By Laura Wides-Munoz
AP Hispanic Affairs Writer
MIAMI (AP) — Outgoing American Bar Association President Stephen Zack keeps a list of Buddhist sayings near his desk, as well as several silver gelding knives given to him by former clients.
He jokes both have served him well over the years in his profession and most recently as the first Latino to lead the 400,000 member ABA, the nation’s largest attorney organization.
Zack is frequently cited by colleagues for his charisma and quick wit, as well as a confidence that matches his bear-like frame.
The combination has made him a persuasive force in courtrooms, where he has challenged congressional reapportionment plans and argued on behalf of then Vice President Al Gore during Florida’s disputed 2000 election.
As head of the ABA, he put that persuasiveness toward boosting funding for the U.S. justice system, addressing the challenges Latinos face in the courtroom and improving civics education — that basic study of the political and legal nuts and bolts of our country has been increasingly overlooked in public schools.
Like former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Zack often has to explain his Hispanic heritage. Zack’s mother is Cuban, and he spent most of his youth on the island.
Yet Zack says it is precisely his family history that led him to feel passionate about an independent judicial system.
His family ran shoe and leather factories in Cuba before the enterprises were confiscated by Fidel Castro’s fledgling government in 1961. He was just 13 when he and his family spent a night in police custody and two weeks under house arrest before fleeing to Miami.
To this day, Zack keeps a binder with Cuba’s 1940 Constitution — first suspended by a 1952 coup and later thrown out after the 1959 revolution.
“I keep a copy near my desk to remind me that the words alone are not enough,” he told The Associated Press. “The loss of liberty in my lifetime is not a theoretical exercise.”
One of the first things Zack did as head of the ABA was to create a task force led by the bi-partisan team of former Bush administration Solicitor General Ted Olson and top New York attorney David Boise — who argued against one another before the U.S. Supreme Court during Bush v. Gore in 2000 — to raise awareness about the woeful financial state of the nation’s judicial system. In Florida, the justice system — one of three branches of government — receives only .7 percent of the state budget.
In many other states the figure is 1 percent, forcing delays in cases and reduced hours not just for civil litigation but also for family court and victims’ services.
“This is really about are we going to live by the rule of law or the rule of the jungle,” Zack added. “If you can’t get into court to solve a dispute, what are you to do? You’re going to solve it yourself.”
One of Zack’s proudest efforts was the creation of an ABA commission to promote Hispanic rights and responsibilities.
Once again he snagged high profile names. Richardson and Entertainment mogul Emilio Estefan are honorary co-chairs. The commission spent the year traveling across the country, holding public hearings with immigrant advocates, attorneys, business and educational leaders. Although more than 16 percent of the nation is Hispanic, only 4 percent of U.S. attorneys are.
After a year frequently on the road, Zack says he’s looking forward to returning to his day job full time as a partner in the Miami office of law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP.
And he’ll return to one of his first loves, reapportionment. Zack worked on reapportionment for Democrats in the late 1990s and plans to return to the issue of how new congressional districts are drawn up in the coming months.
After funding of the judicial system, “Reapportionment, which is kind of the most boring thing you can talk about, is the most important thing affecting your country today,” he said.
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