He also criticised sweeping cuts to the federal judiciary which amounted to $350 million last year and saw layoffs to government lawyers including public defenders, according to the assocation's online magazine, the  ABA Journal. Speaking at the ABA’s annual meeting, the New York lawyer said that he would be highlighting two issues for the profession – access to justice and the dearth of jobs available for junior lawyers. He has created the Legal Access Jobs Corps Task Force to oversee the problem and review what state and local bars are doing. 

The new President said that the organisation needed to improve the fit between ‘the needs of the profession and those of society.’  He said that the cuts meant that the poor would have more difficulty getting representation. Mr Silkenat is a corporate partner in Sullivan & Worcester’s New York office and has been involved in the ABA for most of his career. He received a Lifetime Acheivement Award from the ABA Section of International Law in 2007.