Answers to this question and more will be provided during an upcoming program sponsored by the American Bar Association.  The program will be held as part of the association’s Annual Meeting, which begins Thursday.

Who:        Stewart A. Baker

                Former assistant secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security

What:       “Cyber Security, Law and Liability — Thieves, Spies and Hostile Armies”

                Sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Law & National Security

When:       Friday, 3:45 p.m. — 5:15 p.m.

Where:       Moscone West Convention Center

     Room 2022, Second Floor

     747 Howard St.

     San Francisco

Joining Baker in the discussion will be Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, dean and professor of law, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, and former general counsel, CIA; Robert Knake, International Affairs Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, and co-author of Cyber War; and

Harvey Rishikof, professor of law and national security studies at the National War College, and former legal counsel to the deputy director of the FBI.

What will happen if the government makes it easier for federal agencies to demand that companies release personal electronic communications of persons who are part of a terrorism investigation?  Baker answered that question in The Washington Post (7/29). 

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

A partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Jenner & Block, Smith is one of the country’s leading lawyers in the areas of First Amendment litigation and appellate advocacy.  He has presented oral argument in more than a dozen Supreme Court cases, including his groundbreaking advocacy in Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark gay rights case that is often compared in significance to the Brown v. Board of Education case, which was argued and won by Thurgood Marshall. 

Smith has not only led the way in advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights, but has also been a leading advocate in addressing voting rights issues, including arguing three times before the U.S. Supreme Court in voting rights matters since 2004. His most recent argument was in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, a 2008 case challenging an Indiana voter ID law.  The case has been called the most significant election law case to reach the court since Bush v. Gore in 2000. Smith has also been a leader in advancing freedom of speech issues, especially with regard to the application of the First Amendment to the Internet and video games. 

The Thurgood Marshall Award recognizes substantial, long-term contributions to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties and human rights in the United States.  The section established the award in 1992, conferring the inaugural award upon U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.  Since that time, recipients have included:

1993     Judge Frank M. Johnson                                    1994     Oliver W. Hill

1995     Ralph S. Abascal                                              1996     Jack Greenberg

1997     Judge Damon J. Keith                                        1998     Stephen B. Bright

1999     Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg                2000     Judge Revius Q. Ortique, Jr.

2001     Judge William Wayne Justice                            2002     Judge Don Edwards

2003     Dale Minami                                                    2004     Fred D. Gray

2005     Judge Abner J. Mikva                                        2006     Julius Chambers

2007     Judge Matthew J. Perry, Jr.                                2008     Judge Nancy Gertner

2009     Former Attorney General Janet Reno

The keynote speaker for this year’s event will be Pamela S. Karlan, the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law at Stanford Law School, and the founding director of the school’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.  One of the nation’s leading experts on voting and the political process, Karlan has served as a commissioner on the California Fair Political Practices Commission and an assistant counsel and cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.  She is a former law clerk of Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Abraham D. Sofaer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

Ryan & Maniskas, LLP is investigating potential claims against the board of directors of Health Grades, Inc.concerning possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law related to the Company's entry into an agreement to be acquired by Vestar Capital Partners V, L.P. in a transaction valued at approximately $294 million.

Our investigation concerns possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law related to approval of the transaction by Company's board of directors; in particular, whether the Company undertook a fair process to obtain fair consideration for all shareholders of Health Grades. For more information regarding our investigation, please contact Ryan & Maniskas, LLP (Richard A. Maniskas, Esquire) toll-free at (877) 316-3218 or by email at rmaniskas@rmclasslaw.com or visit: www.rmclasslaw.com/cases/hgrd.

Under the proposed agreement, Health Grades shareholders will receive $8.20 in cash for each Health Grades share of common stock they own.

If you own shares of Health Grades and would like to learn more about these claims or if you wish to discuss these matters and have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights, contact Richard A. Maniskas, Esquire toll-free at (877) 316-3218 or to sign up online, visit: www.rmclasslaw.com/cases/hgrd. You may also email Mr. Maniskas at rmaniskas@rmclasslaw.com. For more information about class action cases in general, please visit our website: www.rmclasslaw.com.