For decades, ABA Day has brought together legal professionals from across the country to advocate for critical issues affecting the legal profession and access to justice. In 2025, we are expanding this tradition to ensure that every lawyer—whether in Washington, online, or at home—can play an active role in shaping the future of the law.

This year, ABA Day 2025 will include three components:

ABA Day in Washington (April 8–10): The traditional cornerstone of our advocacy efforts, where ABA members meet face-to-face with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss key legislative issues.

ABA Day Online (April 9): A live-streamed, interactive event featuring policy discussions, training sessions, and real-time advocacy opportunities, allowing participants from across the country to engage with Congress digitally.

ABA Day at Home (April 11–27): An in-district advocacy effort empowering ABA members to meet with their elected officials in their home districts, ensuring that our voices are heard at the local level.

As technology continues to shape the legal profession, it’s also transforming how we advocate. While the tradition of in-person meetings on Capitol Hill remains essential and continues to be the most effective way to move the needle on issues in Congress, we recognize that not every lawyer can travel to Washington, D.C. That’s why we are making ABA Day Online and ABA Day at Home a central part of our 2025 efforts. Click here to register today.

ABA Day Online: Advocacy at your fingertips

For those unable to attend in person, ABA Day Online provides a powerful opportunity to participate. This two-hour live broadcast on April 9 will feature:

• Messages from key members of Congress leading legislative efforts on our advocacy issues.

• Keynote speakers and panels on major legislative issues impacting the legal profession.

• Live training sessions to help advocates learn how to effectively engage with their representatives.

• Real-time advocacy opportunities using ABA’s digital tools to contact Congress instantly.

• Breakout sessions hosted by ABA Sections, Divisions, and Forums, providing targeted advocacy discussions on critical legal topics.

With the ability to watch from anywhere, participants can take immediate action while engaging with fellow advocates nationwide.

ABA Day At Home: Bringing advocacy to your community

Following ABA Day in Washington, we’re taking advocacy directly to lawmakers’ home districts. From April 11–27, ABA members are encouraged to meet with their representatives and senators in their local offices. These meetings will mirror those held in Washington but will focus on building long-term relationships with congressional staff and officials.

To assist with in-district meetings, ABA will provide:

• One-pagers and talking points on key advocacy issues.

• Guidance on scheduling and conducting meetings with congressional offices.

• Opportunities to invite lawmakers to visit legal aid organizations and pro bono clinics.

Why your participation matters

The legal profession plays a unique role in protecting democracy and ensuring equal access to justice. Through ABA Day 2025, we have an opportunity to unite as one voice—whether in-person, online, or at home—to advocate for policies that strengthen the profession and benefit the public.

This year’s key issues include:

• Access to legal services and disaster aid funding for LSC

• Judicial security and the JUDGES Act

• Tax fairness for law firms and professional service businesses

• Defending Public Service Loan Forgiveness

By participating in ABA Day 2025, you are making an impact, regardless of where you are.

How can you get involved?

• Register for ABA Day to participate and learn more.

• Plan an in-district meeting with your lawmakers between April 11–27.

• Spread the word—encourage your colleagues to get involved and share ABA Day resources on social media.

Join us and make your voice heard. Advocacy is stronger when we stand together.

To learn more and register, visit ambar.org/ABADay today.

This column is written by the ABA Governmental Affairs Office and discusses advocacy efforts by the ABA relating to issues being addressed by Congress and the executive branch of the U.S. government.

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Judiciary

Bill to create 66 new federal judgeships advances

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 6, 2025, 1:56 pm CST

The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would create 66 new federal judgeships.

The committee passed the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act—also known as the JUDGES Act—“on a nearly party-line 16-11 vote,” Reuters reports.

The bill would stagger the new judgeships over more than a decade, Courthouse News Service reports. But President Donald Trump would get the first appointments.

The only Democrat supporting the bill was U.S. Rep. Lou Correa of California. The legislation would add 21 new federal judges in his state.

Former President Joe Biden vetoed a similar bill last year after Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives failed to approve the legislation until after Trump’s election.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa of California, said Wednesday approval is needed to address a “staggering” backlog of cases, according to Reuters.

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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court will review Colorado ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 10, 2025, 1:38 pm CDT

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether a Colorado ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors—which aims to change sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling—violates the First Amendment.

The high court agreed to hear a case challenging a Colorado law that imposes professional discipline on licensed counselors who engage in such therapy, report SCOTUSblog and Law.com.

At issue is whether the ban censors counseling based on the viewpoint expressed in violation of the free speech clause or whether it is a permissible regulation of conduct, as the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Denver held in the case.

The plaintiff challenging the law, licensed counselor Kaley Chiles, is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy group, according to a March 10 press release. She is a counselor with “Christian worldview” who helps clients with gender-identity issues, the press release said.

“Though Chiles never promises that she can solve these issues,” the cert petition said, “she believes clients can accept the bodies that God has given them and find peace.”

The press release said it is significant that the Colorado law “only prohibits counseling conversations in one direction. For example, it allows counseling conversations that aim to steer young people toward a gender identity different than their sex but prohibits conversations that aim to help them return to comfort with their sex when they desire that.”

Circuits are split on whether bans on conversion therapy regulate speech or conduct, according to the cert petition. The 11th Circuit at Atlanta and the 3rd Circuit at Philadelphia have ruled that the laws regulate speech, while the 10th Circuit and the 9th Circuit at San Francisco have determined that the laws regulate conduct.

Colorado’s brief opposing cert said its law was “based on overwhelming evidence that efforts to change a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity are unsafe and ineffective.”

The state argues that Supreme Court precedent “makes clear that the First Amendment allows states to reasonably regulate professional conduct to protect patients from substandard treatment, even when that regulation incidentally burdens speech.”

The case is Chiles v. Salazar.

The SCOTUSblog case page is here.

See also:

9th Circuit upholds ban on conversion therapy for minors in First Amendment challenge

Supreme Court declines to consider challenge to conversion-therapy ban; 3 justices would have heard case

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Although the 118th Congress may be remembered as one of the turbulent and least productive in modern history, the ABA Governmental Affairs Office achieved notable legislative successes through close collaboration with ABA leadership, entities and advocacy partners. These efforts were further complemented by substantial progress on various policy issues before federal agencies, commissions and other administrative bodies in the last two years that impact the legal profession, access to justice and the rule of law.

When it opened, the 118th Congress, which convened Jan. 3, 2023, and ended Jan. 3, 2025, faced an unprecedented challenge in electing a speaker of the House of Representatives, requiring nearly a week and 15 rounds of voting. The speaker ultimately served only 10 months before being ousted amid internal conflicts within the caucus. The Republicans had won control of the House after the 2022 midterm elections with a 222-213 majority, while the Democrats retained control of the Senate with a close 51-49 majority, creating a divided and polarized government in which political consensus became the exception, rather than the rule.

Ultimately, the 118th Congress passed only 209 bills in two years, compared to 350 bills in the 117th Congress and 344 in the 116th, gaining the dubious distinction of becoming one of the least productive Congresses in over three decades.

The 118th Congress did, however, manage to address issues critical to maintaining government operations and national security. It reached bipartisan consensus to suspend the debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025, and passed three short-term funding resolutions for fiscal year 2025 to avert a government shutdown and secure funding through March 14, 2025.

The Congress also reached a bipartisan consensus Dec. 17, when the Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass the annual National Defense Authorization Act to authorize funding for the Defense Department for fiscal year 2025. Then-President Joe Biden signed the NDAA into law Dec. 22, despite a controversial provision banning the military health program from covering gender-affirming care for the transgender children of service members.

ABA advocacy and engagement helped drive many successes during the 118th Congress, the most notable of which are described below.

 • Enactment of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act (Public Law No: 118-194) signed into law by Biden on Dec. 23. The ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, working in conjunction with the GAO, played a leading role in advocacy for the legislation, which will enhance the oversight and accountability of youth residential programs nationwide by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to partner with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to identify the nature, prevalence, severity and scope of child abuse, neglect and deaths in youth residential programs.

 • Enactment of the Supporting America’s Children and Families Act (House Resolution 9076), marking a significant milestone in efforts to modernize the U.S. child welfare system. Working with the ABA Center on Children and the Law, the GAO advocacy included testimony to Congress, action by ABA members, and briefings with key staff and members from the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee over the last two years. Among other provisions, the law reauthorizes child welfare programs under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act, recognizes the importance of legal representation for all children and parents in child welfare cases, increases funding for the Court Improvement Program, enhances implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act, and calls for states to prevent family separations that are due to child and family poverty by addressing concerns related to housing instability, transportation, food assistance and other basic needs through means other than foster care removals.

 • Increased funding for the Legal Services Corp. In contrast to several other federal programs, which saw funding reductions because of fiscal constraints, the ABA played a key role in ensuring that Congress recognized the value of the LSC in the 118th Congress. The LSC received $560 million in fiscal year 2023, a $71 million increase over fiscal year 2022. In the second session, the LSC received $560 million for fiscal year 2024, again avoiding the reduced funding imposed on other important federal programs.

 • Increased funding for federal public defense services in fiscal year 2024 and 2025. Following notice in fall 2023 of substantial cuts proposed to fiscal year 2024 appropriations for federal defense services that had already triggered a damaging hiring freeze and threatened hundreds of layoffs, the ABA mobilized to oppose the cuts for fiscal year 2024 and increase defense services funding for fiscal year 2025. The federal indigent defense system, comprised of full-time public defenders and private attorneys who take cases for below-market rates, is run and funded through the Defender Services Office of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The ABA’s advocacy efforts included a central focus at ABA Day 2024. Funding for defense services for fiscal year 2024 was increased, and proposed funding for fiscal year 2025 was modestly increased in the House and Senate when many federal programs were being cut.

 • Advocacy to prevent significant reductions or the elimination of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. In the past decade, the ABA has played a leading role in advocacy efforts on behalf of the PSLF program, resulting in a milestone this year. For the first time since 2014, neither Congress nor the administration proposed measures to end or scale back the program. Signed into law by Then-President George W. Bush in 2007, the PSLF program encourages new graduates to consider rewarding but lower-paying careers in public service by offering loan forgiveness after 10 years of public service and 10 years of loan repayments.

 • Continued ABA advocacy, along with state and local bar allies, to prevent the ENABLERS Act from being reintroduced or advancing in the 118th Congress. If enacted, the legislation would harm many lawyers and law firms by regulating them as “financial institutions” under the Bank Secrecy Act and requiring them to report privileged and other protected client information to the government.

Additional successes were achieved through agency action and executive order.

 • Improved federal sentencing guidelines by the U.S. Sentencing Commission in 2023 that now allow a person to seek and a judge to grant reductions in federal sentences based on “extraordinary and compelling circumstances.” The ABA president called for such changes in a March 10, 2023, letter to the commission, citing the ABA’s recently adopted Ten Principles on Reducing Mass Incarceration.

 • Strengthened due process rights of unaccompanied immigrant children. In response to some of the ABA’s comments, the Office of Refugee Resettlement included in its final Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule a measure to strengthen a child’s due process rights while in a restrictive placement. The Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule is a set of regulations established by the ORR outlining comprehensive standards for the care of unaccompanied immigrant children in its custody. The agency also clarified its definition and minimum standards of a “standard program,” a typical facility or care setting where unaccompanied children are housed, after comments by the ABA urging the addition of language to ensure that programs must be either state licensed or meet the requirements of state licensing.

 • Successful ABA advocacy, through the Intellectual Property Law Section, to a proposed rule by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, announced by the Biden administration in May 2024. The proposed rule, known as the Terminal Disclaimer Practice to Obviate Nonstatutory Double Patenting, sought to introduce significant changes to how inventors, startups and innovative companies navigate the patenting process that would have significantly curtailed an applicant’s patent rights and made the application process more costly for inventors. In December 2024, the Patent and Trademark Office announced its decision to withdraw the rule.

 • Effectively advocated for the Food and Drug Administration to drop blood donor restrictions that excluded people based on sexual orientation and replaced them with neutral ones that focused on specific risk factors. In March 2023, the ABA president sent a letter to the FDA supporting the proposed change, based on policy adopted in 2017.

 • Successfully urged Russian accountability for Ukrainian war crimes. In July 2023, Biden ordered U.S. agencies to begin to share evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court. Then-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland expanded on the Department of Justice’s plans to share this evidence in an address to the ABA House of Delegates at the ABA Annual Meeting in August 2023. The ABA president had urged this in a letter to Biden and in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

While there were significant accomplishments for the ABA during the 118th Congress, there is plenty of unfinished business as the 119th Congress gets underway. The GAO team is continuing to work with ABA leaders, entities and partner organizations to explore opportunities within Congress and the executive branch to champion ABA policy priorities related to the legal profession, access to justice and the rule of law.

Follow us on social media platforms @ABAGrassroots to learn more about significant legislative and governmental developments of interest to the ABA as they happen.

This report is written by the ABA Governmental Affairs Office and discusses advocacy efforts by the ABA relating to issues being addressed by Congress and the executive branch of the U.S. government.

As the dust settles from the 2024 election, the political landscape in Washington, D.C., has undergone a significant transformation. The Republican Party now controls all three branches of the U.S. government, marking a pivotal shift in governance and policy direction.

Adding a historical dimension to this new chapter, the 2024 election marked only the second time in U.S. history that a former president returned for a nonconsecutive term. The last instance happened over a century ago, when former President Grover Cleveland assumed office in 1885 and then again in 1893.

In resuming power, the Trump administration is leveraging its experience to swiftly staff the government, set a decisive agenda and execute sweeping executive actions. With the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision affirming presidential immunity from liability for official acts, we expect that the administration will act with greater confidence and assertiveness early in its term.

In Congress, the Republican Party successfully flipped the U.S. Senate, achieving a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber. Republicans elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as the next Senate majority leader, completing a momentous shift in their leadership that elevates a top deputy of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky into a key position.

Meanwhile, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House of Representatives with the narrowest of margins after notable Republican departures from the House. Former Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida became the national security adviser, and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York has been nominated to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. Additionally, former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida stepped down from Congress following his nomination by President Donald Trump for U.S. attorney general but later withdrew from consideration because of strong resistance from some Republicans.

As a result, the Republican House majority currently stands at 218 to 215, making it the smallest House majority since the 1930s. There is no room for error with a majority this small, as demonstrated Jan. 3 during the election for speaker of the House, where the Republicans could afford to lose only one vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana won that election but only after he and Trump convinced two Republicans to change their no votes to yes.

Despite the razor-thin margin, Johnson is confident that Republicans can pursue Trump’s ambitious agenda. While Trump endorsed Johnson for reelection, obvious frustrations by some disgruntled Republican members remain and will continue to surface as the 119th legislative agenda gets underway.

The legislative inactivity of the 118th Congress leaves substantial opportunities for the new Congress to address unresolved issues and impact critical national security matters. The shift in power and narrow margins in both chambers will certainly shape the political dynamics on the Hill, emphasizing the need for collaboration and strategic policymaking to achieve progress.

The Trump administration has outlined an ambitious agenda for its first 100 days. On his first day, Trump executed a number of executive orders on diverse topics, including securing the U.S. southern border, ending federal DEI programs, realigning U.S. foreign aid, restoring the federal death penalty and pardoning supporters convicted for actions on Jan. 6, 2021. The administration has also announced plans to restructure the federal government, which could bring sweeping changes to the missions of the Department of Justice, the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security. These shifts will be of particular interest to the ABA, given the potential implications for legal policy, legal education and the justice system.

In the meantime, the 119th Congress must tackle passing appropriations bills for fiscal year 2025 by March 14 to avoid another government shutdown threat and before addressing appropriations for fiscal year 2026. The Senate is also having confirmation hearings to consider nominations made by Trump to Cabinet and other significant government positions.

In this dynamic environment, certain issues present opportunities for advancement. Artificial intelligence and data privacy are areas where bipartisan cooperation is expected to lead to meaningful progress. However, significant challenges remain for other issues, including the future of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, higher education policy, tax reforms, foreign aid and the complexities of border security.

The political context has shifted, and so will the ABA’s messaging and advocacy—adapting to new audiences and new governmental priorities as we continue to advance the ABA’s policy interests and the interests of the legal profession. The ABA Governmental Affairs team is well prepared for this challenge and is already actively working with ABA leaders and entities to strategically identify opportunities and navigate the challenges of the 119th Congress.

This report is written by the ABA Governmental Affairs Office and discusses advocacy efforts by the ABA relating to issues being addressed by Congress and the executive branch of the U.S. government.

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Immigration Law

ABA calls on senators to oppose ‘deeply concerning’ immigration bill

By Amanda Robert

January 17, 2025, 9:35 am CST

The ABA is urging the U.S. Senate to vote against an immigration reform bill that would require the detention of noncitizens who committed “certain low-level offenses.”

In a Jan. 16 letter, ABA President Bill Bay said S. 5, also known as the Laken Riley Act, contains “deeply concerning” provisions. They include mandating the indefinite detention of undocumented individuals who are arrested, charged or convicted of burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting offenses, without providing an opportunity for bond.

“This would reverse the presumption of innocence and eliminate procedural safeguards, undermining due process rights that are the cornerstone of our justice system,” Bay wrote in the letter.

The Laken Riley Act also would grant states unlimited access to challenge federal immigration policies or release decisions in individual immigration cases, Bay said. This could result in “endless litigation” and curb the federal government’s ability to enact effective immigration policies now and in the future.

“The ABA urges you to protect due process rights, constitutional safeguards and the integrity of our legal system while upholding the safety and security of our nation by voting no on the Laken Riley Act,” Bay wrote.

The Senate is expected to vote on the bill Friday.

It is named after a Georgia nursing student who was killed by a Venezuelan man who was in the U.S. without legal status, NBC News reports. If passed, the GOP-supported bill could become the incoming Trump administration’s first legislative victory.

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The Modern Law Library

When should life sentences be overturned? Judge shares how he decides

By Lee Rawles

January 8, 2025, 9:30 am CST

A federal judge’s new book is giving readers a rare inside glimpse at how a judge determines which prisoners deserve to have their sentences overturned.

In his memoir, Disrobed: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge, Judge Frederic Block introduced readers to his colorful life and career. In Crimes and Punishments: Entering the Mind of a Sentencing Judge, he explained the rationale that judges use when deciding sentences and the human toll that it can take. And now, in A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It, he’s shining a light on how judges consider resentencing and compassionate release.

Without the passage of a key federal law in 2018, A Second Chance would not have been written. A bipartisan piece of legislation signed by President-elect Donald Trump during his first term and supported by the ABA, the First Step Act was one of the biggest criminal justice reforms in the past decade. Among its sentencing reforms, it allows federal judges to reconsider sentences given out during tough-on-crime crackdowns and for prisoners to petition for compassionate release.

Block, who is a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, soon found himself asked to reconsider sentences under the First Step Act. In the book, he outlines the crimes and rehabilitations (or lack thereof) of six federal prisoners. From a former police officer who assaulted an innocent Haitian immigrant to a trio of mobsters, Block selected an array that represents the types of cases that he’s being asked to consider. Later in the book, he reveals the fate of each—whether life sentences were overturned or unrepentant prisoners were returned to their cells.

In this episode of The Modern Law Library podcast, Block tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles how his views on sentencing have changed since he ascended to the bench in the 1990s.

In a case that made the news after A Second Chance went to press, Block overturned a sentence that he gave out 27 years ago, during his second year on the bench. Block had imposed a quintuple life sentence on Walter Johnson after the man was convicted of robbery, cocaine possession and witness tampering. At age 61, Johnson has now been released from prison, and Block discusses that decision in the episode.

Block sees a moral imperative for all strata of the justice system to work together to address mass incarceration. In addition to calling on judges to be open-minded when considering resentencing offenders, he encourages criminal defense attorneys to go through their lists of former clients to see whether any would be eligible for relief under the First Step Act.

Most importantly, Block is calling upon citizens to lobby for sentencing reforms like the First Step Act on the state level because the legislation only applies to federal prisoners. He points out that only about 200,000 of the approximately 2 million incarcerated Americans are federal prisoners; the vast majority are overseen by state courts.

Block also discusses the public response to President Joe Biden’s recent clemency decisions and how collateral consequences have influenced his initial sentencing decisions.

See also:

Federal judge pens memoir about his time on the bench and his high-profile cases in ‘Disrobed’

What goes on in the mind of a sentencing judge?

The status of the First Step Act one year later

In unusual lineup, SCOTUS rules for pro se prisoner who sought lower sentence under First Step Act

In This Podcast:

Judge Frederic Block

Judge Frederic Block is a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He has been at the forefront of releasing prisoners and has received praise and grief in the media. Block is the author of several books, including his memoir, Disrobed: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge, and the reality-fiction novel Race to Judgment, the basis for an incipient TV series. His latest book is A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It (The New Press). He lives in New York City.