AFFECT appoints Robert E. Hirshon as national counsel. (SLA News).

Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions (AFFECT) has announced the appointment of Robert E. Hirshon, immediate past president of the American Bar Association (ABA), as national counsel. AFFECT is a broad-based national coalition of consumers, retail and manufacturing businesses, financial institutions, technology professionals, and librarians opposed to passage of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), the controversial law that would set forth the rules for licensing computer information products.

Hirshon was president of the ABA in 2001 and 2002. leading the association in its efforts to respond to September 11th. He practices law in Portland Maine, where he specializes in commercial litigation and legislative and regulatory advocacy at Drummond, Woodsum, and MacMahon.

In the past winter, the ABA was poised to consider a resolution approving UCITA as ready for consideration in state legislatures. (ABA consideration of certain proposed uniform laws occurs in accordance with an agreement between the ABA and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws [NCCUSL], the body responsible for developing uniform acts across states.) Despite heavy lobbying by UCITA supporters, none of the key ABA sections and committees that considered UCITA voted to approve the resolution. In the face of the almost certain failure of the full ABA House of Delegates to support UCITA, NCCHSL withdrew its resolution.