Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP (BSF) is pleased to announce that today its Miami partner Stephen Zack was elected as president-elect of the American Bar Association (ABA). The unanimous vote on his nomination by the ABA's House of Delegates at its annual meeting in Chicago positions Zack to become president of the ABA in August 2010. His one-year term as ABA president-elect is effective immediately.
Zack, who was raised in Cuba and whose family moved to Miami as refugees following Fidel Castro's rise to power, has practiced law for more than 35 years and has been on an ABA leadership track for decades. Among many accomplishments, Zack is a founding member of the Cuban American Bar Association and became the youngest president of The Florida Bar. He has been president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, has chaired the State Ethics Commission of the State of Florida, been a member of the ABA Board of Governors and served as chair of the ABA's House of Delegates, the second highest elected office within the Association.
In the ABA's highest office, Zack will focus broadly on the legal rights of Hispanics, now the largest minority group in America. Civic education, diversity and cultivating the country's next generation of lawyers are also stated areas of importance for Zack. In his acceptance speech, Zack addressed access to the legal profession saying, "Probably the most devastating effect of costly legal education will be the lack of lawyers providing legal services where they are needed most: for the poor, minorities and women. Over 80 percent of minorities have no access to our courts because they cannot afford lawyers. We need an entire new generation of lawyers to serve those who have no access, because without access, there can be no rule of law."
BSF chairman David Boies, who met Zack in 2000 while both attorneys worked on Bush v. Gore, said, "Today's vote by the ABA is truly historic as it marks the first time the most important organization of lawyers in this country, indeed the world, will be led by a Hispanic American. Coming from a place where the rights of his family, friends and neighbors were taken away, Steve brings an unwavering commitment to protecting the rights and freedoms of all Americans." Boies added, "This commitment will define Steve's capable and inspired leadership of the ABA. I speak for the entire Firm in congratulating Steve as he prepares to become ABA president."
Zack is the administrative partner in BSF's Miami office, where he has built a sizeable practice in complex commercial litigation. He received his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Florida. He is admitted to practice in Florida, New York and Washington, D.C., the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Florida, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.