The Nature and Main Activities of the American Bar Association

Gorban Vladimir Sergeevich Doctor of Law Head of the Department of Philosophy of Law, History and Theory of State and Law, Head of the Center for Philosophical and Legal Studies, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences 119019, Russia, Moscow, Znamenka str., 10 gorbanv@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Gruzdev Vladimir Sergeevich Doctor of Law Chairman of the Board, All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization “Association of Lawyers of Russia”; Senior Scientific Associate, Department of Philosophy, History, and Theory of State and Law, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences 119019, Russia, Moscow, Znamenka str., 10 vsgruzdev@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

The preparation of this work is related to the need to understand the experience of other countries in the creation and development of professional associations of lawyers. The results obtained can serve as an important tool for assessing one's own achievements and analyzing vulnerabilities, developing proposals for improving the organizational and functional characteristics of professional associations of lawyers in our country. The use of the comparative method in jurisprudence has always served to form a contrasting background, on which positive and, possibly, negative signs of one's own experience are more easily and accurately detected. The qualitative increase in knowledge and the solution of practical tasks to optimize and improve the efficiency of the activities of professional associations of lawyers depends primarily on the availability of complete and, if possible, exhaustive information, including on the experience of similar structures in foreign countries, especially those that are known for their achievements in the field of legal theory and practice.      

The legal profession has been known since the earliest times. For example, in the history of our country, the special training of legal experts has been known since the time of Ivan IV, who ordered "priests to start schools of the law of God and Civil law in their homes" [3 p. III]. Even much earlier, in the times of Ancient Russia, Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, and after him Yaroslav the Wise, took care of satisfying the need for knowledge of the Christian law, which the schools of "book learning" were supposed to serve ^{[4, p. 6]}. D.Ya . Samokvasov wrote:

"Over time, Russian legislation becomes more complicated, there is a need to combine princely charters, and with it the need for special study of laws" ^{[4, p. 6]}.

A. Reitz also wrote: "With the success of public education and legislation, the need for theoretical jurisprudence increases" ^{[3, p. III]}.

In 1863, a Law Society was formed at the Imperial Moscow University. On February 17, 1865, the Minister of Education approved the first charter of the Moscow Law Society.

S.A. Muromtsev gave the following descriptions of impressions about the activities of the Moscow Law Society: "The meetings of the Law Society are an audience, but a lively audience, where listeners not only learn, but also teach; these are departments, but the department is extensive, occupied by professors who are not only proud of their knowledge, but love knowledge and are ready to listen to others and learn. Finally, it is a large legal arena in which, alternately, everyone plays the role of plaintiffs pursuing their beginnings, or defendants defending their views" ^{[2, p. 5]}.

The first Congress of Russian lawyers was held on June 5-8, 1875 ^{[2, p. 5]}

For comparison, there were no modern universities in the USA before 1870. And there were only colleges where future lawyers studied Greek, Latin, moral philosophy and mathematics by listening to lectures and repeating them ^{[8, 9]}. 

In the 1830s, the attitude towards the legal profession in the USA was sharply negative. Experts on the history of American legal education characterize this period as a period of crisis ^[12]. In many states, the requirements for law training were either abolished (for example, in Massachusetts in 1836, in Maine in 1837, in New Hampshire in 1838), or simplified. Along with the spread of disrespect for legal education, the external manifestations of professionalism in the profession also looked extremely negative. In 1800, only 14 out of 19 regional jurisdictions in the United States required a certain period of training in the profession. By 1840, training was considered necessary in only no more than 11 out of 30 jurisdictions. And by 1860, training in the craft of lawyers was required only in 9 out of 39 jurisdictions. By 1840, only 345 students were enrolled in nine university law schools.

College-affiliated law schools have also not had much success. They are, as R. writes. Stevens, appeared and disappeared with great speed ^{[12, p. 8]}. For example, Princeton has repeatedly tried to create a law school run by local practicing lawyers and judges. In 1846, he still managed to found a law school, but since only 7 students graduated from it in 7 years, i.e. until 1852, it had to be closed. There were quite a lot of similar examples. Some law schools lasted only one year, such as at New York University. In 1845, the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama authorized the creation of a separate law school from the university, but it did not enroll a single student, and in 1846 it closed ^{[12, p. 8]}.  

Legal education in the United States began to revive in the 1850s . In the East of the country there was a revival of law schools, as a result of which by 1860 there were twenty-one law schools in the country. In 1850 there were 23939 lawyers in the USA; in 1870 there were already 40376, and by 1880 - 64137.

Professional standards were practically non-existent in 1860. That year, only nine out of thirty-nine jurisdictions required a certain period of law study as a necessary qualification for admission to the bar, and even the study of law began to be perceived not so much as an apprenticeship, but as a secretary's job. The bar exams, although required in all states except Indiana and New Hampshire, were oral everywhere and usually laid-back. Only nine states had anything approaching the bar exam board. The leaders of the legal profession, having analyzed the situation, came to the conclusion that the status quo cannot and should not be maintained. When the Civil War came to an end, the legal establishment turned its attention to raising the standards for entering the profession.

In the period from 1870 to 1890, admission to the bar association noticeably tightened. By 1890, twenty-three of the thirty-nine jurisdictions required a formal period of study or apprenticeship. Meanwhile, the states gradually adopted a system of committees for bar examinations, and when a permanent examination committee was established in New Hampshire in 1878, funded by student contributions, a future model was determined. During this period, the written bar exam, which in 1870 existed only in New York, was increasingly accepted as the norm.

The most representative professional association of lawyers in the United States for more than a century has been the American Bar Association, which in English is called the American Bar Association. The word "Bar" should not mislead about its historical origin and modern usage. Literally, they were and are designated barristers in the English judicial and legal tradition, i.e. privileged lawyers who have the right to speak independently in court, to go to the barrier. All kinds of solicitors, attorneys, i.e. court solicitors, differ from them, who, in essence, prepare the work of barristers, work directly with clients, draft documents, etc. In the American tradition, lawyers in general are often called barristers. This is already a kind of historical name. The word "bar" for the designation of the legal profession began to be used in the middle of the 16th century, and the meaning of the word stems from the name of the railing (cf. with the word "barrier"), which separated the judges, the space around the judge's seat. In the meaning of the name of the place where the court was held, this word began to be used in the sense of a synonym of the court in the 14th century.      

For example, the analysis of professional activity by the American Bar Association, as well as by other accounting systems, is conducted under the name "attorney" or literally "lawyer". And if we turn to the analysis of the composition of the Association, which includes not only lawyers, but also non-lawyers, various firms, organizations, government agencies, etc., then we can say more precisely that we are talking about voluntary associations of people and organizations that are not indifferent to law, politics, socio-political issues, humanitarian issues and some other questions.                

The American Bar Association was founded in 1878. As its mission, it declares service equally to the members of the association, the legal profession and the public by protecting freedom and the administration of justice as a national representative of the legal profession. At the same time, as stated in official reports, the association contributes to strengthening the rule of law in the United States and beyond, and it also develops practical recommendations for professional lawyers, accredits law higher education institutions, offers model codes of ethics and performs other functions.

By the end of the twentieth century, it had about 375 thousand members. The headquarters is located in Chicago.

Currently, 1327,010 lawyers (attorneys, i.e. lawyers, in essence) are actively working in the USA, i.e. almost one and a half million. In 2021, the number of working lawyers was more than 900 people. Moreover, the number of lawyers in the United States is constantly growing. If in 1878 there were 64137, then in 1900 there were 114460, in 1950 – 221605. In 1999, for the first time, the number of lawyers in the United States exceeds 1 million people. And today the figure is approaching one and a half million.  

The American Bar Association, as follows from official documents, pursues four goals in its activities:

- to serve the members of the association, which is manifested in the provision of benefits, programs and services that contribute to the professional growth of members and improve the quality of life;

- to improve the legal profession, for which the tasks of assisting in obtaining legal education of the highest quality, encouraging competence, ethical behavior and professionalism, to facilitate the provision of gratuitous and carried out in the public interest of legal assistance are being solved;

- eliminate bias and "expand diversity" (ensure equality), which means promoting the full and equal participation of all people in the association, in the legal profession and the justice system, as well as eliminating bias in the legal profession and the justice system;

- to promote the rule of law, which involves such tasks as improving public awareness of the rule of law and respect for the rule of law, the judicial process and the role of lawyers in the country and around the world, to monitor compliance with laws by public authorities, strives to ensure the fairness of laws affecting human rights and impartial judicial proceedings. In addition, the achievement of this goal implies ensuring real access to justice for all persons, the independence of the bar and the judicial system.

The American Bar Association takes a rather liberal approach to the issue of membership in it. It invites lawyers, judges, law students, as well as all those who are interested in developments in the field of law to join its ranks. The annual fee ranges from $75 to $450, depending on the duration of participation in the association. $75 is paid by those who have been in the Association for less than 5 years, $ 150 is paid by those who have been in the Association for 5 to 10 years; $ 250 is paid by those who have been in the Association for 10 to 15 years; $ 350 is paid by those who are in the Association from 15 to 20 years; $ 450 is paid by those who have been in the Association for more than 20 years.

A special amount of contributions is set for individual groups. In the latter case, it is usually $150. Students pay $25 if they wish to have a premium level of membership in the association. In other cases, student membership is free.

For example, participation in the annual meeting of the Association is paid as follows: with full access for members of the Association $ 495, for non-members of the Association $ 695; standard registration for members of the Association $ 225, for non-members of the Association $ 425; limited registration for members of the Association $ 95, for non-members of the Association 295 USD. Guests, including children, pay $50 each. Students with premium status can also participate for $70.

Participation in the work of the sections is paid separately. The contributions amount to approximately $50 to $100.       

The benefits of membership in the association include free educational programs totaling more than 700 hours, access to exclusive content, online resources and legal technical resources, more than 35 interest groups of members of the association depending on a specific area of law, network and career resources through the career center of the Association, including employment recommendations and much more. In particular, we are talking about the use of library resources of the association, various types of discounts from partners, including hotels, car rental, life and health insurance.

Members of the association can be not only individuals, but also organizations. The American Bar Association clearly pays increased attention to attracting organizations as a whole as members of the association. This significantly increases the number of participants, as well as simplifies the receipt of contributions. If you multiply the number of shuttles in the organization by the average amount of contributions, then the annual amount due to contributions alone can be about $ 50 million.

Naturally, in this regard, the Association promises unprecedented benefits for firms or organizations. Currently, the American Bar Association includes more than 2,000 law firms, legal departments, departments, law schools (secondary and higher educational institutions), government agencies and courts. As bonuses and benefits, the association promises to collective member entities, as a rule, a traditional set of insurance services for employees of organizations and their families, discounts in hotels around the world, advertising of the company in the association's magazine, on the website and announcement of participation at annual meetings (the commitment of the company to membership in the association is emphasized) and other similar benefits.

One of the important functions of the American Bar Association is to ensure that the interests of the legal community are represented in government organizations. In the structure of the association there is a government Relations office (GAO), which, as noted, serves as the "eyes, ears and voice" of the organized advocacy in the capital of the country. The GAO annually brings the Association's positions on a wide range of issues to the attention of numerous government agencies.           

Here, in particular, is one of the latest initiatives in this area of the Association's activities – a letter on behalf of the Association to the US Senate calling for the adoption of the Daniel Anderl Law on Judicial Security and Privacy (In the Russian Federation, back in 1995, Federal Law No. 45-FZ of April 20, 1995 "On State Protection" was adopted judges, officials of law enforcement and regulatory bodies", which establishes a system of measures for state protection of the life, health and property of judges, officials of law enforcement and regulatory bodies, employees of federal state security bodies performing functions whose performance may involve encroachment on personal safety and the safety of their loved ones. The list of officials of the judicial system and law enforcement agencies who are subject to state protection measures, as well as its types, is established. Mandatory state personal insurance is established. Social protection measures are envisaged, including payments and compensation in case of death, damage to the health of protected persons and loss of their property). This appeal emphasizes that the American Bar Association acts as the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. The essence of the appeal is to call for the adoption of legislation designed to protect federal judges from intimidation and harm. In this regard, the Association considers it necessary to urgently adopt appropriate legislation to preserve the ability of federal judges to impartially resolve the issues they are considering without fear of reprisals or physical harm to themselves or their families.

The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, named after the son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered in the family home in 2020, has been introduced in Congress in the House of Representatives. The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously submitted the bill for consideration last December after the adoption of an amendment supported by the Association expanding its scope. According to the Association, this bill will receive support in both chambers in the wake of new public and congressional concerns caused by death threats and the publication of the home address of the judge who approved the recent search warrant at Mar-a-Lago.

The Association also believes that the adoption of the relevant law could continue the line of improving security issues in court, the first point of which was the adoption of another Law on the size of the police of the US Supreme Court, which allows police protection, when necessary, for the next of kin of nine judges and other Court staff, just a few weeks after Judge Kavanaugh and his family were threatened with violence this summer. According to the Association, this was an important first step in strengthening judicial security, but its scope is limited, and more needs to be done to prevent threats in the first place.

Daniel Anderl's Bill on judicial security and privacy, which is being considered by Congress, as stated in the analyzed appeal, uses a more comprehensive approach, prohibiting public disclosure of personal information of both judges and federal judges. This includes information such as their home addresses, personal phone numbers, driver's licenses, and the names of schools that the closest family members attend. Recent incidents demonstrate that the availability of this information on the Internet makes it too easy for someone to track and find the judge and his family members for the purpose of intimidating or harming them. Last but not least, this legislation also expands the capabilities of U.S. officials to monitor and deter credible threats of harm, as well as provides states with additional funds to implement similar judicial security measures.

Another example of the Association's current appeals to the highest legislative bodies of the country is a letter dated July 5, 2022, in which concerns are expressed about a number of legislative provisions related to the adoption of the Law on the Financing of National Defense. The American Bar Association, in particular, is concerned about the fact that in the relevant provisions, considered by the Association as not related to the essence of the issues addressed by the basic act, it is proposed to regulate lawyers as "financial institutions" in accordance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and require them to report confidential and other protected information about clients to the government, which, according to the Association, will jeopardize the ability of lawyers to openly consult with their clients and, thus, weaken their ability to prevent money laundering. The Association also proceeds from the fact that such provisions would undermine the privileges of an attorney and a client, the ethical duty of an attorney to protect client confidentiality, the right to effective assistance of an attorney and the generally recognized powers of the state Supreme Court to regulate the legal profession. Therefore, as the Association insists, Congress should not even consider the possibility of adopting such radical and far-reaching changes to federal and state legislation without holding full hearings and very careful consideration.

The controversial bill is aimed at regulating the activities of lawyers who provide legal services to clients in financial matters, in matters of establishing companies and trusts, as well as regulating the activities of various other persons listed in the bill as "financial institutions", and involves subjecting them to extensive anti-money laundering, reporting on suspicious activity, due diligence, identification of accounts , etc .

However, it should be noted that the American Bar Association deals not only with internal affairs, but also often tries to act as an international organization, although it does not have the appropriate status at all. If we analyze the practice of official appeals on behalf of the Association, it easily becomes obvious that there is clearly a political component in its activities, which casts doubt on the nobility of intentions and goals. For example, on April 27, 2022, the President of the Association, Reginald M. Turner, sent a letter to the Chairman of the Supreme Court of India, in which he expressed concern about the detention of journalists who allegedly documented human rights problems and corruption in Jammu and Kashmir.

Or, for example, on April 22, 2022, the President of the Association, Reginald M. Turner, sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Israel about concern that Israel had declared six leading Palestinian human rights and humanitarian organizations terrorist entities, allegedly not providing them with a full set of procedural rights guaranteed to them by international law. The letter on behalf of the Association says that organizations should not be deprived of their rights just because they are accused of participating in terrorist activities. The accused still have the right to the presumption of innocence. International law recognizes that the requirements of a fair trial can be changed in the fight against terrorism and that States can appeal to special courts, especially military courts. However, it is fundamentally important that judicial procedures adhere to the principle of equality of the parties, a principle that obliges the court to ensure that none of the parties is put at a disadvantage when presenting their position due to denial of access to the evidence that constitutes the essence of the case against them.

Although a final appeal may be filed with the Israeli Supreme Court, this may be insufficient protection, according to the American Bar Association, since organizations will most likely not have access to the evidence on which the military order was based, and there may well not be a written decision or protocol for consideration by the court.

The next area of activity of the American Bar Association is such a multi-valued direction as strengthening the system of public administration and justice. One of the key aspects in this direction is the implementation of judicial reform programs. At the same time, all this is happening under the auspices of the slogan about initiatives to ensure the rule of law, which is put together in an abbreviation. As follows from the official documents of the American Bar Association, the implementation of judicial reform programs contributes to greater independence, accountability and transparency in judicial systems, is associated with assistance in the development and implementation of codes of judicial ethics, education and training of judges, which also helps to improve the efficiency of court management. What also catches the eye, as in the previous direction of the association's activities, is the extraterritorial ambitions, the emphasis on helping other countries to implement the standards of judges adopted in the United States. As an explanation, an example of the provision of technical legal assistance in Central and Eastern Europe for about 25 years is given, since, according to the representatives of the Association, the judicial authorities of many countries in the region were in desperate need of reform. At the same time, it is argued that as the association expanded its rule of law programs to other regions, it became obvious that similar obstacles exist in judicial systems around the world. As a result, it is noted that many judicial authorities have made significant progress, but problems still remain. As significant shortcomings of the organization and functioning of judicial systems in many countries of the world, the Association notes such as insufficient education and professional training of judges, as well as insufficient emphasis on judicial ethics, hinder the effectiveness of judicial bodies and individual judges. The huge volume of cases combined with inadequate allocation of resources and the lack of modern case management systems can lead to procedural delays that undermine the administration of justice. According to the association's assessments, courts often suffer from corruption, which undermines the often fragile public trust in the fairness and effectiveness of the judicial system. In addition, insufficient professional guarantees and ill-defined judicial powers lead to the fact that many judges are demoralized and marginalized in their own courtrooms and, consequently, are unable or unwilling to promote the rule of law.

In connection with these circumstances, which the Association focuses on, a special index for evaluating the effectiveness of the judicial system has been developed, which, according to its developers, is universal and can be implemented at the global level. Since 2001, the American Bar Association has applied this index in 40 cases in 20 countries.

Similar indices have been developed to evaluate criminal justice, procedural legislation, legal education and for some other areas. Analyzing this area of activity, the ambitious claims of the American Association to restore order in legal education in other countries of the world are again revealed. In particular, the official explanations of the Association state that in many parts of the world the next generation of judges and lawyers is being formed by legal education systems that are in urgent need of reform. Often uncontrolled, many law schools around the world use ineffective teaching methods and very outdated textbooks and teaching materials. In addition, corruption and weak standards in some law schools allow students to obtain a degree without having sufficient evidence of acquired skills and knowledge, which reduces the value of legal education and reduces the number of competent, ready-to-practice graduates of law schools. In response to such challenges, the Association cooperates with universities in support of curriculum reform and accreditation, clinical legal education, as well as litigation activities.

The Law Education Reform Index developed by the Association evaluates the legal education system in the country by analyzing the laws that regulate higher education institutions and law schools. The Association also conducts in-depth interviews with law students and teachers, lawyers, as well as with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to determine to what extent the country's legal education system complies with these laws, as well as international best practices.

Ensuring the rule of law in the sense attached to this principle by representatives of the American Bar Association also includes activities to establish peace in conflicts in different regions, support transitional periods, and mitigate the consequences of conflicts. At the heart of this area of activity of the Association is the belief that transitional processes in governance, especially in societies emerging from conflict, represent good opportunities for establishing the rule of law. As noted in the explanations offered by the Association itself, the outbreak, escalation and recurrence of violent conflicts, especially those during which large-scale violations of human rights are committed, pose a serious permanent threat to development, peace and stability. Political transitions – from elections to peace agreements after the civil war – have often served as a trigger for violence. Other circumstances that lead to violence are often rooted in underlying grievances, including impunity, lack of access to justice, systematic inadequacy of government responses, ethnic and religious divisions, unresolved legacy of past conflicts, and oppression or neglect of vulnerable communities. Rule of law strategies can play a crucial role in mitigating the consequences of conflicts accompanying these transitional processes ^[5].

At the most basic level, the institutional reform programs proposed by the Association in these cases should help strengthen the basic capabilities of national jurisdictions, especially in cases where a period of conflict or repression has undermined the capabilities of the justice sector. Such capacity-building can help mitigate the effects of conflict by promoting effective accountability for human rights violations and, more generally, the restoration of the rule of law. According to the Association, trials of persons who have committed human rights violations should be conducted in national courts, and assistance to justice sector institutions in post-conflict situations is aimed at developing their capacity to conduct such proceedings in accordance with international standards.

According to the plans of the authors of the relevant programs to ensure the rule of law, methods of involving civil society and means of empowering it are also used. The Association teaches civil society the basics of substantive law and aims to develop the skills of documenting human rights violations in such a way that they can be used in subsequent control processes.

In addition, the strengthening of legal institutions regulating electoral and political processes is recognized as an important activity of the Association. The purpose of this work is to guide constitutional and legislative reforms, and, according to formal statements, in accordance with international standards, as well as support the contribution of civil society to such reform processes and educate the public to explain new structures, rights and processes.

Separately, in the structure of the activities of the Association for the Rule of Law, human rights issues are highlighted, which is directly linked to the idea of access to justice, including expanding access to justice and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including women, children and marginalized groups. This is all designated as a targeted strategy, or there may be many of them, to promote human rights around the world, while simultaneously applying human rights and gender aspects in all its programs and practice areas, in accordance with the general approach to the development of law based on human rights. At the same time, the Association claims that an important condition for it is that it is guided by the principles of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.

Working towards the promotion of human rights initiatives, the Association notes in its official explanations that respect for civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights is the basis of a strong culture of the rule of law, ensuring security and stability for both communities and nations. Representatives of the Association solve this problem through individual trainings and capacity building for lawyers, judges, government officials, law teachers, law students, civil society organizations and the public. In addition, the Association promotes and facilitates the documentation and investigation of human rights violations, supports strategic litigation and helps protect human rights in the context of business and development.

There are other aspects of the development of the Association's strategy for the promotion of human rights around the world. All of them are generally well known from the field of events covered in the world and the participation of US representatives in them.

As in other cases, simple methodological schemes and assessments are used to evaluate all areas of the Association's activities: a set of ratings and indices developed by the Association. In this regard, first of all, research and collection of information on a specific country is carried out, which serve as a necessary basis for the development of effective strategies for the promotion of human rights. Accordingly, the American Bar Association has developed a number of assessment tools designed to measure a country's de jure and de facto compliance with international human rights treaties, such as the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (separate index), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (separate index) and the Protocol The United Nations Convention on the Prevention, Suppression and Punishment of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (a separate index), and there are various indexes on many other aspects.

It should also be noted that the American Bar Association is engaged, among other things, in a comprehensive analysis of development factors, which together form the basis for the effective organization and functioning of law. This is to a certain extent a traditional setting for modern American jurisprudence, which considers law only in the aggregate of other factors: social, political, economic, etc. This approach shows the specificity of a special sociological version of the interpretation of law, which in the American tradition has been called "legal realism" ^[1]. It has a lot of all kinds of reproduction options, which, however, differ little from each other, since they largely lack a solid theoretical framework. The latter is an object of attack, since it fascinates the activities of lawyers in the field of concepts and doctrines, and they, as American lawyers have been assuring for more than a century, are categorically contraindicated to a special type of thinking that is cultivated in American legal science (if such can be said at all in the sense of traditional ideas about science).    

In this regard, one of the directions of the development of the rule of law in the context of the American Bar Association is the problem of inclusive and sustainable development. Representatives of the Association explain their interest in expanding the horizon of activity as follows. In particular, it is noted that in recent years there has been a growing recognition around the world that stronger economic growth and increased foreign investment as a means of sustainable poverty reduction should take into account a number of social and environmental factors that affect the fair and balanced distribution of national wealth and opportunities. Multidimensional problems such as poor public health, climate change, environmental degradation and socially irresponsible business practices threaten to hinder human development and undermine the basic human rights of entire populations. These problems often have a pronounced legal aspect, and their solution requires laws and legal institutions that ensure effective and fair provision of social services, fair allocation of resources and effective and fair dispute resolution. However, in the field of sustainable development, the rule of law is too often an afterthought in efforts to solve these problems, with little attention paid to the development and integration of appropriate strategies focused on legislation and governance ^[5].

The initiatives of the American Bar Association to promote the rule of law, taking into account the circumstances noted above, are aimed at changing perceptions of the factors of sustainable development, expanding understanding of the impact of law and justice on human development. Representatives of the Association believe that there is a fundamental link between the rule of law and human rights, on the one hand, and public health, climate change and environmentally sustainable and socially responsible business, on the other. The promotion of the rule of law, especially when it is based on a human rights-based approach, can significantly help to achieve the goals in the related areas mentioned above. Hence, according to the Association, laws and state institutions that can promote accountability and transparency, fight corruption and protect the local population are crucial to promote sustainable and inclusive development. A stable legal system with courts and judges capable of interpreting and enforcing the law in an informed, open and predictable manner is also crucial to achieving the trust of both domestic and foreign investors. Thus, a holistic, intersectoral, multi-pronged approach encompassing the legal and regulatory environment is the key to any effective response strategy ^[5].

All this beautiful rhetoric has a very specific purpose. For the uninitiated reader, it may even seem very convincing. The arguments and goals of the Association for Ensuring the Rule of Law contain a lot of sound reasoning, ideas and provisions that can actually contribute to solving many issues in the field of increasing the importance of law in the life of modern society, individuals and States, and the international community as a whole. But, unfortunately, as follows from the official explanations of the Association itself, all this is a kind of screen that is not designed for American society, but is used exclusively as an assessment template to be applied to other countries, which greatly distorts and distorts the meaning of the intentions of American lawyers. If these provisions claim to be a universal principle, a set of effective practical teachings and standards for building a just and lawful order that has not only formal goals, but also takes into account the most important circumstance that law should serve society, then at least it should be about introspection, critical perception of one's own reality, positive and the negative features of the American legal model from the point of view of very specific and reliable characteristics, and not mythologems. This suggests the logic of analysis, which is characteristic of the problems of the rule of law in its classical interpretation. After all, the simplest explanation of this principle boils down to the fact that the right, willfully established or otherwise explained, is first of all obligatory for the one from whom it comes. The sovereign who issued the act must himself subordinate his behavior to the requirements of the act. This is the basic characteristic of the rule of law principle. However, the positions of the American Bar Association explicitly state that high standards of the rule of law are, as it were, presumed for American society, but on the external circuit they can be applied with benefit for the common good. Obviously, we need to start with ourselves, given that by many indicators, the American legal system, both as a model and as a real practice, has multiple flaws and problems.                  

According to the stated focus of the Association, its programs involve interaction with local communities, civil society organizations, enterprises and governments to develop solutions based on the rule of law and human rights to multifaceted development problems. In particular, the key aspects of inclusive and sustainable development programs that the Association is engaged in are:

- improving environmental management and reducing environmental costs associated with economic development by increasing transparency of environmental information and advanced litigation in the public interest;

- Integrating legal strategies into efforts to address public health issues, such as HIV-related discrimination and the health effects of environmental pollution;

- improving the management of land and natural resources and working to reduce the high social, environmental and economic costs often associated with large-scale mining operations, enabling mining communities to become informed and active stakeholders and ensuring the security of ownership and access to land;

- promoting the recognition of human rights, the rule of law and development issues among local enterprises, encouraging them to develop corporate social responsibility programs and anti-bribery strategies in accordance with international standards;

- reform of commercial laws and practices to promote the use of alternative dispute resolution methods, strengthen control over the execution of commercial contracts, improve the protection of intellectual property rights and create equal economic opportunities for small businesses, women and other disadvantaged groups.

The Association's export-oriented rule of law programmes addressing complex human development issues are based on a number of key human rights principles, which include active and meaningful participation of affected communities in policies and programmes; substantive gender equality; non-discrimination and attention to vulnerable groups; and accountability.

The Association believes that these principles establish an important basis for the orientation of programs related to inclusive and sustainable development, and therefore they are integrated into the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of relevant programs. Entry points for such programs in these areas include approaches such as:

- development of national strategies based on an inclusive, participatory process;

- reform of legislation and regulation;

- expanding access to justice and legal opportunities through capacity-building of civil society, civic education and legal literacy programs, as well as the mobilization of lawyers to promote relevant rights;

- development of administrative, judicial and quasi-judicial claims and accountability mechanisms;

- training of judges, lawyers and civil servants on relevant topics;

- anti-corruption programs, especially in the field of public access to information.

Behind the euphonious appeals, there is always an invitation to quantitatively increase the members of the association, whose contributions amount to a significant income, donate to certain initiatives and programs, make a contribution for participation in this or that event, etc., including various accompanying offers and services: on insurance, car use, hotels, vacation spots, etc. And, as a rule, there is no specific information in various official offers, explanations, manuals, reviews, etc. Basically, we are talking about popular promises, appeals, well-organized information strategies.

In its reports, the Association describes various types of its activities. They are distributed by industry and other institutional parameters. In general, judging by the published materials, the Association is actively working in the field of legal and state building in the United States. However, it should be noted that the vast majority of the described performance results are associated with various types of expert assessments. Basically, they look like this: they expressed support for the legislative initiative ..., sent an appeal ..., recommended adoption ..., etc., etc. And they include both specific issues of improving the legal system and political initiatives. For example, one of the points of the Association's activities, as reported in the report, "in the field of administrative law": [The Association] urges the President and the Attorney General to ensure that lawyers of the Ministry of Justice do not make decisions concerning investigations or proceedings based on biased political interests, and do not believe that they will be rewarded or punished for making or not making a decision based on biased political interests ^{[7, p. 167]}. Or, for example, [the Association] has come out in support of legislation prohibiting federal agencies from prescribing professional rules of conduct for lawyers and bringing them to disciplinary responsibility, except in cases where it is urgently necessary to maintain order in proceedings, or in accordance with measures taken by state disciplinary councils; it is necessary to develop a model mechanism for discipline lawyers practicing in administrative bodies.Numerous sections, departments, and committees have been created in the structure of the Association, which specialize in various thematic and institutional-sectoral aspects of legal issues.

These are, in particular, such sections and departments as administrative law and administrative practice, Antitrust Law, Business Law, Civil rights and Social justice, Criminal justice, theory and practice of dispute resolution, environment, Energy and Resources, Family Law, health law, intellectual property Law, international Law and many others.