The Law: A.B.A. on the Move

Whatever else they amounted to, the A.B.A.’s new guidelines were evidence that the organization, once considered rather immobile, is trying to move with the times. Among other instances, the delegates:

> Approved a $10,000 study of pre-paid legal insurance, which would provide for some legal expenses in much the same way that medical insurance covers doctors’ fees.

> Agreed to take part in a $1.5 million tutoring and scholarship program, funded partly by the Office of Economic Opportunity, that is designed to encourage Negroes and other minority group students to go into the law.

> Ignored a report by a committee of negligence lawyers who approved of the present method of settling auto-liability claims because it “is derived from the religious belief that each of us is responsible to his God for his own conduct.” Not quite so certain of divine sanction, the full house decided instead to order a comprehensive study of the procedure (TIME, Jan. 26).