John E. Thies, president of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), was elevated to the position of president of the National Caucus of State Bar Associations at the recent Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association (ABA) in Chicago.

The purpose of the Caucus is to coordinate the efforts of state bar associations across the country in considering and proposing matters before the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates.

“State bar associations – including the ISBA – have a unique interest in many matters before the ABA House and within the ABA generally,” Thies said after being named president-elect of the Caucus in 2011.

“These associations are most closely connected to the practicing bar, and the administration of justice at the core level,” he continued. “Accordingly, it is important that state bars have a strong voice within the ABA. In leading the Caucus, I plan to work with other state bar leaders to make sure that this is always the case.”

The National Caucus has been an important resource for the ISBA in connection with the Association’s recent efforts to maintain the ABA’s current position against non-lawyer ownership and fee-splitting with non-lawyers.

The 33,000-member ISBA (isba.org), with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public through a website (illinoislawyerfinder.com), a cable television program (“Illinois Law”), consumer brochures, and distribution of legal, informational news to daily and weekly newspapers.