Politics: January 2026 Archives
The Rise and Fall of the American Bar Association - JONATHAN TURLEY
"Whether the ABA constitutes a true monopoly can be (and likely will be) hotly contested. What is less debatable is the value of some competition or alternatives to the ABA. The organization is a textbook example of how the lack of competition can instill not just a sense of institutional impunity but arrogance.
"For decades, the ABA has moved steadily to the left, taking on a greater level of advocacy and activism as an organization....
"However, in the last few decades, the ABA followed the same trend as higher education and the media, as activists on the left took over key positions and used the organization to advance their own social, political, and legal viewpoints. Neutrality was tossed aside in favor of advocacy."
Just 17% of lawyers are members of the ABA, but the organization and its affiliates have a chokehold in many states on law school accreditation, judicial nominations, and the practice of law.
RELATED: 2017: Oklahoma Bar Association subsidizes repressive Communist regime; 2024: Oklahoma Bar Association and the judicial nominating process; 2008: OBA pushes for changes to judicial canons.
