility 3,799

Family Law 9,809 Real Property 29,798 Forum on Franchising 2,136 Science & Technology 4,427 General Practice, Solo & Senior Lawyers 11,482 Small Firm 10,983 State & Local Government 4,914

Government & Public Taxation 20,278 Sector 3,256 Tort & Insurance 26,527 Health Law Section 8,992 Young Lawyers 122,018

100 ABA JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 1998

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lodging sector, which has had a rate of inflation much higher than the increase in the Consumer Price Index generally.

Part of the reason for our suc cess in avoiding a dues increase for five years has been underspending our budget each year and returning the surplus to fund the budget in

following years. In each of the past four years,

we have returned surpluses in the range of $1 million to $3 million to fund future years' budgets. In the just-concluded 1997-98 year, for ex

ample, we expect to return a sur

plus of more than $2.5 million to a dues account to fund future years' budgets.

One other extremely favorable financial note?at the end of July 1998, our permanent reserves had grown to $51.7 million dollars, up 20 percent from a total of $43 mil lion dollars on Aug. 31, 1997. The amount of permanent reserves on

Aug. 1,1998, and at the end of each of the four preceding years was:

Classifieds The ABA Journal is an effective

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Aug. 1,1998 Aug. 31,1997 Aug. 31,1996

Aug. 31,1995

Aug. 31,1994

$51.7 million $43 million $34 million $29 million $25 million

The growth of our permanent reserves during the past four years is a remarkable development for the future health of our association.

To remain a strong, vigorous voice for the legal profession in im

proving the administration of jus tice in the United States and throughout the world, the associa tion must provide value to our

members and continue to welcome and serve new members. Both the growth of our membership and the strong financial condition of the as sociation bode well for the future.

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_____Meeting Datas_ American Bar Association?General 1999? Midyear meeting: Feb. 3-9, Los Angeles; annual meeting:

Aug. 5-11, Atlanta 2000? Midyear meeting: Feb. 9-15, Dallas; annual meeting:

July 6-12, New York City; London sessions: July 15-20, London 2001? Midyear meeting: Feb. 14-20, San Diego; annual meeting:

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* Please note new location

102 ABA JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 1998

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Notice by the Board of Elections

The following jurisdictions will elect a State Delegate for a three-year term be

ginning at the adjournment of the 1999 Annual Meeting:

Arizona

Connecticut

Dist. of Columbia

Illinois

Iowa

Maine

Michigan

Mississippi Montana

Nebraska

New Jersey Oklahoma

Puerto Rico

S. Carolina

S. Dakota

Texas

Washington

Wyoming

PETITIONS Nominating petitions for State Dele

gates to be elected in 1999 must be filed with the Board of Elections at Association

headquarters not later than Friday, De cember 4, 1998. AJI nominating petitions

must be published in the February 1999 issue of the ABA Journal.

A minimum of twenty-five signatures of members of the Association is required; the nominee and all signers must be mem

bers of the Association whose membership is accredited to the state where the elec tion is being held. There is no limit to the number of candidates who may be nomi nated in any state, and the nominations are made only on the initiative of mem bers themselves.

Nominating petitions may be obtained from the Board of Elections at the head

quarters office of the American Bar Asso

ciation, 750 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60611, and must be filed before the close of business at 5:00 P.M., Friday, December 4, 1998.

Ballots will be mailed to members in

good standing, accredited to the state in which elections are to be held, no later than Friday, January 15, 1999, so they will be received by members at approxi mately the same time as the February issue of the ABA Journal containing the

nominating petitions of the various candi dates.

In accordance with 6.3(e) of the con

stitution, no ballots will be mailed to members when a State Delegate election is uncontested. If only one valid nominat

ing petition is filed, the Board of Elections will certify that the sole nominee is elect ed.

BOARD OF ELECTIONS Herbert P. Wilkins, Chair

Nicholas De . Katzenbach John W. Martin, Jr.

Notice by the Secretary At the 1999 Midyear Meeting, the

Nominating Committee will announce nominations for district and at-large posi tions on the ABA Board of Governors for the term beginning at the conclusion of

the 1999 Annual Meeting and ending at the conclusion of the 2002 Annual Meet

ing. Pursuant to 2.1 of the Association's

Constitution, the Committee will nomi nate individuals from the following states to represent the districts noted: Rhode Is land (District 1); Michigan (District 2);

Virginia (District 4); Tennessee (District

6); and Kansas (District 12). The Nominating Committee will also

nominate members from the Section of Business Law and the Senior Lawyers Di vision to serve as Section Members-at

Large on the Board. A young lawyer member will be nominated to serve as the

Young Lawyer Member-at-Large. In addition, one member-at-large who

is a woman and one member-at-large who is a minority shall be nominated pursuant to 26.1(d) of the Association's Constitu tion. The nominations will be made

notwithstanding the fact that women and

minority members may be nominated for the district and at-large positions on the Board of Governors.

PETITIONS To be eligible for nomination as a

member of the Board of Governors by the

Nominating Committee, a person must file a petition signed by 25 Association

members. Nominating petitions must be filed with the Secretary at Association

headquarters not later than Friday, Janu

ary 8, 1999. Nominees for district repre sentative must be accredited to the state for which the nomination is being made and the petition must be signed by 25 As sociation members from the states within that district. While it is desirable that more than the required minimum of 25 names of members of the Association ap pear on the nominating petitions, only 25 names of signers of any petition will be in cluded in the material provided to the

Nominating Committee. Only signatures of members of the Association will be counted. Each nominating petition must be accompanied by a typewritten list of names and addresses of the signers in the order in which they appear on the peti tion.

The petition must also be accompa nied by a 100-word biographical sketch of the nominee. Forms for this purpose will be provided. The biographical sketch and a list of 25 signers from the nominating petitions will be sent to the members of the Nominating Committee prior to their

meeting in February. Nominating petitions may be obtained

from the Secretary at the headquarters of fice of the American Bar Association, 750

North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

Donna C. Willard-Jones

Secretary

Statement of Ownership, Management and

Circulation (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685)

1. Title of publication: ABA Journal. 1A. Publication Number: 0747-0088. 2. Date of Filing: September 30, 1998. 3. Frequency of Issue: monthly. 3A. Number of issues published an

nually: 12 3B. Annual subscription price: $5.50

to members. $75.00 to nonmembers. Single issue price $7.00.

4. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: 750 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Cook County, IL 60611 4497.

5. Complete mailing address of the headquarters or general business offices of the publisher: 750 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611-4497.

6. Publisher: Gary A. Hengstler, 750 . Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611

4497. Editor: Gary A. Hengstler, 750 . Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611-4497. Managing Editor: Kerry Klumpe, 750 . Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. IL 60611-4497.

7. Owner: American Bar Association, 750 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611 4497.

8. Known bondholders, mortgagees and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds,

mortgages or other securities: none. 9. The purpose, function, and nonprof

it status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes have not changed during preceding 12 months.

10. Extent and nature of circulation: A. Total number copies (net press

run): average number copies each issue dur ing preceding 12 months?391,550; average

number copies single issue published near est to filing date?417,500.

B. Paid and/or requested circula tion: 1. Sales through dealer and carriers, street vendors and counter sales: average number copies each issue preceding 12 months?0; average number copies single issue published nearest to filing date?0. 2.

Mail subscription (paid and/or requested): average number copies each issue during preceding 12 months?382,324; average number copies single issue published near est to filing date?414,000.

C. Total paid and/or requested circulation (sum of 10B1 and 10B2): average number copies each issue during preceding 12 months?382,324; average number copies single issue published nearest to filing date?414,000.

D. Free distribution by mail, car rier or other means, samples, complimenta ry and other free copies: average number copies each issue during preceding 12 months?3,497; average number copies sin gle issue nearest to filing date?3,500.

E. Total distribution (sum of C and D): average number copies each issue during preceding 12 months?385,821; aver age number copies single issue published nearest to filing date?417,500.

F. Copies not distributed: 1. Of fice use, left over, unaccounted, spoiled after printing: average number copies each issue during preceding 12 months?5,729; average number copies single issue pub lished nearest to filing date?6,201. 2. Re turn from news agents?0.

G. Total (sum of E, Fl and F2 should equal net press run shown in A): av erage number copies each issue during pre ceding 12 months?391,550; average num ber copies single issue published nearest to filing date?423,701.

11. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.

GARY A. HENGSTLER Editor and Publisher

ABA JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 1998 103

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