ABA Model Regulatory Objectives: Why They Matter To You

ABA House of Delegates Resolution 105 (Resolution 105), which was narrowly approved by the ABA House of Delegates (HOD) at the mid-year meeting in February 2016 and adopts the ABA Model Regulatory Objectives (Model Objectives) as paradigms for regulating legal services providers, appears innocuous at first glance. It consists mainly of 10 general regulatory principles, all of which are so basic and unassailable that few would question them. Indeed, as we show below, many of these principles already serve as the foundation for lawyer regulation in every state. Nevertheless, Resolution 105 drew heavy opposition from a number of ABA Sections and state bar delegations, including New York's, and resulted in the most contentious debate at the HOD in at least a decade.