Report from governmental affairs. Join #ABADay Digital 2020

• Pages: 66-67

ABA Insider | REPORT FROM GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

REPORT FROM

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

Join

#ABADay

Digital

2020

Storm Capitol Hill on ABA Day

without leaving your office

What could be more pow-

erful than hundreds of

legal professionals con-

verging on the nation’s

capital? Thousands more backing them

up from across the country.

ABA Day is the annual conference

at which hundreds of ABA and state

and local bar leaders gather in Wash-

ington, D.C., to take the message of the

legal profession directly to members of

Congress. Why do this? Senators and

representatives all agree speaking face-

to-face with their constituents is the

best way for them to shape opinions on

policy issues they are considering.

From April 21-23, the ABA Govern-

mental Affairs Ofce is looking forward

to hosting bar leaders in Washington,

D.C., for ABA Day 2020. The impor-

tance of these volunteers coming to the

Hill in person cannot be overstated.

Two years ago, on the day before

ABA Day commenced, the Department

of Justice announced it planned to in-

denitely pause (in other words, termi-

nate) funding for its Legal Orientation

Program, which provides legal rights

presentations, self-help workshops and

other informational programs to over

50,000 detainees around the country

annually. The ABA policy team immedi-

ately prepped bar leaders and attendees

who then took the latest information

to their elected ofcials, many of whom

had not yet heard this development.

The result? The program was preserved,

and it recently received $18 million in

funding for scal 2020.

Bar leaders helped achieve similar

success last year, ghting for increased

funding for the Legal Services Corp. so

it could continue to provide legal ser-

vices to low-income Americans despite

an administration proposal to eliminate

all funding for the program. Instead, the

program received a $25 million increase

in funding for scal 2020, resulting in

its largest-ever appropriation.

Going digital

When ABA and state and local bar

leaders charge the Hill every year, so do

other associations, each trying to ele-

vate their message and their time in the

congressional spotlight. Small congres-

sional ofce spaces, scheduling conicts,

or travel costs often limit the number of

attorneys and legal professionals who

can participate in this event.

So how will we elevate the voice of

the legal profession during ABA Day

2020? By adding a two-day digital

component to enable legal professionals

around the world to add their voices to

the conversation.

While ABA Day 2020 events are

happening on Capitol Hill, GAO will

be simultaneously running an online

conference called #ABADay Digital that

will use digital advocacy tools, social

media and participants’ smartphones

to show Congress what a united legal

front can do.

On April 22 and 23, law students,

attorneys and other legal professionals

can join the conversation online during

a full schedule of events, including

expert panels, live Q&A sessions, online

campaigns, infographic videos and even

a “Twitter takeover” at which different

advocates will temporarily control the

GAO account to interact with online

participants.

Timing is everything when it comes

to effective advocacy, so we will also

be announcing timed campaigns

throughout the event aimed at specic

issues being discussed in the ABA Day

Hill meetings. These campaigns will

use congressional messaging tools in

Photo illustration by Sara Wadford/Shutterstock

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