Miami’s Bass to lead the ABA
Miami’s Bass to lead the ABA
Hilarie Bass of Miami assumed the role of president-elect of the ABA at the conclusion of the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
“I am honored to take on the position of ABA president-elect and look forward to serving my fellow attorneys, while working to eradicate bias, enhance diversity, and advance the rule of law,” said Bass, the co-president of Greenberg Traurig. “Giving back to the profession that has given me so much is something I feel strongly about, which is why I have dedicated myself to supporting the ABA mission for more than 30 years.”
She will serve a one-year term as president-elect before becoming ABA president in August 2017.
Speaking during the ABA Annual Meeting, Bass highlighted her priorities for the organization in the coming years. Most importantly, she emphasized the significance of the association’s involvement in advancing equal access to justice.
“At a time when many are questioning whether the concept of ‘justice for all’ applies to them, the ABA must lead by implementing strategies across this country to ensure that our citizens can believe the civil and criminal justice system is truly blind to color, gender, religion, and income inequality,” Bass said.
Bass also stressed the need for the profession to embrace the use of technology to assist in meeting the largely unmet needs of the millions of citizens who seek legal aid but have been turned away for years because they cannot afford it. She said technology can help make more information readily available to the public and enable individuals representing themselves to more easily access the information and the forms they need to navigate a complex judicial system.
Bass pushed for the ABA to be a leader in evaluating how future lawyers can be better educated through a system that trains law students to gain “practical hands-on skills, whether through internships or some other form of experiential learning, to allow them to graduate with the ability to solve a client’s problem in a practical and real way.”
“The ABA must be a leader in evaluating how we can do better in educating and testing the competency of the future lawyers of our country,” Bass said.
Bass has been involved with the ABA for more than 30 years, beginning as a young lawyer and working her way up to become chair of the 70,000-member Section of Litigation in 2010-11. As chair, she spearheaded the creation of the Task Force on Implicit Bias in the Justice System. She has held several other positions at the ABA, including serving as chair of the Committee on Rules and Calendar (2012-14), member of the Board of Governors (1990-93), House of Delegates (1988-95, 2000-present), and the Florida representative to the Nominating Committee (2010-present).
In her practice, Bass has successfully represented high-profile corporate clients in jury and nonjury trials involving hundreds of millions of dollars in controversy. In recognition of that success, Bass was inducted in 2011 to the American College of Trial Lawyers. She has worked and settled more than 100 cases, tried more than 20 cases to conclusion, and argued numerous appeals. Among her significant cases, Bass led the effort to eliminate Florida’s 20-year-old ban on gay adoption, which was found unconstitutional in 2010 and led to the state removing questions of sexual orientation from the adoption application.
Bass earned her law degree at the University of Miami School of Law and her bachelor’s degree at George Washington University.
