[Ecommerce] Press Release re Hirshon (ABA President 2001-2002) joining the AFFECT Team

[Manon Anne Ress]

For people watching UCITA...currently being considered by the Oklahoma 
legislature:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 14, 2003

AFFECT
Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions
1301 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 403
Washington, D. C. 20004

CONTACT:  Carol Ashworth
v-1-800-941-8478 / 202-628-8410
f-202-628-8419
www.ucita.com

AFFECT APPOINTS ROBERT E. HIRSHON AS NATIONAL COUNSEL

Washington D. C. - Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions
(AFFECT) today announced the appointment of Robert E. Hirshon, Immediate
Past President of the American Bar Association (ABA), as National
Counsel. AFFECT is the national coalition that opposes passage of the
Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), the controversial
proposed law that would set forth the rules for licensing computer
information products.

"We are very pleased that Bob Hirshon is joining the AFFECT team. He
brings a wealth of experience that will help us in our state grassroots
efforts," stated Miriam Nisbet,  President of AFFECT. AFFECT members
have been following UCITA for the past decade, and the coalition has
been involved in every state where UCITA has been legislatively active.


Hirshon served as President of the ABA in2001 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.
Hirshon is listed in the "Who's Who in America" as well as " Who's Who
in American Law."

The ABA was poised to consider a resolution approving UCITA as ready
for consideration in state legislatures  earlier this winter . 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. 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 by
the full ABA House of Delegates to support UCITA, NCCUSL withdrew its
resolution.

"I am delighted to be associated with AFFECT. There is a lot of
information, some of it misinformation, about what the ABA actually did
with respect to  UCITA. As the immediate past president of the ABA, I
hope that I will be able to clear the muddy waters surrounding this
issue," stated Hirshon.

AFFECT is a broad-based national coalition of consumers, retail and
manufacturing businesses, financial institutions, technology
professionals and librarians opposed to UCITA.

UCITA is currently being considered by the Oklahoma legislature and
other introductions are possible this year. Only two states, Virginia
and Maryland, have passed the Act since its approval by NCCUSL in 1999.
Three states, North Carolina, West Virginia and Iowa, have enacted
"bomb-shelter" laws to protect their residents and businesses from the
reaches of UCITA.

-30-
-- 
Manon Anne Ress
Consumer Project on Technology
www.cptech.org
PO Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
manon.ress@cptech.org, voice: 1.202.387.8030, fax: 1.202.234.5176