Richard J. Sapinski

American Bar Association provides legal services. It provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, legal information and other services to assist legal professionals. The firm has members which include judges, court administrators, law professors, and non-practicing attorneys. The company was founded on August 21, 1878 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New Jersey. In June 1899, 74 attorneys launched NJSBA in Atlantic City; annual dues were $5.00.[2] Within the next decade, the Canon of Ethics was adopted by the NJSBA and the Committee on Law Reform, aimed at improving the practice of law and administration of justice in NJ, was formed. Over the years, NJSBA supported the establishment of a Judicial Council to study the problem of an increase in court cases, the replacement of the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals with a Supreme Court, and the repeal of Prohibition. In 1945, NJSBA developed refresher courses for attorneys returning from service in World War II, the forerunner of today's practice of Continuing Legal Education. In the 1980s, paralegals, law office administrators and other non-lawyers were welcomed into NJSBA as associate members. NJSBA supports 37 practice-oriented sections to support a diverse spectrum of law practice. NJSBA is the publisher of New Jersey Lawyer Magazine. It shares New Jersey Law Center with the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey, the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program and the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) encourages, at all levels of federal, state and local government, a rational and humane criminal justice policy for America -- one that promotes fairness for all; due process for even the least among us who may be accused of wrongdoing; compassion for witnesses and victims of crime; and just punishment for the guilty. Such a policy respects cherished civil rights and liberties that are fundamental to our democracy. Citizens have a right to expect privacy in their homes, vehicles, and communications; a right not to be deprived of their liberty or property without due process of law; and a right to consult counsel of their choice without it being used against them. America fought for and declared its independence to preserve these rights, and our Founding Fathers inscribed them into the Constitution. But the past decade's much-heralded "War on Drugs" and crackdown on crime has become a war on ourselves. It has run roughshod over these and other essential rights that citizens across the nation hold dear. Equally important, a rational and humane crime policy must focus on the social and economic benefits of crime prevention -- through education, economic opportunity, and rehabilitation of former offenders. As a society, we need to eschew such simplistic, expensive, and ineffective "solutions" as inflexible mandatory sentencing, undue restriction of meritorious appeals, punishment of children as adults, and the erosion of the constitutional rights of all Americans because of the transgressions of a few.